“Oh, crap! They’ve got air support!” Justin growled into the commlink as he brought his Grasshopper in for a landing.

“They are occupied with our comrades. They pose no threat to us.” Katarina’s voice was harsh, as it usually seemed to be when speaking with Justin.

“Avengers, we are pulling out. Facing unexpected resistance: odds are continuing this will be hazardous to health and mechs. We can support you in an orderly withdrawal.”

Who was that, Justin wondered? He rarely remembered callsigns for other teams, but he thought this one came from “Vulture.”

“Message received and understood. Avengers, withdraw in stages. Keep your neighbors protected.” Justin sighed. So much for their profit margin.

The commlink popped up on a private channel. Wonder of wonders, it was Katarina.

“Justin, what are you doing? Another minute, and we would have taken the field!”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Justin shook his head. “We don’t have another minute. If MechHarvest are withdrawing, another minute of commitment would leave us at two to one odds, not even counting the air support.”

“We have faced much worse and come out shining! It would be glorious!” Katarina persisted.

“Kat: this isn’t the Clans out here. No one expects you to take out whole lances by yourself. I gave the order: we are retreating, now.”

Justin backed his Grasshopper away from the field of battle, ready to fire if pursued. Up ahead he saw the bright fire of another Mech jumping, almost certainly Katarina’s Wolverine. Much closer, he saw two smaller towers of flame: the two Spiders. He grinned and switched back to the open channel. “How’s the leg, Kenny?”

“Chewed up good, but at least this time I didn’t lose it!” Kenny’s optimistic tone was infectious, and Justin could hear some of the other Mechwarriors laughing. Kenny had a bad habit of hopping home on one leg, the other one gone in battle. Justin’s brother Allen had joked that they ought to order Spider legs at least by the half dozen to get a volume discount.

Last to pull out were the hover transports. The infantry took time to board, and there really wasn’t anything they could do about it. An enemy Mech strode towards them as the crew was gunning the motors, but a burst of medium laser fire from the Grasshopper dissuaded it from attacking.

Justin checked to his right: the MechHarvest crew had all retreated successfully. As soon as the hovers had shot past him he turned and jumped, headed for home.