The CRU stared at each other through their Goliaths. They had seen Nami land and had watched the other Goliath drop out of the sky on her then take off once more. That was never a good sign but at least Nami had fired off a shot, which meant she was still functional. It was just that everybody wasn't quite sure what to do. This was the first time they were battling in Goliaths without any preparation, simply being dropped down into combat without warning.

Ardwen still had a job to do, to take over and command the group through all of this. "Raul, you and I will head to fend off the main force with Riya on support. The report says there are only four of them so we should be able to at least slow them down. While we do, Porter and Chase are up to rescue Nami and get her out of there if you need to. Bring her back within the confines of the town and I'll check her over for repairs."

"Question."

The communication barely picked up the sound of Ardwen sighing. "Yes Chase, what's your question?"

"When Porter and I go get Nami, who is in command?"

"Porter is. Now-"

"Why aren't I in command?" Chase pressed.

"Porter outranks everyone but me. You'll just have to live with that Chase. You two shouldn't need much commanding, please. Just go and get her."

"Yes, sir." Chase extended the final "s" in mockery before he and Porter took off through the narrow streets of the town, which were clearly not designed for their fifty-foot monstrosities.

Ardwen shook his head at them running off. "They do know we are supposed to go first to distract the others right?" Raul nodded in his silent way, his mind focused solely on Nami and his heart holding a deep concern for her safety. This time, if he had to, he and the "Blue Blur" would kill to save her.

* * * * *

Officer Cain watched from up above in the rocks outside town. He had found a particularly high outcrop that gave him a good vantage point with which to observe. They had seen the defense group landing and planned for it, especially when the one had strayed.

The strikeforce didn't have any intelligence on this team they were coming up against unfortunately, but their experience meant they didn't need many scouting reports. The more Cain thought about it, the less this entire assault made sense though. It was quite hastily thrown together and relied mostly on minimal defenses in place around the town. Obviously the Enian Federation would want to protect its precious supply lines; the Artisans would do the same. Cain just wished there had been a little bit more thought put into this operation.

Alenichev sat to Cain's left, watching everything through his scope and not emitting a sound. Even his Goliath had most of its functions turned off to keep it as quiet as possible, contributing to the eerie nature of being in the mute's presence.

"Feels so rushed Alenichev." The soldier still did not move or make a signal in response to Cain's statement but the officer knew he was listening. "I mean there we are in the middle of a battle for an enemy stronghold and the key domino in this war and then our force, instead of being used to further the effort to quickly win, is sent off to this tiny town where we suspect supplies are being kept. And so what? What if we blow the whole place to hell? The war still goes on. This is just one little supply town out of a hundred others I'm sure. It really only has an impact if the battle extends for a long time."

A breeze blew between the two battlesuits, producing the only sound as it whipped through the tight gaps along the machines. Cain took in a deep breath and blew it out as he watched Xiu land next to Jericho at the outskirts of the town, preparing for the impending attack. They weren't far away from the enemy Goliath that had landed but it had scrambled behind a cluster of rocks and taken cover. Xiu could flush it out at any time but they were waiting to see what the others would do to try and save the lost.

Alenichev raised his hand in a silent signal. Movement coming through the town. It looked like two different groups from the way the dust was rising and Cain gave a silent prayer to Heradrius for making Abertyl such a dirty place; it exposed enemies so much easier.

"Alenichev, you watch out and cover Xiu. I'll go down to meet with him for support. Jericho, you move to intercept the second group attempting the rescue."

"Roger."

"Copy that."

Alenichev gave no answer but adjusted positioning a little to observe Xiu better and cover him with his sniping capacity. Cain watched Jericho sprint away, his Goliath's hydraulic legs carrying him at incredible speed over towards the rocks where the enemy was heading. Cain himself jumped off of his perch and landed gently on the ground. His expertise in piloting maneuvered his machine as though it weighed a feather. Regardless of how poorly organized this entire plan seemed, it was time for action.

* * * * *

Chase and Porter were running stride by stride through the town. It was only when they saw the edge of it and were about to burst out that Porter had a little thought about possibly stopping to wait and plan in case they were falling into a trap.

But it was too late. Chase had already exploded out of the town and skidded to a stop on the loose dirt of the earth and it looked like nothing was going to stop him or the "South Star."

