“Work doesn’t usually bother you like this,” Reggie pointed out.
“Work isn’t always pretty,” June admitted. “But some days are tougher than others. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. You’ve got a lot of planning to do. I won’t keep you from it.”
June waved, then, right before Reggie’s eyes, disappeared. He hadn’t even noticed her tapping the logout command.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Reggie’s negotiations with AmuroRay were brief, pointed, and one-sided. AmuroRay wanted Reggie to focus more of his attacks on Liberty Clan since they were the ones who declared war. Reggie pointed out that he could conduct the war however he liked, and that Mecha Frenzy was in no position to stop them.
Once they had an agreement in principle to negotiate peace, Reggie drew a line in the sand. He wasn’t giving back Nibelheim. He wasn’t giving up Melmond. Trading back Mysidia IV hurt since June died taking it, but it wasn’t as if death was permanent in Armored Souls. Ceding control of Pravoka wasn’t painful at all since they’d only really wanted control of the NPC juggernauts stationed there and long since relocated them all.
Now it was just the Wounded Legion Alliance versus Liberty Clan and the D-O-Double-Gs of War.
Tonight, it was the Dogs’ turn to feel the weight of Reggie’s alliance against them.
There were two primary targets and eighteen that would be receiving nothing but a drop ship filled with a single NPC platoon that would bug out at the first sign of resistance. The catch: all eighteen were in Liberty Clan space. Only the two real targets belonged to the D-O-Double-Gs of War.
Despite being a little uncertain that she was OK after her rough logout, Reggie entrusted June with representing Wounded Legion in the fight for Chronic Prime. He was taking command of the landing team headed for Ginjui IV.
Eighty drop ships.
The Wounded Legion Alliance was split roughly in half, with over 400 juggernauts under his command. It was, frankly, an incredible high being in charge of so many eager soldiers looking to carry the victory for his cause. And the fact that nearly every pilot in the alliance was logged in and ready to rock and roll was unprecedented.
Reggie had studied the enemy. They were—prior to Mecha Frenzy’s exit, at least—three fairly active factions with login rates over 80 percent. Right now, 98 percent of the Wounded Legion Alliance was participating in this action, and without Mecha Frenzy, Freedom Coach Napoleon couldn’t match their numbers.
“Two minutes to landing,” Reggie called out over the team-wide radio channel. As grand battle commander, he could only imagine the total effect of his Command Radius 5 perk. It would only be limited by how many of the allied juggernauts he could keep within 1,600m range.
Reggie reminded himself to bear that in mind before he went off on any Silent-Shuriken-inspired sword fights. One lucky shot by an enemy combatant and the alliance would be missing out on +5 Gunnery skill across the board, not to mention the lesser bonuses to piloting and tactical relays.
The drop ship hit the ground alongside the rest of the assault team.
[Primary Objective: Force the Surrender of Ginjui IV to Wounded Legion Alliance]
[Secondary Objective: Zero Civilian Casualties]
Pounder99 snickered. “Gotta love those digital civilians, eh King?”
“You try living in a digital world for a few months without being able to log out,” King radioed back. “Then tell me you’re sure they’re not real people.”
“Copy that,” Pounder99 replied. “Can’t say I get it, but… I kinda get it. And would you mind adding a kill counter? My boys were complaining last time about flying a little blind.”
Reluctantly, Reggie set Vortex on a series of way points and headed into the mission generator.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 0/275]
“Now we’re talkin’!” one of the Semper Fi pilots cheered.
Ginjui IV was unlike Nibelheim in that it had a single massive population center. Buildings spread like a carpet across a vast prairie, dotted with clusters of skyscrapers here and there marking denser districts. Elevated rails ran all throughout with illuminated glass tubes that lit the evening sky.
“We’ve got numbers,” Pounder99 radioed to everyone. “But this is a wide area. Platoons stick together. Don’t get separated or let your platoon mates wander off. If I’ve gotta lojack you boys to keep track of you, I’ll do it. Don’t make me do it.”
