War Core, Prelude

It looks like posting chapters from the other story won the poll. I'll have another Derelict chapter tomorrow, and I'll try to also post a War Core chapter each day. I've completed  twenty plus chapters of War Core, but I do need to polish them from super rough drafts to merely rough drafts.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think on the new story.

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Prelude.

Battle World, Krillax 93.

“Zhukov, how are the shields holding on your mechs?” Valery Akalov asked the commander of his heavy mech unit. Currently, they were crouched just under the surface of a corrosive lake, ready to emerge when the enemy entered range.

“Good, Sir. We are good. The shields are down but our Soviet armor is strong. A little corrosive liquid will etch some character into the finish of our mechs,” Zhukov replied.

“Zhukov, how many times do I have to tell you, we are no longer Soviets. In fact, Russia is now a capitalist nation…sort of,” Akalov replied, trying, but unable to keep from laughing at bit at his heavy mech commanders’ antics. Zhukov was no relation to the general from World War II, but he told everyone he was. He also told everyone that he fought in the Great Patriotic War, which he was way too young to have done so. Still, his soldiers loved him and would follow the man into hell itself. Despite his strange demeanor at times, Zhukov had played the key part in several of their victories.

Sadly, Akalov knew that victories for Russia had been few and far between, fewer still for most of the other countries of Earth. The battle they were participating in today was case in point, Russia was expending virtually all her hard-fought advantages to give America another crack at a War Core after the disastrous performance of their last one. America had better make the sacrifices of Russia count this time.

“Bah, General Akalov, we are still the Soviet Union, fighting against the fascist aliens to protect the workers of Earth,” Zhukov replied. Akalov moved his point of view under the lake, looking at the seven submerged heavy mechs of Zhukov’s force. Most of the resources gathered during this battle had gone into those mechs as they, along with another surprise he had prepared for their opponent, were going to be key to a victory here. The highly corrosive liquid that filled the lake, a substance none of them had seen before, fizzed and bubbled along the armor of the mechs. He had to hope the reinforced armor that he has spent far too many resource points on would prove up to the task.

“Colonel Akalov, the D’kahn mechs are nearing the minefield, my ambush will commence shortly,” the no-nonsense infantry mech commander, Grishin, messaged. Akalov had reinforced Grishin with the surviving pair of battered tier three T60 scout mechs, giving his tier four infantry a bit more punch. He was still surprised at the types of mechs that the Galactic Conflict Authority (GCA) allowed them to build. Humanity had no idea of how to build a mech on Earth, but here on a battle world, their automated factories pumped them out like cars on an assembly line.

“We’re looking at three, repeat, three, Hill Giant Class mechs. No infantry or support vehicles,” Grishin added. The Hill Giant class of D’kahn mechs were their ultra-heavy, tier eight mechs, the tier cap for this conflict. Most of his units, other than Zhukov’s heavies, were lower than the tier cap. The D’kahn normally liked to go with a quality over quantity approach in their battles, but this was pushing it. Forgoing any other covering force and pumping all their resources into a few ultra-heavy mechs was a risk, a risk made less so by the overall higher quality of the D’kahn gear. The long-running battle on Krillax 93 had seen two of the original five giant machines destroyed, but the kills had been very costly for Akalov’s forces.

“Roger that Grishin, wear them down but try to preserve at least part of your force. Once you’ve got your licks in, pull back to the main defense line,” Akalov ordered. The location Akalov had selected for the final confrontation was near the Russian’s main base. He no longer feared losing the other resource points to the enemy since they had been completely drained during the long running battle. The only resources left for either side consisted of the small trickle that flowed in from the main base each side possessed. This particular battle had gone on for days, Akalov throwing various forces at the D’kahn and forcing them to run around the map in an attempt to protect their outlying resource nodes. The Russians had been successful in many attempts, taking the valuable spots and draining some of their precious resources before the few ultra-heavies of the D’kahn could respond.

The cost had been high. Akalov had started with thirty various unit commanders, most of them had been disconnected from the fight as the units under their command were destroyed in the battle. He knew the majority would survive the experience and were, even now, stepping from their combat pods back at the secret base underneath the Moscow subway system. Unfortunately, the majority didn’t mean all and surely some of his friends and comrades in arms would not survive this fight. Shaking off the depressing thought, Akalov pulled up his build interface and order of battle, determined to use every last point of resource to assist in the final battle.

Current force composition.

Heavy Mech, model KV-2, tier 8 (7).

Medium Mech, model T-34, tier 5 (3).

Light Reconnaissance Mech, model T-60, tier 3 (2).

