Nest

An emergency alert was quickly transmitted back to the main base requesting for back up as soon as the birds began to attack. The six mechs that had been sent to the gorge with the research team were holding out against the birds, but their numbers were overwhelming them.

"Let me go." Moses told Dreyfus with a tone that brooked no argument. He stared the commander dead in the eyes as he spoke.

"Go." Dreyfus nodded. He knew it was pointless to argue with Moses about this, so he let the man lead the back up that was heading into the gorge. Soon enough, a two companies of mechs, led by Moses, left the main base and flew right into the gorge.

Moses had a passive expression on his face, but his mind was boiling.

'Aliens...' That word bounced around in his mind as he controlled his mech almost absentmindedly.

[It is dangerous to fly into battle in such a state, Moses.] Hex's deep voice boomed within Moses' mind.

'You say that like you are not equally as riled up about these aliens as I am.' Moses responded with mild irritation.

[Indeed, you are right. I am excited, but not for the same reason as you are. I am excited at the thought of battle against hostile aliens, but you are not excited for that same reason. What makes you different from the Xenon with that invade your home?]

'...' Moses had no reply to that statement. Hex was right. Moses was already thinking of how he would wipe out the native alien species on this planet. The Xenon had made him hate everything that was not human, and it had been so ingrained within him, that he had already thought of it as normal.

'We can have this discussion later.' Moses finally decided after a few moments and raised his rifle.

"What?" The mech pilots around him were surprised by the sudden motion, and were even more shocked when he fired a laser beam into the distance.

Unknown to them, Moses was able to see the location of the research camp thanks to the vastly more superior sensor modules of his mech. He was also able to easily down one of the alien birds with one hit!

Caw!

When one of their brethren went down by a sudden, untraceable hit, the surrounding alien birds burst into a panic. The birds that had been steadily pressing the defenders were unable to regain the initiative as beam after beam of light steadily mowed down their flock. It was not long after that when a sudden screech erupted from the forest and the birds pulled back, retreating into the darkness.

"We are saved!" The researchers who had been trembling behind the energy shield encasing the camp exclaimed in joy. The six mech pilots that had been defending simply sighed in relief. They had managed to hold out until help came.

Not more than a minute later, the two companies that made up the back up force entered their radar range, led by a majestic looking mech in red coating. The mech was about fifteen meters tall, and had an imposing look to it. It also radiated a sort of dominating aura that made people shrivel up in front of it.

"Sir!" Immediately, Debby recognized that a Paladin had personally come to save them, and she stepped forward.

"What happened here? I need a more detailed report than what was sent to the main base." Moses asked. He was still seated in Hex, as he did not feel it was good to let down his guard. His gut feeling was what had seen him through many battles, and he was sure as hell that the night of horrors had yet to be over.

Debby quickly explained how things had gone ever since they set foot in the gorge. She told Moses of how they had encountered the lone alien bird, and after killing it, they made their camp for the researchers to examine it, before being attacked. She was able to quickly summarize the important points and give to Moses in a short time.

"I see..." Moses hummed. "It is obvious where things went wrong." He turned his mech and pointed at the camp.

"Sir?" Debby was slightly confused.

"The flock of aliens were drawn to the corpse of their fallen brother." Moses explained and turned around again. This time, he spoke to everyone. "Take up position around the camp. This is going to get messy." He ordered.

The floodlights of all the mechs flared to full power as they took up guard positions around the camp. Meanwhile, Moses ordered the researchers to continue their work before explaining what he was going to do.

"I will go ahead and scout things out. It is most likely that a nest is up ahead." He told them before setting off. None of them had he authority to stop him, so he could do as he pleased. Aside from that, he honestly doubted if any of them had the capability to scout the nest properly and return without being pinned down and killed.

While these aliens looked rather weak, their numbers were not to be underestimated. He was sure that they could have absolutely devastated the six mechs defending the camp if help had not come in time.

After a bit more discussion with Debby, he handed over command of the company of mechs to her before setting out. The thrusters on Hex's back easily flared to life, propelling the mech into the air at a fast pace.

Moses interfaced with Hex to a deeper level, allowing their senses to mech together on a greater scale. Hex's optical sensors became his eyes, and he was able to see much more than normal. The night did little to hinder his progress as they moved through the dark gorge.

The trees were sparse, and many rocks and cliffs dotted the land, but Moses' eyes were moving over everything like they were not there. After ten minutes of flight, he finally found what he was looking for!