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Mid day on the Eastern coast of southern Africa was generally a pleasant thing, although the overabundance of thick clouds did do a little to dishearten an otherwise incredibly pleasant scene. Fields of grasses and herds of wild animals danced together across the rolling plains, sloping along down to the ocean, where a mighty Federation battlefleet waited in tow. They had been tasked with one simple mission, making sure that the stolen GP02 did not make its way to the now located Zeon base at Kimberlite. While an operation against the mountain fortress was sure to occur soon enough, it would take several days for the Federations might to be pointed here. Until that time, admiral Remirez of the 2nd Indian Ocean Patrol Fleet would follow his orders to the letter. Several combat air patrols of Jet Core Boosters were scouring the lands, watching for any sign of stolen Federation property. While command was sure that Gato had escaped Australia along with the Marina Fleet, which had been sighted recently close to the mouth of the Red Sea, command was not sure whether or not the GP02 had stayed aboard, or if their forces had split up. What Remirez was not ready for was the small team of scuba divers carefully making their way onto one of his ships. The six Zeon operatives carefully scaled the port side of the NRS-33, lugging heavy weaponry up its deck somehow unbeknownst to its crew. A few silent pistol rounds dispatched what crewmen were in the immediate area, and Jin Akabane and his men began going to work setting plastic explosive on every key component they could find, communicating only with nods, hand signals and intuition. Ducking low and running from room to room, deck to deck, the Zeonic footsoldiers quickly made their way across the ship, and had set nearly all of their charges before the alarm was unfortunately sounded. Akabane and his men found themselves between the starboard side of the ship and the rear cargo decks as a trio of armed Marines rushed towards them, blazing away on their assault rifles. The Covert Operatives took cover, peaking up to unload suppressive fire with a mixture of close range weaponry. Their heavy weapons man was starting to set his machinegun up on its tripod when Akabane cut him off with a hand signal, pointing to the edge of the ship. The group nodded and one by one fell back into the ocean, the others providing cover fire as they went. Akabane was the last to go, ducking under tracer fire and taking out a Marine before he himself leapt into the waves. From the safety of the water the group set off the charges, causing a reasonable amount of damage to the EFF tanker. "Captain, we're getting the report. It's a Zeon attack, the tankers been hit." "What? Is it another Acquy attack?" Remirez asked, perplexed. His comm officer shook his head. "No sir, it appears to be infantry this time. They've been sighted moving towards the Janus. What should I tell captain Beis?" "Cocky bastards, heading for a second ship. Just inform Beis of the situation, she knows how to deal with this. Oh, and pull the patrols back, this might be a prelude to a larger assault." Remirez looked over at the now smoking tanker, wondering how infantry managed to slip aboard so easily. "Yes sir, right away sir." Responded the comm officer. Akabane and his men were still in the water when the heavy 20mm shells began cutting into them in great swathes, the Janus training its anti-aircraft guns towards the water in anticipation of the incoming Zeonic infantry. Each fired 75 rounds per second, one shell enough to tear a mans arm off at the shoulder or cause his head to explode from sheer ballistic force. Akabane and his men were cut down, not a single one of them even arriving at their second target.  Earth Federation Victory
• Jin Akabane: 6 CP gained, Killed in Action The Earth Federation's Orbital defense fleet had seen a quiet week for all those involved. Despite the chaos happening on the surface, little remained to spur the pilots' attention. "Alrighty then. That should be far enough away from the fleet." Ianto Kamina brought his GM Cannon to a stop, 90mm machinegun in hand. Yuka Kazami followed example, her GM Custom sporting a sword and shield much like a knight of old. "Alright. Remember the rules. Paintball ammunition and low-frequen-" Ianto began dictating the rules of the match when Yuka's suit began a direct charge. "Wait for the buzzer! Wait for the buzzer!" Ianto shouted, firing his machinegun, beam cannons, and s-mines in quick response to the sudden change. Yuka made no attempt to dodge the blasts. Bursts of paint splattered across her GM Custom's shield as her mobile suit's computer insisted the entire arm had been compromised. Her blood lust kindled due to boredom, Yuka completely ignored any semblance of simulated damage. The GM Custom closed the gap and lunged at the GM Cannon II with its beam saber. A quick whiff of ozone and overpriced