Field Artillery Support Mech, 76mm, tier 4 (4).

Infantry Mechs, tier 4 (73).

Mercenary Assault Group, tier 8 (36).

Available Resources: 216.

There were just enough resources to field another ten infantry mechs, and since the barracks factory operated quickly, he should have them available for the final fight. Akalov queued up production and then watched the fight going on between the D’kahn mechs and Grishin’s forces. While most of the battle world they were on consisted of an open, desert-like environment, the bases for both factions were set inside a deep canyon. With no air support allowed for the battle, the canyon forced an attacker into a narrow opening if they wanted to engage their opponent’s main base, giving the defender a slight advantage.

The mines he had produced were standard tier two general-purpose mines. He didn’t see the point in wasting resources on anything too complex and had gone for a high-density field covering a large arc in front of the canyon that his base was situated in. The Hill Giant mechs stomped their way into the minefield, shrugging off the small explosions that detonated under their feet with each step. Akalov’s T-60 recon mechs then began to fire, their relatively weak 20mm guns sending round after round at their giant foes.

His T-60’s were only the size of a passenger car and walked on two bird-like armored legs. A reinforced hull connected to the legs and a small turret was mounted at the top of the mech, holding the main gun. Their strength lay in their ability to move quickly around the battlefield, keeping enemy units under observation and engaging in counter skirmishing with an enemy force. As rounds chugged out of their main guns, the mechs side-stepped and tried to make themselves as difficult to target as possible. Small patches of armor were blasted off the enemy mechs with each hit, but their guns were unable to penetrate the protective layer of liquid armor that covered the Hill Giants. To the untrained eye, the Hill Giants looked like they had just walked off the factory floor, when in fact they had been in a constant battle for days.

Akalov knew the pristine condition of the Hill Giant mechs was deceiving. Unlike Earth’s armies, which had their mech systems forced upon them by the GCA, the D’kahn were more highly advanced. This reflected itself in the adaptive liquid armor scheme used on their heaviest mechs. The armor itself flowed like mercury when hit, repairing any exterior damage and keeping the mech looking like new. In reality, each bit of damage chipped away at the total armor of the mech, eventually leaving the armored coating too thin to repel incoming fire. Once that happened, the armor would fail to redistribute and the mech would become vulnerable. So, while his recon mechs and minefield were only scratching the surface of the Hill Giant mechs, they were also slowly thinning out its protection for when the heavier units struck.

The Hill Giant mechs were intimidating machines, standing nearly sixty feet tall. Walking on two heavily reinforced legs, the mechs could proceed at a pace that was just a bit faster than an infantry mech could manage. Humanoid shaped, the machines looked like a collection of shiny boxes on legs, a collection of boxes with weapons sticking out all over. The main armament consisted of two truly massive plasma cannons where its arms would normally be. The cannons were the size of something you’d typically find on a battleship, not a land-based vehicle.

The thirty infantry mechs assigned to Grishin’s force had dug a small trench line just behind the minefield, hidden from view as best they could manage. Infantry mechs were man-sized units armed with light weapons, weapons that were now in range of the trio of lumbering Hill Giants. The light weapons of the infantry were scaled down versions of the massive guns mounted on the Hill Giant. In fact, all their ranged weapons were based on the same mysterious technology the GCA granted to the various combatants of the universe. Akalov was sure the scientists had all kinds of theories about them, but it all boiled down to practicality to him. Essentially, a small kinetic object was pushed through the barrel of the weapon with tremendous velocity. In addition, a plasma charge around the core of the projectile would melt through anything it struck. Heavy armor could deflect some of this energy, but any weapon, even the small rifles of the infantry mechs, would eventually burn through if they hit repeatedly in the same spot.

Light flickered along the armor of the Hill Giants as the infantry mech fire began to peck at it. In response, the massive guns glowed for a moment, then unleashed their fury on Grishin’s thin line of defenders. An entire squad of infantry was consumed in the fire from one of the Hill Giants, while the other giants targeted the T-60’s. The evasive maneuvers of the recon mechs didn’t save them from the accurate fire of the enemy. When the blinding flash from the huge guns dissipated, one recon mech was completely gone and of the other T-60, only a small portion of one of its legs lay smoldering on the sand. The smaller guns on the Hill Giants joined in, spitting death at the small infantry mechs.

“Falling back, requesting artillery support,” Grishin announced as the remaining score of infantry climbed from their trenches and made their way toward Akalov’s main line of defense. Their torsos twisted 180-degrees, allowing the weapons in their hands to continue to fire at the Hill Giants that were gaining on them with each step.

