The bright orange glow burning the sky dimmed ever slowly, as the clouds of grey smokes writhed seemingly devouring itself from the inside before expanding in every direction, followed by a rain of fire when the last pieces of the miniature rockets' containers hit the ground, or what's left of them.
Porter stared at the simulation projector with a pale face. It took some time before he finally regained his composure. He brushed his luscious black hair.
"I see.. I see." Delicately placing a hand on his chest, feeling touched, he shamelessly spouted, "Director Fei. Director Cia. This very humble man is flattered. You did your homework on my favorite weapon of choice and prepared beforehand a countermeasure."
A soft smile stretched on his face.
However, now that he thought about it...
...how the fuck did those two defensive guns managed to shoot down hundreds of miniature missiles in one burst?
Unless.. the Straggler was armed with a very advance targeting system aided by superior algorithmic engine. That would explain the tactically spaced miniature missiles' calculated series of explosion.
What's with those two anti-air guns, by the way? Acting so cool. Just go pa-pa-pa-pap and retreated to their housing slot like nothing happened.
Meanwhile, the Union side were shocked in the same manner. Thales was the one who took the blunt of the revelation. After all, he criticized the two puny autocannons as nothing but aesthetics when he first saw the Straggler S1-2. Who would have thought they were actually a defensive anchor against aerial threats?
Their shambled thoughts were cast aside as The Red Beast made another move.
"Fine.. fine. You got me." Porter shrugged as he ordered, "Varus, show them the real guns."
The weapon platform on the back of the red ape suddenly whirred into life, multiple turrets rising from its depth. 10 energy turrets each bigger than the other, and above them all, a huge laser cannon towered. It was nothing short of firepower compared to the Centurion - Imperator III.
As the red ape prepared to fire its heavy weaponry, a lazy voice rang in the comms.
"You sure?"
"Of course, I'm very sure of myself.. I mean, I'm very sure." Porter responded, a hint of agitation starting to appear on his handsome face with the Union Commander monotonously uttering the same words.
Graves chuckled inside the cockpit. In truth, he had not activated the Straggler's ECM from the start. Although, it might not be effective against the ballistic miniature missiles with their wide area of explosions, it would most likely interrupt with The Red Beast's aim while firing its overkill arsenal. However, he had no plans on dodging any of the incoming projectiles.
This action put a worried look on Cia's face. Thankfully, Fei had beaten her into it, "What the fuck are you doing, Graves? Why are you not moving?"
Testing the armor of the Straggler was out of the question now. Any mechs, even heavies with the most potent shielding, if they got directly caught with those destructive weapons, there was no denying that they would instantly turn into scraps of metal. Thus, the only option was mobility.
But it was too late now as the red ape glowed dangerously and a barrage of destructive energy blasts surged from the barrels of its turrets.
The torrent of destruction left behind straight streaks of light as they surged toward their target with lightning speed.
And for the final touch, the huge laser cannon on top of The Red Beast fired a constant beam which could instantaneously tore a whole through a mountain.
When the blasts of energy were about to reach the black mech, the Deflector Arrays activated and swatted them into particles. But before that, the surrounding area of the Straggler was scorched, glowing orange in color and turning brittle, even the huge protruding rock on its rear exploded into pieces unable to withstand the heat.
6th Gen weaponry was devastating.
The Straggler was still not out of danger yet as the most dangerous projectile was about to arrive. The laser beam was stopped by a distortion field concentrated solely on its point of trajectory. Henceforth, it was a duel between the Deflector Arrays and the huge laser cannon.
'What a very effective shielding module.' Graves smiled while assessing the status of the mech. If anything, other shielding modules would have been fried after deflecting only a few energy blast. The shielding component was not even overheating in the status panel since it only concentrated a tiny distortion field to the place where the constant laser beam was hitting.
Finally, after a dozen seconds of intense collision, the huge laser cannon overheated and was forced to disengage without achieving any damage to the black mech.
Graves searched the panels, looking for the energy bar.
[Power: 51%]
After a couple of seconds, the number went up.
[Power: 52%]
He could only nod in satisfaction.
On the audience side, Porter's jaw hanged loosely. He glanced at the two female directors, only one word in his mind, 'How..'
Unbeknownst to him, Cia and Fei were as flabbergasted as him.
Specialists such as Niel and Thales were on their feet, instantly realizing the disparity of the technical advantage the Straggler S1-2 possessed compared to the current technology of their mech faction.
"I admit." Porter calmly stated. "I see why you have failed to produce a 6th Gen model until now. You girls have diligently made it versatile in defense so that the mech could effectively close the distance and engage in a melee combat. But as we can all see, the Straggler does not have any sufficient weapons at hand to damage my Red Beast. Let's conclude this simulation as a draw."
Before the handsome director could initiate talks of negotiation for technological exchange, he heard the two foreboding words coming from Commander Graves.
"You sure?"
'You sure? You sure? Are those the only words you know how to say?' Porter gnashed his teeth in irritation.
As if to answer his thoughts, Graves made the Straggler to brandish the ugly rifle in its hands.
"As you can see, I've been a naval officer for some time now." The Union commander started, buying time for the Straggler's power to reach optimal state for the weapon to be fired, "I did my research on this mech's rifle. We all know what a railgun is. But I'm not talking about the planetary naval type or personnel-scale."
"What are you talking about, Graves?" Fei questioned with a confused look on her face.
Beside the orange head, Cia's heart pounded in her chest, perceiving that something was about to happen.
A sinister grin appeared on Graves' face after the dramatic pause. He activated the boosters of the Straggler, and flew on top of a giant rock before continuing, "I'm talking about starship-scale weaponry able to chip away at the surface of a planet."
He glanced at the energy panel, and the wide grin on his face grew wider.
[Power: 93%]
In a surgically practiced motion, the black mech took a wider stance, leaned forward and brought up the ugly rifle in aiming position.
[Redirecting power to Hurricane Railgun]
Pieces of the Straggler seemingly attached itself to the ugly rifle as it began to violently vibrate, the weapon's engine affecting the space around it - distorting and twisting it.
As the black mech started to shone in a dim orange, Porter's voice rang in the air.
"Stop, stop!"
But it was too late. The lead technician was utterly arrested to what was occuring, and failed to react to his order.
NGYUB!
The Straggler S1-2's hands flew up holding the ugly rifle from the recoil as it was sent hundreds of meters skidding backward.
The rapidly rotating kinetic energy descended upon the red ape at a speed incapable of being reacted by human senses.
Nonetheless, The Red Beast's shielding module activated, but the distortion field seemed like a piece of paper as the kinetic projectile smashed through and viciously collided with the red ape devouring it into oblivion, only a few pieces of metals managed to escape the destruction, flying in every direction.
As if it was not enough, the kinetic projectile tore through the earth, leaving behind a huge hole.
Porter, Cia, and Fei were already accustomed to the naval arm's race of The Empire of Durn. It was trying to catch up with the greater factions in naval superiority. Their faces were aghast as they realized what kind of weapon the Straggler had fired.
"Anti-matter kinetic projectile.." Cia unconsciously uttered with a trembling voice.
Graves maniacal laughter could be heard from the comms. He struggled to contain himself as he spoke, "Yes, yes! This mech can threaten Starships!"
Suddenly, the world in the simulation started to shudder, as a net of cracks spread across the terrain originating from the hole that the kinetic energy created.
In a few seconds, everything shattered and the world ended.