Sigma/Star

Chapter 29: Locks and Loads

The CRU stared at each other through their Goliaths. They had seen Nami land and had watched the other Goliath drop out of the sky on her then take off once more. That was never a good sign but at least Nami had fired off a shot, which meant she was still functional. It was just that everybody wasn't quite sure what to do. This was the first time they were battling in Goliaths without any preparation, simply being dropped down into combat without warning.

Ardwen still had a job to do, to take over and command the group through all of this. "Raul, you and I will head to fend off the main force with Riya on support. The report says there are only four of them so we should be able to at least slow them down. While we do, Porter and Chase are up to rescue Nami and get her out of there if you need to. Bring her back within the confines of the town and I'll check her over for repairs."

"Question."

The communication barely picked up the sound of Ardwen sighing. "Yes Chase, what's your question?"

"When Porter and I go get Nami, who is in command?"

"Porter is. Now-"

"Why aren't I in command?" Chase pressed.

"Porter outranks everyone but me. You'll just have to live with that Chase. You two shouldn't need much commanding, please. Just go and get her."

"Yes, sir." Chase extended the final "s" in mockery before he and Porter took off through the narrow streets of the town, which were clearly not designed for their fifty-foot monstrosities.

Ardwen shook his head at them running off. "They do know we are supposed to go first to distract the others right?" Raul nodded in his silent way, his mind focused solely on Nami and his heart holding a deep concern for her safety. This time, if he had to, he and the "Blue Blur" would kill to save her.

* * * * *

Officer Cain watched from up above in the rocks outside town. He had found a particularly high outcrop that gave him a good vantage point with which to observe. They had seen the defense group landing and planned for it, especially when the one had strayed.

The strikeforce didn't have any intelligence on this team they were coming up against unfortunately, but their experience meant they didn't need many scouting reports. The more Cain thought about it, the less this entire assault made sense though. It was quite hastily thrown together and relied mostly on minimal defenses in place around the town. Obviously the Enian Federation would want to protect its precious supply lines; the Artisans would do the same. Cain just wished there had been a little bit more thought put into this operation.

Alenichev sat to Cain's left, watching everything through his scope and not emitting a sound. Even his Goliath had most of its functions turned off to keep it as quiet as possible, contributing to the eerie nature of being in the mute's presence.

"Feels so rushed Alenichev." The soldier still did not move or make a signal in response to Cain's statement but the officer knew he was listening. "I mean there we are in the middle of a battle for an enemy stronghold and the key domino in this war and then our force, instead of being used to further the effort to quickly win, is sent off to this tiny town where we suspect supplies are being kept. And so what? What if we blow the whole place to hell? The war still goes on. This is just one little supply town out of a hundred others I'm sure. It really only has an impact if the battle extends for a long time."

A breeze blew between the two battlesuits, producing the only sound as it whipped through the tight gaps along the machines. Cain took in a deep breath and blew it out as he watched Xiu land next to Jericho at the outskirts of the town, preparing for the impending attack. They weren't far away from the enemy Goliath that had landed but it had scrambled behind a cluster of rocks and taken cover. Xiu could flush it out at any time but they were waiting to see what the others would do to try and save the lost.