As the Wounded Legion Alliance closed in on Ginjui City, Reggie watched the mini-map. The hex designations always referred to the local area, so he was accustomed to seeing the letters and numbers cap out in the low hundreds or the fourth pass through the alphabet on most missions.
Vortex was aimed to enter the city limits at LA-420.
On the far side of Ginjui City, somewhere around HP-97, NPC pilots from the D-O-Double-Gs of War engaged.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 1/275]
“First blood to the good guys,” Chase called out on his private channel with Reggie. It was nice having a familiar voice around. With June and Lin off on Chronic Prime along with most of the Wounded Legion regulars, Reggie was otherwise on his own with just Semper Fi troops.
Not that they were bad guys, or even all that different than the soldiers Reggie had spent his career hanging around. They just weren’t familiar. They weren’t friends like Chase, June, Lin, and Frank—poor Frank. Maybe one day that would change, but for today, Reggie was glad to have Chase by his side.
TARGET DATA ACQUIRED
Here they were. The D-O-Double-Gs of War NPCs had arrived at the southeastern portion of the city to meet the Wounded Legion Alliance assault.
Reggie forced himself to hang back in the shadow of Pounder99’s Titan as the Semper Fi commander opened fire with a pair of Anti-Matter Projectors that had to have come damn close to overheating him after even a single volley.
“Good man,” Chase coaxed him. “Keep safe. Keep that bonus up. The rest of us are a lot more use with you Command Radiusing at us than firing at them. Don’t be a target.”
It struck him now that Pounder99 wasn’t running a Command spec. Even with so many troops under his command, Pounder99 was a fighter first, last, and always. His nametag read, “Pounder99, Gunner 20.”
This was why so few players were cut out for command. The Command build demanded a dedication to the overall mission at the expense of self. It demanded that a player sacrifice their own contribution—no, it demanded their contribution become the increased success of everyone under them. Reggie didn’t get flashy critical hit warnings like Lin had described or often experience the adrenaline rush he’d gotten that one time he’d chanced upon a sword fight.
Reggie hadn’t fired the gun on his Abrams tank outside of a training operation in years. It had been years before that since he’d driven one in battle. Reggie’s primary weapons had been a pair of binoculars and a radio.
These were Pounder99’s troops, but the marine lieutenant would have more fun fighting beside them than organizing them. Reggie had left the coordinating to Semper Fi’s commander last battle, but this time he was going to do as Pounder99 had hinted at obliquely and “let him off the chain.” That wasn’t a request for his faction as much as for him personally.
Reggie understood that now.
Time to step up and lead them.
“Omicron Platoon, head for Lima-Lima-four-zero-four. Intercept two Wyverns inbound from the north,” Reggie ordered. “Zeta Platoon, back up Kappa Platoon at Lima-Bravo-three-niner-eight. Maroon Platoon, I want you covering the elevated rail station at Lima-Hotel-four-zero-zero. Intel indicates a possibly armed civilian population. If they’re reinforcing with ground troops, that would be the quickest way for them to get here.”
“Roger that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Copy that.”
Reggie flashed back to his days trying to run missions with an NPC platoon. It was like digging in sand. These marines followed orders ea
gerly and fought like demons.
“Drop ships!” came the call over the radio. Someone named BivouacBen had just earned himself a 5,000Cr bonus for being the first to spot them. “Clustered on the city center.”
Reggie watched the kill counter as the Liberty Alliance reinforcements approached.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 32/275]
They were making good progress. How long that lasted depended on how many juggernaut pilots Freedom Coach Napoleon and Chief Gangsta SnoopDaddy had rallied to the defense. If they were lucky, most of their resources had been diverted to the many decoy raids back in Liberty Clan territory.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 33/315]
Forty… Reggie counted silently.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 33/335]
Sixty…
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 33/395]
Those were just the lead ships. More continued to land, jacking up the number to worrying levels.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 35/662]
“That’s nearly four hundred reinforcements,” Chase remarked with a nervous edge in his voice. “I… don’t think they fell for it.”
Not only had they not fallen for the ruse this time, this had to be the bulk of their logged-in forces. In fact, Reggie was surprised they even had this many to bring. Then it struck him. “They’re hiring mercs to shore up their numbers.”
