[b]Marcus Goldstein - Convoy Escort (This post will be revised tomorrow as it is the start of a collab work)[/b]

“Diamond? When did- never mind.” Marcus responded quickly. With the jammer still on his vision was reduced to two pinholes and a couple of slits. He simply missed her get close enough.

“I didn't see you. I, uhm-” he trailed off as Diamond already went ahead by herself. Sun damn it if she just let him explain! Where was Oswald then, was he nearby too? Also what to do about the out of control fire? It spread merrily in the few seconds that Marcus' attention was elsewhere. Fuckshit how was he supposed to know that the bugs wanted the fire to spread? He should have let rip with HE instead. No, before that, he should have checked his targets first before attacking. Sun damn it all to hell the collumn the team encountered on the way here should have been a much bigger warning sign. This just wasn't fair, a simple mission like this should have been easier. He should have had better intelligence and an enemy not seemingly designed to perfectly counter his single biggest strength. It was not fair. It was not fair at all. Out through a vsion slit Marcus barely managed to catch the tail end of Oswald doing something to the flames up in front.

“”Oswald what is- I dont'-” he managed to utter. Then he heard what his teammate said. For a brief moment Marcus wanted to protest. What was MODA up to?

Then he realised that it was not Oswald, or Diamon, or Aurellius that was the problem. Words died in Marcus' throat. Combat stress, he realised in a flash. An emergency brake kicked in and his train of thought screeched to a halt.

Stop thinking about what went wrong and what could have gone differently and what was unfair.

Think actions.

What did he know, what did have, what did he want?

Every electric device susceptible to EM radiation was down. He had a teammember right next to his treads.

“Aurellius, get up here and stay up here. You are to be the eyes in the back of my head. If a fly so much as farts in my general direction I want to know about it. Hostiles that leap on here without permission I want killed with extreme prejudice.”

“But that's boring! How am I supposed to get any action now? Is this seriously just because of some dead chumps?” the suit clad boy protested. Marcus ignored him.

Okay next up stopped truck, anything that could be salvaged? A quick check through a high powered scope revealed far too much about anatomy than Marcus would ever want to know. The drivers were most definitively dead. As for the dust it contained-

Marcus spun the Unsubtle around to present his strongest armour to the explosion. 

“EVERYONE DOWN!”

What happened next was gloriously violent. The sheer power it contained was something Marcus would  love to harness one day. However, now he had more pressing concerns to deal with. The second truck was merely flipped but the drivers probably lived. His suspension actually creaked as Marcus shifted into gear and rolled forward.

“Better than I was a minute ago.” he replied curtly to Diamond's inquiry if everyone was still in one piece. His mind went back to the problems at hand. Truck one was still on the run headed for Vale. A quick inventory check left Marcus with no way to get Rice's truck back, not with that radio jammer still up. No matter, they could save the second truck in it's entirety.

As Marcus drove he considered Diamond’s proposal, thinking out loud.

“Hmm. Drive shaft is busted, right side wheels out of alignment. Towing yes, to Vale no. Drivers will need medical help, the mining site is in friendly hands and three minutes away to Vale's twenty seven. Also has intel. Current status of truck Two means I can either tow Two or give chase to One, not both. No one in the team is fast enough to catch up to One otherwise. Lastly contract specified trucks needed to get to the mine, not Vale. Dependent on what intel we can get in five minutes we either chase after One or stay with the miners. Possibly wreck that jammer, kill the one in control of the bugs, or simply keep the miners alive for evac. Those people need help just as badly as our drivers. Possibly more so.” he rattled off as the thoughts passed through his mind. He spun the tank around in a nearly casual loop to make it easy to hook up the tow cables to the stricken transport.

“Oswald, status on the drivers? The medical kit is in the left side of the rearmost bustle rack. I'll keep watch.” Marcus called out. The tanker had his eyes on the plains around them, alert for any more surprises that might be sprung on the team. If this was over he'd eat his own tank with a bucket of mayonnaise.