Chapter 213: (Ralvex) (1/2)
The Precursors were coming and in force. At their current rate of speed they'd be at the spot where the highway cut up into the ridge in a steep grade in less than thirty minutes. That didn't leave Private Second Class Ralvex, Gunnery Specialist, Second Telkan Marine Division, 2nd Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade, 2nd Scout Battalion, Delta Company, Second Platoon (Mobile Scouts), Heavy Weapons Squad, much time to prepare.
Normally he'd have at least his squad, more likely the entire platoon, there to help him set up.
All he had were his two smart-drones and his green mantid engineer, but like the First and Second Telkan Wars had shown, the greenies were a massive force multiplier.
Ralvex brought up a field manual and speed read part of it, skimming to the sections he needed.
”Stampy, build a berm across, on this side of the battle-screens, dig the ditch on the other side, grenade sumps every five meters. Give me a fighting position in the median,” he ordered, cocking one wrist to bring up his holoslate and making quick drawings from what he had on the field manual.
**STAMPY HELP**
”Timmy, run up some light mortars, put them here, here, and here, smart-frame connection, print out four sticks each, wet print the payload dry print the exterior,” he ordered.
**TIMMY HELP**
--vehicle coming-- 525 said, flashing a picture of what he could see in a small window on the upper left.
It was obviously a LawSec vehicle, the paint job and the flashing lights gave it away. The traffic from the south had cut off and Ralvex hoped it was because no more of the Hesstlin were leaving town and turning back.
”Let them through. Let's see what the locals have to say,” Ralvex said.
--incoming transmission whisper drone whisker laser looks BOLO-- 525 said.
”Ralvex here, Second Telkan,” he said, opening the channel.
”This is BOLO Cutter, do you need a status report?” the BOLO replied.
”Abbreviated is fine, Cutter, I'm setting up,” Ralvex said. He checked the new drone, a high altitude stealth drone using only passive. The Precursors were taking the time to rip apart the vehicles. He swallowed thickly as several of the Precursors ripped open a mass transit bus and started pulling out Hesstlins.
”Am engaged with the enemy at 24% capacity. Combat effectiveness at 99.978% and holding. Am advancing on Precursor vehicle of Jotun class. I am beyond planetary curvature of you and cannot provide direct fire support to your unit,” the BOLO said.
Ralvex gave a wry chuckle. ”It's just me, Cutter. My unit's drop pods took direct fire and we had to punch out at fifty-kay meters.”
”Is there any support I can provide?”
Ralvex thought for a moment, then checked his data. ”I'm sending you a topography map. I need area denial munitions in the anti-vehicle range at these locations. If you can send me a supply drop via rocket-sled I need point defense, ammo hopper nano-forge, counter battery capability up to the 60mm mortar range, and smart-frame capable auto-turrets.”
There was silence for a second. ”Launching VLS, estimated time to deployment is six minutes for FASCAM-AV/T rounds. Packing VLS for support drop.”
”Thanks,” Ralvex said. ”Second Telkan out.”
”Cutter, out,” the BOLO answered.
The law enforcement vehicle nosed around the front of the trailer and Ralvex stepped in front of it, holding out his hand. Timmy was preparing a mortar pit, scooping up dirt and loading sandbags. The LawSec vehicle stopped and four Hesstlin got out wearing riot control gear. One had a grenade launcher, the other three all had combat rifles.
”Nemarlie high threat response,” the one with the grenade launcher said.
Ralvex noticed his armor couldn't find any transponders on their gear that it could recognise.
”Ralvex, Second Telkan Marines, Terran Confederate Space Force,” Ralvex said. He looked up the hill. ”Get your people into shelters or basements, it's going to get really ugly really soon.”
”We came to help,” one said. Ralvex's armor had finally found the transponder frequency. It was queried only and encrypted, although 525 had already broken the encryption to find out that the officer was merely labeled HTR-2.
Ralvex shook his head. ”You will last less than thirty seconds into the probing attack in that armor with those weapons. That's plasteel riot gear, those are Precursors.”
