In the Maws of the Dragon; A Pursuit Battle Report

Fresh off the meeting engagement with the combined Vistula Guard and 5th Dneiper Explorer Corps, the Kurita forces withdrew to examine their prize. The engagement saw little damage and spirits were high.

Upon returning to their staging area, the engineering staff quickly realized a horrible truth! The recovered tech was not in fact the drive, merely junk! Furious, general Nagumo ordered his second in command, Arata Ito, to swiftly pursue and retrieve the lostech. Mounting his No-Dachi, Arata gathered a pursuit force and quickly set out.

The Kurita forces made good speed, and caught up to the Vistula Guard at a river ford a mere 50km from their supposed landing zone. Catching sight of the enemy in flight, Arata ordered a charge, determined to ride down the retreating mechwarriors. 

Upon seeing the closing Kurita pursuit force, the Corps leader decided to perform a fighting withdrawal. Sending off the lighter mechs with the precious tech, the remaining Vistula Guard prepared for the worst. 

Seeing the enemy turn to face, Arata charged into the enemy. Fire exchanged between both units was fierce, as the close-in fighting offered little opportunity to miss. It appeared both sides had suffered equally, until Ayaka Kito, piloting a panther, delivered a fatal shot to the Guards banshee. Hitting the ammo stores, the mech exploded in a momentous blast, offering little hope that the pilot had escaped alive.

Seeing their leader fall, the remaining Guard units started to withdraw. Arata drove his men onward, determined to destroy as much of the enemy as possible. Without proper support, the units were harried to the riverside, and made a final stand on it's banks. Fire from the pursuit lances crippled first the Guard Zeus, and then the Orion. Charging forward, Arata cleaved off the arm of the enemy Zeus, before driving it deep into the mechs torso. Yet the Zeus pilot was not one to take this quietly. Blasting all he had, he managed to destroy Arata's No-Dachi and force him to eject!

The battle had been won, but the lostech had escaped, undoubtedly due to the sacrifice of the Guard's lance. A telling blow had been struck, but allowing the objective to escape could spell disaster. The enemy could easily slip away, and the prize lost with them.