War Core, Chapter 22.

Chapter 22.

The waves of Krixnas closed in, but the flying units of the Madrix were overtaking them, this time they weren’t keeping pace with their strange walking ships. Captain Tremaine led his two fighters toward the foe, the second unit just now joining the fight. On the ground, Hugh’s forces occupied the final defense line, conceding the beach and secondary lines to the superior foe. There were too many attackers to effectively defend any closer to the beach, and the final defensive line was also the shortest, allowing his limited forces to mass more of their firepower.

“I’m engaging the Madrix flying units, we’ll do what we can,” Tremaine called out.

The small air mechs had climbed above the flight of transports, choosing the flight of five heading in from the North. Defensive fire was heavier with five transports firing, but his human controlled air mechs were continually altering course to avoid the beams seeking them out. As they evaded the defensive fire, his pilots continuously poured rounds into their targets. Each mech had chosen a different transport, trying to get in a kill before the Madrix gunners got a lock on them. The transports were now well ahead of the Krixnas forces, giving Hugh a chance to defeat them before the slower Chixturax caught up.

“Pull everything but the machinegun teams back to the command post. The air units will drop long before the Krixnas disembark and make it up the hill,” Hugh ordered, the machineguns had fared poorly against the Madrix, their lack of mobility making them easy targets for the beam weapons the foe used. It was a different story with the Krixnas, the longer range and heavier hitting rounds were very effective and their position dug in on the trench line gave them good cover from the inaccurate return fire.

A transport spun out of control, crashing into the sea, taking the pair of Madrix troopers onboard with it. The other transport was heavily damaged and the sole remaining air mech was already closing in for the kill. If his fighter took out the second transport that would still leave eighteen to drop their pairs of attackers. One on one, his troops were outmatched, but if he could mass the firepower of his entire force, the Madrix shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The challenge would be in keeping enough of his force alive to defend against the closing Krixnas.

It wasn’t a long trip from the final defensive line to where the command post and other buildings sat at the top of the plateau. His infantry spread out, never stopping their movement as they tracked the Madrix drop troopers that were even now leaving their aircraft. Having failed to take down the second transport, the surviving air mech made a pass through the mass of slowly descending drop troopers, stitching rounds through their ranks. A pair of enemy fell to the earth, the platforms they used to descend on were armored against ground fire, but not from above. His final air mech was targeted by most of the Madrix as it passed and even the wild gyrations that the pilot put the craft through weren’t enough to dodge all the beams seeking it out. The relatively lightly armored air mech came apart under the fire.

The drop troopers were low enough to be engaged by the T-7’s which were thumping out rounds from their main guns. The powerful guns on the light mechs had no trouble penetrating the armor of the drop platforms. The platforms held up well to the rifle fire that was now snapping out, Hugh’s infantry changing their targets from the drop platform to any of the infantry they could get line of sight on when their initial volley met with little success. Thirty-eight Madrix infantry had jumped from their aircraft, but that total was dropping by the second as his forces met them with a wall of fire.

Two or three infantry mechs were taken out as the Madrix tried to engage while the dropped, but it was hard to get a lock on the moving soldiers while firing from the drop platforms. Only seventeen of the attackers landed, and that number cut in half as the Madrix left their craft and stepped into the fight. The two headed creatures threw out beams, focusing down his infantry as they moved toward the command post. A couple of beams locked on the structure and Hugh could feel the burning pain dig into him once more.

While it hurt, having the Madrix focus on the command post gave his forces a chance to engage without any return fire, they quickly cut down the remaining troopers before the pain became too much to deal with. Drones were already working to rebuild the damage as Hugh ordered forces back to the final defensive line. It hadn’t taken that long for the Madrix airborne troops to be defeated, but it had been long enough for the Krixnas to land their attack wave. Hundreds of the bizarre alien infantry mechs trudged up the hill, their heavy bodies slowed by the incline.

At first, only the fire from the four machinegun teams met the attackers, and while they were scoring kills, their rate of fire was far too low to make that much of a difference given the sheer number of attackers. His T-7’s arrived back at their hull down positions, firing both their powerful main guns and the thirty-caliber coaxial mounted one. The Krixnas had cleared the first trench line and were closing in on the second when his surviving infantry made it into the trenches, the soldiers controlling them wasting no time in engaging the foe.

Krixnas were cut down by the score, and by the time they entered grenade range, their number had been cut by a fourth. The first wave of plasma grenades tore into the lead elements, but the attackers were heedless of their losses, pressing the attack without concern for the fire tearing them apart. A second and final wave of plasma grenades exploded as the Krixnas neared the final trench line. Hugh ordered his forces to retreat to the command post, Captain Tran walking the lines backward while trying to keep up their rates of fire.

His troops were slower than the Krixnas, and despite the firepower unleashed against them, Krixnas began do reach his infantry and drag them down one by one. His machinegun teams were also overrun, Hugh opting to leave them on the line to fire for as long as they could given their slower movement rate while carrying their weapons. There had to be a way to order them to drop the machineguns and just use their rifles, but Hugh couldn’t find it in time to save them.

Like the Madrix before them, the Krixnas homed in on the command post, their focus allowing Hugh’s troops to mow them down in droves. His surviving forces fell back to the command post, using the short wall around it as a final bit of cover. Hugh was down to eight infantry mechs, the machinegun still at the command post, and three T-7’s, but the enemy force had also been depleted, with around forty or fifty surviving for the final push.

