[We have our data and the origin of the new Klem. I love it when a plan comes together. We didn't even have to search half the planet to get the information.] Max told the Command channel, eliciting a round of laughter from the Battalion Commanders.
[So, what is the plan, Commander? It looks like there is no remaining human resistance on this continent. Will we try to rescue who we can, or will we go search for more of the modified Klem to gather more data?] Colonel Klinger asked.
That was a tough decision for Max to make, but in the end, he decided that it was simply too dangerous to leave these modified Klem alone to spread through the system. If the insects started routinely using captured human technology, they could be in real trouble, especially if the Klem learned to pilot Mecha.
Armored Killer Insects inside giant war machines were a terrifying idea that he really didn't want to have to contemplate. The best option was to eliminate the population here as efficiently as possible, eliminating any chance of survival for the Klem that had taken over.
The tricky part was that their sensors couldn't tell what was going on with the other continents. They still seemed to be operating as usual, at least from orbit, so there might be quite a few humans left there for whatever reasons.
[We will send the Cutters to eliminate the major Klem populations on this continent and then clean up the stragglers we encounter as we move north toward the coast. The gap between continents at the point I have marked is less than forty kilometers, an easy transit for the Mecha. Once we reach the coast, we will send probes and drones to determine what is going on with the rest of this planet.] Max ordered.
[Already on it, Commander. There is no air traffic anywhere on the planet, so I have deployed a pair of drone fighters toward the nearest continent to see what the response is. The cities look intact, but the sensors aboard Terminus are detecting huge amounts of Klem biomass.] Nico reported, as efficient as usual and anticipating his orders.
Max made up an attack pattern for the Cutters to deploy to high altitudes and use a limited Orbital Strike to wipe out the more massive clusters that weren't along their route.
The Cutters took off on their mission, and the Regiment formed up into a wide arc to move out toward their next destination, a former mining settlement that might have survivors underground and which should have a limited population of Klem, according to their scans.
If they didn't find any human survivors underground, they would collapse the mines to prevent them from being used to incubate Klem, but mostly it was just a short stop on their route north. Walking would give the Cutters and the drones time to work so that by the time they arrived at the coast, they should have a good grasp of the situation.
They only had fifty kilometers to their next stop, barely an hour at a fast march for the Mecha, so Max made sure that they stopped for a quick break and a meal before they moved on. Their logistics staff was incredibly efficient, having already packed up the supply vehicles while the battle was still ongoing, but most of their supplies and repair facilities were on the Cutters, to begin with.
What was on the ground were mostly munitions and food supplies, with some repair materials and Technicians wearing the Tech Adept Harnesses to make field repairs without a full repair gantry.
[Ready to move, Commander.] Major Miller reported, taking up the role of adjutant to keep an eye on everything while Nico was up on Terminus.
[Good, let's go. If you see anything vaguely Klem, kill it. If it was actually human, we will apologize afterward.] Max ordered, leading the convoy across the sun-baked dirt of a continent stripped entirely bare by the Klem occupants.
Forty-Five minutes later, they were nearing the mine site, and the first ranks of Klem scouts came into sight, a handful of Warriors watching the horizon, who had surely spotted them already.
A Regiment of Heavy Mecha wasn't exactly subtle.
[Maintain your pace and position. We will sweep across the site at a walk and then analyze the mine to make a determination.] Max ordered.
[The mine is full of Klem eggs. Just finished scouting it. I recommend a Firestorm Bomb.] Nico reported.
A Firestorm Bomb only had one setting, planetary destruction.
[Nico, we are still on the planet, in case you forgot.] Max replied.
[But you don't have to be. Just saying.]
Max could see from the data feed that he was receiving that the mine was practically packed full of Klem eggs, most of them in the Shredder and Tyrant size, giving them a reserve of tens of thousands of Heavy Mecha equivalent Klem just waiting to be hatched and deployed.
Seeing that, the Firestorm suddenly didn't seem like such a bad idea anymore.
[Fast Attack Units, Fusion Flamers to maximum range. I want that mine full of eggs hard-boiled before we blow it up. Shredders are known to dig themselves out of the rubble when they hatch.] Max ordered.
The ruins of a building were one thing, but collapsing a hundred meters of rock on top of them should crush anything that survived the flames due to distance.
The Klem that were on the surface formed up a defensive line, preparing to meet the incoming Mecha when Max ordered the bombardment to begin from ten kilometers out. It was much too far for them to close the distance in any reasonable time, and the Thunder Guns were making short work of the sparse defense force.
[Fast Attack, Flame every entrance to those Mines, overlapping fire until the shafts fill with magma.] Max ordered, deciding that there was no kill like overkill.
Molten Rock did a wonderful job of killing Klem eggs, after all.
