The inside of the room was dim with the lengethening afternoon shadows. Sunlight speared through the small glass window in the front of the room, and motes danced in the slanting rays. Arranged around the surfaces and counters of the half-lounge half-shop were boxes, containers, tubs and packages all labelled with care in a flowing, hand-written script. On the walls were pictures of people and places, along with various medical instruments - stethoscopes, and the like.
At the sound of Esailia's voice, there was rustling and shuffling from an adjoining room through an open door. A moment later an aged male voice responded with a "Yes, yes, I'm coming!"
A few moments later a middle-aged badger shuffled into view, leaning on a walking stick and looking through square-eyed glasses to the feline. He paused and nodded at her, smiling gently.
"Good afternoon, miss. Name's Doc Willen. I've been helping people around these parts for years. Can't say I've seen you before, but if you're here in search of help for what's ailing you, then I'll do what I can."
He settled into a chair and poured a glass of clear, cool water from a jug, and offered a seat opposite, as well as a glass, looking at her as he sipped, his eyes warm and keen, despite his obviously advanced age.

"No, you don't know me. My name is-" She paused for half a second to think, only managing to cover up the stop with a small, intentional cough. "-Sorry, my name is Alonare. I'm visiting with a friend of mine. We learned we might find some certain....medications, here." She walked forward, taking the offered chair and settling in. "You see....I have a condition. I've been coughing up blood, and the doctors in my home city said they weren't allowed to give me the right medicine till I developed more serious symptoms, and advised me to go through a several month long process that would leave me bald all over and sickly looking."

The feline's ears twitched as she heard the quiet ding on her PADD, the alert that comms were active, but instead of ignoring it, she pulled her PADD out, and flipped to a page she had ready that had the name of her disease, Wehrner's Granulomatosis, before turning the screen to show the doctor. "This is what I have, and this-" She ran her finger across the screen after a moment, showing him a new screen, which had information about remission-inducing drugs and immunosuppressants "-Is what I need. Money is not an object. Can you get this medication for me? It's a matter of life or death for me."

"Five minutes, roger." He said, quick and curt, trying to be quick as he kept an eye on the sky, and the facility. Only allowing split second glances at either. One hand hidden in a pocket, the hand was clenched into a tight fist, rather angry thoughts pulsing through his mind. Now I can get some payback on these assholes...Now they get what they deserve. he thought, his blood now boiling as his heart picked up, waiting for the sound of a helo dropping in his GEAR, as he did however, he wondered where they were gonna drop it in for him. Because if it was too far out..Something bad could happen before he could stop it, so many problems..All the training in the world would never have prepared him for this..."Guess experience is the best teacher...Eh Dad?" he whispered to himself, looking to the sky as the memories flooded his mind with images of home life before that one day. Life with Mom, Dad, and the times when Sarah would visit. He wished he had her pendant, something more than the tiny photo of her in his room, and the picture of all four of them together in his GEAR. The pictures brought so much pain mixed with happiness, but with this group...He felt like he had a brand new family, they all seemed so nice...It was a tiny bit of a tear-jerker. He missed what he had lost, but he knew if he had that, he wouldn't have this."One hell of a trade I guess....Better get ready..GEAR will be here soon, and the party'll start. Gotta be in the zone here." He rolled his shoulders and pushed the memories back. Another time you three...Another time... he whispered in his mind as their images floated away from his mind. He looked up skyward one more time before he watched the facility and waited. "Don't worry Dad...I'll make you proud." He said finally, now silent as he waited for the drop. It was time to live up to the Aihara name, and make his family proud.

Maxwell kept quiet as he kept by his only ally during these tough times, trying his best to mimick his buddy when it came to staying out of sight. He could hear the request and the response in his earpiece and when he looked over at his partner he noticed a shift. Unlike the evident fear from earlier there seemed to be a different mood surrounding the GEAR pilot nearby, but that was something the airman kept to himself as he scanned the area ahead. "Ya know it kinda feels funy, don't it? That calm before the storm feeling." He said, his voice retaining his casual tone. "Its a good thing help is coming our way and we at least have the order to stay put but... What are they doing with every minute we give them?"

What will happen soon will be very different, something even training couldn't prepare him for. Fortunately he was going to provide overwatch, but then a thought hit him. Once the internal message hit him the wolf went straight to his headset and spoke into the mouthpiece. "What about the locals?? This is asking for a lot of collateral damage."

Ho-lee shiet was the only thing left in Aidan's mind after he had been numbed by the message popping up on both his and Mike's PADD. He recovered as quick as he could after he read the entirety of the message and while Mike was talking with Kellia, Aidan tried to contact Blade through the COM.

"Sir, Sykes, we've got very capable friends. One guy, or one entity, pulled our pictures, the Claw in its dock, the warehouse and the princess's exact location. Oh, and a good visual on tang- holy shit. Sir, they've got advanced combat armor and prototype GEARs and they're mean looking. If these photos are for real, we're up against the very best."

"Uh, we'll be there ASAP."

While scouring for a vehicle, Aidan couldn't take his mind off the profile pictures and the image of the enemy combatants. He really didn't know how any of the 'Riders could stand up against the advanced war machines, but sure as hell they would bruise the SOBs real good; he felt extremely uncomfortable being out of his GEAR in that moment, he feared that he wouldn't feel all that safe in the cockpit too. He thanked himself for bringing the PDW with him, fearing that he would most likely end up fighting on-foot. The 5.7x29mm cartridge is made to pierce body armor, but lacks the knockdown power of a heavier round - to compensate for that, Aidan decided to go with a high rate-of-fire submachine gun that could pierce through thin walls or car doors, hit the guy behind the obstacle, pierce their armor and bury the round in their flesh. It won't shock them off their feet, but the mind-numbing sensation of burning metal dug deep in their muscles and organs would temporarily incapacitate their cognitive abilities; a 9x19mm round didn't throw him off his feet, he didn't quite feel it until much later, but the shock of something going through his arm was enough to rattle his brains. Good thing pilot helmets come with sound dampeners, otherwise he would have been kicked out of the military for impaired hearing.

