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<<[color=#239C89]Roger that, Pandora.[/color]>>

Holden made mental notes of the status of his squadmates, looking to the Battle Net for more details when necessary. It seemed aside from the Ajax and a few others, the damage that the other orbitals received was negligible, or none at all. Better him than them, he figured-- the Grecian Hero was well-suited to take the heat... and to dish it out when it needed to.

<<[color=#239C89]You heard 'em, boys and girls.[/color]>> The Saturnian spoke into his comms. <<[color=#239C89]Pack your bags and prep for exfil.[/color]>>

The mission ahead was more than a little worrying, but Holden wasn't too shaken. The fact that they would be sweeping through an ancient space station and ship that was supposedly the source of the strange data dump was concerning, but he had experience on the ground and in the cockpit; to him, this was just another day at work.

As he pondered this, his communications suite had patched through someone speaking on their (supposedly) secure channel. A rather familiar voice, in fact.

<<[color=#239C89]We read you, Starstrike.[/color]>> Holden replied. Though it seemed the system was having difficulties letting the Skyhammer join their network, there were other ways to send information.

<<[color=#239C89]We're heading out soon-- rally on us.[/color]>> Castle said simply. <<[color=#239C89]Watch for the signal flares.[/color]>>

On cue, the Akon Long-Range Missile System sputtered to life. Though it was damaged from the energy fire a while back, it still had enough functionality to fire off a few explosives. The autoloader swapped the rockets out for a few airborne flares, before launching it into the atmosphere. Soon, the sky above lit up with orange-red smoke. 

After some time had passed, it was time to roll.

"[color=#239C89]Begin pre-flight checks.[/color]" Holden said aloud. The onboard computer flared to life.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY:

BOOSTER 1: [color=lightgreen]OK[/color]
BOOSTER 2: [color=lightgreen]OK[/color]
BOOSTER 3: [color=lightgreen]OK[/color]
BOOSTER 4: [color=lightgreen]OK[/color]

[color=green]ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL.[/color]

<<[color=#239C89]Launching. We are Oscar Mike.[/color]>>

On cue, the four boosters attached as a supplement to the Ajax's Talaria Jump Jets began to roar. Dust and sand near the launch site was blasted away as the Grecian Hero began its ascent towards the cosmos. Were he Bellerophon or Icarus, perhaps he'd be struck down for such hubris, but it was man's destiny to defy the gods eventually. The hull rattled as the Orbital attempted to make it past escape velocity, and even as the enemy's metal carcass threatened to break apart from the stress of it all...

They held on-- man and machine alike.