Sayeeda sprang onto the back of the hoverboard, uncertain exactly how the thing functioned but willing to trust Neil’s expertise in a pinch. She looped an arm around the pilots waist and they began to rise up out of the cave like depression. Canek was a fool to have encamped here without a proper sensor watch. The site offered concealment and cover from the sun but it also gave enemies ample avenues to sneak up and ambush the small force, which was just what they had done.

Neil’s attack had thrown the attackers into confusion, which was a very good thing, because otherwise they might have wiped out Canek’s force at a stroke. As it was they were pouring small arms fire down from the lip of the opening. Sayeeda saw a merc go down, his body riddle with slugs a heart beat before a spurt of blue fire from one of the plasma lances detonated on of the lighter fighting vehicles in a spectacular orange white fireball. The drive fans on the tank were spinning up and the turret was swiveling, though Sayeeda knew that it would never be able to elevate high enough to hit the rim where the enemy were concentrated.

The hoverboard sped upwards through the malestrom. Sayeeda pursed her lips. Fire from either side could bring them down just as easily. The cave system certainly had another exit but she didn’t want to risk her life on the fact that the enemy, whoever they were, hadn’t laid a second ambush there. If it had been her she would have simply placed charges to bring down the rock formation when the quarry tried to escape, trapping them in a kill box. Sayeeda flicked the safety off the plasma gun Neil had given her. Holding it one handed like a pistol, her other arm around Neil’s waist, she blazed away at anything that looked remotely like a target. The rapid fire eroded the barrel and the gun heated to white hot, but this wasn't a time to go easy on the gear . Bullets and plasma blast whipped passed them like hail. Neil was cursing under his breath as he wove a path for them. A bullet hit the end of the board, nearly toppling them over but he fought it back under control and a moment later they burst from the opening like a cork blasting from a bottle of carbonated wine.

Below them Sayeeda could see men firing down into the hole. A few pivoted to follow the hoverboard but the two of them were small fry compared to the main event below. The tank’s gun reached the maximum extent of its elevation and Sayeeda threw a hand over Neil’s eyes and closed her own tightly.

“Hey what the..” There was as rending crash that sounded like mountains screaming as the tanks main gun fired. Its six inch plasma cannon, spurting megajoules of energy into the side of the canyon wall, excavating a massive divet of rock in a blaze of plasma and molten rock. Sayeeda could see the flash even through her closed eyes, and it would have burned her unshielded retina if she hadn’t looked away and closed her eyes. With the dazzling purple after images still dancing she looked down once more. A stretch of rock glowed bright white and the attackers had stopped firing, burned or blinded by the back blast of the plasma cannon even though it hadn’t been able to hit them directly. Sayeeda didn’t like to think about what the blast had done to the mercenaries in the cavern below. Those that hadn’t boarded vehicles or found cover had probably been killed instantly. Even those that had were probably burned or concussed. Sometimes you had to make hard decisions. When the xenos on Benson had been swarming her lines Sayeeda herself had called artillery in so close to her own position that she knew her own men were likely to be killed by the blasts. You did what you had to do. She wondered if it were Canek who had given the order or if it were some panicking tanker. SHe supposed it didn’t matter.

The hoverboard was arcing back down towards the ground, out of the line of sight of any opportunistic snipers. That had been way too close.

“You have a habit of showing up in the nick of time!” she yelled to Neil over the rush of the wind.