As the Gauge Dynasty hastily prepared to meet the invaders in battle, Task Force Fury continued to make a huge mess of the star system. Dozens of trade ships got ruined. The Warp Ravagers did not distinguish between ships hailing from the Friday Colonies and those belonging to foreign groups and trading companies. No matter where they hailed from and who they were working for, each and any of them conducted business with the Fridaymen, which meant they were fair game in the eyes of the Hexers! The scale of destruction that the Hexers had wrought so far was already painful enough to set back the development of the colony by a year or more. Not only did a lot of trade vessels carrying invaluable materials and industrial equipment fall at the hands of the Warp Ravagers, the Gaugers also lost a lot of outlying infrastructure throughout the star system! Mining bases, ore processing facilities and most importantly the large gas processing plant at Pima Prime IX-C turned into molten and shattered ruins after enduring sustained bombardments from aggressive Hexer detachments. Due to Governor Mabrius Gauge's quick decision to give up all pretense of defending these assets, the Hexers met with virtually no opposition aside from coming across the occasional space mines and automated defense turrets. Both sides knew that the real battle would not start until they met at the orbit of Pima Prime V. As the distance between the invading fleet and the principal trading hub in the port system continued to diminish, the prospect of a collision became more and more certain. "There are only twelve hours left until we begin the assault on Pima Prime V-A." General Verle's projection reported to Ves. "We will face much heavier opposition once we commence this critical attack. Although we do not expect to fail in our attempt to break open the moon complex and destroy all of the shipbuilding facilities that the Gauge Dynasty has built up at great cost, the Sundered Phalanx's ranged units will probably pelt us with long-ranged attacks. We can't afford to take a break under those circumstances. Considering how little time we have to complete this operation, we must immediately proceed with the main assault on the Kosic Ring." Ves grimaced as he paced around in his private office. His upgraded Unending Regalia hardly gave him any sense of security when he thought about coming face to face with well over a hundred-thousand enemy mechs including a score of high-ranking mechs. The scale of this battle was unimaginable. While he had decided to take part in this operation in order to give his Larkinsons valuable experience in fighting under these circumstances, a part of him still questioned the wisdom of taking part in an enormous grudge match. The hatred between the Fridaymen and the Hexers ran so deep that getting involved would most certainly increase his infamy among the former. However, as long as the Golden Skull Alliance helped the Hexers vanquish the opposition, the reputation and prestige that he and his allies would obtain from this action was of incalculable value! While a lot of people in the Red Ocean had difficulty appreciating the effort required to defeat alien forces, it was a lot more obvious how much strength it took to successfully assault a well-defended core colony that had been built up with the support of one of the leading powers of a second-rate state! Then there were the other possible rewards he could obtain from succeeding in this venture. Just thinking about the huge amount of loot that was still stuck on a planet that was almost just as developed as Davute already started to make his mouth water. Thinking about all of these reasons allowed Ves regained his determination to proceed with this risky offensive. "I recognize that there will be a hard fight ahead of us, but Task Force Fury will be doing most of the heavy lifting this time, right?" "That is correct, sir." General Verle briefly smiled. "According to our current plans, the mech divisions of the Hex Army shall act as the anvil, while we shall function as the hammer. This means that the Hexer mech units will move forward first and attract as much firepower from the Sundered Phalanx as they can. This will grant us the initiative to move and attack the Sundered Phalanx on our terms." In other words, the Hex Army essentially agreed to act as the closest thing to cannon fodder for this upcoming confrontation. Ves couldn't imagine the losses that Task Force Fury would suffer as a result. The Golden Skull Alliance on the other hand could huddle its expeditionary fleet safely in the rear and dispatch its mech forces under favorable circumstances while enjoying the cover of the brave Hexer mech units. "How luxurious. It's nice not to be the main target of the opposition for once." General Verle adopted a disapproving gesture. "Don't take our role lightly. The reason why the Hexers agreed to give us space is because they have handed over the responsibility for cutting through the sharpest knives of the Sundered Phalanx to us. We must defeat the strongest Fridayman assets, and that fight alone will cost us plenty of mechs and lives. Furthermore, we must also confront their stronger and more potent expert mechs. It is already a given that we will suffer losses among our own expert mechs." That was a heavy realization and one that did not sit entirely well with Ves. No matter how much he had strengthened his expert mechs and no matter what advantages they possessed against the opposition, a battle of this scope always produced casualties. Ves didn't actually mind too much if the Sundered Phalanx wrecked his expert mechs. They could always be rebuilt or replaced with enough time. It was a lot harder to replace expert pilots, particularly if they had grown a considerable amount! While Ves had invested a lot of funding into strengthening the cockpits of all of his expert mechs, who knew how well they would be able to withstand withering fire from the Sundered Phalanx. "We need to be ready to rescue our expert pilots whenever possible." Ves instructed General Verle. "Each pilot is an indispensable asset. Make sure to station plenty of regular troops in their vicinity if possible and task them with rescuing our expert pilots if they have become vulnerable all of a sudden." 