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Some time after Nova Migolatus I shaped into a planet fit for human habitation, Hafner latched on an additional purpose . One continent would remain unsettled . Instead, Hafner would import a variety of dangerous genetically modified alien creatures to run a preserve of some sorts . The propagation and mutation of these creatures would be strictly regulated to provide a sufficient and plentiful challenge to mechs .
In other words, Hafner constructed an entire continent-wide ecosystem for the sole purpose of breeding something to kill for the participants of an elite training camp . And they also did it covertly, covering the continent with expansive trees that reached up to a kilometer in height .
Normally, mechs threw enough weight around that they could flatten an entire forest with ease . However, if a mech charged straight at one of Nova Migolatus I's massive trees, the one who would lose would be the mech, not the tree .
The expansive tree cover also served as ways to shield the surface of the wild continent from prying eyes . The tree leaves had been genetically modified with various publically available biomods that blocked long-distance communications while interfering with any wide-area scans .
Of course, to prevent themselves from losing all contact, Hafner dug an extensive network of underground cables and communication nodes keyed to their own forces . It would be extremely difficult for an outside force to tap into this well-hidden network . This gave the forces of Hafner the homeground advantage .
Overall, hunting an expert candidate that tried their best to hide on this continent would not be easy . Without any additional intelligence, tracking Captain Relia Foster down in this megajungle was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack .
The problem was compounded by the fact that aerial mechs wouldn't be able to do much on the Kamwin continent . The trees were too impenetrable for mechs flying above the forest . With leaves, tree branches and tree trunks interfering with everything, it was impossible for aerial mechs to provide support for their landbound counterparts .
As for letting the aerial mechs fly through the forest, well, that was a very quick way to wreck a lot of expensive machines .
The Flagrant Vandals moved quickly after Verle announced their next assignment .
As the Verle Task Force emerged out of FTL, the entire star system must have hit the panic button . Agents loyal to Peace for Hafner relayed the broad movements around Nova Migolatus I via their own quantum entanglement node . If not for that, they would have to depend on lightspeed observations to determine the decisions the defenders had made, which would certainly be hours out of date .
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"The local defenders are making a stand . "
Only half of the stations in the command center was manned right now, as nobody expected a fight in the immediate moment . It would take almost two days of solid burning to reach Nova Migolatus I . Only then would the prospect of a battle come into fruition .
"The orbital garrison fleet is going on alert, sir . Transports are lifting up from the planet's main spaceport . They are loading battle supplies and recalling every crew member on leave!"
"The landbound garrison force is buttoning up as well . Old mechs are being pulled out of storage while their bases are going on full alert . Their capital city is becoming increasingly fortified . "
Major Verle took on a pensive expression . "Keep an eye on what is happening at the capital city, but put it on a low priority . Only notify me if they are shuffling supplies or war materiel to the continent of Kamwin . "
The Vandals didn't think much of the garrison forces . Their spaceborn contingent had been neutered when Hafner took half of them to the border . As for their landbound contingent, they prioritized the defense of their capital city .
Even if the landbound garrison mechs shifted over to the Kamwin continent, they would still be outnumbered by the Vandals .
While the Vandals had some targets of opportunity in mind, their main purpose in making landfall on Nova Migolatus I was to strangle an expert baby in her cradle .
Every expert was a valuable asset, especially one that had been indoctrinated from birth in your own culture . Though mercenary expert pilots existed, their loyalty always remained in question, and it was not a good idea for a state to rely too much on human-form weapons of mass destruction that could turn on them in a dime .
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Thus, to Hafner, a young and promising expert candidate was much more valuable than ten old expert pilots such as Venerable O'Callahan . There was simply no comparison between the two . Even if O'Callahan was ten years younger, his potential had already been tapped, and there was no prospect for improvement .
As for an expert candidate like Captain Foster, as long as she received the right nurturing, she would be able to experience a period of rapid growth . There was even hope for advancing into an ace pilot, though realistically that almost never happened .
All in all, an expert candidate from your own ranks was like a blank slate which you could fill with whatever you wanted . Any state would salivate at the opportunity to shape their skills and beliefs . It was like designing your own personal superhero .
"And now we've arrived to spoil their plans . " Ves muttered as he directed a major undertaking .
Ves was surprised as almost everyone else when Verle announced their commission . If no one knew about Training Camp Quistas at Nova Migolatus I, they would have guessed that the Vandals aimed to raid a more important star system .
As it was, Major Verle had not given Ves the courtesy of giving him a heads up . Ves expected the Vandals to raid an industrial system like the Hachew System back in Venidse . Urban combat was a very different beast from jungle warfare, and Ves had been forced to issue new orders to modify their landbound mechs for a safari .