Focusing back on his main defensive line, the troops there were nearly finished with their defensive works. The infantry mechs had secure trenches to fight from and the few T-34’s he had left were housed behind defensive berms. Just behind the main defense line, a battery of four artillery mechs waited. Mounted on four legs, the artillery mechs were just a metal platform with an automated gun atop it. They were unarmored and vulnerable in direct combat. Their function was to rain down indirect fire down on an enemy using a variety of ammunition, the first rounds of which were already leaving the barrels.

“Preplanned fire mission five is on the way,” Akalov replied. The four cannons fired out one round every three seconds, the ammunition a mix of dual-purpose and smoke rounds. His “smoke” rounds had some unknown tech that messed with the sensors of the mechs as well as the War Core itself, Akalov’s view of any part of the battlefield that he controlled was normally something close to omniscient, but that enhanced ability could see nothing inside the growing cloud. His tier four artillery was relatively weak, firing only a 76mm shell, but once again, any fire on the enemy Hill Giants would weaken them further. As barrage continued, the artillery began to move away from the main line, backing a few steps after every volley. Corporal Lavrov in charge of the support weapons handled them expertly, keeping up the volume of fire while moving his vulnerable, yet valuable, weapons further from the approaching enemy.

As they made their way deeper into the canyon, the Hill Giants would be forced to bunch up, the passage was only wide enough for two of the massive mechs to walk abreast. The sheer wall of the canyon on the attackers’ left and the caustic lake was on their right would hem them in. Smoke clouds grew as the artillery walked their fire back, eventually switching out the smoke rounds for dual-purpose rounds once the cloud was in weapons range of the infantry. This would allow all his forces to engage at their most optimal range while preventing the enemy from using their longer-ranged weapons at an advantage.

Huge figures were seen in the dissipating smoke as the Hill Giants lumbered into view. The sharp bark of the T-34 mech’s main guns sounded as they engaged the attacking behemoths. Despite having heard it for the last several years, the sound of the alien designed weapons was strange to him. The gunfire had the distinct crack of a normal tank’s main gun, but the sound also included a strange electronic whine that just didn’t sound right to the old soldier. His tier five medium mechs were capable, fielding a modestly powerful 76mm main gun. The shells slammed into the rightmost Hill Giant, tearing large gouges into its shiny armor. A hail of infantry mech fire lashed out, desperately trying to cover the retreat of Grishin’s remaining force.

As the surviving infantry approached, Akalov added them to the main defensive line and placed all the remaining infantry forces into Grishin’s command. The roar of Hill Giant main guns was heard once again as the two lead mechs opened fire, targeting the T-34’s. Despite reasonably thick armor and the protection of the earthen berm, the main guns of the giants swept a pair of the medium mechs away, leaving only smoking wrecks behind. The sole remaining T-34 fired back defiantly as the assortment of smaller guns on the Hill Giants added their fire. Secondary turrets and fixed mounts covered the exterior of the Hill Giants, carrying various smaller calibers of cannons as well as dozens of heavy machinegun sized weapons. Fire lashed the infantry trenches, creating casualties despite their dug-in position.

A second blast of the Hill Giant’s main guns silenced the remaining medium mech and tore another hole in the infantry line. Thankfully, only the two lead mechs could bring their weapons to bear, the trailing mech only able to fire a few rounds from the smaller guns when an occasional opening showed itself. It was time to activate his first surprise for the D’kahn.

“Corporal Lavrov, switch to direct fire and advance. Buy me some time for the mercenaries to arrive,” Akalov ordered. His artillery mechs stopped their slow retreat and began to advance back toward the main defense line. The barrels of their guns lowered into direct fire mode as the first of their small supply of armor-piercing rounds were loaded. The artillery mechs paused their advance to fire, lacking the stabilization gyroscopes that allowed the other mechs to fire accurately on the move.

“Good shooting Lavrov, all four hit. The armor on Hill Giant one is nearly exhausted,” Akalov replied, seeing the four hits on the Hill Giant closest to the canyon wall deplete its armor enough that he was able to briefly see the dull metal of the mech beneath its liquid skin.

“Thaquix force, launch and engage. Zhukov, rise up and engage,” Akalov ordered. The government had negotiated away a small system on the fringe of Earth held space to secure the services of the Thaquix mercenary band. A sizeable chunk of his resource supply had been pumped into producing the special units the Thaquix were adept at piloting. The sand behind the Hill Giants erupted as a swarm of small mechs leaped out. Looking like a cross between a flea and a piece of construction equipment, the Thaquix mechs jumped high in the air, their powerful rear legs assisted by the flare of a booster rocket. While the battle parameters forbid airborne units, the rules said nothing about jumping units.

