From the moment of his decision until theunch, Max had rushed to get everything organized and make sure that the Android''s programming would be properlypatible with the assistance of the Pilots up in orbit.


    They had confirmed that the Colony was still holding out against the Klem forces, and he had a full drone insertion forceing to clear thending areas, as well as set up orbits around the so that they could haveplete coverage for their Pilots although the worldcked a satellitework for them to hack.


    It was aforting, familiar feeling when Max strapped himself into the cockpit of Cleansing Light, which was crouched in the cargo hold of a modified Cutter. Especially once the announcements started.


    [All hands prepare forunch. Departure scheduled in 15 seconds.]


    The familiar voice made Max smile. Maybe on Absolution, fifteen seconds actually meant what it said, but during his early days aboard Abraham Kepler, it could mean anything from two minutes to right that instant.


    Sure enough, fifteen seconds after the announcement, their ship began to move, gently gliding out of the bay. It was a much different experience than a Landerunch, but once the ship began to rumble and shudder through the atmosphere, his mind began to focus onbat again, and Max prepared for battle.


    [Drone bombers have cleared yournding zone for insertion. The estimated clear time after bombardment is four minutes. Good luck Commander.] The announcement informed him as the map data went live on Cleansing Light''s feed.


    The Klem horde had been pushed back, and the defenders were celebrating the unexpected arrival of reinforcements, but the bugs wouldn''t be held back for long, and this was a fully developed invasion.


    Max could see at least a half dozen behemoths in the crowd already, eachrger than his Mecha, and his Battalion of AI Pilots would be outnumbered a hundred to one the moment that theynded.


    With thirty seconds tonding, Max checked on Nico, who should be descending right beside him, headed for the other side of the city. She was just as focused as he was, setting out abat deployment n for herpanions, but Max noticed that she wasn''t letting them just do their thing.


    She had improved her [Drone Controller] System Function enough that she could override dozens of Mecha at once, but she was using it passively in a simr way that he was using [Unified Force] to coordinate his unit''s actions.


    The method was different, but the end result was simr.


    [Doors will open in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]


    The Cutter wasn''t quite on the ground yet, but the Corvette ss Units surged forward the moment that the door opened, apanied by the Fast Attack Crusaders, and moved to establish a perimeter around the Cutter while the other Mecha exited.


    When Cleansing Light stood up outside of the Cutter and added its Disruptors to the barrage of fire that was holding the front lines of the Klem assault back, the Colony''smunications and citizens nearly went crazy in joy. Nobody cared that the Nation they fled from had been at war with the Reavers before being decimated. All that mattered was that there was a Titan ss Mecha here to save them from the Klem.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Local defence, we will focus on the Eastern and Western fronts, to begin with, and then spread to encircle the Colony. How many souls require extraction?] Max asked.


    [In all, there are approximately ten thousand survivors. We will defend as long as we can, but our military resources are very limited, and we have been using farm spec Mecha on the front lines.]


    Farm spec usually referred to Mecha of an obsolete design. Or, for nations which didn''t use a fully modr chassis, a unit which had seen so much structural damage that it was no longer fit forbat. But they could be stripped of their armour and sold at a discount, then used in ce of conventional tractors on frontier worlds, where even farming was a life or death activity for the residents.


    [We will have the Cutters hold their position until the encirclement isplete. If you look directly upward of your position, you will see the World Ship ss Operations Center Absolution. We will extract you to that vessel as soon as the encirclement isplete and your residents can be safely removed from the surface.] Max informed the voice on the other side of the radio.


    [Understood, Commander.]


    Max switched his broadcast to the Battalion channel and began to give orders. [Thunder Guns, wide pattern bombardment. Turn the battlefield into an obstacle course for the Klem. Corvette ss units, brace for impact.]


    The Klem Warriors were nearly on them, and his Disruptors could only hit so many at once, so Max let the light Mecha do their jobs while he picked a new target. There was a barrel-chested Klem Behemoth that looked like a beetle headed their way, and it was giving him a bad feeling.


    If they looked like they contained a lot of innards, they were usually full of either something deadly or even more Klem, so Max focused his left arm''s Disruptors on it, then sted the Behemoth and everything within fifty meters of it into particles.


    If it was one of the sorts that could spew acid or sma at them, it wasn''t anymore, but that had enraged the other Klem, and a barrage of spikes was flying his way.


    Max cleared them with a burst from the Disruptors and moved forward to meet the charge of the Rippers before they could get to the light Mecha.


    His defensivesers were constantly firing, keeping the Klem Warriors off of Cleansing Light while he advanced, but there seemed to be no end to the tide, with more appearing by the second. Under normal circumstances, the dense mass of Warriors was an effective tactic for the Rippers to makebat uninjured, but Max still had time to cut a half dozen of therger Klem down before the first one was close enough that he had to switch to melee weapons.


    The System decided that Max needed to focus, and adrenaline surged through his body as he drew his sword, joined by the distinctive mental impression of joy that meant that Nico hadnded and joinedbat on the far side of the city.


    [The sun is shining, the air is clear, and it smells of burnt Klem. It''s a good day for a war.] Nico thought after her emotions caught his attention, sending Max intobat with the Rippers while wearing a smile on his face.


    Indeed, it was a good day for a war.