'Calvert?'
*static*
'Calvert!'
*silence*
'Damn it!' Silsbury said as she turned back to Sykes, 'His communicator's been turned off.'
The gunship approached the large, neo-gothic styled building that served as the headquarters of the Bretonia Police Authority. Three freighters sat on the landing pad, the few automatic turrets that guarded the area had been turned into smouldering twisted shapes.
The ship descended and began to hover over the steel plated pad. The two officers jumped out and rushed to the cover of the cargo mech storage stand. Inspector Rogers, under instructions, took the gunship behind the Hussar Hangar.
'Got any grenades left?' Sykes queried as they looked out at the line of vessels floating above the landing pad.
'Four, but we're two ground units against three shiploads of trained soldiers, blowing up their ships while they're still inside might not be the best thing to do, then we've lost all element of surprise.' Silsbury countered.
'Well you can't scratch 'em once the doors are closed with a standard frag, what are you planning to do?'
Lucy looked up at the large mechanized suits designed for unloading cargo that they were sheltering behind.
She smiled her rare smile.
~
Inside The Hub the remaining Officers had given up on halting the advance of the commando's, they barricaded the door to the armoury and now, with actual weaponry, were putting up a proper fight with no more casualties on their side and (due to the lack of cover) several confirmed kills on the assailants.
But the Commando's had no interest in ascending higher into the building, not unless their leader called for help.
No request came as expected and after a parting volley they met up with Harry and began to descend in the tubes to the landing pad departure floor.
The party commandeered one of the transit shuttles and travelled the distance to the pad.
They disembarked and boarded the ships.
Harry's ship lifted off the pad and the other two made to follow suit but were stopped almost immediately by two cargo mechs which dropped from the upper bridge layer running just above the landing pad.
The six tonne machines plummeted and smashed into the departing vessels with an incomparable noise of screaming steel and shattered hull plates. The pilot of the vessel Silsbury had chosen to engage was not killed immediately and attempted with what functionality he had left to try and push the vaguely humanoid mech off the landing pad. With her intuitive knowledge of machines Lucy made her machine hunker down and engage its tracks (for use with incredibly heavy loads), the ship stopped making any headway into the cloud of smoke the gripped rubber treads were producing.
Sykes' machine lumbered around the other crippled vessel, preparing to buckle the airlock doors to prevent the commando's escaping. He had landed in the perfect spot to completely crush the most fragile part of the hull, the bridge area.
Silsbury's mech was losing the battle and was steadily being pushed towards the nearby edge as the ships engines reached full power and the thruster was engaged. She scanned the controls for anything of use and possible manoeuvres flashed through her mind. It was then she recalled something mentioned by a Constable who was deeply involved with martial arts. It's much easier to let the enemy exert all the effort while you simply direct him.
She engaged the forklift prongs on the body of the machine, rearranged the positioning of the bulky arms holding the freighter back and used them both at once as fast as possible to flip the vessel up and over the top of the mech. The pilot, who had been so focused on going forwards, didn't register that in the initial shock and contact with the landing pad, the repulsor engine on the front had been destroyed and only the mech had been holding it off the ground.
The freighter full of commandos powered straight over the edge of the BPA landing platform and embedded itself in the ground.
The two mechs raised their hydraulic hoods to the sky at the remaining ship which was prepping weapons; there was nothing they could do to get out of the way. They would end up in a similar manner to the security missile turrets still smoking nearby.
Inspector Rogers in the unarmed, outstripped, outclassed, ex-hunting gunship saved them. In so doing he lost his life. The turbines screamed as the vessel sped from its shelter behind the hangars.
Metal hit metal and sparks flew as the atmosphere bound transport deflected off the shields beginning to rebuild at the prow of the freighter and ripped alongside it, crushing its guns and tearing the side of the port engine open.
It was a futile attempt but it undoubtedly saved the lives of Sergeant Sykes and Commander Silsbury. A trail of raw ions spewed from the side of the wounded transport as the gunship, now a fireball, span around and around before exploding, showering the streets far below with shrapnel.
The freighter evidently decided its mission was more important and turned away from the devastated landing pad and moved away as quickly as its semi-crippled engine would allow it.
Sykes crackled through Silsbury's radio.
'If we go now we can catch it easily, it's leaving a big enough trail we might not even have to use equipment.'
Lucy piloted the clumsy three fingered hand of her mech to dislodge a fragment of hull plate jamming one of the torso servos.
'Commander, are you there?' Calvert's voice also came through.
'Superintendent! Are you still combat effective?'
'I never want to see combat again thank you very much, and yes I am alive, your concern is appreciated.'
Sykes chuckled, 'e's not happy'¦'
'Silsbury'¦ it was Harry'
Lucy didn't twig at first, 'Harry who?'
'BAF defector; works with the Kithe family now.'
'Dammit! This whole thing was about her isn't it!'
'It would appear that way.'
'Orders Sir? The installation is relatively undefended.'
'Do whatever you have to Commander; I have wounded to attend to here.'
Lucy stared impassively at the readout of her impromptu battle suit, emanating her trademark cold anger.
She reached a decision.
'Look Sykes, there is no way we can get to the installation in time to prevent him getting the package, all we can do is send a warning and hope they get out in time.'
The Sergeant's mech flexed its hood perplexed.
'Then what are we going to do?'
Silsbury began the procedure of disembarking from the cargo mech.
'How much explosives do you think you would need to cripple the engines of a battleship?'
'That depends on how impressive you want it to be.'
'Fairly impressive.'
'Well in that case, I'd suggest as much as is to hand.'
Sykes too had disentangled himself from his machine.
'The amount currently attached to pillars at the Burlington Mall?'
'Two of the charges would do the trick fine Commander'¦ But why are we having this discussion?'
![[Image: LucySilsbury32.jpg]](http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq145/Incindre/LucySilsbury32.jpg)