The drone's weapons were lighter than the ones on the heavy Mecha, and not quite able to reliably penetrate the shell of the Klem pods, a fact that they were doing their best to make up for with pure volume of fire.
A hundred rapid-firing Gatling Lasers were lighting up the void of space in a flurry of blue streaks, thinning the invasion group's far edge as much as possible before Terminus was in position.
The more that they could destroy, the easier it would be for the former Colony Ship to deflect the shattered remnants and the lower the likelihood that they would take any damages during this phase of their mission.
The two yellow drones didn't seem to have any issues keeping up with their peers which were piloted from much fancier pods, but Max couldn't tell how much of that was due to the controls and how much was Nico's Innate Talent smoothing out the process.
[Terminus is in position. All Super Heavy Units Deploy.] General Yaakov ordered, and Max marched Enduring Rage out to the exterior bow of the ship with the other Mecha to meet the incoming wave of Pods.
The pods were out of range of their Ion Bombard Array still, over two hundred thousand kilometers away, but in space that meant nothing to the Mass Driver type Artillery.
The shells could be set to explode on impact, and the pods were closing on them at a rate of over five hundred thousand kilometers an hour. Even if the shells failed to explode, the force of the impact at those relative speeds would shatter the pods into tiny fragments.
As they fought, Terminus would move to more closely match the pods' speed to minimize the impact against their shielding while still effectively deflecting the pods, but for now, the artillery would be especially effective, if it was on target.
Hundreds of shells left the mass drivers as the Mecha began their attack, with the orbital fighters carefully moving out of the way to target the outer edges of the group.
For fifteen straight minutes, the Bombardment continued, while Admiral Drake adjusted the ship's trajectory and speed to make the crucial shield bump that would send the Klem to a fiery death.
[Coming into Ion Range now] Max reported to the Battalion as the pods began to approach the ship's shield range.
This was their last chance to get real damage in before the deflection shield went online, and every Mecha made the best of it. Pods turned to shrapnel, and the terrifying wave was beginning to look more like space dust than an invasion fleet when the shield went up and the Mecha defense was forced to halt.
[All units back inside. The Drone Fighters can finish the work out there.] Admiral Drake informed them, always happy to see an operation go as planned.
Some of the pods would still reach the surface, but the number would be very minimal, and with the warning, the defense emplacements could get some before they even landed.
The drones didn't slow down their attack on the fringe section beyond the reach of the colony ship's shield, and by the time he was inside, Max could see the leading edge of the debris field burning up in the atmosphere.
Back toward the wave of Pods, it was hard to see anything at all, between the debris and intact pods hitting the shielding and being bounced off toward the center of this solar system in a continual series of energy flashes.
[Terminus to Kitimat 3, expect fragments in the atmosphere and a chance of scattered intact pods. We estimate the deflection effort has been over 90 percent effective.] General Yaakov reported.
The drones were still working, though the Mecha had now all been returned to storage in preparation for making landfall.
The firepower of this new pattern of orbital fighter was truly impressive, and with their plan to only attack the outer edge of the pods, Max hadn't seen any accidental collisions or damage to the vessels.
[The tail end of the Klem pods is entering the atmosphere now. Drone Pilots prepare to enter the ground battle. All Mecha secure yourselves in the attack ships.] General Yaakov updated them.
The surviving Klem seemed to be falling without anyone contesting them, but the moment that the Drone Fighters entered the atmosphere, a wave of attacks was launched at them from all over the planet.
[Initial data is coming in. Thirty prevent casualties during entry. Taking continued attacks. The analysis says this is non-Kepler weaponry.] Nico reported on behalf of the Drone group.
[The ground forces have sent up interceptors. Reports count at least fifty thousand Tapani-designed Mecha on the planet, possibly two mixed Armored Regiments.] Nico reported again.
In the Command Room, the Generals were trying to determine what had happened here. It didn't make sense, they were contacted by the loyalist forces for a rescue, and now they were under attack.
None of their messages were being returned, and the consensus was that the Rebels held the planet and had no intentions of paying them for services rendered.
General Ming was the most frustrated among them, as the contact had come from a trusted loyalist officer.
"We need suggestions. The issue has been reported, but there aren't any forces to deal with it. That defense force is clearly beyond our abilities, and even trying would be a disaster." General Ming asked in the officers' channel.
"The Drone Fighters are capable of delivering a Virus Bomb campaign against the planet. Estimated efficiency at eliminating the Klem infestation, one hundred percent." Nico suggested.
The three top officers looked at each other and decided not to dignify that with a response. The mere possession or manufacture of those weapons was a War Crime by international convention.
"Did the Tapani do something to personally offend her?" Admiral Drake asked after a moment's silence when nobody else had any ideas.
"I think they shot down her experimental Fighters. Or it is possible that she analyzed the chances of success and that was what it would take to win. Major Nico is ruthlessly practical like that." General Yaakov sighed, leaning toward the second option being the more likely of the two.
When the seven surviving Fighters, including both yellow test units, returned to the ship, his suspicions were confirmed.
By Nico's calculations, nothing less than annihilation would work with the forces they had, but that begged the question, how did this situation happen?
