Wolfman_1963 found himself in the waiting room for the Warlords Battle game mode. His Mech was wrecked again. Even after buying his current mech, it was hard for him to last too long in this mode. The mech was cheap, but more expensive mechs were hard for him to operate.
The pilot was frustrated. "At this rate, it will take me years to reach pilot level 3."
A message from the A.M.S. system distracted him. As he read the message, his face brightened. "Your McCain Reaper version 2 has been delivered to your hangar." The game ended soon after this notification arrived.
Wolfman lost no time and returned to his hangar. As he spawned, the pilot walked through the simulated space. Since he had been playing for a few years, his hangar had a few machines stored in the mech docks. The teen had purchased an upgrade for his hangar. With his recent purchase, eleven of the twelve doks were occupied. Only one remained empty.
Besides his new mech, all his other mechs were mostly D-grade machines. A few were C-grade, including his current machine, a red McCain Reaper version 1.
Wolfman had fallen in love with the mech. It was rare for machines to be so easy to use. With all the new bells and whistles other machines had, Wolfman found it hard to operate them.
Hearing that The Grease Monkey Workshop released a new version of his favorite mech, Wolfan knew he had to get one. Sadly, he could not get the mech right away. Due to the workshop's slow production rate, he had to wait hours to receive his purchase.
Aside from a few changes to the armor plates' shapes, there was no visual difference between the two versions. Most people had problems telling them apart. Wolfman had even bought his new mech with the same paint job, a red McCain Reaper version 2.
As he looked at the mech in his hangar, his face filled with anticipation. With a few hand gestures, Wolfman sent his current machine to be repaired. Another set of hand gestures followed. Having equipped his new Reaper, he decided to use a test trial and find the limits of his latest machine.
While there was nothing new with the cockpit, the pilot noticed the difference in the movements of his machine. He made a couple of maneuvers and even jumped a few times. The difference was evident.
The pilot then decided to test the new weapons. The Warren rifle was pretty much an upgraded version of the ISM Reaper Custom. Even the cooling function was almost the same, apart from the colored steam. The fire mode selector, however, gave a new level of operation to the rifle. The previous weapon for the McCain Reaper got a lot of criticism for only having one firing mode.
The laser Sting was a different beast altogether; the normal shot had almost five times the power of the version 1 dinky pistol. The charged shot function won the teen's favor after the very first test. He saw the charge function as an ace up his sleeve. That firing mode had a stronger damage capacity than the Waren Rifle.
To many players, Wolfman included, the secondary weapon for the McCain Reaper version 1, was a joke; most people who bought it equipped a different secondary weapon. The teen saw no need to change this one. Having tested the guns, Wolfman wanted to check the armor.
The pilot decided to consult the documentation of the mech. Usually, when a machine movement was improved, the armor plates were paper-thin. Wolfman was afraid that they had made the plates more fragile than before. To his surprise, the documentation said the alloy used had four times the durability of the ones before.
In his mind, Wolfman imagines a sorcerer. With the use of dark magic and spells, the sorcerer conjured the McCain Reaper version 2. The pilot shakes the depictions of his overactive imagination. Wolfamn pondered to himself, "How did they manage to do this?"
He decided it was time for a field test. Since Wolfman did not want to be targeted by other players while he got used to his new mech, he chose to run the Operations game mode. With a few hand gestures, taps, and swipes, he flashed into the waiting room.
As the teen flashed in, he found the waiting room was empty. Wolfman decided to read some more about his mech in the documentation provided by the manufacturer. Getting used to his mech before the action was a good Idea.
The distracted pilot failed to notice the four mechs who just flashed into the waiting room. One of the recent arrivals decided to hail Woolfman after spotting his weapon loadout. That was one of the ways to tell the different versions apart.
His reading was interrupted by a hail on the comm channel. Wolfman interrupted his reading and answered the call. But before answering, Wolfman looked at the player's game ID. "Hey there, John-117, what do yoy need?"
John-117answered with a bit of excitement. "Say, is that the supposed S-grade mech everyone is talking about?"
Wolfman was not keen on bragging, but he answered the other player's question. "Yes, it is. It's actually the first time I pilot this mech."
John-117's excitement was evident now. "Can you join our group? I want to see your mech in action."
Wolfman thought about it for a few seconds. In his head, the scene of a com-grid movie came to mind. He imagined himself as the protagonist being betrayed by the group. He then swore to take revenge by killing them one by one. With a chuckle to himself, the teen shakes his overactive imagination.
In the end, he decided to agree. Since friendly fire was turned off, these people could not harm him. But if the people of the group were impressed by his mech, he could promote his favorite workshop. Images of Scarlet thanking him with her bouncing ...personality popped into his mind. "OK, John-117, send the invite." A light blush adorned his face.