The fleas, as Akalov like to call them, launched themselves high overhead and then began to descend toward the Hill Giants, a dozen machines targeting each. The jump mechs were met by little in the way of defensive fire on their descent, the D’kahn had neglected air defense weapons in return for more resources spent on the Hill Giants themselves. It was a logical decision, one that Akalov believed they were about to regret.

Only a single pair of fleas fell to defensive fire before they landed on top of the Hill Giants. The fleas had three pairs of hooked legs, all of which slammed into the liquid armor of the Hill Giants, seeking purchase. Most dug their way through the, now much reduced, armored layer and found enough grip to hold on. The ones that failed to adhere dropped to the ground where the secondary weapons of the Hill Giants tore them apart.

The heads of the fleas swiveled down and began to emit a powerful cutting torch, burning through the armored skin as they sought out the more vulnerable components underneath the armor. Changing up their tactics, the Hill Giants ignored the Russian defensive line and turned toward each other, using their lighter secondary weapons to sweep the fleas from their hull. Many of the shots missed and friendly fire stripped away more of their dwindling armor.

The numerous secondaries on the Hill Giants burned down the fleas of the Thaquix in moments. While they didn’t last long, the fleas were able to achieve the goal. A combination of the flea’s cutting torches, friendly fire from near misses, and the continued hammering by the artillery and infantry mechs wore down the last of the Hill Giant’s liquid armor. Rising from the lake, the heavy KV-2 mechs emerged. Walking on six legs, the massive, armored hull of the machines mounted an almost ridiculously sized rectangular turret on top. The turret housed the devastating main gun of the heavy mech. Akalov could see the armor of the KV-2’s had taken a beating from being submerged in the corrosive fluid; parts having been nearly completely eaten through. He could only hope that the main guns with their higher quality alloys were still functional.

With a roar, the big 152mm main guns of the KV-2’s unleased their first shots at the Hill Giants. They continued to close with the Hill Giants as the long reloading process began. All seven of the heavy mechs engaged the rearmost and least damaged Hill Giant. The rounds tore into the back of their target, the last of the armor was ripped away and the delicate machinery beneath was pounded to scrap. With a final effort to get back into the fight, the battered Hill Giant twisted its torso toward the KV-2’s as it lost its balance and crashed to the sand.

“Ha! Die alien fascist scum!” Zhukov shouted into the main comm channel as his mechs closed on the enemy. The remaining pair of Hill Giants swiveled their torsos towards the KV-2’s, who would be out of action until the reloads could be completed. Normally, Zhukov’s mechs would have engaged the enemy with fire from the pair of small hull-mounted machineguns each of them carried. Unfortunately, the weapons had melted to slag while the mechs had been submerged.

The Hill Giant nearest the canyon wall stumbled as a direct fire volley from the artillery mechs landed, breaching the armor in several places. The small weapons of the infantry exploited the gaps in its protection and their light rounds sought out the delicate internals of the Hill Giants. With a stumble, the mech seemed undecided on who to target, the approaching heavy mechs, or the artillery that had hurt it so badly.

The other giant mech completed its turn and opened fire on the slowly approaching KV-2’s. With their armor weakened from their swim, the shots obliterated the pair of mechs they hit. Smaller secondary weapons were also having an effect, perforating the melted down armor and dropping a third, then a fourth heavy mech. The Hill Giant targeted by the artillery fell to the ground after another volley, leaving only a lone surviving opponent.

“It’s going to be close sir, but I think we’ll beat that monster on the reload,” Zhukov said. The main guns on the Hill Giant and the three remaining KV-2’s fired at nearly the same time. Two more of Zhukov’s heavy mechs were destroyed as they pummeled the Hill Giant in return. With mounting damage and no armor remaining, the following volley from the artillery punched through the giant and smashed something vital. The final opponent wavered for a bit, weapons quiet, before falling to the desert floor. Akalov saw the concession notification display as his counterpart War Core acknowledged its inevitable defeat.

The forces of Earth have pushed back the invading force of the D’kahn. Galactic system a148ik4 has been defended and is ineligible for assault for one year. Previously selected rewards will be distributed momentarily. Congratulations, and may your victories continue.

“Well done men, well done. Punch out of your capsules and celebrate,” Akalov said as his team cheered. Akalov wasn’t feeling like celebrating, dreading the final report that would tell him the butchers bill for the fight. How many of his friends and comrades wouldn’t emerge from their capsules this time?

“We’ve paid the toll to give you another chance America, make it count this time,” Akalov whispered.