The sensor readings in the upper right corner of her helmet screen left Yukari little time.
She hoped Tom would understand. She quickly lined up and fired a second shot at the Epsilon's head, but she did not focus on if it hit or not; her eyes were instantly up at her radar.
"Chikushou!" she swore. That she was still stealthed was a miracle. She quickly dropped to the ground; her internal clock nearly ticked over her own thoughts. Her radar data was immediately fed to everyone else.
"Minna, listen," she said sternly, calling everyone down to her position in the middle of the square where they'd been fighting. "The armors coming for us now are arguably more powerful than us. I cannot yet determine their armaments, but we must assume the worst. Therefore, we must all prepare to ambush them. Surprise is our only hope."
The wings of her armor retracted back into her suit. She did her best not to think about what she did, but feel it. The idea sounded utterly stupid.
"The armors are coming from the east," she said. She was facing south toward Tom. "We will bait them."
"Dige-Hei, you still have grenades. Take a position along the bottom floor of the old stone building there." She pointed to the crumbling building on the southwest corner of the square. "Use your powered drones to assist your aim. Fire at Taurus One with a grenade, loose some LASR fire, then retreat into the building heading south."
She turned to Morita. "Kamiyama-Hei, take prone position in the destroyed corner of the building there." She pointed to the building on the northeast corner. "When the armors follow Dige, you will use your plasma rifle on Taurus Two. Use several shots in rapid succession, to ensure the most damage before it can raise its Barrier Shield."
They are closing quickly! Yukari thought desperately. "Freeman-Hei, take Kamiyama's old position to the south." She pointed at the shot-out window in the blasted-in-half business office to the south, near where they had been dropped. "Target Taurus Three as it enters your field of view. Use your plasma rifle."
She pointed to a blasted-out window about 4 stories up in a modern but squat condominium building on the northwest corner. "I will be behind a window in that building, waiting for Taurus One. It is crucial everyone remain under thermoptic and active camoflauge. Do not put up your Energy Cloaks until your position is revealed; they will detect them. Also expect your radios and radar to malfunction; the Golem IIs have jamming equipment. Go, quickly!"
Yukari did not wait for a confirmation as she turned and flew toward the open window. The moment she landed, she looked all across the window, then took a breath and went to a prone position, adjusting her rifle in a stiff, robotic manner. Her heart was in her throat, but the lives of her friends were at stake. In a sick way, she relied on them far more than they relied on her.
She transmitted all the essential data on both armor types approaching them to her comrades. "AIES, determine the weaponry of Taurus Group as soon as possible. Also, using optical data, create a hologram replacing the window I flew through. Allow me to see through the hologram via radar imaging." She took a deep breath again and let it out slowly.
As my old commander would have said ... 'here we go.'
