章 14: Episode 3: Phantom Raid (Part 3)

Zephyr squadron launched from the Kestrel's rail catapult in quick succession. Once out in open Space, they immediately fired up each of their mechs thrusters and went into formation. They then headed past the rear of the ship and scoped out the enemy units.

"Zephyr 2 here. Got my eyes on em Cap. Custom Grisham units, as reported. Patchwork mods. No long range units, judging from their loadouts. Seems like your typical pirate grunts so far." Zephyr 2 - the blue eyed, fair skinned young man - shared through their squadrons secure channel after checking the feed from the AWACS pack equipped on his Bradfort.

"Copy that Zephyr 2. Zephyr Leader to all units. Pattern Beta-2. Start with a long range barrage. Scatter them and don't let them close in." the squad leader ordered.

"Roger!"

"Got it Cap!"

"Let's clean em up!"

Varied responses roared out through the comms.

But before they could properly engage the enemies—

"What the—?!"

"Shit!"

"You gotta be kidding me!"

After being bathed in golden luminescence, the 'patchwork' Grisham mechs suddenly charged with absurd acceleration, leaving the Zephyr squadron pilots wide eyed in shock.

"Fuck! I can't get a lock!"

"Never mind that! Just send up a barrage. Micro missiles! Scatter fire on areas A to F, now! Stave them off!" the squadron leader hurriedly commanded.

Swarms of compact sized homing missles launched from all four Bradforts and littered the surrounding area with explosions.

However, like demons emerging from amidst the flames—

"Aaaaah!!!..."

"Caleb!! Shit! You fuckers!!!"

Two Grishams closed in within mere moments and flanked Zephyr 2. One destroyed his mech's balance with a shield ram and another ran it through with a monomolecular vibro-saber - stabbing right through the cockpit and instantly killing the pilot within.

The missile barrage couldn't even slow the enemy 'Grishams' down. They quickly tore through the Zephyr squadrons ranks and destroyed their formation.

The squadron leader wanted to reinforce his two remaining pilots, but was unable to do so. He was being tied down by one of the enemy units.

It was just one damn mech! And a Grisham to boot. But he could barely even hold his ground. It was just too utterly fast. It was simply running circles around him.

"You fucking cheats! These ain't Grishams! These are fucking monsters!!!" the chubby young man named Jin - Zephyr 3 - exclaimed in frustration. He was firing his unit's weapons desperately in full auto while covering for Zephyr 4 - the red head he called Hilde earlier.

"Fuck! My FCS is going apeshit! This speed is insane! How the hell did they mod these things?!" Hilde's screams echoed through the comms. She had the most trouble out of all of them because her loadout was primarily focused on long range bombardment. She was basically a sitting duck once the enemy got in close enough.

The both of them were soon surrounded by five enemy units, eyeing them like predators hungry for kills. Eventually, an enemy Grisham slipped through Zephyr 3s weapons fire and headed straight for Zephyr 4. Hilde haphazardly fired her mech's shoulder cannons at the incoming enemy, in a final show of resistance.

A few shots grazed the enemy mech's barrier, but failed to penetrate it. Plasma claws flared to life from from both of its forearms.

Within moments, it penetrated through her barrier, and tore her cockpit to shreds - along with her.

"HIIILDE!!! YOUU BASTAAARDS!!!" Jin cried out in despair.

He fired in every direction while overcome with rage, but was soon overwhelmed. Three vibro-sabers plunged through the torso of his unit in three different angles, finally ending his life as well.

The squadron leader was made to helplessly watch as each of his squad members died before him. Anger and grief washed over him.

His Bradfort swung its two reinforced composite alloy greatswords with increasing ferocity, finally managing to push the Grisham engaging with him a distance away. He doggedly pursued.

"YOU FUCKERS! I'LL AT LEAST SEND ONE OF YOU TO HELL!!!" he defiantly screamed.

But the enemy in front of him suddenly made a strange gesture. It stopped in place and thrust its right arm towards his unit.

Golden luminescence was released by it once more. Yet, this time, something even more incomprehensible happened.

A golden circle of light appeared before its outstretched hand. Strange symbols circulated within it. Wisps of energy coalesced in the center of the circle, emitting blinding brilliance.

A silent roar echoed through the void.

The wreckage of an utterly destroyed Tactical Frame was left in its wake.

The battle had ended.

***

_Unknown Ship / Bridge

"All hostile TFs eliminated sir. The test units performed remarkably well." the First Mate - a tall, thin man in shabby clothing - reported aloud. Despite his less-than-decent appearance, a dangerous glint was present within his narrowed eyes.

"Mm. It looks like the modifications made by His Highness and his team of engineers are working smoothly." a tanned man with an unkempt beard nodded in agreement. "But they sure are flashy. What did His Highness call them again? Aether Artes?" he inquired.

"It'd likely be simpler if we just called them 'magic spells' or something. Don't you agree Commander?" the First Mate replied with a smirk.

"Hah! Well, reality is stranger than fiction, as the saying goes. If it'll help us win the war faster, then I think we should put it to good use." the man with a grizzled beard stated.

"Sir, Major Kristoff is requesting permission to return. His energy reserves are in the red." the CIC operator informed.

'Looks like it does consume a large amount of energy, like His Highness predicted. Well, the Concealment Arte or whatever this ship is equipped with is a glutton too, so we can't use it all that often either. A damn shame.' the bearded man thought inwardly.

"Permission granted. But get the rest of them to pry open that ship's defenses and clear the way for the Hammerheads." he then instructed.

He stared at the damaged ship in front of the monitor and sighed.

"Sorry folks. We've got our orders, so this really can't be helped. You're all gonna have to die."