(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9h_FmmDtwcQ/TkWBhEQm8NI/AAAAAAAABFs/zAjdm4rAZCI/s400/CCG_Unlimited_Hatchetman_S.jpg)<br/><br/><strong>Ranna Krannok<br/>Recon Lance<br/>Objective: Betelgeuse </strong><br/><br/><br/><hr/><br/><br/>Ranna kept her head low and her sensors on high, not that it would do much good as long as she was inside the Atlas jamming blanket.  Fortunately for her, the flare she shot up should have blanketed his sensors and created a big enough IR signature that him or anyone else around him shouldn't be able to follow the recon lance with anything but their MK1 eyeball, Ranna was counting on them not being able to track her visually.<br/><br/><em>.......the east......the city; use...... speed....from the Atlas, but.....a straight line. Snake, fire.......into the transformer......... the.......plant to..... pursuit." </em>Ranna smiled as the static seemed to be subsiding, meaning she was outside the jamming range.  Stopping for a moment she scanned the immediate area, cycling through IR, MAG, and UV hoping to get a picture of what was out there.  The Davids had retreated, but in an urban environment, that usually meant mechs were on the way.<br/><br/>A bright flash caught Ranna's attention as the cities powerplant blew.  Smiling she knew that Maho had hit the station and was hopefully heading out towards the rendeouz point.  "Maho, Miyoko, if you can here me break east from your present position and regroup at my coordinates." Unsure if they received her transmission, Ranna slowly backed Harlequin into a broken shell of a building and began powering down secondary systems hoping to keep her signature as small as possible till she could figure out where everone else was.  She hadn't heard anything from Miyoko and Maho was still somewhere behind her position trying to avoid the Atlas.  Ranna knew the city would be crawling with Phract's by now.  Even in a hit and run fight in a city Harlequin was outgunned.  Pulling up a map of the city, she tried to figure out a quick way out of the city.<br/><br/>A loud squeal from her comm systems startled her away from the 3D map on her HUD.  Toggling a button the message displayed at the bottom.<em>&lt;100, 2 GR. Nd Sppt, ASAP.&gt;</em>Unsure what the meassage was, Ranna plugged it into the computer showing a red pulsating dot on her map heading back towards Bastion.  Heartened by the info, Ranna powered up her systems, checking her sensors for movement before she pulled out of the building.  With only a second of warning as her sensor flashed a proximity warning, Ranna pushed Harlequin over to the left side, crashing through the wall of the building she was inside, just as five missiles and the blue lighting of a PPC blast tore through the right side of the building, causing it to crash down in a flume of dust and debris.  Immediately as the building fell beside her, Ranna engaged her jump jets in a short burst, allowing her to jump forward between two buildings and out of the line of site of the mech.  Her combat computer finally locked on the mech type, displaying the slender boxy frame of a Vindicator with it's PPC mounted right arm.<br/><br/><em>Bad luck for you buddy</em>She thought as she ran down a row of buildings parallel to the Vindicators position. Surely he could see her moving, but his long range weapons were of no use in this maze of ferroscrete and steel.  Thinking he could catch her on the street, the Vindicator moved up away from her and picked up a cross street.  Ranna broke into a run down the long street, leaving wrents of broken asphalt in her wake along with broken glass and mortar.  Just as the Vindicator came around the corner Ranna let loose her autocannon and medium lasers.  The constant tat-tat-tat of her AC10 filled the air between her and the Vindicator with lead just long enough for her to break the range deficiency.  Her lasers scored three solid hits on the mechs chest, burning dark gashes in the chest as her autocannon shells tore holes in his armor.  The Vindicator started to turn his torso, to bring the PPC to bear.  Knowing he would have to turn to us his heavy weapons, Ranna lighted her jump jets, propelling her forward fasters and up into the air, forcing the Vindicator to change his target angle.  Her lasers continued to flash down at him, she hoped blinding the pilot while she pulled her hatchet up.<br/><br/>With one smooth downward sweep, the hatchet cleaved through the Vindicators upper shoulder, completely severing the right arm from the body.  She purposefully didn't use her jets to stop her descent, forcing her momentum forward into the Vindicator.  Using the follow through of the downward sweep, Ranna thrust the butt of the hatchet into the Vindicator's chest, her momentum pushing the now off balance mech into the nearby building.  Stepping back to watch the Vindicator being slowly swallowed by the building, Ranna made one more long swing, driving the axe down into the head of the Vindicator, pushing it further and harder into the building.<br/><br/>Pleased with herself, and certain the Vindicator pilot would need a minute of more to untangle himself if he was still alive, Ranna launched herself in the air in the direction of the rally point.  Landing gingerly on the other side of the building where she first met the Vindicator, Ranna began quickly moving through the city, using buildings for cover.<br/>