light show later, The GM Custom stood behind the GM Cannon II, beam saber in one hand, opponent's severed head in the other. "It's a spar Yuka! A Spar! Turn off your saber!" Ianto shouted to no avail. Victory was no longer an option. Ianto knew, despite loosing his suit's primary weapon and cameras, he'd have to think of something to calm his opponent, and fast. "Here, Yuki yuki yuki. I've got a nice birthday cake for you." Ianto taunted as the GM Cannon II retreated at full speed. Yuka, still feeling the high of combat, took the bait. Beam Saber in both hands, her GM Custom dashed after its slower GM variant, ready for a quick killing blow. "And... here's mud in your eye!" Ianto chuckled at his own cleverness as he attacked. The GM Cannon II tossed all three of its grenades, each previously set to a paint-ball style armament. The grenades exploded point blank, covering the entire GM Custom in a film of dark blue paint. Inside the cockpit, Yuka continued to swing away at random. Fortunately for Ianto, the paint did its job. Now all Ianto had to do was keep moving clear of the path of his blindly failing opponent until the fleet came to retrieve them. "Now, has anyone seen my head?" Ianto Kamina Wins
• Ianto Kamina: 8 VP, Repairing 2 • Yuka Kazami: 4 VP, Repairing 1 Recent events had given the forgotten soldier hope. Though he had grown weary in his solitude; He never gave up the fight. Allen stared up at the night sky, images of his fallen friends dancing among the stars. A faint smile formed as he could see their faces as clear as day. Bryan looked as unamused as ever, staring down at him with his arms crossed. Allen let out a laugh; he always acted like such a hard ass. He could see Dirk, messy and cheerful as ever, his backwards ball cap stained with grease. Out of no where the unmistakable smile of Astrid flashed across the sky, as she came running up to the other two, shortly followed by Lyle. "It would seem that our fight is taking us back into space..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. To avenge the injustice brought against his friends and remove the Federation from his home, he knew what he had to do. It was time to maybe joing his former comrades, to see if Zeon was ready to acknowledge their efforts, and their loses. But most importantly, to help The Eclipse find peace. "It's almost time old man..." Allen stood up, patting the battle scarred armor of his Gouf Custom. His contact should be arriving with the HLV any moment. "This is Danger Mouse 1, our sensors are indicating we have an incoming aircraft leaving the planet's surface..." "Is it one of ours?" "Negative, unidentified signature, it looks to be an enemy HLV though..." "Roger that." The Flydart squad that had been loitering in orbit erupted to life as their thrusters illuminated the darkness. The Orbital Defense team darted off into the empty void of space before rolling back towards the planet in formation. Readings from the Flatmouse were constantly streamed to the Flydart squad as they spiraled towards the escaping transport. The lone Eclipse member sat in silence as the HLV ascended into orbit. He held a worn out photograph firmly as thoughts of regret and revenge continued to haunt his mind. Before he allowed himself to get lost in the memories, the screeching of the klaxons snapped him out of it, the atmosphere of the shuttle quickly going from peaceful to chaotic. Red lights flashed as warnings began flashing across the pilots' screens. Allen ran up to the cockpit to see what was going on. "Mr. Gentle, we've picked up signatures of enemy fighters..." The pilot barely got the words out as his voice trembled; they had not anticpated this. "This far up in the atmosphere?!" Allen stared in disbelief as their cameras zoomed in on the Flydart squad closing in on their position. The mercenary took off for the hangar that housed his Gouf Custom, he had to do something... "Come on old friend, we have some business to take care of." He jumped into the cockpit, and powered his suit up. As the lights began to illuminate the cockpit, and his systems came online, he was thrown against the controls. The entire ship shuddered under the impact of the first missile volley. Allen could feel the shuttle begin to lose velocity and he began to panic; it wasn't suppose to end like this. The desperate soldier stood his suit again, only to have it slammed against the hangar door as another impact began to tear away at the ship's armor. He was now bleeding from his forehead, and the temperature had begun to rise. He couldn't help but crack a slight smile in spite of his current situation; damn AC... A final volley from the incoming fighters tore apart the HLV, as it came to a halt. Time seemed to stand still as the ship and its debris seemed to float their, suspended in time. Everything slowed down for Allen as he slowly felt gravity begin to slip its fingers around him. He was now sweating profusely as the worn Gouf Custom began