[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PosaXRV.png[/img]
[@Crimmy] [@Shiyonichi] [@GarlandDaHero][/center]

Acknowledgement lights winked at Maine-1’s broadcast, but that was the only response from the Gespenst Mk. TT keeping pace with the rest of UTX’s units. It was the heaviest unit by far; when things got hot, it wouldn’t keep pace with the other machines on the battlefield. Not in raw speed. Lions were nimble things, and the sky was their domain. The TT was an interloper, objectively the most antique machine on the battlefield. No doubt the least feared amongst modern Federation units, let alone one of the Crusaders’ own aces. In other hands, maybe that would be the case. 

Not this time.

Sixteen units, confirming Maine-1’s report. Local forces were engaging the eastern flight of remnants, leaving the eastern for UTX and the Landlions unopposed. That wasn’t something that could be allowed to stand. Someone would need to keep them from getting to the Loch, but to do that UTX would need to punch through their escort flights. Not so easy to do when there were enough craft to cover UTX one-to-one and then some. Too much of a stalemate for Hazel’s taste. They didn’t waste any time, either; Hazel could feel that they’d launched missiles even as her PT warned her of the same, and enacted countermeasures reflexively. Homing missiles were standard on Lion-series units, a weapon she’d encountered plenty during the war. Their tracking algorithms were far from sophisticated. No evasion built into them. 

The TT responded better than she could have hoped. She was used to her Mk. II, had grown accustomed to how it reacted. but the TT felt almost like an extension of herself. Thought became action almost seamlessly. A flick of the wrist killed the Tesla Drive, in the same breath gunning the Gespenst’s primary and left lateral thrusters. Gravity took hold and the machine dropped like a rock, rolling on its side to look [i][color=a0410d]up[/color][/i] at the enemy. The Drive kicked back in and stabilized its flight but not before the TT’s hands found its weapons. The next moment was half targeting sensors, half intuition; the mute let go of her conscious thought and trusted that she [i]knew[/i] what she was doing. The Burst Railgun crackled once, twice, thrice in a single volley; the first projectile lanced through the missile altering course to hit her while the latter two continued on their course to the Lion that fired. In her gut she knew it was the right angle, and she knew the TT could follow through. The Lion was quick, but she was willing to wager its pilot wouldn’t bank on the same shot putting him at risk. A gamble, yes; but that explosion could mask it. She trusted her gut.

Not enough to refrain from hedging, though; the rifle in her machine’s right hand reported second, aimed at the same Lion. 

[color=a0410d]”Summers. Anju. Breaking through their line. Cover me. On mark.”[/color] Her comm reported monotonously, but clearly; it wasn’t a request. Hazel didn’t much care what ground she had to give instructions. Her decision was clear; someone needed to cut off the Landlions, and the TT was best suited to it. If she could just break through their line. From below them, perhaps, they wouldn’t notice. If they did… She’d deal with that if it came to it. Bracing herself for the discomfort that would come, opened the thrusters wide and slammed the controls as far as they would go. Inertia didn’t agree with her, it pushed her against her seat [i]hard[/i], but she was accelerating; with any luck her colleagues would keep their attention off the PT passing from below.

It was their first outing. Playing it safe wouldn't win this. Time for a leap of faith.

[color=a0410d][i]”Mark.”[/i][/color]