Kensington was pushing the helicopter to it's limits when it came to balancing speed and control in the sky. He was there just a few minutes after Blade spoke about him and he started into a circling pattern once more as the helicopter dropped from it's high altitude. To descend was quicker than to ascend, but even the senior airman managed to find a way to tear the book up and do a more of a dive than a mixture of hovering and dropping. Being just a few hundred meters from the ground the wolf continued his flight pattern with his attention dead set on the action below. Then the uneasy yet brief wait settled in, giving the pilot time to think over his strategy and worry about his comrades.

Upon hearing the green light, the pilot steadied the helicopter and landed not too far away, but far enough to keep dust and debris from causing any issues with the doctor's work. Immediately, the airman found himself taking off his helmet, adjusting the headset piece, and unbuckling himself so to run to the back of the helicopter. There, he grabbed one of the many stretchers stored in the helicopter by a handle so to lay it out on the edge of the cabin. When everything was set it was up to Adrian to either give an order or bring the patient to the helicopter for the airman to briefly examine then take off. The doctor was the first to arrive, and that relieved the senior airman the position of being a combat life saver until the patient was handed over to him by the

"Alright alright lets get this guy home asap doc! You better hollar if you need a hand no sense going all bad ass when you got help on standby!" The wolf exclaimed into the headset, his left hand waving the two towards the helicopter while his right hand gripped the frame of the doorway. During the waiting period Ken's eyes scanned the area for anything that could compromise the med evac. If raising the rifle was necessary, he was damn set on being the first one to do it when it is needed.

The moment the grenades went off, Nathanial and Naida burst through the door and practically flew down the stairs to the ground just as the ATCV slid to a stop, taking up positions at the front and back of the vehicle. Esailia urged the group of civvies down the stairs after them, letting Luke herd them toward the back of the ATCV as she flipped her comm on "Captain Esailia reporting in. I have six civvies in protective custody, Sir, I have information on hostages in the mines."

Slapping the side of the vehicle, Esailia motioned Naida and Nathanial in before climbing in after them. "Orders, Sir?" She asked Blade, the tense seconds sitting in a near packed metal box, everyone breathing heavily, Naida taking the gun from Edward, letting him squeeze back into the driver's seat, and Nathanial riding shotgun, all staying quiet to let the feline listen...

Aidan squeezed the balloon at a constant interval of time, the corner of his right eye focused on the VitaSign readings of Arcade's deteriorated health situation. He was grinding his teeth, his nerves were twisting and his patience wasting, constantly fearing that Arcade's body will simply give up the fight and shut down; as the repetitive motion turned into a reflex, his mind wandered off and thought of every grim scenario that popped up in his head. What if there was a blood clot causing pulmonary embolism? What if Arcade lost enough blood for his body to go into a latent shock? What if his decision to perform a cricothyrotomy was rather rash? He tried to shake them all off, but an overwhelming sense of terror engulfed his fur and sent shivers down his spine as he heard shots very near to him. The dog was lucky enough to have Blade reducing the threat to null, he even sighed heavily to relief himself of some stress.

"Roger, sir. Thanks for the support." He then raised is head to take a quick glimpse at Stumpy's general position. Useless piece of armor-cased shit you are

Then, a blessing came down upon his furred ears, the whopping sound of chopper blades spinning in a distance was everything he needed to regain his cool and get back to work. Aidan prepared the wheels on the stretcher and elevated the surface so that it would easily roll on them, then quickly turned his attention back at the balloon to start compressing it again. He really needed a helping hand, but he had proven that one guy was enough to do all of these maneuvers if that singular guy had intensive training and body condition to handle emergencies and manage every little critical detail to save a life; an exhausting job, but Aidan wouldn't like it if it were simple. He waited until he saw the chopper affix to the ground before he'd throw everything back in the kit, swing the kit on his back and push the stretcher towards the Sky Hawk, keeping his head low, his back hunched and his feet jogging at a steady, quick pace; one hand was administrating life into a nearly-defunct body, the other pushed the stretcher and fought against the harsh terrain. He saw Ken coming out the side door to prep something up, probably a stretcher. Ken greeted him and offered to help, Aidan was actually glad the pilot was up to throw an aiding hand; even though he breathed the way he was taught to, he still felt he was tiring after the short, but brutal skirmish of that day.

"Copy that, Kenny. Alright, get ready to move him on the stretcher and ventilate while I strap him!" He announced the pilot through the helmet's headset before he finally arrived at the bird, panting and slightly sweaty. "Good evenin'! He's been relatively stable since I opened his throat, but he's charred all over the place, fabric melted and merged with fur, I filled a shrapnel wound and left the others to the surgeons to take care of. He won't bleed on your baby, but sure as hell he's stinky." Aidan got used to the nasty smell of burnt skin, fat, fabric and plastic combined in a sweet, cadaverous smell that puffed out from under the foil blanket.

"Alright, you grab the legs, I get the torso. Ready? Ok, three, two, one, clear!" Aidan had his arms tucked under the torso of Arcade and as soon as he cleared, he slid him over to the chopper's stretcher with ease, all thanks to the wolf's aid. "Superb. Take over ventilation, I'll strap him, get my stretcher on board and buckle myself up. Compress twice every three seconds at an even interval and all should be fine."

With that, the dog nimbly collapsed the stretcher and slid it in the chopper, then quickly strapped the body nice and snug in the chopper and finally stepped inside, where he placed himself next to Arcade and set down the kit right beside him in preparation for the worse. He tapped the wolf's shoulder to take over ventilation.

"I can't leave him by himself, Kenny. Get us out of here, he'd might just make it. If my GEAR gets wrecked,maybe, MAYBE I'll get a better suited model." The dog rambled, feeling that he finally had control over the situation. "Blade, sir, Arcade's in the Hawk and he's getting off the field, but I need to stay with him. If my GEAR gets thrashed, I'll be sure to file a complaint to the Board, over." But all this joy would come to an abrupt end once the pilot brought the chopper to a safe altitude and begin its emergency flight.

An alarm beeped in the dog's left ear, the small screen on the helmet simply displaying "Chck. Cardio". Aidan pulled the DATMK computer out, which then showed him a morbid image: a green, irregular line that looked nothing like a normal pulse, blood pressure dropped until numbers were replaced with a question mark and a different alert filled the inside of the chopper. Aidan cursed to himself and immediately leaned over Arcade's torso, pulled the foil away and cleared the burnt chest of clothing material; he pulled out the two defibrillation pads and stuck them on their indicated position and without losing precious time, Aidan started with chest compressions, 100/minute, thirty compressions to two ventilations ratio.

"He's crashing" he barely uttered through the commlink "ventricular fibrillation, started CPR, sir."