Porter held his twin blades in preparation for a strike and loosened a little in relief when the attack never happened. Instead the two emerged to find a single Goliath standing in front of a cluster of rocks. From Nami's signals, her battlesuit was behind the natural formation, but they were being blocked by the enemy, who stared them down.

The Goliath was a hard-beaten Exo-class machine coated in the grime and wear of a hundred fights and it wore each scar proudly. At first Porter was hopeful that this simple battlesuit was occupied by an average pilot and soldier but he knew as soon as he looked upon it that this was a veteran they could not take lightly. Chase seemed to disagree.

"Let's kill this guy Porter so we can save my Nami!"

"Your Nami?" But Porter didn't get an answer. Chase lunged forward with his fists raised to grapple with the enemy, who had put their own rifle away, strapped to their waist and hanging at the side. Porter sighed a little and followed, figuring that even if it was an experienced soldier, a two-to-one should be enough of an advantage.

In a blur of motion the enemy had stepped in between the two fighters and his hands had grabbed each of their Goliaths' facemasks. The two jerked into a sudden halt and hung for a moment and Porter felt his stomach drop. "I am Sergeant Jericho of the Artisan Confederate. You shall not pass me." The sergeant slammed the two Goliaths down onto their backs, hammering their heads into the ground and rattling the pilots through to their bones.

Warning sirens went off throughout Porter's cockpit but quickly quieted as internal scans revealed minimal long-term damage. Chase seemed to be in a similar situation as the two slowly rose back up.

Jericho was waiting for them, patiently watching the two warriors stand, preferring a fair and equal fight to the dirty tactics of hitting enemies who are down. Porter felt an immense amount of respect for this enemy, considering him an elderly veteran who should be admired normally, if he wasn't on the wrong side.

Chase did not seem to share the sentiment, immediately lashing out once more but Jericho deftly sidestepped the punch and caught the fist. The experienced soldier shook his head at the young fighter before bringing his other fist up and punching into Chase's arm at the joint, perfectly aiming it with an expert's knowledge and applying exactly enough force to shatter the joint and smash apart the arm's internal mechanics. He let go of the fist and the limb hung limply at Chase's side, leaving him with just his right.

Porter gripped his swords tightly. This was not an enemy to take lightly then. It was going to be a tough battle and Porter was already preparing himself, ready to draw out the chi he thought he had within. He just wasn't sure how he could get it out.

The White Storm stepped forward to challenge Sergeant Jericho but was stopped by Chase's functional arm across his chest. "No Porter. This one belongs to me. I need to prove I am the strongest there is, the strongest of us all, so I can protect everyone, to protect Nami.." Porter nearly fell flat backwards from the sudden selfish yet unselfish statement coming from the usually cocky Chase. There was such a conviction in his voice that Porter almost felt a bit scared of such a focused pilot.

The head of the South Star swivelled to look straight at the White Storm and Porter could feel Chase looking right into him through the suit. "Porter, you go on and rescue Nami. I want a fair fight against this guy but I need to know she is safe. Can you do that for me?"

Porter dumbly nodded at first before he understood Chase's mature decision. "Yeah, I'll get her."

"Thank you." Chase turned back to Jericho as Porter took off to the right to go around with a wide approach and dodge the veteran. "Now then, I believe we had some unfinished business."

* * * * *

Raul was leading the charge for a distraction, his Goliath nimbly leaping out from the buildings and quickly surveying the edge of the town. It didn't take him long before he spotted the approaching enemy coming from the rocks and he pointed it out.

Riya, however, saw other things in the sky and watched the flying battlesuit plummet from the heavens, careening straight towards Raul for a dive bomb assault. "Raul, above!" The student looked up and just barely managed to jump back and out of the way of the surprise attack.

As the Goliath took off again, Raul figured it to be the one that struck Nami since it was the only battlesuit that seemed to be flying. He grit his teeth as he felt an anger boiling up in him that he had always tried to keep retained with his meditations. He didn't want to bring it up and let it out again but dammit if this enemy wasn't pushing his limit by attacking his beloved.

Raul vaulted up into the air after it, knowing full well he couldn't possibly catch something with jets by a simple jump, but he didn't have to. He just wanted its attention. He grabbed the large shuriken from his back and threw it with all his might up after the warmachine. It narrowly missed, shooting up past the target before beginning to fall back down, just as Raul was starting his own descent to the ground.

