Of course, they weren't the only ones with drones out. All the infantry assets carried them and used them heavily to avoid being ambushed by the physically superior and more heavily armored Narsian forces.
All over the city, small camera drones floated, reporting targets, searching for traps, and keeping the troops safe.
The Kepler lines were slowly pushing forward, and it seemed at first that the Narsians had nothing that could stop them. But the giants were only waiting for the perfect moment to push back.
Just after dawn on the third day of the assault, the counterattack began at the moment the sun rose high enough that the more advanced sensors of the Kepler army lost some of their advantage against the eyes of the Narsian soldiers. At this point, the Kepler Mecha were well beyond the first line of defense created by Max and the other scouts. They had pushed deep into the city core, creating only makeshift barricades in preparation to move forward again in the morning.
The sounds of battle were fierce, and the whole city seemed to be shaking from the intensity of the explosions and the number of Heavy Mecha all moving at once.
The reinforcements had all been called forward, leaving only the scouts in the camp to protect the logistics staff. Once the shaking outside stopped, the area seemed unnaturally empty to Max, even after so long in the isolated mine site.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Max asked Nico, who had sat down beside him with a book.
"White Phosphorous bombs via drones to shroud the city center and burn the Narsians out?" Nico asked, using that unnervingly innocent voice program in her new voice box.
"I was going to say bring the support staff indoors because we are definitely about to be attacked." Max corrected her.
"We can do that too." Nico agreed, nodding her head, but the expression on her face never changed.
[All Stalwart units not on patrol, report to your battle stations. Narsian attacks are expected to be incoming immediately. Plan to proceed into the city, protect all support assets, and move them to shelter.] The announcement came from every Mecha's speakers in Nico's voice. The fact it came from everywhere meant it only needed to be a little louder than the talking volume to get everyone's attention, a small blessing for those with sensitive ears inside the warehouse.
Max hurried to send the same message to all the other scout unit Commanders, and the camp erupted in a flurry of activity again, and not a moment too soon.
The outdoor facilities were quickly being packed, and the support assets with the least to organize had only just begun to move into the nearest bunkers when the drones that were patrolling the camp picked up the first signs of movement.
Being at the very edge of town, it was still well away from where Max's unit was, so they circled the bunker and waited for more information. Fortunately, the only unit with his location as their closest bunker was a single infantry mechanics corps unit, which was more than happy to ditch what didn't run and drive the rest to safety, leaving the area clear of forces that could be ambushed by the Narsians if they had managed to sneak past the edge of the city and into the Kepler back lines.
With them inside, there weren't any friendly targets in the immediate vicinity to worry about, making every heat and energy signature a possible hostile unless it came from one of the other defensive positions on patrol.
[Contact from the forest, coming inward at 30kph.] Vincente reported being the closest Crusader to the target.
[Confirm identity before firing. I don't want to hit a friendly with damaged comms.] Max ordered before shifting a squad of infantry over for support.
[Confirmed. Narsian scout unit. Moving to engage.] Vincente confirmed.
[Negative, stay where you are. Narsian communications indicate that there are stealth units approaching from the woods.] Nico stopped him suddenly.
[Tarith's Rage, follow me and we will support the forest line. All other units maintain your positions. I don't want anything slipping by us.] Max ordered as he climbed the ruins of a building to gain the advantage of high ground.
That wasn't an easy thing to do in a ten-meter-tall Mecha, standard building materials weren't designed for that sort of concentrated weight, even with the anti-gravity systems of Stalwart working overtime to help offset the bulk of the Mecha. Without them, the Kepler army would simply sink in the mud on every planet they visited, but the systems still had their limitations, and a Crusader Class Mecha still put a significant amount of weight on the ground, and far more lateral force when it wanted to move.
Tarith's Rage had moved out in front of the defensive line, being heavily biased to close combat with only three rail guns as ranged weaponry at the moment.
Her presence was taken as a slap in the face by the Narsians. The hull of her Mecha was already decorated with the corpses of Narsian officers and a few of their finest weapons, and the hateful Mecha had come out to challenge them the moment they were detected.
The giants' first instinct was to charge, but that was clearly what the Bone and Bronze mecha with the gruesome ornaments wanted. The pause in their movements as they fought with their instincts cost them dearly. Every ranged Mecha in the Special Tactics Unit, as well as the three heavy weapons emplacements that the Infantry had set up in range, began to rain fire down on them and the surrounding area.
That was Max's idea. If they couldn't detect the stealth troops in the woods, they would simply remove the woods from their weapons range. With a kilometer of clearing before the city, it would be much easier to deal with anything trying to sneak into their territory.
Somewhere in Max's newly returned memories, he recalled doing this before. Clearing Firing Lines they had called it then, and the practice was considered an essential function in defending a fortress in an era that was now long past due to the invention of advanced sensor systems and powerful weapons that didn't see foliage as an impediment.
One after another, groups of Narsian stealth units popped up on his sensors as their cloaking covers were damaged, and the giants did their best to flee, hoping to get away and try again at a point that might have less capable defenders.
[Area secure, Sir. No Narsian signatures and no indication of enemy advance over the communications systems.] Nico reported, standing down and backing up to rejoin the line of mecha at the edge of the city.
[We don't know how much they have left for us, but the battle for the city center has turned up the intensity. Everyone hold their positions until further notice.] Max ordered, breathing a sigh of relief.
Stalwart Special Tactics Unit waited two whole hours before the all-clear was sounded. The might of Carpe Noctem added to the Kepler Heavy mecha had overrun the Narsian base in the center of the city. The entire city was now theirs, and all remaining signs of the giants showed them in full retreat.
What the mecha on the ground couldn't know was that this scene was replaying on battlefields all over the planet. Four Phalanx Class Mecha had been dropped to retake the most troublesome areas, and now the few Narsian forces that survived were headed into hiding.
[Mecha Squad C and Infantry Squad 4, sorry about your luck, but it's your turn on patrol. Everyone else, head back to the bunker and take your break. Alpha Squad and Infantry Squad 1, you are up for patrol duty in two hours.] Max informed the unit before retiring to his bunk to get some much-needed sleep.
Two hours into his afternoon nap the most wonderful of news came over the radio. Ten more ships of the fleet had arrived, and the initial landing forces were being relieved. The fresh units would scour the planet for survivors and begin the work of establishing a new colony based on their findings. The planet was officially considered back in human hands.
It wasn't as simple as it sounded, they would likely be clearing out Narsian hiding spots for years, but in the estimation of Central Command, there was little chance of the planet being threatened again. Humanity had won.