As he remembered the incident, he felt an eerie, warm sensation in his wounded arm still covered by a bandage and glanced at it; it was a close one, if Es wouldn't have pulled him out of the line, he could have been hit more than once and for that, he was in debt. Then, he felt a kick in the brain as he remembered about the stuff Es needed. There was no point in straying away from the direct order, so instead, he decided to wait until a firefight would break out and in the confusion, storm a nearby drugstore and commit a crime. With such thoughts in his mind, Aidan felt frustration rising again, slowly becoming eager to pull out the PDW strapped safely in his briefcase. Why do I want to pull it out? Am I looking for trouble to vent out some of the anger? Or do I want to cling to something powerful, to make me feel safe? He undid the first zipper of the briefcase and dug his hand into it, feeling the rough shapes of the 20mm picatinny top rail bumps scratching he tips of his finger. Sliding his hand past the weapon, he felt the texture of the composite material making up the weapon's lower receiver, feeling more and more anxious as he could feel the Velcro strap holding the front part of the weapon in place. On the inside of the palm, he could feel the long 50 round magazines sliding up against his fur, he even felt a cold, metallic object running up against his skin; it had to be the exposed 5.7 round from a spare mag, his brain confused by the sudden urge to grip either the mag or the weapon. He exhaled heavily and retracted his arm, pulling something cold out of the briefcase, the distinct sound of Velcro straps undoing themselves came out through the narrow crack of the briefcase.

Aidan unscrewed the cap securing the still cold water bottle, spilling down half of the contents down the pipe, sloshing a mouthful against his cheeks, tongue and teeth to cool down and hydrate. He offered Mike some water, then, the mink.

"Lieutenant Aidan Sykes. Good to know we have capable friends. Want some? There's more from where that came from."

The doctor squinted at the list Esailia displayed and gave a hmm of interest, looking at her over the frames of his spectacles, before levering himself to his feet, and beginning to sort through the boxes and shelves of medications as he spoke.
"It looks to me, miss Alonare, that you're a woman who knows what she needs, and with a purpose in mind. And even if I didn't agree to sell you your medication, I'm sure you'd find it another way, or carry on without it, for better or worse. So, I'll sell it to you. I only hope, though, that you don't let your condition put people other than yourself in danger," he cautioned, before laying the packages on the table, and totting up figures on a PADD, showing her the figures.
Outside, civil defence sirens began to wail.

***

"if you're in, we need weapons, big ones." he said, pulling up the image of a RPG type weapon. "ideally 7th gen or higher." he put the PADD away. "Quick, Quiet, and no curious dealers." he said quietly. "think Casper up there can pull some strings and find some?"

Kellia waved her hands and shook her head. "Oh, hell no! I came to you because you have firepower! I don't have anything like that at the moment. If you want systems hacked, or intel provided, that I can do. Random item drops, that's out of my control. I can tell you one curious thing; whoever those people on the west-side with the hi-tech stuff are? They're somehow off the 'net; their ID's and their GEARs don't match to any known models or makes from any state or manufacturer. The ones on the East Side, that your colleagues are moving in on now, those are Northern Empire models, and that's clear and plain; though they've also disabled the cameras and data-lines into the warehouse".

She cut off as they began to move, following the pair along as the civil defence sirens began to wail. Police began emerging from the station, herding people toward underground shelters and other reinforced places. SWAT-equivalent teams began to move out, along with other emergency services moving to standby positions. An open-topped civilian jeep-like vehicle sat nearby, and Kellia pointed it out as Mike mentioned the need for wheels.
As they climbed in, she accepted the water from Aidan with a grateful nod, her expression still uncertain and a little panicked at all the sudden activity, but a brief flashing smile crossing her face all the same.

***

Blade ran on down the street, dodging between the oncoming people running for shelters, and to get off the streets. The civil defence sirens had began a few moments earlier. They were closing in on the blip, but it was still a good mile, or mile and a half away. He paused again as more messages came over the PADD's comm channels.

"What about the locals?? This is asking for a lot of collateral damage."

"Civil Defence have been alerted, they're moving the locals into shelters now. It'll alert the hostiles, but it can't be helped. At least then we'll be able to engage in combat with less concern for civilian casualties where possible. We'll have to keep fluid with the situation as it changes, and act accordingly, over".

As soon as he'd replied, the channel burst into life again, this time with a messag from Sykes.

Sir, Sykes, we've got very capable friends. One guy, or one entity, pulled our pictures, the Claw in its dock, the warehouse and the princess's exact location. Oh, and a good visual on tang- holy shit. Sir, they've got advanced combat armor and prototype GEARs and they're mean looking. If these photos are for real, we're up against the very best."

The very best, he considered, adding in the mention of advanced armour. And someone who wanted the princess too? It gave him some worrying thoughts, that churned in his stomach. The South, he thought with a grimace.
"Roger that. I'll contact the Claw, and get our GEARs to us. No point having them where we can't get to 'em. If they've got that firepower, then I reckon they're intent on usin' it to get outta here. Keel and I are inbound, map says there's a vacant lot two streets to the East of the target location, bordering a park. Rendezvous at that point, over".
He switched channels back to the ship, and spoke to the captain once more.
"Claw, this is Rider Actual. Looks like we might have some guests from down south. Gonna move things up a notch; we need all of our GEARs; equipped for heavy urban combat, and ASAP. Location's attached... what's the shortest range you can have them prepped, and the minimum distance for a BGD, over?"

On the bridge of the ship, the Captain directed the operations officer to crunch the numbers immediately, and he crouched over a terminal, rapidly recalling data from the 'Net's tactical database for the LDF. Within moments - quicker than normal, almost - the information returned, and he quickly conversed with the captain. Her eyes widened, and she nodded.
"Rider Actual, this is Claw. GEARs will be up in ten minutes. And we'll manage the BGD, don't worry on that count. Be in position in twelve minutes. Good luck, Claw out".
He slid the PADD back into its' case and looked over to Adrian. "GEARs'll be inbound in twelve minutes, which means we need to get to the location - we need some wheels! Time to commandeer some".

***

At Ken and Kuraiko's location, the throbbing of rotor blades could be heard drawing closer as the civil defence sirens wailed in the background. the shape of the tilt-rotor with the GEAR slung beneath and the smaller shape of Ken's chopper flying escort alongside. Both aircraft rapidly grew bigger as they manoeuvered, circling the warehouse and then both dropping lower behind the nearest row of buildings into the adjacent street at a wide intersection, allowing the GEAR to be dropped and Ken's chopper to come to a landing out of direct line-of-fire from the warehouse. Moments later, the ATV raced up alongside with Irry's GEAR providing cover. The Gungnir's head swivelled to look at the pair. "What are you waiting for! Climb into the ATV, and get to the vehicles, I'll keep you covered!" She paused a moment and then spoke again, confusion in her voice.
"Where's Sprinstream?"

