The Haisnaf standing before Patel was unique in that four whips formed of metallic segments swayed and hovered about in the air as electrical discharge arced across its gleaming length, made possible by the bio-musculature of modern robotics.
One could compare this apparatus to be a biomechanical imitation of an elephant's trunk.
Patel's mind was in chaos. Thorsson was similarly apprehensive. They have had a few encounters against the Kasvallian Republic's exo-armors in recent times, battling against their excessively gigantic armored desert life-forms such as the centipede and scorpion imitations.
This new variation was new to them, and far more disturbing. By now, Patel had determined that these electrifying whips were highly effective in invading and corrupting her Nexarm's digital infrastructure. If she was caught by a whip, that electrical discharge would paralyze a section of her Nexarm, allowing Syned to infiltrate her systems.
Denys would obviously respond to protect the Nexarm, but that would have a negative impact on Patel's control over neuro devices. After all, their control over a hundred devices was only possible because Denys absorbed the majority of stress from the vast number of neuro devices.
Furthermore, that temporary invasion of Syned would also interfere with certain channels of Patel's control over neuro devices. Patel would become highly vulnerable to the enemy unit. This was why Denys chose to simply detach the left leg of Patel's Nexarm.
Patel hopped backwards with the assistance of thrusters now that she had lost her left leg, aiming to maintain a distance from those electrifying whips.
She was then astonished to discover the enemy Hasinaf's electrifying whips switching off, followed by the surface of this Haisnaf turned translucent as the enemy activated an optical camouflage technology.
Patel pushed her many sensory neuro devices to the maximum. To her consternation, most of her sensors were ineffective. Luckily, the surface of the ground was sandy, and through the weight of the Haisnaf combined with sensing air displacement, Patel was able to predict the movement of the enemy.
If only it remained purely a duel, Patel might have been able to safeguard herself..
"Patel! Watch out!" Thorrson's drew Patel's attention to a heart-shaking scene.
The humongous lengthy mecha-centipede suddenly split into two segments of two heads. The second head rushed towards Patel, with Benteke's unit desperately in pursuit, launching a barrage of rounds and missiles.
However, Benteke was slow, and the many weapon systems atop the half-centipede also responded in a flurry against Benteke and his surrounding weapon devices. Patel found herself in a position of the half-mecha-centipede charging at her front, with the threat of the camouflaged Haisnaf behind.
From a distance, many kinetic rounds arced through the air as Zero provided assistance.
The second mecha-centipede head threw caution to the wind as it continued in a relentless charge at Patel's Nexarm despite Zero's ranged onslaught.
Zero's many rounds were fired with skill and precision, striking one of the half-centipede's plates in an exact location in succession.
Finally, an x-alloy plate was pushed past its limit and cracked apart. An opening was created, allowing another of Zero's sniper rounds to pierce into the internal body of the half-mecha-centipede.
Still, this half-centipede cut towards Patel like a bullet train.
Patel momentarily lost track of the camouflaged Haisnaf unit due to the suddenness of the half-mecha-centipede's charge.
It was only now as she attempted to dodge the bulky weight of the half-mecha-centipede that the Haisnaf reappeared behind her with its electrifying whips activated.
Patel responded desperately, her hovering weapon devices firing many rounds at the Haisnaf, alongside the automaton swarms cascading like a stormy wave towards the enemy.
It was useless-- the Haisnaf's electrifying whips swung and swayed in the air , providing it's pilot with a near-complete defense. The dancing electrical discharge struck down many kinetic rounds. As for the rest that slipped past those whips-- their concentrated power was not enough to stress the Haisnaf's x-alloy plates.
Zero switched targets to the Haisnaf with electrifying whips in order to prevent this unit from locking down Patel's position.
His snap decision allowed Patel to shift her position sideways as the jaws of the half-mech-centipede's head stabbed through her original spot.
Patel had little protection for her Nexarm frame. Her own devices were focused on pressuring the Haisnaf with four whips. As such, her unit was struck by a number of rounds firing from atop the half-mecha-centipede.