Considering the nature of their commission and the difficulty of finding a lone mech on an entire continent, Ves prioritized the enhancement of as much sensor systems as possible . Improving the eyes and ears of at least five mechs in every mech company would vastly improve the odds of tracking Captain Foster down .
Below this top priority, Ves also recommended the Vandals to pay attention to maintaining communication lines . At least one mech in every mech squad should carry a communications backpack module instead of extra supplies .
"It's a good thing the Vandals employ the same Modular Fitting Standard for their backpack modules, though it's a pain in the butt as well . "
The Vandals didn't build the majority of their landbound mechs . Instead, they stole them from the Vesians . This meant that they needed to adhere to Vesian technology standards, which included adopting a foreign MFS as well . Backpack modules produced according to the Bright Republic's MFS simply didn't fit on a Vesian mech . It was like trying to squeeze a square plug into a round socket .
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Fortunately, the landbound contingent didn't need to bring too much spare supplies . They needed to complete the hunt in less than a day, so there wouldn't be any need to bring extra ammunition and energy cells .
"Still, there's also the local fauna to consider . Those genetically modified monsters are meant to provide a decent challenge against intruding mechs . "
This might be a problem, because certain genetic modifications or cybernetic implants could make these creatures more susceptible to outside signals . The worst case scenario would be for the training camp to gather every monster and order them to attack any Vandal mech in a massive horde .
However, these safeguards could easily be subverted by anyone else . If certain spies grasped the right codes, they could turn the creatures against the training camp .
Therefore, Ves mentally ruled out such a possibility being true . "Training Camp Quistas won't be stupid enough to leave a backdoor for their enemies to exploit . The safest way to rule out subversion is to skip the backdoor entirely . "
This was the rule for most critical electronics in this age . That was also why mech pilots controlled their mechs from their cockpits rather than through remote control .
"If the training camp is stupid enough to employ controllable monsters, then the hackers in our task force will have a field day . "
With that worry subsided, Ves began to ready the Vandal mechs for period but not too intensive or frequent combat . According to the intelligence packages that Peace for Hafner passed on to the Vandals, the monsters generally gathered in squad-sized groups . This was hard-coded in their DNA . This allowed trainees to experience an even challenge when they grouped up into squads, but also enabled mech companies to bail them out if they fell into a spot of trouble .
For a moment, Ves wanted to laugh to himself . This game preserve came into being on the behest of Hafner, but now it seemed that the Vandals might become the main customers .
Then he remembered something . "Training Camp Quistas is an incubator for elites . It's meant to push the very best out of peak advanced pilots . With pilots of such skill, regular monsters won't be able to cut it . Only deadly monsters will do . "
Despite this caveat, Ves was confident the Vandals could deal with the situation as long as they traveled in double squads or larger groups . Numbers trumped anything as long as the difference was big enough .
Having sent the necessary orders, Ves sat back and waited for the fleet to arrive in orbit .
Two days passed by without much incident . Vigilant against mines or stealth attacks, the task force constantly maintained a rotation of spaceborn mechs around their ships . Though Hafner did not have a track record of using either means, exceptions always existed, so the Vandals did not let their guard down .
Once the Vandals neared Nova Migolatus I, everyone tensed up for a battle . The big question was what the garrison mechs decided to do . For now, their landbound contingent hunkered down at the capital city, while their spaceborn counterparts seemed to adopt a looser pattern .
The Vandals wanted to mop up the spaceborn garrison quickly, so they didn't hesitate to approach their outnumbered enemy . The defenders on the other hand clearly didn't wish to tangle with the Vandals, and boosted away from orbit .
"The enemy garrison fleet is adopting a harassment strategy . " The tactical officer stated calmly . "Any defense force that is largely outclassed by the invaders will not be eager to fight a conclusive battle . Instead, they've likely received orders to stall and disrupt our operations as best as they can without losing their mechs too quickly . "
"They won't succeed . " Verle announced . "We've restored a sufficient amount of spaceborn mechs to handle their garrison . A harassment strategy only works if your mechs are faster than the enemy's . As long as we allocate the bulk of our Inheritors and other light mechs into chasing them down, they won't be able to escape . "
As long as the enemy didn't throw in other surprises, the Vandals likely didn't have to worry about anything from space .
The next hours proved this prediction as the attempted harassment fell short of what the defenders expected . The Hafner mechs mostly consisted of medium mechs . They were good in a brawl, but could not be expected to outrace an Inheritor mech .
The only snag in the plan was that the garrison employed second-hand combat carriers with peculiar modifications . Shipwrights stripped a large portion of armor from large and heavy ships and boosted their sublight propulsion . This gave the garrison carriers a hefty boost in speed .
Thus, while the defending mechs weren't able to outrun pursuit, they could still remain out of reach of the Vandals by hopping in and out of their nimble carriers!