He kept his cool and his wits close by, having to fight for Arcade's life and the urge to scream with frustration. He knew it was pulmonary embolism, Arcade crashed not long after the chopper took off, but it wasn't the pilot's fault. At this point, the dog considered survival rates to be slim to none, but he clung to them anyway and pressed on; he used his back muscles in order to keep himself from tiring and counted the compressions, one by one. Once he completed a cycle and a robotic voice ordered him to Prepare defibrillation, he twisted a knob on the computer to 200 Joules and punched the charge button with his index knuckle. The same voice confirmed the action by uttering Charging, a green bar popped on the screen to gradually fill up, an accompanying crescendo sound denoting charge level. Once the bar filled, the sound changed to an alerting sound that would have other people involved with CPR clear away from the patient before the Administer shock message came up with the voice reading it out loud. The dog slightly slid away from the dying pilot and pressed the yellow button, the pads immediately contracted and sent a jolt through Arcade's fleshy frame; Aidan waited until the computer checked for any modifications, but just like he feared, he had to continue CPR. This operation was turning into a nightmare, all that he wanted was for Arcade to stand up and offer him and Ken a cup of tea and, as if things weren't bad enough, he found out that the mining camp got trampled with artillery, possibly resulting with more friendly casualties.

What a day.

Kuraiko was only able to hear Mike's outcry before the artillery trampled the mine. He was pursuing the two remaining 'Regulars' when a shell peppered his GEAR, though still he didn't break chase, but when a shell landed right in front of him and launched him back farther than anyone would like, and into a small structure no less. He was knocked out cold, even after the dust settled his voice never came over comms. If one could peek into the cockpit, they'd see he only had a head injury, but in this cluster fuck of battle, who knew what was going on with any certainty? Though he was breathing fine, unless you were an oracle, you couldn't say he was alive. His GEAR looked like it went through Hell and back. After all a shell barely landed out of lethal range for a GEAR like his. Though one could thank the producers of it, for it had just enough armor to keep Kuraiko alive and breathing inside its cockpit. After a few minutes what someone like Aidan would jump for joy to hear, is an automated broadcast sent over comms, stating Kuraiko's name, rank, and medical condition. If asked as to who the voice was, no answer would be given. Could be it be a latent signal to trigger at incapacitating of the pilot? If so even Kuraiko lacked the knowledge of the feature. However it was happening, and it was clear that something was informing those in need of the knowledge peace of mind in knowing that Kuraiko was still alive. He was stable, all someone needed to do was get him out and everything was hunky dory.

The fighting might well have been over for now, but the crisis certainly wasn't. The hostages still needed recovering, Arcade's condition was worsening, and the latest laser-comm report indicated Kuraiko might also be in bad condition as well. This wasn't turning into a successful mission - but then, there was also the fact that, for bandits, the group had been exceptionally well-equipped and well-supported, which had thrown off the operation. And they'd caught the Roughriders by surprise, something which had cost them one of their own.
"Wait one," he indicated to Esailia, the head of the Harlock turning to regard the ATCV, and the autocannon still trained on the pair of prisoners. "Arcade took a hit, and Maxwell is ferrying him and Sykes back to the Claw. I haven't heard a contact from the team at the mines yet, and if that's where the hostages are, I want backup before we move. Besides, someone needs to secure these prisoners, the recovered hostages you have there, and Sykes' GEAR."
Switching channels, the vulpine pinged a signal off of Ken's Skyhawk, and managed to - much to his relief - get through to the Claw.
"Colonel," remarked the captain with some evident surprise as soon as she came on the channel. "We've been trying to reach you, but the atmospheric distortions are too great. The Claw is moving to your position currently. We're closing distance now-"
"That's great," he replied, cutting her off. "And we need the support. We have a man down, who is being medevac'd to you now. Have crash teams on standby, as his condition is critical. We also need a security crew out here to pick up POW's as well as recovered personnel - not to mention getting Sykes back to his GEAR as well. We may also have another casualty, or possibly two, over".
There was a pause, and then a reply loaded with regret. "I understand, Blade. But there's positive news: HQ sent us the last of your teams' pilots. They dropped them off by heavy tilt-rotor about half an hour ago. They're loaded and ready to rendezvous as soon as we reach the area. I'll despatch them to the area to provide security, along with the utility helo to recover the prisoners and the rescued hostages. We'll get a medical team out there too, over"
"Roger," he replied with some relief. "Have the new pilots proceed directly to the mine to reinforce and secure the area there. Myself and Sprinstream's team will also rendezvous at that location with the rest of the unit. Once Maxwell has landed and off-loaded, send him and Sykes back out here, and get Sykes dropped off en-route to secure his GEAR. We need to find out what the hell is going on here. Over".
"Roger," replied the Captain, her voice confident and firm. "We'll be backing you up. Take care Roughriders, CIC out".
Blade turned his attention back to Esailia. "Sprinstream - we've got backup inbound. They'll take the recovered prisoners off of your hands, and these two jokers as well-" he indicated the pair still kneeling in the foxhole with a dip of the autocannons' barrel. "There are three new pilots and GEARs inbound too, with the intent of providing us backup. So, we'll head to the mine as soon as the help arrives to secure the area for us. How're your team for ammo and the like? We may need to move into the mines themselves to find the POW's and secure the area. It might get a bit... sporty".

At the Claw, Irry turned to the three female pilots, lowering her hand from her headset. "All right, ladies - your presence has been requested by Colonel Blade. His orders are to rendezvous with the other Roughriders' GEARs at the mine indicated on your tactical battlemaps, and hold position until the unit reassembles there for a push into the mine itself. The other GEARs will be squawking friendly IFF, so there should be no blue-on-blue incidents. A UTV* will accompany you with medical personnel for Lt. Kuraiko, who may have been injured as well. Get moving, and good luck!"
The ramp at the front of the landcruisers' cavernous bay lowered to the ground, bumping and rattling as it hit the ground, the ship still underway as it dropped. The ground crawled past outside as the ship headed for the area of operation,

On the upper rear deck of the ship, support crews waved the Sky Hawk in for a landing as the utility helo departed at the same time, hauling away towards Blade and Esailia's position to relieve them, and pick up the recovered personnel.

At the Harlocks' position, Blade caught sight of the incoming helicopter with his GEARs' sensors as it approached.
"Heads up," he advised over the comm network. "Here come friendlies".
The helicopter circled the area, before banking in for a tight landing, the onboard security personnel jumping out with professional speed and fluid motion. They quickly zip-cuffed and manhandled the two POW's onto the chopper, and awaited the handover of the recovered civilians from Esailia's team, before the helicopter climbed back up as promptly as it had arrived, and angled toward the Claw, which was still out of sight, although much closer than earlier.
"All right," said Silverwind over the Harlock's loudspeakers this time. "Let's go and find out what happened to the rest of the squad. Move out!".
With a whirr of motors and electronics, the GEAR spun off on its' foot-wheels, keeping pace with the ATCV as it headed for the mine.

“I’m here, Nawlin,” Adrian said with no small amount of disappointment, “The bad guys aren’t, split when the sky fell.” If the battle hadn’t made a mess of the field already, the artillery transformed it into a veritable moonscape. “Gonna have to report to the Captain. Where’s Kuraiko?” It took a moment of searching through the debris to find Kuraiko’s GEAR lying in idle position amidst the rubble of a small garage. Adrian sucked his teeth as he appraised the damage. “Turn my back for one second and the jackass gets himself shot,” he mumbled off comms as he turned to Mike. “No penetration, but it’s not the fall that kills you. What is that, two men down on our first mission? ‘Bandits.’” Just as he began to reach for the radio, Kuraiko’s downed GEAR began transmitting its pilot’s status.

