I got a bunch of Elite Mercenaries to kill a mech cluster. I accepted the quest right after unleashing the monolith. I have gotten the quest rewards and even went out of my way to clear any remaining mech buildings from that pod. The Soldiers remain under my command. Luckily I built a barracks for them and currently have enough food though shuttles make getting more food trivial.
I guess some outlanders trying to make a few silver helping take out some mechs will witness the unknown horrors alongside me.