Lieutenant Becki and his wing follow Tarith’s Rage back into the swamp, looking for mecha that might have been drawn by the battle.

If the Rebels are smart, finding them will be difficult, Tarith’s Rage is a huge heat signature and can be seen from quite a distance. The only correct call for a depleted Light Mecha force when they see her is to turn tail and run, hoping that she hasn’t seen them yet.

Not that a handful of light mecha couldn’t take out a Crusader under normal circumstances, but her close combat style is far from standard, and the water is up to the waist of the Line Mecha in some spots with a muddy bottom. They simply won’t have the mobility to outmaneuver Tarith’s Rage so they can target her weak points and survive.

[Light Mecha turn north. Satellite feed shows targets in that direction.] Max instructs them as he watches a pair of Rebel Line Mecha moving through a clearing.

Lieutenant Becki leads the group North while Nico circles wide to get in front of the Line Mecha and herd them towards the attackers. Becki decides they either don’t have their thermal scanners on, or they are damaged since the Rebels continue straight at Tarith’s Rage.

Nico had other ideas about their motivation though and updates the orders.

[They must be a diversion. Do not come to me, find the group they are covering for.]_.

Lieutenant Becki orders all his mecha to spread out and submerge themselves in the swamp water, and then they wait. The moment the leading wing of light mecha engages with Tarith’s Rage a group of three Corvette Class Mecha emerge from the water and make a run for the relative safety on the other side of the swamp.

That takes them past Becki and his unit though, and the trap is spring when the Rebels are twenty meters away.

The combined firepower of his wing disables them in seconds and they finally get a good look at these Rebels. The units are all elaborately decorated, not combat units but Command units.

“Exit your Mecha and throw down your weapons if you wish to live.” Lieutenant Becki demands through his speaker.

All three open their hatches and step out onto the carcass of their mecha.

“We surrender.” The one to Becki’s left in the most ornate uniform declares with dignity.

Becki recognizes that uniform, this man is a planetary governor. There is no higher authority on this planet than him. Or at least there wasn’t until the invasion started.

The direction that they fled was towards the research base, unlike the Crusader that ran for a destroyed bunker complex. Heading this way only makes sense if they didn’t know the facility had fallen.

[Becki to Stalwart, three high-value targets have been captured, including the suspected Planetary Governor. Please Advise.]

[Get them back to the base on the double. Tarith’s Rage, ensure they are not interrupted.] Max orders, seeing that Nico is almost finished with the group that attacked her.

The light mecha surround the units carrying the prisoners and begin rushing through the trees. Nico is just behind them right now, but it is moving fast and will soon overtake them.

She isn’t trying to be subtle and is simply kicking over trees that get in the way. Her passage makes an easy route for Lieutenant Becki and his men to follow and opens up the canopy to make them visible to satellite tracking. Once they leave the swamp, the leaders start to get visibly nervous. They know where they are headed now, and it isn’t a place they expected to be under enemy control.

[Stalwart to Central Command. Point Raven Clear. Returning to Station.] Max calls, using the mission’s code for a high-value political prisoner.

[Understood Stalwart, stand by on station.]

A convoy from Command Group 3 arrived at the research complex just before the Mecha escorting the prisoners, bringing a pair of officers from the intelligence department, along with twenty political security forces in Armored pressure suits.

[Stalwart, this is Central Command. Hold tight to those officers, we will send a recovery copter in 15 minutes.] Comes General Tennant’s voice over the secured Mecha Channels.

[Central Command, this is Stalwart. Intelligence Officers with verified clearance from Command Group 3 are already on site.]

[Understood Stalwart, delay as long as possible.]

[Nico, I know you’re listening in. What can you do for me?] Max asks on the short-range intercom.historical

[I am on it Stalwart. Watch for results.] Nico replied with a hint of mischief in her voice.

Lieutenant Becki and his men delayed as much as possible for the last stretch, employing land mine security protocol the entire remaining distance, while Tarith’s Rage went back behind them to provide covering fire.

[Captain Catan, please see our guests into a waiting room for refreshments and put on some hot coffee.] Max instructs, and the infantry leader heads to the convoy to escort the intelligence Officers inside the building.

“Please follow me, sir. Protocol says we must verify the prisoners’ identities before they can be passed into your custody. The process should not take long if they are who they claim to be.” The infantry officer informs the Intelligence Department force.

Once they are inside the building, their casual demeanor changes in an instant.

“Tell me, Captain, how is the analysis of the data going?” The Major leading the Intelligence Department group asks.

“Unfortunately, we have no tech specialists in the group, so all of the hard drives as well as the few paper records we recovered were all sent in the first evacuation flight to Central Command.” Captain Catan sighs as if depressed that his unit couldn’t get credit for any discoveries that might occur.

That answer doesn’t make the officer happy at all though he thinks he is hiding his emotions.

“Surely there is something left for your unit’s glory?” He asks, leading towards the answer he wants.

“If we can recover anything from the destroyed hanger we might be in luck. The boys are searching now, but a Battle Cannon round touched off the munitions storage, so the building is a disaster.” That much is the complete truth. It will be a shock if they recover more than bits and pieces of anything from that rubble.

“A shift just ended. I can bring the platoon leaders in if you would like to speak to them?” Captain Catan suggests.

“That would be acceptable. Please organize us a secure room.” The Major Commands, and Captain Catan nods his agreement before leaving the room with a hidden smile.

Oh, the room will be secure alright.