Cecilia winced as she saw Sarah go down just meters away. The Barghest's rounds had caught her as the pair crossed the street, doing severe damage to the FRAME's structural and systemic integrity. Cecilia extended her machine's hand to the crippled Handou, pulling it back into cover with her. A moment later, and Sarah popped the hatch. [i]"I wish to make my way to the Cradle building, I have my PDW and some thermal grenades, either way I'm out this fight!"[/i] "That's a negative!" Cecilia shot back. "It's too dangerous to charge in there alone! We don't know what their strength is, and according to Richard, they're the real-deal; spec-op types. Get to cover and sit tight until this is over." As she finished, Bernard's voice crackled in her headset, adding to her troubles. [i]"Cecilia, I'm in a Barghest. I was just looking at it and suddenly I got this irresistible urge to get inside."[/i] "You're what?! ... I won't ask," Cecilia groaned. She knew better than to expect anything else but the unexpected by now. "Make sure you adjust your IFF signal; wouldn't want to shoot you in the back. Now that you're playing dress-up, see if you can raise some hell." Cecilia pieced the engagement together on her C3 monitor. Bern had freed up some breathing room for Ryder, who was in terrible shape. Sarah's FRAME was down. At least three of the five Barghests were still operational, and who knew how many more were lurking behind the next corner? Whoever they were up against weren't slouches. Not to mention Richard was still somewhere inside the HQ. A pair of unidentified FRAMEs had entered the fray; not Barghests, thankfully, but seemingly fighting on the Panthers' behalf. If only they were using the same radio frequency. Cecilia had more immediate concerns though, as the Barghest across the street sent another salvo of rounds her way. ----- [color=FF0000]"Dammit, Shāyú-Yī is down! Rammed his gun right through his fucking FRAME. Èr, you're acting team lead." "They got Jīn!? Shit... copy, Sān. We need to regroup. We can't wait for Beta Team."[/color] Shāyú's new CO backpedaled north, putting some distance in-between himself and the panthers, who were encroaching on the facility. [color=FF0000]"What's the word inside? Please tell me you've found it." "Copy, Shāyú-Èr, we're retrieving the last of the data now. Not enough time to haul the components, but we can reverse-engineer the HFI with the blueprints. ... Let's go, people! Fill those bags! Every harddrive, disk, PADD you can find! We're leaving in three!" ... Thanks for keeping them off our backs. Sorry about the losses." "They won't have died in vain if your data is as valuable as they say. Let's wrap this up; you know the drill?" "We'll handle it. Out."[/color] As the operatives threw the last bits of data they could scour into jumbo-sized trash bags, they removed their gear and BDUs, replacing their garb with Cradle employee coveralls and lab coats. Hauling their goods, they exited the R&D wing as swiftly as they'd arrived, hopping out the rear entrance and piling into a pair of nondescript construction vans. The vehicles took off, under the cover of night. "Shāyú-Èr to all units, mission is a success. Radio silence from here on out. See you topside. Out." The remaining pilots switched on their thermo-optic camo suites, cloaking their Barghests and vanishing into the urban jungle. An uneasy calm settled over the battlefield, with the Panthers still on alert. ----- "Can anyone hear me? Dr. Sammick? Reed? Anyone?!" Amelia wailed into her PADD, trying to get a grasp of the situation deeper in the facility. Her hails were met with static-lined silence. "Fuck! All our research... It'll take decades to replace these losses!" She screamed, slamming a fist into the wall she leaned on for support. Bentz listened to her vent, none too enthusiastic about the turn of events either. "Panthers? Do you copy?" Upon hearing Richard's voice, Cecilia answered, "Richard?! Are you hurt?" "Not a scratch. The intruders only went after the R&D wing. But we've heard nothing from that section of the building. I'm afraid we've lost this one. More importantly, are Ryder and Sarah alright?" "Shit! Sarah made it out okay. Ryder's FRAME took a beating, but her vitals are good. All enemy contacts have vanished from sight. Nothing on the sensors, no visuals at all. It's like they just disappeared!" "Be careful. Get everyone to regroup at Cradle. The Sodroyan Military just entered the district. We'll figure out where to go from here." "Copy, Bentz. Glad you're alright." ----- As the Barghests slinked into the darkness, a beeping tone emitted from the one disabled FRAME and Bernard's captured ride. A strange, red light flared on the console, which, Bernard could tell, was never the sign of anything good. [i]DEET. DEET. DEET. DEET. DEET. DEET. DEETDEETDEETDEETDEETDEETDEETDEET DEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-[/i]