Just as every Vandal and Swordmaiden waited for the next status updates of the follow-up party, the scout mechs sent back word of an alarming piece of news.
They encountered enemy scout mechs!
Not only that, they actually tangled against each other!
The scuffle didn't last long, but it allowed both sides to get the measure of each other.
To be frank, the Vandal scout mech almost lost!
Ves got called to an emergency meeting to analyse the battle footage, but the Vandals present already made a judgement on what they encountered.
"It's the Vesians!"
They already knew the Vesians arrived at the Aeon Corona System and landed their ground forces on the planet. However, for so long the immense size of the planet reduced the odds of bumping into each other.
No longer!
The Vesian military mech did not hide its allegiance. It proudly wore its regimental colors.
"It's the 1st Meandering Monkeys of the 3rd Imodris Legion!" Captain Byrd announced with a chilly voice. "They're the landbound reconnaissance forces under the command of Lady Amalia of Imodris."
"The same noblewoman who raided the Bentheim Region!?"
Lady Amalia made a splash early in the war. She brought out the entire 3rd Imodris Legion and successfully raided numerous lightly-defended star systems in the interior of the Bright Republic!
Vesian scions often led their troops into committing bold attacks, but the deep strike that the 3rd Imodris Legion performed practically whacked the Brighters in the face!
The entire state despaired, and even the LMC's Mech Nursery on Cloudy Curtain barely managed to fend off a small raid.
Only until the Flagrant Vandals paid the Vesians back by sneaking all the way into the Imodris Duchy and subsequently thrashed the Detemen System. Their incredible daring shot up their profile and provided an invaluable boost to the Republic when they most needed it! Though most Brighters probably forgot about the Vandals soon after, they earned more than enough glory to last a lifetime!
Secretly, that operation also set the Verle Task Force on the path to the Starlight Megalodon, but Ves and the others learned about this later.
As far as the Flagrant Vandals were concerned, they more than squared with the Vesians, yet the Imodris Duchy might not think so!
"There's more. Do you see the mech that has run to reinforce the Meandering Monkey scout? I recognize those colors as well. That a mech of the Hostland Warriors!"
"Say what?!"
"Isn't that a mech regiment from the Hafner Duchy?! Why would they work together with Lady Amalia?!"
The Vesian officers and chiefs all grew incredibly grave. While mech regiments from different duchies occasionally fought alongside each other, it only happened during major engagements, such as when they joined forces to conquer well-defended star systems.
Outside of that, mech regiments from rival duchies hated each other's guts. In fact, mech regiments mech legions led by nobles detested working together even if they hailed from the same duchy or noble house.
A noble from a different duchy? Enemy!
A noble from the same duchy but from a different house? Enemy!
An esteemed brother or sister from the same house as yours? Enemy!
The sheer amount of infighting that went on in the noble circles of the Vesian Kingdom completely confused the Brighters. How could they get anything done if they constantly competed against people from their own side? It even caused them to resist the Vesians harder, because they wanted no part of their madness!
Still, Ves spotted a common thread. "I think it's no coincidence that the Meandering Monkeys and the Hostland Warriors are fighting side by side. Which Vesian duchies did our mech regiment piss off lately? Imodris, Venidse and Hafner! I wouldn't be surprised if a Venidsan detachment has joined the party as well. I think their goals aren't limited to just the Starlight Megalodon.
They are after us."
Everyone looked even graver than before. If any other Vesians arrived in the Aeon Corona System, then the Vandals might still have some hopes of avoiding combat. Yet it had to be mechs hailing from the Imodris and Hafner duchies, both of which harbored an undying hatred against the mech regiment that stampeded throughout their territories!
"If the Hostland Warriors are here, do you reckon that…"
"No one in Hafner hates us more than that expert candidate we thrashed!"
"Did you forgot already? She's not an expert candidate anymore. She's a fully-fledged expert pilot now!"
A couple of Vandals connected the dots. Lady Amalia must have paid a huge price to invite the Hostland Warriors. There was no reason for a scion from Imodris to bother with a Hafner mech regiment unless she wanted to hitch Venerable Relia Foster to her wagon!
The Flagrant Vandals captured her on Nova Migolatus I at great cost. They proceeded to ransom her back to the Hafner Duchy for an even greater price to make up their losses.
Back then, the Vandals thought they got the better out of the trade. In exchange for sending back the promising young expert pilot, they received an abundant amount of funds and resources that prepared them for their journey to the Aeon Corona System.
In hindsight, perhaps it would have been better to keep her in custody, because she'd certainly be out for revenge!
"The odds are huge that Venerable Foster has consented to working together with Lady Amalia, if only to obtain the opportunity for a rematch!"
The Vandals brought this disaster upon themselves. Who told them to accept a mission for the rebels to thrash an up-and-coming expert candidate?
The Vandals retrieved a bunch of archival data from the local database, but it contained too little details about the current disposition of the Vesians arrayed against them. This also prevented them from coming up with any solid strategies.
The meeting adjourned without much result besides relaying the gravity of the situation to everyone.
When the Swordmaidens learned of the threat, their mech pilots reacted with quiet anticipation. They never experienced the dreadfulness of fighting against a military mech force!
