Crash and Explosion

The concept of warfare had always eluded enthusiastic young men joining the army - thinking it's only about shooting guns and individual glory. In a simple term, to understand something, you must dig deeper.

Humans have an individual mindset and would often do unexpected things from a different perspective. They are one of the most unique species in the universe. You put them together on a single spot, then you would have the most chaotic view. Teamwork was always a hard idea to them, as 'refusal' was hard-coded in their genes - you could see this in their infancy to their young adulthood.

In order to build an effective fighting force out of these autonomous beings, you must drill them to put them in good order, organize them in smaller structures, and assign officers to form a chain of command, so they could operate as a whole when in large numbers.

War is the definition of chaos. As such, military minds would always try to put order in battle. Thus, there were formations and uniforms for the soldiers to recognize their comrades. Soldiers killing their own allies would be a good way for a general to lose more men and risk his army routing. Men are not eager to die. If in confusion, they would panic and flee.

With all that said, a Union's mech army dropped from a standard transport ship, consisted of 300 mechs, 10,000 mechanized infantry, and 2,000 support personnel such as engineers. On rare occasion, they would be accompanied by tanks and artilleries.

Within the 300 mechs were 100 aviators which was divided into two groups.

The first group numbered around 60 called a Hawk Squadron, and it's where Hanz' team rightly belonged. The smallest unit of a Hawk Squadron was a Flight Team of about 5 flyers commanded by a team leader, sometimes supported by a sniper. 12 Flight Teams composed a Hawk Squadron.

Agile in the air, able to skirmish for a long period of time, they were the first to engage the enemy whether on offensive operation or defending a position.

Kerby's team was on the second group. 4 flyers commanded by a team leader, also called as a Flight Team. 10 Flight Teams formed a Falcon Squadron; 40 in total.

They were the scouts, instructed not to engage any unnecessary skirmishes. In battle, they form the reserves, and can easily navigate the battlefield with their speed, providing support in a critical section of the army.

Put these two groups together and you will have a component unit called a Flock.

The main body of the mech army were the 200 mechs called a Battalion. In order to keep up with the aviators, they were mainly comprised of medium and light mechs. The smallest unit was a Squad, comprised of 8 medium mechs and 2 light mechs and commanded by a Grunt. 10 Squads made up a Company, 2 Companies and you have a Battalion.

A common tactic by a Union's mech army in attacking a defended position was to send the birds first, and when they weakened the enemy, the main body of the army would take over. If they did not win, the aviators would act as a rear guard to cover an orderly retreat.

Aviators had a key role, but never to deal a decisive blow. Although, there were some occasions when they won the battle, it was not worthy to mention.

Today, however, there was a stir..

----

Hanz and Kerby's group entered a que together. After the detailed explanations from Sy, they were eager to apply what they learned.

Not long after, they were sent to a 20 vs 20 match.

"Birdies! Watch my back and we will f*ckin' win!" A confident heavy mech pilot ordered on the team's comms.

"Haha! We don't need this big slug slowing us down!" Kerby said and directed his team away.

"Hey! What did you say? Come back here!"

"Let those aviators chicken away. They always do that!" Another heavy mech pilot consoled his team mate.

After gaining a good distance away from the land mechs, Hanz called out to the other team leader, "Kerby, we'll separate and cover more distance."

"Careful doves. You might encounter other flyers out there." Kerby cautioned.

Upon scanning the terrain, Mig stated in the private channel, "It's good that the servers are not yet fixed. We are still in the Union's server. Rocks and deserts are my thing. I hate those swamps and oceanic battlefield."

"Yeah. Those creepy swimmers of the Republic give me the chills." Till added.

"I think the pilots of those mechs are mutated humans. They have gills on their neck." Hale joked.

"When war comes, I'd rather fight in swamps and oceans." Kerby stated with a serious voice.

His three team mates suddenly had a realization. If they fought on their comfortable zone, like rocks and deserts, it would be in the Union's soil.

