At the Tail End of the Nightmare Assault...

Xilo, Salamir, O'Hara, Ordo and Jukebox all burst from the hatch in the moment of opportunity, and begin hoofing it toward the cliff wall. They are quite the party - a human, a kenku, a tortle, a tiefling and an elf, with nothing uniform about them except their skyknife uniforms specifically. So radical is the disparity in their physical appearance that they could not be mistaken as a unit representing any force but the Amcaran 'crucible of tribes'; and unknown to any of them in the moment, this scene and sentiment would be witnessed and imprinted on the heart of a private named Ursula Redspear, who would recreate that fivestrong dash in stylized rendition that would make its way on to the Amcaran silver dollar.

And some of those five would even be alive to see it.

At the top of the cliff, Gamble catches the message, looks around with bafflement to spot the approaching squad, and then begins conferring with his comrades in desperation to produce more rope. He has a little time to do it - without a better mechanism, the party on foot is forced to take the longer route parallel to the cliff wall, to the very base of the ramp, then to struggle up its harsh slope to where the rope awaits them. Naturally, this draws the attention and interest of all the Skyknives on the clifftop. But as the five down below strive against burning lungs and legs to make their way, the unfortunate truth is made understood - Catchell had that rope as a special requisition, but since it's not part of the standard Skyknives kit, there's none to be found beyond the one deployed already.

Kreiger trench warriors begin backshooting at the penetrating force on the beach, bullets sparking and plinking off the hard working construct's shield. Jukebox, smaller than the other soldiers, begins falling behind, and Ordo dips back to grab him by the jacket and bodily assisting him with stumbling, dragging force. Once they get to the base of the rope, and the first man starts climbing, Ordo and Jukebox are catching up, with the little Kenku calling on his bardic talents once more to manifest, from sparkling motes of light, a grappling hook with a knotted rope cord attached to it, and then hurls it as he closes with the rest of the group. The would be laughable, if it weren't so tragic; the hook soars a whopping fifteen feet into the air, donks off the cliff wall, and flops to the ground again beside the wheezing, doubled over Kenku. Even the idea that the most atheltic of them could hurl the hook, with its tether, all the way up the cliff wall is a stretch; but Sgt. Xiloscient hooks it to Pvt. Salamir's pack as the tiefling is sent up the existing rope; and once he's at the top, the operation becomes much smoother. Gamble seizes the rope, and begins hauling up troops one at a time with big hand-over-hand reels of his goliath arms. With Salamir and O'Hara ascending the slow way, and Jukebox, Ordo, and Xilo taking the goliath express elevator, the squad ascends up and over the cliff of the defiant wall with Kreig bullets scattering around them. The enemy should be able to muster the firepower to penetrate the shield construct's barrier, but in a strange reversal, the Kriegers on the beach are being suppressed by the Skyknives on the clifftop.

And then, like that, it's over - or over for the moment, anyway, as everyone gets clear of the fire lanes from the beach. It's the first time this much of Echo Company's 3rd Platoon has been together since the disastrous drop. For those on the cliff, it might seem miraculous that any Skyknives were able to slog their way here from the beach at all. For those from the beach, a very conspicuous, severed draconic limb suggests it may not be immediately apparent who landed in the best location, all things considered.

Doc, as this reunion is happening, has cleared the hatch in the rubble - and nothing seems to be springing from it, just yet!

Spoiler: OOC:
Show
Everyone's together! Not enough time for a short rest, what with the war and all, but if anyone wants to do any healing or whatnot, or cast any preparation spells before (presumably) you descend into this new hatch, now's the time.