War Core, Chapter 14.

Chapter 14.

Captain Tran divided his infantry mechs into three lines of nineteen. Weapons lowered and ready to fire, the mechs moved through the forest of red trees. Hugh kept his point of view following the first rank as, in the distance, a single Krixnas infantry mech moved through the forest toward them. Once it spotted the approaching infantry, the enemy mech turned to run. The front line of mechs halted and a volley of nineteen shots reached toward the enemy. Trees blocked many of the shots and the basic targeting systems of the level zero mechs caused many to go off target, but three rounds did slam into the Krixnas. Moving a final step, the Krixnas crashed into the forest floor and lay still.

The second and third ranks passed by the first, their weapons ready to fire and seeking targets. Another two Krixnas infantry mechs were found in the woods, each brought down quickly by volleys of fire. Tran’s infantry smoothly executed the rotation of lines in order to keep fresh and recharged weapons ready at the front, overcoming the slow recharge rate of the level zero weapons.

As his forces pushed deeper into Krixnas territory, fighting was heard in the distance. The high-pitched sound of the tentacle lasers the enemy used was mixed with the sound of mech slamming into mech. Glad that the GCA had made the two sides of the battlefield symmetrical, Hugh could tell the fighting was coming from where the forward base should be located.

“You’re hearing that, I assume, sir?” Tran asked.

“Yes, it looks like they’re hitting the forward base. Should we send some scouts out to get eyes on what’s going on?” Hugh asked. He hated being blind in the crazy forest, his nerves over the gamble they were taking weren’t going away.

“I wouldn’t advise it, sir, keep on toward the objective would be my advice. After all, are you going to find anything out there that will change our plan?” Tran asked. He was right, now was not the time to dawdle or risk even a single mech to satisfy his curiosity.

“Very well, continue on mission. It’s time for us to chalk up a win,” Hugh said with a confidence he didn’t really feel.

“I can tell you that the enemy assaulting the forward base is good news for us, if the garrison is anything like the one we faced in the last battle, the enemy will have depleted their forces by the time they’re done taking it,” Tran observed. He was right, and it also suggested the enemy didn’t believe his move through the forest was enough of a threat to pull its forces back on defense. They had killed all three of the mechs they had encountered in the woods quickly, so perhaps the enemy War Core hadn’t got a good look at the true size of the force coming its way.

The sounds of fighting faded as they pushed onward. Hugh wasn’t sure if that was a result of the enemy taking the forward base of if the fluffy trees muffled the sound more than a normal tree would. He pushed his curiosity aside as his forces moved deeper into enemy territory, they would be opposite where the debris field was located and would soon exit the forest.

If Hugh had lungs, he would have been holding his breath as the first rank of infantry stepped from the tree line. This was the moment of truth, was he about to face a prepared enemy, or had they taken the Krixnas by surprise? Looking about, he could see they were just past the debris field and heading toward the enemy command post. At the debris field, a pair of Krixnas infantry mechs were picking up bits of debris and walking back toward their base. In the previous battle, he had also seen their infantry gather a downed human mech, were their infantry also function as their construction units?

The enemy spotted his force before the last of his troops had exited the forest. The pair of Krixnas mechs in the debris field dropped their burdens and charged toward his line. Hugh noticed that Captain Tran kept his first two ranks oriented on the command post while the third rank formed a line facing the pair of enemies. His third rank waited until the enemy closed and at nearly the same time, both sides fired. Normally inaccurate, one of the Krixnas laser blasts landed center mass on a mech. The blast was powerful, knocking back the mech and burning through vital components.

What they lacked in accuracy, the Krixnas weapons made up for in power. Thankfully, Hugh’s mechs were fairly accurate, even in their most basic form. Shots peppered the pair of enemies, shredding the approaching mechs. The third rank reoriented on the rest of the force and joined them in the assault on the command post. The individual buildings of the Krixnas command post began to take shape, they were nothing like what his War Core created.

Instead of a blocky, industrial tech feel of his command post, the Krixnas structures looked like they had grown organically. Their shape reminded Hugh of a beehive and he had no idea which was the command post, barracks, or light mech factory. He looked for the telltale signs of construction drones to give away the location of the command post, but there didn’t seem to be any in view. The only movement came from the nearly two dozen Krixnas infantry mechs that were forming up to defend their base.

Movement near one of the hives caught his eye and he spotted another enemy infantry mech carrying a hunk of salvage from the debris field. It entered the largest of the three buildings and emerged a few moments later without its burden. That was it, that was why he hadn’t noticed any construction drones, the Krixnas infantry mechs could do both tasks.

“Captain, I think the largest building is their command post, orient your attack on that one,” Hugh ordered.

“Got it, entering long range now,” Tran replied as his first rank stopped at the edge of their weapon’s range. The mechs knelt and took a stable firing position to improve their accuracy before firing off their first volley. With tactics more reminiscent of the era of musket than plasma rifle, Tran and his soldiers went to work. As each volley fired, the next rank moved forward a few paces, took aim, and fired. This slow and steady advance kept a continuous fire on the swarming enemy mechs, whose numbers had now grown to almost thirty as more of them emerged from the buildings.