to glow orange, paint catching flame as he began to fall away from the stars. Thoughts of his friends flashed instantly through his mind as he saw the Flydarts on his screen. Allen grimaced as he fought with all his strength to right his Gatling gun and aim. In a last spiteful effort, he pulled down on the trigger, bullets exploding from the barrels in a frenzy. The almost futile effort was met with a single kill, the bullets barely reaching the fighter at the front of the formation, shooting straight through the cockpit. "Good shot bossman, you got 'em!" Astrid smiled reassuringly. Allen shook his head as he realized it was the end of the line. Gravity had fully engulfed the last of The Eclipse, his suit hurtling in a ball of fire back towards the Earth he wished to save. As he began to lose consciousness, and the world began to fade, he felt a comforting warmth. He felt the embrace of his friends as they seemed to gather round him in his final moment. "I told you we'd be back..." "That you did... heh." "Everything is going to be alright now, your fight is over." "But... But..." "Shhh... With a smile on his face, he took his last breath. The weary soldier could finally rest, he was going home. Federation Victory
• Allen Grace: 6 VP Gained, Killed in Action 
 Republic of Zeon Victory
• Jeremiah Black: 1 VP Gained, No Damage The sound of conversation and weapons being cleaned is sharply interrupted by the door opening. "Lieutenant Robinson? You've just been cut new orders from command." The commander of the squad of EFF Rangers stood up and took the papers. His soldiers watch him open the sealed envelope. The lieutenant didn't look up as he spoke," They had us come all the way down here for this?" "I didn't write them sir," said Sergeant Link Rocz with the straightest face he can muster. "Well, whowever this Colonel Hunt... Cunt? Whatever. Let the Colonel know that we'll deploy." A wooden fishing boat bobs on top of the waves. A man on the aft deck is pulling in a fishing net. As he whistles to himself, he gestures to inside the cabin. A moment later, six black figures threw equipment off the side and jumped in after them. Half a kilometer away, Rocz pulls down his targetting hud in the GP01's cockpit. Music blasts loudly in the confined space as he hums along. Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams Blinded by me, you can't see a thing Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream Master Master Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream Master Master He increases magnification until he can see the Rangers enter the water. Well, this should be easy. "Sir, target sighted. We have a positive sensor contact." "Very well," said Captain Melendez of the Albion," inform the mobile suit teams and the air support to move in as planned." The Earth Federal units that have been pursuing the stolen GP02 unit once again race to their target. This time Don Escargots are part of the formation. Captain Aleksander Dolvich looks up from at the sky as the GP00 Blossom took position on the shore. Next to him, a Powered GM lands. "To your positions!" orders Dolvich. Sergeant Rem Hace shugs off the feeling of impact as the Powered GM's suspension system sends the Federal mobile suit forward. "I'll get there when I get there," grumbles Hace. Back in the GP01, Rocz notice looked up at the low flying aircraft with a sense of alarm. The Rangers are still in the water, no doubt still attaching their explosive packs to the hull of the Pendragon- At that point, the depth charges began to fall. Aerial torpedoes left the Albion's launchers and then splash into the water a few seconds later. The excerise is systematic and thorough. A symphony of explosions and detonations turned the sea violent as shockwaves went in every direction. The fishing boat that was the staging point of the Rangers was set flying into the shorebank. The sound of the merciless attack reaches Rocz through the thick armor plating of the GP01. But it is the explosion of the large Mad Angler-class submarine that sent the Gundam spinning head over heels. A shadowy figure creeps closer to a patch of darkness in the deep waters off the Arabian peninsula. Trailing behind it smaller shadows towed by a string. Metal bulkhead doors open and the school of dark shapes went inside. An alarm screams and the sound of draining water deafens everyone. After a few minutes, a metal access door shrieks open. The sound of metal on metal is soon replaced by the found of boots snapping to attention. "Gruppenfurer Nimue! Welcome onboard the U-109!" saluted the junior officer. Marina Nimue took off her diving helmet. Behind her, Major Gene Krabbe descends from his Z'Gok "Crab" Custom. "Thank you," replied Nimue," now may I have a towel? It has been a long swim." Federal Victory
