The<em>Locust</em>turned and headed for the indicated perimeter, several klicks distant.  Confident Hiro would follow, Yamina kept her speed down for the first few hundred meters to allow him to form up, then pushed her machine to its limits.  The<em>Spider</em>would have no difficulty keeping up, and might even overtake her by judicious use of jump jets if Yamina's<em>Locust</em>was slowed by terrain.  Speed was their ally right now, and a good defense against these vermin.  They didn't have the mobility to keep up with her or Hiro, though their shoulder missiles had the range to engage them within the limits of BattleMech's weapons.  Every few hundred meters, in as best a random pattern as she could figure, Yamina changed course.  Even if the vermin were closing in from the front arc, the constant changes in course would spoil any intercept solution.<br/><br/>"Ninja," she said, breaking into his cockpit with a low powered, short range comm, "What do you think they are?  You were holding one.  Did you see any faction markings?"