Chapter 321 321 Flight Tests
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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After two more weeks, the first of the new Cutters was ready for testing, and the other four were waiting on final assembly so that they didn't have to be pulled apart if there were changes that needed to be made to the design.
Major Miller had won the game of rock, paper, and scissors, so his team would be going with Nico to do the testing on the new ship.
It was an honor among Reavers to be the first to do something, especially something as insane as this test flight was likely to be. They would do a maximum speed test, then maneuvering, followed by less-than-light speed maneuvering, and a simulated combat strike, with Nico launching drones at an asteroid that one of the Companies wanted to be split up into manageable chunks.
She was getting better at the [Drone Controller] System Function, Max noticed, and planned to launch five Drones at once to do the assault.
This would be the first time that the drones were seen in action, and their firepower wasn't to be underestimated. Despite their tiny size, they were a true menace to any light or medium-class vessel they came across, especially if they were deployed en masse.
[Terminus Cutter X1 ready to launch from Quadrant 5 bay 1] Nico reported from the construction bay on the Lunar base.
[Begin testing.] Uncle Lu confirmed, unable to hide the eagerness in his voice.
'.',
He might be in love with Mecha, but the new ships were still his brainchildren. Seeing the first of them off was a day that he had been eagerly awaiting since they destroyed the first Cutter in the trial of the new Warp Drives.
The ship had been loaded with ore, simulating the mass of a Mecha Battalion, so that the test wouldn't be biased toward empty performance, at the request of the other Captains who had intended to purchase one of the vessels after testing was complete.
The extra weight didn't seem to make any difference to the ship, and it smoothly transitioned to Warp with a flash of light, but no noticeable disturbance inside the vessel itself. At least not enough to visibly affect the crew.
[Beginning Maximum Speed test.] Nico reported, and the data stream started to distort again as the vessel exceeded the Warp 6 transmission speed of their communications.
It raced out into open space, then Max saw that they had begun maneuvering tests, once it hit the safety-governed maximum speed of Warp 11.9. That was 95 percent of rated engine capacity, and pushing any harder could possibly affect their defensive systems, due to lack of power.
The ship seemed to handle the maneuvering just fine, with the Warp field adjusting smoothly to their maneuvers and not putting any excess stress on the structure.
They returned to the Star System and began a tight pattern of standard evasive maneuvers at near-light speed, the maximum stress state for the ship, and Max didn't see any stress warnings at all. In fact, the ship seemed to be completely undamaged by the maximum output tests, a rarity among any pattern of vessels.
They approached the designated asteroid and slowed so that Nico could launch the drones, which showed off their own maneuverability for a moment before blasting the rock to bits and returning to their bays.
The main weapons of the Cutter itself weren't publicly displayed, for security reasons. It was unreasonable to expect that an entire planet and hundreds of Reaver Companies wouldn't have anyone in their ranks who wasn't sending data to unknown factions.
'
In fact, that was pretty much expected. The Reavers might want them for themselves first, but after that, they would want to be selling some of these vessels and weapons that were being developed to other unaligned groups they had friendly relations with.
The design of the ships was confidential for now, and the purchase price for anyone other than the handful of Reaver Companies in the affiliated group who had negotiated new technology discounts in the original deal regarding the God Class Mecha would be astronomical, but that wouldn't stop at least some of the Mercenary Groups who were flush with resources from trying to get ahold of one over the next few years.
[All tests complete. Returning to base.] Nico reported, and Max could hear the cheering in the background.
They had done an exemplary job of piloting the ship, and nothing broke, so there would be a celebration when they returned home tonight, leading to an official assignment once all five vessels were assembled and tested at the end of the week.
Max only wished that he had more data on the design of the new God Class Mecha. As far as he could tell, it was all being done by Uncle Lu, isolated in his lab with only Materials Printers and a handful of robotic constructors under his command.
That was his version of operational security. Nobody would miss one Scientist, and would just assume that he was holed up somewhere working on the ship designs, while he was actually doing a much more important project in secret.
[Commander, did you know about the kitchen in this new ship? This thing is incredible. You just push a button and it makes the food you ordered right in front of you.] One of the Cutter Pilots sent to Max as the ship made its way back to the docks.
They would have over an hour since they had arrived at the very edge of the outer asteroid field to do the drone tests, so they had gone to explore the ship and have some lunch while Nico watched the controls.
[The Replicators are reproductions of the ones on Terminus. Their range of selections might not be perfect, but they can make a pretty good variety of meals that are better than travel rations.] Max replied to the excited crew.
[Best Posting Ever.] The Pilot replied, making Max laugh. No wonder Major Miller liked them, they knew the value of a good kitchen, and the man was obsessive about Battalion logistics.Chapter 322 322 Hostile Visitors
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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Over the course of the next week, the production facilities in the city were busy making all the Samurai Pattern Line Mecha that they could to finish up Max's order before they moved on to other tasks, an order from the Tarith Reavers to get the ship that was supposed to be the flagship of the Rae 5 system up and running.
Max, of course, hadn't had a say in that. You weren't allowed to vote for yourself in a Reaver selection, someone else had to nominate you, and then the rest of the forces in the area would decide if it was a good decision.
Terminus herself was a unique-looking vessel, plus a Colony Ship, so it could be dispatched to do almost anything that they were asked to deal with and would make a good base of operations if they were sending multiple vessels.
Many Reaver Companies worked out of vessels the size of the Dutchman, which was currently docked inside Terminus, so the logic did make some sense, from a purely logistical viewpoint. If a small Company's vessel was damaged in action, they could not only ferry it home, they could put it in dry dock and start to do repairs on the spot.
[Gimli Merchant Alliance to Rae 5 Command. We have a confirmed attack against Reaver vessels by Tapani allied vessels who are now approaching the outskirts of the system at high warp.]
The alert was relayed directly to Max, who shot up out of bed. The Mecha were still here on the planet, and the Cutters were on the orbital base. The travel time wouldn't be much but it would take time to load the Mecha into the Cutters if they were going to do a boarding action.
[Kagar Reavers will respond]
[Malaki Reavers will respond]
[Tarith Reavers will respond]
'',
[Terminus Trading Company will respond]
The last was in Nico's voice, and Max saw the alerts that said they were preparing to emergency launch the Cutters with just the four-person crews on them.
