War Core Wednesday! War Core 2, Chapter 8.

After the chapter, I've attached some of the reference information I keep on hand while writing War Core. Let me know if you'd like to see more detailed information like this in the future. 

Chapter 8.

The second drone that had been sent out to find the enemy went dark as Hugh waited for resources to be gathered and his units to be built. His drones had each headed in a different direction when they left the base. When his forces took control of the debris field that had been protected by the siege spheres, Hugh’s vision over the area expanded. A short way past the debris field, the canyon met a dead end, giving him only one way to expand. That seemed par for the course on these GCA battlefields, they liked to restrict the area of conflict and bring the two sides together as quickly as possible.

He had one way to proceed, and that path through the winding canyon was proving treacherous. The interface didn’t give a whole lot of information on the second drone’s destruction, only that it had been moving down the canyon when it was hit by a ranged weapon of some sort. Stealthy units were possible, but rare in the other battles that earth’s cores had been involved in.

Hugh would have liked to send another drone over to investigate, but time was of the essence. His main advantage in this fight would be his ability to produce units faster, which meant he needed to take as much territory as he could, and at the same time capture the majority of these neutral units. By turning these extra units against his foe, he could hopefully overcome their advantages. Hugh didn’t relish the idea of trying to fight the heavily armored Ximkas mechs in the narrow canyons.

His barracks were repaired up to 88% and once it passed fifty percent it reactivated and started to build infantry mechs once more, albeit at a much-reduced pace. The further the repairs progressed, the closer his barracks got to operating at it its normal speed. He had nineteen infantry, one machinegun team, three light mechs, and a single M4 at his disposal.

It took some practice at staggering the various orders to advance before he got the hang of keeping them in some semblance of a formation. The forces at his disposal were ordered to the area where the construction drone had been destroyed. While his army stomped its way toward the unknown foe, Hugh took a look at his interface to see there was anything else he could do while he waited. Sadly, this crazy battle restricted him from pursuing any upgrades. For some reason, the GCA wanted them to fight with barebones, yet moderately leveled units.

Hugh assigned all newly constructed units to join what he considered his assault force and then watched closely as they approached the area where his drone had gone down. There, in the middle of the canyon was the smoldering remains of his drone. This section of the canyon was as barren as the rest, save for a patch of strange vine-like growths that covered one side of the canyon wall. As Hugh watched, a blast of plasma shot out from behind the curtain of vines, the shot slamming into one of his light mechs, blowing the unit to pieces.

The AI-controlled mechs reacted automatically to the attack, charging the vines while firing randomly into them. Most of the shots punched through the vines and then deflected off the canyon wall, but one section didn’t have any ricochets happening. Mechs began to concentrate their fire at that point, shredding down more and more of the dry vegetation which revealed a heavy turret that was mounted just above the ground. The large cannon mounted in the turret fired again, the blast melting away three of his infantry even as the rest of his force focused their fire on this new threat.

Hugh half expected a large mech to stand up from the ground and attack, but it looked like it was just this one defensive turret sitting here in the hidden alcove. A stack of crates was sitting behind the turret, which Hugh hoped were full of resources. A main gun round from the M4 clanged into the turret, melting away some of its thick armor, but failing to penetrate. Infantry fire and the light cannon rounds from the surviving M3’s added their contribution, but so far, the turret was able to shrug off the damage. A third blast from the hostile turret landed a shot directly on the M4, his medium mech’s armor was unable to stand up to this weapon as the main gun was sheared off and half the hull was melted away.

It was up to his lighter weapons now, but thankfully, the strange plasma energy that his weapons fired would eventually melt through just about anything. The AI controlling his mechs might not have been that smart, but even it could figure out that it should try to fire at the same spot. Rifle rounds poured into the divot the 75mm shell had carved out, melting more and more of the turret’s armor even as the powerful weapon picked off his remaining light mechs one by one. Finally, when Hugh was down to nine infantry mechs, the armor on the turret gave way and rifle fire punched deep inside, disabling the weapon.

Hugh ordered his forces forward, eager to see if he could gain control of the turret for his own use. His little army was almost obliterated, but the factories were already working to replace his losses. The bottleneck was his resources, the field he had captured from the siege spheres had a lot of material, but his drones also had a long walk back and forth to gather it. If those crates held resources, things would improve greatly. As the first infantry mech neared the destroyed turret, a system prompt appeared.

You have taken control of a critical location. This area will periodically spawn resource crates and is protected by a heavy defensive turret. The turret is now under your control and active, it will engage any hostile units that are in range.

Perfect, those were resources crates and the heavy turret looked like it was at least 150mm, which should put the hurt on the Ximkas armor. Hugh counted a total of five resource crates, and these crates were of the larger size that required two construction drones to move them. He readjusted his construction drone assignments, charging one squad with hauling in the existing crates. He would have to keep an eye on the location, and when a new crate appeared, he would send drones to retrieve it.