• Gene Krabbe: 1 VP gained, No Damage • Link Rocz: 1 VP gained, No Damage • Rem Hace: 1 VP gained, No Damage • Aleksander Dolvich: 1 VP gained, No Damage It was a sunny, yet cloudy day in the Congo region of Africa. There was a break in the clouds as the sun shined down onto a Guntank 2, piloted by the Earth Federation Ground Forces Sergeant Scarth Maheart. The cockpit opens and Scarth takes a deep breath of the fresh morning air before it gets soured by the smell of battle. For this tanker will be trying to enter Zeon territory, Equatorial Africa to be exact. Scarth Maheart closes his eyes for a second to remember the smell of the air around the Congo before heading out into a possible battle. The sergeant opens back up his eyes and sits back down in his chair, closes the cockpit, and starts up his guntanks systems. He runs through his pre-tank checklist, making sure everything is in working order. "180mm Howitzers... check. StS Rocket Launcher... check. 4-barrel 80mm Machinecannon... check. Grenade Launchers... check. 20mm Machinegun... check." Scarth finished his check list and was ready to roll out. His mission for today was to break into zeon territory, hopefully without having to fight Zeon patrol’s. He griped the controls and the guntank started to move towards its objective, Equatorial Africa. The Zeon remnant forces, Delaz Fleet Earth bases forces, in Equatorial Africa were preparing to go out on patrol for the day. The patrol in question had planned out their route, patrol across the border of Equatorial Africa and Congo then around the rest of their region before returning back to base. The patrol was primarily made up of Zakus and a lone DOM Tropen. Being the fastest of the patrol, the DOM Tropen had the most experienced pilot that they can afford to do without for a while. The Zakus headed out first, followed by the DOM Tropen. As the DOM Tropen exited the hanger bay, it gave the order to begin the patrol route that was previously set in motion before they launched. The Zakus took the lead as the DOM Tropen was cruising along behind the Zaku pack. The pilots focus was divided by his radar and the comm channel from his base. As the group reached the border they cruised at a low speed, making sure that they cover every square inch of the regions borders. Just as they are about half-way through their border side the DOM tropen picks up a message... a lone EFGF unit was sighted trying to enter their territory. The DOM Tropen pilots made the order to intercept. Sergeant Maheart was trucking away as he approached the border of Congo and Equatorial Africa. He made one last check of his systems before heading into the Zeon occupied region. As he entered the region he notices the Zeon patrol. At first he thought it was just Zakus but seeing as it was just himself behind enemy lines he turned around as quickly as possible and tried to exact a tactical retreat. "well shit." Scarth exclaimed in his cockpit as he was retreating. The Zeon patrol caught sight of the retreating guntank 2 and began firing on it. The Dom Tropen unit blasted ahead of the Zaku pack and was catching up with the Guntank 2. Scarth looked back at his radar and noticed that one of the units broke off from the pack and was beginning to chase after him. Scarth was rocking back and fourth as he can fell the impacts of the guns being fired upon him. He turned his top half around and began firing back with his Howitzers. The DOM Tropen was using its superior maneuverability to dodge the rounds being shelled at it and continued firing at the Guntank 2, all the while getting closer and closer. Scarth noticing that his Howitzers were having no effect, he went with the grenade launchers hoping to either score a hit or to blow enough dust in the face of the Dom tropen so that he can escape. The grenades ended up hitting the ground but the dust did not phase the DOM Tropen's pilot as he continued to chase after the guntank 2 scoring hits on it. Scarth was getting frustrated that his efforts were not working against the Zeon pilot. With all the rattling going on in his cockpit he banged his head a few times as his head was bleeding from numerous spots. He wiped the blood off his face and retaliated back with his Guntank 2's 80mm machinecannon and 20mm machine gun. The DOM tropen pilot was getting a hail of seemingly unending bullets from the dust cloud. The pilot was frustrated and began pushing his DOM Tropen harder to catch with with the Feddie. Scarth then noticing that the DOM Tropen was still chasing after him decided to keep up the bullet barrage by including his 180mm Howitzers into the mix. The DOM tropen was avoiding shots from the remaining guns from the Guntank. The pilot knew that they were almost about to crossover into the Congo when we decided to fire the rest of his guns too. Just then Scarth landed a few lucky shots on the DOM tropen, which forced it to stop its pursuit. Scarth had just entered the Congo. A battered and brused Scarth Maheart sighed in relief when the Zeon patrol was forced to pull back.  Zeon Remnant Forces Victory
• Scarth "(>o.o)>" Maheart: 2VP Gained, Repairing 5, Injured 3 |