Adrian sighed long and loud. “Dammit Aihara, is this really the time for a nap?” He toggled his radio to Silver’s channel, relieved not to have lost a pilot, but frustrated all the same. “This is Keel reporting from the mines. We discovered the bandit hangar. Contacted six enemy GEAR and downed four. If any of the wrecked pilots survived, they’re keeping their heads down. Two out of the six escaped under the cover of enemy artillery. Positions unknown. Aihara’s been hit and incapacitated by the shelling. He’s alright, but we need somebody to walk him home, ‘cause he isn’t going anywhere on his own. That’s all.”

As the orders came down that the GEAR pilots were ready to deploy, Reeza Whiteflash, the borderlands Miitia turned LDF pilot was keeping herself entertained with a tiny handheld gaming device. The CO had requested the pilots be located and brought to her attention for deployment. While some of the other members may have been able to blend in, Reeza did her best to make sure she was rarely missed. Bright pink pigtails, a dye made in the borderlands, tied up in a pair of pigtails was her standard style. Alongside her Fuzzy Militia bandanna, far from standard combat attire. Her scorched red combat boots, and sort-of issued cargo pants were close enough to the norm to pass. The sleeveless shirt proudly displaying the latest show she'd attented. "The Machine gun blues," was a little closer to a questionable. Reeza always seemed to skate the line for another reprimand, however, they sometimes worried what Reeza would wear just to spite the higher-ups, besides, the unit she was finally re-assigned to rarely gave her flack on her dress code anyways.

"Wait, tryin' to catch dis stupid monstah!" The white furred with bright pink pigtailed ferret chirped as she heard her orders to deploy echoed through the carrier. As Reeza realized everyone was waiting for her to take action, she grumbled, closing the shell of her video game system. Slipping it into the pocket of her cargo pants. The remaining member of the Fuzzy Militia grinned as she picked up her blade.

"Allright! Reeza been gettin' bored!" Reeza picked up the familiar leather jacket, well loved by it's previous owner. The emblem of the LDF proudly displayed alongside various other patches she'd acquired through her adventures. The original identification patch, denoting the owner of the jacket as "Kommanda" was followed by a bright yellow patch of a cracked smiley face, the identifer of the Fuzzy Militia proudly displayed underneath. On the back of the jacket, the Icon proudly grinned back, challenging all who dared stand against the self-appointed "Punk Rock Ninja". Reeza watched as Pandora was prepped for launch, her GEAR may have been lacking some of the cutting edge artillary that many Military GEARS were rocking, however, she was never discounted with her knack with her blades. She had a knack for getting close range to the gun wielding GEARS, rendering their salvo's useless. Of course Pandora had it's own long range defense, but Reeza preferred the XF-Blades concealed in the GEAR's fins.

Reeza slipped her leather jacket on as she met with her GEAR's deployment crew. They all knew Reeza was Ex-Militia, they were shocked to see a girl much younger then the rumored pilot of Pandora. The closest, a feline, smiled nervously as Reeza stepped to the loading platform. "Allright Reeza, since you were moved from rapid deploy we need to do a quick test of Pandora to make sure she's still good. I need you to do a quick cycle of all base weapons, scanners, and we are good to deploy."

Reeza acknowledged as she hopped into the "head" of Pandora. "Allright Reeza, check bay 2-13, we have loaded and confirmed ammo caches." The metal pod's that lined the fins of Pandora slid open, then closed. Confirming her payload. "Allright perfect, run a sensor, cloak and your screamer checks. Reeza flipped her camo to active, there was a soft shimmer of Pandora as it's active camo engaged.

"All sensors good! Testin' XF blades." Reeza grabbed the pseudo-hilt in Pandora's cabin. As the heavy steel panel's slid away, the razor sharp teeth of Pandora's blades appeared. "Firin' XF engine!" As the soft hum began to reverb, the teeth began to crackle, power surged through the fins. "XF Okie!" Reeza grinned as she slid the panels back into place. "Okie Pandora, you ready to go?" As Reeza took the control rods, Pandora began to shudder, the GEAR's jaw opened, unleashing a roar that shook the loading bay. "That's Reeza's girl! Let's do it!" As Pandora stomped out, she realized that using the roar in a small place like that would mean a few ringing ears and maybe another citation when she returned. "way to go stupid..." Reeza chided herself as she readied for the mission.

Pandora left the steel protection of the cruiser with a thud, Reeza paused to wait for her new comrade's to meet with Silver. She grinned in her usual trouble-making fasion as she opened comms to Blade. "Hey Blade! You always brin' a girl to the nicest places! Nice to be back wit' ya!"

Kensington nodded when the man greeted him and wasn't sure how to respond to the greeting but managed to go off a whim. "Right. This isn't really the first time this helicopter got messy but I'll take the clean alternative any day." The wolf reported, his nose wrinkling a bit as the stench of burning flesh reached his nose. It didn't cause him to falter or stand down from his offer, and when he was given a command he went straight to it, hopping off the helicopter and going to his respective side so to tuck his arms under the man's legs like one would picking up logs and lifted him up when told to do so, quickly following the doctor's lead so to set the man down on the helicopter's stretcher.

By the time he climbed back on his ears were tuned in on what the doctor was saying, and he pointed towards the assortment of supplies that the helicopter was equipped with for an occasion such as this one, there was even a surplus due to the request the pilot made during the previous briefing. He was already seeing himself doing this again after dropping poor Arcade off. The thought train was came to a halt, though with the tap to a shoulder and the airman looked up at the man who gave the tap, the man being Aidan once again. The pilot simply nodded and stood up to run over towards the cockpit where his seat was, shouting "You better keep him alive, boy!" over the rotor engines.

Everything was rather going by him fast, but yet it felt a bit slower than it should be. He could find the buttons and the levers despite the chaos of battle and the fact that rifle was being bothersome now since there was no time to shift it aside. In no time the helicopter was rising and the helmet Kensington had pulled off was shifting around on the floor. Hopefully it wouldn't fall out of the helicopter. All of that didn't matter, though for he was completely zoned out of everything else. Only one thing was on his mind: Get him home.

“I’m here, Nawlin, Adrian replied through his helmet. mike was tapping the side of Prowlers sword as it ran, clearing the dirt as best he could.
<roger, Prowler seems good to go> he said as Adrian gave him a brief rundown of what happened. sheathing the sword and checking his rifle, he looked around. The artillery certaintly did a number on everything, he doubted prowler would have survived if it was in the midst of it. he whistled as he finished clearing and loaded the rifle.
<daaaang.....who the hell launched that barrage?> he muttered as they looked for Kuraiko. Adrian found him, while he looked after the pilot, mike set up a guard position, watching his six.

