<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/13/Ha_Otoko_color.jpg)</div><br/><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Wrociaw - Dense Forest</strong><br/><br/>Damian was not an excitable man by any stretch of the imagination. Even for a clanner he was strict, ruthless, stiff and far more than his peers, incapable of having the same fun most others did. Even though he had not held a particularly high rank upon first joining the company years prior to the disaster that plagued them now, he had always forced a form of obedience from his peers through presence, grit and the sheer fact that he -did- have the skill to back up the bark. He was an excellent Mechwarrior; there were plenty in the company who were better, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. He saw the bigger picture, and once he had been promoted into a place of greater responsibility, the company's finances had never run more smoothly. Of course, behind the scenes, countless sleepless days went into making sure things progressed with a hitch, but few people were aware of his workoholism. Mistaken for anti-social and shunned for the way he behaved, he was anything but popular. There were a few exceptions. Carlos, Kari and Allia being the foremost, with the latter quickly gaining his respect through the way she led the warriors under her command. But he remained a very cold man to be around. Carlos had long since realized he never allowed himself to smile for a very simple reason. If he was the one to constantly crack the whip, he would be the one hated by the crewmembers. Carlos could show a strict hand, but allow himself to loosen the leash for the sake of loyalty and morale. Any flack would be directed at the clanner who would already be hated for his origins, by many, to begin with. It was an easy sacrifice to make for someone who gave him a better home than his superiors in Clan Sea Fox ever did. If only Damian hadn't failed so miserably in returning that favor...<br/><br/>The communique allowed him to properly recognize the two warriors before him. Kari Moreno, and Allia Rowe. Both sights for sore eyes. Had they been standing before him, that would have been applicable in more ways than one, he wasn't blind to the beauties, after all. But in that instant, the relief came more from the fact that they packed a far more efficient punch in the tight cluster of trees they found themselves in than he ever would. Provided they had not been torn to shreds as well.<br/><br/>Despite the pure chaos and the confused chatter across all channels, Damian was as ice-cold and collected as ever. He was cracking under the strain like everyone else, but it simply did not show outwardly.<br/><strong>"Neg, ma'am. Only have a few regular mortars left and the weapon may break before I even go through those. Need to keep them on hand for suppressive fire if need be. We're going to have to make a mad dash,"</strong> Damian responded over the line, hopefully clearly enough for Allia to hear as well. Charybdis was in somewhat of a better shape than the other two machines, as he always preferred to have entire limbs blown clean off than have damage spread across the entire body and have everything set to collapse. It showed when the distance between them all was closed and they were granted a brief reprieve and a moment to think.<br/><br/>Damian finally had the time to bring up a map and he began to study the terrain as best he could, on the fly. <strong>"Making a beeline will get us killed. It might be risky, but I suggest we head due north and circle around the cliffs there. It will add another five to ten minutes to our retreat, but we will have greater cover and the enemy will not be expecting us to move like that,"</strong> the clanner fully realized the terrain there was far more difficult to traverse. He knew Charybdis could handle it; he had faith in the machine. But Kari and Allia knew their 'Mechs better than he did, which is why the final call was Kari's. The short and dangerous route, or the long one with more stringent pre-conditions.</div>