Chapter 671: Encampment
BANG! TING! PING! ZING!
They could hear the sound of gunfire and the ricocheting bullets. Along with lasers being fired from around them as the armored units fire. Jace was currently standing in a tent that was hidden behind some armored vehicles.
He was standing in front of a holographic projection table that showed a view of not just the city but the surrounding area and underground as well. There were some devices outside sending active scans to the table.
Floating on the other side of the table was Solisa. Then to his left were Captain Jo’nez and Captain Lecrose. Captain Lecrose is a gray wolf beastman who operates a walker mech. Which is currently being repaired. As soon as the armored units arrived the occupiers began to fire off their weapons on mace.
The first few minutes actually caused some major damage. But now the enemy fire was sporadic now that they could not maintain their rate of fire. So some were picking off the enemy snipers and combat units as safely as possible. It was just about time to breach the city and take out the occupiers.
"Only a large aquifer. Nothing more." Solisa declared. "So we have to-"
The tent flap fluttered as Captain Adrian stepped in and saluted. Jace waved at him to relax. "You have an idea?"
"Yes sir," He nodded, then stepped forward and manipulated the map to highlight the massive underwater reservoir which were like several flowing rivers and caves that ran under the area. "I believe it is possible to stealthily infiltrate the city. We can go through the caves and use laser mining equipment to breach this floor."
There was a single spot that the walls of the cave reached. The holographic map showed a building near the center of the city had a basement that reached low enough. But from their long distance surveillance, they believe that the building has been converted into a barracks.
"You might as well drop into the city via a transport, it will be just as discreet. You would likely be digging into a room full of enemy combatants. That building is a barracks and they probably set up a room down there." Jace explained with a sigh.
"I thought of that as well. That is why I suggest we create a distraction that would draw their attention." Adrian explained. "I know we have been struggling since they already sent a threat to set off ordinance inside the city if we attempt to take it. But if we can obtain the triggering device and the leaders of the occupiers, we can end this stalemate before it drags on."
Jace hummed as he looked at the map. Shortly after the armored unit arrived a transmission was released from the city on a loop. It declared that in the event of the occupiers failing to keep the city, the occupiers would set off a nuclear bomb.
Honestly, Jace doubted they had one ready. These guys were more mercenaries and bandits rather than die hard soldiers. But they had to treat the threat as real just in case. So they had only taken out the bunkers and mines located around the edge of the city and picked off enemies.
"It is worth a shot and a few minutes after infiltration we can launch an all out assault and evacuate as we go." Solisa pointed out as she made a top view of the map and showed several planned evacuation routes they could use to not just infiltrate the city but also evacuate the siren people.
Jace nodded after a moment. "Let’s do it. Adrian, take your squad, I will provide the distraction. Solisa, I want you to do a bioscan of the city on repeat. I want an almost live report of clusters and locations of the sirens and the enemies. I want the armored units to split up and prepare at all entrances of the cities. Jo’nez, you will run operations from here."
"If we want to do that, we are going to need more support. Can I call in more troops from the fleet?" Jo’nez asked.
"Go for it, notify the armored units to fire chaff and debris into the air to block their weapons." Jace declared as he moved to the door. Adrian was already gone, running to his squad. Solisa disappeared back to her ship and Lecrose walked out the other side of the tent to go and check on his mech.
Jace moved through the small compound until he arrived at the vehicle preparation area. He held out his hand and his spider tank appeared. Several of the mechanics whistled in appreciation while Jace moved to the tanks ammunition rack. He began to remove the explosive shells. He also sent a designation number up to the Charon, "Solisa I just sent you a cargo number. I need the contents."
There was only a click over the channel in acknowledgement. After removing the shells, he began to check over the rest of the tank. Making sure everything from the legs to the wheels on the legs were functioning perfectly.
After a few minutes a swarm of ships began to drop through the atmosphere on a route towards them. While Jace had found a few things to repair on the armored tank. "I thought you do not do mechs." Captain Lecrose approached him from behind.
"I don’t. This is an all-terrain tank." Jace chuckled. "It is basically a mobile artillery unit. If it is fast and can shoot, I can operate it just fine. But bipedal units are difficult to operate quickly." He explained.
"Hence why you call it a tank. But when I see this, all I see is a mech in spider form." Captain Lecrose pointed out. "What are you doing?"
"Changing out the power unit for the gravity plating." Jace explained as he tossed a semi clear container that had burn marks and cracks while inside was a lack of electrical sparks. "I took my tank deep underwater and never checked it over afterward. Turns out the plating for the gravity plating’s power unit was not secure enough."
"Are these available for the entire unit?" He asked as he moved around the tank.
"They are part of the available kits, we just do not have extra on demand because it utilizes reaction speed and thought to action systems." Jace informed him. "Although it can be modified to be completely manual."
"Thought to action systems? Is this a Cerberus Unit product?" He hummed as he knocked a knuckle against the armor plating. "I mean... is the design. This one is clearly at least heavily modified. No way another group can spare enough premium chemi-metal to cover an entire tank."
Jace finished repairing the tank and stepped back. "Nope, I stole it from the Imperium and it went to MILD. It was part of the original supplies and kits I requisitioned for the Cerberus Unit when we first started. I completely modified it." Kits were a combination of vehicles, spare parts, along with modifiable parts and any ammunition it might use.
"Huh... so MILD and now the galactic military has it? Why haven’t they used it?" Captain Lecrose mumbled in surprise. "This type of vehicle can have all sorts of uses."
"Because Director Fenrir is not about to hand the military a win in their state and because it would be difficult without acquiring spinal cybernetics for each pilot." Jace explained. "Like I said, it has been modified." He looked over at a mechanic who was pushing a hovercart over with an armored crate. "Set it down here." He indicated as he moved over to the ammunition he had uninstalled.
"Yeah, I can see why she would not want to utilize the spider tank." Captain Lecrose clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Spinal based cybernetics cost way too much for even a private outfit to hand them out for people to act as pilots for a spider tank that they might not be able use."
Jace began to organize the ammunition in a pattern before loading two extra clips that would be auto loaded into the cannon. Then loaded the rest of the ammunition the same way. Captain Lecrose was watching him as well. "Something wrong?" Jace asked as he set the completed sets on the hover platform.
"No, I am just surprised. Are those electrical magnetic pulse shells?" The captain asked as a mechanic came over and Jace told him how to finish it so Jace could get the tank started.
"Modified ones. They drop a net of electricity over an area. I can modify the surge of electricity so it can fry a person’s insides or just cause minor discomfort. In this case it hits that sweet spot between knocking out most humans and causing discomfort for sirens." Jace explained and could see the expression on his face. "All races have a sweet spot like that. Nanohumans have the highest resistance because of the nanomachines in case you were wondering."