Cecilia watched her Osbanian companion's reckless maneuver with a twist of horror on her face. This is what she hated about the girl; an utter lack of self-preservation and borderline insanity. Though she was amazed at some of the things Sarah got away with in the past, it didn't stop her from almost wishing she'd stayed gone. Her blood pressure would've appreciated that. "Godammit, Sarah!" Cecilia blurted, nearly popping a vein. Sarah made no effort to request cover fire before executing the improvised attack, and Cecilia found herself having to back her up with a torrent of suppressive fire. The second Barghest ducked back behind cover as rounds flew past and into the corner of the structure, coating it with debris. As Sarah's prey went down, Cecilia skirted to the other side of the street, trying to advance upon the lone Barghest. A glance at her C3 suite revealed Bernard making clever use of his surroundings to back them up. [i]Thanks, Old Faithful...[/i] More flashes of white whizzed past on Cecilia's monitor - three more Barghests on a vector to intercept the Panthers. She made sure her ECM masked her radar signature, and skirted to position herself behind the rise of an overpass, autocannon barrel resting over the top. "I see 'em, Bern." Cecilia gave her control yoke a delicate touch, trying to line up a shot. The trio, however, had other plans, suddenly splitting up and heading down different roads. "Shit, they're gonna try to envelop us." Who was behind her? The C3 told her it was Harold's FRAME. Cecilia would have to trust him on this. "Harold, eyes on the intersection at my left. I've got a feeling they'll try to pry at our sides. The rest of you, stick to the buildings and advance on the Cradle building. We'll cover you. We need to lift this siege!" ----- [color=FF0000]"Damn! Shāyú-Sì is down. I'm pinned on Highview and Mulberry. Need immediate assistance." "We hear you, Shāyú-Wǔ. Moving on your four-o'clock. Try to sweep left and get around them. We'll harass their flank." "Copy, I'm moving." "We just have to hold them off until we secure the package. Our ground teams are already inside. Don't let these dregs intervene. Shāyú-Èr, Sān. Split and isolate." "Copy, Shāyú-Yī." "Beta Team, we're going after the Panthers from the west. I need you to circle around and hit them from the south; how-copy?" "Solid copy, Shāyú-Yī. We're on it."[/color] One of the new Barghests skirted around an office building, keeping a careful watch in-between structures. Like a tiger, it stalked through the concrete jungle in search of prey, autocannon held high. A faint beam of white registered on the pilot's monitor and he froze, back to the structure between himself and the contact. Another quick peek and he confirmed it - the Handou that had taken down his teammate in a clear LOS. He raised his weapon to the machine's shoulder, nudging the barrel around the corner and taking aim. A fraction of a second later, a lock, then a flash of white erupted from his muzzle. [color=FF0000]"Good-bye, lǎowài."[/color] ----- Inside Cradle's HQ, alarms blared as security personnel scrambled to defend the facility's most important sections. Richard and Amelia had been moved to what amounted to a panic room, crouched behind thick concrete and bulletproof glass. Armed guards stood ready at the entrance, brandishing small-arms. Scattered reports from their radios told Richard that this area of the building hadn't been touched. Instead, security had exchanged fire around Research and Development, which was exactly where his people had taken the cargo. "Miss Blake, what were you about to tell me about the package we delivered? I think this warrants some explanation." Richard looked up from his padd, where he'd been tracking the Panthers' combat progress. Amelia sighed, straightening a strand of red locks that had become disheveled. "...Fine. But this information does not leave this room." "Scout's honor," Bentz quipped. "The trucks were carrying components that the OSU had stolen from the Sodroyan League. Cradle was contracted by the government to work on a system that would allow pilots to interface with FRAMEs through neural implants. Completely hands-off control; fly-by-thought. We'd begun experimenting with neural technologies alongside manual control to help replicate fine motor skills in the machines, and allow for faster, smoother responses. But the League wanted to push the boundaries a step further. They wanted to hook up pilots to their machines, trick brain signals into moving the FRAMEs, instead of the human body. We figured this would streamline and revolutionize FRAME operation; make it so controlling them was as intuitive as moving one's own body." "That's insane," Bentz gasped. "How long have you been working on this?" "A long time, Mr. Bentz. Our work was interrupted when one of our employees turned out to be a mole and the OSU got wind of the research. They stole the HFI components from under our noses while we were transporting them; much like you did." "HFI?" "Human-FRAME Interface. We've kept this under wraps for years. We can't risk losing it again." "Those FRAMEs out there aren't Osbanian makes. No markings, no insignia. Who do you think is trying to steal it?" "I don't have an answer to that. I'd like to think everyone assigned to this project was a loyal Sodroyan. It seems that was not the case." [i]Maybe that's what we get for our 'no discrimination policy,'[/i] she muttered under her breath. The radio crackled and a stressed voice groaned from the speaker. "W-we can't hold them! They're tearing through the patrols we sent to defend R&D. These guys... they're the real deal. Special forces types, or something!" "Dammit," Amelia snarled. "Section off the HFI bloc! We [i]cannot[/i] risk the safety of the modules." "Ma'am! We're redirecting all personnel to sec-[b]Augh![/b]" [i]PAM PAM PAM[/i] "Sonofabitch," Richard muttered. He brought his padd to his lips, frequency set to the Panthers' radios. "Cradle's security is getting hammered in here! These people are good, really good. I'm okay, but you [i]have[/i] to break through and stop this heist!" "Mr. Bentz, the Director is on the line. He says the Sodroyan military is on the way. He just needs you to hold out until reinforcements arrive." "Thank fuck."