Luckily, that was not enough to permanently damage the x-alloy plates of her Nexarm unit. Just when Patel thought that she had avoided a calamity, the body of this helf-mech-centipede opened up, and another Haisnaf shot forth from within!
The sound of vibrating blades buzzed into Patel's ears as this new enemy Haisnaf engaged in melee combat against Patel.
Having lost her left leg, and with her neuro devices focused on controlling the Haisnaf of four electrifying whips, Patel found herself at death's door. After all, the Kasvallian Republic designed their Haisnaf units to have a much stronger melee combat capability, whereas the Nexarm was designed to be more for long-ranged combat in deep and empty dark space.
Patel had no time to transition into melee combat-- she never expected a Haisnaf to suddenly pop out from the body of the mecha centipede.
Patel was only able to unfurl the newly-improved six spider arms of her Nexarm before she was already in the clutches of the enemy's eight spider arms, each gripping tightly onto her frame.
The vibrating blade of the enemy slipped between the plates protecting Patel's cockpit, and she saw her life flash before her eyes as the metal of her cockpit screeched and shuddered.
The butterscotch light of the Martian sky filled Patel's cockpit as a whirling blade larger than a human jabbed into her right upper shoulder.
Her heart was frozen in fear as her faculties clenched in tension. A few seconds later, Benteke roared as he realized that the half-mech-centipede had actually deactivated after the haisnaf had launched itself out at Patel's unit.
Benteke finally switched to attacking the newly-appeared Haisnaf unit that had already jabbed a blade into Patel's cockpit.
"Retreat," Zero ordered in a low tone.
There was no explanation needed for his choice. The enemy had demonstrated many unknown elements for them to safely continue their battle, especially with Patel at death's door.
Previously, the mecha-centipede was controlled by a hidden pilot from afar.
Now? It seemed that the mecha-centipede held a pilot's Haisnaf unit within, and functioned like an extra external beast-like armor.
Additionally, the other half-mecha-centipede was still in battle against Thorsson. It was likely that another Haisnaf unit was hidden within. Perhaps it might have another unique capability.
Zero also received unfavorable information from the team approaching Hellas Basin from the south.
Benteke gathered his neuro weapon devices and unleashed a burst of rounds and missiles that forced the enemy Haisnaf to leapt backwards and swerve to protect itself, while Zero continued a deluge of sniper rounds at the Haisnaf with electrifying whips.
Then, both Thorsson and Benteke sent many self-destroying automaton waves to slow the enemy as they escaped, with Patel's unit dragged backwards by Benteke.
They fell back to a defensive line that had already been set up by the personnel transporting their backup neuro devices.
This was a camp with many unique sensory systems inserted into the ground as well as pointed to various directions of the skies. The very vibration in the ground and air would notify them of approaching enemies.
Patel was lucky. Though her right shoulder had been turned to mush, with her right arm literally only attached by a string of flesh, she was still very much alive. The medical system of her cockpit was also, fortunately functional despite the damage of the enemy's whirling blades, and had protected her life.
An emergency procedure was performed and Patel awoke to an intense pain and itching in her right upper torso. She turned her head to find her right shoulder heavily bandaged.
"The nanobots are doing their work. You need to keep your right arm immobile and get enough rest." That was all she heard from her attending medical officer before she drifted off back into slumber.
Meanwhile, the masked Zero, Thorsson, Vice-admiral Son and a holographic prepubescent Denys surrounded the holographic image of President Mitsui.
"The electrical discharge of the enemy's whips are highly energy-consuming. To create a strong enough electrical discharge that bypasses the x-alloy's defenses… At best, that exo-armor unit would only last an hour in battle," Denys informed President Mitsui.
With the many e-cubes stores as well as a backup nuclear drive powering the Nexarm units, they have the ability to remain in combat for twenty-four plus hours under normal circumstances.