<Turn my back for one second and the jackass gets himself shot,> Adrian said as mike kept looking for anyone foolish enough to ambush them. <he alive in there?> he asked, resisting the urge to turn. he half listened to hare as he rambled on, the stress of a teammate down most likely.
< Dammit Aihara, is this really the time for a nap?. Adrian sighed as mike chuckled. <course he's unconscious,> mike muttered relieved. <must not have wanted to climb out of this hole himself, figured one of us would pack him out> he said grinning.

as his teammate made the call out to blade, mike checked on the enemy gear closest to him, rifle leveled at the cockpit as he hit his external speakers. "Hey!, you alive in there?!" mike yelled as he scanned the suit. primary systems were down, some small power output continued from the damaged battery. "if you are, come out now!," he yelled, looking at the others in turn. "all of you, I see ya kicken around later, there wont be enough of you left for a matchbox!" he growled, kicking the damaged Gear

Christa let out a yawn as she flicked a few of switches in her cockpit, bringing the GEAR to life causing light to appear on the dash as her HUD appeared in front of her. She'd been asleep not long before she got the call, feeling some what jet lagged from the transfer over. "Alright, what you got for me..." she said to herself tiredly as her systems powered up, the clamps releasing from the GEAR before she was given the all clear via the green light in her docking bay. Sovereign departed swiftly, picking up the sniper lance and shield from the weapon brackets before following out after the other female pilot who had already deployed. "Right behind you" she announced to the other pilot, Sovereigns thrust jets igniting which powered her forwards across the ground towards the location displayed on her mini map.

The young tigress hadn't had much time to assess the situation which meant she wouldn't be as well equipped as she usually would be to adapt strategies and assist the Commander. However she knew enough to at least keep an eye on progressive situations for the time being. She'd heard they were a unit down, which was a real shame to hear, but she knew there would be time to mourn the fallen when the mission was complete. "This is Sovereign broadcasting to friendlies, popping IFF strobes and approaching the rendezvous, please confirm visual" she announced as they'd approach the mine. She didn't know if they would already be there or not, but she felt it was prudent to broadcast regardless just to be safe. They'd been told the units were using IFF, but that wasn't to say they were expecting there's and the last thing she wanted was to be taken out of the fight for a miscommunication leading to friendly fire.

As the civilians were rushed onto the evac helicopter, Luke handed Naida's rifle through the window, saluting to Esailia "Thank you for the assist, Captain. If you ever need another soldier, look me up." Before he turned to run for the helicopter, giving a final wave of farewell to the firesquad. The feline saluted in return and nodded, but said nothing as she watched the chopper take off and head to safety. ~ I hope I never have to.~ She thought to herself, then snapped herself out of her mind and into the moment as Edward gunned the vehicle.

Tapping her PADD on, she slid her finger across the screen multiple times, head hunched as she re-read the mission details, but as she read she felt something moist at the corner of her mouth. Esailia used the cuff of her sleeve to wipe it away, knowing already that it'd come away red. She distracted herself by barking "Edward! Follow Blade to the Mine, we'll get further orders there. Naida, keep an eye on our flanks and rear, I don't want anything sneaking up on us. Nathanial, reload all our guns and check to make sure the rest of your gear is secure. Grab a few flashbangs as well, I want to be ready for hostage extraction if need be." While the siblings were busy looking elsewhere, Nathanial had seen the blotch of blood at his captain's mouth, but as in the Crawler, said nothing about her health, simply nodding with a "Yes, Ma'am." before getting to work with the guns.

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His muscles tired and slightly aching, Aidan pushed himself away from Arcade's torso after he finished another round of compressions so he could squeeze the ventilation balloon twice and send some oxygen down the open throat holding plastic tubing. He was so concentrated on the fight for Arcade's last hope of survival that he started to sweat, his hands went cold but he was lucid, conscious and motivated to hold tightly on the small chance of his patient to recover from this horrific accident. As soon as he started the next set of chest compressions, he affixed his eyes on the monitors as it displayed and uttered Prepare defibrillation once again; it would be the fourth shock Arcade had to endure and the doctor wasn't sure if it was useful at all, starting to doubt the green, spiky line was a fibrillation and started to suspect it was a descent into an asystole. He injected one shot of adrenaline into the pilot's catheterized vein and he was ready prepare for another one, but he knew the unbelievably slim chances of an asystole recovery outside hospital conditions: <2%. But he was willing to struggle, sweat, bleed and cry for that minuscule chance, hoping that Arcade would be that one rare patient that will live to tell the story of his own resurrection. As soon he was done with the chest compression set, he punched the charge button with a snap of his arm in order to lose as little time as possible and then took the balloon again in his hand, squeezing it twice. The morbid alert turned up as soon as he got through the eleventh compression and immediately aborted the procedure so he could administer the shock, Arcade's nervous system reacting to the shock with a sudden contraction of the hands. Aidan anxiously awaited for the readings to come up, but to his dismay, there was still no stable pulse, confirming his greatest fear: Arcade's heart was shutting down and the doctor just realized why everything happened in this particular order.

The whole chain reaction started when he mobilized Arcade's body from his mangled GEAR, he knew the risks of putting in motion a patient with multiple injuries that affected the venous system of the patient. Arcade must have formed multiple blood clots that got sucked in by the venal flow, or maybe it was one huge chunk that got separated into smaller pieces: one surely got into the bronchial artery, causing pulmonary embolism, another must have reached the cervical region of the spinal cord, cutting off the phrenic nerve. Another one just blocked the coronary artery, resulting in a lethal thrombotic storm. Aidan first decided against anticoagulants, knowing that the patient would soon end up under the scalpel and most likely bleed from having the multiple shrapnel buried in his body surgically removed; there was that and the wound he clogged with gunshot wound microsponges. The fibrillation-like spikes gave Aidan hope that rescue was still possible, blaming it on hypovolemia and hypotension instead of a blood clot reaching the coronaries. The dog now faced a tough decision, one of the toughest in his medical life, in fact: he could inject anticoagulants using a very risky and kludge-y procedure, but the risk involved a massive hemorrhagia that would kill Arcade anyway, or just leave the poor sod go and get his eternal rest. With a patient that hadn't suffered any trauma like the dying pilot and treated with anticoagulants, one would still be on edge about the internal bleeding side-effect, but in Arcade's case, he'd become a fountain of blood after a strong enough injection to dissolve the clots; thing is, the poor guy was already hypovolemic from the sudden blood loss, his spleen couldn't possibly eject enough blood to compensate for the heavy loss and his bone marrow could not produce erythrocytes quickly enough to nullify another bleed-out. Honestly, Aidan preferred to just jump out of the chopper rather than to be the one responsible with the decision making, but this is what all those years of medical training boiled down to: deciding the next step in order to assure a patient's survival. Or in this case, untimely demise. Would he be the one to declare Arcade's death, or will he pass down the decision for the crash team waiting at the landcrawler, after they would struggle to keep him alive, only to come to the same conclusion too?

