And the Walls Held Fast...

Rivaldar Kasara No'Sowei vaulted over the twisted wreckage of a Solvani landing craft, whipping her tail out just in time to balance the change of momentum as she dodged a burst from a heavy repeater which pulverized the already slagged ship below her. She dropped into a quick roll, coming up firing towards the east of the plaza where the Amarri ground forces still held out. No hits, but she kept their heads down long enough to allow her ger-pack time to bolt to the rather more intact heavy vehicle lander across the plaza.

Kasara armed and lobbed a concussion grenade in the general direction of the Amarr as she ran, not bothering to look to see the effect as she sprinted towards the lander. She felt its shockwave nonetheless, just as she reached her Subeldar, Barisao, who already had two of the troopers working on the cargo door of the lander.

"Combat efficiency, numbers, tactics! Far above estimates. The Intelligence Branch has failed us!" screamed Barisao. "We are like carasew to slaughter!"
Kasara finished changing the power pack on her railgun before striking Barisao across the head. 
"You shame yourself and your Pack." she said flatly, quietly. "You fooled yourself into thinking the Amarr are our prey, when they are in fact predators, like us."

Barisao dipped his head a moment, radiating psychic waves of contrition and embarrassment. He had boasted before the ger-pack of the easy glory this day would bring, and was now chastened.

The rhythmic beat of energy discharges and mass driver impacts from the battle was suddenly punctured by a slower reverberation, low and loud. The Solvani peered around hull of the lander as dirt and plasticrete spawled, heavy weapons blasting deep craters in the surface of the plaza nearby.  Kasara quickly assessed the distance and speed of the approaching Amarri Mobile Armor before ducking back behind the temporary safety of the landing craft. It would not hold long against their heavy weapons.

Karasar glanced at the two Solvani overseeing the operation of the vehicle lander's cargo door and realized that they would be several minutes yet.

Not enough time to deploy the Treespiders before the Amarr were upon them. 

She was not among the religious Solvani; those were rare nowadays. But she did believe in a certain, indescribable ... something. She blinked her nictitating membranes several times, then briefly closed her eyelids as well.

"You have command, Subeldar." she murmured.

Barisao inclined his head slightly to the side, staring at her as she spoke. Kasara turned towards the ger-pack's two anti-vehicle troopers, pulling the armor-piercing plasmalances from their grasps before they could protest. She breathed deeply, turned towards the encroaching Mobile Armor, and prepared to meet her destiny.

She felt the sharp sting of a blow across her neck and the world faded to black. 

Her combat auto-pharma activated almost immediately, dumping stimulants into her bloodstream. It felt as though a thousand needles stabbed into her brain, forcing it from near-unconsciousness to hyper-focus within seconds. She grasped the side of the lander craft, disoriented. Within a handful of breaths she recovered, hoisting herself over the trough of upturned soil gouged by the lander as it had impacted. She could already see Barisao advancing towards the incoming Mobile Armor, plasmalances in hand. He sprinted from crater to crater, only steps ahead of the eruptions that pulverized the smooth surface of the plaza. Each explosion seemed to propel him towards the Amarri Mobile Armor. 

She began to raise herself over the crest of the pile of dirt and slagged metal to chase him. Then she paused, reassessing. 

Barisao was already halfway to the Amarri Armor, and closing fast. She cursed him for a fool, silently. A brave fool. The enemy had halted its advance to deal with the immediate threat of the lunatic Solvani.

Her Subeldar was a shadow in the haze of upturned dirt and dust blanketing the plaza, but she could just make out his dark form as he cast the first plasmalance towards the Armor nearest him. Kasara's membranes were enough to block out the intense light that followed, but she looked away nonetheless. The first shockwave swept across the lander and the remnants of her ger-ack. The second came moments later. 

As she looked back to assess the damage to the Amarri armor, her two troopers opening the door to the landing craft trilled in triumph. Kasara held her gaze on the Amarri advance long enough to see the remaining Mobile Armor redirect towards her position. But Barisao had bought them precious moments.

One of the troopers near her clacked his tongue rapidly as he scrambled into the lander to the Solvani armored vehicles, while the other yelled. "Our victory has become Truth!" 

Kasara blinked her nictitating membranes once before replying.

"The only Truth. ...  is that many will die here today."