This would be an extreme test of their abilities as pilots, handling all the weapons systems of the ships while fighting. They didn't even have the extra crew to pilot the Drones as far as Max knew.
A quick scan of the ship's logs showed him that wasn't quite right though. The engineering and maintenance crews had already arrived aboard the Cutters, and Nico was still somewhere in the Moon Base, presumably harassing Uncle Lu about the new toys she wanted.
Max hadn't seen her in a week, since as his second in Command it was her job to make sure that the construction was proceeding on pace.
If the attack had come a few days later, they would have been fully prepared. The last orders of Light Mecha were on their way to Terminus, and after that, they would return to orbit and dock with the Moon Base to transfer the Cutters and stay ready for situations like this.
Tapani must have called in a lot of favors to try to get revenge today, and Max had a lot to prove, with five untested attack ships in his fleet.
They were definitely going to be the first ones to the Tapani fleet though, by nearly ten minutes, now that they had launched and had set a course for the attackers. The speed difference was a bit ridiculous, and the Cutters were leaving the other Reaver vessels in their wake.
The Tapani fleet seemed to think that it was a sensor anomaly, even though the ships were flying in a standard attack formation.
According to his sensors, the two fleets were getting exceedingly close, but the Cutters hadn't deployed countermeasures to force the Tapani fleet out of warp where they could properly attack them.
But Nico was aboard Cutter X1, and she had a much more fun plan, one she recalled from her past life.
'This chapter is updated by N(o)V(e)lB(i)n.',
If you actually collided with another vessel at warp, it would knock both out of warp, usually with severe damages. But if you modulated your Warp Field to match theirs and didn't quite hit them, you could do a hit-and-run bombardment.
Nobody ever expected it the first time, and the damage it would do was immense since defensive shields couldn't be raised while the Warp Field was active.
Three of the cutters bounced off their targets, missing the modulation by just a hair and pulling both vessels from Warp with minimal damage, but Cutters 1 and 5 both made the modulation adjustment perfectly, and two streaks of fire and debris littered the open space near the Rae 5 system as the vessels they hit disintegrated under the force of an abrupt transition and an Orbital Lance to the hull.
[You Psychopath! If you want to die so badly, we can do it for you!] Max heard a Captain scream into the communicator, and the fight between the five cutters and the incoming fleet moved to standard speeds.
The Cutters were much more maneuverable than the heavy Destroyers that the Nations had sent this time, and their hard-mounted main weapons couldn't track fast enough to target them, leaving the secondary ordinance to deal with the five experimental vessels. The battle was starting to turn lopsided in favor of the Reavers even before the strike forces of three more Reaver Companies arrived.
That was all the hint that the intruders needed, and they turned tail and ran, fleeing the system as fast as their vessels could move.
[Cutters, collect your drones and report damages. The enemy has disengaged.] Nico reported, making Max smile.
That went better than he had hoped. The Cutters didn't take any direct hits from main weapons, and a single hit from the secondary weapons wasn't enough to take down their shields. It would severely strain the power supply, even with the upgraded power output, but that was way more than any other Cutter could brag about.
With the output of a standard Kepler Cutter, a single hit from the Secondary Armament of a Destroyer was usually lethal, unless it only glanced off a nonessential area of the hull.
[Drones have taken an average of seventeen losses per vessel. Minor structural damages to all vessels. Operational Capacity still over ninety percent, maneuverability unimpaired.] Nico reported, taking stock of their losses.
The Reavers would love that. Drone Fighters made the loss of life zero, instead of a dozen or more per vessel with standard fighters, and the ships were still in good shape after their surprise attack.
[Return to base and start repair and replacements. Terminus will join you in orbit tomorrow.] Max ordered, then started sending the orders to get everything packed up for them to depart Rae 5's surface.Chapter 323 323 Time To Play
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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The loading of all the new Mecha that they had ordered was going well, and the Reavers were all eagerly awaiting the outcome of the first round of testing for the Samurai Pattern Line Mecha.
This would be the first new design produced within their territory, other than the ships, which were still being held as a national secret for now. The Line Mecha wasn't exactly a huge powerhouse on the battlefield, and every mercenary, trade, and Reaver group used some pattern of them. Even the farm worlds often used them in place of equipment for various jobs which needed more mobility.
So they had found a suitable proving ground for them. There was a small lunar outpost just past the borders of Kepler's territory in open space, where the locals declared that they were under attack by a Rebel force.
The Kepler Military couldn't deal with it right away, they were too busy cleaning up the mess on their own worlds, but the outpost produced valuable trade goods, The Reavers could make more than they stood to lose on the testing as a reward, which would go to Terminus Trading Company as payment, but would help the image of the Reavers as a whole.
The combined forces of the two sides of the conflict were reported to be under a Regiment, so even if it was a trap, there was a good chance that they would come out on top, after factoring in their orbital superiority.
[All units report status and prepare for liftoff.] Max ordered, going over everything that might be in the vicinity of Terminus so that they didn't damage anything on their way out.
The shuttle that the Academy students had arrived in had been moved to a storage bay, since they didn't want to sell it just yet, and Uncle Lu had determined that the hull was a good candidate for mid-Warp Speed experiments.
A new age of luxury travel, he had insisted.
'
If a shuttle-sized vessel could be pushed to Warp 3 or 4 then interstellar travel would become accessible to a wide variety of nobles and wealthy businessmen who could afford their own private yachts.
Currently, if they wanted to leave their own star system to go further than the next system over, they would take a larger transport, since like the small transport that the Cadets had arrived in, making Warp 1.5 was just a dream for most of their yachts.
He likely wouldn't end up using much of the shuttle's actual hull, but it would give him good data once he strapped a new drive in it and tried it out.
[All Units are present and secured. Area clear. We are ready for liftoff, Commander.] The Admiral reported.
[Take us up to the Lunar base. We need to trade this shuttle for our Cutters and drop off the last of the supplies that they requested.] Max ordered.
Terminus shook and shuddered as it left the surface, reluctant to return to space now that it had happily made landfall and completed its original mission. The ship didn't have a true AI in it, but Max was certain that he could feel the reluctance to abandon its mission and continue working at first until it broke the upper atmosphere and the coordinates were entered to reach the Moon Base.
They were too large to enter the primary hangars, but the station had been developed with them specifically in mind, and there were large enough bays at the surface of the station to accept even the mighty Colony Ship into their embrace.
