It was supposed to be an easy op: close in on the enemy, suppress them until they were all bunched together, and then pincer them from behind. An ageless tactic, deployed as far back as Hannibal and Scipio, if not even further, when men bashed each other's heads in with rocks and sharpened sticks. Of course the plan was supposed to go [i]wrong,[/i] like any plan, but it should have been the new girl wandering too deep into a nest of the enemy; needing an evac with some pinning fire after they'd trusted her behind the line. Not like this. Not like this. An enemy scouter had forced Gan to make a choice. And now that he'd made it, now that he'd inadvertently sent the signal screaming up into the air, he'd endangered all of his friends. The Commander and the rest of her team were attacking headlong, waiting for an encirclement which would come too late. The new girl was stranded somewhere between the two teams, out in the snow, running a serious risk of being caught once the enemies starting moving.

And here sat Gan and Strauss. They both knew they couldn't keep standing there doing nothing, but how should they decide which one to rush in to help? Could the heaviest armor at the Commander's disposal withstand an envelopment long enough for the boys to pull Rose Synapse out of there? Or could Rose stay hidden and keep herself safe while the boys reinforced the line? Gan didn't know. He didn't know, and he was running out of time.

A few hundred meters to the north, the scrapped remains of a small scouter-mech smoldered and steamed, its back turned to them, still glowing where a tungsten dart had sheared a hole in its torso at Mach 2. The longer the seconds ticked along, the antsier Gan was about the other besiegers hurrying over to check the noise and confirm the status of their missing friend. But right now, his and Chlotho's location was the only one still accounted for on their own battle map; here there was still a chance (albeit a slim one) of being bailed out, but only if they stayed where [i]their[/i] buddies knew where to find them. Three would be safer than two, and besides, the new girl knew better than anyone where to find Gan in the chaos. He [i]had[/i] to stay the course. He had to trust that his intuition would pay off, and guide the new girl back to him before the enemy.

Of course, it was doing nothing for their nerves ...

[table][row][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img]
[color=2e2c2c]________________________[/color][/right][/cell][cell][code]"——would've been ruined ANYWAY if we got spotted by a mech that got away."[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/910545177574277210/romeo_action.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"But how do ya know he spotted us?! We coulda let him slip by!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"YOU'RE 26 METERS TALL. How did he NOT spot you?!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/910545177574277210/romeo_action.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"Oh, so it's MY fault, is it?!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"No?! It's just how it happened!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/910545177574277210/romeo_action.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"And what 'happens' next, buddy? We just sit here until the same thing happens to us, right? Until we're snuck up on from behind and roasted, right?!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"You know damn well we can't move without Synapse."[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/910545177574277210/romeo_action.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"I don't like it. How do you know she didn't regroup with Voldova and the rest?"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"I don't."[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/910545177574277210/romeo_action.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"You d——WE COULD BE SITTING HERE FOR NOTHING?!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"I don't know what to tell you, Strauss. We're operating on limited information here. We have to make a choice. And I've chosen to wait for—"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/617914243760783381/920383050813149184/romeo_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"Synapse."[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/617914243760783381/890760953463988254/hothead_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"Yes, for Synapse, exactly. Wait. What?"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][right][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/617914243760783381/920383050813149184/romeo_calm.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][code]"There she is; over there!"[/code][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][/table]Anthropomorphized by its pilot, the towering Phalanx pointed an autocannon arm to the northwest. The smaller, squatter Basilisk twisted on its hip actuator to follow where it pointed.