"Ten mechs here! 6 mediums, 3 lights and 1 heavy. Not the standard squad, but man.. they are more formidable with that slug." Hanz' voice came through the comms.

"Copy." Kerby responded. After steering his mech into the direction of the other flight team, he uttered, "Boys! Let's apply what we learn."

Hanz' flight team shadowed the opposing squad, using the giant ridges of rocks to hide their silhouettes.

"Contact! Aviators on sight!" The opposing team's channel came alive.

"No worries. Once those birdies realize that we are a full squad, they'd move along."

After some time trudging the rocky terrain, the squad noticed that the flying mechs were still in the vicinity.

"What's wrong with these flyers? Why are they not going away?"

"I doubt they're amateurs. They know the distance where our weapons are most effective."

["The hawks spotted a group of rodents!"]

"F*ck!"

"Watch out!"

"They're targeting us!"

"What do you mean?"

"They're declaring that we are their preys!"

Seeing that there were two flight teams, the squad became cautious.

"Focus on one bird! Once we brought one down, they'd flee." The pilot of the heavy mech instructed, acting as the Grunt of their squad.

They waited for almost ten minutes but the aviators did not do anything, and only watched them.

"F*ckin' cowards!"

"Let's just move on. They can't do anything."

One by one, the squad proceeded to their destination. But once they turned, a flying mech strafed their rear.

"Falcon spotted!"

"Take him down! Take him down!"

They focused their attention at the speeding bird, unleashing all their weapons, hoping that a single blast would connect, but all missed.

Turning their back at the other aviators was a bad move as two flying mechs from Hanz' team started firing at their rear. When the squad turned to retaliate, the flankers retreated.

"You sons of a b*tch!" One of the medium mech pilot screamed, as he suffered energy penetrations in his back, disabling critical components.

"Come back here! Face us!"

"Cowards!"

Desperate voices echoed in the comms.

The process repeated itself. One flying mech would distract the squad's attention and other aviators would pelt them at another angle.

"Let's make a run for it. They're taking us out one by one!"

"No, no, no.. Once we turn our back, they'd come swooping down."

"They already took out Mick, Soly and Odan."

"They're roosting on the ridges, saving their energies!"

"F*ck these aviators! Why are they acting like this?!"

"Let's take one down! Focus! Focus!"

Perching on the highest point of a ridge, Kerby laughed, "These morons don't know what's happening! Hanz, bring your team up. We're going for a charge."

"Copy."

Suddenly, five flying mechs started maneuvering in the air, entering the squad's range of fire which they happily responded to, by firing at will.

"I took one down! I took one down!"

"Hahahaha! I'm going to shred you to pieces, you bastards!"

However, they were startled after detecting violent impacts on their backs followed by multiple explosions.

"What is happening?!"

"Aviators came crushing against us!"

"What?!"

Kerby's team had already disengaged after delivering a charge on the rear of the squad, taking out three mechs in the process.

"Hanz! Get your team in position!" The orange head stated in haste, "We're going to deliver the final blow!"

With only four member of the squad left, they assessed their situation, and some wanted to flee. But with the heavy mech still intact and unharmed, the lighter mechs stuck with it.

"These flyers won't be able to harm my heavy boy here. Just stay at my back." The heavy mech pilot assured his team.

"Huh?"

"They're congregating on one place!"

"What are they planning?"

"They're carrying spears!"

["The big rodent shall be feasted upon!"]

With that said, Kerby's team led the charge, followed by Hanz' team who lagged behind when the falcon flight team reached their highest velocity.

Hale was badly hit when the heavy mech unleashed a torrent of its guns, and exploded upon hitting the ground under such speed. Nonetheless, the charge went on. Kerby slammed into the heavy mech, his spear easily penetrated through the thick armor due to the speed of his advance. He deliberately did not disengage his mech and crashed to the heavier mech and they both exploded.

Screams echoed in the Comms when Hanz' team finally reached the squad, and delivered the finishing touch of the battle.