The Cutters had already been moved into the one that Station Command directed them to, shining Bronze and red in the harsh artificial light of the base.
[Atmosphere Stable, prepare for unloading.] The base directed them, and the Admiral opened up the storage bay that had the shuttle and the raw materials loaded in it for their research purposes.
[This one's a beauty. Not a lick of damage on it, a bit of a shame to turn it over to Research and Development.] The crew lamented, watching the Academy's vessel being unloaded.
'',
[But think what they can do with it once they have it. The Cutters are an incredible advancement, and we will all be rich if we can start selling luxury yachts to the Nobles.] One of his coworkers laughed.
A portion of the profit being shared among every worker involved in a facility's production was a normal thing for Reavers, a bit of encouragement to do the less desirable jobs. If they didn't do it, Max was pretty sure they wouldn't have had a single volunteer to work on the planet.
Loading the Cutters took a little longer since they had to be carefully maneuvered across the bay under their own power since the cranes didn't have the capacity to move a single object that heavy and Terminus was in the way of the heavy loaders being able to move them around the room.
Max napped while the work was being done until he felt a cool, metallic body slide into the bed next to him.
"Ah, there's my hugging pillow. We've got another hour before they're finished and then the Admiral has his departure instructions to start our transit toward the outpost." Nico informed him, drifting off to sleep.
Max was certain that she had not been this soft before. Her temperature control was still spot on, so she hadn't changed her structure in any fundamental way that he could tell, but the flexible metal of her shell felt almost spongy now like there was a layer of soft flesh over the hard metal.
He wasn't one to question a good thing though, so Max just returned to sleep and enjoyed the return of his favorite temperature control unit until the alarm signaling an imminent transition to Warp woke him up.
This would be the first one with the new Warp Drives for Terminus, and Max wanted to be awake for it so he could tell how it felt, and compare it to the previous trips.
Their speed only increased a little, due to the power needed to move such a large vessel, but now they could at least keep up with most of the ships they would encounter, as long as they weren't fast attack ships. The Transition had become even more smooth than before, barely noticeable, much like he had seen in the videos from the Cutters.
This was a much better mode of travel than Abraham Kepler and her stomach turning lurches to Warp Speed. A few more generations down this path of development and they might even be able to drop the warnings of transition entirely since the occupants of the ship would barely notice them at all.
Chapter 324 324 Knock Knock
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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At their new speed, they had six hours to their destination, and almost everyone was intending to sleep as much as they could, in preparation for a long, sustained battle the moment that they arrived.
All the Mecha were being moved to their Cutters, and Terminus herself would stay well outside the destination system, hiding in an asteroid field so that they didn't alarm the Rebels that they wanted to wipe out.
When the Cutters arrived with the Mecha, the plan was to blast the Rebel transport vessel's engines so they couldn't flee or fight, and then force their way into the facility and fight it out.
There was air on the moon, but not of the breathable type or density, so they would have to suit up inside their Mecha to go into battle, just to be safe.
Having a small puncture in the cockpit suffocate the Pilot would be a tragedy, so the second layer of protection was standard procedure for all such fights.
Their mecha all had an advantage over the old Kepler designs as well, they all had a forcefield for protection, so they were less likely to take small damages like that that would cause otherwise functional Mecha to become inoperable.
The Line Mecha couldn't take much of a beating, but the shield would make a big difference to them in the battle.
'ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ No(ve) l Bi n',
Inside the facility, the ceiling height wouldn't be tall enough for Heavy Mecha, but they were made high enough for Line Mecha and other heavy equipment. The Line Mecha and Corvette Class units would enter the facility, while the Heavy Mecha would join the battle outside and help deal with the Rebel ships. Or at least that was the plan.
Once they were in sensor range, the situation proved to be much different than what had been portrayed to them by the message. Yes, the facility was under attack by only a few companies of Rebel Mecha, but they weren't the only rebel forces on the planet.
Two more transport vessels had taken refuge there, well away from the only inhabited facility, and it appeared that they were planning to hide out for a while and use the moon as a staging point for whatever they had planned next.
"Commander, do you see that? The vessels are damaged. It looks like they were on the losing side of an engagement with the Kepler Fleet. I'm only picking up minimal life signs from them as well, I don't think the other two Transports are fully staffed." Admiral Drake informed Max, with a big smile on his weather-beaten face.
"Now that's the best news I've heard all day. We can send a Company a piece to go liberate those vessels, and I am certain that the Kepler Fleet will pay a handsome reward for their safe return. Or at least they will once they know that we have them." Max agreed.
"And if they don't, the Rae 5 administration could use a couple of new cargo vessels, so I'm sure they won't mind holding on to them for safekeeping until we decide what to do with them."
That was standard procedure for the Kepler Military after all. You held onto war spoils until your mission was complete and they could be processed for merit. The fact that they were very large vessels did make the matter a bit complicated, but the procedures in the handbook were quite clear that it wasn't theft of military property if they held onto Rebel equipment until such time as their current mission ended.
[Shuttles 1 and 2, You have new Targets. Deal with the Transport ships. We will do what we can to assist your hackers to enter the ships without heavy damage. Shuttles 3, 4, and 5 you will proceed to the Facility. Heavy Mecha will take and hold the exterior while the Cutters prevent them from leaving. If they can be taken intact, I want them. If not, disable or destroy them. I don't want a single Rebel making it off this rock.] Max ordered.
[Understood Commander] The Battalion Commanders all replied at once.
'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelB(i)n. ᴄᴏᴍ',
[Major Miller, I will be joining the First Battalion with Enduring Rage since you are down a Super Heavy Mecha until the new Command Unit is finished. Colonel Lucci, Major Nico will be joining your infiltration team to speed entry into the vessel. Her skills will have her inside in moments, so try not to disable the vessel if possible. That one should be our best chance of recovering a transport intact.]
Nico looked really happy with his decision and was already sending a requisition order to storage to get her the extra gear she expected to need for the mission.
She wasn't taking explosives, but she wanted a bunch of zip-tie bindings and tranquilizers. She clearly meant to storm the bridge, but this time she wasn't planning to wear her usual Tech Adept Harness and Mobile Suit combo. Uncle Lu had brought her one of the surviving prototypes of the Archangel Pattern Exosuits, with their weaponized wings and mobile force field generator.
