Whoosh!
The sound of a floater platform whizzing by sounded above the heads of people, but no one was bothered enough to look up. Instead, they were all busy getting to their various posts so that they could prepare for the impending battle.
Nasir Drakovic held his chin up with a solemn look on his face. He was a Paladin pilot that had been assigned to the deep strike fleet, codenamed 'Drillhead'. Ever since he was attached to this fleet, this was his first proper battle against the Xenon. Other times, the size of their fleet had been so mighty that they only needed to fire a single volley in order to wipe out the enemy, and that was how it had been until a few minutes ago.
The Drillhead fleet had transitioned into realspace in the outer system of the Antilla Star System, one of the numerous Xenon strongholds that were close enough to launch attacks on the Solar System.
The floater platform that Nasir was on slowed to a stop before lowering him to the ground. He looked around and saw hundreds of mechs lined up in the hangar bay of the carrier that served as the flagship of the fleet. This was just one of many other hangar bays, and the mechs that this starship carried numbered in the thousands!
"Nasir!" Someone called out to him as he walked, making a beeline for his Paladin that was being given a last minute check up. The one who had called out to him was the one of the chief technicians that had been assigned to handle the technical issues of his Paladin, Devin.
"Devin." Nasir nodded in greeting.
"You came just at the right time. My crew has finished going over your Paladin. You're all good to go." Devin patted the side of the Paladin's ankle. Compared to a Paladin, Devin was just that much smaller. He was on the shorter side too, just below the average height of humans, so the difference was very obvious.
"Thanks." Nasir nodded and patted his chest. His piloting suit came to life, the plain black latex suit showing some flickering green lights across his chest, arms and legs. A hidden anti-gravity module came to life and Nasir floated up to the open cockpit of his Paladin.
"Good luck, buddy. Come back safe." Devin gave a mock salute and stepped back, watching from a distance.
As Nasir settled into the cockpit of his mech, he let out a deep sigh, feeling a bubble of nerves in his chest.
'Mind focused. Get your head straight, Nasir.' He gave himself a small pep talk before flipping the mental switch to close up the Paladin. The hatch sealed up and the inside of the cockpit came to life. Nasir closed his eyes and leaned his head back, allowing the mental connection he had with his battle partner sink in deeper into his mind.
"Welcome back, partner." A smooth voice spoke to Nasir.
"Nox." Nasir greeted his partner as a pitch black Paladin was visualized within the depths of his mind.
Nasir was a rare Paladin pilot who could converse with his Paladin. Before being chosen to become an esteemed Paladin, he had been an artillery mech pilot for a regiment that defended Pluto. After succeeding where he peers had failed, he had then been transferred out here.
Because of his focus on artillery mechs, the Paladin that had been made for him was with a focus on ranged combat. Despite its streamlined look, it packed a mean punch!
Mechs came online and departed the hangar bay of the flagship by droves. They looked like a swarm of ants rushing out of their nest after the nest was poked by a predator.
"Seems we will be taking the backseat for now." Nasir told Nox, and he felt the pulse of agreement emanating from the connection they shared.
The fight soon exploded. Hundreds of small scale space fighter crafts dashed out from the larger hangars of the various carriers that made up the fleet, while some smaller frigates also emerged from within the carriers.
Dozens of Heavy Frigates were part of the main fleet, along with half a dozen Destroyers, and one Cruiser, which acted as the flagship that carried Nasir's Paladin. The Cruiser also just happened to share the same name as the codename of the mission, The Drillhead.
Nasir and his battle partner watched as thousands of bright beams lit up the darkness of the vacuum. Some fighter ships on both sides immediately exploded into flames as they were unlucky enough to come under the fire of too many enemies at once.
The battle continued for a few more minutes before a wild alarm sounded within the cockpit of the Paladin.
Nasir's direct superior, and the commander of this fleet, Viktor, patched into his communication network and gave him some order. Nasir replied him and got ready to display the amazing ranged prowess of his Paladin.
The black, sleek, streamlined form of his mech suddenly bulged out as many hidden modules were revealed all along its frame. Half a dozen large barrels extended from its frontal armor, and a much larger cannon extended from its torso, just below the cockpit.
The energy signature of his Paladin rose exponentially, turning from a speck of dust into a bright star in just a few moments! A bright glow was building up within the barrels that extended from his mech, and in the next moment, seven thick, white beams of light shot out from behind the Drillhead, and lanced through the darkness of space.
The foremost beam of light crashed down into the atmosphere of Antilla one, striking against the energy barrier that protected one of the high energy railguns. The second and third beams struck the same position, and the shield shattered into pieces. Four consecutive beams of light followed closely, striking the exposed railgun.
BOOM!!!
A resounding explosion tore through the fixed turret as it was engulfed by scorching flames, instantly throwing the base where it was located into disarray.
Through his Paladin's excellent optical sensors and other relevant sensors, Nasir was easily able to track and accurately hit the exposed railgun.
"Target 01 had been neutralized." He gave a perfunctory report before turning his attention to another target." It seemed he would be relegated to some simple sniping today.