“Make the call,” Pounder99 radioed on the commanders’ frequency. “We’re short about two hundred bodies, but a chunk of those are AI. The other half of the alliance ought to have it easy over on Chronic Prime.”
Before he could answer, Reggie received a holographic call from Freedom Coach Napoleon. “Well, fancy seeing you here in person. I had a fifty-fifty chance, and it looks like it’s my lucky day. You may have scared off one ally, but I’ve got deep pockets.”
“Gotta pay for friends?” Reggie asked, clucking his tongue. “So sad.”
Freedom Coach Napoleon cocked his head and sneered. “Just so you know, I put a 2,000,000Cr bounty on that wreck you pilot. Every merc in the galaxy wanted in on this action. You’re a dead man. So sad.” His mimicry of Reggie included trying to match his voice on those parting words.
Switching back to address his whole assault team, Reggie announced his decision. “I’m diverting all the drop ships to a rendezvous point centered on Juliet-Tango-one-zero-six. DO NOT WITHDRAW. They’re expecting us to run. We’re going to fight. The drop ship move is just a diversion. I understand that Liberty Clan has placed a 2,000,000Cr bounty on me personally. Let’s make use of that. Expect a number of ill-advised and overextended maneuvers to take me out. Prepare to counter.”
“I like it,” Pounder99 replied privately. “Ballsy. Win or lose, thanks for putting it on us to fight it out.”
“You’re an idiot,” Chase replied privately. “But a devious idiot. Mind if I hang out near you and farm kills?”
“By all means,” Reggie said. “Odds are, though, someone’s going to get me.”
[Faction]
[Commander]
[Appoint Backup]
Reggie selected Chase.
“What’s that?” Chase asked right after Reggie made it official.
“June’s got her own mission tonight,” Reggie replied. “If and when those mercs get through and collect that bounty, I want you to take over.”
“What about Pounder?” Chase asked. “He’s a goddamn marine! What business have I got giving him orders?”
“You’re a player. So’s he. Day jobs are just background stories here. I trust you. You’ve got a head for this stuff. I’m not half as devious as you.”
Chase sighed into his mic. “Roger, wilco. If you just did this to make me try a little extra hard to keep you alive though, well played.”
The fighting was building to building. Reggie remained out of visual contact with enemy forces whenever possible, using the tall buildings and irregularly angled intersections to cover and mask his movements. The longer he was able to give his Command Radius 5 bonus to friendly juggernaut pilots, the better the fight would go for the friendlies.
“Jekson and Babbit, reform with Figaro Platoon,” Reggie ordered, making the assignment official on his command console. “Meet up with them at Lima-Charlie-three-five-niner.”
“Reggie, behind you!” Chase shouted, already opening fire with Diablo.
A Vulture had made its way through the Wounded Legion Alliance ranks and gotten the jump on him. It unloaded a flurry of SRMs and was taking aim with a Beam Cannon-S before Reggie could react.
Diablo slammed into it.
Reggie couldn’t believe his eyes. This was the first time he could remember Chase engaging in melee combat in a juggernaut. His Jackal was larger than the Vulture he tackled, but it wasn’t a horrible mismatch. Drawing the Ninjato made by Frank’s hand, he charged in to make sure the odds didn’t even out.
“No!” Chase scolded him. “Stay back! You’re holding this effort together.”
Reggie ignored him. What good was being a commander if you weren’t there to bring your troops through the battle as best you could?
Before he got three steps, one of Pounder99’s men blocked his path with a Rhino. “Sorry, sir. Orders from Pounder. Keep you safe at all costs. That command bonus of yours is like meth. Um… not that I’d know anything about that, mind you. Just an analogy. That’s all.”
Reggie fumed. Short of attacking the Rhino himself, there was nothing he could do to get around it in time to help Chase. He watched Diablo’s wire frame as the two juggernauts on the ground wrestled. The cheeky bastard had unloaded more SRMs at point-blank range causing heavy damage to both juggernauts. If he did that a couple more times, neither would survive the encounter.