John-117 sent the invite and started introducing the rest of the pilots in the group. The scout mech over there is Star_Blazers_Fan1232, we call her Star." John points at the machine on his left side. A light mech, the slender figure reminded Wolfman of the Runner mech model. But this one had a small sensor pack on its back and looked more durable.
John pointed to the large machine in the back. "The heavy mech at the back is Oak-Park-Resident, we call him Oak. The bipedal heavy machine towered over the rest. Instead of arms, it had two massive missile pods and a large cannon folded on its right shoulder.
Moving the finger of his mech, John points at the mech to his right side. "The one in the guardian mech by my right side is Blade Master Milie, we call her Milie for short," Wolfman observed this mech. Out of all the mechs, it was the most interesting. While it had thick armor plates, the machine also boasted two small laser turrets, one on each shoulder. These sorts of modifications were rare on guardian mechs.
I'm the last, but not the least. "I use a harasser mech." John-117 lifted his twin heavy pistols. The medium-sized machine had an aerodynamic design. The sharp angles of the armor plates had a dual purpose. First, they were meant to aid in the movement by decreasing wind resistance. Second, the angular shape of the plates would also deflect incoming attacks.
Wolfman greeted everyone. "Hello people, I'm Wolfman_1963, but you can call me Wolfman."
One final mech flashed in. With this, the fireteam was complete, and the game mode launched. No one had time to interact with the new arrival. With a flash of light, the team spawned in a swamp.
Most of the people in the fireteam cheered; the swamp was the perfect place to go all out with laser weapons. With all the water around, you could just hop on a deep pond and cool your mech. You just have to be careful not to get stuck in the mud. The operation's name and objectives came soon after.
Operation: Defence of Quagmire Base.
Map: Swamp region of Galia Prime.
Objectives:
1. Reach Quagmire base before the attack starts.
2. At least 70% of the base facilities must remain operational by the end of the enemy attack.
3. Eliminate a minimum of 65% of the insurgent forces
4. Fend off or eliminate the insurgent commander.
Secondary Objective:
1. Rescue and escort the L.A.F. engineering core transports.
John-117 and his team grimaced at the announcement of a defence operation. These kinds of missions were extra difficult, and people failed these sorts of operations more often than not.
"Aww, Man! We are on guard duty. I hate these operations." John-117 complained about the operation.
"Suck it up, John. It's not that bad." Milie scolded the player for his childish antics.
John-117 snapped back." Easy for you to say, your mech is perfect for this."
Wolfman was not as dejected as the rest of the fireteam."I have played this mission before, I know what to do." He was willing to share his previous experiences with his team.
In his mind, he saw himself wearing a commander's uniform adorned with ribbons covering his chest. A request to join the party interrupted his overactive imagination. The latest arrival wanted to join the team. Everyone looked at the mech; they had forgotten the machine was there.
The mech was a medium-sized machine with an enlarged sensor backpack. While the armor coverage was decent, multiple hits would take it down in a matter of seconds. The mech had a pistol as its main weapon and no secondary weapon. The game ID on top read Ultier's Redemption.
"Can we let her join?" Wolfman asked John-117. The pilot knew that with that setup, the mech would not survive long. John accepted the request.
A female voice came out of the comm channel. "Hello everyone, thank you for letting me join. You can call me..."
Before Ultear could finish her introduction, Wolfman cut her off. "We have to move people, we have to reach the base before the attack." Looking at the sensor mech, he apologised. "Sorry, Ultear, but we are pressed for time."
John-117, being the fastest mech, tried to run ahead. "I can get there in no time."
Wolfman was against the idea. "John, that is not a good Idea. As soon as you reach the base, the countdown for the attack will begin. It's best to let Oak be the first to enter; he is the slowest."
Ultear cuts him off this time. "I'm detecting enemies surrounding a small group of friendlies. What is that about?"
Wolfman thinks for a moment. "That must be the engineers. I have played these missions two times before, but the other times we were not able to find them." He turned his red Reaper towards John. "I think that if we rescue them, they can repair the base defences."
John was a bit confused. "What do you mean, repair the base defences?"
Wolfman speaks with an apologetic tone."Ooops, did I forget to tell you that the base defences are busted?"
John sighed. "You have to work on your communication skills."
Milie and Oak kept on moving towards the base direction. Their Mechs were the slowest. "Ok, so what do you want to do, Wolfman?" Milie communicated through the comm channel.
"So, why don't Star, John, and I attack the group that has captured the Engineers while Milie, Oak, and Ultear move to the base? We can later rendezvous at Quigmire base."
