651 651 New Bait
While the Hunters made for the Locust, Max focused his fire on the other Behemoths, who were spreading out to avoid getting caught in the same attack.
The advancements that the Androids were making were becoming apparent in the state of the battle, though, and no longer was the Super Heavy Mecha contingent confined to just the bombardment. They were also turning their primary weapons on the Behemoths, sending bursts from the Ion Bombard Arrays into the larger Klem and reducing the pressure on the Light Mecha.
They even managed to spare a few shots for the Behemoths, though they knew that Max would deal with them.
It was much better than they had done on the default settings when they landed, and the Klem tide looked like it might not reach them at all, despite how spread out the unit was by their attempt to guard the colonists.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ
Max put a Disruptor blast into one of the beetle-shaped Behemoths, bursting it all over the Warriors around it and melting them with the corrosive goo. While they shrieked in pain and rage, Max focused his fire on the other uninjured leader of this attack force, gravely injuring it and making the creature begin to flee.
That was usually a good sign when fighting the Klem. If the Behemoth fled, the others would usually follow in only a few seconds, giving your position time to breathe and regroup.
It was exactly the outcome that Max had been hoping for right now, but even when the last of the Behemoths had fallen to the Thunder Pattern Mecha and the Hunters, the rest of the attacking force was undeterred.
Something else was driving them forward, either a hidden Behemoth or one of the elusive Klem Queens that usually only appeared in the inner reaches of Klem space.
That would be a nightmare for his troops, making them fight every wave until the very end, but they could learn a lot about advanced Klem tactics from this battle if there really were a Queen here.
Max moved to the Hunters and drew his sword to give them a salute, then moved toward a group of Rippers and sounded his war horn.
The deep sound of the alarm grabbed their attention immediately, and they reared back in a challenge, the same as they always did when Nico challenged them.
It was an instinctive action, and Max took advantage to blast three of them with his Disruptors before charging the remainder.
[Now that’s just unsportsmanlike. You shouldn’t shoot them after you challenge them to a duel.] One of the Hunters laughed over the radio.
She was only half serious. Against a game species, there were no rules, but if it was a proper duel between Mecha, then it would be seen as incredibly insulting.
[All is fair in love and war.] Max replied as he decapitated a Warrior with his blade on the upswing toward one of the Rippers.
[If we told our men that, I suspect that they would cry and hide.] The Huntress laughed as her group spread out and engaged the nearest groups of Klem, tearing through them at a walking pace while they searched for their next targets.
[Commander, we have everything loaded into the ship and are ready to depart.] The leader of the colonists informed Max, clearly panting with exertion.
[Got it. Good luck, colonist, and I will see you back in orbit once we are finished here on the surface.]
Max switched channels to a locked frequency and hailed the ship. [Scan everything that they brought back on board. The Klem are particularly aggressive and persistent in this attack, and I want to make sure that they haven’t brought something that they shouldn’t have.]
It took a few seconds for the Ship’s Pilot to answer, but he brought good news.
[Every container and Mecha that they brought on board has been checked. There is no sign of Klem biomass, no gene-altering equipment, and nothing on the contraband list. I do have an observation for you, though.
They are using a form of biodiesel to power their equipment, and the Klem Warriors stop to lick at the fallen industrial Mecha on the battlefield. It is possible that the residue from the fuel, or the fuel itself, is working like a form of bait that draws them in.] The Pilot observed.
That was something that Max hadn’t noticed, as busy as he was with the battle, but it was definitely worth verifying.
[I need one Corvette Class Mecha to grab a fuel container from within the compound and throw it in front of the lines.] He ordered, eager to test the theory.
Hunting with bait was always easier than searching for your targets.
A few seconds later, a can of fuel came flying over the lines, bursting open on the ground in front of the Klem, but they seemed uninterested in the spill and just passed by.
[I need that fuel spill to be on fire. I want to see if the residue is what is attracting the Klem.] Max ordered.
A short puff of fire from a Fast Attack Crusader created a roaring fire where the leaking fuel container had been, and all the advancing warriors began to snap and lunge at the flames but passed by once they decided that they couldn’t get whatever it was that they wanted.
That was enough evidence for him, so he spread the word to all the units on the surface.
[Be advised the residue from the burning of the biodiesel that the locals have been using works as Klem bait. They are naturally attracted to it, so all former colony facilities can be expected to have an increased Klem presence, and any remaining stores of the fuel can be ignited and used to draw them in.]
A chorus of affirmations from the Drone Pilots and observers, as well as the Battalion Command Androids, followed, and the Absolution fleet began to alter their priorities in order to eliminate the maximum number of Klem from the surface of the planet.