Orders for the assault were sent out that evening, giving the Commanders eighteen hours until they were set to depart.

Stalwart Special Tactics Unit wasn’t part of the main assault force, they had been assigned to depart early and infiltrate a number of buildings on the edges of the Narsian’s highly defended base in the downtown area. Some were to be cleared for infantry positions, some were to be collapsed to serve as cover for the advancing Mecha forces and some were suspected to have valuable government information in them that Central Command didn’t want to lose forever.

Each of the locations was marked on their Mecha’s internal map with a little red flag sporting a yellow smiley face. This was Nico’s doing, of course, only she would associate smiley faces with military targets, but the other squad leaders liked them since they could adjust the emoji on the flag to represent the current status of the facility.

[These first four targets won’t be Heavy Mecha friendly. They are all down narrow streets with poor access. A deliberate design to repel assault in the case of insurrection or Military Coup. The Infantry element will take them out, targets three and four can be demolished if necessary after they are searched for civilians and any valuable intelligence.

Next are the Mecha targets, I have highlighted them by the squad. If you have any questions ask them now.] Max passed out the unit orders and everyone looked over the data that was available on their assigned target._.

[Where will Stalwart and Tarith’s Rage be?] Vincente asked, not seeing the two Commanders assigned anywhere, which is unusual for Max.

[Since everyone else has a target, we are the reinforcements. Tarith’s Rage will back up the Mecha elements while Stalwart will provide heavy fire support for the Infantry, should things go wrong.] Max informed them and the Captain nodded in understanding.

One Mecha isn’t much backup, but since each of the other Crusaders will be deployed with a wing that is only them plus ten Corvette Class units, it’s still a significant bump in capability.

The number of targets is unusual though, making the Officers suspect that a lot of the infiltration units did not make it to the Staging Area on time. Normally, a Special Tactics Unit would only get two or three targets at once, not seven. They will be stretched very thin, but the assigned targets are still close enough that the unit can support each other a little if one squad should fall behind schedule.

[I can’t stress enough how important the timing is. Everything needs to happen at once or someone is going to get swarmed by Narsian defense forces. We all know how that ends, so don’t do it. If the schedule is in jeopardy, call right away and I will try to get you back on track.]

That sets most of the unit’s minds at ease, but Paul has one last question.

[Aren’t the Narsians going to lose their shit when they see the trophies on Tarith’s Rage?]

Nico tried to make a smile with her new face before responding, but the motion felt unnatural, so she wasn’t sure that she had succeeded. Not that anyone could see her anyhow, as she was already in her cockpit.

[That’s kind of the point Captain. The angrier they are at me, the less they will focus on you, so you can get your jobs done and the back to the green zone, where the main force will still have reinforcements.] The three Captains nodded, seeing the logic in the taunting technique.

[That’s the plan. Everyone, work out your unit’s routes and relay them back to the Executive Officer, now that she has returned to duty. I will see you all in sixteen hours.] Max dismissed the officers and leaned back in his seat to look over all the best spots to set up. What he needed was a location where he could see the Infantry without being clearly visible to every Narsian in the city.

That was trickier than it seemed, the city was actually designed to prevent just exactly this scenario, where an attacker wanted to hide from the city’s defenders and do maximum damage. The best he could do was the main road near the middle of the cluster of buildings they were assigned to deal with. If he stands behind a building he can fire artillery shells from the Battle Cannon their way, and if he steps into the street he should get a straight shot towards the majority of the Narsians who will be approaching or chasing the infantry.historical

During the afternoon, Max arranged the exact timing with a few other Commanders who had been assigned to do the same in other zones of the city core’s perimeter, so that they could all act at once and spread out the reaction by the Narsians even more.

The final assault was set to demolish the buildings at five in the morning. That way the infiltration teams, which are almost all infantry, can make it back to base by morning’s light.

At a quarter past three, the Special Tactics teams moved out, loaded up with more kit than they would likely ever need for a mission, but ready for almost anything that could come at them. The Infantry targets were the closest, which made things convenient for Max since the Mecha were faster.

Today just wasn’t their day though. Paul almost immediately ran into a large Narsian unit in the dark. They had been using thermal insulation, so his sensors missed them, and there were enough that his unit was pinned down.

[On my way Ferrus. Once I arrive I will grab their attention and you can immediately proceed with the mission.] Nico announced, using the name of his old Mecha, and possibly not knowing that the entire chassis had been swapped.

[This is Ferrus. Back on schedule.] Paul announced less than a minute later and Max breathed a sigh of relief.

The giants must have all chased Nico and given his unit a chance to run away and reach their target. All they had to do was demolish it so that it dropped across the road, a simple task that they could do in seconds once they arrived, but an important one for the Mecha that would be coming down the road an hour behind them.

Once Paul was moving again the sound of the Rail Guns on Nico’s Gauntlet began barking constantly, shattering the quiet morning. Then the city suddenly went dead silent again, with every soldier within ten miles of the noise waiting to see what happened next.

[Tarith’s Rage is clear.]