Adding a Plasma Rifle and a pair of pistols to that, Nico was thinking that she should be almost heavily enough armed for the mission.
In Max's estimation, it would be an interesting test. The shield was as strong as the one on the new Line Mecha, but with the suit folding up to the size of the user, plus 10cm for the height of the boots, she would be able to fit in many tight spaces that were designed to avoid penetration by enemy Mecha.
Mecha-level firepower in close quarters would be devastating, which is what Uncle Lu had planned when he designed the flying exosuit as a replacement for Line Mecha. The Fleet simply didn't see it the same way, so this would be the first practical test that the unit had ever seen, despite being functionally very similar to the Tech Adept Harness that had caught on with every single technician who had managed to get their hands on one.
There were tons of orders for them outstanding, but so far no production had been approved. The suits were simply too useful to put a price on until there were variants available to compare them to.
"Try not to get shot. You might have a forcefield, but you're not in a Super Heavy mecha this time." Max reminded her, and got a lazy thumbs up in return before Nico got up and dressed to go to battle.
Chapter 325 325 Who's There?
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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"No worries Max. We upgraded the Archangel. It now has a second power cell connection just for the shielding, so it won't die entirely if the shield goes down. Since I will be bringing a Plasma Cannon with me, I will have plenty of spares with me if things go bad, and the shield can take five or six direct hits from a Line Mecha before the cell is depleted.
That should be overkill inside a ship, but as you said, you never know. So, I will also be packing a number of stun grenades in my kit. They don't work on Mecha or Full Conversions, but they should be pretty good against the crew of the ship.
I've also got enough firepower on the Suit itself to deal with most threats, so I'm not too concerned. I just need to get the Battalion inside, and then take the bridge. Most bridge staff only have a couple of guards on duty, less if they were fleeing from a defeat, so there is hope that they will surrender when they see the Mecha breach the ship and go for the Engineering Department to keep them from taking off."
Nico was absolutely certain that her assessment was correct, so Max didn't bother to second guess her. The Archangel Suit needed a combat trial anyhow, and there wasn't a soul in the Empire, or possibly even this quadrant of the Galaxy better suited to the task than she was.
[All Mecha are transferred to the Cutters, 5 minutes for Personnel to be ready.] Admiral Drake reported just after Nico left to join the Second Battalion for the operation.
The sensors of Terminus had already detected two other Reaver ships hiding in the area, sent to assess the mission just in case Max tried to lie about the unit's combat effectiveness or hide a miserable failure from them to buy time to reconfigure without being found out.
Max considered giving them access to some of the live video, but a Reaver should have their own hackers, and some level of pride in their Company, so he wouldn't do it unless they asked first.
[All Forces report ready. Launching in 10 seconds] Admiral Drake informed everyone.
The moment that the Cutters were clear of the ship, they went to Maximum Warp and dropped in nearly at the moon's outer atmosphere, streaking through the sky in bright plumes of fire that stressed even the new ship's prodigious shielding.
'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N(ov)elBin',
However, it saved them over nine of the thirteen minutes between a standard transition and landing, and any enemy would be hard-pressed to organize a proper defense in four minutes.
Three through Five broke off to hit the facility, deploying the Super Heavy and Fast Attack Mecha before the ship had even landed, their pilots had chosen to simply jump out the open hangar doors at the back corners of the ship.
The moment that the Rebels realized what had happened, all hell broke loose, but by then their ship had already been disabled by Ion Bombard Cannons and they couldn't go anywhere, or even maneuver to be able to fire on the Mecha Force attacking them.
A Thunder Gun burst hit the main doors of the Facility's outer shields and the Light Mecha started running for the gap.
In thirty seconds or less, that shield would be back up, and they would have to drop it again, breaking their formation, but every Line and Corvette Class Mecha was in a tight formation, headed for the gap.
It wasn't without chaos, as all the Line Mecha were piloted by green recruits who had just left the academy and had never seen combat, but they didn't outnumber the Corvette Class Mecha by much, operating in wings of four, with three Line Mecha being directed by a Veteran in a Corvette Class Unit.
Once they were through, the Heavy Mecha made for the ship, intending to take it as intact as possible, now that they had disabled the engines.
[Facility Strike Force is inside the building.] Colonel Klinger reported, just as Max and the First Battalion landed next to a seemingly immobile Rebel vessel. Their engines were powered down, there were no shields active and multiple doors were open on the exterior, showing that the cargo holds were empty and exposed to the thin but toxic atmosphere.
"Breach the vessel, secure Engineering, and the Bridge then report back," Max ordered, wondering just exactly how he had pulled the short straw in his own operation.
He could see where the Second Battalion had landed but was too far off to make out the movement from over the horizon, so he didn't know how their operation was going, only that the ship they were targeting didn't move.
[Commander. The interior of the ship has taken heavy damage, multiple casualties were found in the medical area, and no other life signs were found. They have abandoned the vessel.] Major Miller reported as his men reported their progress.
'This chapter is updated by N o v elBin.cᴏm',
[Any idea where they went?] Max asked.
[We have signs of a wheeled vehicle headed toward the position of Second Battalion.] One of the Heavy Mecha reported, sending Max the visuals of the tracks.
It was just one transport vehicle, no more than a hundred infantry could have crammed into it. There were no signs of Mecha movement, and the tracks weren't deep enough to have been hiding them on a wheeled cart.
The situation was very different for Second Battalion. Like the Facility Team, they deployed while the ship was in motion, but only because they were taking fire and needed the extra boots on the ground to cripple the enemy's defensive position.
The Super Heavy mecha had made short work of the task, eliminating both the exterior defenders and the defensive weapons on the side of the ship facing them while Nico raced past the lines and straight through a door that opened as she approached.
There was a large explosion at the bay door, and a Line Mecha fell out, blocking the sliding doors so that they couldn't be sealed.
[Your defenses have fallen. Surrender Peacefully and vacate your vessel, so we can negotiate a peaceful transfer of equipment.] Nico ordered over the radio on Kepler Military Frequencies, making Max laugh.
[Filthy Reavers. If you want this ship you'll pry it from our cold, dead hands] was their reply, and Max's laugh turned to a sigh.
"She was really hoping you would say that." He muttered.
