M192
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lost star
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Once, long ago the defender's advantage had been supreme. You could be outnumbered by thousands and still hold out so long as supplies lasted. That wasn't the case now. Technology had slowly eroded that advantage away. Modern day wisdom was that the defender's advantage could go as low as 1.5 to 1 if the attacker brought the proper equipment. Modern day sieges were typically measured in days or sometimes weeks. More than that was wishful thinking.
Even in a fortress world fortified as high as possible had severe vulnerabilities that made it difficult to truly defend. When you could outright level terrain with a few shots things like cover and fortifications lost a lot of meaning. The locals had done what they could but mechs were highly advanced tools of war capable of a great deal of mass destruction. Only shielding systems could really hold up against concentrated attacks, and those were temporary measures that cost both fuel and precious resources. Those were reserved for the true forts. Everything else was just considered hardened obstacles that would not last.
The Hexxers attacking the Rats showed this spectacularly. The second they confirmed where the group was, they leveled the area with artillery rather than attack immediately. The reinforced fortifications held up only momentarily before becoming little more than rubble. By the time they were finished the fort resembled a parking lot more than a fortification.
It still did nothing. Wrench Rats knew how these people acted. The tier of technology might have been different, but the behavior was the same. Their technicians had placed a few dummy mechs here and there, and mimicked Morning Star's signature deeper in and been gone the second the enemy started firing. The Hexxers charged into the rubble and found that the only thing they'd done was waste ammunition.
At this point several Hoarfrost mechs hit their artillery. The attack was quick, done with little warning, and did little damage as well. It was a poke in the back. A little pinprick of damage that left a frozen blizzard behind. The blizzard did more damage than what the actual attack did. The attack served its purpose though.
Lilly wasn't a strategist. She wasn't particularly good at leading either. This style though? It had been pounded into her growing up. If there was one thing her people had dealt with, it was scenarios like this. Nobles loved to attack with overwhelming force because of some slight. Rats had learned to make it not worth their while.
By this point the consequences of blasting the area were starting to become known as the traps finished igniting. The air was filled with disrupting dust. Radiation of all sorts were blurring sensors. Mechs in general were finding their formerly pristine sight lines blurring. Several walls were popping up without any visible means of it happening. (They were literal popup walls made of the cheapest material possible.)
This was now familiar terrain for the Wrench Rats. Many had fought battles in the mist with Third Rate mechs. The Hexxers were well trained and had spectacular equipment. Their sensors still worked, but they started seeing ghosts as the Soldiers started shifting around and firing when they had a shot. Their focus was forced to switch from all out offense to a cautious advance just because of the uncertainty and skirmishers hovering at the edges.
Nip, nip, nip. That was the pattern the attacking forces dealt with. Traps and careful cuts at their heels. Committing to a fight was anathema. The Wrench Rats were very content to give ground and flee. Why would they stay really? Even the Torment Guards were able to out speed the attackers due the familiar ground, and if the enemy managed to catch up? That was what Lilly and Naoto were for. The two of them in their respective mechs could shred the skirmishers that wanted to pin them down and forced everyone to keep on the move.
Through it all Cheshire danced too. The little cat was unseen and unheard. It didn't even attack. It set a little paw on a mech or two and danced away while also noting the people that could be a problem.
It was an infuriating style to deal with at the best of times. The Hexxers, far more familiar with the devoted Friday Coalition defending to the last man, were completely unprepared to deal with it emotionally. They became utterly enraged. Lilly was quite proud to say she helped.
"Nyaha!" She taunted from Morning Star, just in sight. "Come on slowpokes."
"Stay still and fight!" The enemy expert shouted out.
"Hmmm." Lilly formed a blade of light and fired it in the woman's direction. "Nope!" Her mech flapped her wings and she boosted away.
"Venerable Lilly, we're reaching the end of available space." Melinda reported.
All right, that meant the next part of it. There were many flaws to the strategy they were using. Really, it was only showing such success because the fanatics were utterly enraged at the 'disrespect.'
Lilly did the equivalent of a few skips and stopped suddenly. There was nothing really notable where she stopped. It was just another paved and reinforced barricaded area. Morning Star moved to a defensive pose and the woman waited.
Half a minute later the Hexxers roared in. There was no attempt at speech. They simple charged in, believing in their strength and so enraged that they thought the damage she could do alone wouldn't be enough to save her.
Morning Star dropped in response. Literally dropped through the ground as the trapdoor she was on was opened. The mech fell, and then around where she was artillery shots started to rain down. While the Friday forces couldn't reinforce them, they could quite easily send a few shells their way upon command.
Once the barrage was done Lilly jumped out of her temporary cover and began to attack. Around her, her fellow Rats had begun to maul the enemy. Mechs clashed, many died. Lilly blasted several mechs before the enemy expert engaged with her. The swordswoman screamed something as she tried to slice up the other woman, but it wasn't enough to really stop Lilly. She didn't even focus on the Expert. She instead fired everywhere. It gave her opponent a few hits, but the wings were more than enough to handle that.
Then more explosions started to occur. The Hexxer forces pulled back in an attempt to prevent themselves from getting hit by another artillery barrage. A few seconds later they realized that the 'explosions' were actually just planted things that were more flash than anything else. Half the attacking Rat forces had retreated in the distraction, and the other half had just abandoned their mechs. Those pilots were impossible to find. They'd been played.
Off to the side, Lilly led the way with a small group of forces, right back the direction they came. The enemy had graciously given them all the room they needed after all. They'd also proved that they were after the people, not the terrain. The victory condition had therefore become 'get Lilly away' and they were happily taking complete advantage of that.
