[center][color=fdc68a][h1]Chapter 3:
[u]Assault[/u][/h1][/color]
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Ulrik never fancied himself a betting man. Gambling was the luxury of those who didn't wager their lives every day on the battlefield, a stake he wasn't too fancy on putting into the pool. But right about now, if he [i]was[/i] a betting man, he'd probably go all-in and hope to go big or go home.

[color=f7941d]"Can't say no to such a pretty salvage, can I?"[/color]

Musing to himself as his cockpit lit up like a Disco from the barrage of friendly lasers hitting the Hunchback, and soon enough the cool blue hue of radiating coolant and an angry fusion engine also joined the mix as he stared through a person-sized hole into the innards of the Hunchback. One more hit and he would've been turned into nuclear paste along with the Hunchback in a glorious reactor meltdown, but this precarious situation gave him an opening. He could feel the strength of the Hunchback quickly seeping away as the myomer bundles in the mech bundled up from heat, and power fluctuations caused all sorts of systems malfunctions. Even though the cockpit window of the pirate mech was several layers of armored glass tinted a deep jet black: it wasn't hard to imagine what was going on inside: warnings blaring, sparks flying from consoles, and incessant heat that leaves your skin red and peeling for weeks to come. 

There wasn't much any mechwarriors could do in this situation, and Ulrik fancied that only some crazy Northwind Highlander or cold blooded Wolf's Dragoons pilot could weasel their way out of this situation. And though he'd seen mechs in way worse condition fighting in significantly more intense battles during the last Succession Wars, he wouldn't put his money on some pirate console jockey.

He had already readied one of the deadly metal fists of his Centurion to smash into the exposed internals of the Hunchback, aiming to deliver a killing blow and finally gut this dead mech, but probably sensing his imminent demise and going through the same things in their mind as Ulrik, the Centurion's Betty chimed into his ears with soothing words: [b]"Ejection Detected"[/b] 

[i]FWOOOOOSH-[/i]

A small pop, a wriggle, and then the mech he was grappling fell limp in his hold as he watched the cockpit windows burst open and the enemy pilot eject from his doomed mech. Good choice. With the Hunchback dealt with and its pilot on a ballistic trajectory, he let go of the crippled mech and turned his attention towards the rest of his lance to help them: only to find that amidst the chaos of the brawl, they had cleaned up most of the troopers who had attempted to assault them. He made a mental note to commend the team on their steadfast presence: he knew plenty of mechwarriors who would've locked up in fear when assaulted from multiple directions. Then again, his pilots must've been at least a little crazy if they became mercenaries.

[color=f7941d]"Hunchback down, it seems like that's all they had! Run a systems check and regroup on me."[/color] The radio hissed as he closed comms and quickly panned around the battlefield: it seems like all the enemy forces were either defeated or on the run. The Hunchback's pilot crash landed about a hundred meters away off their position beyond the canyon's edge, and the buzzing of the VTOLs was long gone. All that remained were the few unlucky infantry still on the Firestarter, but Ulrik was sure that Remy could take care of them with ease. 

Having encountered two ambushes on their very first mission, these new pilots were doing surprisingly well. A quick glance at the armor piercing shell still embedded in his cockpit from the first shot fired after landing, Ulrik knew he had to have it framed once they returned to the Ankhanne. For good luck. God knows they needed it, but maybe, just maybe, they can all  survive long enough to see what will become of Rasalhague.


[hr]
[h3][color=fdc68a]Combat Info Panel[/color][/h3]
[table=bordered][row][cell]Enemy Mech:[/cell][cell]Distance (Hex):[/cell][cell]Difficulty To Hit:[/cell][cell]Other Modifiers:[/cell][/row]
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Not much happening this post, time for everyone to catch their breath, examine their wounds, and then we're on to see what's inside the mysterious compound. First story arc is almost over :)

[@Letter Bee][@Psyker Landshark][@AndyC][@Smike][@Abstract Proxy][@QJT][@Starlance]