The Narsian advance was stubbornly refusing to break under their Bombardment, and it didn't take Max long to realize why. The giants had obtained a mobile energy shield large enough to cover an entire Regiment of ten thousand giant infantry soldiers.
Simply put, none of their shells were actually hitting the enemy.
[Clear all the forward units first. Eliminate their scouts.] Max ordered, knowing that the shield would prove much less effective at close range.
[Close up the defense, pull the back side onto the hill. Captain Catan, rig the mine to blow. I don't want any of the isotopes to survive if we have to leave here in a hurry, understand?] Max rattles off orders, his calm demeanor keeping everyone operating smoothly, even after they learned what was coming for them.
Max hadn't let them down yet, and they had faith that he was hiding some secret plan to get them out of here alive.
[Build us some more swamp boats. I want as much infantry mobile as possible.] He adds as an afterthought. Max knows full well that fighting twenty to one odds against Narsians that he can't use artillery on is insanity, but if they can at least retreat they should be able to salvage the situation and regroup.
They have plenty of supplies now, so munitions aren't a concern. The battle will be over long before they run out of anything.
[Commander, I recognize that shield. It is one of ours, a mobile design most commonly used by politicians. Once they get within a kilometer I can hack it. It won't stay down long though, a forced reboot is the best I can do.] Nico informs Max and his plan begins to come together.
[Mortars, continue shelling the shield. Get them used to the explosions.] Max orders.
The directive sends a wave of small rockets flying over the swamp, crashing into the shield above the advancing army. Despite the noise and heat, the attack isn't harming them at all, and their attack quickly picks up speed.
At two kilometers out, they are sprinting, their alien physiology easily able to cover the remaining distance without tiring.
[On my count, send everything you have in their direction. Even if it hits trees, keep shooting.] Nico orders a few seconds later.
[Ready in 3, 2, 1, NOW]
Even the heavy weapons of the infantry join in, despite the range being near their maximum.
The enemy doesn't slow down or attempt to evade at all, confident in the shield that had protected them this far. The glowing blue circles of energy where the mortars are landing are clearly visible from inside the shield, then suddenly they are gone and a furious barrage of Mecha fire tears the Narsian front ranks apart.
Max spots the shining metallic dome of the shield generator and targets it with both his Battle Cannon and Pulse Laser Array. The device isn't armored, and it crumbles under the attack, bringing shouts of rage from the Narsian soldiers who were working on bringing it back online.
The front ranks of the army have combat shields up now, absorbing the worst of the attacks and limiting the casualties of the second wave of Kepler attacks. The metallic alloy won't last long though, and the Crusader Class Pilots are doing their best to hit the ranks further back, maximizing casualties.
The proud Bone and White of the Special Tactics Unit's Mecha began to catch the enemy's attention soon after the shield went down. Not only are they eye-catching, but their accuracy rate is significantly higher than average, picking out officers, heavy weapons, and the Elite Narsian units with ease.
The first target of their fury is Paul, and Morning Glory, his Crusader, with her Laser Cannon and Ion Destroyer staggers under the impact of dozens of Plasma balls.
At first, he holds up, continuing to fire as fast as he can, but the next volley takes out the core hydraulics of his torso, disabling the mighty war machine.
[Grab your mobile suit and bring the others out here as well.] Max ordered the wounded Capitan, who sent only a confirmation beep in response before running towards the lander.
The suits are quick and easy to equip and Paul is running back in under 30 seconds, just in time for the Narsian front lines to crash into the light mecha that are making up the first rank of defenders.
The organic styling of the Comor pattern Corvettes that the Special Tactics team uses doesn't escape the Narsians, and they too come under focused attack, singling out Max's men with brutal efficiency.
The other light mecha are doing their best to save the valiant elites, but the numbers are too high, and they are slowly being worn down and beginning to succumb to the damage they are taking.
The casualties on both sides are Horrific. A quarter of the Mecha have been crippled or destroyed, and the giants have breached the line, using jump thrusters to bypass the caltrops and get behind the Mecha into the infantry.
Fortunately, not all of them have such advanced armor, and most are being delayed by the spiked traps, or things would be much worse.
Max turns his Plasma Shotguns on a group of agile jump troops, melting their glossy black armor in an instant, even as his Pulse Laser Array treats apart the unfortunate ones stuck in the swamp.
[Incoming from above] someone calls a split second before Tarith's Rage lights up the sky with anti-aircraft fire. More Crusaders follow suit, trying to blast the planes out of the sky before they can drop their payload.
The giants have commandeered cargo planes as paradrop ships, and hundreds of fresh and heavily armed Special Forces are about to land in the compound.