Oak's voice came out of the comm channel. "That sounds like a plan. What do you think, John?" Subtly, he reminded Wolfman that he was a guest on their team.
John-117 saw it was a good plan. "That's OK by me, just remember to unfold your big gun once you get to the base. We might need your support."
Both teams split and walked their separate ways. After a few minutes of Marching, Star was able to pick up the group of enemies holding the engineers hostage with her scout sensors. They were using a cave as a makeshift base.
Star related her findings, "Nine hostile machines are guarding the area."
Before attacking the place, the players decided to make a plan of action. John was the first to talk. "Star, can you give us more details on the enemy using your sensor suite?
The female Pilot followed with John's request. "There are nine enemy units, as I said before. By their signatures, 4 are medium-sized, and five are light. They have formed a tight perimeter around the entrance to the cave." She thinks for a second. "I don't think we can sneak in."
John takes a moment to think. "We will have to take on 3 mechs each. I don't really like those odds. Wolfman and I will have no problems, but Star's mech is not made for face-to-face confrontation."
Wolfman came up with a suggestion. "I can draw their fire; once they are fixated on me, you can take them by surprise."
John countered with another Idea. "Before we do that, I would like to know if the others from our group have reached the base."Looking at the scout mech, he issued a request. "Star, can you contact them?
After a few moments, Star received the answer. "They are about to enter the base. Their E.T.A. is two minutes."
John communicated his Idea to the rest of the party. "We will use this time to move around them. Wolfman moves to their left flank, and I move to the right flank. Star, I want you to paint the mechs from a safe distance. Once Oak unfolds his main gun, he will bombard the enemy. Then we move and take them out in the confusion."
Wolfman liked John's plan; it was a better solution. He admits to himself that his desire to test his new equipment had blinded him a little. "Let's go then." The pilot accepts John's plan of action.
The improved movements of the McCain Reaper version 2 helped Wolfman to move as silently as possible. Normally, his Mech would have made a lot of noise. But the upgrades caused the machine to be more nimble. Wolfman's overactive imagination kicked in. He imagined his mech wearing a mech-sized ninja suit.
The comm channel distracted the pilot from his fantasies. "Wolfman, are you ready? Star is about to paint the mechs." John had reached his position and was ready to begin.
Wolfman, freed from his overactive imagination, answered. "I'm almost there. Give me a few seconds."
The moment everyone was in place, a whistling sound came from the sky. Before impact, the shell exploded ten meters above the enemy position. A rain of flechette projectiles fell over the machines at the cave entrance. Only two of the light mechs fell prey to the attack. The rest were damaged, but still operational.
Wolfman jumped into action. With the Warren rifle held high, he fired in the burst mode of the rifle. Since he was used to the previous rifle, this configuration felt more familiar to him. John-117 attacked from the other side. To his surprise, the McCain reaper version 2 was moving faster than his own mech.
Wolf defeated the first 3 machines with ease. After the first barrage, the enemy reacted. They fired at the first attacker, the one who came from their left flank. Wolfman evaded most of the shots, but some attacks reached his machine. The attacks only managed to singe the red armor plates, but the Reaper was mostly undamaged.
This was a hard pill to swallow for John. His own mech, a model named the Seljuk Raider, felt short in front of the McCain Reaper version 2. The Seljuk Raider's strongest aspect was its mobility. John-117 had spent around 28,000 vouchers for an A-grade variant. Yet this machine, which had a cost of 8,000 vouchers less, was superior in mobility and endurance.
Shaking the unbelievable impression, John-117 pressed on. Using the distraction provided by Wolfman and his mech, John attacked the right flank. His mech moved quickly, with precise aim; he was able to take 3 more enemy mechs in an instant. Only one remained.
Wolfman and John looked at each other. They had both eliminated 3 enemies, and only 1 wounded machine remained. As they looked at each other, a small rivalry ignited between them. They both wanted to take this mech down and break the draw between them. Before any of them could fire on the damaged mech, three laser shots came from the trees right in front of the cave and finished the wounded mech. Star had stolen their glory.
The female pilot celebrated her only kill of the encounter. "Did you see my shots? It was awesome!" Since she used a scout mech, it was rare for her to finish a machine. At the moment, the female pilot was elated.
Both Wolfman and John decided not to complain. Since Star was happy, they felt it would be cruel to take that away from her. Instead, the two congratulated her on her accurate shot and moved to the cave.
Wolfman was happy with the first impressions of his mech. Both for him and the other pilots, He felt that the S-grade of the machine was justified. He decided to request a clip of their combat to the A.M.S. system. With luck, the Grease Monkey Workshop would use it on their store page.