Until we come within significantly closer range, I can't hail any Militia frequencies. The walls and our current underground elevation are hindering any signals' progress.
He nodded, accepting that information. "Options?"
Once we make it near enough to the exit, I may be able to redirect it through the IMC dishes around the area, and use them to our advantage. They should be enough to allow us to make an emergency broadcast to the Militia FLEETCOM.
He considered that. The Fleet Command would definitely be their best bet for a pickup; the only problem was how quickly they would arrive. As it was however, it was still their best bet. "Understood. I'll relay it to everyone else."
Speaking on an open channel, he opened the line to all the Pilots and Titans in the vicinity. "If we're gonna make it out of here, we'll need to fight our way outside. We can hail Militia FLEETCOM from there, and hopefully get a speedy evac."
"Why Militia forces?" came a Pilot's voice, doubt evident in his tone. "Not sure how kindly they'll take to any of us who are IMC."
"I told you" he retorted, "we're a team. We can worry about nuances like that later, but right now our priority is getting out of here; we're all on the same side now."
No one replied, and he could tell that while they were still apprehensive, they would, for the time being, adhere to that promise.
All thirty or so Titans ran along the road that stretched throughout the facility for vehicles transporting troops and supplies to other areas of the enormous complex. Every so often, they'd come across light armored ones carrying soldiers who would make a choice; report them but not engage, or try to stop them. After the first attempt, not many of them tried the latter approach.
After encountering almost no resistance thus far, EV flashed a warning on the display. We are nearing the cargo bay and loading dock; my sensors indicate that there is a large force waiting for us beyond the doors.
The doors in question were two massive Titan-sized doors that met each other to close of entry to their goal. Presumably they slid apart to allow passage, but he had a feeling that they'd been locked down. Turning towards the sea of Titans behind him, he raised EV's fist to grab their attention and give a show of strength.
"Beyond these doors is freedom; not all of us are gonna make it, but more of us will if we work together. Even if you die, your efforts will aid another in surviving."
Not a word of disagreement was expressed; they were all unified in this. Each knew the chances of surviving were small, but that didn't matter. If they were going to die, they were going to go down swinging.
He gestured to a few Titans in front, and waved for them to come behind him. "We're gonna blow these doors open, and engage as the frontline. Pilots," he ordered, swiveling EV's chassis towards the ones who'd volunteered to fight, "use us as cover to get to a position with your Titan and start taking out any infantry you can. Let the Titans handle the larger threats."
He looked at the rest of them. "Everyone else, engage only after we've established a stable defense and then begin to push forward. We need to break through whatever they've got in there if we're going to make it outside. Should be a straight shot from here."
Rotating EV's optics, he glanced over at Vale and Skids. The Titan released the underside of his leadwall, and flashed a thumbs up. Judging from the rather stiff personality he'd heard from the Ronin earlier, he could only imagine that it was Vale giving him the sign. Nodding appreciatively, he turned to the doors.
"On my mark!" he commanded. Raising the equipped railgun, he began to charge it and prime a cluster missile simultaneously. When he was positive of each's respective targets, he allowed both to release and took pleasure in the massive groan as several tons of metal blew apart and allowed them access beyond.
"GO, GO, GO!" he yelled, taking the lead with the other Titans and charging through the now smoking remnants of the doors.
Immediately, they came under fire. One hundred yards away was an inclining road that he could see led outside; the sky beckoned to all of them, urging them onward. Unfortunately, there were waves of hired grunts and Titans alike, all of them aiming to kill the group that was now charging through their defenses.
Quickly, he and the other Titans of the frontline took cover behind structural pillars that stood tall to assist with the infrastructure of the facility. He watched as the ground Pilots ran with them, ducking into cover as soon as they were able.
"Eve, I'm gonna peek. Get me an analysis on anything useful," he ordered.
Understood.
Quickly, he edged out of cover for just a moment, enough for EV's optics to get a good look at the area. As soon as he moved back into safety, she gave a detailed examination of what she'd seen.
Numerous ground forces. Many Titans, but we still outnumber them. The biggest threat are any Archers or other AT weapons that the riflemen may be utilizing.
He groaned. He hated having to deal with those things.
