IV - Zasha

Starfish frowns and reaches an arm to clasp Lain's shoulder in warning. "Do not risk yourself for glory." He grumbles gravelly. "If you perish, then no fame or fortune will matter to you anymore. Not to mention," his hold tightens to an almost painful point, "that you are risking all of us by doing it. Leave it be, there'll be plenty of opportunities later."

Lain doesn't even look at the older man, simple trying to move away as he tries to clasp her shoulder. "Fame is all we mercs have to go with. We live or die for it" she tries to aim at the door, hoping to see it blow up anytime now. "Plenty of opportunities?" she scoffs. "This is not war! I don't go aroung fighting the same enemy twice. Damn! For all I know, next job I get may be a trap from that guy looking to show he still has his balls! "

"Really now, fame is all you have?" Roger chuckles, though it is mirthless, almost bitter. "Fame is useless if you don't have the means to fight. And if you get fatally wounded, or even crippled - no fame is going to get you jobs once you're unable to hold your own." He frowns. "It is your business where to risk your life, but in this case you're working in a team. And I won't allow you to risk all of ours. Besides, if you want to think about fame? If we get captured, the only fame you're getting is the reputation of someone unable to finish their mission. We were hired for the kid and the blueprints, not taking on the whole base."

The others in the vehicle follow your argument and there seems to be a sigh of relief when Lain relents and gets out of firing position behind the closed hatch.
Koskinen speeds up the vehicle, getting you away from the heavily fortified base at maximum speed. After a few minutes, he announces through the internal comms: "They sent out drones. One seems to have found our track. We need to get rid of it if we want to be able to hide until your reinforcements come in."

Lain looks at Starfish. Should have taken the shot she thinks as she tries to find the drone. "Koskinen. Can you see it?"

"I can see it. Its closing in on us for now but once it confirms the sighting, it will turn back to report," Koskinen replies.

Roger meets Lain's eyes and chuckles. "We have some distance, slowing down now will be less of a liability. And drones usually don't shoot back," he connects to the comms. "Koskinen, can you open the hatch enough for us to get the shot without completely stopping? And if is there any position which will force it to approach to confirm our location, try to exploit that."

"Give me a minute," Koskinen replies. The driving suddenly turns a bit more irregular, with quick turns and maneuvers. Then it suddenly stops.

"I've moved us into a narrow canyon," Koskinen announces. "The drone should be dipping over the edge to our left any second now!"

The back hatch opens, giving Lain the opportunity to quickly get into position.

"Just one drone right?" Lain asks as she quickly checks her equipment. She takes a look at the canyon and the narrow entrance they expect the device to fly through. She looks at Starfish and, eyeing his gear as another risky plan start in her mind.

"You can shoot on the move?

"I can shoot, but I doubt that I can hit," the old man narrows his eyes, hastily inspecting the area around them through the hatch. "My harpoons aren't made for sniping, and my field of view is less than yours due to lower height. Albatross can hover, but not fly."

Lain looks at the man pst, these military types have got too soft behind their desks she places the rifle in a stable position, trying to keep the gun hidden so it is not spotted by whatever is controlling that drone. "Maybe you could be used as bait then" she smiles sarcastically. "just keep an eye on it and let me know if you find something we can exploit". After saying that, she starts running the aiming algorithms and checking the power left on the rifle. Their lives may just depend one high energy shot...

The second Lain has her rifle built up, you all see something dart over the edge of canyon you're in. It's a small drone, not armed but very quick and probably hard to hit.

Roger hums non-committally in response to Lain's barb about baiting out the drone, and focuses on watching the skies - specifically above the cliffs, where he knows the drone is about to make an appearance. Thankfully his vision is yet to be affected by his age, and he notices the little machine as it darts over the edge. "Lain, eight o'clock!" He indicates the direction additionally by raising his gun to point. "Wait a second... now!"

Lain turns to where Roger notices the little drone and ... almost instantly pushes the trigger, but manages to stop as Roger asks her to wait. They will need to get those one shot right before the drone notices and transmits their position. She aims at the metal object far away, completely focused on this shot... waiting for the experienced man to tell her when to take it. He may be old and weaker, but she knows his mind is as sharp as it gets, and he will know when the best time comes.She pulls the triggers as soon as Roger notices an opening. She can see the drone is fully exposed. It was a clean shot. but the little bastard moved right in the last moment, the bullet scratching it's metal surface. "fuck!" . They will likely be spotted if she doesn't take another shot quickly!The drone doesn't have time to react before another bullet hits it. For a moment, Lain stays looking through her scope as the drone tries to regain it's flight balance...

Lain's shot hits the drone just at its edge. It stays in the air for a moment and you all worry that the shot was not enough. Then, it suddenly begins to spin around its own axis, descending quickly and... crashing into the edge of the canyon where it explodes in a small ball of fire.
When this drone doesn't return, Siren will know that this is the direction your group took off in, but by then you'll already be far away.

Koskinen sets the vehicle back into motion and finds a deep cave in the rocky terrain that he moves the hovering transport into. You all know that given enough time, Siren will find this place. But considering that Eltik is already on its way to reclaim the planet, save you and - as its highest priority now that the Excellence is taken care of - recover the Eltik boy, you're not too worried.
Siren doesn't have the time.

---

You spend two days in this cave, hiding out, watching the sky whenever possible and slowly eating the few rations you have in the transport. Szymon von Eltik seems to slowly recover from his injuries as he's being regularly treated with the medikit in the transport. It will still take a while for him to fully heal from the marks of torture inflicted on him but he's getting better.
Koskinen and Condori seem to become more uneasy as time goes on. They were Siren soldiers after all. If Eltik rejects their defection, they're screwed. But they have no way of returning to Siren at this point, so they stay with you.

Eventually, the cavalry arrives. You don't see any of the action, being so far away from it, but you still hear the sounds of distant bombings, of war and fighting, and eventually, the silence again. Finally, you are found - and not by Siren, but by Eltik, who, as you find out, have taken the planet back - not least of all thanks to your involvement.

You are returned to the facility and from there to the orbital station where you are showered, cleaned up and nursed back to health from any lingering injuries. Eventually, you are put on a ship and brought to Eltik Alpha, always accompanied by the slowly recovering Szymon von Eltik.
Your newfound, formerly Siren, allies are not brought with you but you hear that they were paid for their services and have received transports to their chosen destinations to get away from their former employer.

On Eltik Aplha, you are welcomed with all the honors that an independent mercenary can hope for - which isn't much. But at least, you are paid generously, you are being thanked gracefully and you are being promised that the next time Eltik will need mercenary help, you will be the first they ask.
Transportation off the corporate planet is arranged for you to whichever port you want.

It has been a long and gruelling job. Lain and Carlos have lost a faithful ally in the android ANDREW along the way and potentially gained a new ally for future jobs in Roger. They definitely worked well together this time...