The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1643

Chapter 1643 Insubordination

The fall of Sydney Superior struck every Brighter's heart. A catastrophe of this scale could not be hidden from anyone!

Now that a critical star system had fallen into the hands of the sandmen, the star systems in the interior of the Bright Republic became exposed! The sandmen managed to crack open a hole in the wall, causing numerous battle-hardened fleets to attack the star systems that had never faced as much pressure as before!

The overstretched Starfighter Corps tried its best to supplement the nearby garrisons, but they simply weren't fast enough!

At one star system in the vicinity of Sydney Superior, a small force of Desolate Soldiers fought desperately against an approaching swarm of sandman drones!

Due to severe logistical constraints, the starfighter groups that should have reinforced the Trivian System had not arrived as expected!

Only less than a hundred starfighters remained to cover the two-hundred or so mechs that consisted of the main force!

Even so, the mech and starfighter pilots did not shirk their duty.

The Novabreakers piloted by the 4th Agon Chevaliers of the 7th Bentheim division courageously fought in the vanguard.

Ordinarily, the starfighters should have flown in front to attract enemy laser fire, but there were simply too few left! The defenders of Trivian simply couldn't afford to lose more starfighters and deprive themselves of additional guns.

Every machine mattered, no matter if it was an expensive premium mech or an ultracheap starfighter!

Propping up the morale of the stressed and exhausted pilots, the gold-coated Desolate Soldiers tried their best to cover each and every part of the formation with their encouraging glows.

The duty embodied by these iconic machines barely managed to keep everyone in line.

This was especially remarkable when most of the mechs belonged to mercenary corps or other private outfits!

With the Stripes of Humanity trailing raggedly through space, the undisciplined formation of mechs and starfighters tried their best to defeat the swarm.

The problem was that few pilots saw the point of doing so! Why should they fight over a rural star system whose tiny population at the only terraformed planet had already been evacuated?

As the swarm of sandman drones continued to advance regardless of the opposition they faced, a volley of fast-firing laser beams randomly struck one of the Desolate Soldiers!

"Harvey!" Melkor Larkinson shouted. "Eject! Your machine is a goner!"

"It's too late, commander!" The voice of a middle-aged mech pilot sounded over the communication channel. "The damned sandmen managed to penetrate the armor and damage the cockpit of my mech!"

Melkor cursed and requested assistance from a nearby mercenary corps he managed to befriend.

"Just pull out the cockpit and bring it away if you can! Maybe it can still fly away under its own force!"

"We'll do our best, but we can't divert too much attention to your man! Sorry."

Over the course of the Sand War, many outfits assigned to defend the less important star systems learned how to cooperate with each other. The only way to survive longer than a month was to ensure that they managed to cultivate allies among the disparate outfits they fought alongside!

Melkor had learned many lessons during his deployment at the front.

This was already the fourth star system that he and his detachment of Avatars had been assigned to defend. The other three star systems fell when the sandmen proved too much to stop!

"Hold formation!" The commanding officer yelled over the comm. "We have to hold as long as possible to buy time for our reinforcements to arrive! We can't give up Trivian too soon!"

The battle against the swarm continued apace as Melkor shot his Sandbreaker rifle at a steady cadence.

His marksmanship, which he used to be proud of, proved to be highly inadequate against the agile sandman drones.

At this distance, he merely managed to hit thirty percent of his shots, which was respectable compared to mercenaries but inadequate compared to elites.

He regretted spending too much time on administration and not enough time on polishing his own piloting skills. Ever since he finished his Larkinson training and graduated from the mech academy, he reduced his training intensity to shape the Avatars into an elite mech force.

"Goddammit." He cursed as his visor blocked his frustrated eyes. "I'm wasting too many rounds."

He tried his best to cover for the disabled Avatar mech piloted by Harvey, one of his older subordinates.

Harvey was like a rock within the Avatars! Aside from the Larkinsons, his veterancy status was vital in stabilizing the ranks of his unit. Melkor couldn't afford to lose him at this juncture! The Avatars already suffered several tragic losses.

Unfortunately, the pair of mercenary mechs that flew to the rescue to the drifting Avatar mech came under fire themselves!

When their own lives were under threat, the mercenaries completely forgot about their earlier orders and did their best to merge back into formation so that they would not attract as much attention from the sandmen!

Melkor cursed again! He couldn't fault the mercenary pilots for seeking safety in numbers.

The problem was that Harvey's mech, having lost all propulsion, was drifting further and further away from rescue!

He desperately asked for help from other mercenary corps but received a unanimous denial.

Every other outfit had their hands full protecting their own comrades!

Melkor deeply wanted to dispatch his own Avatars to rescue Harvey, but his latest superior already gave strict instructions that their Desolate Soldiers should maintain position in the formation.

Even if the outfits already brought enough Desolate Soldiers to cover the entire formation several times over, the commander from the Agon Chevaliers wanted the glows to overlap as optimally as possible to keep everyone spirited!

As the window of opportunity was running out, Melkor had to decide whether he should disobey the orders of his superior on the faint chance of saving one of his precious Avatars.

In the end, before he came to a decision, one of his subordinates already left formation and flew to the drifting mech!

"Silent William! What are you doing?!"

No answer came from the comm. William never spoke. However, that was no excuse for remaining silent!

A mech's communication systems facilitated various means of verbal and non-verbal communication methods. A simple mental command was enough to compose a short message or transmit a predetermined code!

"Silent William, return to your post!" Melkor admonished. "You're disobeying orders!"

Even as Melkor rebuked the disobedient mech pilot, he secretly hoped his words fell on deaf ears.