“Don’t worry, Trapp! Three minutes is definitely more than enough.”
Alice took a deep breath, one that was more of an expression of preparation for their imminent crash-landing rather than for any real physiological need for oxygen. War-machines don’t really need to breath after all. It seemed like they were falling even faster than they really were as Jehan’s lake came closer, and eventually they finally slammed deep into the water. Thankfully, due to her currently being installed in her MAS, she didn’t suffer any discomfort from the force of the impact, though she was certain her primary body had jostled around a bit inside her Eagle. Alice kept her head cool while they began slowly sinking. The first thing she thought to do was run an instant diagnostic of her machine, to check for any damages and how extensive they were. Thankfully most of her systems appeared to be functioning adequately, except for two:
SHOTGUN L - DISABLED
ROCKET LAUNCHER R - N/A
Well shit. This left her with only her Scorpion and a single shotgun, both with limited ammo, for dealing with any Coalition until they’re able to return to a UEE ship. They were in hostile territory now, and a trio of UEE mechs falling right out of the sky most likely didn’t go unnoticed. There was no telling how much time they had until a search team was sent to investigate. With her diagnostics done, she started to look for her friends, a pair of searchlights on her chest flickering as they began to activate. One needed a couple light taps from a mechanical finger before it turned on, albeit somewhat dimmed. She could see Nishizumi’s signal on her sensors, not far from her, but Trapp’s signal was absent. His MAS must have shut down after the impact, and she couldn’t get any visual confirmation of him either, though she did see some aquatic fauna swim past her machine. A metaphorical and entirely non-existent pit grew in the stomach she didn’t have from the increasing worry for the safety of her commander.
“Hunter, this is Alice. Are you alright? I can’t find Odin; I think his Sentry shut down…”
After several nerve-wracking minutes she finally heard a crackle from her comms followed by Trapp’s voice. A wave of relief filled her as she replied: “Trapp! Me and Hunter are here!” She was able to track him by his comms, finding him sinking down to the lakebed. She quickly raced to him, soon his machine appearing to materialize from the darkness of the lake in her searchlights. A scan revealed a breach in his Sentry’s hull, letting water fill the machine’s cockpit. She grabbed his arms, urgently trying to pull him up.
“Nishizumi! Trapp is sinking and the Sentry’s hull is compromised!”