The pilots sounded off one by one as the [i]Samigina's[/i] FRAME bay door slid open, bathing the interior and the machines in daylight. Cecilia brought up her GPS, double-checking the route to the highway. Richard's voice crackled over the radio, sending the FRAMEs off.

"Good luck, Panthers," he bid them in his usual cheery voice. "Bring back that cargo in one piece!"

The bay door reached its zenith, and Cecilia brought her Handou to the front of the ramp. "This is it! Operation is green. Don't screw up!" With that, she dropped the FRAME's wheels from the soles and bolted down the ramp, kicking up dirt as the machine touched open ground. The rest of the team followed suit, with the newcomers (hopefully) paired up with more experienced Panthers. They traveled in a staggered column once they hit roads too narrow for a wider formation. By her estimation, it'd take just over half-an-hour to reach the ambush point.

-----  

The target area was a forested section road, just beyond the southern edge of a bridge, connecting the highway to a long exit ramp. With the FRAMEs hidden in the treeline, they could surprise the enemy, so long as their sensors didn't pick them up.  

"Bernard, Harold, Jason, Cheryl and Isabella - set up on the left side of the bridge. Elaine, Edward, Ryder and Maia, you're on the right. Bernard, once they get past the bridge, you're going to blow it in half. Elaine, Maia and I will move to block the trucks from the front. We're going to surround the trucks and neutralize the security in one swoop. Once you're in position, turn your machines [i]off[/i]. I don't want their sensors to spot us before we can spring the trap. Rely on your visuals until we strike."

The pilots scurried to take up positions as Cecilia ordered. The plan had also been relayed to everyone's HUD, highlighting the Panthers' positions and the convoy's avenue of approach. Cecilia planned to hit them hard and fast, minimizing the security detail's chances of retaliating. If all went smoothly - and she expected it would, this would be a cakewalk.

-----

Just several minutes passed until a set of dots appeared on the far end of the road. Though the view was hazy, due to the heat on the asphalt, Cecilia could clearly tell it was the convoy, and it was accompanied by more FRAMEs that they'd anticipated. Her fingers twitched at the control yokes. As the convoy came closer to the bridge, four trucks could clearly be seen, as well as twelve OSU Dreqs on either side. Whatever the cargo was, it was high on the OSU's priority list.

As the convoy approached the overpass, the vehicles slowed to a crawl, and the hair on Cecilia's neck tingled. Had they been spotted? She cursed, watching the OSU FRAMEs hesitate at the other end. A few moments later, they continued as normal, and she let out a sigh of relief. Maybe the drivers were confirming their route.

Closer, closer, the machines came. By now, they'd almost passed the halfway point of the bridge and were barely 50 meters away. Cecilia's hand hovered just over her control panel, ready to spring her FRAME to life. As the very last truck rolled past the imaginary point-of-no-return, she slammed her controls on and gave the newbies their first command to kill.

"NOW! Let them have it!"