***

Blade hauled the little coupe around a corner, wheels squeaking on the asphalt as he guided the little car through increasingly insane turns into the warren of streets through Martenstown. Hunched low over the wheel and glaring with bared teeth, he looked almost manic as he drove, weaving between police and civil defence vehicles, or dallying citizens.
All at once, he drifted the car less-than expertly around a final corner, and slammed the brakes on, parking cock-eyed by the kerb and vaulting over the door and onto the pavement, looking around for Mike and Aidan to arrive. He checked a time readout on the back of his artificial hand and nodded to the hare.
"Take cover behind the car!" he declared, as he scanned the horizon, and then locked his vision onto four white trails lancing skyward from the distant direction of the docks, rising high into the pale blue later afternoon skies. As they reached a point where he could barely look up without toppling backward, the trails seemed to tip over. The vague objects at the top dived toward them, before seeming to disintegrate into shattered sections, a rumble coming from overhead.
As they dropped, they resolved into the shapes of the four pilots' GEARs, bundled up with parachutes and one-use disposable retro-packs. Guided by autonomous sensors, the four machines did a head-over-heels flip, and the parachutes opened, guiding them to the ground, and braking their descent with an orange flare of rumbling rockets, steered by GPS and laser-guidance, the four machines touched down in an arc in the vacant scrub of earth between the park and the nearest building. All of them were armed and equipped for combat, the damage previously sustained now repaired as much as it could possibly be, in the intervening period.
"BGD, Ballistic GEAR Deployment," Silverwind murmured for his own benefit. "Launch the GEARs from the VLS tubes on the Claw, get 'em to their pilots. Mount up," he declared to Adrian with a nod. "I think we're about to hit trouble."

***

In the makeshift hangar, the Lynx growled to his team, strapped into his GEAR and fully equipped for combat. "LDF GEARs are here, as we suspected; closing in on the same location as us. The local defence force is also on the move. But doesn't matter; we have them outnumbered. We can take them down, and still take the Princess. And remember; she's expendable if necessary, but capture is preferred."
"Civilians?" asked his second in command, as the hum of the UHD batteries rose, and the systemry of his GEAR came to life in blood-red and pale orange tones, casting harsh shadows into the dark, cramped cockpit and giving his already frightening visage an even more macabre tone.
"Collateral Damage is to be expected," he growled back. "The target is the only concern. Move out".
The external door of the warehouse burst open from pressure within as the flimsy metal roll-door was pushed aside. One by one the ten-strong unit of Imperial Special Forces GEARs moved out. All of them were equipped with the best equipment possible; automated close-in flechette dischargers, head-mounted .50 miniguns, multiple weapon racks for grenade launchers, multifire missiles, autocannons, railguns and all other manner of firepower, ECM equipment and more. Moving with smooth, precise actions, they fanned out across parallel streets, gliding on foot-wheels through the towns thoroughfares. A wheeled civil defence APC opened fire as it roared into place; almost instantly a missile blasted it apart, and autocannon fire swept up the missile-mounting ATV that backed it up. The Imperial GEARs were cutting a bloody swathe through the town - right toward the warehouse pinpointed on Kellia's photos and in Blades' recovered intel.

Kensington waited and waited after the orders were given to him, the words of his superior officer in regards to the civilians being a slight consolation to the mood. Hopefully no mistakes happen He thought, leaning up against the wall he posted up nearby during the escalation of things. Soon though the situation began to change and the arrival of both the civil defense and some of his friends kicked in that edgy feeling one gets before something goes down. Right when the ATV arrived he waved to it and quickly hustled towards it, stopping when Irry inquired about one of his partners. He paused for a long minute, glancing over at the gear pilot who had been with him during their stalking experience before clearing his throat and calling out to the GEAR that towered over him. "She was running a lead I guess! She should be back any second now!" He exclaimed as he climbed onto the ATV that would take him to the helicopter that was him. The question was; who was flying it?

The helicopter seemed to be in order like Kensington had left it, it's interior having that little bit of mess from the last failed med-evac that had been attempted. In the front where a duffle bag blocked the door way a young fennec fox that wore military issued BDUs, a patrol cap, and a headset causing his ears to fold in an awkward angle, the name tag sewn onto the uniform reading ABRAVEN. From the looks of it he had been picked up as soon as he was dropped off, and for a first flight in a combat situation he looked to be calm for the time being, his half closed eyes trained on the massacre being conducted by the hostile forces just beyond the landing zone during his descend from the skies. He couldn't wait to pick up his partner and take to the skies because he knows once they go up, they get to shoot down at the GEARs that were cleared to be engaged. Seconds passed and once he felt the helicopter meet the ground he glanced over his shoulder out the window to look for the wolf that was to be with him.

The link-up wasn't difficult since the focus of fire wasn't on some helicopter that wasn't directly engaging the hostile GEARs yet, and when Kensington made it to the helicopter he climbed in and stepped over the bag, exchanging nods with the airman before he sat down in the open seat. "Right right we'll get the intro down later. What's your name?" He said, taking over the controls of the helicopter from where he sat.

"Dane, Dane Abraven, sir." Dane replied, his gaze slowly sweeping from left to right as they climbed into the sky. He could easily see the bastards tearing through the brave few who stood up against them and pointed out the cockpit that direction. "We gotta do somethin' to stall 'em!"

"One helicopter agains' heavy opposition?" There was a pause, Kensington's eyes locked on the small band of elite bad guys before growling under his breath and looking over his shoulder up at the lower ranked pilot. "You take the guns and missiles and I'll do the flyin' alright kid?!" He exclaimed, quickly grabbing a nearby headset to put on and speak into the comms. "Silver! This is Kensington and I'm in the bird. Look boss we gotta hit these guys so to at least slow them down for you! Hollar when you receive." He said over the comms, quickly rotating the nose of the helicopter to face the enemies. Each second of not engaging was torture for the both of them and he knew the colonel probably understands that, but he still needed something to let him go wild and guns blazing.

Kuraiko growled, nothing but searing rage burning him as he saw what the Imperials were doing. "Sick bastards..." As the ATV hurried them to their respective destinations, and when he saw his GEAR, he hurried inside and mounted up, wishing his GEAR would hurry with its start-up processes. He needed to get in the fight, and soon. He could hear the explosions and the gunfire, and sometimes through all the sounds, he heard a scream of a man or a woman dying. He couldn't discern if it was him or an actual cry. Either way he needed to move, and the second he could see through the sensors of his GEAR, he was up, rifle at the ready.Immediately pulling Blade up on comms "Blade, I'm ready to engage. Engage or wait?" He said quick and curt, his GEAR's zoom function engaged to assess the threats ahead. "Shit...We're in for a brawl." He checked his GEAR's diagnostics, seeing everything was nominal, waiting for the order to engage. His heart pounding, blood searing. He called his helicopter pilot friend. "Hey, Kenny, we need to pick out their leader, can you spot'em from here? When you do mark'em, I'll take care of the shitbag myself." he growled again after the call ended. They needed to engage, every second they sat and fucking waited was another dead man, another dead civvy, and soon. A dead Princess, something told him they didn't care if she lived. He then pulled Blade on comms one more time, hoping to pitch in as more than a killer. "Blade, can you get the locals to focus on civvies, get them to stop fighting and get any stragglers out of the fray, Also, the Imps are carving towards what's near the direct opposite of my prior location, you should have local authorities clean that are out ASAP. Hopefully Ken will spot their leader and I can focus him down right off the bat. Throw a wrench up their asses. Aihara out." He ended the sentence and terminated the comms, sighing as he waited for the order, each second burned like a year, and it was driving him stark raving mad. Soon the town will be a pit of rubble, steel and ash, and there won't be shit he could do to help.

