With everyone securely strapped in, the lander was ready for its final checks before launch. Wrath of Carb also wouldn't leave the area until they were over the horizon, in case any attempt to assassinate the prisoners was made. With his array of weaponry, he was able to shoot down most types of missiles that might be fired at the lander, a small bit of extra security for Max's trip back home.
Without the urgent rush of combat, the Lander lifts smoothly off the ground and makes the transition from an anti-gravity field hover to forward flight. In order to get enough fuel to make orbit, they had to drain most of the Cygnus light mecha that still had intact tanks and bring their own light mecha down below a quarter tank, and even at that, they were going to be close on fuel levels if they have to do much additional maneuvering.