The enemy's reaction to this behavior was rather theatrical. What made it even more entertaining was that several of the mechs chose that moment to break down from assorted stress and accumulated damage. Each one had a faintly glowing pawprint that was rapidly disappearing as they fell to the ground. Cheshire's little trick would not be detected for a while, which made it all the more entertaining for everyone that wasn't a Hexxer.
Even in a fortress world fortified as high as possible had severe vulnerabilities that made it difficult to truly defend. When you could outright level terrain with a few shots things like cover and fortifications lost a lot of meaning. The locals had done what they could but mechs were highly advanced tools of war capable of a great deal of mass destruction. Only shielding systems could really hold up against concentrated attacks, and those were temporary measures that cost both fuel and precious resources. Those were reserved for the true forts. Everything else was just considered hardened obstacles that would not last.
The Hexxers attacking the Rats showed this spectacularly. The second they confirmed where the group was, they leveled the area with artillery rather than attack immediately. The reinforced fortifications held up only momentarily before becoming little more than rubble. By the time they were finished the fort resembled a parking lot more than a fortification.
It still did nothing. Wrench Rats knew how these people acted. The tier of technology might have been different, but the behavior was the same. Their technicians had placed a few dummy mechs here and there, and mimicked Morning Star's signature deeper in and been gone the second the enemy started firing. The Hexxers charged into the rubble and found that the only thing they'd done was waste ammunition.
At this point several Hoarfrost mechs hit their artillery. The attack was quick, done with little warning, and did little damage as well. It was a poke in the back. A little pinprick of damage that left a frozen blizzard behind. The blizzard did more damage than what the actual attack did. The attack served its purpose though.
Lilly wasn't a strategist. She wasn't particularly good at leading either. This style though? It had been pounded into her growing up. If there was one thing her people had dealt with, it was scenarios like this. Nobles loved to attack with overwhelming force because of some slight. Rats had learned to make it not worth their while.
By this point the consequences of blasting the area were starting to become known as the traps finished igniting. The air was filled with disrupting dust. Radiation of all sorts were blurring sensors. Mechs in general were finding their formerly pristine sight lines blurring. Several walls were popping up without any visible means of it happening. (They were literal popup walls made of the cheapest material possible.)
This was now familiar terrain for the Wrench Rats. Many had fought battles in the mist with Third Rate mechs. The Hexxers were well trained and had spectacular equipment. Their sensors still worked, but they started seeing ghosts as the Soldiers started shifting around and firing when they had a shot. Their focus was forced to switch from all out offense to a cautious advance just because of the uncertainty and skirmishers hovering at the edges.
Nip, nip, nip. That was the pattern the attacking forces dealt with. Traps and careful cuts at their heels. Committing to a fight was anathema. The Wrench Rats were very content to give ground and flee. Why would they stay really? Even the Torment Guards were able to out speed the attackers due the familiar ground, and if the enemy managed to catch up? That was what Lilly and Naoto were for. The two of them in their respective mechs could shred the skirmishers that wanted to pin them down and forced everyone to keep on the move.
Through it all Cheshire danced too. The little cat was unseen and unheard. It didn't even attack. It set a little paw on a mech or two and danced away while also noting the people that could be a problem.
It was an infuriating style to deal with at the best of times. The Hexxers, far more familiar with the devoted Friday Coalition defending to the last man, were completely unprepared to deal with it emotionally. They became utterly enraged. Lilly was quite proud to say she helped.
"Nyaha!" She taunted from Morning Star, just in sight. "Come on slowpokes."
"Stay still and fight!" The enemy expert shouted out.
"Hmmm." Lilly formed a blade of light and fired it in the woman's direction. "Nope!" Her mech flapped her wings and she boosted away.
"Venerable Lilly, we're reaching the end of available space." Melinda reported.
All right, that meant the next part of it. There were many flaws to the strategy they were using. Really, it was only showing such success because the fanatics were utterly enraged at the 'disrespect.'
Lilly did the equivalent of a few skips and stopped suddenly. There was nothing really notable where she stopped. It was just another paved and reinforced barricaded area. Morning Star moved to a defensive pose and the woman waited.
Half a minute later the Hexxers roared in. There was no attempt at speech. They simple charged in, believing in their strength and so enraged that they thought the damage she could do alone wouldn't be enough to save her.
Morning Star dropped in response. Literally dropped through the ground as the trapdoor she was on was opened. The mech fell, and then around where she was artillery shots started to rain down. While the Friday forces couldn't reinforce them, they could quite easily send a few shells their way upon command.
Once the barrage was done Lilly jumped out of her temporary cover and began to attack. Around her, her fellow Rats had begun to maul the enemy. Mechs clashed, many died. Lilly blasted several mechs before the enemy expert engaged with her. The swordswoman screamed something as she tried to slice up the other woman, but it wasn't enough to really stop Lilly. She didn't even focus on the Expert. She instead fired everywhere. It gave her opponent a few hits, but the wings were more than enough to handle that.
Then more explosions started to occur. The Hexxer forces pulled back in an attempt to prevent themselves from getting hit by another artillery barrage. A few seconds later they realized that the 'explosions' were actually just planted things that were more flash than anything else. Half the attacking Rat forces had retreated in the distraction, and the other half had just abandoned their mechs. Those pilots were impossible to find. They'd been played.
Off to the side, Lilly led the way with a small group of forces, right back the direction they came. The enemy had graciously given them all the room they needed after all. They'd also proved that they were after the people, not the terrain. The victory condition had therefore become 'get Lilly away' and they were happily taking complete advantage of that.
The enemy's reaction to this behavior was rather theatrical. What made it even more entertaining was that several of the mechs chose that moment to break down from assorted stress and accumulated damage. Each one had a faintly glowing pawprint that was rapidly disappearing as they fell to the ground. Cheshire's little trick would not be detected for a while, which made it all the more entertaining for everyone that wasn't a Hexxer.
