Encouragement after encouragement flowed over the COM after her kill confirmation, and...it felt good. It felt so incredibly, stupidly good, in a way that made her feel like a kid again, with her dad congratulating her on doing multiplication right. It made her feel appreciated, like she belonged in the squad, and that made her smile. It was scary, in a way, that she was smiling so soon after landing a kill, but in another way it made such sense. She had just done something right after all, something to prove she wasn't just a sham of a pilot. That was worth it, wasn't it? She watched as McKnight began to fly further ahead, to spearhead for Wes and pave the way. She urged the Astelion forward and kept pace with McKnight easily...and then watched him shoot off ahead, through the enemy, towards a newly emerging group. Without another thought, she gunned the Astelion forward through the line, right beside McKnight.

She watched, almost awestruck, as McKnight rushed into combat with the pair of IIs with the III. He was destroying them both, alone, and it was utterly incredible. However, she kept her eyes on the III and watched as its plasma cannon fired...right at her. It didn't take a genius to know the Astelion couldn't tank a hit from that and keep going. It wouldn't even survive the blast, if she was hit by that there wouldn't BE a body to bury. There wouldn't even be ash, nothing would remain of Ari, and likely very little of the Astelion. She had no choice but to gun it up, away from the oncoming plasma bolt, but it was by no means slow. Her own X-50s flipped back, and applied frightening acceleration, rocketing her out of the way, but also out of the fight.

For a moment, she was terrified she'd be unable to get back into position to help McKnight, but that was soon invalidated. The III began to float up to fight her, his cannons already recharging. She had to get her own shot off, she couldn't just keep dodging, so that meant she couldn't use the 50s to dodge this shot. She had an idea, stupid maybe, but it was an idea. As the X-50s swapped from booster to cannon, and gathered energy, she watched as the enemy cannons fired. With a deep breath, she waited a half second before throwing the stick down. The Astelion jumped down, thrusters propelling it just fast enough. The blast was so close her shields sizzled from the pure heat of the backlash. That didn't matter now, however, because it was her turn. The X-50s were hot and ready, and discharged their twin balls of destruction at the III.

The III, however, was a MAS meant for the skilled, and this pilot appeared to be no exception. The pilot, bound by his MAS's slower speed, threw himself right. She watched as the left blast made contact...but of course, his shield was rated up to class III, and so sadly the Ferir still stood there. The Astelion still had the initiative for now, and now she was sure she had his capabilities on lock. He shouldn't be able to dodge if she made sure to keep him solidly in the middle of the 50's firing solution, so a dodge to either side would slam into a blast, since he shouldn't be fast enough to be able to evade.

She was wrong, and that quickly showed itself to her. Suddenly displaying the maneuverability the tesla drives were rated for, he deftly dodged the blasts and Ari mumbled "[color=0072bc]Shite. Didn't see that coming.[/color]." She changed reactor priorities quickly, less to her shield and more to her guns, which should give her guns the extra speed to hit him. By now, it was too late however, as her sensors read that his cannons were charged. She didn't even hesitate to abandon her current attempt at firing, just allowing the 50s to charge instead as she barreled right...but that shot wasn't aimed at her. She watched the blasts slam into the rear of McKnight's MAS, sending him flying away. "[color=0072bc]MCKNIGHT![/color]" The unrestrained call parted her lips and tore out over the COM.

She felt helpless, watching the machine charge up to finish off McKnight. She had no way of knowing if her X-50s could blast the other MAS before his blasts got McKnight. She didn't have any time to think, to plan, to do anything. Suddenly, however, she felt something...unexpected. Anger, rage, pure protective anger over taking her as she watched. "[i][color=0072bc]How DARE this bastard try to kill McKnight? How DARE HE think he can hurt my team mate? [b]WHO THE HELL SAID HE COULD HURT THEM ALL SO SOON AFTER LOSING A PILOT?[/b][/color][/i]" She found herself sending the Astelion flying forward with it's thrusters, and she fired.

The X-50s fired, while he was gathering energy, and she watched with satisfaction as the blasts raced forward. He was forced to abandon his attack on McKnight to dodge, but it wasn't fast enough. The right blast clipped him, and his shields were no longer powerful enough to stop them. The blast melted the right arm and shoulder, while Ari's cannons continued charging. He turned, his own weapons firing at her, but Ari was already moving, defying every pattern she'd done so far by dodging down. Now, this was generally in advisable, as down was the slowest direction for most MAS suits, since fewer thrusters were angled up. However, she was betting it all on a gambit, her life and McKnights. She dumped the power from her shields, all of it, into the thrusters and guns.

She watched as the blasts neared her and...skidded by just above her. Her armor heated, and she was warned of a temperature spike as she restored her reactor settings to what they'd been previously, but it was too late. She fired, again, and watched as the enemy again made to dodge, but this time she'd corrected more vigorously. The blast slammed into the chest of the enemy MAS, blowing it away, but not without a final "salute" from the pilot. Missiles skidded out towards her, and she was too focused to stop them before it was too late and she hammered the countermeasures. Most were diverted, one was not, and she'd pay the price.

Her shields held off part of the first blast, but the rest of it blew threw to the MAS itself. An explosion rocked the Astelion and warning lights went off, warning her that her hull was at 50% integrity. That didn't matter right now though, McKnight needed help and she had to get to him. The X-50s flipped back into boost, and she was sent rocketing forward. She pulled in near him and assumed a guard position, X-50s charging again, and said into the COM "[color=0072bc]McKnight, whats your status!?! Can you right yourself?! Do you need help!?[/color]"