In any battlefield setting, in any interstellar combat mecha, against any enemy, Song Keke could always bring out the very best of herself.
By solid feats of arms, Song Keke won everyone's respect, and made everyone believe this interstellar dwarf was a fine interstellar combat mecha pilot!
She climbed all the way up to become one of the Ten Great Instructors of interstellar combat mecha in the Owl Dragon legion fleets, and held an honorary teaching post in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's interstellar combat mecha program as well.
She still remembered the astonished looks on those students' faces when they first saw a 1.5-meter interstellar dwarf like her standing at the lectern.
After that, she had the good fortune to become a pilot of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's most advanced interstellar combat mecha,
the T6 Phoenix-Guard-class Medium Multirole Interstellar Combat Mecha, the Phoenix-Guard mecha for short.
And later still she was secretly summoned and told that she would be in charge of building up the heavy interstellar marine system for a mass-production quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's.
She was in charge of the interstellar combat mecha side of this interstellar marine force.
She was not the head of the interstellar marines on this starship, but it was a task of real rank all the same, and she had been given a squad of her own to lead.
At that moment, through the mecha's holographic display before her, Song Keke could see the view beyond the hatch, already open.
This was the next battlefield she was about to face.
Song Keke took a deep breath and looked to one side of the mecha's control panel, where mecha pilots were allowed to set things out as they pleased.
Some would put things they liked there, or photos, or write a line to spur themselves on.
And in Song Keke's spot was a photo.
It was a family portrait. She stood in the very middle in an interstellar combat mecha pilot's combat suit; because of the combat suit, and the extra physical training besides,
she looked a good deal more powerfully built than the people around her.
Beside her were her parents, her older brother, and her sister-in-law.
That's right.
The first time she was killed in battle and then reborn,
her father had asked to care for her himself, and it was after that time that she and her father "buried their grudge in a smile",
as if all the years of estrangement had vanished in that moment.
The two of them talked freely at her sickbed; her father asked her a great deal about piloting interstellar combat mecha, and about all Song Keke had been through over the years.
They talked a long, long time that day, until the medical staff came to say she needed rest.
Only then did her father get up, reluctant to go.
And as he was about to leave the room, she remembered, her aging father turned around, his eyes full of tears, and looked at her, at the palms of her hands showing calluses from training, and at her arms covered in scars.
'Keke, you're your dad's pride. Dad was wrong. I'm sorry.'
In that moment Song Keke cried for the first time in years, and she cried her heart out.
She felt that all those years of effort and holding on had perhaps had a reason after all.
She had only wanted to show her father who she was: that even without becoming an interstellar craftsman, she could be her father's pride.
And in this photo, her father's face was beaming with a smile he could not hide, and on his clothes hung all the medals for the feats of arms Song Keke had won over the years.
Song Keke took a deep breath and steadied herself.
She looked at the video window, which showed the view outside the starship.
Not far off, she could clearly see this mission's target, the enemy flagship, the quasi-T7 Drought-Fiend Ghost-King-class Heavy Strategic Interstellar Multirole Destroyer.
And their task was simple: to carry out a boarding action.
They were to get inside the enemy ship's hull, wreck the important modules inside it by force, and, given the chance, plant high explosives to destroy the enemy interstellar warship from within.
However strong an interstellar warship was, its inside was always weaker than its outside defenses.
Setting off bombs inside an enemy ship like this could destroy an enemy interstellar warship more effectively.
"Captain, look over there! Looks like the enemy's mecha units!" the deputy squad leader's voice came over the squad command channel.
Song Keke at once enlarged the video image several times over; sure enough, in the shadow of one spot on the hull of the enemy's Drought-Fiend Ghost-King-class Heavy Strategic Interstellar Multirole Destroyer, she found signs of enemy interstellar combat mecha.
"It looks like the enemy's interstellar marines; they probably meant to carry out a boarding action on us too. Most likely our Bronze-Scarab interstellar drones got in their way, and they couldn't. If we go over, they're sure to attack us," Song Keke analyzed at once.
Then she said on the command channel, "Remember, when we move out in a moment, marine soldiers are to fix themselves onto the Phoenix-Guard mecha, and once we've landed on the surface of the enemy interstellar warship's hull, find cover and set up a fighting position. Understood?"
