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Visiting Alora had always been something in the cards- supposedly the resort scene on this planet was to die for, but this wasn't exactly what Sabine had in mind. A a few months ago, if someone told her she'd be getting a month and a half on Alora, she'd have been jumping for joy. She was still jumping of course, though now it was mostly over rubble and pockets of radiation- not exactly her idea of a vacation. Not for a lack of trying of course, Sabine had conveniently parked her mech more or less in the center of the pilots' congregation and was currently lounging in a hammock strung between the mech's leg and the remains of a nearby pillar. In her hands was a scorched magazine, and the remains of the tanning mirror she'd found somewhere within the remains of the hotel did little for her skin- currently clad head to toe in her flight suit. To her side, a holo-display slowly scrolled by, displaying diagnostics information as she was wrapping up the Hare's maintenance checks. Only a scorch mark gouging through the left side of her flight suit from a rather close call signified that their current situation could've been anything other than a vacation to the young pilot. 

Not that the situation around them was any better. Even after over a month of hard fighting, they hadn't made nearly as much progress as they needed. The planet was dying. If they didn't take care of the Aberrant threat soon, then the entire planet would be lost within the week. No doubt Howe was beginning to think this was all a wasted effort, and Sabine couldn't exactly blame him either. Sure, she enjoyed flying and fighting- loved it in fact, but brutal attrition wasn't exactly her style, blaze of glory was much preferred. The White Hare was designed for rapid assaults, and instead they were bogged down in what more or less amounted to a slow slog through the middle of Aberrant territory. Damage was slowly but surely mounting, and she down to about a quarter of her smartcannon and missile ammunition, forcing her to rely mostly on her energy weapons for the past few days. But with resources spread thin the way they were, they all had to make do: ad hoc units formed in the middle of fighting, picking up pilots and infantry from depleted and shattered units to fill out their own dwindling ranks.

Commander Aurigae- Ahkari had approached their small formation with a plan: One last daring, all or nothing type of raid. End the Aberrant threat in a day, no doubt at the cost of many- or most of their lives. A suicide run with dubious odds of success at best. Sabine snorted at the thought of the mission being a request. They all knew that at the rate they were going, the planet would be lost before they could get to the Princess. They were going in, or they were pulling out, no two ways about it, though Sabine at least appreciated the courtesy of asking, as unnecessary as it was.

[color=pink]"Safe is [i]boring[/i]."[/color] Sabine whined. The mirror cracked and broke as it clattered to the ground, magazine unceremoniously dumped aside as Sabine swung off of her hammock and back down to the ground with the rest of the crew. Her footsteps light and bouncy as she casually sauntered over to Howe and swiped the lit cigarette from his fingers, taking a long drag from it as she leaned on the taller pilot. She winced slightly as she stretched the burn on her side, but otherwise ignored the discomfort. With a languid yawn, Sabine fixed her eyes on their current Constellation-Commander and winked. [color=pink]"Howie's right, and you said it yourself, we don't have enough time to take it slow. Might as well quit beating around the bush and hit that bitch where it hurts."[/color]

[color=pink]"Besides, as much as I've liked Alora, all the radiation really isn't good for my complexion."[/color]