The battle cry of the mighty Klyngorn - a Class-5 mechabeast - was a deafening, high-pitched, electronic screech with low-end tones that’s hook the ground beneath their feet.

The beast was 4 meters high and 5 or 6 in length, though it was difficult to estimate as it swung its massive, robotic, exoskeletal frame and prominent tail back and forth in an attempt to swipe at the soldiers surrounding it.

“FALL BACK,” cried Captain Grek of the 403rd division of the Styrnon Prime Planetary Command - a military outfit charged with protection and advancement of the sentient races of Strynon Prime. Even with the use of sonic implants used to communicate from command units to soldiers directly thorough their auditory channels, the captain had to yell at the top of voice to be heard. “RETREAT!” He screamed. “FAAAALLLL BAAAACK!”

Grek’s soldiers sporadically got the word. The units facing the front end of the violent mech began backing away from the massive constructed beast. Continuing to bombard it with K5 En-Bolt blasts, the troops created a buffer of safety between the razor-sharp blades at the end the Klyngorn’s forelimbs and themselves.

It was a futile battle, Grek knew, and the fate of his troopers was at the whim of the cybernetic functions of the glimmering metallic beast towering over them. If it chose to swipe a limb or whip a tail in a certain direction, the troops in its path could be killed in an instant. Even with their advanced plasteel armor and lightweight padding, the impact alone was shattering their bones, concussing their brains and, in some cases, even slicing them open. And the gashes were so deep, they were simply left to lay on the ground and wait for the darkness to overtake them – usually within moments. There was no way to destroy this leviathan with the tools they had with them now.

“REGROUP AT POSITION TWO!” Grek screamed. “POSITION TWO!”

Seventy-two had initially set out on this mission. In the end, only 45 troops returned. It was a catastrophic loss for an already depleted unit. The 403rd had been deployed for 4,008 days now. The battle of Try-Orn 980 days ago had cut their unit numbers by half, and they were already down over 400 troops since deployment by then. The War was nowhere near over, as far as anyone could tell. It was a matter of how fast the enemy could produce battle units and how soon the Planetary Command could infiltrate and destroy their strongholds and factories. And that was anyone’s guess, as the enemy’s bases and strongholds were always on the move. How they actually managed to transport so quickly and stealthily was still yet to be discovered.

Once back in Position 2 - a small cave roughly 40 meters south of the Klyngorn’s arena, into which the beast itself could not fit - the 403rd troopers looked around at one another with exhaustion and defeat in their eyes. There was nothing gained by going out on this mission today. No ground was taken, only lives were lost. The only thing they’d gotten for their trouble was the intel that the Klyngorn was not just another mech that could be brought down with pure firepower. This was something new. This was something dangerous. This was a new phase in the war. This was a harbinger of things to come.

An initial scan of the metal menace showed no discernible data, as it was obviously able to jam the unit’s scanners with an entirely novel algorithm. The intel chiefs at Planetary Command had decoded all previous algorithms and even devised a system by which they could predict future jamming algorithms. But now, with the Klyngorn, scanning seemed impossible. They had instantly transmitted the info to HQ that scans were being jammed, but the analysts on duty this day were stumped. Nothing seemed to be working. New, potentially viable algorithms were implemented on the spot, but… alas, no joy. The only intel they would bring back to the higher-ups was their live video feeds - from which analysts and A.I. software would determine certain intel based on its movements and response speed. Much could be told about the Klyngorn from this information, but not enough. Not about how to bring it down.