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It is a bright new day in the skies over this part of Australia. Well, clear as it can be at this point. Below the contrails of the Gale Fleet is a thick fog suffocating the Australian coastline. As the Pegasus-class mobile carrier Albion dashes across the sky, she is followed by the two Medea Revised aircraft that makes up the fleet. Both the Yellow Brick and the Emerald City are flanked by three Depp Rog bombers leading a Dish recon plane. In their hull are a collection of mobile suits and one Type 74 vehicle. But the more important cargo is onboard the Albion Captain Melendez frowned as he held onto the armrests of his command chair as the Albion shook. In order to make this maneuver possible, the Gale Fleet needed to fly at maximum speed. The strain is clear on the ship and Melendez does not envy the crews of the Medeas behind him. "How far are we from the last sensor contact?" asked Melendez. "One minute mark- now, sir!" "Slow to combat 2 speed," ordered Melendez," prepare to drop Alpha team! Have Delta group follow their drop in! Tell Beta and Gamma group to stay VIGILANT and ready!" A fleeting shadow took great interest in the EFF formation. Silent and unnoticed, it moved expertly through the fog like the ghost it is. "This is Kratos, that Fed fleet is close. It's that legged ship Commander Gato saw at the base." "In the name of Zeon, they will meet their end here," promised the Dom Tropen while shouldering the Giant Bazooka. Over to the side, Gene Krabbe's Z'Gok stood crouched behind cover. Both the Katarl and the Dom Tropen looked at the aquatic mobile suit. "You're not going to kill any Feds down there, boy" replied Bishop Kratos as his stealth mobile suit Katarl lifts a panzerfaust. "I'm not a child-" Krabbe began. "Then let the better Zeon soldier win." Heavy metal feet weighing several tons crash into the Australian soil. The Powered GM cradles its beam rifle as a Type 74 drove past him to setup on high ground. Around him, a pair of GM IIs and a pair of GM Cannon IIs fanned out. "This is Hace, we've landed. No immediate contact," reported Rem Hace. "Acknowledged, Sergeant Hace, continue your patrol." "I don't need you to tell me that you-," Hace began to mumble when something sails past his Powered GM's head and explodes in a magnificent boom. "Contact! Contact!" shouts Rem as his GM Cannon IIs shoot suppressing fire in the direction that the panzerfaust came from. A flare rockets into the sky to further cement Rem's point. But the fog that was briefly separated by the explosion already drifted back in. The beam shots from Alpha team just faded in the distance. Both Link Rocz and Aleksander Dolvich saw the flashes of beam fire as they too, touched ground. The Guntank II's threads dug into the dirt as the artillery unit moves into position. Link's newly assigned GP01 stumbles a bit in the odd terrain. "What would I give for my music player right about now..." grumbled Rocz as he wrestles the controls. "Easy there trooper," advised Aleksander Dolvich as his GP00 scans for signs of the Zeon units. Finding nothing, he looked at the Guntank II. "You got anything?" "Nothing but this damn fog, sir. I-" Movement. The GP00 was already firing at it even before the warhead struck the ground in front of the Guntank. The artillery unit's crew immediate went into reverse as both Rocz and Dolvich try to nail their assailant. But their attacker is faster than possible. Dolvich's war memories came back to him. "Doms!" A small distance away, Belanie Reece's GP03 and two GM IIs are rushing towards the firefights. The Colonel could see both Alpha and Gamma groups are engaged. If her experience serves her correctly, she and her GM IIs would form the last corner of a triangle that will trap the stolen GP02. She can only hope they will succeed. A nuclear weapon in the hands of angry Zeon patriots is not- Twin blasts of MPC fire at mobile suit knee-height shredded her thoughts in the same way they amputated the legs of one of her GM IIs. Both Belanie and the other GM II leap away evasively only to see a hunched over shadow land ontop of the downed GM II. With a glint of metal that defied the Australian fog, a metal claw sunk deep into the GM II's chest. Before Belanie's mind can register 'Z'Gok', the GM II exploded. When it cleared, the Zeon aquatic MS is gone. Above them, Captain Melendez grips the edge of his armrest. "This is not enough VIGILANCE! What is Gamma group doing?" "Captain, the Depp Rog commander says that he cannot start his bombing run without hitting friendly units." Melendez looked straight ahead through the forward windows. "I want all surviellance crews to be VIGILANT at their stations! Once a target presents itself, we will strike!" The whine of engines began to rise in tempo. As the crew of the Komusai prepare for takeoff, Anavel Gato watches the distant battle on his monitors. "Their net is closing," he remarks. "Not to worry sir," reassures the Komusai commander," the boys from Nimue Fleet are nothing to laugh at. They're get out of whatever trap the Feds have for them. Standby for launch." Empty shotgun shells land with a heavy thud as the Katarl pump round after round into the mist. For a crowd of GMs, admits Kratos, they aren't exactly lining up to be slaughter like he is used to. Suddenly a GM II stumbles past him, beam saber in hand as it swings widly in the fog. Oh. Never mind then. The GM II pilot actually felt the