Not like he could do much now, anyway...

"Item Drops?" mike asked as she caught up. "I was asking if he could locate a shady black market dealer and we could drop in" mike said smiling as she pointed to a open jeep.

"good eye!" mike said, hoping in the driver seat. "no offence Doc, recon folk just drive better." he jibbed, a manic grin on his face. "But seriously, we got nothing to take out the bastards" he complained as he searched for the keys.

"no....no....not in the....screw it" he muttered under his breath, before taking out his knife, and prying the steering column off. "how did this go...?" filling through the wires he yanked out a cluster. "this make.....should be....Green 1, and....orange?" he asked no one in particular, as the windshield wipers went off. "nope.....AH!, blue and yellow!" the engine sputtered to live as mike slammed it into drive.

mike looked as they drove past the police department, sighing as SWAT teams equipped with SMGs and carbines piled into vans. "poor saps, they don't have a chance" he wished he could tell them, but A. They wouldn't listen, and B. Carrying a fully automatic weapon, large knife, while driving a stolen vehicle would land him in jail. He shoved the feelings down deep, and hoped they would ignore the jeep, heading towards the danger.

"As I was saying," he said over the engine and wind. "this aint gonna be easy, when we get to blade the jeep here is yours." he motioned to Aiden. "The LDF will try handle the fighting, nothing against women, I know 3 that can kick my ass any day, GEAR or not, but you don't look suited for a gunfight. CURB!"
the engine roared as the jeep bounced up a median, to avoid traffic, thankfully this model had decent ground clearance. "We would appreciate any Intel assistance you can provide during the engagement, and I have no doubt that our superior would like to make your acquaintance, however, first things first, gotta bust some noses!"

The next turn brought blade into view, as mike gunned the jeep over the curb, and brought it to a tortured halt next to blades coupe.

"Got here as fast as we could sir" mike said, taking position to watch the rear, pointing at Kellia. "that's our contact, and she has a scary good Intel guy, knew who we were pretty much instantly." he finished as he took out his borrowed CBJ, and racked the bolt back, scanning his sector.
"...what are we waiting for?"

a rumbling sound made him look up. "....ah, that....I like that"

The doctor squinted at the list Esailia displayed and gave a hmm of interest, looking at her over the frames of his spectacles, before levering himself to his feet, and beginning to sort through the boxes and shelves of medications as he spoke.
"It looks to me, miss Alonare, that you're a woman who knows what she needs, and with a purpose in mind. And even if I didn't agree to sell you your medication, I'm sure you'd find it another way, or carry on without it, for better or worse. So, I'll sell it to you. I only hope, though, that you don't let your condition put people other than yourself in danger," he cautioned, before laying the packages on the table, and totting up figures on a PADD, showing her the figures.
Outside, civil defence sirens began to wail.

Esailia flipped the PADD away and switched to another window, the bank account which she had access to. "I am glad we understand each other, Doctor. I am doing this because I don't want my condition to affect my work. Gotta keep the bills paid." She kept up the conversation as she casually authorizes the payment, just as the first sirens could be heard.

"Doctor, a pleasure. I need to get back to my group." Esailia grabbed up the packages, tucking them under her arm while heading for the door. "You could very well have saved my life, and the life of others. Good luck, and don't spend it all in one place." She warned as she rushed off the steps before breaking into a jog away from the doctor's house.

The captain detached a small earpiece from her PADD, pressing it into her ear and pushing a button beside the earpiece's slot. "Captain Sprinsteam reporting in! Heading back to the Crawler now!"

“If that’s not an understatement, I don’t know what is.” Adrian crouched down and leapt up, scaling his GEAR and slipping inside as quickly as he could.

The flip of a few switches and the turn of a key brought the L-68 to life. Adrian put on the helmet that had been so generously placed in the GEAR by one of the techs, and locked the ear cover into place. While a short series of diagnostic noises played, he reviewed the instruments on the dashboard, keeping an eye out for any irregularities. When nothing bad happened, he strapped into his seat and ran through his physical checks: hands, joints, optics, skates. The two weapons his GEAR carried were familiar enough; the automatic pistol was the automatic pistol, and his DMR retained most of its function, save for a shortened barrel. The ammunition itself was untouched, left as the standard load for all his weapons—anything with the strength to pierce a GEAR’s armor also had the strength to pierce the (temptingly) large windows of the city’s buildings.

“…lright. Kelsea here, all green,” he radioed as his GEAR assumed a ready position, rifle in hand.

Aidan had to grip tightly to the roof grab handles not to bump his head, or fly all over the place while Michael stormed the streets with the not-so-legally-acquired vehicle. Once the city sirens started to blare, the canine knew it was showtime; the deafening noise rumbled through his chest, his body reacted to the stimuli by releasing adrenaline in its bloodstreams. All his doubts, rage, confusion were flushed out by trained neurological response to tense up and focus on his task at hand: keep Mike, Kellia and the rest of the crew alive, fight off the enemy, then, survive. As soon as they passed by the intervention team, Aidan laid the briefcase on his lap, pulled it open and pull out the PDW. He adjusted the collapsible stock to the fourth position, the most comfortable for his size and stature, then fitted the long mags through the loop of the belt holding his jeans. He threw his hand down his own shirt to grab for the subcompact handgun, checking its mag, chamber and safety trigger before handling it to the Mink, along with two spare mags.

"If there ever was a time to reveal your true identity and kill us both, it is now. Take it. 11 bullets per mag, .40 S&W; since me and Mike will most likely end up in vehicular combat, neither of us will be able to safeguard your hide."

Aidan then returned his attention to his PDW to power on the holographic sight attached on the top of the picatinny rail, then adjusted the brightness and color of the displayed reticle to green, proving to be much more visible than the red one in those conditions. As soon as the car came to a stop, the canine got out quickly and knelt beside the car, thumbed the fire selector and then the bolt catch. It seemed as though Blade and Kelsea were still waiting for something, which confused him as much as it confused Mike.