There are also what appears to be highly explosive fuel canisters waiting to be transported to other regions of the facility. From their linear position, they may cause a chain reaction. I would suggest igniting them for maximum damage.
He perked up a bit. Not only would it take out a sizable chunk of the enemy ground forces out, but it would provide one hell of a distraction. He came to a decision.
"Alright everyone; as soon as you hear the booms, start running! This is it!"
He turned his attention back to EV. "Eve, begin trying to reach FLEETCOM immediately. Let me know as soon as you have a secure connection, and transmit the emergency request."
Will do.
He ducked out of cover before the enemy began to push their position. Instantly, rounds began to pepper EV's chassis, as well as a 40mm round that jerked her right arm quite a bit on its socket. Steadying his aim, he hurriedly shot at the easiest canister he could spot and dove back into the safety of the pillar.
The reaction was immediate; explosions began to line the far wall, and screams rang out as the hired grunts began to fall. He even caught the sight of one or two Titans getting engulfed in the inferno before he waved everyone forward. "MOVE!"
"You heard him!" came Vale's voice, "Let's go!"
The rest of the survivors began to pour into the loading bay, eager to inch closer to escape with every step they took. Realizing they were out of options, the remaining enemy Titan forces rushed forward to meet them.
One enemy Tone got lucky and tackled one of their own, a Legion. Wrenching the front of the chassis off, they swung their metal fist downward and crushed the screaming Pilot into a bloody pulp. They were quickly dispatched by another Legion and Ronin, the latter of which who kicked the Tone backwards into the Legion who proceeded to shove their Predator Cannon into it and burst it open with a shower of bullets and shrapnel.
A friendly Atlas began to buckle under the impact of several Archer missiles that came from recovering riflemen. Before Buck could react, Vale charged forward with a Pilot rodeoing her back, and began to make short work of them. The Pilot jumped off and assisted her as much as they could with taking out the heavily-geared opponents.
One of their ground Pilots charged forward and was rewarded with a blast of thermite from an enemy Scorch. Buck tried to tune out the man's tortured cries of agony as he charged up the railgun and launched a round that tore right through the Scorch's plating and out the back. A spurt of red appeared, and he could only imagine that he'd obliterated the Pilot inside as the Scorch toppled over without any other resistance.
I have established a connection with FLEETCOM. Transmitting evacuation request and current IMC satellite signals to help triangulate our position.
That was one problem down, now they just had to make it outside. Fortunately, it seemed like they were doing rather well with their numbers as it was; they were gaining ground with the other Titans and grunts distracted, and the way out was clear. Seeing an opportunity, he opened a line to Vale on the comms.
"Vale, back me up! I'm heading to the ramp!"
It was a moment before she responded, "You got it!" and he felt comfortable proceeding. Running forward, he saw her on the right as she ran back to meet up with him, leaving the Pilot and his Titan to finish clearing that side of riflemen.
Reaching the base of the incline, he opened comms to everyone in the vicinity, and waved them on. "Everyone, let's move! FLEETCOM is on the way!"
They evidently didn't need to be told twice. Leaving previously engaged fights, all of them began making their way outside, the last wave of them walking backwards to keep sustained fire on those trying to stop him. He did a quick count, noting that there were roughly twenty to twenty-five Titans, and hopefully their accommodating Pilots, left. He hoped it would be enough.
Finally, the band of Titans stepped into the open air. They saw the sky for the first time in weeks, but had no time to enjoy it. Armored vehicles as well as additional Titans were beginning to advance on their position from stations above-ground. He watched as a Stryder's hull was punctured by AA rounds from a jeep's mounted turret, and it sank to its knees before collapsing completely.
"Hold this position!" he yelled, "We need to stay here until evac arrives!"
"How long until they get here?!" called someone anxiously.
"However long it takes," Buck growled, "we don't have a lot of other options here!"
That was certainly true enough. They were being cornered into a clearing here, surrounded on all sides with little cover as they fought to hold their ground. He knew that the Militia would help them if they could, but if they deemed it too dangerous …
Please. I'm begging you, please-
A flash appeared in the sky, and he took the chance to look up and nearly cried with relief. Widow class dropships bearing the Militia insignia descended from above, helping the survivors when they could by gunning down opposing forces.
