Chapter 113 - What He Wanted All Along (1/2)

"Alright, we're going with plan C, mobile defense, visibility is poor so they'll have to come closer in order to hit us. I expect Gray will do the opposite of what he normally would do so I expect him to play aggressive." Kelly stated.

"I think you should play aggressive with him, ma'am, he seems kind of dense, and I don't mean just the match!" Bridget spoke up.

"Sergeant Jacobs, keep your mind on the match!" Kelly reprimanded her slightly.

"Yes ma'am, was just worried you wouldn't since we've never seen you so friendly with anyone, especially a man, before."

"Noted, but you have nothing to worry about, the past is the past. Two Columns while we move, Double-V formation when we stop, I'll take point, Jacobs, Dove, and Graves will take rear with the railguns."

"Ma'am, permission to speak freely?" Alice finally butted in.

"Granted, but make it quick, we need to find ideal terrain before Gray's team does."

"I have worked with him in the past, while he is... creative... he doesn't have the training or command experience that you have. I don't feel comfortable if we're going to be taken orders from him."

"Focaccina, your candidness is appreciated, I suppose I should be honest with you all as well. I disagree with how the military wants to enlist all of the players without telling them the truth. I want to show them that regular players are just as effective as military trainees at piloting mechs and that we can work together. I know it is selfish of me to impose my own views upon you so if any of you would like to not participate I will understand."

"Ma'am, we appreciate the honesty, I imagine all of us will gladly follow you, that includes myself that has been with you the shortest." Alice said with a slight smile.

"Awww, did Alice make a short joke?" Britney said teasingly.

"F**k off Britney! I am 152 centimeters tall, not a dwarf!" Alice said angrily

"Sergeant Focacinna, they're just messing with you, drop the profanity, you do not need to be short with them." Kelly said sincerely.

Kelly suddenly realized what she said and her face flushed red with embarrassment. Fortunately nobody could see this since they were in their mechs already so she pretended that it was not meant as a joke.

Kelly did have good teammates as they knew she didn't mean it as a joke, but that still couldn't stop the other girls from almost exploding internally with laughter and the occasional chuckle still managed to sneak through the comms.

"Ok, cut it out! We're moving!" Kelly finally barked.

The 8 mechs steadily moved through the jungle, seemingly not bothered by the weather and terrain. They came across a small clearing that would allow them to get into formation without a tree getting between them.

"Ma'am, single contact on sensors, must be their scout if we can pick it up at this range!" Tia said while her mech walked next to Kelly's.

"Agreed, keep moving toward it, make it look like we're going on the offensive!" Kelly ordered.

"Yeah, this looks like where Gray would set up an ambush." Kelly thought to herself.

"Stop here, mount railguns, deploy spider drones in all directions." Kelly ordered

"Roger!" came across Kelly's comms from every one of her teammates.

The reason Kelly's team didn't take a scout mech this time was the military's spider drones and the lack of viable sniping terrain. Flying drones made more sense, but the canopy of trees would get in their way so spider drones were used instead. They had no combat ability, but they had sensors for detecting enemies within 50 meters of them.

"Ma'am, spider kinda picking up two enemies at our 10 o'clock."

"Kind of?"

"Ma'am, they appear to have some sort of jamming so we can only detect their approximate location."

"Copy, hunker down, one and two face 10 o'clock, three face 4 o'clock. Open fire at any movement."

A few muzzle flares flashed where Bridget and Caitlyn were aiming their two rail guns and they both aimed directly at the flashes and squeezed the triggers. They felt their mechs shake under the immense recoil even though it was a simulation.

"No hits!" Bridget shouted.

"Bridget, aim slightly left of previous shot, Caitlyn, slightly to the right. Fire again!" Kelly yelled.

Two more shots rang out from the rail guns, this time Caitlyn said excitedly "Hit ma'am!"

"Finish it off!"

Bridget and Caitlyn aimed again, following where Caitlyn hit and looking for a mech to be moving after taking a direct hit from a railgun. Both fired again, this time Bridget yelled out, "Hit! Got his leg!"

"Good, he's no longer showing on sensors, look for the second one!" Kelly started to feel excited, she was confident in her victory thanks to her team member's coordination and her superior mechs and weaponry. "Ok, if I know Gray, he's probably going to sit back and wait for us to move then counter us as well." Kelly thought to herself.

"Spiders picking up 2 more at our 3 o'clock, out of firing range and not moving." Alice said.

"Yes! This is Gray playing defensively and taking his time to think up a strategy, he always does this!" Kelly said to herself starting to feel even more sure of herself.

"Advan–" Kelly started to say

"Spider drones picking up 2 more coming fast from 6 o'clock! Entering fire range!" Felisa suddenly said.