A few of the enemy began to drop as the range closed and his infantry became more accurate. In response, the enemy charged, unable to match his forces at range, their best chance was to close in. Tran halted his force, the front rank going prone, the second rank kneeling and the rear rank standing. A huge volley of fifty-six shots blasted into the approaching enemy. The tightly packed mass of Krixnas made it hard to not hit something.

Leaving behind half their number, the surviving Krixnas returned fire. Ten of his own mechs were melted down and hurled back by the powerful blasts. Before the forces closed to melee range, a final volley was fired by Tran’s force. Only six or seven damaged Krixnas made it to the human lines. The enemy mechs were powerful in melee, glowing tentacles grasping and melting whatever they touched.

Instead of staying to fight, Captain Tran had the infantry continue their advance on the command post, spreading out to make it more difficult for the enemy to catch them. Whenever a weapon recharged, they would take a shot at the Krixnas nipping at their heels. By the time the last of the insect-like abominations was down, Hugh had only twenty-seven mechs remaining. Melee fighting against the Krixnas was pure murder on his low-level infantry.

“From my experience, sir, we have to breach the enemy command post and destroy the equipment inside to win. Even infantry weapons can create a breach, but it could take a while,” Tran advised. Hugh was surprised the GCA monitors had allowed the comment through. So far, they had worked hard to restrict what information his advisors could give him in the field. He wasn’t going to complain though and hoped it was a positive sign for future missions.

The remaining infantry mechs fired as they advanced, their powerful, alien designed weapons were able to damage the imposing structure. Groups of mechs concentrated their fire on the same spot, seeking to breach the reinforced walls of the command post hive. Occasionally, a Krixnas infantry mech would scuttle out from the smallest building—which he assumed was the barracks. The lone defenders didn’t last long, and each that emerged was taken apart by close-range fire.

“Looks like the rest of the Krixnas are coming to play Captain Tran,” Hugh said as he made out the shapes of enemy infantry mechs as well as one of their light mechs approaching in the distance. They must be whatever remained of the force that had taken the forward base. Tran ignored his comment and positioned his infantry to all fire and the weakest section of the wall that they had found.

“Breach, get in there and do what you do best soldiers,” Tran said as the continuous fire finally knocked a mech sized hole in the wall. His infantry mechs entered as fast as they could through the breach, choosing to just get inside rather than waste time expanding the opening. His troops fired at the strange machinery the command post contained. Hugh had no idea how any of the enemy tech worked, but it looked as disturbing as the creatures did. Wires and tubes ran from the floor and connected to pulsating metal pods. The whole inside of the command post looked like the interior of a living creature, only it was one that had been created by alloys and technology.

“Sir, can we face enemies that aren’t so ugly next time?” A private controlling one of the infantry mechs said. Hugh was surprised he could hear the chatter among the soldiers, usually only the commanders could interact with him unless a soldier was announcing something important like contact with the enemy.

“I’ll be sure to take up your concerns over the physical appearance of our foes at the next tea party the GCA invites me to, Private Morgan. For now, get in there and shoot, their stuff is ugly, but it breaks up real good,” Tran said as his mechs went to work. Each shot took out a cable or punched holes in one of the pod-like structures. One of the pods collapsed and a half-formed Krixnas infantry mech rolled out. The frame of the mech had been completed and various other parts were being grown onto the frame. Whatever stage it was in the construction process, it didn’t survive the three shots the nearby soldiers put into it.

Outside, the enemy was closing in, but just like their attack on his War Core in the last battle, they were going to be too late. Hugh wondered if his counterpart was experiencing the same pain he had felt in their previous battle. He found he really didn’t care as the last of the organic-looking machinery was blasted to bits and a very welcome GCA prompt flashed.

Congratulations, you have emerged victorious in the second phase of the battle for system es1422. The standings are tied, and a final battle will be necessary to determine the ownership of this system. War Core post-battle calculations are commencing.

Reward point calculations:

Base reward, 25 points.

Victory bonus, 100 points.

Observation bonus: None.

Total points awarded: 125.

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: Average.

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

Bonuses to survivability: Victory enhancement active.

Combat Pod lethality penalty: Reduced lethality active.

Hugh waited to be transported back to base, but for some reason, his return was delayed. A notification showing that he would survive the battle displayed, no surprise since he was still alive to read it. While he waited to return, a new prompt appeared, it looked like he had some decisions to make.

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

Major Hugh Logan, War Core, Tier 1.

Reward Points, (125/250)

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.

Hugh wasn’t sure what to pick. He would have liked some more information but found he couldn’t interface with any of the options other than to select them. There was no help file and unlike some of the things in his earlier training, he didn’t possess any pre-loaded knowledge. Perhaps this was another effect of his “truncated training” penalty. He also had a sneaking suspicion his advisors back on base had been prevented from telling him about this aspect of a victory. To make matters worse, if you could call getting a perk worse, a countdown timer had started.

Failure to select will a perk in the allotted time will result in the perk being withdrawn. Choose carefully but choose quickly human.

He had to decide, but which choice was the right one?