barrel of the Katarl's shotgun tap the base of the GM II's neck right before the blast severs the head. As the crippled GM II wobbles, Kratos shoves a grenade into the cavity where the neck joint was. Rem Hace grimaced as the light from the exploding GM II blinds him. The Powered GM aims the beam rifle in the direction of the blast, only to see emptiness once more. It is infuriating to him. A fight is a good fight only if YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO SOME FIGHTING. To the brawler, shooting at ghosts is far from satisfying. Then he saw something that made him stop. Captain Melendez stood up in his chair to get a better look. "Sir! Heat source contact off the port side!" "Identify!" snaps the Albion captain. "Reading a Komusai Capsule!" It didn't take a genius to know what is going on. "All units, FIRE EVERYTHING!" ordered Melendez. In a moment that spans minutes, ordinance in the form of missiles and beam fire streak around the rising Komusai. Until a glancing hit knocked the craft off course, causing the Dremen Capsule to disintegrate in middle of its launch. The Depp Roggs of the Gale Fleet rush in to circle the falling debris. There, they spotted two shapes larger than the rest falling back into the fog. The GP02 landed with an earthquake-like impact. Anavel Gato clenches his teeth, annoyed with being so close to escaping yet back on Earth once again. A mono-eye slides in next to him. "Commander, we must move to the second extraction point," urges William Haulk. His Dom Funf did not suffer at all from the landing thanks to it's hoverjets. Gato did not say a thing. The GP02 guns its engines and leaped forward. This however, did not go unnoticed. Rem Hace saw the flare of engines and immediately deduced who they belong to. As the Powered GM gave chase, bombs began to fall from the sky. The Depp Rogs are pretty sure their target landed in the area and are beginning indiscriminate bombing to try and stop the stolen Gundam. Likewise, the Guntank II started lobbing shells in hopes for a lucky hit. "Sergeant Hace!" crackles Rem's radio," This is Colonel Reece. Backoff before you get hit by our heavy weapons!" "Are you kidding?!" retorts Rem, "Are you dense? They stole a Gundam right from under our noses! I can't let them get away with-" The ground was yanked from under the Powered GM's feet as the Katarl uses the stick end of a Sturm Faust to trip him. Kratos watch the Power GM slide forward a hundred meters before coming to a stop. To the SS pilot's amusement, the Powered GM got right back up and took a swing at him with a beam saber. The swing fell short which led to Gene Krabbe appearing right beside Rem Hace. The Z'Gok grabs the oustretched arm and snaps it off the Powered GM. Hace's mobile suit crashes into the ground once more. But before the two Zeon pilots could finish off the arrogant brawler, an artillery round lands close to them. As more munitions explode in their proximity, they are forced to withdraw so they can catch up with the GP02. Shortly afterwards, Colonel Reece and her remaining GM II caught up with the crippled Powered GM. It is now quiet again on the Australian Coast. The sound of water lapping the metal hull is soothing. As the Pendragon submerges beneath the waves, Gato enters the command deck. He is followed by William Haulk, Gene Krabbe, and Bishop Kratos. The Ghost of Solomon noticed the others snapping to attention and he followed suit. At first he thought they were saluting the portrait of Ghiren Zabi. Only when Marina Nimue turned around did Gato notice that the short woman is the commander of the fleet. "Welcome aboard, Commander Gato. I congratulate you on your success so far. Sieg Zeon." Gato resists raising an eyebrow. He only replies, "Sieg Zeon."  Zeon Victory
• William Haulk: 7VP gained, Repairing 1 • Gene Krabbe: 6VP gained, Repairing 1 • Bishop Kratos: 7VP gained, Repairing 1 • Link Rocz: 6VP gained, Repairing 2 • Rem Hace: 5VP gained, Repairing 3 • Aleksander Dolvich: 5VP gained, Repairing 1 • Belanie Reece: 5VP gained, Repairing 2 It was a short trip from Side 4 to the moon, only a few hours really. You could spend it sleeping, reading, playing ball. You could even surf the internet during it, now that the war was over and minovsky interference in random areas of space was unlikely. All of these things could be done from the safety and sanctuary of a mobile suit cockpit. But what you could not do is avoid Lunarian fees at the Von Braun spaceport. Oh, how there were fees. You were charged for docking. You were charged for entering. You were charged for leaving. You were charged for having your cargo inspected, whether or not you had any cargo. This time, Tony Hazasay was being charged for not arriving on scheudle. In fact, he was early. Too early, early enough that he had to be transferred to a different docking port, as there was no room in his scheduled berth when he arrived. Loitering would be seen as an act of military presence over the Union city, and the Lunarians couldn't have that, but they would be happy to move him to a new docking port, for a hefty transfer fee. Hazasay grumbled as he signed the paperwork. He was a simple man, and he did not fight a war and come out of a 3 year coma to do such absurd things. He wondered how these people could possibly live this way. Perhaps really living cost too much here.  Lunar Union Victory
• Tony Hazasay: 1 VP gained, No Damage. Allowed to Enter Von Braun for a 25SP fine |