Chapter 8:
Sundered
(cont...)

The three Damocles Commando BattleMechs held the floor and the factory.

"Not bad work, Epona." Dominic walked his Puma over to face the Shadow Cat, presumably so he could wave through his own cockpit canopy. "We could have used you topside when that star of Omnis hit us. Well, better late than never," he said, forgetting -- conveniently, in Connor’s opinion -- that here it has been Epona who had arrived first.

"Late?" Sinclair could hear the adrenaline rush in her voice, shaking that usually soft accent. "Paine, do you have any idea what it took to get here at all? Bloody mission cock-up, scattering us all over the peninsula."

Diplomatically, Dominic retreated. "Sorry, Rhi. I’m glad you made the party. Though all things being equal, I’d rather be seeing the Black Hammer."

Epona Rhi calmed, coming back into her own self-assured voice. "Every indication, including Jaguar comm intercepts I picked up, point toward its complete loss. Except for Keith Andrew, and he’s still stuck up north, we’re all that’s left."

Connor sighed to himself, then dropped his jaw down low enough to engage the contacts and open a channel. "So much for the cavalry," he transmitted. Not for the first time of late, Dominic’s view of the world was beginning to look the more clear. And with each addition to his motley force, the signs of the strain mounted on them worsened rather than improved.

Epona’s Shadow Cat shifted on mechanically taloned feet to face the larger Orion. "It gets better. Keith ran into some heavy laser towers in the northern stretch of Operations Area Three--"

"We’re acquainted with those," Dominic interrupted.

"Well, these can target ground forces as well as low-orbit ships. So don’t expect much in the way of support until those are taken out." She paused for a second, to let that news sink in, then, "In fact, play it safe, and don’t expect much at all."

* * *

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