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It feels great to be outside again. Major Gene Krabbe stood on the bow of the Pendragon, drink in hand. There are no EFF assets around so the crew of the Mad Angler-class submarine are doing what damage control that they can do. In the meanwhile, people like Krabbe can enjoy the fresh sea air before they become a sunken metal tube once more. As Krabbe downs the last of his beer, an excited crew member merges from the open hatch. "Everyone get below!" shouted the sailor," the captain's ordered an emergency dive, move it, move it!" An earthquake of boots shook the submarine's hull as the slooshing seawater rose. Krabbe throws the empty beer can overboard before sliding down the access ladder. "What's going on?" asked the Major. "The Prober craft saw an aircraft do a rapid descent off the portside. The captain thinks it's a search unit from the EFGF." Krabbe looked upward as if he can see the enemy craft through the hullplates. What timing. "Whoa Jimmy, do you see that?" "Yeah, it's called water Dave." "No, I'm talking about a mile off the right wing." "Nothing but sea foam the size of-" "The size of a crash-diving submarine?" "Oh crap, wake up Leonard. Tell him to get on the long range radio, STAT." "Are we going to-?" "Do what? Attack? What are we going to attack a submarine with?"  Federal Victory
• Gene Krabbe: 1 VP gained, No Damage "Are you sure about this?" Tony Knight radioed to his opponent for the spar, Veronica Wu. Nothing but garbled noises and the faint sounds of static answered his query. "Damn interference. Too much fleet traffic these days." Tony punched the dash of his cockpit. "It's just, the last spar they scheduled..." Tony sighed, recalling his defeat to a former Zeon-turned-mercenary a few days prior. Opposite of Tony' red Gelgoog Commander, a lone Zaku II F2 stood, fondling an outdated Heat Hawk with both hands. Despite numerous warnings and formally filed protests from the Athena Might's crew, Veronica insisted on risking harm to government property for a friendly spar. "Ready to go?" Tony's voice came over the stoic woman's comm. Veronica simply nodded her approval. Tony shot first, a volley of twin machinecannon fire punctured the right shoulder shield of Veronica's Zaku. Still, she made no attempt to close the gap or switch to a long-range weapon. Tony had heard stories of Veronica's prowess on the battlefield, not having the fortune of serving with her during his time on Zeon during the war, he stationed on the ground and she in space. He shrugged the thought off, assuming it to be new unit jitters or just rust from years of inactivity. Another volley of machinecannon fire saw the end of the Zaku's shield, severed just below the shoulder, and the end of Tony's clip. Veronica's Zaku kept its distance. Tony's eyebrows expressed his confusion. The Gelgoog Commander reached back to draw its MMP-80 Grenade Launcher to force the unit to move. Tony got his wish, but sooner than expected, the Zaku engaged the moment the Gelgoog's arms were out of position. "Shit." Tony yelled, cursing his own clumsiness as he fumbled for the weapon to repel his opponent. Half the distance closed, Tony finally fired a grenade, only to see it batted back by the Zaku's heat hawk like a baseball. Amazed that a fired grenade could be deflected in such a fashion, Tony barely raised the Gelgoog's shield before the grenade detonated, only to feel the jolt of the Zaku's heat hawk embedding itself into his Gelgoog's waist. Veronica allowed her self a victorious smirk before removing her heat hawk. The Zaku tugged, but nothing moved. The Zaku tugged again. Still nothing. Veronica looked in amazement as she saw her heat hawk's cord somehow severed by the Gelgoog's shield. Without the heat, the Gelgoog's melted armor fused around the heat hawk, giving the unit an ironic 'handle' at the center of its waist, which Veronica's Zaku held firmly. Tony took advantage of the odd turn of events. With both hands, his Gelgoog proceeded to bash the face of the Zaku with its shield, as Veronica tried again and again to free her heat-less hawk from the Gelgoog's waist. Tony pursued his advantage, firing his S-mines and Vulcans to create some minor cosmetic damage as well. Tony knew the minute Veronica released her grip or pried her hawk free, she'd discover the Gelgoog was now crippled from the waist down and fairly immobile. Luckily for Tony, Veronica refused to abandon her blade so easily. Unluckily for Tony, he soon learned why the Zaku had a series of spikes on its other shoulder. Between thrusts with the Gelgoog's shield, Veronica wedged her Zaku directly into the mobile suit's chest, narrowly missing a fatal shot on Tony himself. Her left hand still gripping the heat hawk's handle, Veronica drew the Zaku's sturm faust with her right hand. "Stop stop stop! Alright. You win!" Tony conceded. "Crazy woman. No wonder why she rose so high in the ranks." Tony mumbled to himself, still in shock his opponent would risk killing both him and herself, rather than risk defeat in a friendly, meaningless spar of all things. Veronica's Zaku finally released her heat hawk and holstered her sturm faust. Despite her silence, the frustration on her face at almost loosing to a pilot she deemed so far beneath her level was clearly visible, even to Tony. "Don't fret about it so much. New suit jitters is all. I'm sure you'll thrash my mobile suit next time." Tony swallowed his pride with each word. The things he did to 'respect' the chain of command. "..." Veronica remained silent, but turned away from the camera. Tony wasn't sure if it was disgust or embarrassment, but it forced a chuckle out of him. "You know, you remind me of an old from of mine, Gilgamesh. He didn't talk much either, you see, and..." Tony began to relate tales of his past companions during the war as the two damaged suits limped their way back to Veronica's ship.  ZEON REPUBLIC VICTORY
• Tony Knight: 3VP Gained, Repairing 2 • Veronica Wu: 2VP Gained, No Damage |