[First Battalion, leave a company here to secure the ship and the rest of us will move out to assist Second Battalion, who have encountered actual live opposition.] Max ordered.Chapter 326 326 NICO!
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As two-thirds of the First Battalion started running their way, Second Battalion was digging in for a hard fight. Their target had a full Company of Mecha or more still with them, and they had dug defensive positions to avoid being easily overrun.
But Nico and a strike team of Light Mecha were already inside, with the Light Mecha going for Engineering to cut the main power, while Nico was supposed to take the bridge.
They heard the message back from the Rebels and a few of the veterans began to laugh.
[What's so funny? Doesn't that mean the hardest fight we had planned for?] One of the Recruits asked.
[One thing you need to understand about Rage. She has never not wanted a good fight. We might be in for a hard fight out here, but they're in for an even worse one inside the ship.] Colonel Lucci laughed at the youngster's concern.
The Commander of the Second Battalion was spot on, Nico was overjoyed at the news, and had gone on a rampage through the Mecha Hangers with a sword and pistol.
"Come out, come out wherever you are." She sang as she raced through the corridors using the gravity control flight function of the Archangel Exoskeleton.
Every time the thermal overlay of her red mechanical eyes picked up something that looked alive, she shot it, or if she was close enough, stabbed it.
[Send out the Plasma Cannons and kill them all. It's just an upstart Reaver Company hired to work defense for the Facility.] Nico heard an officer order his troops and heard the movement of Light Mecha in the room in front of her.
Light Mecha wouldn't do much against a Battalion with a Super Heavy, but it might be all that they had left. Nico had no way to verify since the ship's computer was offline thanks to the efforts of the strike team in Engineering.
[Kill them all.] The Rebel forces cheered back, and Nico flew through the door with a smile.
"Your terms are acceptable."
'Follow current novels ON N (ovelB in.)',
Her first Plasma shot hit the Commander, vaporizing him and the cockpit of the Line Mecha behind him, and then Nico was into their ranks with an energy-shielded blade in either hand, slicing apart Infantry and Mecha with single slices.
The blades had been designed to have a chance at penetrating the armor on the new pattern Heavy Mecha. These planetary defense budget model Line Mecha didn't stand a chance, even if they had a pilot that could track fast enough to shoot her and not their own allies.
[We are 3 minutes out. How is the fight toward the bridge going?] Max asked Nico directly.
[Not bad, halfway there. There were more enemy Mecha than expected, and it has put me behind schedule, but I will have the bridge soon after you arrive. Feel free to reinforce the fight outside.] Nico replied as she surveyed the carnage in the cargo hold.
[You sound too happy.] Max asked suspiciously.
[They did the whole "fight to the last, death to the Reavers" speech. It was really touching, made my day.] Nico told him, leaving the destroyed Mecha behind to head for the bridge.
Max was afraid of that. [How is your power supply doing?]
[Fresh replacement for the Plasma Cannons was just inserted, 6 spares left. 40 percent remaining on the shield power cell, and 4 grenades remaining.]
That meant that Nico had burned nearly half of her munitions already, and Max wondered just what she had found inside that ship. Either she wasn't joking about more resistance than expected, or she had found too little and was just blowing stuff up for fun.
"Secure the Bridge doors. Don't we have a welder in here somewhere?" Nico could hear the Commander on the bridge shouting as she approached.
She turned out of the direct line of fire and powered up the door controls to open the bridge, throwing a pair of flash grenades and a frag before stepping through behind them and moving away from the door.
Once the initial chaos settled, the Rebel Commander found himself unguarded, standing between a pair of slowly falling corpses, with the remaining bridge staff cowering in fear or nursing injuries from the grenade.
"Welcome gentlemen. My name is Rage, and I am here from the Terminus Trading Company to offer you the deal of a lifetime." Nico greeted the Commander happily.
"What the hell are you? A flying Cyborg? Someone kill that thing." The panicked man shouted.
'
Nico sighed and shot both of his knees out with her blast pistol.
"Let's try this again. "Good afternoon my Rebel friends. My name is Rage, and I am here from the Terminus Trading Company to offer you the deal of a lifetime." Nico tried again.
"What sort of deal are we talking about?" One of the crewmen on the ground asked.
"Finally, someone intelligent. I propose that you leave this ship, unarmed and head for the facility, where you will join your comrades in arms. In exchange, I will take this damaged relic of a ship off your hands and give you each ten thousand Kepler Credits." Nico replied, smiling down at the terrified man.
"You bitch, how dare…" The Commander's reply was cut short, not by Nico, but by one of his own men shooting him in the back of the head.
"Where did you say we were headed?" The crewman sighed, knowing it was their only choice of leaving the room alive.
The power was out, they couldn't fly away. They were under siege by Super Heavy Mecha, who could destroy the ship entirely if they wanted. Playing along and living to see another day was the best outcome he could see.
"Four hundred and seventeen kilometers at bearing 308. I suggest you bring as many breathing apparatuses as you have available. Or a suit with a rebreather." Nico clarified.
"Fine, do we have your word that your Company won't kill us?" The man who had shot the Commander asked.
"You do."
The man was about to speak again when an explosion rocked the ship's hull, and Nico assumed that one of the support legs had been damaged.
[Resistance Mecha have been eliminated. The majority of the First Company is now in position.] Max reported.
[Stand down until they begin shooting. A number of the Rebels wish to surrender and walk to the Facility to join their allies.] Nico told him.
Four hundred kilometers on foot would take days in this toxic environment where they couldn't even remove their helmets, but it wasn't a guaranteed death sentence.
[Understood. Send them out.]Chapter 327 327 Not a Janitor
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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The Rebels suited up, grabbing as much as they could carry, since Nico wasn't stopping them, and walked out of the ship, defeat clear in their every movement. The sight of so many Super Heavy Mecha, even if they were an unknown design that might be of questionable quality, was enough to break the last of their will, and get all the survivors of the Rebel ships moving toward the facility, where they would join their comrades, to face punishment for what they had done and be ransomed back to the Empire.
Or so they thought.
In reality, the Terminus Trading Company was planning to rob them blind, steal all the ships and Mecha that could be salvaged, and then leave them to the not-so-tender mercies of the inhabitants of this world that they had tried to kill, while the mercenaries flew away.