A few of the blasts from the Krixnas face tentacles burned their way into the command post, his construction drones doing what they could to delay the inevitable. Back on the beach, Madrix landing ships were already emerging from the water, walking their way slowly up the hill. The Krixnas force was down to twenty infantry when a loud boom was heard to the north. In the distance, Hugh could see a plume of smoke rise from where he believed the island with his Krixnas counterpart was based out of. A very welcome GCA prompt confirmed that his opponent was defeated.

Congratulations, you have emerged victorious in the final battle for system es1422. This system has been defended and will not be eligible for hostile actions until thirty days have passed. War Core post-battle calculations are commencing.

Reward point calculations:

Base reward, 25 points.

Victory bonus, 100 points.

Campaign bonus, 250 points.

Observation bonus: 25 points.

Total points awarded: 400.

War Core termination calculation:

Base chance for termination: .0001%.

Failure Penalty: None.

Multiple loss penalty: None.

Effectiveness rating: Average.

Effectiveness penalty or enhancement: Inactive for the first three battles the War Core participates in.

Observer rating: Above average.

Observer rating penalty or enhancement: Inactive for the first three battles the War Core participates in.

Bonuses to survivability: Victory enhancement active. Campaign victory enhancement active.

Combat Pod lethality penalty: Campaign victory bonus is active, lethality for this battle is waived.

The last line was a welcome relief, none of his soldiers would die today. The victory and defeat calculations were still a bit vague to Hugh, maybe the others back home could help to explain them to him if there was ever time. His reward points should have leveled him up, and just as Hugh thought about it, new prompts appeared.

Congratulations, you have improved your War Core to Tier 1. You may now select a minor perk for your War Core.

Congratulations, you have improved your War Core to Tier 2. You may select a minor perk for your War Core.

Major Hugh Logan, War Core, Tier 2.

Reward Points, (525/1000)

Select a category of perk.

1. Unit upgrades.

a. Air Units.

b. Land Units.

c. Sea Units.

d. Space Units.

2. Structure upgrades.

a. Durability.

b. Efficiency.

c. Defenses.

3. War Core upgrades.

a. Reconnaissance.

b. Resource.

c. Construction.

d. Communication.

4. Opponent penalty options.

You have completed your first campaign and have entered the seven-day grace period. Selections for War Core upgrades can be made at any time during the grace period but will expire if not selected before hostilities resume.

Hugh felt a wave of relief at the last message. This time, he could consult with the rest of the team before making his selections. A full seven days to work with them should help in his future battles. He wondered if the Chixturax would continue their attacks or if he would be forced to defend against some other alien force. Learning about the other alien races, and how to defeat them would be something for him to during his break. There were more prompts to look at, the next one describing how the grace period worked.

During the grace period, opponents are unable to declare attacks on systems controlled by your War Core. Refer to your integrated star charts to see which systems encompass your area of responsibility. Use this reprieve wisely, prepare yourself for future battles and seek wise council to improve your skills at commanding your War Core.

Bonus Reward Unlocked. You have been granted a seventy-two-hour leave with full access to facility TU8888, known by your race as Harmony Station. Please note that any leave you acquire does not affect your grace period.  The countdown until your sector is eligible to be attacked is still active.

Campaign Reward Unlocked. When victorious in a campaign, you will be given a pass to Harmony Station as well as a reward package. Access the reward center inside Harmony Station to retrieve your reward.

Prepare for transfer to Harmony Station.

He was being granted leave by the GCA, whatever that meant. While Hugh would have preferred to return to the undersea base his War Core was housed in, he was curious what was about to happen. His view retreated from the island he had fought the last battle of the campaign on, going once more into space. This time, as he approached a strange orange planet, Hugh was drawn into orbit, there, above the orange world was an enormous construct. It must have been a satellite or space station of some sort, but unlike the space stations around Earth, this thing was the shape of a large rectangle with a smooth, mirror-like surface.

Hugh was drawn inside the station, then found himself in darkness. Strange sounds occurred around him and there was no small amount of pain involved. If this was supposed to be his reward for victory, what was the punishment for failure? Just we he was about to lose it and start panicking, Hugh felt a change, the pain was gone, but he could feel things around him, binding him down.

Light appeared, causing him to blink as a slab of steel retracted overhead. Hugh sat up, his lungs filling with air as the cold metal of his resting place seeped into his skin. He was back, his body was back! But was this all an illusion, some pre-programmed vacation granted by the same GCA that had killed his old body. From what Hugh could tell, his body was the same as before. The same somewhat doughy, and pale body was copied down to the last blemish. Even the scar where the neighbor’s dog had bit him as a child was there.

“Hugh Logan, welcome to Harmony Station,” A large, bearded man in a Russian Armed Forces uniform said to him, a broad and genuine looking smile plastered on his face.

“Where? How?” Was all Hugh could mutter.

“First things first, how about you put on some clothes and old Valery will show you around the place,” the man said. Hugh just now realized he was completely naked and on a small table next him was US Army uniform with his name tape on it. Hugh wasn’t sure what to expect from winning the campaign, but having his body returned was more than enough reward as far as he was concerned.