"As for that… ancient landing craft?" Mitsui's eyes narrowed.
"Intelligence has confirmed that landing craft to be carrying a member of the T3ST colony. It is likely that the Independent Martian faction determined that their only option was to bet on the… suspected newly-created true AI within the T3ST colony," Son said in a rather hesitant tone. That was only what the EFSF intelligence unit on Mars suspected. Solid evidence was still missing.
Thorsson and Zero then proceeded to inform President Mitsui of the Kasvallian Republic's use and advancement of the mecha-centipede form. Zero also spoke of the Kasvallian Republic's defenses on the south of Hellas Basin.
That zone was littered by powerful mines and equipped with many railguns that covered all angles of approach. That was not all. The Kasvallians also installed a powerful laser system employing many mirrors that focused the sun's rays during daytime. Any battle there would become a slow grind, a battle of attrition-- one that the EFSF did not need to bear.
As for why all of this was being reported directly to President Mitsui? Using his history as a infamous member of the EFSF, he now ensured that the EFSF directly answered to him.
The many members of the military did not resist this-- many of them felt a connection to Mitsui. Especially after the Martian rebellion, many believed that Mitsui's 'viciousness' was needed to regain control over the Solar System. As for the minority of members warning against this? they had long been dismissed.
"Strengthen and maintain the defensive line in Noachis Terra," ordered Mitsui. He never believed that victory would come from the EFNSF. He was fully aware that the Kasvallian Republic now had an edge in advanced technologies.
"As long as you hold the line, our vast number of troops will advance through the Wolf's Coil."
"Zero. Select two other members and hunt down this… supposed true AI that the independent Martian faction seem to have gained. Denys. I am certain you understand the dangers of another Syned."
"Yes, sir!" They all saluted President Mitsui with the exception of Denys, who was expressionless.
__________________________________________________
Far to the north of Mars, in Planum Boreum, Chimera had already formed a sort of defensive digital infrastructure.
Minister Williams was amazed at the speed of Chimera's progress. This true AI seemed to absorb information like a sponge. Though the technology in these ancient labs was behind the times, Chimera improved their efficiency by leaps and bounds, which very much benefited its own processing ability as well.
Chimera, after parsing through the local database containing all sorts of research and programming knowledge, rapidly restructured the whole of their digital infrastructure.
There was a certain degree of apprehension that the engineers under Minister Williams felt towards Chimera-- such a powerful AI, a true AI, could most likely control the independent faction's members' lives if it so desired.
Soon enough, Chimera successfully set up multiple backup systems thoroughly under its control. If Syned invaded, it was a simple matter of disconnecting the local systems, wiping out the entire system before restoring from backup. Obviously, that would only work if the infiltration was detected before the backup itself became infected.
A most simple defense that was almost guaranteed to maintain the independent faction's security. With Chimera's presence encompassing the whole system, it was basically impossible for any foreign infiltration to occur.
To be fair to the engineers under Minister Williams, they, too, had a similar mechanism-- it was a common protective measure. The issue was that a true AI such as Syned would easily find and go through all the known and unknown loopholes with its flexible designed mind.
Now? Chimera functioned as a sort of living will throughout the system. It was nigh-on-impossible for Syned to enter undetected.
As for fighting face-on against Syned through various digital channels? That, Chimera, was unlikely to rival the vastly more experienced Syned.
As for the next step? That step was much more difficult. Xeight now needed to slip into one of the two Martian cities to further improve Chimera's knowledge and ability, giving it a platform to grow upon.
After some discussion, they decided it was better to infiltrate the City of Romulus, controlled by the Earth Feds.
The reason for this was that the Kasvallian Republic had long integrated Syned into all of her people's minds.
No-- rather, Minister William's independent faction had long lost contact with those in the City of Remus. Those agents were most likely lost.
Based on the intelligence gathered by a few spies in the City of Romulus, this was not the case with Earth's true AI. The citizens of Romulus-- their minds remained their own.