Hugh set the turret location as the rally point for his forces. He would gather another strong force and then push out further into the canyon. Ideally, he would like to form multiple groups, in order to take these strategic locations as quickly as he could. The more of these automated forces he could take control of the more likely he was of winning this fight and stopping the Ximkas cold before their campaign against his sector of space gained any steam.

The pace of his construction drones was painful to watch, and it seemed like they moved slower than a snail. Eventually, the first resource crate was hauled into his command post, the resource total jumping up by 100. Hugh had an idea, adjusting his force composition. He would keep the infantry platoon, the light mech platoon, and the pair of medium mechs. With the twenty-five construction drones, Hugh had used up 465 of his unit point cap. Instead of bolstering his assault force, Hugh queued up a machinegun team and three infantry, assigning them to help defend the turret. With the added firepower, the powerful weapon would survive longer to do some real damage to any enemy assault that made it this far.

His assault force was given priority for any units being built, and with the crates coming in, he should have enough to build what he wanted. Well, he could build what he wanted as long as he didn’t keep taking heavy casualties. Once he had amassed a sizeable force, Hugh sent them down the canyon, weapons tracking for any targets. The canyon followed a meandering path, and it was some time before Hugh spotted anything other than the rocky canyon floor.

Another side passage drew his attention, Hugh placing this new critical location as the objective for his assault force. The force had grown to eighteen infantry, two light mechs, and a single medium mech. More units were moving up to reinforce his army, but the further he went into the canyon, the longer it would take for them to join up. This side passage led to what looked like a desert oasis. A pool of pink-tinged water was surrounded by lush vegetation in a rainbow of colors that seemed unnatural.

Screams of rage were heard from the trees as a swarm of creatures emerged. These weren’t mechs, these were living things, and they weren’t happy to see him. Switching his forces into a defensive stance, Hugh tried to figure out what exactly was coming toward him. The creatures had a humanoid torso, but that torso was melded to a snake-like lower body. Instead of arms, these things had four long tentacles that secreted a grey ooze. They had large, teeth-filled mouths that constantly screamed their fury, but oddly enough, the monsters had no eyes, only a misshapen, fleshy lump where the head would normally be.

The creatures wouldn’t be here if they weren’t a challenge of some sort, and Hugh had a feeling the grey goop that their tentacles were covered in wasn’t something he wanted anywhere near his mechs. His forces opened fire; a wall of plasma infused destruction cutting down dozens of the monster. The only problem was they didn’t stop coming, more and more left the undergrowth each second, their numbers swelling instead of decreasing.

Ordering his units to pull back, Hugh tried to keep his distance from the crazed monsters, but they were not only numerous, but they were also fast, faster than his mechs. They were going to catch his forces, and Hugh knew that he wouldn’t like what happened when they did.

******

War Core Upgrade Path:

Command Post: Generates 100 unit points per level. One signal tower can be built per level starting at level 0 and each tower grants an additional 50 unit points.

Resource cost for leveling. 

Level 0: 100

Level 1: 250

Level 2: 500. Defensive structures unlocked.

Level 3: 750. Fortification level 2.

Level 4: 1000. Auto turret level 1.

Level 5: 1250. Fortification level 3, minefield.

Level 6: 1500. Auto turret level 2, mortar pit.

Level 7: 1750. Fortification level 4.

Level 8: 2000. Auto turret level 3.

Level 9: 2250. Fortification level 5, artillery battery.

Level 10: 2500. Fortification level 6, missile battery.

Fortifications. Can be built at any location. Synergy when building automated defenses in an area with fortifications, but auto weapons are only available at critical locations on the battlefield.

Level 1, simple trenches.

Level 2, Improved trench, fighting positions for weapons teams and light mechs, some overhead protection. Requires 100 resources to unlock.

Level 3, Requires 200 resources to unlock. Bunkers with enhanced protection, solid walled trenches with firing steps. Contact mines unlocked, able to be built by drones cost one resource per mine.

Level 4, Requires 300 resources to unlock. Bunkers increase weapons range. Additional protection against indirect fire.

Level 5, Requires 400 resources to unlock. Command detonated mines along trench line. Light shielding over bunkers and weapons pits.

Level 6, Requires 500 resources to unlock. Shielding around all fortifications, heavier over bunkers and weapons pits.

Automated defenses. One defensive structure may be constructed per command post level.

1. Auto turret level 1, 30 cal. Same weapon as weapons team. Requires 25 resources to build and can only be built at a critical location under your control.

2. Auto turret level 2, improves to a 50 caliber weapon. Requires 50 resources to build.

3. Mortar pit. Auto fire mortar, will fire over a wide area or the area can be narrowed down by a pod-controlled officer giving fire missions. Can only be built at a critical location. Requires 100 resources to build.

4. Auto turret level 3. Upgrade to current light cannon and a coax 30 cal weapon. Requires 100 resources.

5. Artillery battery. Functions like the mortar, but more powerful and longer ranged. Lower rate of fire and requires 250 resources to build.

6. Missile battery. Longest range weapon, very low fire rates, but if given orders from an officer, various missile types can be selected. Requires 500 resources to build.