”You can't expect us to just hide in the basement,” HTR-3 protested.
”If you want to help, prepare fallback positions with plenty of hard cover. Remember, concealment does not equal cover and that standard Precursor high-v kinetic rounds will penetrate up to a half-meter of plascrete and still be effective,” Ralvex said. ”Other than that, when, not if, when they get by me, you won't be huddling in the shelters.”
”What will we be doing?” HRT-1 asked.
”Fighting the Precursors as they rip open anything less than warsteel to get at your citizens,” Ralvex told them bluntly.
Cutter had sent him the packing list of the four incoming resupply missiles. A good amount of weaponry, some screen projectors, smart-frame capable weapon mounts, and two nano-forge ammo hoppers. Ralvex signalled his appreciation even as he stared at the four LawSec.
”They're going to bypass me with air mobile forces and indirect fire while I'm engaged with their ground forces,” Ralvex said. ”Your people need to be in shelters or fortified basements, since some of the payloads will be micro-drones.”
The four officers looked at each other.
”We still think we'd be a help here,” HTR-4 said.
Ralvex shook his head, continuing to be blunt like the field manual said. ”Only to provide an additional target during the probing attack, after that, you'll be dead. You're bringing plasteel riot control armor into a fight where we're going to be using anti-tank weapons.”
Ralvex hefted his autocannon, letting them see the size of the shrouded barrel. ”This is a 20mm magnetic acceleration autocannon, it fires 350 rounds a minute of mission configurable variable munitions with a maximum armor assisted effective range of forty-two hundred meters. Right now it's loaded for armor-piercing high explosive which can penetrate up to twenty-two inches of hardened laminated battlesteel composite armor before exploding and overload a two thousand watt battlescreen in less than three seconds of direct fire.”
The four LawSec officers stepped back slightly.
”I could shoot through all four of you, lengthwise down your vehicle, and blow a two meter wide crater in the highway behind you with a single round,” Ralvex continued. ”Not even your vehicles ceramic induction engine has enough mass to trigger the HEX or slow down the AP.”
He gave them a moment to digest it. Behind him, to the north, a long rippling crack echoed through the night as the FASCAM rounds deployed anti-vehicle self-healing minefields across five miles of highway in a five mile radius. 525 hooked the Big Mommas from each of the fields into Ralvex's tiny Battle Tactical Net when they reported in.
Twenty-five in all. Each in charge of hundreds of little scuttling mines.
”The Precursor vehicles coming mount much larger weapons in much more amounts,” Ralvex said.
”You can't win,” HTR-2 said softly.
”But I might be able to keep us from losing,” Ralvex said. ”You need to clear the area, I've got an automated supply drop coming in.”
The officers piled into their vehicle with unseemly haste, turning off their flashing light and whirring away, back toward the town.
--they never listen-- 525 said.
”Nope,” Ralvex replied. He looked around. The horizon was glowing to the north, two points to the north-east, and one point to the north-west. In several spots hair-thin bright streaks flickered down from the night sky or up into the air as the battle for air superiority continued.
--drop in five seconds--
Ralvex just chinned the smiley icon and waited.
The rockets came in low, running on anti-grav, only making a hum as they set down. The front third cracked open to reveal crates that were neatly packed.
Ralvex set to work, keeping an eye on the clock and the drone feed. The Precursors had slowed down, no more traffic was coming and Tiny Tim had activated the battle-screen across the northbound lane and had set up additional screens so that the front screens meshed with the cliff face. 525 set up integrity fields for the cliff face behind them so that a lucky hit didn't bring a couple thousand tons of rocks down on the position.
Ralvex got the point defense, air defense, and counter-battery systems up first, starting with the six sensor packs. Tiny Tim and Stampy placed the ammo-hoppers and warmed them up, Stampy carrying boxes of 20mm rounds to various points behind the berm.
The Precursors were only four miles out when Ralvex saw the point defense systems go live and start firing, the variable frequency pulse lasers firing from the rotating barrels of the Templar Air Defense Systems. The sky lit up but a quick check of his HUD showed Ralvex that less than 75% of the munitions were being intercepted.