So it was that a marine vehicle that could function as both a submarine and a boat was arranged. The specific plan, however, had yet to be fully flushed out. Xeight needed to enter the City of Romulus perfectly undetected, after all.
_____________________________________________________
Sector C2, Wolf's Coil, Mars.
"Sergeant Lim. We have received the order to begin our next engagement from the Colonel."
"Roger." A man of Southeast Asian descent with a round face and bushy eyebrows signaled for his squad to begin the next operation.
The EFSF had drafted and intensively trained a number of soldiers the past few months in an accelerated program.
The Earth Federation decided to split the men from the women-- meaning, each squadron would only consist of entirely men or entirely of women.
This decision was based on historical data. Squadrons that consist of both sexes tended to perform poorly.
In a time long past, all-female squadrons were questioned because of their lower physical capabilities. That was no longer of much import in modern days, due to warfare being much more dependent on the use and manipulation of neuro weapon devices.
Nowadays, mixed squadrons perform the worst. As for why? The currently most supported hypothesis was that most men and women carried an instinctual behavioral response towards the opposite sex.
Under the heavy stresses of combat, that instinctual response impacted the necessary actions needed for said mixed squadron to be effective in combat.
Sergeant Lim led a team of nine men as they began operation in Sector C2. They were all in gleaming exo-suits of Earth's blue and green colors, with many neuro gadgets hovering around them, and many still attached to their exosuits.
These neuro devices were called gadgets because their smaller size obviously could not compare to the large scale weapons that exo-armors such as the Nexarms operated.
Lim's squad cooperated with two other squadrons, one consisting of nine men, the other, nine women.
Prior to this, they had already successfully overcome the Kavallian Republic's many cyborg combatants in the many Sector Bs of the Wolf's Coil.
"Sergeant… Sir…" A young man who still carried baby fat in his cheeks with flat eyebrows and a round nose stuttered.
"Speak, Private Murray."
"Should we… make adjustments to cover for… Sergeant Cenkova's squad?" Private Murray knew that disobeying orders might carry a heavy punishment. Still, he felt compelled to ask.
Sergeant Lim was similarly torn as he sank into silence.
It wasn't obvious, initially.
During the battle over Sector B, it seemed like a perfectly 'normal' combat against their opponents. The Kasvallian had significantly less bodies, but their soldiers were all cyborgs, making it difficult to outright take their lives. It felt like combat against an elite squad of undying and untiring soldiers.
In contrast, once an exosuit was penetrated, the EFSF's soldiers would more often than not, lose their lives.
Regardless, the EFSF's overwhelming numbers were the difference in the end.
Still, they had to pay a price. In fact, originally, their platoon had two all-female squadrons and two all-male squadrons. One of the all-female squadrons had been wiped out in the battle over Sector B.
Initially, their platoon had thought that to be simply misfortune. Until they received information that a disproportionately large ratio of heavily-damaged squadrons from other platoons were all-female squadrons.
As such, their celebratory mood from conquering Sector B was dampened. Now, some of the men held the opinion that the Kasvallian Republic were a bunch of hateful bastards, and believed that they should stand in front to block the Kasvallian Republic from opportunistically targeting the female squadrons.
All this was, of course, within Syned Vezna's plans. He had long determined that human instinctual response, a result of millions of years of evolution, would disrupt the cohesiveness and effectiveness of these EFSF troops, allowing the Kasvallian Republic to maintain a foothold in the sectors closer to their side, the City of Remus.
For Syned Vezna, this was more than a war. He wished to prove to the world that humanity should allow true AI to enter and modify their minds.
If these EFSF soldiers carried a true AI in their minds that dampened those instinctive responses, these male soldiers would not even consider disobeying orders to provide additional protection to the all-female squadrons that were being given special attention by the Kasvallian Republic's forces.
As for the higher-ups of the EFSF? They pretended not to notice nor address this glaring 'anomaly' of an overwhelming majority of injured or dead combatants being women. Taking control of Mars was far more important.