As they entered the cave, John and Wolfman found three transports with L.A.F. markings inside. Since the enemies outside were taken care of, the three vehicles started to follow the mechs. Reuniting with Star outside the cave, they began their journey to Quagmire base.
While Wolfman and John-117 provided the transports with an escort, Star scanned the area with her sensor suite. The sensors of a scout mech were not as potent as those of a dedicated sensor mech. However, they were capable of picking up vibrations, heat emissions, and a score of different radiation signatures. This helped the convoy avoid or preemptively attack enemies lying in wait to ambush them.
A few minutes before reaching the base, John has a request for Wolfman. "Hey Wolfman, I see you carry a heavy laser pistol. Do you think I can see it in action? After seeing the rifle's performance, I want to see the heavy pistol too."
Wolfman turns to face John-117. "Sure, I don't mind, but there are no enemies around."
John looks around. How about shooting the rock formations that are a few meters to your left flank?
Wolfman decided to humor the other pilot. After all, he used heavy pistols, and the Laser Sting was a new kind of heavy pistol. "Ok, I will show you the two types of fire it has." He pulled the trigger normally, and the normal mode fired.
John was a bit impressed by the shot, but it was nothing new so far. "It seems that the gun has a good kick, but I'm not entirely impressed."
Wolfman smiles. "The demonstration is not over yet." This time, he pulled the trigger but held it for three seconds. The shot was charging with a high-pitched sound. The moment Wolfman let go of the trigger, a stronger beam came out. The rocks were blown to smithereens.
John was in disbelief. "How did the gun do that? It is awesome!" The pilot was sold on the Laser Sting.
Wolfman had a smug grin inside his McCain Reaper version 2. "You can get that at the Grease Monkey Workshop. While you can get it by buying the McCain Reaper version 2, they also sell it separately."
John decided to take a look at his finances once the operation was over. The man was determined to get the gun for himself. Then an Idea came to mind. "Do you think I can operate that mech with two guns instead of a rifle?" Given the fact that the machine was faster and more durable, John thought about using it as a harasser instead of a rifleman.
For his part, Wolfman saw no argument. The mech had enough strength and coordination. "I don't see why not. If there are any problems, just ask the guys at the Grease Monkey Workshop; they can come up with a solution.
John decided to focus on the current mission first. "Ok, let's finish this operation first, and then we'll take a look at the products.
Wolfman was not done selling his favorite workshop. "That's not all, John, we can repair our mechs in the workshop. They offer group discounts. Also, they have an awesome cafeteria with the most beautiful hostess around.
Star's statement interrupted their conversation. "We have arrived. The base is just over the hill."
As they entered the compound, a status bar appeared on the H.U.D. display on their cockpits. The status read 79%. The moment the engineers entered the base, their vehicles moved to different sections. Soon after, the Status of the facilities began increasing.
They all met with Ultear, Oak, and Millie. They had set up on an elevated platform near the center of the base. At the moment, the three were in the middle of an argument.
Oak was complaining. "I'm telling you, this is not the best place. My sensors do not reach too far. The enemy will have to be near the entrance to the base for me to fire at them without scout support."
Millie fired back with her argument. "If you go to the front, as soon as they enter the base, they will take you out. Over here, you will be safer. Remember that your mech has no short-range weapons."
Ultear supported Milie's point. "Yeah, besides, at this elevated position, your cannon will work better."
Wolfman interrupted their argument with a proposition. "I have an Idea, if you care to hear it."
Ultear's interest was piqued. "Can you tell me what it is?"
Wolfman lost no time in relating his suggestion along with an advertisement for his favorite place in A.M.S., "You see, in the cafeteria of the Grease Monkey Workshop, a lot of people from the third pilot level gather. The other day, I was listening to one of their stories, and I overheard a way to increase the sensor Range of the heavy mechs."
Oak gained interest after hearing this part. "Well, Wolfman, go on, tell us how to do it."
Wolfman hesitated a bit. "To tell you the truth, I have never seen it done. But you can supposedly link your sensor suite with Ultear's sensor suite to increase both ranges."
