<div class="floatright">(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/jillvader/mw-nmfkmpkarimonero_zps55a1bf27.jpg)</div><strong>Kari Moreno</strong><br/><strong>In her 'Mech, in the desert, in a fight</strong><br/><strong>Tagged: Everyone</strong><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Santa Prisca Desert, Librios<br/>Deneb Algedi, Benjamin District<br/>Draconis Combine<br/>1 January 3145</strong><br/><br/><em>”Cut to the chase. I always wondered what that meant”</em><br/><br/>“Happy new year, fragger,” Kari Moreno quipped, moments before she hit the trigger. A pair of brilliant red laser beams leaped out from the<em>Black Knight’s</em>weapons, accompanied by the brilliant blue electric whip of a PPC. Moments later came the wash of the heat, battering her inside the already warm cockpit of the BattleMech.<br/><br/>Ignoring that, she focused on the results, seeing a crackle of blue sparks through her HUD as the PPC hit home, scoring armour from the side of an enemy<em>Hammerhands</em>. The enemy ‘Mech wore the shot well, continuing its plodding advance in among the rest of its line. The Crushers stood out in the desert, their simple black and white colour scheme not even trying to blend in to the terrain around them. Instead, Kari could see a wall of metal, bearing towards her and her unit.<br/><br/>And that was enough to make her smile. It meant that the Crushers were choosing to come and get them, rather then using the advantages they could have gained from hanging back and waiting.<em>They could be trying to limit collateral damage,</em>she considered as she twisted the<em>Knight’s</em>torso, cutting towards a  low-lying dune for cover.<em>Or they could just be too eager for their own good</em><br/><br/>Alarms sounded in the cockpit, moments before the first missiles came down towards her. Most of them scattered across the desert floor, but a couple battered the ‘Mechs’ shoulder and arm armour.<em>Nothing severe as yet,</em>she quickly assessed.<em>But it means that they’re also pointed in the direction we want</em><br/><br/>“Recon lance, loop around and cut across their back,” she spoke into the command channel. “Strike, press the flank, keep them divided. We have numbers and mobility, so let’s use them” The Crushers had chosen to chase after their Recon Lance, headed towards a small village that largely appeared as a dot on the maps with little else to recommend it. They’d made their mistake, and now Kari was going to make them pay for it<br/>