“ Lady, we’re trying to not try to win the hearts and minds of the locals here. We’re trying to get out of this shithole so that this planet can go unfuck itself.” Morven took out another cigar and took a puff of it, blowing out a ring of fumes at Ingrid.  “ You’re not the ones driving the supply trucks. You’re just there to make our lives easier and - “ 

“ Morven, for fuck’s sake, put a sock in it.” Takka groaned, slapping his head. 

Aroxy’s crew sometimes reminded him of a squabbling group of children. Aroxy made a loud cough to silence his three subordinates before nodding towards Ingrid apologetically with a sheepish look. He then regarded the Colonel. 

“ Colonel, I will volunteer the Merry-Go-Round to be used as a temporary means of transport if the situation is FUBAR. I estimate that we can approximately carry 30 tonnes of material and have space for this given our perilously low ammunition supplies.” He then motioned his hand towards the woods south of the depot.  “ As the last tank crew in this company, we have little to no tactical value in being used alongside our surviving mechs without a full column to support us. We have enough fuel to make it to the base and if the worst comes to worst, we’ll hide it out in the trees and scavenge off what’s left in the surrounding areas. I recommend positioning our tank at the back of the line, both for defense and to ensure that we do not become an obstacle in the event we are mission-killed. ” 

“ Making my baby into a glorified hauler.” Helma quietly mumbled in horror before taking a swig of her cup of recaffe. “ We truly are fucked, aren’t we?” 

“ I’ve got an idea, ólonel.” Takka raised his hand up. “ Fifteen minutes ain’t rubbin me right. Shouldn’t we try to create a false flag at the very least? Fool them into thinking we’re attacking some place else by sending out fake comm messages. Worked for us back during the Free World Civil - “ 

“ An interesting thought, Gunner Takka.” Aroxy interrupted, scratching his stubbled chin. “ Unfortunately, we are in an untenable position. Alerting the Crimson Fists or the Espian Guard to the likelihood of an attack would most likely prepare them and pose more difficulties to us than achieving a surprise attack. Additionally, we cannot waste valuable resources on maintaining information and communications security. We also do not have a guarantee that whatever techs that the Fists or Guard have in their detail would be able to source the location of our comms and track us back to this very base which could be of catastrophic consequences.” 

“ Well, I was just making a suggestion.” Takka hunched up his shoulders whilst looking at the others for support.