[h2][color=0054a6][center] Cody Ang [/center][/color][/h2]

The man couldn't see it but Cody had a look of disgust on his face. Seeing one of his teammates quite intoxicated before battle didn't bode well with him. It didn't help that a few seconds later, he received a message that was calling all pilots to battle. He made an audible sigh as he thought:

[i]Guess my breakfast will have to wait...[/i]

As Cody arrived at the hangar, he quickly located his NC and climbed up a nearby ladder to board the cockpit. After he jumped in, the canopy closed down on him and sealed itself, while the NC began activating its various systems for use. The HUD of the cockpit then flared to life as it showed the status of his NC:

[color=39b54a] Mind Sync - 100%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Cockpit - 100%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Weapons - 100%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Reactor - 97%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Engines - 95%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Sensors - 100%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Shields - 100%[/color]
[color=39b54a] Hydraulics - 100%[/color]

As the Halberd performed final preparations, he could see his squamates already moving out. Although his NC wasn't as sleek or as fast as any of the others, it would give the Red-star forces an experience that they would never forget.

---

Cody surveyed the battlefield, confirming that the placements and locations coincided with the plans. He began sending the plans to the rest of his squad through his secure link to make sure that all of them knew what the plan was.
As the first wave of Red-star NCs entered his line of sight, he primed his mass driver cannons for use. The feet of the Halberd then deployed hydraulic outriggers, designed to improve the stability of the mech, which then slam into the ground, anchoring it. The cannons then started following their newfound targets with their barrels. After Cody manages to get a secure lock on two NCs, one cannon suddenly fires, sending an armor-piercing round straight at the NC. The NC's torso was completely pierced as it fell limp, parts of it strewn all across the ground from the impact. A few seconds after the first cannon fired, the second followed, with the other NC following the same fate as the first.

After eliminating the two, he prepared to lock on to the next targets. Before he could do so, he then received two messages from the squad's comms. The first was from their team leader, Zahra, which said that there were cloaked hostiles present. The second message however, worried him more. It was from one of his teammates, he didn't know his name but he sounded like he was French. After listening, Cody immediately connected the dots and deduced that he was being taken over by Akiyama, the Red-star pilot he had heard about during the briefing. He immediately switched to a secure comm channel with the rest of his squad, all of them except for the one who was being taken over, and sent a message. He had a sense of urgency in his voice, it was calm yet still possessed a sense of worry and stress. 

[b]Cody:[/b] One of our squadmates' NCs is being taken over by Akiyama. I'm having my guns trained on him now, just give the word and I'll take him out of the fight non-lethally.

As he spoke he traced the source of the message and found the man's NC. He began aiming the mass driver cannons at him, specifically targeting his arms and legs.

[b]Cody:[/b] Make up your minds quick. There's no telling how long we still have before he does turn.