It took a half of a second for the whole train of thoughts to rush through the doctor's brain and end up with the decision, sending powerful chills down his furred back. Aidan closed his eyes and sighed in exhaustion- no, frustration; he halted the motion of his body, though his muscle memory urged him to keep pressing down. He took the electrodes and the defibrillation pads off Arcade and set them aside, so he could completely cover his destroyed, defeated body. He stored the dirty electrodes and pads in a special compartment of his kit and took off his gloves. He brought up his left arm, where he found his wristwatch, telling him the precise time of that day, but the heavy knot in his neck prevented him from speaking into the comms; like every other doctor, he hated to give the bad news, not because he was afraid of people's reaction, but he could not stand the cold tone he had to adopt while delivering the morbid, ritualistic speech. Aidan got a grip of himself, counted to three and opened his mouth.

"Sir. Dr. Aidan Sykes, I am to declare GEAR pilot Arcade as: deceased. Time of death: 17:56:07. Cause of death: thrombotic storm. Cause of death detail: the thrombotic storm was most likely caused by multiple open injuries caused by shrapnel, thus facilitating the formation of blood clots. Mobilization of the patient caused them to be carried by the venous flux, anticoagulants were no go as he would have risked a massive bleed-out during the surgical procedure. My suspicion: three clots have formed, one caused pulmonary embolism, another shut down a part of the spinal cord controlling diaphragm contraction and the last one clogged the coronaries. A fibrillation-like pulse indicated immediate CPR treatment. Fibrillation was an artifact caused by bradicardia associated with asystoloe. Patient was hypovolemic and hypotensive. The presence of the clot in the coronary artery rendered the resurrection procedure useless. Procedures: IV catheter with isotonic solution, foil cover to prevent hypothermia, emergency cricothyrotomy with very good results, emergency CPR with four defibrillations and one epinephrine injection."

"Less-bullshit translation: Arcade got hit hard, I tried everything I could do with the little I had. If I were to inject him with blood thinners, he'd bleed out during the operation, no guarantee he'd make it. I preferred to take his death on my behalf instead of throwing my responsibility over to someone else. I tried everything to keep the poor sod alive, but from this point on, we'd waste resources on a corpse. I am very sorry, sir. I'll give him the final honorary."

Like that, Aidan spilled out his frustration and blunt honesty. He didn't expect to be praised or rebuked, he did his job the best he could and fought fiercely for Arcade's life, yet, he was trying to stop a derailing train. The dog then laid his uncovered hand over Arcade's, starting to mutter a low chant mostly to himself.

I, son of Arvara, have fulfilled my duty, yet, my blood has been taken away. While your warrior was with us, he watched over my brothers and in the time of need, I've watched over him. You, oh dear brother, lay down to sleep, for it is my turn to stand vigil; for my voice will guide you through dark. And hope that one day, we will be again, brothers.

Aidan handled the body over to the crash team, his face was a mixture between resignation and calmness and once the transfer was done, him and Ken were off and away, returning to the field. With the news of another accident, Aidan felt something like a burning knife twisting his core and immediately knelt over to prepare the kit for another emergency. He then half-entered the cockpit of the Sky Hawk and placed a limp hand on Ken's shoulder.

"Kuraiko's down too. Him, I promise, will make it. Drop me off to the mines, screw the GEAR."

"Ken. I hope this wasn't the first man to die in your helo. If he is, I'll buy you a six pack."

Kensington kept his gaze on the terrain ahead like a good pilot under stress should do, his palms sweating as he made the return to home. It was as if he could feel each tick of a second, or maybe that was just his heart racing due to the pressure on his shoulders but regardless he was dead set on pushing everything to their limits in getting back to the landcrawler. This was something that had no room for error so he made sure there was none when it came to speed and elevation to balance. Everything was in-check for a fast and smooth ride back to the landing zone. He for one thought they were going to make it, until the doctor's message reached his ears.

It came at him like a bullet, a demoralizing one at that. Those words drowned everything out, even the sounds of the helicopter engine. It took him a minute to think, think about the guy who they had just lost and wonder Could we have changed it? He didn't really take in much until another thought had hit him and he quickly went back to work, clearing his throat before speaking into the comms in a low mutter. It was time to land. "Skyhawk to tower plus two.. Landing for CAS evac. Prep crew for retrieval of casualty." He reported to the landcrawler, the altitude meter dropping until the wolf could feel the skids touch down and creak and whine from the weight and motion downward. There he sat slumped in his chair, waiting for the time to pass. It was then he felt a hand touch his shoulder, and a familiar voice interrupt the silence of his cockpit. In response he glanced over his shoulder, the pained eyes peering up at the dock before he closed them shut and shook his head, punching the dash board while blurting out his response.

"F-Fuck! Alright jus- Lets get the fuck back in there!" He stammered and grabbed the controls again, a heavy shudderin sigh escaping him as he tried to calm down again. "It.. Was.. Shit. He's gone. He's gone, man." Despite his current state, he was able to get the helicopter back into the sky and he pushed the hand of his comrade off so to point over his shoulder to the back of the helicopter. "Right..." He repeated that word a few times then continued. "N-no time to break down. L-lets get our man." He couldn't confess this being his first failed med evac, it just wasn't the time for that kind of talk.

Blade's GEAR scooted along beside the all-terrain vehicle. Inside, the fox's expression was one full of cloudy anger and sadness. Aidan's message had come in, and it had cast a bleak outlook over his mood. Even Reeza's familiar voice on the radio did little to perk him up, as did the report in from Christa, the other new member of the team.
"Reeza; I wish it was a better time y'all were joinin' us. Same fer you too Sovereign. But glad yer both here. Proceed as directed, we'll all rendezvous at the mine" and get some payback, he added to himself.
The waypoint drifted closer on the HUD, and he tried to pull himself away from the looming thoughts of darkness at Arcade's loss, and whatever Kuraiko's state could be. He clenched his hands tighter around the GEARs' controls willing away the trembling in his hands, and the hunger burning in his gut and mind for a drink to take the edge off, to number the insistent thoughts, and instead turned his attention to the C3i readout, hovering the air to one side.
"Coming up on the waypoint," he announced over the commnet. "Nawlin, Keel, we're closing from your six. Utility chopper from the Claw is en route too to take care of Kuraiko too."
The Harlock drew up alongside the pair of GEARs, and he acknowledged them with a dip of the machines' head.
"All right," he affirmed with a strong tone. "Here's how we're going to run this. The GEARs will go in ahead, and take the brunt of the hostile firepower, while eliminating enemy GEARs or other strongpoints for heavy weapons or other equipment. The fireteam will move behind, as well as acting as spotters; mop up any enemy shooters on foot, and designate or call out targets for us to hit. It'll be like we rehearsed and drilled. We work together - smooth and fast, fast and hard. Ken; I reckon once we smash in the front door and hit 'em where they're hiding, there'll be runners. Chase 'em down and stop 'em from getting away. If you can't, at least get a fix on their direction, so we can follow 'em up." He paused for a moment, considering his next words before he spoke.
"We've lost one man, and we're another down. I dunno about you, but I ain't in much of a mood for lettin' a bunch of bandits think they got one over on us, or that they can beat the LDF and leave us hurtin'. So, we show 'em what skill and smarts are, what our trainin' does fer us, and we smack 'em down hard. Do it like you know how to. Let's go".

