"Fast attack squadrons, fall back for a second wave of attacks once the main force is engaged. Drones, fall in on my flanks using Wedge Formation Alpha. We want them to know what's coming for them, to increase the mental impact of their failure of to prevent the main force from breaking their defences." Max instructed the attack group.
They adjusted the formation immediately, and followed his lead as Max reduced his speed to make a quieter approach to the base. They would be at the first line of defence soon, and there were no other major forces in the area, so the fast attack groups had some hope that there wouldn't be a heavy defensive perimeter set up to stop them from getting to the goal.
"Contact straight ahead. Six Plasma Destroyers on armoured vehicles, and roughly thirty light infantry." Sylvie informed Max a few seconds later.
[Drones spread out. Don't get caught in the blast zone as they target me, and try to stay in the grass until you get into close combat range or are forced to attack from a distance.] Max ordered.
The enemy still wouldn't see the fast attack group for another ten seconds, giving them enough time to get fully engaged and prevent the enemy from responding to the reinforcements. Or so Max hoped.
The shouts as the enemy realized that it was a low-flying Titan Class Mecha only got louder as Max turned upward to hover in the air and begin the bombardment of the camp.
The Ion weapons threw up huge clouds of dust where they hit the tanks and burst their outer armour, sending fragments of ablative armour flying. Then the Crab Drones deployed a smoke cloud, completely obscuring the fight from those inside the camp, and allowing themselves to get close to the enemy as Max had instructed.
He could take care of the tanks, while they would go for the warriors.
That was a good enough signal for the fast attack troops, and with both Max and the drones already in close, they could use the linked sensors to find targets in the obscuring smoke, hit them and retreat.
Lights flashed through the thick white smoke, marking attacks with laser and plasma weapons, while screams and bangs marked physical attacks and the ever present projectile weapons of the bloody warriors.
The rapid explosions of the light Mass Drivers tearing apart the base terrified the defenders, who only had a few seconds to even see what was going on before everything was blanketed in the metallic fog that interfered with all their sensors.
[Drones, spread out and encircle the position. I want the enemy contained and not able to see that there are only a few of us. Fast attack, avoid getting directly in front of me, as I will be pushing to the portal and expecting enemy reinforcements.] Max ordered as he looked for an actual target in this fog.
The tanks had been destroyed within the first few seconds, but now all he could find was infantry. He could squash them, chop them, burn them with lasers, but there was no sign of the rest of the armoured vehicles that had been here before the attack.
The drones hadn't reported them leaving, and he didn't see them on the satellite feeds, so his first thought was that they had retreated to the portal, hoping to draw him into a trap.
Two more steps and ten more infantry taken out by his defensive lasers, but still, there was no sign of the defenders.
When the counterattack came, it was fierce. Thousands of light weapons at once unleashed their fury in Max's general direction. Max instinctively ducked, sensing an incoming threat, and an orbital bombardment torpedo raced over his head as the Titan Class Mecha hit the ground.
As scary as that close call was, it was excellent news. He now knew that the portal was facing his way, and that it opened into space.
A Nuclear warhead barrage from the Heavy Mass Drivers retraced the path of the torpedo, and a burst of fire came back at him a split second later, followed by the sounds of screaming and terror.
That was what he was going for. If they were in position to target him, he was in a position to target them back. But something wasn't right, and the sense of impending danger was only growing.
[All units, emergency retreat, something is off about this place.] Max ordered.
Instead of going backward, he chose to go up, using the thrusters to throw himself into the air as a massive object appeared in front of him, much closer than he had been expecting.
His counterattack had disabled the controls of a Cathedral Ship, and it had crashed through the portal before coming to an abrupt stop against the dirt and throwing crewmen everywhere.
The fire and wind had cleared the smoke, and now everyone could see clearly what had happened, a disaster of epic proportions at one of the two portals in the Great Enemy's base.
[Did you just get a Destroyer kill from this side of the portal?] Nico asked.
[I can't tell yet, only the first hundred metres made it through the portal before it wedged itself in the dirt. It might be a Cruiser Class vessel.] Max replied.
[But you're going to clear it, right?] Nico asked.
[Nope, I will send a hundred drones on a mission to terrorize the occupants and force them to come out where we can shoot at them.]
[Oh, that's good. Just wait, I'll come up with something just as amusing. They're going to wish that they never messed with us. But tell me, do you think that sticking a warship in the portal will stop the flow? It looked like they were using short range portals to get the troops on the planet.] Nico asked.
[Probably not. It's also only one out of the two portals, but it should be a great learning experience for them.]
