[b]"All units, withdraw to the Lincoln, we're leaving the battlespace..."[/b]

McKnight frowned. This was an odd time to get new orders. Granted, to be fair, the fleet was in a bad way, and that was putting it lightly. Even in the background, McKnight could see UEE cruisers being gutted and destroyed left and right be concentrated fire from Coalition ships and their tiny MAS units. Still, the Lincoln was leaving in 10 minutes, which meant McKnight had no time to sit and discuss with Trapp the politics of that order. He and the rookie were too far out to question orders at the moment. McKnight keyed the thrust and began boosting backwards, sending a comm to the rookie as he did.

[color=lightblue]"Don't stall rookie, get moving!"[/color] McKnight growled as he hit his own boosters, his cockpit blaring red as his tesla drive whined. 

To his dismay, a pair of Fenrir Mk II's gave chase to the retreating UEE MAS's. Hoping to take advantage of the Astelion and Shrike's weakened states to score some kills. McKnight rolled to the right, dodging a burst of autocannon rounds. Sweat beaded on his brow. His shields were out, a lucky hit from even a single autocannon round could send him flying and leave him helpless, or dead. Switching his saber for his EKP Autocannon, McKnight rolled left to dodge another series of autocannon bursts, and then boosted immediately upwards. His remaining tesla coil whined, and a small explosion on the Shrike's back signified that the other booster had just blown. But McKnight was where he wanted to be now.

Quickly turning around, McKnight strafed to dodge another group of autocannon rounds before he opened up with his own weapon, watching his ammunition counter rapidly tick down as he returned fire with a large burst of his own, firing a broadsword missile at the Ferir for good measure. A quick glance over, and McKnight saw a pair of plasma bursts from the Astelion shoot the other Ferir down. They were in the clear now. 

Retreating back to the Lincoln's Triple R bays, McKnight slumped in his seat as his unit was secured. Now that they were back in the Lincoln's artificial atmosphere, McKnight noticed the combination of blood and sweat that had collected on the surface of his visor, staining a crack in his visor that must have been obtained some time during the sortie. He squinted as someone from the outside opened up his cockpit, the harsh white of the hangar's industrial lights pouring in. He saw a silhouette, and a ponytail and immediately identified the figure as his crew chief. A hand was outstretched, and helped McKnight out of the cockpit and into the bright light of the hangar.

Now finally outside of his unit, Sterling could see the damage his Shrike had sustained. Most of the Shrike's back and wings had been stained black, from either the plasma bolt that had collided with him, or the second tesla coil that had exploded. A portion of the upper torso that held the Shrike's shield generator had melted, opening up to reveal the Shrike's slagged shield generator. Dents and dinks otherwise marred the white body of the MAS, and Sterling could hear his crew chief sigh deeply.

[color=wheat]"Its a good thing we just restocked."[/color] Sophia said with a sigh as she began to walk off. [color=wheat]"Lucky that rookie was there, huh McKnight? Otherwise I might not have a Shrike to fix up."[/color]

[hr]

Joining the rest of the squadron, McKnight watched as the rest of the squadron gave the rookie some sort of congratulations, each in their own manner. He had to admit, the rookie had done better than he had expected. To be honest, McKnight had half expected the rookie to get shot down. Didn't mean it still wouldn't happen, but she had at least survived for another day. 

[color=lightblue]"Don't let it get to your head rook."[/color] McKnight interjected, as he joined the rest of them gathering around the rookie. In response, Sara jumped him, the smaller girl, easily able to rest herself on McKnight's shoulders.

[color=FFDAB9]"Oh come off it 'Knight, she did good and you know it."[/color] she rebuked him teasingly. Rolling his eyes, Sterling shot a look at the black and gold shuttle that was parked in the hangar. His brow furrowed. 

Alongside the black shuttle stood a trio of Sentry Mk IIs, the standard UEE unit- painted the jet black of the Imperial Service. These units weren't much different than the standard Sentry, though their armor plates were of considerably higher quality, and their paint had anti-beam coating, making it slightly more resistant to energy weapons- though Sterling doubted that they could hold up to plasma weapons. The three Imperial Service pilots stood at the foot of their machines, the black uniforms and visors completely shrouding their faces from view. They quietly stared at the 7th squadron, hands on their PDWs, but did not move. The 101st often felt at odds with the Imperial Service. Both groups were regarded as possessing some of the best MAS pilots and soldiers in the UEE, and were often competing with one another for potential candidates. The 101st emphasized individuality and independence alongside fierce loyalty and teamwork, on the other hand, the only thing the Imperial Service focused on was absolute loyalty to the Emperor and his family- not the UEE or its Government. The 101st often viewed the Imperial Service as rigid and intolerant. The Imperial Service saw the 101st as loose and dangerous, with too much power in their hands. The Imperial Service had strict orders against individuality, and as a result, all of their machines were uniform and very few had custom and aftermarket parts.

[i]All hands, prepare for hyperspace jump.[/i] Came the automated command from the ship's computer AI. The ship began to rumble slightly and the power flickered off. Moments later, the lights came slowly came back on. They were now in hyperspace.