"What are we waiting for- ah, that... I like that."

The rumbling above made Aidan glance up, noticing the number of GEARs conveniently falling at a steady rate. He smirked and nodded.

"BGDs. Never thought I would live the day to see that." He tried to yell over the rumbles and sirens

Blade looked over as the jeep squealed to a halt nearby, and the remainder of his pilots jumped out, accompanied by an attractive young female mink. As he looked at her curiously, Mike answered the question he hadn't yet asked. With a nod, he turned to the young woman.
"Well, miss. You've helped us out so far, and right now I don't have time to run you through the mill of trust/don't trust or anything else; there's too many people in danger. So, if you're working to the same end as us, then good. I'll get you in touch with our ground assault team; in they'll be on site shortly while we try and deal with the big guys. Speaking of which..."

"BGDs. Never thought I would live the day to see that."

"...what are we waiting for? ....ah, that....I like that"

"Ain't it a thing of beauty," the fox said in reply, before dashing forward to his GEAR. Keel boarded his quickly, using his natural agility. Blade was left with the more traditional route of the built-in hand-and-foot holds to mount his machine.
He swung into the cockpit and the hatch powered closed. Holographic instruments flickered to life and the internal monitors showed the outside, pixels chasing across the screens as the machine moved from standby to full power. AlThe GEARs UHD batteries whined to life, motors across the machine coming to life with a building hum. In the distance, the chatter of weapons fire and thunder of explosions could be heard. Baring his teeth, Blade urged the Harlock to come to life
"C'mon, faster, faster, faster!" he urged quietly.
One by one; in fractions of a second though it seemed like hours, the machine came to life. Blade slid on his helmet, and almost immediately his ears were filled with chatter from the other pilots, the fireteam, Ken and the Claw.

"Silver! This is Kensington and I'm in the bird. Look boss we gotta hit these guys so to at least slow them down for you! Hollar when you receive."

"Maxwell, I'm online now. We're just powering up our GEARs. Harass the hostiles, get them with hit-and-run attacks; keep mobile and try to keep them moving this way. We'll stage an intercept and try and pin them in this location, away from the residential areas. Maybe the forces in this warehouse will engage them too, and we can let 'em knock each other out - if we can keep the collateral down".

His paws slid onto the HOTAS and his boots onto the pedals as the machine gave him the all-clear. Targeting reticles and readouts were displayed, floating holographically in his field of vision, and synced to the tags and markers on the panoramic interior monitor as he responded in turn to the calls from his squadron.

"Blade, can you get the locals to focus on civvies, get them to stop fighting and get any stragglers out of the fray, Also, the Imps are carving towards what's near the direct opposite of my prior location, you should have local authorities clean that are out ASAP. Hopefully Ken will spot their leader and I can focus him down right off the bat. Throw a wrench up their asses. Aihara out."

"Check my last message ta Maxwell; work in tandem with his movements. Harass 'em and hit-and-run. Stay in place too long, and they'll chew us up, and th' settlement too. Keep movin' to draw their fire t'ward the West side of town, away from the population center and toward us. We'll set up a cross-fire an' an ambush. I'll get ta work on liasin' with th' locals on evacing the civvies. They're already doin' their best as it is, but there wasn't much warnin'. Be careful. Don't get dead. Blade out".

The bulky parachute-and-retro pack disengaged with a brief flash of explosive bolts, tumbling to the ground of the abandoned lot as Blade listened to the next speaker, the GEARs hands moving to pull its' autocannon rifle from its' carry-mount at the rear of its' waist.

"Captain Sprinsteam reporting in! Heading back to the Crawler now!"

Blade looked puzzled as he heard Esailia's words and quickly replied. "Negative! The ATV and fireteam are in the field; they were supposed to pick you up at Maxwell and Aihara's location-"
"Sir, she wasn't at the location," Irry cut in. "I'm at Aihara's location now. The Fireteam are on site in the ATV, over".
"'Fuck is goin' on wi' that feline," he muttered to himself, before replying on the open channel. "All right, whatever. Jacquo, stay with Aihara and give 'im support. Fireteam, break off an' get to yer CO's location. Sprinstream, once y'all are with yer team, head t' my location; you an' the team are th' best bet fer infiltratin' the warehouse and recoverin' the princess. Me, Nawlin, Keel an' Sykes will head off the Imperials wi' Aihara, Irry an' Ken. Move out, over".

He set the GEAR into motion, pounding the pavement out of the lot, before the foot-wheels engaged and he skated across the asphalt, leaning the two-storey robot vehicle into each corner, smoothly sliding through the streets.

The Imperial GEAR team were making their way steadily through the streets toward their objective. They were moving constantly, and were heavily armed. However, they were not causing wanton or pointless destruction; and had refrained from plowing through buildings to get to their objective, or machine-gunning everything they came across. Only when resistance reared its' head did they engage - although, then, collateral damage was no concern. Splash damage from explosions, shrapnel and the mass of GEARs or vehicles manoeuvering, being destroyed or turned over and otherwise engaged in battle shattered businesses, vehicles, homes and more.
As soon as Irry and Kuraiko's GEARs appeared on their instruments and Ken's helicopter appeared overhead, the Imperial team began fanning out, adopting careful positioning and overlapping fields of fire to defend their flanks.
An infantry heavy weapons team moved in as the Imperials slowed down, moving in to plant charges with careful motions and through cover; but as soon as they closed within range, panels around the knees, shins and calves of their target exploded directionally toward the team in a devastating and brutally lethal shower of razor-sharp flechettes, turning them into raw, bloody masses. Empty shell-casings rained down on the street as the GEARs opened fire with a variety of autocannon, gatlings and other such weapons.
As more targets appeared on the screen indicating the rest of the team moving in, one pair of the Imperial GEARs angled their direction. Long-barelled cannon unfolded from their shoulders and began to launch projectiled toward the trio.

Silver reviewed the C3i information fused from the sensors arrayed on the battlefield; a drone orbiting over the battlefield launched from the Claw, the milita's vehicles, satellites overhead and the rest of his teams' own outputs. The comphrehensive results were presented by his GEARs battle computer allowed him a clear overview of the battlefield and tactical situation, and he used that information to direct the others.
"Sprinstream; we have a friendly asset on the ground at the Warehouse in the western side where the Princess is located. She has access to intel about the hostiles in the warehouse. We know they have GEARs and battle armour, so be prepared."
The mid-range rounds began to rain around Blade, Mike, Adrian and Aidan, and Silverwind weaved around them, before sliding into cover.
"Aihara, Jacquo, Maxwell; suppress those mid-range artillery units. We'll close in and attack from the front!"

