3

The Demon played decoy and sped out in front of the Wraith to draw its fire but Dubbo, his gauss gunner, was forced to focus fire on a pair of Ghosts that were defending it. They gave chase and drove the Demon off. However, as the Warthog passed in front of the Wraith, a particle beam flashed from the passenger side. As a result, the Grunt Heavy manning the Wraith's anti-infantry turret stopped firing.

"Got him!" Mar barely heard Falzud exclaim before his voice was drowned out by others on the shared COM channel.

"Now!" barked the Demon. "Fire on that Wraith!"

"Adjusting cannon. Fi-"

"Incoming!"

"Brace for impact!" Stacker cried.

An airborne ball of latent plasma briefly hung in the air like a burning blue sun before it came down onto the lead Scorpion. Meanwhile, the middle and rear Scorpion destroyed the Wraith with the combined damage of a single shot from both.

"First line clear," Stacker confirmed, coughing over the COMs.

All of the Marines that were on his tank, including his gunner, were dead, and the tank appeared to be inoperable at best. He was about to continue on when Banks stopped him.

"Hang on, Marcus," Banks said. "We need you for a little longer. Let me take point."

"Roger that, move on up."

"Chief, second Wraith is on the right side!" Johnson informed the Demon from the skies.

The Demon and Coombs were busy combatting a trio of Choppers while Banks waited for a clear shot. Seeing this, the rear Scorpion broke off and diverted to the right side.

"I'm on it," Carson responded.

"I'll assist you," Mar said, following him. "Check your fire."

The sergeant half-chuckled, "Don't worry, I know which one you're in. You don't exactly blend in with that armor."

The Warthogs and other two Scorpions were engaged in battle with the Wraith, Ghosts, and Choppers on the left side. Mar's heart thumped in his chest as he coasted after Carson's Scorpion into a large clearing where the Wraith Johnson had called out was waiting. A Brute Captain manned its turret while a Ghost and Chopper were positioned out in front, protecting it.

Carson's own turret gunner and the Marines hitching a ride all focused fire on the Captain, so Mar went to work on the Wraith's security detail. Luckily for him, Carson's first tank shot sent a ninety millimeter tungsten rod clean through the Chopper, which of course destroyed it very instantly. The Wraith, however, took the opportunity to fire off its first shot.

"Disperse!" the Red Twin cried as the plasma mortar came crashing down.

He quickly banked to one side while the tank slowly rolled in the other direction.

Splash!

Both vehicles barely avoided fiery death. But in dodging, Mar spotted the Ghost targeting the Marines, who were as exposed as literal sitting ducks as they all fired on the Wraith. It fell upon Mar to save them.

The enemy Ghost had just opened fire when Mar zoomed in and plowed right into it with his own, head on. He kept boosting, and the other Ghost kept firing. It rapidly drained his personal energy shield and began melting lacerations into the hood of his Ghost, but he didn't release the turbo boost. Not yet. He just kept pushing the enemy Ghost further and further away from the Wraith.

Way behind Mar, Carson's next impossibly loud tank shot was followed up by a small series of explosions. This brought a satisfied smile to Mar's face.

"Wraith destroyed," Carson confirmed.

Mar saw the Demon coming down from the left side, where the third Wraith was practically in shambles fighting against Coombs, Banks and Stacker. Going for the finisher, Mar finally released the turbo boost and reversed his thrusters to brake. In effect, he tossed his struggling opponent directly into the Demon's path.

"Execute!" Mar ordered.

Chips Dubbo, manning the gauss turret, shouted gleefully, "With pleasure!"

One blast and the Brute was done. The Ghost exploded like a needle-popped balloon, sending large metal chunks and bits of flesh flying every which way. Mar was just about to let out a breath of relief when he saw an enemy from earlier return to the canyon. The massive, spider-like vehicle was crawling down the side of the Cartographer building to the sandy floor below.

Well look who's back.