The Support helicopter from the Claw arrived over the horizon almost as soon as he finished talking, with the Skyhawk not far behind. The Claw itself wasn't far behind, having moved up to a support position. Blade reloaded the rifle on the Harlock, and advanced to the mouth of the mine, the rifle held ready much like one of the infantrymen scaled up to two or three times their original size.
"Stand ready!" he called, waiting for the others to fall in at the other mineshaft entrances. "Remember, move in an keep pressing them!"
As soon as the team were assembled, Blade moved in. The tunnels were big enough to move two abreast, despite the irregular walls and surface. As soon as the tunnel widened out into a cavern, they came under fire.
The bandits had gathered their remaining GEARs in the caverns and tunnels, along with other vehicles and numerous armed personnel. The gunfire was defeaning, especially with the heavy weapons of the GEARs. The machines were much like those encountered in the irrigation facility: refitted civilian machines with military-grade weapons and sensors, along with infantry wearing heavy armour and carrying quality weapons. Again, the incongruity of it alarmed him, but that was something to be thought of later. For now, the fight was on.
They were outnumbered; roughly two to one. But their GEARs were higher in quality and sophistication, despite the advantage. They could win it out, if they fought well.
"Esailia," he called over the comm system. "We'll keep you covered! Locate the hostages, and call in if you need fire support from us! Nawlin - move with Esailia and keep her covered. Everyone else, spread out and advance!"
He rattled off a burst of fire from the autocannon at a GEAR that poked out of cover to fire, following it up with a burst of head-mounted minigun fire at an infantry unit attempting to use the distraction to flank around behind them on a catwalk. The battle was going to turn into a chaotic mess, but they'd opened strong. All they had to do was keep up the momentum.

It hurt. No matter how many deaths one encounters, one can't grow used to it as much as he/she'd like to lie to themselves; he barely knew the eager GEAR pilot, he only had the chance to skim through his medical records and find nothing worth noting. A very healthy young man, with an entire life in front of him, yet, he chose a path that would bring his end sooner rather than later. Was he brave for it? Was he a fool to throw his life to chance and misery, manipulated by some sense of patriotism and righteousness? Then again, isn't everyone the same in the military? Aidan forced his eyes shut and swallowed heavily, feeling the pain in poor Kensington's reaction and demotivated gaze; all of the excuses he learnt to blurt out rushed in and out and he almost spewed them out, but he knew Ken was too smart and affected by Arcade's death for them to work. Instead, the dog carefully sunk into the copilot's seat, without interacting with the control stick and pedals; he sighed heavily and buckled himself in the seat and enjoyed the scenery for the rest of the ride. After maybe one minute of silence in the cockpit, Aidan felt too guilty to keep his muzzle shut and instead of coming up with some explanation of how Arcade died and how it was no one's fault, he preferred to let the humanity in him do the talking and try to warm the atmosphere up a little. He lightly chuckled to himself, a small, awkward smile crept up the right corner of his connected lips as he slightly leaned towards Ken's seat.

"It always sucks the first time, I give you that. From, I dunno, three hundred-something patients, you're bound to have that one guy that rolls over and dies on you, regardless how hard you try to fight for him. It hurts even more if you know just how much effort you've put in it. Saving him, I mean. Wanna know how many died on me? Thirty-three, including Arcade. My first death was my ninety-seventh patient, I kind of expected to reach one hundred before my first casualty." Aidan turned his attention to his own hands and started playing with them. He felt a bit too personal at this point, but if helped Ken, he'd go the extra mile to open himself up a little. "It sucked so hard. I mean, I had the stethoscope pinned on the guy's chest, I was trying to catch a systolic murmur: his heart would beat normally, but you could hear the sound very vaguely, it was somewhere in the background. One more heartbeat, and then, nothing. Boom, cardiac arrest. I'm not proud to admit it, my eyes were tearing while I climbed over him to do manual compressions before they slid a LAZARUS on him. He didn't make it. That night, the whole fucking night, I stood by his body nicely suited in his cramped, black body bag while I was choking on my sobs and drinking my tears in."

"I've grown out of that, but it still hurts. Just like you said a while ago, you need to learn to just let it go; sure, have some of that sorrow wash over you, after all, one of your men just died, but it shouldn't bring anyone down. No, it should give strength, it always worked for me like that; not in the sense that I try harder to save someone's life, but I feel like now I have a duty towards the man that just slipped away. I feel like I should keep everyone else alive for him and that thought gives me strength, or better yet, motivation. No, it doesn't take someone's death to motivate me, but it certainly puts the pressure on me and when I am on pressure, my goal is not to save lives, it is to break those three rules. We've got another pilot that needs us and I am more than sure that Arcade would kick us under the tail if we don't manage save him. Focus on the grand scale of things and relax; you're much more likely to screw stuff up when you're so concentrated that you don't pay attention to everything else. Time to save a life, we'll mourn later with a six pack of beer. Let's fly, airman!"

The chopper was closing in on the mine camp and it looked worse than Aidan remembered it; he expected to see a place full of potholes and whatnot, but not a lunar surface riddled with cracks and debris. It seemed that some support arrived from the Claw, a number of more pilots, another heli and a medical team for Kuraiko. Aidan, honestly, felt insulted because of this move, but he knew that Blade wouldn't guess the medic's availability; also, a number of people is always better than being all alone with the patient, since a few more pairs of helping hands can only be useful. The dog unbuckled and pulled himself away from the copilot seat and headed back to repack his kit as neatly as he could before the deployment. Maybe Blade wouldn't want his medic to be on foot again and anywhere near the mine, but the canine couldn't care less and he preferred to be the subject of a stern rebuke than to have another death on the same day, during the first skirmish with the 101. He crammed the PADD back in its place, cleaned the electrodes and pads with medicinal alcohol to disinfect them to some degree, threw the empty epinephrine shot in a yellow bag and into the kit since there was no risk of getting prickled by the syringe, which had retracted inside its tube once the contents have been evacuated. Once he was pretty sure everything was back inside, he threw the whole kit on his back and secured it, tightening the straps to the point it wouldn't hang and wobble on his back, but it wouldn't suffocate and restrict his limbs either. He slid his hand into the combat gloves he stored earlier in one of his ammo pouches and cradled the PDW slung on his chest with the help of a short paracord, the other hand held tightly to the internal frame of the chopper and waited for the final approach. He pressed his head against the side door and closed his eyes, gathering his focus; he had to be in perfect shape, another man needed his aid and he had to be ready for anything. Ken did his magic and at a certain point, the skids of the Hawk hit the ground and as soon as they did, Aidan slid the side door open and hopped out, fresh and ready to save the second pilot that needed help.

