Sigma/Star

Chapter 139: A Blinding Light

"Riya, can you focus fire on our friend in the back there?" Ardwen directed the young woman as he started to recalculate. He had hoped he would be able to include Rex in any plans to take down a Mahari, but it seemed the youth was a lost cause. However, he was a salvageable lost cause, as his constant attacks against the leading Mahari kept it at bay. If he was always going to dodge everything anyways, they could take a gamble and abandon him, focusing their efforts on the remaining Mahari. Its cannon was a much more significant threat anyways, as it could always attack even when held at range.

Riya complied with the command, unloading another barrage of missiles into the air that screamed through the air towards their targets. The miniguns strapped to the Warlord slowly shifted, their hail of fire now striking the further target. As the range increased, the individual bullets became significantly more inaccurate, but it wasn't important to Ardwen anymore.

"Raul, I need strikes on its legs, bring it to the ground, even if only for a moment," Ardwen continued. The older pilot complied silently, dashing off to answer the deeper threat, his plethora of weapons primed. "Nami, if you can shoot a straight line to the core, that will work, right?"

"Right, but I'll need to pick some different ammunition." Nami trailed off as she began cycling through menus on the viewscreen.

"Don't take piercing, let's go with something explosive."

"It won't go very deep," Nami answered, her concerns written all over her face.

"It doesn't have to break through it, but if we can detonate near the core and rupture its heart, that should be enough to kill it. I hope at least." Ardwen reached up as he spoke and began to fiddle with his own controls, prepping Mother Gaia for faster movements and calling in his floating orbs.

"Why wouldn't I just take a piercing round then and go straight through?" Namic cocked her head to the side, her wide eyes genuinely confused.

"What if you miss?" Ardwen tilted forwards in his controls, beginning the spring towards the further Mahari. "It's just a game of percentages for me, the explosive shot seems less likely to fail."

"If you say so." Nami shook the doubts out of her head and selected the appropriate round. She left her sniper rifle dangling down beside her Goliath's leg. The side of her machine opened up, reaching out to connect with her weapon as it began switching ammunition for her, moving away from the usual concentrated burst of energy she could fire. "What are you going to do then?"

"I'm going to play mobile distraction." Ardwen turned on the jets across the back of Mother Gaia, rocketing forwards away from Riya and Nami. While he certainly couldn't touch Porter's speed, his Goliath was the second fastest on the team in a straight race. Both Raul and Rex were significantly more agile, but the lightweight nature of Ardwen's battlesuit meant he could always pick up more speed than most expected from someone who so rarely moved.

Raul had closed the gap on the furthest Mahari, diving underneath it as he slid through its legs. He whipped his massive shuriken to the side and it bounced off the monster's leg whipping back around to be caught. The creature seemed to give out some sort of snort, but otherwise was unaffected by the attack. If Rex couldn't break through it with his enormous broadsword, it was tough to imagine a shuriken doing better.

That didn't stop the ninja from his efforts. He leaped up from the underside of the Mahari and rolled away to reposition and consider a new approach. Ardwen watched it all, but he always kept the majority of his focus on the beast's cannon, waiting for the moment when it would begin to retaliate. A barrage of explosions ripped across the flesh of its back, as another round of missiles from RIya hit their mark. The Mahari certainly noticed those, letting out a howl. Its head swung around, eyes seeking out whoever had hurt it. Ardwen wanted to ensure he was the first thing it saw so it could come after him.