"All surviving ground units, form up for retrieval. We can only pick a few of you up at a time, so let's keep the process quick!"
He made note of the order, and began to issue his own. "Pilots on the ground, get on first with your Titans! Then any Titans carrying their Pilots can hop on each consecutive ship!"
Rose, Gray, and Fallon ran to the first and second ship with their Titans, along with three other surviving ground Pilots. As they departed, Rose gave a wave backwards to show his thanks.
There'd be time for gratitude later. But at least so far it seemed to be an effective system; slowly but surely, the remaining survivors were being evacuated. This was actually working.
He, Vale, and a few other Titans continued to defend the site until there were only four of them left. These last two dropships would be it, and then they'd be home free.
The other two, another Northstar and an Ion, held their ground well. He turned back to look at Vale dicing apart a white Ogre before kicking it backwards and watching it skip across the ground. Looking towards Buck, Vale gave a whoop of exhilaration over the comms.
"What'd I tell you? There's a reason I call him Skids-"
In the blink of an eye, a massive sword swiped through the Ronin's left leg and sent it tumbling onto the ground. He froze, shocked as he saw another black and gold Ronin behind the fallen Titan. As he watched, a smug voice rang out from its voice modulator.
"I am not one to be played for a fool."
It was her.
Menacingly, the Ronin placed its large foot on the front of Skids' hull. Through the modulator, he heard Vale's voice give a weak groan; "B-Buck …"
"You've seemed intent on taking away my dignity, ruining my facility and making a mockery of my game."
Her voice became low and haughty. "So, I will take something of yours as payment."
Shoving her foot down, the front of Skids' chassis completely caved in. He heard the grinding and sparking of wires over the comms before it faded to static, the radio systems all but destroyed within.
Vale …
He couldn't even bring himself to cry out in pain as he looked at the Titan's crushed hull, Vale still inside. There was no way she could have survived-
No, he couldn't afford to think that way. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance. The Ronin seemed ready to fight, almost anticipating a brawl with him. She expected him to retaliate, to try and take revenge on her for Vale and the weeks she'd kept them as prisoners.
Charging up a plasma round, he launched one at the Ronin and forced it to dash backwards. She waited for him to advance-
He quickly hopped out of his Titan, and sprinted to Skids. "Eve, keep me covered!"
"Easier said than done!" replied the Titan, though she followed his command and tried to defend him from the various enemy forces around the area and simultaneously keep the Ronin back. Behind her, the Ion and other Northstar provided as much assistance as they could while backing onto a Widow. The other Widow waited expectantly for Buck and EV.
"Hurry up and get aboard, we can't wait forever!"
Hurriedly, he clambered on top of the Ronin's wrecked chassis and noticed that against all odds, the data core was intact; damaged, but intact. He quickly pulled it, and then moved onto his second and far more important task.
Phasing, he pushed himself through the resistant metal outlines, and found the broken form of Vale inside the hull. He couldn't get a good look at her, but it seemed as though she'd been impaled in several different angles and location by various wreckage, as well as having been nearly flattened by the pressure of the other Ronin crushing her and Skids.
Grabbing her outline, he focused and brought her into the phase-void with him. Not skipping a beat, he jumped backwards and popped back into the real world. He didn't even get to run two paces before he was scooped up into EV's arms as she ran back to the Widow with him in her hand, and with Vale's body held tightly in his own arms.
Leaping onto the Widow, it immediately began to ascend and leave the war zone behind. Later, Buck would think about what would have happened if he'd engaged the Ronin and fought her; would he have won? Could he have gotten his revenge then and there, like he'd been wanting to do for so long?
These were questions that would plague him later, but none of them even crossed his mind now; the only thing he could focus on was Vale.
Laying her on the floor of the Widow, he moaned anxiously. 'Extensive' didn't even begin to describe her injuries. One of her legs was barely hanging on by a few flaps of muscle and skin; the other was almost completely flat, the skeletal components inside having been obliterated and no longer able to provide a solid structure for the flesh around it to reside on. Shards of bone were sticking out of her right arm, and puncture wounds dotted her chest.
Still, against it all; she was alive.
"Hang on, Amelia," he whispered urgently, holding her bloody hand more for his sake than hers.
Don't let her die. Please god, don't let her die.