The only piece of good news was that the Knights Mechanica could not possibly have held that many troops in reserve.
"Okay, everyone," Davis5 said to his men. "We have identified signals from behind us and they are advancing fast. In case they're heading here and are hostile, let's move some of the shields around. Raptors, make sure you can acquire targets from your current position. If not, alter your position to correct that. Let's move, people!"
They didn't need to have the command reinforced and it was somewhat gratifying to see them hasten to obey his orders as they picked the shields up and moved them to face the rear.
"So, wait,” the lieutenant said, his tone a little anxious. “Those signals aren't reinforcements coming to support the attack on the town?"
"None of our troops are approaching from that bearing, no."
"Then who the fuck is it?"
"If we knew that I wouldn't wonder if they are hostile or not. Be ready for anything."
"Should we send flares up to get a better view of who they are?" one of the Raptor pilots asked as their support mechs returned to refill their rocket supplies.
Davis5 thought about it. "Negative. If they are hostiles, we don't want to give our position away prematurely."
"Roger that."
It was getting late—or early, in this case—and the sky had begun to fade from deep purple to dark-gray but grew brighter by the second. It wasn't something he intended to make into a problem, but the operation that should have taken only a few hours into the night had now lasted until dawn. The sounds of combat from the town began to get more and more volatile, so it could be assumed that a few more hours would pass before they had eliminated the threat in Auburn.
The light in the sky brightened with each moment, which made it difficult to keep their position a secret.
Davis5 narrowed his eyes when he heard something in the distance. It sounded vaguely like something was braying or like a vibrating piece of machinery had somehow gotten into his mech suit. He couldn’t say it hadn't happened before, but he had programmed his mech to make sure nothing got in while he was out.
The noise continued, however, and the braying grew louder and deeper—like war horns being blown, he thought. In the increased light, he could detect movement in the distance but it mostly resembled clouds of dust raised by something approaching. Or a great many somethings, possibly, but nothing was clearly visible thanks to the small hill ahead of them.
Silence descended as every member of his team stared at the billows of dust that grew inexorably closer. Finally, forms crested the hilltops that obfuscated their position and the braying became much louder. Davis5 realized that his somewhat glib description was entirely appropriate. The source of the racket was revealed to be large and heavy horns that thrummed what could only be described as a battle cry by a great many blown at the same time. The cacophony didn't cease but became a continuous blare that rolled over the entire valley leading into Auburn.
"What the fuck?" He wasn't sure what he was looking at, but one thing was beyond debate. It was a shit-ton of mechs and they sure as hell weren't friendlies. "Delta Leader, this is Delta 5. You'll want to see this, over."
"What will I want to see, over?"
"A metric shit-ton of mechs. And they sure as fucking hell aren't ours, over."
It was fairly easy to confirm that statement. Even Athena's Raiders had a particular kind of decoration on their mechs, fashioned after hers with the banner and the owl ornamentation. These were different. A series of spikes ran over their pauldrons, over their spines, and down their legs. Some didn't even carry guns. And there were the horns, of course, and a number them held spears.
One of them stood out from the others. Most looked like the lighter kind of assault mechs and a few appeared to have been put together from three or four different mechs, although the armor did look solid. There were even small ATVs that had been fitted with weapons on the top and spikes up the sides. They were covered in what looked like camo tarps, and all were painted in pale brown and beige colors.
The only exceptions were three larger mechs—Argonauts, by the looks of them. Two carried banners that caught the early-morning sun. A hint of gold gleamed in the cloth and from the distance, it looked like desert dunes under a blue sky and a golden sun. As sigils went, it was fairly hard to miss as the flashing brilliance caught the light every time it flapped in the wind.
The two banner-carriers flanked a larger Argonaut, which looked considerably more modern than the other mechs. It could have even been a Guardian if not for what was very clearly an assault rifle that fired depleted uranium rounds. The plasma cannons had a different look to them.
The newcomers gathered at the top of the hill and revealed their numbers, at least in part, as they focused their attention on Delta Company.
"Who the actual fuck are these guys?" one of the Raptor pilots asked.
"Never you mind that,” Davis5 told him sharply. “Get a targeting reticle on them, and prepare to fire if they're—"
His words were cut short when the leader lowered his rifle and aimed it at the Delta company mechs. Before he could react, the powerful gun fired.
One of the Raptors was the target, and the depleted uranium round cut easily through the joint of the knee, emerged from the other side, and struck one of the assault mechs that supported it.
The Raptor tilted and fell to the side as the war horns at the top of the hill grew louder. The other mech that was