The young pilot caught his shuriken as he landed and looked up to see the hovering enemy approaching once more from above. Raul put his weapon away and let the dagger underneath his right wrist slide out, hidden only by the length of his Goliath's mechanical hand. On his left forearm there was another hidden weapon preparing for use: a grappling hook. It was time to rip the wings from this pest.

Ardwen and Riya, however, were watching the approach of the other enemy Goliath, this one happening solely on land. Riya was already preparing "The Warlord" for combat and was levelling the rail gun on her right shoulder but Ardwen shook his head in disapproval.

"That's not a simple Goliath there." He motioned towards the oncoming enemy. It was constructed to resemble an ancient knight's armour, the head built as though looking through the grate of a helm with a little plume on top and a sword and shield in either hand. Being a monstrous battlesuit though, the sword was probably ten or more feet long and while the shield was small compared to the scale of the carrier, Ardwen had no doubt that it could be quickly used to fend off anything Riya threw at it. This one felt like a commander coming their way.

"Then what are we going to do about it?" Riya asked, the stress not hidden in her voice.

Ardwen looked over at where Porter and Chase were, a little bit in the distance, and he wished they had just one of them over there now to fight a close combat specialist. "I'm not really sure Riya. I suppose I will have to sacrifice myself for this one. Let him attack me and I will lower his defenses so you can fire off your biggest weapons."

"But Ardwen, I can't-"

"Riya, please. Do it." Ardwen thought of his brother, master strategist. What would his plan be? How would his formation look? Of course that didn't matter now anyways. He could prepare all he wanted, wherever he was, but it would have to be Ardwen who drew the solution for saving his brother. First though, he needed to surpass this obstacle. He took in a deep breath and stepped out into the path of the approaching knight. "On my mark then Riya."

* * * * *

Nami was pressed up against the rocks in cover. Her Goliath was hardly responding to her commands and was barely starting anymore, so she was flipping through different diagnostic checks to figure out the problem.

It seemed that attack had done more to her than she realized. What first looked like a hard-tackle had turned out to be the deliberate planting of a little device called a "cipher," which was designed to be stuck onto the hulls of ships, vehicles, and Goliaths and would interfere with their functions to a certain extent. This one happened to be a particularly nasty one that had first cut off Nami's communication system, and then it had tampered with the controls until it finally put a lock on the engine.

Luckily Nami had been able to get to cover before the critical damage had been done but she was stuck now, with no way to call for help. She could only hope her remote tracking system was still enabled so that the others could find her but that also raised the issue of the enemy possibly using it as a trap.

Nami gave the engine another try and was delighted when it finally roared back to life and her Goliath began going through its start-up routine, warming up each gear and little motor and electrical switch along the way.

The viewscreens flickered into life and she got a picture of the world around her, as dusty and bland as it was. She shifted her view from left to right to scan for any enemies nearby and felt her heart flutter when she saw Porter approaching her. What a real hero!

The White Storm skidded to a halt in front of her machine and Porter seemed to glance around nervously for any other enemies who might be hiding. Satisfied it was clear, he reached down to help pick Nami back up off the ground.

"Porter, I'm so happy I could hug you!"

"Oh, please don't Nami! You don't want to damage the machines or anything." Porter was waving his hands in front of himself to signal for Nami to never try to do that.

"But where's everyone else?" Nami looked past the White Storm to see if the others were possibly following up behind him and he had simply shot out ahead because he just had to see her first.

"Um, they're around. Fighting I guess."

"But you were the one who broke free to rescue me? My hero!"

"Ah, no Nami! Chase and I were sent to rescue you. He's on the other side of these rocks fighting with an enemy soldier. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have been able to get around here to get you. He said he couldn't live with himself if his Nami wasn't protected so I had to save you first."

Porter could see the stars in The Pearl's eyes and could imagine them in Nami's. "Chase-y-kins said that about me? What a man he is! Come on Porter, we've got to get back so I can watch him kick that guy's ass like a real gentleman would!"

Porter's hand smacked against his forehead and the White Storm did the same, nearly knocking itself over with its own force. "Yes Nami, let's do that."

"Also," Nami continued as she withdrew her extended rifle. "I believe I owe somebody a little payback shot."

A/N: A vengeful Nami? An angry Raul? An unselfish Chase?! What more could happen? You'll have to find out next time on Sigma/Star!