“I’m here, Nawlin,” Adrian said with no small amount of disappointment, “The bad guys aren’t, split when the sky fell.” If the battle hadn’t made a mess of the field already, the artillery transformed it into a veritable moonscape. “Gonna have to report to the Captain. Where’s Kuraiko?” It took a moment of searching through the debris to find Kuraiko’s GEAR lying in idle position amidst the rubble of a small garage. Adrian sucked his teeth as he appraised the damage. “Turn my back for one second and the jackass gets himself shot,” he mumbled off comms as he turned to Mike. “No penetration, but it’s not the fall that kills you. What is that, two men down on our first mission? ‘Bandits.’” Just as he began to reach for the radio, Kuraiko’s downed GEAR began transmitting its pilot’s status. 

Adrian sighed long and loud. “Dammit Aihara, is this really the time for a nap?” He toggled his radio to Silver’s channel, relieved not to have lost a pilot, but frustrated all the same. “This is Keel reporting from the mines. We discovered the bandit hangar. Contacted six enemy GEAR and downed four. If any of the wrecked pilots survived, they’re keeping their heads down. Two out of the six escaped under the cover of [i]enemy artillery[/i]. Positions unknown. Aihara’s been hit and incapacitated by the shelling. He’s alright, but we need somebody to walk him home, ‘cause he isn’t going anywhere on his own. That’s all.”