"Nico, how long will it take to get the engines back online and get this hulk ready to move?" Max yelled over the loudspeaker, since the ship's shields were still up, and might interfere with communications.
[Give it ten minutes, the team took Engineering with minimal damage. After that, we should be able to move the ship wherever we want.] Nico informed him.
[Good news. We found a lot of nothing and a broken ship at our drop point, why don't we all ride over there in this one, and you can help the team get it working again.] Max suggested.
[Sure, come on in, don't mind the mess.]
'',
That sounded ominous but not nearly as bad as what they actually found inside. The cargo bay was painted red with blood, there were limbs everywhere, and destroyed Line Mecha littered the floor.
[Nico, what did you do?] Max asked, surveying the carnage.
[Exactly what they asked me to. You can just push the scrap out the door or something, I am pretty sure there is a Crusader-sized broom in here somewhere.] Nico replied from the bridge as she checked over the ship's systems as the power came back online.
[I don't think a broom is going to cut it. But we do need to do something before the place starts to stink worse than it already does.] Colonel Lucci agreed.
[Fine, I will deal with the mess, but I will have you know, I am not a janitor and this is not in my job description.] Nico complained.
She was the only one that could fit through most of the hallways where she had been fighting though since they were designed to keep Mecha out. They didn't have any infantry with them, and Max was keeping the new recruits outside the ship until the worst of the mess was cleaned up. He didn't need them vomiting in their cockpits on the first mission, and whatever happened in here wasn't pretty.
Ten minutes later, Max had moved all the bodies in the hangar to a waste recycling chute, where they would be automatically sent to a temperature controlled Morgue for sorting and identification, and some of the other Mecha had found a large water hose, rinsing the room out and bringing it back to nearly perfect, if you ignored the damage from the battle that had taken place in here.
The Line Mecha that the Rebels had been using was similarly rinsed and stacked in the corner for repair and resale at some later point, giving Max high hopes that they would build themselves a very good reputation after this battle, or at least a lot of wealth.
Taking the Crusaders intact was nearly impossible, and not many people could use them to their full capabilities, but the Line Mecha was a different story, everyone wanted them, possibly even more than they would want another transport ship.
'Follow current novels on No v elBin.',
The Reavers had made out very well in the battle against the Tapani after all.
[Battallions three through five, how is the battle for the facility going?] Max asked for updates since the general chatter on the planet made it impossible to tell how things were going.
[We still have the upper hand, and minimal casualties, despite the fresh pilots in all the Line Mecha, but it is turning into a grind. The Rebels managed to sneak an entire Regiment into the Facility in advance, as well as the two Battalions outside. We are digging them out, but it's not pretty.] Colonel Klinger replied.
[All Cutters, deploy drone fighters and blast the Rebel forces into oblivion. Major Miller, prepare for pickup. We will come to grab you and move forward to the Facility. Nico, you depart here, and either get that ship flying or scuttle it. I don't want the Rebels to have any hope of getting off this rock.] Max ordered.
As soon as their pilfered transport landed, First Company rushed in, and Nico rushed out. This ship was in very bad shape, bad enough that the Rebels themselves had given it up as a lost cause, but if anyone could get it running it was Nico.
While Max flew the Cargo transport away on a shaky flight path, thanks to the fact he was remote piloting from inside his cockpit, Nico looked around the mess that was the abandoned Rebel ship.
"I swear, they really do think I'm a janitor. This place is a disaster zone, broken stuff everywhere, and I can't even get started until half of it is cleaned up, since it's blocking the access ports." Nico sighed to herself.
Looking at the rubble, she was fairly sure that she would be able to get the ship running again. The vessel might be trashed and out of everything, but the pieces that were broken off by its last battle were enough to do the essential repairs to get it back in the air.
Whether it would be able to make Warp under its own power again was another question, but they could at least get it off the planet and use the gravity beam on Terminus to drag it home with them.
Chapter 328 328 Battle For the Facility
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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[We will be touching down in 3 minutes. As soon as we are down, First Battalion will flank west, Second Battalion will flank East, and we will pincer the Rebel forces outside the facility between us while the Cutters do their work with the drones.
Push as hard as we can, I want those Rebels down before they can do real damage to our men inside the facility.] Max ordered.
Max's display lit up with potential firing solutions the moment that the doors opened on the Transport ship. The vessel hadn't even landed yet when Max hit the ground running, unleashing every weapon on Enduring Rage at the highest rate of fire that he could manage.
The maneuver caught the Rebels off guard. The ship was one of their own, and though it hadn't responded to messages, they had hoped that it was reinforcements from the outer regions coming to help them deal with these Mercenaries.
The appearance of more of the unusual Super Heavy Mecha caused panic in their ranks, as the Rebels realized that their reinforcements weren't coming and that they were now surrounded by Reavers.
Max did his best to pick off the Crusader Class units in the force since the Rebels didn't have a Phalanx Class Mecha with them. The pilots of the Kepler Super Heavy Mecha were loyal to the Emperor before all else, and as far as Max knew, they had only managed to turn a couple in the entire Empire.
Max switched his Ion Bombard Arrays to a dispersed pattern, firing large, unstable rounds that exploded on contact, best for dealing with Light Mecha faster than individual shots could manage it.
His charge had inspired the rookies in the Line Mecha, and within minutes they were overtaking him. Their weapons were shorter range than those of the Thunder Pattern Mecha, as the recruits were calling the Super Heavy Units.
Seeing the line of Samurai Mecha charging, Max realized that he would have to update all their close combat skills to match their new units. It was one thing to look the part, but they would need to actually be able to fight in close combat if they were going to get a significant edge on the competition.
Fortunately, both Max and Nico knew a load of Mecha Combat styles from their past lives that would improve the close combat capability of the new pilots to a great degree. Max knew many efficient and lethal styles, but after watching the Samurai fight, he thought that Nico might be right, Terror Tactics would be much more devastating against an enemy like this than a simple loss of numbers.
That sinister sword style of hers that seemed designed to split things in half would be great for the Line Mecha pilots if they could be trained to use it effectively.
[Inferno Pattern Fast Attack Units, thruster jump over the lines and land among the Rebels. The standard Kepler Line Mecha can't thermal shield against the Fusion Flamers, and you'll roast the Pilots before the Mecha melts.] Max ordered, sending two dozen Crusader Class Mecha into the sky over his head.
'ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ No(ve) l Bi n',
The Rebels weren't expecting that, and the sea of flame that followed broke their spirits, sending them running from the battlefield, even as Max heard the orders to regroup and fall back to the Facility, despite the fact that it was mostly held by the locals and the three Battalions that Max had sent to reinforce them.
[Push forward through the Rebels. Crush their positions and dig them out of those makeshift bunkers. Flamers, you know the drill.] Max ordered, striding forward between the Line Mecha as he continued to fire.
Those Rebels that weren't dead were starting to fall back to the Facility, joining the other attackers and allowing the First and Second Battalions to join forces again to present a unified line of firepower.
[System Update: Additional Function]
Max smiled as he saw the update message. He hadn't leveled up enough to get a new boost in a while, thanks to the increased level of his bonuses. He didn't suffer from diminishing returns as badly as everyone else did, but it still took work to get gains when he was already so powerful.
Keres Max
[Compatibility Determined] Rank A
[Primary Attribute] STR 2.5x modifier
[Secondary Bonuses] DEX 2x, SPD 2x
[STR] 3+180%
[DEX] 3+98%
[SPD] 3+98%
[Innate Talent] Mind Reading
[Additional Function Unit Optimization]
'',
[Additional Function Multi Point Targeting]
[Additional Function Split Fire]
[Additional Function Perception 3]
[Additional Function Unified Force]
[Unified Force] Allows all linked Mecha to gain the benefit of the user's targeting data.
Max quickly linked every Mecha in the Regiment through his and watched as the cadence of the battle changed. He got hundreds of targeting updates a second, and with the System sharing that data, adapted for the other Mecha's positions, their rate of fire was tearing apart the Rebels.
For the veterans, the differences were small, since they all had skills of their own and were limited by their physical ability to fight and shoot any faster. But for the rookie Line Mecha, the amount of plasma fire that they were putting into the Rebels took a visible leap.
[I don't know what that update was, but this new targeting data patch is incredible.] One of the Corvette Class Pilots laughed, unleashing all of his weapons on separate targets.
[The targeting Data says that it is coming from Enduring Rage. The Commander must be going all out.] Colonel Klinger laughed from inside the Facility.
There were a number of units that Max couldn't see, but not many that he couldn't target once the Mecha's sensors were all linked into one feed for his [Multi Point Targeting] to pick from. Though he couldn't hit them, that didn't mean that Colonel Klinger and his men couldn't, and the targeting skill had an uncanny ability to pick out enemy weak points.
[Archangel incoming. The Rebel vessel has been put on an automatic course for orbit. Its condition is fragile at best, and I wasn't going to risk staying aboard it, even in this minimal atmosphere.] Nico reported, and Max saw her Exoskeleton unit flying in low from the horizon.
[Good job. If it makes it up there, we will drag it home with us. Grab some drones and go reinforce Colonel Klinger. They're having issues with Rebels inside the Facility hiding from Mecha.] Max ordered.
[You're too good to me, you know that?]Chapter 329 329 Show of Gratitude
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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When Nico disappeared inside the building Max realized that he had maybe, possibly, made a tactical blunder. It only took seconds before the screaming flooded the Rebel communication channels, making it impossible to track their movements and orders through the confusion.
[What in the Feth is she doing to them in there?] Colonel Klinger asked in annoyance as he gave up on trying to track enemy movement.
[Sorry Colonel. I set the Plasma Cannon to wide dispersion and it caused a minor chain reaction fire when it hit the infantry. They should calm down in a second.] Nico replied, but Max could see her data coming up on his firing solutions, and that didn't seem likely.
That Archangel suit was just an unfair advantage, allowing her to drop directly into the middle of the enemy's command area and go anywhere that a regular-sized human could, with the firepower of a Light Mecha.
[Switch to Thermal for movement. I have all the Regiment's sensors linked, so you should be able to extrapolate from radar data until the Radio communications return to normal. Treat it as a radio silence protocol situation.] Max suggested, turning the artillery fire from Enduring Rage to wipe out a group of Crusaders who were trying to flank around the Fifth Battalion's left side.
[Commander, we have reached the Facility's shield generator. Should we defend this point or push past it?] Second Battalion Commander Lucci asked from her Super Heavy Mecha, Shining Glory.
[Hold that position. Once we have this infestation cleaned up they are going to want to bring that barrier back online, so try not to let it get damaged.] Max ordered.
With their Command structure in disarray and their reinforcements gone, the Rebels were already in a bad position and had been forced together into one sector of the Facility where they were being quickly encircled and eliminated.
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[Rebel Forces, this is Tarith Rage of the Terminus Trading Company. Lay down your arms and surrender. Your position is no longer defensible, and our Cutters are incoming with Plasma Bombs. If you do not wish to face annihilation, surrender now.] Max heard Nico's demand over the Kepler channels and chuckled.
The Cutters wouldn't even need to do anything, the drones that she had just launched were carrying the bombs in question, and with the facility shields down, the Rebel's core forces had nothing to protect themselves from the force of a bombing run.
[This is Duke Millicent of New Plimpton. We wish to negotiate.] Came the resigned call in return, unencrypted, so that everyone could hear and understand it.
[Exit your Mecha and I will meet you with a delegation from our force and the terms of surrender documents.] Nico replied, then sent Max a copy of the standard form that Reavers used to negotiate a surrender.
It was all based on the financial rewards for the Mercenaries, and was their primary source of income since the ones who hired them often weren't in a position to pay enough with so much of their world destroyed before they were willing to call in Mercenaries.
Max filled in the confiscation of their weapons of war, as well as terms for the Rebels to be held here on the planet until such time as a delegation arrived with the payment for their release. That would repay the locals for much of the price they paid for the Mercenaries who came here to test their new Mecha design and help with the rebuilding of the Facility.
[We need an honor guard. I am on the far side of the Facility with Enduring Rage, who is close?] Max asked unsure who was where at the moment.
[Colonel DiFranco of the Fourth Battalion reporting. I am only a hundred meters from where the Rebel Signal originated. I will send four of my Corvette Class units to her as an honor guard and join them in a Mobile Suit.]
[Good enough. I have the paperwork ready and sent to your unit, print it off before you leave. Protocol says that everything is done in duplicate hard copy.] Max ordered.