“I’ll stay put,” Reggie snapped at the Rhino pilot. “You get in there and help with that Vulture.”
To his relief, the Rhino did just that.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 95/662]
Reggie checked the assault team’s numbers. They’d come with 402 juggernauts. They had 472 left. By his quick math, they were still outnumbered, but the odds were slowly shifting in their favor.
Diablo climbed to its feet after Chase and the Rhino pilot disposed of the daring Vulture. The red-painted mech looked as if it’d been left in the toaster too long.
“You’re out of the fighting,” Reggie radioed Chase. “Backup and command duties only.”
“Roger that,” Chase said with a weary huff. “Not a lot of armor left on this thing as it is.”
The Wounded Legion Alliance closed in on the city center like a noose.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 114/662]
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 125/662]
They still had 465 juggernauts of their own left fighting.
Some of the tallest skyscrapers Reggie had seen in game loomed on all sides, making New York look like a suburb. The streets became canyons. And without the long straight stretches Manhattan was known for, the sight lines were all blind. Reggie had to rely entirely on the mini-map and updates from the other juggernauts in his vicinity for intel on anything beyond a block or two from his location.
The Rhino pilot was still puppy-dogging Vortex, following wherever he went. It was a mild annoyance until it bumped into him from behind.
“Watch where you’re—”
“Look out, sir!” the Rhino pilot shouted.
A Phoenix slammed to the ground beside him, having jumped down from the rooftops high above and barely surviving thanks to Jump Boost.
Chase fired Plasma Launchers at it.
Phoenix[37] Left Leg: 4/20
Phoenix[37] Left Leg: Destroyed
Reggie brought down his Ninjato, hacking off an arm after landing two quick blows. The Rhino finished off the Phoenix with a stomp.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 126/662]
&
nbsp; Then a Crow fell from the rooftops.
Then a Wyvern.
Both narrowly missed Vortex, clearly intent on crushing him to earn the 2,000,000Cr bounty.
Chase and the Rhino finished off both.
[Secondary Objective: Destroy Enemy Juggernauts 128/662]
“Reggie, move!” Chase shouted.
This time, Reggie spotted the falling Lion. How the heavy juggernaut had gotten to the top of one of those skyscrapers was anyone’s guess. Props to the guy, though. Reggie tried to dodge, but a mid-air burst of Jump Boost and the Lion pilot adjusted his fall.
Reggie’s game went blank.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
UNABLE TO LOG OUT; USER BODY NOT AVAILABLE
ERROR CODE: 0x00000020; AUTO-RELOG ATTEMPT01
UNABLE TO LOG OUT; USER BODY NOT AVAILABLE
ERROR CODE: 0x00000020; AUTO-RELOG ATTEMPT02
UNABLE TO LOG OUT; USER BODY NOT AVAILABLE
ERROR CODE: 0x00000020; AUTO-RELOG ATTEMPT03
>
Reggie held his breath—or tried. He lacked a body of any sort. The text floated through his consciousness like a dream. The ominous, blinking prompt terrified him with its vague promise of obedience intermixed with the lack of any suggested course of action.
“Relog?” Reggie asked tentatively.
> RELOG
The words appeared without typing, as if an unseen secretary was taking his dictation.
REBOOT; SYSTEM RELOG IN PROCESS
PERSONALITY BACKUP SYNCHRONIZING
SYNCHRONIZING
SYNCHRONIZING
PERSONALITY BACKUP MATCHED
DIGITAL ARCHIVE COPY SAVED
RESUMING…
[Relog options: Apartment - Armored Souls - Silent Shuriken - More Options]
The familiar options had barely popped up into Reggie’s consciousness before he leaped to press “Apartment.”
The world went dark once more.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Reggie’s apartment wasn’t there. Or at least, that wasn’t where Reggie ended up after selecting it from his options to relog.
He was seated on the end of his bed in the hospital where he’d first awakened following his battlefield injury. While it wasn’t the real world, it was at least familiar, if not a welcome change of venue.
Wounded Legion: a mech LitRPG novel (Armored Souls Book 2) Page 22