The expeditionary fleet retreated from Bortele!
It couldn't be helped.
The Larkinsons and its allies put up a good fight, but the odds were stacked against the defenders.
Lack of support, insufficient rest, rising casualties, plunging morale and not enough ace pilots all doomed the effort to save Bortele from falling into the hands of the vengeful aliens.
The defeat weighed heavily on the soldiers. They all knew that this was the correct decision to make. As hard as they fought to slow down the alien advance, they were not invincible. Their losses were hard to replenish, which meant that with every engagement, they became increasingly more outnumbered.
Even then, the soldiers of the expeditionary fleet could have chosen to stand their ground and defend Bortele III to the death.
Yet as honorable as it may be to put up a heroic last stand, the mech pilots did not want to sacrifice their life for an outcome that was already inevitable.
