They weren't alone when they reached Rae 5 though, there were already over a hundred Reaver vessels in the System, some of which were pulling asteroids and other large ore deposits with them in preparation for the construction of a massive scale industrial complex.
The sight seemed to amuse Nico more than anyone else, but that might only be because she had hacked into the military transmission encoding and knew what their response was to this sight.
There was no way that they weren't panicking about the fact that literally hundreds of Reaver ships were in the system preparing it to become a major industrial producer. For one, the Nations relied on the Reavers to be their transport vessels between each other, despite many of them officially denying it. For two, nobody in the military knew what exactly it was that they were planning to produce.
Did they steal the design schematics to build something incredible? Were they going to be making a play as Industrial Mecha producers, since it was well known that most of their defense forces were built from them? Or could it be something much more sinister? Not knowing was not fun for the Kepler Fleet, even if they were allies at this point.
[Welcome to Rae 5 everyone, home of the Reavers. We have a few hours before we have unwanted guests, so please prepare your defenses in the meantime, and we will hold a proper meeting on the surface of the habitable planet afterward. Thank you all for your assistance in this matter.] Nico broadcasted to the ships in the system, confirming that they hadn't been conned.
The Kepler Fleet dropped a handful of random Asteroids, as if they had been in tow and abandoned, then hid in the largest planet's perpetual storms, waiting for their guests to arrive.
Mary Tarith was already making an inventory of who had put what where inside the system so that she could alter the plans to respect the spots that they had already claimed. So far nobody had claimed the space around the main habitable planet, recognizing it as the territory of the Tarith Reavers, who were still en route, as they stopped to pick up something that they deemed important along the way.
Just under an hour later, the first of the Tarith Reavers arrived, immediately dropped onto the main planet in the system, and began deploying construction machines in various spots. They had stopped to acquire a number of low-cost building constructors that could build a high rise in a single day. Left alone, they could build an entire metropolis in a year or two, which was still well within the timeline of most of the Reaver troupes, who expected to take years to finish constructing their orbital bases before they planned to start making real inroads into populating the planet with their members and allies.
The amount of firepower in this one system was mind-boggling to most of the observers, but Max's System enhanced mind was already working on the odds for a space battle.
"They know that someone aboard this ship is a Kepler Officer, or they wouldn't have sent Bounty Hunters to apprehend us. Has there been any word on the ones we left disabled?" Max asked Nico, who was the unofficial comms officer of the ship at the moment.
"Nothing yet, they were gone when the Reavers passed by, so it is suspected that their friends came back for them. No sign of a destroyed vessel in the area, so they weren't disposed of." Nico replied while scanning through communications.
"I will be happier when I know what they know," Max told her, knowing she could take a hint.
He had a lot to do today, making sure the Battalion was ready for Combat. In space, the distance didn't matter as much, and the Ion Bombard Arrays would fire energy bursts that were stable for thousands of kilometers. In practice, that still wasn't far, but it made them a deadly defensive weapon when they locked themselves to the hull of a ship.
It was a common practice among Reavers to use their Mecha as additional ship weapons, sending out Heavy Mecha to fight alongside their vessel to increase their odds against any sort of hostile threat.
All of the Tapani ships should know that already and have some sort of plan for it, and that was where the Kepler Fleet came into play. Before the invaders could wipe out the Reavers, they were supposed to intervene and wipe them out.
[Incoming Fleet has spotted us. Not like we were hiding anyhow. They have increased speed and should be translating from warp speeds in under thirty minutes.] Nico reported to the arrayed Reavers.
[This is our spot, nobody else's. If a sad little nation like Tapani thinks that they can take it from us, they are going to have an enlightening day.] One of the Reaver Captains replied, bringing a round of raucous laughter to the radio.
The Tapani could obviously hear them and decrypt their signals, so they would know that the fleet was ready for them. That made Max curious about what exactly they had brought with them to deal with the colonization of Rae 5.
Like the Kepler Fleet, their pattern was designed to cause interference and make it hard to decipher their numbers, but it was a very large fleet, over fifty vessels for sure. Under normal circumstances, that would be a close fight against the reavers, unless they brought something unexpected with them.
But with the Kepler ships in wait, it would be a giant mess.
[Terminus Trading Company to all Reaver Vessels, I have an incoming modification for you that I believe you will enjoy. If you can implement it before our unwanted guests arrive, I'm sure they will enjoy it as well.] Max thought that was a taunt to the Tapani at first until he saw that Nico really had sent something to the Reaver fleet.
"Nico, what did you just do?" He asked over his wrist communicator, not being close enough to read her mind.
"Just a minor change to the anti-ship Ion Weapons. Remember how the Disruptors basically passed through the Bounty Hunters' shielding without resistance? Tapani Ships use the same sort of shield generator. If this works as well as the System says that it will, we should blow a wonderful collection of holes in their ships." Nico replied happily.