With their artillery suppressing Blade and the others, the four leading Imperial GEARs began to move out, heading to attack Silverwind and the others, all armed and ready for trouble.
As soon as they caught sight of the quartet, they spread out. The rearmost pair opened up with suppressive fire from hand-carried rotary cannons, while the two leading GEARs moved in, using precise bursts from their autocannon or under-barrel grenades to target the four.

At the warehouse, Kellia had taken cover behind the vehicles Blade and the others had used to get to the abandoned lot. Her 'friend' had patched her into their tactical network, and she had listened to the gruff foxes' instructions to the fireteam to pick her up. The mink looked in the direction of the explosions and fire as they grew closer, spotting the smoke trails of rockets and missiles on occasion, and seeing Ken's helo overhead. The buildings were tall and numerous enough that she caught no sight of the GEARs as yet.
Glancing back to the warehouse, she scrutinised it further. Her 'friend' had still not been able to get any interior views, beyond the original picture. She had no clue as to how many of the enemy were inside, or what their exact disposition was. However, she had detailed plans of the interior, and all of the architectural details.
Biting her lip, she glanced up and down the street and over to the warehouse, its' roof visible above the intervening buildings in the streets between. She took a step forward... and then back.
"I should wait," she muttered to herself. "They might need my help..."

Esailia was somewhat surprised things had devolved so quickly after she left. But she'd have time to find out the full story after the current crisis was over. Forgoing niceties in favor of speed, the feline dropped to all fours and dashed through the streets in a full on sprint, the medications in her pack bouncing around wildly...

Just a short ways off, the ATCV slammed into the side of a building as Edward tried to keep it straight while pouring on speed of his own. "Damn it, Ed! On the road, don't drive us up a wall!" Nathaniel yelled at him as he held onto whatever he could in the front seat while Naida was secure in the Vulcan's cockpit above them. "Sorry!" was all Edward could yell back, too focused on his task to say much more. Nathaniel huffed and thumbed his comm "Captain, where are you!?"

"I could hear the revving three blocks away." came the reply a second before Esailia appeared from a side street ahead of the vehicle. Edward slammed the brakes for a moment before letting off for a controlled halt just long enough for the feline to yank a door open and hop in before flooring the accelerator again. "Fireteam has the captain! headed for the warehouse, Sir!" The tiger yelled into his comm over the wind, screams, and engine.

Kensington glanced over the array of buttons and switches before him as he received Blade's orders, his grip on the joystick seeming to get the right feel for the moment. "Orders received I'l- I mean we'll see what we can do." He replied, his gaze shooting over his shoulder at his newly found partner before giving a random chuckle, "Lets cause some hate and discontent." Right as he said that he gave the helicopter a drop in altitude during it's return back to the AO. "Remember you're on the missiles and guns."

"R-right, okay." Dane replied, his eyes glued to the monitor as he got used to the manipulation of the gun. It had been awhile since he had touched this equipment, and in a sense it felt like he had stepped up from the crap he had dealt with earlier, but now wasn't the time to speculate on that. Before him was the land speeding by below the helicopter, and ahead was the targets he needed to deal with. "Okay come on back to the right, then you can go up and engage."

"Got'cha. Lets make this first run count. Remember you're clear to engage those GEARs spreading out." As the senior airmen spoke he pointed out the cockpit towards the squad they were told to engage, but that made no positive effect due to the fact the younger pilot was stuck on the screen. Regardless, they helicopter was lined up, and soon the crosshairs would go over their first target. With a quick glance it was obvious that one run wasn't going to end this fight, but if the shots were placed right the run could hinder the group as a whole instead of focusing on one individual target, and that was what Dane had in mind. The helicopter maneuvered like it was instructed to, and the run was lined up with only a few seconds to spare before it would be too late to fire. There was silence, then after a shuddered breath the gunner spoke in a firm tone.

"Okay, calling guns." Right after he made his announcement the airman pressed down on one of the red buttons next to his thumb, holding it down as three of the eight missiles were launched with the crosshairs in the camera designating where the recently launched missiles would land. It was as if the world around that young desert fox slowed down significantly while he waited to see the results of his first gun run.

Adrian dipped into cover and poked the end of his rifle around the corner of the building he’d hid behind. He used the scope to peek out and take a few potshots at the approaching GEARs, before he ducked back in and skated away from the munitions that slowly were tearing a hole in the adobe building. “Four hostiles confirmed, headin’ our way—and they just broke half ‘n’ half. Cap, you got a plan, now’s the time,” he reported, while he headed to the other end of the building and poked his rifle out again, hoping to predict the enemy movement.

"Ain't it a thing of beauty," the fox said, as mike fought falling to his knees, suddenly, they had a chance.

"Aye sir, I'd worship it every Sunday" he said as he looked to kellia. "hold this for me!" he yelled, as he tossed his satchel with the CBJ in it. "I got my bug out gear anyhow, Good Luck!"

with that, he drew his sidearm, and ran towards his multi-ton safety blanket, hopping onto the knee and hauling himself up with practiced ease. Flopping back first, he slammed the hatch closed, and rotated the lock, the mechanism hissing as the cab pressurized, monitors flaring to life.

"alright!" he laughed, jamming the helmet on his head and flipping a bank of switches up with one hand, tapping on the screen with the other. "COMEON!" he growled as the camera feed started, then the reticule overlay. Muscle bundles tensed, and joints flexed. finally a green smiley face flashed as his suit became mobile.

"Couldn't they have launched them live? or at least booting?!" he grumbled through his mic, as Prowler grabbed for his rifle, finding a 30mm assault carbine in its place.

"hmmm. yeah, I suppose a long rifle would be useless." he sighed as he cycled a round, his gear disengaging the balute system. he took a few moments to ensure his gear was ready, all firearms hot.

with a quick, confused talk with the fire team, blade took off, running a few steps, before gliding away.
"lucky bastard" mike muttered, as he urged prowler to jog after his CO, carbine ready, sensors active. "no doubt they saw us for miles, surprise is gone" he said over the channel. As they advanced towards the imperials, the damage and little care for collateral damage began to dig at mike. it was about that time, he heard the short, tell tale whistle of artillery, they began to hit before he could tell the team.
"Incoming!" he yelled late, as blade began issuing orders. as the group moved forward, the 4 enemy gears spread out, two covering, and two advancing. mike opened fire with his carbine, burst fire lancing at the imperials as he broke left, flaring jets to avoid fire.

"shit, they came to play!" he said to the team, as he dove behind a building. "how do we want to do this?, smart, or bold" he asked blade as he fired a few rounds, and ducked behind the building again. "I could try and flank behind, or we could try and pummel the crap out of the with bullets....they seem to have bigger guns though." he muttered as a burst ripped through the building over prowlers head.