He wished, oh how he wished, that he could have prioritized the ones heading for the town. While that was the noble thing to do, that would mean his position would get pounded while he was still setting up and that would make it easier for the Precursors to get through him.
525 was busy ripping apart the missiles. Most of it went into the mass-hopper for the ammo-hopper's creation engines, but the green mantid was pulling parts to attach to the auto-turrets.
”Wish the squad was here,” Ralvex sighed.
--me2--
”We're probably going to die here.”
--yes--
”Put on some classical music. Sabaton, if you will,” Ralvex said, kneeling down and connecting the thick power lead from the field combat reactor to the secondary battle-screen projectors.
”CRACK OF THE LIGHTNING SPLITTING THE GROUND!” roared out over the speakers on 525 and Ralvex's suits.
Clouds had gathered and rain started, making the battle-screen and integrity fields spit and spark, the rain full of carbonized metal and ash.
”THUNDER IS SOUNDING, ARTILLERY POUNDING!”
Cutter fired an artillery barrage, halting the Precursor advance momentarily as the surviving light vehicles waited for their bigger cousins.
--use screamers?--
”No, I hate those things. Something about them creeps me out,” Ralvex said, shaking his head. The little robots had a circular saw front mounted weapon and moved underground at rapid speed. They were called 'screamers' due to the sound the sawblade made underground. They would jump up at hit their target, shredding it, ripping through it in a handful of second, before vanishing underground.
The extra time gave Ralvex time to fortify his position more. The smart-frame guided guns had interlocking fields of fire, multiple reloads, and the target profiles were loading up nicely since the Precursors hadn't seen the small stealth drone circling them.
Looking at another field manual he spotted another situation that was applicable.
”Cutter, this is Ralvex, do you read?” he said.
”Cutter here. Engaged in combat,” the BOLO answered.
Ralvex didn't mind the terse reply. He figured that when it all came apart on him he'd sound terse too.
”Can you lay a thick FASCAM minefield along these coordinates?” Ralvex asked.
”Roger. Three minutes. Cutter, out,” the huge sentient tank answered.
”Timmy, Stampy, let's go,” he said, moving off to the right.
--you sure?--
”No. Clamshell up, I'll need you to keep an eye on the smart-frame weaponry. We've got enough to make it look like a whole company of locals dug in. The fight by wire system won't have any EM leakage, so the Clankers shouldn't be able to catch on,” Ralvex said. He hefted the autocannon and then nudged the power to the harness. The powered assist and graviton generators came on and the autocannon suddenly felt 'alive' in his hands.
If doctrine is right, they'll hit the minefield and stop once one of the big-boys get gutted. They'll send the lighter ones in to probe or they'll just roll in the heavies or start clearing it with explosives. Either way will be my chance, he thought.
--systems online--
”As soon as they hit the minefield, wait for them to group up a little, then hit them with the 60mm's and the snub-nose 155's Cutter sent us,” Ralvex said, putting on a boost of speed and sprinting five miles in as many minutes. He stopped, catching his breath, feeling an ache in his shoulders.
I've worn this armor for hours and never been this sore before, he thought to himself.
”Cutter, you read?” he asked.
”Engaged with the Enemy,” was the reply.
”Can you still provide VLS or artillery?”
”Roger. File fire plan,” the BOLO answered.
Ralvex figured the massive war machine was probably heavily involved in the fighting a few hundred miles away. The entire sky was lit up past the horizon and it looked like a particularly heavy rainstorm. He knelt down, drew up the fireplan and fired it. Cutter just provided a thumbs-up emoji.
--theyll be boxed make them mad--
”It ain't about us,” Ralvex shrugged.
--ride or die--
Ralvex gave Stampy and Timmy orders then knelt down as the two warbots crouched down and waited while Ralvex watched the stealth drones data. The Precursors had picked up speed, the bigger ones falling behind the smaller ones.