There's no time left to delay, and his men will begin dying in huge numbers when those forces land, so Max signals the retreat.
[Move back over the hill, all units retreat. Captain Catan, blow the mine charges.]
Swamp boats skim across the muddy ground as the infantry flees from their position, and the Mecha begin a fighting retreat up the hill.
The boats are loaded with as much gear as they can carry, trying not to leave anything for the enemy but the destroyed mecha that a Narsian wouldn't fit in anyhow.
[Ten seconds on the timers.] Captain Catan calls, boarding the last boat, loaded with precious supplies of the Special Tactics Unit's Infantry Company.
The last of the Mecha are still on the hill when the charges blow, throwing them to the ground while the hill shudders before falling in on itself.
The direction they are headed is towards the crater from the orbital strike, since it appears to be empty of Narsian forces and there are friendly mecha on the other side.
Nico has taken up rear guard duty while Max leads the force towards safety. Paul's Bravo squad is with her, only eight Corvettes strong now from their original ten.
While the others are running flat out, they stand immobile, blasting apart Narsian Special Forces as they enter the swamp in pursuit.
[Switch to melee weapons] Max hears Nico order, right before his sensors show her charging into a hundred Special Forces giants.
"I'll come back for you," Max promises himself, watching the gallant form of Tarith's Rage get swarmed by bodies half its height. The giant sword collides with Narsian hammers and the Rail Guns bark over and over until they suddenly go silent.
The left arm of Tarith's Rage is gone, but the Ion Destroyer continues to fire near the mecha's feet as it kicks away attackers, defending the final survivors of the rear guard for a few more seconds.
The column of mecha has made it twenty kilometers away by the time Tarith's Rage is overrun and finally disabled, with the swamp boats in the lead, scouting and trying to contact reinforcements.
"Come out and fight, little worm. Your armor is dead, but I will give you a chance to die as a warrior." The leader of the Special Forces, a giant among giants, who stands a full head taller than any of his subordinates, calls to the disabled form of Tarith's Rage.
This monster of a Mecha and its sidekicks killed eighty of his men while fighting a rear guard action, and killing the Pilot with a Heavy Plasma rifle will do nothing to erase his fury.
The top hatch on Tarith's Rage pops open and a tiny figure, barely a meter and a half tall even in its mobile suit hops out, brandishing a sword on either hip and a pair of Ion Pistols.
Seeing this only enraged him further. Size is power and power is everything. To have lost most of his unit to this tiny creature is an insult he refuses to accept.
"If you want to die as a warrior, I will oblige your last wish." Nico taunted the giant, sliding down the ruined carapace of Tarith's Rage to the muddy ground.
Neither side waited on pleasantries, and the power swords of Nico's mobile suit, with their blades coated in an energy field that creates a mono molecular edge capable of gouging even the armor of a Crusader, directly cut the legs out from under two nearby giants.
Her system augmented speed let Nico dodge the first few attacks, but then a blow from behind threw her to the ground, denting her armor and cracking her ribs.
One sword was flung away from her body, but she rolled over with a pistol in her hand, coming up shooting. Another Narsian fell to the pistol fire, then a fourth died to her blade as she made it to her feet with a tumbling roll.
The giants stepped back in wary admiration for the fighting skills she displayed. All of them except for one, that is.
The Special Forces Commander stepped forward and flicked his ax in a deadly arc, too fast for most of the Narsians to see, and too hard for Nico to parry. Her blade was mercilessly knocked aside and a burning sensation began in her left arm as warning lights appeared everywhere on the heads-up display of her mobile suit.
Nico tried to raise her arm to shoot this overpowered Narsian Commander, but nothing happened. A quick glance to her left showed nothing but a bloody stump at the elbow, left by a blade so sharp she barely felt it.
"Not bad for a filthy animal." Nico panted, exhausted from the continual fighting.
The Commander was clearly toying with her, but every second that she delayed, Max and the unit got further away, so Nico was willing to play along to the bitter end.
"I like this one. Keep it alive for interrogation." The Special Forces Commander ordered, stepping forward with a brutal flurry of attacks. Nico knew that her blade couldn't stop that huge weapon, so she waited for an opening in his pattern, straining her aching body to the limit as she swayed and dodged.
Finally, she saw her opening, and Nico darted forward, thrusting her sword deep into the enemy's stomach as pain bloomed along her back and she was driven to the ground again.
"Stop playing with the humans, you embarrassment. Look at you, you even let her stab you." The translation fluttering across her heads-up display was the last thing Nico saw before her world went dark.
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