1202 1202 Strategy
The more that Max integrated with the systems of the Emperor Class Mecha that Sylvie was enhancing, the more that he realized he could actually fight this battle in more than a passive capacity.
The recent changes that the System had made to his body and mind had made it easier for him to multitask, and after an hour of rallying the troops to get their initial positions secured, he found that it wasn't all that challenging to send out multiple messages at once to serve as the Company Commander for multiple Mecha Companies.
The Androids favoured the strategy, as the unpredictability of a human Commander increased their chances of taking the enemy by surprise, and Max was competent enough that he never led them into traps.
Mostly because he had access to all the orbital data at once, but that part didn't really matter to the Androids, they only cared about winning, and with Max sending them strategy recommendations, they were winning all the time.
[If you're there guiding the strategy, what exactly am I supposed to do during this battle?] Nico asked after an hour of sending troops to clear their immediate area.
[Well, first I need you to get us set up for troop deployment, but after that, it's a bit like playing Chess.] Max replied.
[Oh? And what does that mean for me?]
[The same thing it always means for the Queen. The most powerful piece on the board gets sent out to smash threats and then returns to safety.] Max replied.
[That might be the second-sweetest thing you've ever said to me.] Nico replied.
[Second sweetest?]
[Remember that time you told me that we could just orbital bombard a planet until it blew up? That's going to be difficult to beat.]
Max laughed as he received her response, and returned to making sure their troops would survive until the reinforcements could get to them.
The ones nearby weren't much of an issue, but the ones over ten thousand kilometres away were going to be a real pain without portals. For a playing field this large, they really should have more pieces to work with, but Max assumed that the Myceloid God wanted time for things to get interesting and didn't want to crowd the planet with troops in an all-out melee.
Immortals had a very different view of how time worked, and even if it took them years to finish this game, it was no big deal to him.
Max didn't have that sort of patience. If the other two enemies were allowed to proliferate, they would be here for ages, and there were certainly more attacks going on in the Alliance and the human home Galaxy right now that he should be helping to deal with.
Even worse, Absolution was one of the primary workshops for new vessels, and now it was here on the surface, out of the production lines for the defenders, and he didn't even know if the rest of the force knew what happened to them.
They could likely see this planet if they'd detected it on their sensors though, so even if communications were scrambled, there was a chance that the other Reavers had seen them.
[The portal device is up and running, we can now send support units directly from either of the World Ships to the battle. We can also set the portals to send loaded Thunderbirds, if you want to send other forces.] Nico reported.
[For now, let's keep those close to us and spread them naturally. I intend to make sure nothing is sneaking up on us, so we will only redirect newly produced units to the more distant locations.] Max decided.
There was a buildup of Klem life signs not too far from their location as well. Max hadn't noticed them earlier, they must have rushed underground or into a thicker portion of the forest, but they were beginning to move now.
[Nico, do you have one of the customized Super Heavy Mecha ready?] Max asked.
[Yep, I've got one. Dual light Mass Driver Gatling guns, a new pattern Disintegrator, which should work as long as we don't try to set off the chain reaction, and my usual twin swords.] Nico agreed.
[That should do. Take a full Battalion of Androids through a portal to this location. There is a Klem infestation hidden there somewhere, and you can stay until you've chopped apart every single bug in sight, and then some that you couldn't see as well.] Max offered.
The sensors said that a Company should be more than enough, but Max knew how the Klem were, and if you saw one, there were nine more hidden somewhere nearby. Sending five full Companies should give Nico enough firepower to deal with whatever they found at that location, and then Max would send over air support as soon as it was ready.
With the portals, he could put wings of drones wherever he wanted them at any point in time, which was going to be incredibly annoying for his enemies, Max was certain.
Nico was already rushing off to get into her Mecha and grab a fresh Battalion to accompany her, as all the existing ones were deployed, leaving Max to search for more previously hidden targets.
"Admiral. That Portal technology is quite interesting. Do you mind if I try to implement it?" Sylvie asked.
"Implement it on what?" Max asked.
"On the larger Mecha. I have already made plans to modify the weapons systems to comply with the restrictions of this world, and I believe that tripling the number of projectiles will allow nearly full use of an Emperor Class Mecha as a point defence unit capable of holding a location against multiple enemies." She replied.
That was what most of Kepler's Phalanx Class Mecha had been designed for. He had moved away from it while he was working on more deadly Mecha, but originally, the largest Mecha had been intended to hold a position against hundreds or thousands of enemies at once.
"Alright, look through the Kepler and Cygnus Mecha design records if you need ideas, and inform me when you have a fully functional unit that can fire all the weapons at once, and which is equipped with a functional portal device to send itself into combat." Max agreed.