[This is Dar Mar of the Facility's quality control team. I am currently the highest-ranking survivor on the planet, so I will lead the negotiation team to your position Miss Rage.] A pleasant young male voice reported.
',
The Rebels had formed up around their last remaining ship, defending it until they could secure a way off the planet, a hope that wouldn't happen now.
Max waited while the three groups organized to meet in a large warehouse that could be seen by all three sides and that none of them would have time to organize an ambush in.
[You've gotta see this guy] Nico texted Max, sending him a picture of the Rebel Commander. He was clearly aristocratic, with the defined features that marked the nobility, but also clearly inbred, and cross-eyed. He looked like a living mockery of the nobility, the way that a kid from the slums would draw them as an insult.
[Just play nice. They still hold their last ship, and they've likely got enough on board to pay off their ransom and leave. That's what we want, but we want them to leave with nothing but that damaged ship, and return to Kepler's borders where the Loyalist forces are waiting for them, understand?] Max replied.
[Got it, Boss. Loot them but don't kill them. Don't worry, I'm a professional.]
Once the locals arrived, Nico stepped into the warehouse, slinging her plasma rifle over her shoulder and folding the wings of the Archangel unit close to her back. Once she was inside, she placed the rifle on the table off to one side of the meeting area and took a seat with a pleasant smile.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Duke Millicent. I believe I have heard your name before, but I recall it being attached to a much older man. Forgive my confusion." Nico greeted the Rebel Commander.
"The branch family staged a coup on my homeworld and took over our ancestral title. At this moment there are three Dukes of the Millicent family, Madam Tarith." The Duke replied cordially.
Colonel DiFranco placed the documents on the table between them and stepped back, preferring to let Nico take care of the politics while he simply stood guard.
Chapter 330 330 Negotiating with Idiots
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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"I must say, Miss Tarith, you have a rather unique appearance." The Duke smiled, giving Nico's tight and stretchy piloting suit and winged exoskeleton an appreciative look.
"The particular joys of being a full conversion Cyborg, your Grace. It frees me to modify my body to be capable of many feats a normal human is not, even with the vaunted System of the Kepler Empire." Nico replied.
There was no way that the Duke could know that she still had an Alpha Ranked system active, so he just nodded in agreement and looked over the documents as Max had prepared them.
"Most of this is agreeable to us, but the terms of return to Kepler must be removed. Until matters are settled, we will be remaining in neutral space." He said, tapping the document, then striking out the relevant portions with red ink.
"In that case, the full payment for damages and Ransom must be paid before you leave the planet. Do you prefer internment by the local forces, or can you pay with your remaining assets?" Nico asked.
The Duke turned to his assistant, who was quickly calculating something on a data tablet. "If they will take the precious metals and remaining Mecha in exchange, we should have enough for the ransom of the men, but not enough for all the reparations."
[Demand legal title to the ships we are taking.] Max ordered, listening in through an open link with Nico.
'ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N ovelBi(n)',
"Your allied reinforcements didn't fare as well as you did, but they left behind two Transport ships. Give the Terminus Trading Company legal title to them and we will consider the Ransom to Terminus Trading Company paid." Nico suggested.
She could see the man's brow crunch in confusion, not quite understanding for a few seconds before he smiled and nodded. He hadn't realized that the Reavers would want the other ships, they usually only demanded a percentage of their value as ransom, since a Reaver force already had a ship large enough for their needs.
If they claimed every ship that they attacked, they would become a public nuisance that the nations would wipe out, but a ransom fee was commonly paid in situations like this where they were hired as mercenaries and spared valuable assets for their opponents to keep.
The ships were from his planet's defense fleet, not the Kepler Fleet, so he could sell them if he needed to, though the action was highly frowned upon. Not that Kepler's regulations really concerned a Rebel commander, but the sense of tradition was strong among the Nobles.
Dar Mar sat down and handed a document to the assistant, with the estimated damages as well as the standardized reparations fees for him to work out. That would pretty much wipe out the remaining Rebel assets, but they would be able to keep a few of their luxuries, which would help placate them.
With everyone in rebreathers or armored suits, thanks to the poisonous natural atmosphere that filled the facility with the Shield down, the meeting wasn't as formal as normal, with the two sides simply waiting across the table while the numbers were done and a list of assets for transfer was made up.
The Facility didn't seem all that picky about what they were paid with, Dar Mar didn't even declare any of the items to be worthless to them, he simply checked the numbers and nodded.
"That is acceptable to the facility. If the Terminus Trading Company is happy with their payment we don't require anything else." He suggested, trying to weasel out of actually paying for the services since the ships that they confiscated were worth hundreds of times their standard fees.
They had only lost thirty Mecha, all of which had been recovered, and three Pilots, all from the new design Light Mecha. It was unfortunate, but an outstanding battle result in the circumstances, and Max could hear the Reaver forces watching from orbit already beginning to send celebratory messages back to Rae 5 about the Samurai Pattern Line Mecha's capabilities.
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The tactic that the Light Mecha wings had been using was to cycle out their forward units, letting them take hits until their shield began to fail, then letting them fall back to recover while others took their place. Doing things that way led to a front line that never seemed to lose anything to attrition, as the shields only needed a minute at the most to recover if they weren't damaged.
[Accept the deal. We will use the ships for Rae 5 security patrol, so it's worth it to us.] Max ordered Nico, who smiled across at the Duke and filled in the payment details on the agreement.
His assistant had a printer with him, set up on the table where Nico had left her Plasma Rifle, and he scanned the paperwork and then printed two new copies for the two sides to sign.
Dar Mar was about to sign the moment it reached the table, but Nico thumped him on the head. "At least read it and check for errors first. It isn't a crew rotation document."
As expected, there were a number of items left out of the payment details that were included in the original calculations, which Nico politely pointed out and had the assistant print out a new copy.
"Very sorry about that, you know how those scanners are." Duke Millicent simpered, while Nico fought to avoid rolling her eyes at the man.
"Of course, I have signed a number of these documents over my career, so I have learned to be cautious of mistakes where the document scanners are involved.
This time everything was correct on the document, and there were no visible errors or changes made. Nico snapped a copy of it to send to Max, who double-checked her work and declared it correct.
[It's good to sign. Everyone, remain on your stations until the payment is made, and then we can head back to orbit and arrange to return the new ships back to Rae 5.]