Ironclad

Flying Fortress

River and her convoy were rushing along the valley as fast as they can, doing whatever they could to dodge the incoming artillery from the enemy base. Explosions were going off left right and center, but all they could do is continue forward and hope.

Despite their large size and heavy armament, the Legionnaires were speedy and could keep a decent pace. Tearing up the dirt and mud beneath its tracks at fifty miles an hour, they could keep up with the Badgers and Enforcers that had to pay attention and manoeuvre around obstacles that the Legionnaire could simply crush and drive over. 
Fallen trees and branches that littered the trail after the orbital strike were crushed and flung out behind the mighty tank.

Dirt and rock was flying into the air and spraying all over after each missed explosion, the rocks merely tapping against the convoy as they went by.

Doing whatever he can to help, Briggs was trying to coordinate the escape as the front of the convoy was beginning to leave the valley and make a break for the treeline just in front of the mouth of the valley. The radio was being overwhelmed by chatter from almost every vehicle, but it soon got quieter as the number of vehicles in the valley lowered and more were reaching safe places.

River looked to Briggs and pulled up the map of the area, she was concerned.
"We're going to have to get creative on taking out the base defenses if we can't get help from above" she spoke, biting her thumb softly. Something she did when she was in thought.

Briggs nodded, then looked at the map and snapped his fingers.
"Why don't we work off of the map? We use the satellite images, find the guns and their coordinates. We do some equations and turn the Legionnaires into makeshift artillery"

River seemed to think about it for a few moments before nodding.
"That could work. We would need to be spot on, but it could work. Good job Briggs. Start working on that"

As she finished her sentence, the last of the convoy escaped the valley. They lost a handful of Enforcers and Badgers, and unfortunately a Legionnaire as well. This displeased River greatly, as even one Legionnaire is a massive loss. But she couldn't dwell on it and had to adapt her plan as they slowly advanced through the forest.

The echoing explosions of artillery could be heard in the valley behind them for a few more minutes after they escaped. Either because they fired off so many shells that they were only just arriving, or to make a retreat harder to pull off. River wasn't sure which one to give to them, as Pro-Independence tactics were usually very haphazard and random. During battles they would either be crushed entirely, or somehow pull off something that deals a massive blow to the UPA. There usually was no in between, which of course put UPA commanders in a confusing place.

River could only keep driving forward towards the river ahead as she thought of a plan, when suddenly the radio crackled to life and Dasyil's voice came through.

"This is Dasyil speaking, we're coming in to provide close air support for you all. I hope you've left some for us" he spoke with a confidence voice.

River and Briggs however were confused. Briggs looked over to River with an eyebrow raised.
"Close air support? We didn't bring any aircraft with us did we?"

To which River shook her head.
"No, we didn't..."

But their question would be answered when they felt the ground beneath them begin to shake and the trees began to sway like they were in high winds.
The convoy turned their eyes to the sky to see something remarkable. Battered and bruised, the Pellet had risen from its place in the dirt and repurposed its landing thrusters into engines to keep the Pellet aloft. 
The leg that was cut off by the enemy ship had been reattached, and alongside its adjacent leg had been angled so its feet were facing behind the hull so they would have some forward propulsion.
It was a beast of a machine, even in its damaged state. The flames coming from the four thrusters keeping it in the air were blazing infernos that could vaporise anything unfortunate enough to get close.

Sitting in the command deck on his chair was a smug Dasyil as he watched his crew operate the Pellet in a way it definitely wasn't intended to be. He brought up an exterior cameras view of the convoy below and zoomed in on River and Briggs' Legionnaire.
"It was getting boring being stuck back there, so I thought I'd experiment. Turns out it works pretty well, but the reactor wasn't made for this. It could give up at any moment so we need to do this quickly"

River looked to Briggs, then pressed the button on her communicator "We need to get across the river up ahead, and then we'll be at their base. The ships above have run into trouble though Dasyil, it sounds like the Olympus' MAG is completely offline"

"We won't need it. The board wants proof that we've killed them. So we need to get our finger nails a bit dirty I'm afraid". Dasyil spoke, slightly annoyed that they couldn't just bomb them from orbit.

River nodded "Got it. There are still defensive guns at the base we need gone before our tanks can roll in. But be careful of enemy aircraft"

"Nothing's stopping us now River, we've got this" Dasyil said as the Pellet began to angle away and began to fly towards the base. Slow at first as it built up momentum, but soon it was making a steady pace.
River just watched as the two rear facing thrusters were shooting out enough flame to burn down a city twice over, and the deep rumble of its thrusters could be heard all around.

She looked forward and opened a communication with the rest of the convoy "Alright, let's move on the base. We've got firepower in the air now"

And with that, the tanks began to drive on towards the base, their tank treads tearing up the dirt and throwing it out behind them as they went.

But as the assault on the ground was going well, up above the moon the battle raged on between the ships.