"relocating!" he yelled as he shifted back.

The canine didn't waste any second after the BGD pods landed, dashing to reach his own GEAR and fall in formation; he clambered up the ramp the stubby Dartwing had sprawled out for its pilot and crashed into the pilot's seat after he stored away the PDW. He forced his muscle memory to work faster so his vehicle would be up and fighting as quick as possible, but the power cells and combat OS could boot up only so fast. Once the cockpit sealed him from the outside world, Aidan suddenly felt he was safe once more, even if he was rocking a civilian outfit; he had to discard the cap and the pair of glasses so he could fit the helmet on his head, so he could properly aim through the targeting systems. He stretched his neck hard enough to groan and crackle and followed the trio with a certain lag, rolling down the asphalt with the help of the heel-mounted wheels as he loaded the small caliber auto-cannon with a spare magazine; he also checked the mounted machine gun and decided against "cooking" the rocket pod, suspecting that not all civilians managed to evacuate the city, not to mention he didn't quite feel like causing massive destruction and leave behind budget holes.

"Stumpy up and running, how copy?"

They did not make it far before they were engaged by mid-range artillery, forcing Aidan to break and slide into cover behind a building from a smaller intersecting street, but even there, some of the payload launched at them punched clear through the structures of the buildings, his GEAR alerting him of every brick and cement chunk pouring down Stumpy's hull. Shit got real really quick he told himself, not really knowing what could he do in the tight spot he ended in. Taking a peek around the corner, he could barely identify the frame of an Imperial GEAR, but Adrian quickly confirmed that they were chased by four enemy GEARs; throwing another glance, he could see a pair sliding in closer than the other pair that was no directly visible.

"Aye, half'n'half, two're covering, two're bull rushing." He muttered through the comms, trying to come up with something, since, the incoming pair were getting dangerously close to his position; the realization numbed him: I'm their first target. Why do I always end up like this, for fuck's-

He didn't have much time to think, he only had enough to react immediately, so, he looked behind him so he could grab the first thing that would be in front of his eyes and use it as a distraction of sorts. As such, Aidan grabbed the autocannon's pistol grip with his left hand and with the right one, he ripped a stubby street lamp; with the help of the momentum, a short distance charge and all of the strength he could muster into a downward and diagonal swing, he groaned loudly as he felt the right side of his body nearly torn by the excessive forces his GEAR had to output. He managed to wham the metallic pole against the closer GEAR with righteous might, his arm got bashed away from the Imperial's charging vehicle; even so, he at least properly confused the enemy, if not outright smash a camera or two. He didn't have the time to laugh at his crazy "maneuver", he had to seize the three second opportunity he created and retreat with haste, awkwardly firing the main weapon in the general direction of the two enemy GEARs. His wheels were screaming as they rolled against the pavement, the cockpit shaking from the mildly rough consistency of the road and the recoil of the cannon.

"Gun'em, gun'em, gun'em!" Aidan yelled through the comms in a half-battle-craze, blindly pulling his GEAR away, from where he could regroup with the rest of the crew; he threw a glance over to the right camera to check for a good alleyway he could use to escape, but a series of thundering blasts drew his attention back to the main screen. Terrified by the sight, Aidan had to warn the others.

"They're firing the artillery, th-" an eardrum-busting thunder shook the entire cockpit around him, the helmet rattled and pulled painfully at his neck, feeling something digging into the flesh under the coat of fur. The seat vibrated and transmitted the shock through his entire body, drawing his head and eyes towards the direction from where he felt the boom coming from. There was a cloud of dust, shrapnel, wooden bars, bricks, then, an entire building floor sliding down straight towards him at an unnatural speed.

Then, there was only darkness.

Kuraiko flipped up his adaptable scope on his rifle, taking a crouched stance, firing controlled bursts at the two GEARs engaging him and Jacquo. Seeing the artillery, and Aidan's GEAR get buried, he popped up on comms. "Jacquo! Get the artillery units! Ken back her up! I got the assholes firing on us! Blade Aidan's down, building's on his GEAR!" Then he stood, not all the way, but enough to get a decent view of the torsos of the two hostile gunners firing on him and Jacquo. Then he dipped in between the buildings between him and the pair, peeking out at random intervals to fire at the sensors, or cockpits of the pair until he could close the gap and sink his wrist blades into them. The main issue was suppressing them long enough to get in close, though his controlled bursts seem to be doing the trick. The second he could get close enough to not be at risk for getting completely shredded, he would dive them. He needed to be quick and back up the others, this was going to shit fast and the artillery would hopefully go down soon so that the Blade and the rest could engage. Each second he wasted was one closer to Aidan's death. He didn't know how nasty Aidan was from the damage, but that was one risk he refused to take at any time. They needed to move, and fast.

"Fireteam has the captain! headed for the warehouse, Sir!"

"Good work, step on it," replied the fox brusquely, "We'll try and keep the imps occupied for ya, over".
As soon as he said that, more rounds hammered into the pavement and the surrounding buildings. IR had determined they were empty, along with confirmation from the civil defence forces. Missile teams on a rooftop took daring potshots at one of the Imperial GEARs, and Blade applauded their bravery mentally.

At the location of the other half of the team, the Mid-range artillery GEARs continued to send rounds downrange, while their companions moved to pin Irry and Kuraiko in place and hunt them down.
As Ken's helicopter moved in to make its' run, they attempted to scatter, popping chaff, flares, and smoke - but it was all too little, too late; the missiles homed in. Two went off course and self-detonated after missing their targets. One more didn't arm, and one was shot down by fluke by head-guns from one of the Imperials. But the remaining four found targets. Two plowed into one of the artillery GEARs and turned it to a rapidly expanding cloud of debris; their warheads were designed to destroy MBT's. The light armour of a GEAR was no match for them as a result.
The remaining pair of missiles each found one of the other GEARs. The second artillery GEAR took a round to the upper torso, blasting it into scrap. The final missile didn't hit directly, but severed the right arm from one of the defending machines, leaving an opening for Kuraiko and Irry to advance.
As the helicopter slashed overhead, the Imperial GEARs didn't stay still; one swivelled on the spot, and bracketed the sights of anti-air missiles over the speeding helicopter and launched a brace after it, empty tubes ejecting from its' shoulders.