'That will cost us, sir." "I would rather lose the lives of a hundred ordinary mech pilots than lose a single ready-made expert pilot." "...Understood. I will pass on the necessary orders." Though General Verle did not like this instruction, he understood what Ves was getting at. The Larkinson Clan had built up a considerable reserve of ordinary mech pilots and could always hire thousands more from Davute's expanding job market. In other words, each of the ordinary pilots in the service of the Larkinson Army were expendable assets. "I mean it, Verle. Don't take any half-measures. I will allow our expert pilots to be defeated in battle, but under no circumstances should they be killed entirely. Their ejected cockpits must be preserved at all costs until we can bring them back to our fleet. If we lose too many expert pilots, then it is highly doubtful whether we can proceed with the Trailblazer Expedition. I did not spend so many years on preparing for this massive venture only to cancel my plans before I ever got started." After making it abundantly clear that Ves wanted his expert pilots to be preserved as much as possible, the discussion soon turned into another direction. "How have the rest of the Friday Colonies reacted to this invasion?" Ves asked. "Most of the forces stationed in the other colonies have stayed put for the most part." General Verle replied. "Surprisingly enough, the forces hailing from the Carnegie Group, the Vermeer Group, the Vanguard Group and the Puffer Clan have not even put up a pretense of moving to reinforce Pima Prime. They have stalled long enough that even if they depart now, they will arrive well after the dust has settled." "It looks like the animosity between the Gauge Dynasty and the weaker coalition partners has deteriorated more than we anticipated." Ves smirked. "Well, it is good to hear that Tristan's secret backers are at least upholding their end of the deal." "You are still forgetting another coalition partner, sir. Unlike the aforementioned groups, the Konsu Clan is the only ally of the Gauge Dynasty that has dispatched reinforcements to Pima Prime. They are already on their way and should arrive at the edge of the star system soon enough. Combined with the reinforcements sent by the other Gauger colonies, we estimate that around 30,000 to 40,000 mechs more enemies will enter this star system soon enough." "That's all?" "That is only the first wave, sir. The more time passes by, the more reinforcements arrive from more parts of the Friday Colonies. Depending on how much damage we sustain and how much munitions we will deplete in the upcoming assault, the fresh troops that have arrived from elsewhere can pose a considerable threat against us. At the very least, they may be able to delay and frustrate our attempts at escaping from this star system, thereby buying time for a proper counterattack." Ves frowned. "Damn Konsus. Can't they mind their own business?" "The Konsus have always been close to the Gaugers according to the intelligence I've read. It is not a surprise that their interests are so intertwined with that of their allies that they have readily chosen to dispatch a couple of mech divisions to Pima Prime." It was not difficult for Ves to understand the motives behind this move. "Perhaps the Konsus aren't so eager to confront us in battle, but they don't have to go this far. Even if their troops end up doing nothing, the Konsus will still be able to prove their sincerity to the Gaugers. Of course, if we sustain so much damage from the ensuing fighting that we have become easy pickings, the Oni Guard won't be able to resist the urge to pick up a bargain." All of this meant that the intruding forces needed to hurry up and finish their business as quickly as possible! The discussion ended shortly afterwards. Ves left General Verle to prepare the Larkinson Army for the imminent battle and checked up on the other parts of the clan. Surprisingly, not everyone in the clan felt comfortable with what they were doing. Ships like the Spirit of Bentheim, the Discentibus, the Vivacious Wal and the Dragon's Den had no business wandering into an active battlefield! Even if the Larkinson Clan had bolstered all of their defenses and added extra bunkers to their hulls, their ability to resist withering fire still fell far behind dedicated fleet carriers such as the Wild Torch and the Gorgoneion. "We have buttoned down our ships as best as we can." Chief Minister Abigail Evern reported to Ves. "The formation that we will assume will also prioritize their protection. No matter what frontal angle the Sundered Phalanx tries to shoot at us, our defensive vessels and combat carriers will always be in the way to absorb enemy fire first. The consequence of this decision is that we will suffer increased losses to our combat carriers." Ves sighed. This was a difficult tradeoff to make. "I understand. Try your best to spread out the damage as much as possible. I don't mind if our non-combat vessels absorb a bit of damage. They are all covered by ship-grade shield generators and their hulls should have been reinforced as well. It's not a big deal if parts of their outer compartments get breached either. Just make sure that the Fridaymen will not be able to inflict so much damage that our capital ships will become crippled or destroyed in their entirety." "The Larkinson Navy will do what it can, but what you are suggesting is no different from playing with fire. Depending on how much the Fridaymen hate us, we may become the target of a desperate revenge action." "Then coordinate with the Hex Army. They have a lot of starships as well. I hope we will be able to enjoy their cover as well if we need the support."