"Understood."
Golden Two, Hammerstone Squad was made up of a hundred Phoenix-Guard mecha and a thousand interstellar marine soldiers.
Usually three Phoenix-Guard mecha and thirty people made up one combat group.
The interstellar marines had no Phoenix-Guard mecha, but they wore personal exoskeleton combat armor and carried weapons and equipment.
After all, strong as the Phoenix-Guard mecha was, a boarding action set many limits on it, and it needed the interstellar marine soldiers' help.
After all, a body that huge still had some weak points in certain combat settings.
At such times these interstellar marine soldiers could work very well with the interstellar combat mecha.
"Remember our battle plan. Three combat groups move together. Once we reach the target position, first clear the enemy combat units off the surface of the hull, to win room for the combat groups landing after us to come down safely. After that, at these ten positions, set up high-frequency armor drills, drill through the enemy starship's armor, go into the hull compartments below, and destroy every enemy you see. Remember to keep your comms linked, and to record our route map as we move, so that we can avoid some trouble when we withdraw later. Understood?" When Song Keke had given out every combat task, she gave a great shout!
"Understood!" All the officers and soldiers answered loudly.
Song Keke glanced at the time.
On another comms channel in her ear, the dispatch officer's word on how long until the boarding action was already coming through.
And to the right, other squads of heavy interstellar marines could already be seen beginning to launch.
The close-in guns on the enemy ship that had not been destroyed naturally spotted these interstellar marines trying to board too, and turned to attack them.
At the same time, some interstellar marines appeared on the surface of the enemy's hull as well, brought their weapons to bear, and attacked the interstellar marines that had not yet landed.
For the Owl Dragon interstellar marines could fly in space by certain means, but they did not maneuver fast, and could hardly dodge the enemy's attacks.
So this stage was the one with the heaviest losses.
Song Keke took a deep breath and said on the squad command channel, "Big Head, you set out last; until then, take over our squad's launch command. I'll take three combat groups in the first boarding launch. After that, launch three combat groups every thirty seconds; finish launching and landing our whole Hammerstone Squad within five minutes. Understood?"
"Why am I bringing up the rear again? Captain, can't you let me go first next time?" an unwilling voice came over the squad channel.
"That's an order," Song Keke said without ceremony.
"Yes," the other answered, still grudging it.
Song Keke took a deep breath and said on the squad command channel, "First combat group, second combat group, third combat group: take your launch positions. Ready to begin launch in thirty seconds."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
"Third combat group ready."
Ten Phoenix-Guard mecha stood at the front of the hatch, with single-use rocket thrusters fitted to their legs to make sure they could move through space as fast as possible.
At the same time, "ornaments" could be seen hanging on the frames of these ten Phoenix-Guard mecha: interstellar marine soldiers, one after another, who had linked themselves together with all kinds of gear, and then linked themselves to the Phoenix-Guard mecha.
That way the Phoenix-Guard mecha could carry them along.
The thirty seconds were soon up.
"Go," came Song Keke's order.
Ten Phoenix-Guard mecha leapt out with nearly a hundred interstellar marine soldiers.
The rocket thrusters on their legs spat blue flame, carrying them forward at speed.
At the same time, the ten Phoenix-Guard mecha switched on their star shields.
Very soon the close-in guns on the enemy ship spotted these ten Phoenix-Guard mecha.
"Warning! Warning! Warning! This unit is locked on, locked on." The mecha's artificial intelligence sounded its alert in her ear.
"Careful, we're locked on. Drop smoke," Song Keke ordered calmly.
The ten Phoenix-Guard mecha fired smoke shells in turn in several directions ahead, and these smoke shells burst at different distances,
making a wide area of thick fog.
That left the close-in guns opposite unable to fix where these interstellar combat mecha were just then.
They could only sweep the fog blindly, which greatly lowered their hit rate.
Very soon, ten crimson figures could be seen bursting out of the fog, drawing nearer and nearer to the surface of the enemy starship.
Just then,
not far from where they would land, the enemy's interstellar marines appeared: their interstellar combat mecha, and their interstellar marine soldiers with personal weapons, aimed at the Phoenix-Guard mecha and attacked.
Autocannons, missiles, shoulder-fired rocket launchers and every other weapon came their way.