"I'm on foot and headed over to Kuraiko. I'll prep him for the medical team to take him to base, over." Aidan cautiously proceeded towards Blitzkrieg's location, keeping a jogging pace while he scanned for any threats coming out of the mine shaft. He had to be careful not to trip over some rock, or step into a shark piece of dead GEAR, but he managed. He was surprised to see Ken following him to Kuraiko's position, but he wasn't about to refuse a pair of helping hands; he wasn't sure if his talk motivated the pilot to come out and help, or if it was some sense of duty in him too. Either way, he gladly accepted the airman's support. He climbed on the downed GEAR and helped Ken up with him, then headed for the cockpit; Kuraiko's signal was still repeating over and over on Aidan's emergency commnet, to the point that it became an ingorable background noise. He pulled out an adaptive wrench out of the kit that seemed to have just about everything one can think of and proceeded to unscrew a few hidden bolts that would open a hatch hiding an emergency unlock handle; at least, that's how he remembered the LWX model emergency unlock mechanism.

"Stand by." He silently uttered to Ken as he pulled the yellow handle, which quickly unlocked and lifted the cockpit door just enough to slide an arm underneath it. "Alright, help me out with this." He told Ken before he would kneel down and grunt, pulling the door up and then push it away. The wolf was there alright, but like Adrian suggested, he was "taking a nap". "Kuraiko, you hear me? Aihara? If you can hear me, focus on my voice and stand still, alright? Keep tight, buddy, we're taking you out of here!" With that, Aidan lowered himself into the cockpit took off his kit, which he placed aside. He took another pair of sterile (purple) gloves and immediately started to check for the wolf's vitals; his heart was still beating, at a relaxed pace, and he was breathing normally. He checked for any cervical lesions, which he found none of, but still, he pulled one out anyway to secure his neck.

"Help me unstrap him and take off his helmet. Easy, he may have a fracture somewhere." He calmly talked to Ken as he began to unbuckle the belts holding the wolf securely in place. "No obvious lesions to be observed, suspect a knockout caused by concussion. He may form a haematoma, but for now-" Aidan pulled the flashlight attached to his vest and lit it on Kuraiko's eyes, once his helmet had been safely removed, noticing that his parasympathetic response was still there, meaning no oculomotor nerve damage or compression. Yet. "Nothing notable." He then reached for a switch on his own helmet, until he found the Claw's frequency. "Come in, Claw, com in, this is Lieutenant Sykes. Prepare to take another patient - he is stable - but he needs to get an emergency CT scan and a blood test, over." He turned to Ken. "Okay, let's get a stretcher from my kit and get him out of here." With that, Aidan reached for the kit and pulled the same stretcher he used with Arcade and handled it over to Ken. "Unfold it, I'll put an IV on him and maybe use a smelling packet, then we pull him out." Much like a machine, the doctor installed a venal catheter through the left arm of the downed wolf and then turned his attention back to Ken. "We'll slide the thing under him, instead of getting him on it. Lemme show you why." Like so, Aidan crouched under the cockpit seat and tinkered with a few gears beneath, until the seat became mobile and fully stretched out, until Kuraiko was basically laying on his back instead of being strapped on a chair, on his back. He lifted Kuraiko's torso up, then his legs to allow Ken to slide the stretcher under their patient, then urged him to get out of the cockpit, provide cover and prepare to move him out. Then, Aidan tinkered some more with the chair's gears and cranked one of the handles, until the chair with the stretcher reached the height of the cockpit's lip. The dog pulled himself out of the cockpit, only to find the medical team from the Claw arrive right in time; they waited until some of them got to Blitzkrieg to help lower the patient down and move him out, Aidan dropped off the GEAR and followed them a while.

"Patient's stable, he's been knocked out cold by some shell blasting him off his feet. No neurological symptoms, but I contacted the Claw to prepare for an emergency CT scan- hold up, he's moving! Kuraiko! Hey, pal, you hear me?" The pilot was squirming a little, trying to move his head and his arms away from the belts that kept him safely attached to the stretcher; the doctor slid his hand through Kuraiko's and took a closer look at his face. "If you hear me, squeeze my hand as much as you can, no need to put effort in it. Okay, blink once if you feel pain. I know you're dizzy and you want to get up, but stay down. You've done enough for today, chump, so lay back and chill, you've earned it." He then turned his attention back to the handful of people that were mounting Kuraiko on some wheels to move him away with ease.

"So, no neurological symptoms, did you find any spinal lesions, dislodged limbs?"

"None so far, but I secured his neck in case there's a loose bone fragment threatening his spine. His face has normal features, no cranial nerves have been affected by the shock, but I fear he'd might have a hematoma after that fall, helmet and all. So, he'll need a CT scan and I'd say, a blood test, rule out the IV serum."

"Roger, roger. What about the other pilot? Did he make it to the 'cruiser?" The nurse badger asked.

"No." Replied Aidan with some spite. "Thrombotic storm, systematically shut down his body, it mostly affected the phrenic nerve and maybe the cervical sympathetic nodes, also, one clot blocked the coronary. He had bloody boils all over him and shrapnel damage, also, if I gave him unfractionated Heparin, he'd die in the OR. He ended up in asystole."

"Sorry to hear that, sir. We'll have Aihara here back to base in no time and finish tests before supper. Should I get you some coffee when you get back for debrief?"

"That would be very appreciated, thank you."

The doc gave his final regards to the team as they took away the wolf to their vehicle, then came to a halt: what is he going to do now? Kuraiko's safe, Arcade's dead, Blade needed Ken's eyes and guns above their heads and his own GEAR's abandoned some klicks away, a distance too long to cover by foot to be efficient. Then, he saw Captain Esailia Sprinsteam and a bright idea came to his mind.

"Ken, you've got your orders from boss. Thanks for the assist, man, I really owe you that six pack. I'll manage from now. Alright, good luck up there and stay sharpish! See me after debrief!"

With that, Aidan took off and jogged his way to the entrance of the mine where he saw the feline captain, tossing the second set of sterile gloves into the dirt and took his combat gloves back on and again, covered his PDW with his right arm coming over the gun until it grabbed the top of the weapon, just after the holographic dot sight's position on the top rail, the left arm simply grabbed the secondary grip. The workout of the last half-an-hour made him break another drop of sweat, but he knew the day was not over yet and the hardest part has yet to come. He finally reached the cat, coming to a full stop and saluted her.

"Ma'am. My GEAR's parked maybe four klicks from here, I'd prefer to be useful than to take that long walk. My gun and kit are yours, if you need me."

Kuraiko's eyes barely cracked open as Aidan carried him from his GEAR, he was so weak at the time though that he couldn't move, or make a sound. That blast had kicked ass and winded him pretty damned good. His head was pounding, no doubt he had a concussion from the blast, I mean, he was just short of the lethal range that would have added another death to the Roughrider roster. Though now he felt himself being carried by a stretcher, he still wanted to fight. He still wanted to run to his GEAR, grab his firearms, and follow everyone into the caves, but he knew he was out for this OP. He was probably gonna get run through some testing and all that, just to make sure he wouldn't keel over and he could fight again later. Though it still pissed him off that he had to get a medical extraction because of a shitty move on his part.

