Ahead of him an enemy Nerio had spotted the lag in the attacking form and capitalized. It swung it's stocky bipedal frame hard to the right and side-stepped the Keradon's charge. As the troubled mech raced by it threw up an arm and blind fired a volley from it's Duboce battery, raking the left flank of the hapless rookie and tearing into his outer-plating.
The mercenary commander, compensating for the recoil of his own weapon systems, checked the tracker view on his heads up display and located his unfortunate colleague. "Marneus. You've got a clear line on the new boy. Get some covering fire out there. Rogal, use your speed and put yourself between those mechs and take up an offensive stance".
These situations were a pilot's worst nightmare. It was a small mercy that the mercenary forces had gained an early advantage and crippled the majority of their foe's front rank. If this minor lull in the hostile attack held for a moment longer the situation might, just might, be salvaged.
The skilled piloting of Rogal Dorn was sufficient to cut beneath the missile barrage of the squad's rocket platform Marneus and bring himself length on to the Nerio. He activated the thermal imaging system, finding the heat bloom from the enemy's colling vents and let rip with his torches. A spray of white hot slag spewed skyward and the hostile mech span on it's feet and rocked backwards into the red earth.
"Rookie, get yourself out of there boy", Dorn ordered. "You can't do anymore good here". The new guy thumbed his com-switch twice, signaling his acknowledgment, and pulled the Keradon around 360 degrees before forcing it to full speed and heading for the compound safety wall.
As Dorn watched his comrade depart he became aware of rapid movement far off to the rear of the downed Nerio. An enemy Orester had caught sight of the rescue attempt and hauled it's ponderous bulk to face the scene.
Dorn noted the machine's missile bays opening, ready to return a burst of artillery support for it's flailing squad mate. 'Too slow sunshine', Dorn thought inwardly, and locked his sights on the opening rocket bays. There followed a scream of ordinance as Dorn's loaded arrow batteries howled into life. The first shot struck the covering panels above the Orester's armament bay. The second found it's mark and struck home, detonating a death's head missile as it left the launcher. A brief super-nova of luminescent debris flowered above the enemy cockpit, followed rapidly by the sonic boom of exploding uridium plating. The Orester exploded internally as it's munition banks took the full blast, and like a cherry bomb in a tin can, it's shuddered, then flew appart in a hail storm of searing components.
Dorn hardly paused. He forced his actuators to their very boundaries and hammered his Smilodon back towards the center of the continuing fray.
"Bloody good work Dorn"! The mercenary commander shouted. "Bloody good work indeed, and well done on that cover shot Marneus". "No worries boss", Dorn replied. "Now, let's put the final nails in the lid shall we"!
Submitted by Steve Ross#162076