The combined weight of arms from the mercenaries crashed into the bandit formation, sending one of the frames careening across the sand, now a charred, steaming lump. The dust made it difficult to tell, but it was likely Ryan's warhead was the culprit. The remaining machines split up, two on the right and three to the left. It was a classic pincer move, and Eliška knew they needed to get out of it. 

"Scatter!" she blurted. "Don't let 'em box us in." She darted forwards, surging her frame in-between the gap created by the bandits. Without the unit locked in a solid formation, it would be impossible to make a typical flanking move on them. 

The Strigoi swivelled on its wheels to face the nearest bots, while it zoomed backwards. With their rears exposed to Eliška's sudden maneuver, a staccato of gunfire erupted from her autocannon, shattering the rear leg armor of the closest frame. The impact knocked the limb out of alignment, forcing the machine to wobble before hitting the sand with a [i]thwump[/i]. With that one briefly out of commision , she turned her attention to its partner, who was already turning to exact revenge. 

A round glanced her Strigioi's shoulder, leaving a metallic dent at the point of impact. Gritting her teeth, she sped backwards, creating some distance between her and her target. She cast a glance to the rest of the engagement, to see how her squad was faring.

"You holding up?" asked her voice over the comm.