He felt the incline hit him from the shift in weight as the medical team got him on the helicopter, speaking all the talk of trained medics. To him, it was another language, that he would never be able to understand. That was Aidan's job, and he was happy with it that way, he owed the man a drink sometime after all this ended. After a while, he felt the helo land, they were back on the Claw. It seemed that time just flew when you were barely conscious and off in your own world. When he could finally open his eyes on his own, he could see the inside of the Claw, and he felt himself relax a little, even if he was heading to the infirmary, he still felt like he was home, like he was where he belonged.

He was finally laying in the infirmary as the team left and the onboard medical crew hooked him up to all the systems that a patient in his state would be set up with. His eyes open, his voice back...but his neck was stuck, then he saw the brace securing it. "Son of a..." did he break something after he wiped? Eh well, he was alive and well. It wouldn't be long before this stuff would be over with and he could actually relax.

Kensington found himself working like a proper airman from the time he landed to the moment he found himself helping Aidan. He couldn't process much the time, finding himself following every bit of instruction like training had wired him to do so. Everything, the explosions, the foot steps, even the medics conversing with each other was simply not reaching him. He was tied to the man who had died, and to what the medic said as a consolation. It worked, it was the only thing that got him to leave the safety of his helicopter seat, after all, but over time every man had to regain their senses, every man had to come back to this world.

By the time he was, himself he started off with a startle, his eyes darting around to see Aidan talking to him before jogging off, leaving the pilot to stand by the helicopter that had it's rotors still spinning. Orders? The wolf thought, taking a moment to shift through what bits and pieces of memory he had. Then it hit him, he was suppose to be in the air again to stop any bad guys from running away. With that in mind the airman glanced over at his comrade running to the fireteam before shifting the rifle on his chest and turning around to climb into the skyhawk.

Just after a few steps Ken was back in his seat. He slouched there to get a feel of his vehicle once again before reaching out to hold the controls, a shuddering breath escaping him yet again. "Alright... Here we go." The pilot muttered under his breath, taking off and climbing into the skies to get a better view of the AO. Everything was restricted to a mining facility, he wasn't really expecting anyone to get out without answering to one of the other Roughriders. What was he to do if he saw them? He had to think over his ROE. Would it be warning shot before engagement or will he make those bastards pay for standing up against the LDF? If he chose option two, what if he engaged someone he would regret killing, like a fleeing hostage? He decided to turn to his CO for that one.

"B-Blade," The pilot said, catching himself when he realized he was stammering. Unbeknownst to him, he was hot-micing his little moment and when he realized his breathing was going over the comms he cursed out loud and continued his message. "Am I to start off with warning shot or engage at will?"

The ATCV bumped along the rough terrain as the firesquad neared the mine. It was a silent trip for the most part, a side effect of being in a firefight, and knowing the mission wasn't done with no end in sight. Esailia, for her part, had just finished up her reading on the quick information that she had requested via text to control back at base. There had been a friendly casualty already, and another out of commission. A slew of questions filled her mind, as it always did during breaks in the action.

~Were the hostages safe? Dead? Not even there? How many bodies will there be by the end? How many more comrades will fall?~

All the information and intel that had been gathered before mission start had been skewed. These were not normal bandits. The weaponry was far from the salvage from the crawler, and why would bandits even worry about taking hostages? It simply made no sense. Esailia slammed her fist into the door in frustration, and her squad pointedly ignored it, focusing on their jobs. The feline captain looked up as Edward started slowing the vehicle "We're nearing our destination, Ma'am." The fox reported. "Alright," Esailia nodded, "park it and cut the engine at a safe distance from the entrance. We can hoof it from there. Naida, grab your kit, Nathanial, I doubt a sniper rifle will be useful in a mineshaft. Let's go!" She slid her PADD back into its pouch on her vest, and pulled her rifle from her side before hopping out of the ATCV with her squad in toe, making a run for the entrance.

They were just at the edge of the shaft when Aidan approached Esailia, who saluted in return, but barely slowed to do so "Doctor, a pleasure, but don't salute on the battlefield. You'll single out officers for snipers or enemy surveillance. You act like we're all foot soldiers, you follow my orders, and we'll get out alive. Fall in and keep silent. Your voice'll carry in these tunnels." Her tone was clipped and professional, the usual for a strict officer.

The firesquad rushed along the edge of the mineshaft behind the GEARs, letting them take the brunt of the enemy fire. Esailia raised a fist once they were just outside the cavern to stop her squad, and awaited the order she knew was coming..."Esailia," Blade called over the comm system. "We'll keep you covered! Locate the hostages, and call in if you need fire support from us! Nawlin-" She stopped listening at that moment, dashing into the cavern under cover fire and quickly assessing where to go. Her Augmented Reality on her helmet quickly overlaying possible exits and enemy locations. It didn't take her five seconds to run for a smaller tunnelway, with Naida and Edward on her tail, Aidan behind them, and Nathanial bringing up the rear.

Once out of the GEAR firefight, the firesquad made their way down the tunnel, not knowing if enemy bullets or a cave-in might prevent their advance...

Nawlin continued guarding his teammates as Ken and Aiden landed. their presence only taking the time to identify them as friendly and give them a wave to land before he was once again on post. this OP had taken a dark turn and he felt guilty his luck had served him so well. tense moments passed as the rest of the group plus some friendly new mechs showed up. once they arrived, he relaxed and stood, never turning his back but looking over his shoulder trying to find some wit, finding none. he noticed the missing pilot.

<commander> he nodded before looking back. his tone was somber, not forced, and without sarcasm. today took a bad turn, but it wasn't on Blade's shoulders. as Aiden packed Kuraiko into the chopper mike gave them a thumbs up, turning only when ken finally lifted off. <see you soon guy, don't worry 'bout us.> he called as he moved to stack up on an enterance. this was it, this was the last stand for the mercs.

"We've lost one man, and we're another down. I dunno about you, but I ain't in much of a mood for lettin' a bunch of bandits think they got one over on us, or that they can beat the LDF and leave us hurtin'. So, we show 'em what skill and smarts are, what our trainin' does fer us, and we smack 'em down hard. Do it like you know how to. Let's go".

mike tensed as he checked his weapons on final time. all thoughts flew to revenge and retribution.

"Stand ready!" Blade yelled, a moment before the silent signal motioned them to assault the cave.

they had the time to clear the door before Mike's armor was buffeted by rounds. as soon as he could make sense of the chaos, he opened up with the shoulder guns, the heavy .308 rounds tearing furrows into the rock as it sweeped soft targets. the combined fury of the roughriders was ruthless in the confined quarters as larger weapons opened up from both sides, prowler lifting its sniper and aiming by rough barrel aim emptied the mag at a group of hastily armored vehicles before any surprise weapons could be brought to bear.

"Nawlin - move with Esailia and keep her covered!"

<Aye Sir, Esailia, where-!> mike caught the ground team running towards a tunnel. <hey!...> mike swore as Prowler ran after them, keeping low as it switched its rifle for the sidearm. the shotgun would do better...if he ignored the possibility of hitting the ground team or hostages. thus the pistol was chosen and held ready as he followed his charges.

(bad internet)