Max didn’t know it yet, but his performance was far from average, and it had not gone unnoticed.
Most Battle Cannons can only fire roughly once every second, but a shot every five seconds is standard for the sake of accuracy. The big gun shakes not only the pilot, but the Mecha, requiring pilots to compensate and adjust their targeting if they plan to get the following rounds even close to their intended target.
With Nico having upgraded his Battle Cannon, he could fire twice a second. The multiple targeting feature of his System would constantly update predictions for firing solutions, and while indirect firing Max was unable to tell what was enemy Mecha moving and what was his mecha moving.
Nico took full advantage of the situation as well, having linked to his Mecha’s display using her Innate Talent. She overlaid his Targeting information on her own display, showing where incoming rounds would be hitting.
To those watching, her maneuvering the enemy Mecha to ensure they took critical blows looked like Stalwart having uncanny accuracy, even blind. Though even without her assistance, his missiles and Battle Cannon rounds had far better than average luck hitting vulnerable joints and weak points..
General Tennant and General Mons, who was leading the combined mechanized forces on this incursion were both watching the satellite footage while in video chat with each other.
[That Red Mecha isn’t afraid of anything are they? That round missed them by millimeters and they didn’t even flinch.] General Mons comments, impressed.
[They must have found a way to work together. Even with his System Skills, that level of targeting shouldn’t be possible. Unless he can see the future or she can see the incoming trajectories, there’s no way to have hit that shot. The shell was already in the air when she shoulder checked that wing leader] General Tennant agrees.
[I sent Command Group 3 to their location. That puts the command group’s artillery in range of the city, and Stalwart’s mixed unit can be moved forward to take the next point in the valley.]
[The technology labs? I thought we were going to level them from orbit.] Tennant asks, checking his map again.
[If we can take it intact Central Authority believes that we will find information on the higher ranking rebels. Under war spoils rules the 42nd mechanized will be able to use the facilities until the end of the battle, that should be enough to motivate the Pilots. The facility is believed to have cutting edge technology.]
General Tennant sighs, worried for his prodigies. But the way they’ve been performing they might be fine. Who would have known that their trial by fire would go so well? He’d even had units moved in to position to rescue them, but they hadn’t been needed.
The rumble of tracked vehicles warns Max of the incoming force long before he can see them. They’ve identified themselves as Command Group 3 though, so he knows they’re not hostiles.
After two the three three wings of mecha left to clear the road to the front lines the battle began to progress more rapidly. No longer are they an isolated outpost behind enemy lines, they’re now right at the line.
Word of entrenched artillery spread to the rebel forces as they retreated, and the battle has kept well clear of Max’s position for the last few hours while all around them a harsh battle reigned, filling the air with the sounds of distant gunfire, but leaving Max and his unit standing in an island of calm.
They took the opportunity to finish as many repairs as possible and reload the visiting Mecha with whatever munitions they had available. That meant that the only ones leaving fully equipped are using energy weapons, since the damaged Lander still has a functioning fuel charger for the Line Mecha. Both lander and Mecha use the same type of fuel for their power generation, extending the utility of the light mecha without requiring much more expensive long life power plants or a second form of fuel storage.
They can go nearly two weeks to a charge in a light usage scenario, but topping them off now gets them back to full power, should they be in a constant fire fight.
The Crusaders got some ammunition each, but there was nothing for the Gatling Battery, or the Anti aircraft guns, just lots of battle Cannon rounds and some missiles that were compatible with what they were using.
“Captain Max, I am Colonel Ahman of Fleet Intelligence, Third Command Group. We will be setting up a forward command post and artillery battery at this location. Excellent work on the take and hold, the offensive appreciates it.” A thin faced man in the black trench coat of an intelligence officer announces over the intercom as the vehicles draw close.
Max orders the Line Mecha that are still on location to remove a portion of barrier for the vehicles to enter the compound, letting the command group proceed.
“A pleasure to meet you Colonel. We have made a list of suitable points, should you wish to use an existing structure as a bunker.”
“Very good, very good. Underground is always better than reinforcing an above ground structure I say. The Rebels have reinforced the capital for their final stand on the planet. Fleet data shows that there are too many civilians for an orbital bombardment, which means we level it from the ground. Once the siege starts, the civilians should flee, and anyone who is left will be declared part of the rebel force.”
That’s a bit concerning to Max, and doesn’t fit at all with the sense of upright morality he’s carried all his life. Of course civilians will try to hide where they are instead of fleeing during an artillery bombardment. But at the moment, there’s not much he can do about it.
Colonel Ahman continues. “Official orders are a few minutes away, but I’ve got it on good word that your unit will be diverted from the second wave of mecha to attempt to break the rebel hold on the city tonight, in favor of taking a secondary high value target believed to have valuable intelligence. High Command wants the Rebels removed from the planet in the next 24 hours, but do try to gather that data, it could have implications that spread much wider than just this one battle.”
Max sighs at their impatience. Rushing the process won’t help anything, it just makes the High Commanders look good for their politically connected friends if they put down the uprising within a set time frame. But as Max recalls from the returning memories of battle in his past life, the final stages of a rebellion are always going to be messy and cruel, the best you can hope for is minimizing casualties.