“All units, the city is secure, all resistance has ceased. Infantry and armored units move to secure your objectives. Mechanized units stand down and maintain your positions.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Renee's hands played over her mech's controls, putting the bipedal warmachine into standby mode. As the HUD powered down, letting the interior lights activate, she leaned back into the control couch and closed her eyes for a moment. It had been a long day amidst an even longer war but this battle at least was over at any rate. She wasn't sure how long she slept but when she opened her eyes again the sun was beginning to set over the devastated cityscape. Checking her viewscreens she noticed several armored vehicles moving below her and there was no sound of anything going on over the communications net.
Sighing as she stretched out on her control couch, Renee reached over and tapped the controls on her coffee machine. It was an old clunker of a thing but it could produce a cup well enough. The black liquid coughed out of the spigot and into her coffee mug, dribbling to a stop as she reached for it and pulled the mug out from beneath the machine. Keying the release to the forward hatch, Renee looked out at the conquered city beyond her cockpit. Large portions of it had been blown to pieces, bits of rubble laying strewn about the city streets and nearly every building was scored with the blast marks of heavy weaponry.
Sipping her coffee she sat down and leaned against the side of the hatch, enjoying the warm glow of the setting sun as the shadows it casts grew longer. She could hear the sounds of tanks moving somewhere below her towering position astride her mech but unless she got the call to power up again she wasn't going to investigate. The mechanized units always saw the worst fighting in her mind, sure they weren't as exposed as the infantry or as immobile as a tank but they were big targets. That was offset somewhat by their ablative armor there was only so much that armor could absorb.
In her mind Renee had earned her rest and was going to enjoy it until the order came down to move out again. There were other cities to conquer, other foes to destroy, but right now she was going to enjoy her oil black coffee and watch the sunset over their latest prize.