John-117 was intrigued by the suggestion. "Oak, Ultear, try to get your suites connected. In the meantime, Wolfman and Milie take the west gate and defend it. Star and I will take the east gate."
While the other mechs moved to their positions, Ultear looked through the manual of her mech. The moment she found the instructions for the merger, she was excited. "Oak, here it is! We have to use this wire." The female pilot reached her sensor suite backpack with the hand of her mech and pulled a wire from one of the ports of her machine.
Oak slowly turned around until his sensor suite was facing Ultear. "Do you know where to plug that?"
Ultear had no problem finding the corresponding port. "Here it is, I found it." Once connected, a prompt appeared on their H.U.D. As both of them accepted the merger, their ranges increased considerably.
Both of them wanted to cheer until their new range revealed the Insurgent army moving towards the base. While Oak prepared to launch his missile barrage and the cannon bombardment, Ultear transmitted their findings to the rest of the fire team.
At the moment, there were two groups: A large group of 24 mechs moving to the east gate and a small group of 5 machines heading to the west gate. Both of them had an E.T.A. of about three minutes.
With the improved sensor range, Oak decided to soften the larger group. "Enemies are in range, I'm going to start pounding them." The missile pods of his mech started spewing ordnance. The canon mounted on the right shoulder of the machine fired in slower intervals.
As soon as the insurgent mech approached the east gate, a rain of long-range missiles and flechette shells began falling on them. Wolfman looked at his H.U.D. There were still around forty seconds before the base defences came online. Their quick action in saving the engineers paid off.
Ultear used the comm channel to pass information about the smaller group. "Milie, Wolfman, the group getting close to you has a mech with a larger signature, it's either a heavy mech or the insurgent's commander, be careful.
Reaching the entrance of the base, Milie stood at the Gate. With a shield on her left hand and a vibro-sword in her right, she awaited the enemy. She looked over at Wolfman. "You can get on the wall and fire from there or go out and harass the enemy. Take your pick."
Wolfman weighed his options. In the end, he chose to roam around and harass the enemy. After all, the McCain Reaper was meant to be a rifleman mech with an assault focus. "I'm going out. My mech is not meant to assume a guard position. I will go outside."
Milie gave him some advice. "I get that, just be careful about the bogs dotted around the area. If you fall into one, your machine can stall or lose a good amount of mobility."
Wolfman started to fantasize again. In his mind, he saw a wise master advising her brave but impetuous student. With reluctance, the master was forced to see his disciple go to battle. Milie's voice dispelled the fantasies. "Are you listening to me, Wolfman?"
Wolfman, being a bit embarrassed, answers the female pilot's call. "Yeah, I'm listening, ...not falling into bogs, ...yes?"
As Wolfman left the area of the base, the turrets and missile launchers came online.
On the other side of Quagmire Base, Star and John-117 smiled as the base defences started to do their job. However, the systems had a lot of problems locking onto the enemies in the swamp lands.
John saw the problem and decided to act. "Star, let's go and paint the targets. I will keep them occupied, and you do your thing."
Star and John left the base to confront the enemy. Their machines enter the tree line. As they had contact with the enemy, the two mechs began their maneuvers. John would distract the enemy while Star quietly painted the targets from the shadows.
More than once, the enemy mechs got the better of John, and he was forced to back away. But he still created an opportunity for Star to paint the insurgent army. A barrage of laser fire and missiles followed soon after. Since John's mech was an A-grade machine, it had good durability, but everything had its limits.
Four minutes after leaving the base, the two machines returned. While Star's Mech was in good condition, it showed minor damage. John's Seljuk Raider, however, had seen better days. Sections of his armor were exposed, and the machine moved more slowly than before. Still, it was operational. This served as proof of the pilot's skill.
John decided that he would try his Idea. The resilience shown by the McCain Reaper Version 2 design in the earlier battle had won him over.
On the west side of Quagmire Base, Wolfman came in contact with the insurgent commander and his group. At the moment, the pilot was evading the enemy fire. At the same timehe was returning fire, Wolfman was able to damage some of the machines escorting the commander's unit. Yet the group was too much for the young pilot.