Irry moved rapidly as Kuraiko took a firing stance. While her GEAR was the same model as Blades', it was a line variant instead of command, lacking the dual head-antennae for the C3i system. Instead, it's backpack hardpoints and head were clustered with the antennae, show its' specialization in electronic warfare and surveillance. Nonetheless, while its' main strength was in subtle and invisible forms of war, it still maintained regular weapons as well. The red panda slewed her GEAR into a skidding slalom across the street, rifle held outstretched in a high grip. Shells clattered to the ground as she hammered a burst into the GEAR aiming at Ken and Dane's ride, cratering impacts dotting the asphalt around it, before climbing up it's leg and arm. Return fire lashed back as she weaved into shelter behind a building, dropping an empty mag to the floor.
Antennae and aerials extended as she sheltered, rapidly tapping holographic keys and icons. Invisibly, electronic signals and pulses emanated from her mecha, and fuzzed the Imperial sensor channels and communications grid.
"Ought to slow the buggers down a bit," she remarked with a grin. "Jacquo here - jamming the Imperials sensors and commo channels. They should be reliant on optical and IR only at close range. No overwatch from above, and no radio for them, over".

The change was obvious immediately; the Imperial team moved slower and with less surety as they continued. The two remaining GEARs in the vicinity of Kuraiko and Irry bunched up; both damaged. Aihara's bursts of fire only made things worse, as the one-armed GEAR fell back, firing from the hip with its' rifle as it wheeled backward down the street; into an ambush of anti-armour rockets from a rooftop, which bought it to its' knees. Moments later, the pilot ejected as the GEAR collapsed in on itself. The remaining machine took flight with jumpjets, crossing two streets in an attempt to join up with the rest of its' team.

At their position, Blade held position behind a parked-up semi-trailer, the Harlock crouched and offering suppressive fire with its' rifle. So far only Mike had managed to counter-attack, his nimble movements and bursts of fire giving the enemy wary pause.

“Four hostiles confirmed, headin’ our way—and they just broke half ‘n’ half. Cap, you got a plan, now’s the time,”

"Yeah, fuggen' shoot 'em!" he growled to himself. Before he could say much more, there was a break in the barrage and Aidan rushed forward, brandishing an uprooted lamp-post as a club. He watched with glee as the canines' GEAR swung the improvised weapon and smashed one of the Imperial GEARs with enough strength to stagger it, and mangle the front of its' head. The interruption in fire was what the fox was waiting for, and he popped up from cover, leaping the truck-trailer and firing the underbarrel grenade launcher at the second support gunner. The grenade exploded at surface contact, smashing the GEAR backward, in tandem with Irry's message about commo support.
Immediately, he launched a salvo of smoke-and-chaff grenades from his mortar, centering them on the enemy, and established datalinks with Keel and Nawlin.
"Keel, Nawlin - use the targeting data and hit the enemy while their comms are down. I'll give suppressive fire with the mortar-"
He was about to continue further when the first barrage of rounds from the enemy artillery arrived, cratering the surroundings. Plumes of debris shot up all around them, blinding his sensors with sheer visual noise from all of the flying material. Minor damage reports echoed in his ears, followed by more severe one was teh enemy used the confusion to open fire, the Harlock ringing from impact damage to the right leg, right arm, and torso. Something was shattered and damaged, but he could still move-

"They're firing the artillery, th-"

"Blade Aidan's down, building's on his GEAR!"

"Fuck!" blurted the fox with a snarl, spinning on the spot as the fire subsided all of a sudden, and two of enemy blinked as 'NULL' on the C3i map. A third followed shortly after, with the fourth headed their way.
"Fucking fuck it!" he seethed at the changing display. Aidan's GEAR was half buried; he could see parts of Stumpy protruding from the debris pile. Being buried in a collapsing building was one of the worst problems a GEAR could face. While the machines were sturdy, they relied on a lot of complex moving parts, and were carefully balanced. Too much weight, and they got stuck easily. However, another GEAR could dig them out - if they weren't under fire.
"Keel, Nawlin - keep up the suppressive fire-" he cut himself short as the missile team he'd seen earlier finished off the GEAR Aidan had already damaged by planting two anti-armour rockets into its' chest. At the same time, a wheeled AFV zipped out of a side street, and loosed off a three-round burst of fire from its' turret-mounted 90mm gun at another of the GEARs, smashing its' knee joint on one leg, and blasting an arm free.
"All right," he murmured. "Go home team. As I was saying," he continued, "Keep up the suppressive fire. Jacquo, Aihara, pincer them - close in from behind and box them in. Maxwell, pick 'em off from above once we box 'em in! Work with the locals while we have the comms advantage, we need to finish this quick before whatever's in that warehouse joins in. I'll work on getting Aidan out of the rubble!"
Turning to the pile, he quickly moved the Harlock to the task, metal-shod fingers prising at the pile of timbers, brick, glass and plaster to excavate the trapped GEAR as fast as possible.

The warehouse, in the meantime remained eerily silent. Kellia heard all the chaos from her position a short distance away, and caught snippets of the comm-chatter through her hi-jacked link into the network, before her specialized PADD blinked to life once more with the voice of her 'friend' in her ear once more.
"Kellia, I have more news. Worrying news; there is an intermittent signal closing in rapidly from the due south. I am not registering any hits on ground radar or seismic sensors, which means it is an air target. However, I can detect no visual confirmation and only transient radar or Infra Red signatures... and the signal is large, and moving fast. I estimate an ETA of six minutes. I believe if we are to recover the princess and her information, we should do it before that time. It is not transmitting, and is showing no IFF of any kind... I imagine it is hostile, as it seems to be almost directly on course for the warehouse"
"R-right," she stammered in reply, before stabbing at the PADD and finding the channel for the Roughriders' comms net. "Um, Roughriders? This is Kellia. I have confirmation that there's some kind of air target closing in. Large, and moving fast - it should be here in six minutes, and it's not showing any IFF. I think it's a hostile, heading for the warehouse! If we're going to get the princess out, we need to do it before it gets here!"

As Silver handed out orders, Adrian assessed the situation. Blocks in this part of the city were particularly large—to accommodate all the warehouses and office buildings. There could be alleys on the way, but the city was built almost entirely to a grid. This fight took place in a web of straight tunnels, with minimal cover, and nothing had yet to come his way. Staying where he was wouldn’t do any good—with nobody to shoot at and nobody to spy on, he was only wasting time. And the longer I sit here, the more time they have to be thinking what I’m thinking. “On it, Cap! Nawlin, I’m going ‘round the side—we’ll catch ‘em in a crossfire if they try to back out.”

He rubbed his GEAR’s arm on the corner of the building he’d been pressed against, rounding it and taking off down the street with his rifle tucked close. It was a quiet dash down the street, until he rounded the next corner and very nearly plowed into one of the opposing GEARs at the apex of its turn. Adrian cursed as the two machines bounced off of each other and, in the ensuing chaos, managed to put several holes in its torso with his rifle.