[u][b]Titus:[/b][/u]

Titus' screen had flared green and then red with multiple warnings and target displays across his helmet's integrated HUD.  Before they'd had time to discuss anything like a plan, their shuttle had been fired on and now the Baron was hurtling through the void to engage the enemy.  Titus was no officer but he dearly wished at this moment for something like a staff or even an operations' section.

Still, he had his duty.  So Titus checked the seals around his mech's engine and the oxygen mix tanks that kept the turbine fed in the vacuum of space.  Not for the first time, he wished that the empire's procurement officials would get around to installing reactors in the Cataphract class.  But if wishes were mechs, then all would men would be lances.

"Black Knight, Hippo 7 copies all, moving in at your three o'clock, middle."  That said, Titus ignited the pulse jets built into his mech's lower body and went hurtled out into the darkness, carefully guided by stabilizing pulses from his core's maneuvering thrusters.

In the space there was no up or down but at least this way, the Baron would know where Titus was, relative to his own mech's position.  Assuming the old man had heard his transmission, judging by his speed, the man had to be on the verge of blackout from the resulting amount of g-forces.

All across his display was a scene from hell, ships traded missiles and energy beams, silent explosions flared like the heart of the sun and clouds of debris spun through the void with deceptive slowness.

The Baron's aid looked to be all that could be done for Onyx-9 and so Titus grimly hefted his maul and raised his ancient void-magicked shield into place.  The brightly glowing runes seemed to flare even brighter in the darkness of space.  The Cataphract streaked through the dark and into the light of the distant sun and the flaring radiance of the duel between rival ships.

Titus adjusted his speed and angle just enough to lightly touch down on the outer hull of the beleaguered vessel.  The mech's armored feet locked into place magnetically and Titus took a series of leaping steps towards the three enemy mechs.  One mech with the white outline of a skull across its chassis turned and opened fire at almost point-blank range.  Beams flared wide, harmlessly dispersing, missiles detonated short or skipped off into the darkness.  The runes along Titus' black shield seemed to grow in size and brilliance.

Titus advanced, crouched behind his shield, teeth gritted against the storm of firepower that was raining down on him.  At last, he closed the distance between his core and that of his tormentor.  As his foe ignited his own jump jets and attempted to dodge the oncoming attack, Titus raised his dreadful maul and brought the massive weapon up and then around in a brutal arc.