Fortunately, Commander Lydia possessed a lot more sense and tempered her Swordmaidens. They always had it easy up to now, as no conventional pirate force could stand in their way.
This time, their luck drew short!
Ves read the mood of the Vandals as they grimly prepared for battle. Having sent a substantial amount of mechs to the red zone, those that remained had to do with less!
"What I wouldn't give to have Qilanxo right now." He sighed.
The clash against the Vesians appeared inevitable. Over the coming days, scout mechs from the Meandering Monkeys emerged out of the woodwork. They aggressively tested the boundaries of the Flagrant Swordmaidens.
Due to the restrictions imposed by the environment, the skirmishes started and ended within minutes of each other. Neither side committed to a serious battle as of yet, and what fights did erupt between the mechs of each side only left shallow marks.
Nonetheless, the Meandering Monkeys more often than not gained the upper hand in these skirmishes against both Vandal and Swordmaiden mechs.
It couldn't be helped, as the Meandering Monkeys completely specialized in reconnaissance operations! Their tactics and strategies in this area completely blew the Flagrant Swordmaidens away.
Their martial tradition compelled them to be aggressive in every scouting operation. They weren't content to hide in the bushes and observe their enemies from a distance. They were all about getting up close and personal and punching their adversaries in the nose before gleefully running away!
When Ves surveyed the battle damage in person at the workshops, he read the marks on the scout mechs that returned. Overall, their weapons exhibited much less wear and tear than their armor plating.
As a mech designer who knew mechs inside and out, he could instantly read the progression of a battle from the marks left behind on a machine.
Evidently, the Vandals got the shorter end of the stick.
As the mech technicians started to catalogue the accumulated battle damage, Ves approached the exhausted mech pilot sitting on a crate next to the light mech. A serviceman passed him a bottle of nutrient solution, which the mech pilot drank deep gulps of. The skirmish may not have lasted very long, but it drained every bit of his concentration!
"Hello."
"Mr. Larkinson." The mech pilot replied lethargically.
Ves acquired a very intimidating reputation among the mech pilots, though the man before was simply too tired to care about that right now. Compared to a bossy mech designer, the Vesians were the real enemy!
Even though Ves felt like he was about to pick open a bandaged wound, he still needed to know.
"I'll be studying the battle footage in a minute, but is there anything you can tell about the Meandering Monkeys? Their fighting habits, their weaknesses, our chances of winning against them and such?"
The Vandal mech pilot snorted. "We're not cut out to fight the Meandering Monkeys! They're so good at what they do that they are practically schooling us! Showing off our tricks in our light mechs is like showing off in front of a master. What we can do, they can do better. What they can do, we have no hopes of replicating."
"They're that good in skirmishes?"
"Reconnaissance mech regiments don't sound very impressive, and they often get the short end of the stick when it comes to funding them, but the Meandering Monkeys are resourceful buggers. Their mechs aren't all that better than ours and their mech pilots aren't any more talented either, but their training makes a huge difference! Vandals like us are geared for quick raiding operations.
We are trained to go in and out, avoiding the enemy's strong points while exploiting their weak points. Our long deployment on this planet forces us to do the exact opposite."
"That's.. surprisingly insightful of you."
"Heh. I'm a light mech pilot. I know what I'm talking about." The mech pilot smirked a bit before frowning. "The Meandering Monkeys are almost the exact opposite to us. They have taken reconnaissance and harassment to a whole other level. They love to play mind games and probe our weaknesses.
They aren't afraid of pushing the limits when they see an opportunity. Their regimental name says it all. They meander around, never letting us pin them in place, and they're monkeys in the way they fight and confound our counterattacks."
The Flagrant Vandals had their strong suits, but as the mech pilot said, they didn't excel in frontal battles.
"Their weaknesses?" Ves repeated.
"Well, me and my buddies noticed that while the Meandering Monkeys are annoying, they only rarely switch into high gear. Each time they provoke a fight, they try to accomplish the most while expending the least amount of energy. In fact, the main reason why we've been able to hang on is because we are much more willing to perform energy-intensive maneuvers than the Meandering Monkeys."
This was an important clue!
"I see! That might mean their energy supply isn't as great as ours!" Ves exclaimed. The Vandals possessed at least one indisputable advantage. "What about the Hostland Warriors?"
The Hostland Warriors took on multiple roles. They resembled the Flagrant Vandals in that they engaged in both landbound and spaceborn operations. Overall, they made a name for themselves as a versatile and dependable all-round battle regiment.
"A few of their scouts tagged along in the first few appearances, but they're not as good as the Meandering Monkeys. They never showed up after that."
Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Even if the light mechs of the Hostland Warriors couldn't keep up with the Meandering Monkeys didn't mean they disappeared from the battle theater.
"Since the Meandering Monkeys are continuing to harass our scout mechs, do you think we can fend them off?"
"No." The mech pilot decisively declared. "Even with limitless energy, these skirmishes are taking a toll on us. Each time they come back, they either show off a new trick or they dissect our own. They're taking our measure through these brief clashes while simultaneously wearing us down. You know what I think?
They're either going to ramp up the pressure slowly, or go straight in for the knockout punch!"
Considering the energy constraints the Vesians must be facing, both of them guessed that they must certainly be aiming to force a decisive battle!