The local government was expecting the assistance of the humans, and once they learned that there were spare parts that could be needed on an urgent basis, they were happy to let the Cutter stay in a hangar bay not far from the Anomaly itself.
That way, it was as fast as they could manage to get the humans more firepower, and the Cutter wouldn't be hanging around in orbit, attracting even more attention from the gossip and paparazzi who had been hounding the Government about the Anomaly since it appeared.
Max didn't waste any time getting the force through the small tear in space, with Nico right behind him and the Company of Light Mecha marching double file in the back.
The second they came through, they realized that Huntress Khan had downplayed how bad things had gotten on their end, likely to save the pride of the Hunter Clans. The Alliance didn't dare to go past the Anomaly themselves, so it was all up to the Hunters, and Max's sensors informed him that they only held a few kilometres in any direction from the base.
"Where is Khan? She has our deployment information." Max called to the first Hunter Suit he passed.
"She's on the front lines. Go wherever you like, there are enemies in every direction, and they all need to be dead. They've been surging forward since morning." The Hunter replied, then ran off to grab more supplies.
"That's good enough for me. Straight forward it is, and let's get to it. Squads One through Five, you're on me. Your callsign is Team One. Six through Ten, you're on Commander Nico. Your Callsign is Team Two. Keep your Commanders alive and kill as many of the enemy as possible without harming the Hunters." Max ordered.
He activated his targeting skills, and the androids began to fire as they ran, aiming at any target that they could get a clear shot at, even if it only missed the Hunters by half a metre.
Not that the Hunters really cared. The aggressive firing rate saved a lot of lives, and the Mass Driver Projectiles were loaded with a delayed explosive, so the Mecha could pick the distance at which they detonated.
That allowed the small bullets to pass through multiple targets at supersonic speed, flinging bodies out of the way as they tore holes in the crude armour that they were wearing, and then the projectile would explode well away from the Hunter lines, taking out large groups of the strange green Myceloids.
Max joined in the frenzy of Mass Driver fire and kept charging with a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. Even Nico had been equipped that way for this mission so that the Androids could learn from observing their techniques. It would also allow her to take a lot more damage in close combat without suffering an armour breach.
The planet was habitable, and they could breathe on it, but with a Myceloid enemy, there was no telling what sort of toxic spores might be in the air which could infest their equipment or even their bodies.
A hailstorm of projectiles crashed into every part of Max's Mecha once he was in front of the lines, darkening the air with the pure mass of metal. The individual rounds weren't all that impressive, but his shield was in terrible condition afterward, and the energy barrier on it was fading fast.
The objective was achieved, though, the rest of his squads had time to flank the Commander, and on his order, they began to rain death on the enemy.
"Team One, Fusion Flamers to full dispersion and push forward," Max ordered, and plasma fire filled the air.
The groundwater evaporated in a cloud of steam, and the ground cover burned to ash along with the Myceloids hiding in it as the deadly wave pushed onward, driving the enemy back in a hundred-yard-wide swathe.
Off to his left, Nico's group was doing the same thing, with similarly effective results. But, they had reached the end of the enemy emplacement, and more of the green creatures were flooding into the region, this time with shields of their own and buckets of water as if that was enough to stop a Fusion Flamer.
"Pull back and rejoin the Hunters lines. Prepare for the approach of the enemy reinforcements." Max ordered and marvelled at how smoothly the Androids obeyed.
There was no questioning, no ego, and no hesitation. They followed the orders they were given and did their best all the time. They might not be as creative in a desperate situation, and they lacked the innate desire for survival, so they wouldn't push past their limits in an emergency, but they were reliable and high-quality Pilots that any Commander would be proud to have.
The Hunters made space for them as they pulled back, letting the Mecha spread out among their suits as the shield-bearing Myceloids charged the line under cover of another wave of gunfire.
This time the Androids emulated the Hunters and hit the ground, letting the bullets slam against the earthworks behind them as the enemy approached.
"When the enemy reaches twenty metres away, full output on the Fusion Flamers for one second, then switch to maximum firing rate on the Mass Drivers," Max ordered.
That would let the enemy get close enough to give them hope that the guns were out of ammunition after the last charge and leave them too close to escape if they tried to run.
The wall of enemies went up in a conflagration of epic proportions, as the Myceloids proved to be extremely flammable, and then the Mass Driver rounds tore apart the back lines in an instant, stopping the enemy charge.
"All Mecha, shelter in place and prepare for the enemy retaliation. Barrier output to maximum, and hide behind your shields."
The chanted battle cries of the enemy were everywhere. Even if they had cleared their area for a second, there were millions more of them nearby that could be redeployed to keep the defenders from creating a full breach in the offence and moving out to try to surround the attackers.
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