Two laser shots came from behind Wolfman's mech. These shots damaged one of the escorts. Milie had decided to follow him after all. Drawing their attention, she allowed Wolfman to engage the commander.
It was the third time he saw the mech used by the commander of the insurgent forces. Yet it still intimidated him a little. It was a green heavy humanoid mech with an unusual combat roll, better known as a command mech.
Wolfman knew very little about these kinds of mechs. One of his friends explained that they were like an evolved version of a sensor mech, but the monstrous machine looked nothing like Ultear's Machine. This thing was also a pain to deal with.
The large humanoid machine had thick armor plates, laser turrets on the shoulders, and a large spear. There were also two missile launchers on the chest of the machine. A dedicated sensor suite was placed on its back, along with what appeared to be large thrusters. The robust sensor suite had an antenna on either side of the head; the modules looked more like horns than antennas.
Remembering the advice Milie gave him, he decided to use the environment of the swamp to his advantage. He started shooting his Warren rifle repeatedly. The pilot aimed at the weapons of the heavy mech. The command mech had no other option than to deal with this machine personally.
As they exchanged fire, Wolfman kept moving while at the same time targeting the mech's ranged weapons. If this were his McCain Reaper version 1, he would have been sent to the lobby long ago. Still the version 2 had its limits. Even though the pilot did an excellent job evading the enemy fire, the damage was starting to mount.
After an intense firefight, Wolfman succeeded in damaging all of the command mech's ranged weapons. The only option left for the thing was to use its spear to attack in close range.
Wolfman found himself between a rock and a hard place at the moment. The insurgent commander was in front of him, and behind him was a large bog. Little did the commander know that this had been his plan all along.
Suddenly, the set of boosters ignited in the back and legs of the Commander, propelling the mech forward. Pointing the spear at the McCain Reaper, the heavy mech charged.
With one final pull of the trigger, a thick red mist came out. Concentrating around Wolfman's mech, the mist formed a dense curtain of smoke. Both he and the commander lost sight of each other.
The sound of a large water splash drowned all other sounds. As the mist cleared, Wolfman saw his plan come to fruition. He had used the coolant discharge as cover to change positions in the very last minute. The heavy mech, unable to see, crashed into the bog. Covered in water and mud, the slow machine had even less mobility now.
In his mind, Wolfman saw his mech with a matador costume. He had distracted the enemy mech using his movements and subterfuge. Now all that was left to do was to slay the beast.
Wolfman took the chance to prove the capacity of the Laser Sting. Charging shot after shot, he started to wear down the Commander's defences. The pieces of armor plate melted with every shot.
Two of the escort mechs of the Commander finally caught up to Wolfman and the wounded heavy mech. Their intervention forced Wolfman to change targets and fire at the remaining escort. Since his machine had been damaged, he could not move the same way. This time, Wolfman was in real trouble.
Suddenly, the enemy position was engulfed by a rain of laser fire and missiles. Star's voice came over the comm channel. "Why do you keep jumping into battle without thinking, Wolfie?" The female pilot scolded Wolfman. Her mech walked in from behind the trees.
Milie's Mech was moving behind them. "Sorry, these two got away; they run too fast." Her machine was walking behind Star's mech.
John's voice soon followed. "Go on, kill the commander. I want to go buy my McCaim Reaper. We don't have all day. His mech was limping into the scene.
After receiving the much-needed support, Wolfman turned and shot at the insurgent commander until the machine was out of action. Inside the bog, the insurgent commander was an easy target. To wolfman it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
After the enemy machine was no longer operational, Wolfman's imagination kicked in. He imagined his mech walking towards the sunset. With a red bandana on the forehead of the machine. The long ends of the bandana flutter in the wind.
The rewards screen brought the teen back to the waiting room for the operations game mode. Once Wolfman received the Commander's medal and the prize money from the operation, he invited the entire party to eat at the Grease Monkey Workshop. The pilot hoped he could see Scarlet today.