Max was about to respond to the idea of equipping the Line Mecha for large-scale research projects when the creatures which were attacking the Galen fleet finally noticed that they weren't alone.
They split off a group toward the Cutter, and in an instant, the creatures seemed to cover half the distance between them and Max.
"It's not the distance that's messed up here. It's the flow of time. I recorded that event much more precisely, and I can tell exactly where they entered the time dilation and when they exited.
Until we can isolate where they are happening, it could be a problem for ranged combat, but melee should be just fine." Nico explained after the creatures reappeared.
"Alright, I'm heading outside. Wish me luck." Max sighed, still not sure what to expect from the surface of a battlefield that logic dictated should not exist.
His Mecha's sensors indicated that it was near Kepler Standard gravity, with a breathable atmosphere, 35 degrees Celcius, and seventy percent humidity. Warm for certain, but not inhospitable.
Nico was right behind him, but the Research Team remained inside the Cargo Bay, with their weapons pointed out the barrier. That was the safest option in their minds since they wouldn't get separated from the ship by any strange phenomena, but they would still be able to cover Max and Nico in the battle.
The creatures which were coming for them greatly outnumbered a full Mecha Regiment, mostly small, pale-skinned humanoids with chitinous body plates that served as skimpy clothing and deformed hands that had become everything from the familiar spiked limbs of the Klem to crab-like claws.
While they were running alongside larger red-skinned creatures that wielded vicious-looking blades, the two groups only seemed to be incidentally side by side, not working together.
"I think that it's a competition. We've been brought here to be the bait for their contest to see who can kill more efficiently." Nico suggested on the private channel between her and Max.
"Even if you're right, I didn't need to hear it. But, let's get this show on the road." He agreed, then unleashed the Mass Driver into their midst.
"The nukes aren't detonating," Nico noted as her own guns began to mow down the running creatures.
"This place isn't right. But, if those are the rules of the fight, we can still win."
Max treated the Mass Drivers more like autocannons, sending hypersonic metal through the air as he readied his sword and shield for the inevitable arrival of the monstrous horde.
The small creatures might be trouble, but the five and ten-metre-tall ones looked like they were eager to find out what a Super Heavy Mecha had for them.
There was no fear or doubt in any of their minds, only single-minded violence. Not that they were unintelligent, they were forming intricate battle plans as they ran, but the only thing that mattered to them in the here and now was to win this bloody contest and bolster their pride.
Although the Innu were known as people-pleasers, who would go well out of their way to avoid any sort of violent conflict, the Research Team wasn't holding back as the horde charged at them. They were thinning the ranks as fast as they could, eliminating the faster moving pale skinned humanoids before they could get too close to the Cutter, while Max and Nico focused on the larger ones, especially the largest red ones with huge leathery wings, who seemed to have an uncanny sixth sense which allowed them to parry projectile weapons at hypersonic velocities.
Nico was enthralled by the performance, and though the creatures were slowly being overwhelmed by the combined firepower of the human Mecha, they would soon be in close combat range.
The smaller creatures were avoiding Max and Nico to head for the cargo bay where the Line Mecha were, while the larger ones kept the two Commanders from intervening.
[Be safe, and don't be afraid to lock the bay door if things get dangerous.] Max reminded the Innu team, then activated the Warp Drive on his back to use the thrusters to launch himself into Melee range with a six-armed pale violet demon that looked uncannily like the old Shattered Pride with two extra arms, and a paint job.
"Oh, it's cute. They've split up to give you the fast ones while I get the muscular ones. I wonder if it's because of the Mecha or if they read your mind and learned you like them lithe and agile?" Nico joked as she traded blows with an axe-wielding creature nearly as tall as her Mecha.
"Or maybe I just got the leftovers after they fulfilled your muscle fetish?" Max joked back as his Mass Driver obliterated his opponent's head at point-blank range.
He slammed his shield out to the left on instinct, throwing away an attacker that had managed to flank him, then swept away the claws of another attacker with his blade, giving him room to circle to his left and back a step, putting all of the enemies back in front of him where he could shoot at them again.
The creatures roared in frustration as a hail of rounds from the Mass Drivers tore the three of them apart. They didn't seem to feel any pain or fear of death, only frustration that they had lost the engagement.
The battle was far from over, though, and two more demonic-looking monsters were already closing in on him, both large red ones, wielding vicious-looking axes that Max wasn't sure he could parry with his blade if he took a direct strike.
The bursts from his Mass Driver rang off the axes as the beings seemed to predict his target, but the force threw the weapons back and put the creatures off balance when the chains holding the weapons to their arms pulled taught, keeping the axes from being lost in combat.
It was a genius way to make sure you weren't disarmed and let you throw your weapon a short distance if needed, but this time it had backfired, and Max charged forward, carving a deep gouge in the chest of one and letting his shield take the impact of the other's fist.
They certainly weren't any weaker than his Mecha was, and Max was pushed back a few feet before his gravity control allowed him to regain traction and charge again, blasting holes in the opponents with the disintegrators, which healed in seconds.
[That regeneration speed is insane. Don't bother maiming them. It needs to be a killing blow.] He informed the others, mostly the Innu in the Line Mecha, who didn't have the sort of practical combat experience that a veteran soldier would.
[Got it Boss.]
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l