Heaven's Thunder and Scarth Maheart assault Union Mining Operation Alpha (7/6)

"Approaching the target," the Dopp leader reported. "We're within visual range."

With Western Canada now under Japanese control, Himuro Hatsuharu decided it was time to wipe out a major source of American influence in the region, a mine that had serviced the needs of JOSH-A. His ship, the Heaven's Thunder, had radioed for assistance in attacking the base and had received it in the form of a mobile suit pilot, Scarth Maheart, and a special squadron of Dopp fighters. The aerial units, led by Scarth's Zaku I on a Dodai, cruised past the tank-like ship in their approach. Their speed would be key to the attack, hitting the mine's detection units before they could get a fix on the battleship.

"Enemy Dish ahead," the Dopp leader reported. "We're going to...hey! Stay in formation!"

"For the Empire!" Scarth howled, pushing the Dodai's thrusters as hard as they could go.

The American piloted watched the incoming Zaku with horror. He quickly switched on his radio and began transmitting a warning, but the old suit's shoulder slammed in the round fighter, crumpling it like a paper plate. The Dopps continued on their way, hoping the insane pilot hadn't given their plan away. In the distance, the half-spoken warning had reached waiting ears, though the choppy transmission only warranted sending out the other Dish with an escort of Don Escargot gunships to investigate.

"Captain, we may be compromised," the Heaven's Thunder's communications officer reported. "Shall I signal the order to retreat?"

"Negative," Himuro ordered. "Prepare to fire once the fighters report success."

In the distance, the five American craft approached the spot their comrade disappeared cautiously. There was undoubtedly Japanese activity in the area, but it would leave the mine defenseless to rally every defender for a couple of Dopps. When they saw the Zaku I barreling towards them, leaping from its Dodai to tackle the Dish and one of the Don Escargots, the rest of the planes wheeled about as hard as they could, turning back towards the base while fending off attacks from the Dopps.

"Shit! The Japs are here?" one of the base's Flag pilots exclaimed as the squadron launched.

"Relevant transmissions only!" the squad leader barked. "All units deploy in fighter mode; they only have one mobile suit!"

The base came alive as soldiers scrambled to repel a large invasion. The radar tower immediately began scanning at full power, picking up the approach of the incoming Dopps. Anti-air cannons began to open fire, testing the range of the Dopp formation. Two of the fighters fell before the rest split up, preparing to meet the Flag group from all sides. Meanwhile, the Zaku I was remounting its Dodai.

"Shouldn't we stick to the captain's plan?" Scarth's squadmate asked.

"Real warriors fight with heart!" Scarth shouted, drawing his machinegun.

The Flags watched the incoming Zaku with curious hesitation. The pilot had demonstrated quite a bit of ferocity thus far and few were eager to engage it in close combat. When Scarth began hammering one of their number with his gun, severely damaging a Flag, they began closing in, firing their linear guns wildly. Unfortunately, focusing their attention on the lone Zaku allowed the Dopps to close in and swarm the Flags, scoring critical hits while the mobile suit pilots were off-guard. One Flag fell to concentrated missile attacks before the rest were aware of the attack.

While the Flags dueled with the Dopps, the rest of the Don Escargot gunships began to deploy. A battleship had been detected in the distance, though it hadn't fired yet, much to the confusion and relief of the mine's commanders. As the first gunships took off, they noticed with horror that a group of Dopps had bypassed the aerial battle and had gone right for the base. None of the nine planes had fired a shot yet, but the anti-air guns were turning to shoot them down. The Japanese pilots were eager to do the job for the American gunners however, throwing themselves at gun turrets with wild abandon. As the anti-air guns opened fire, the Dopps threw themselves and their explosive payloads to the ground. Several of them were shot down before hitting their targets, though a pair of cannons were blown apart along with the crucial radar system.

"A pilot reported he was about to hit the radar station, sir," the Heaven's Thunder's communications officer reported.

"Begin the bombardment!" Himuro ordered.

The cannons thundered as the Heaven's Thunder entered the battle. Himuro's old friend Kunisada watched the attack from the cockpit of his Zaku. For a moment, he forgot he was supposed to be firing his suit's Magella Cannon as well, as if the ship were truly living up to its name. He joined in for the second barrage, though he felt as if his tiny gun was adding a party popper to a full fireworks display. The shock of the suicide Dopp attack had just worn off at the mine when the first of the battleship's shots hit, tearing about more of the base's guns.

"Send word to the bomber squadron!" the commander reported. "Find that battleship and take it out!"

The Don Escargots had skirted the Flag/Dopp engagement, picking at the Japanese fighters with their machineguns when the opportunity arose, but they quickly fanned away from the engagement to carry out their orders. The oddly-shaped craft quickly spread out, heading in the direction of the radar tower's one contact before it had been destroyed. The Dopp squadron leader noted the departure of the bombers, but he was too tied up engaging the Flags to do anything about them.

"Heaven's Thunder, this is Ibis 1," the Dopp leader reported. "You've got bombers en route, but we're too tied down to stop them."

"Thank you, Ibis 1," Himuro answered. "Your sacrifice will be remembered!"

The Dopp pilot simply nodded and fired the last of his missiles at a Union Flag. The mobile suit's arm became a blur as its Defense Rod began to spin, blocking the missiles. There wasn't much his squad could do; between the Flags engaging them directly, the Don Escargots provided covering fire, and that useless Scarth Maheart, he was down to four planes. He caught a glimpse of the Dodai in full retreat, probably chasing after the Don Escargots with a heat hawk. His fighter suddenly jerked violently, the result of a direct hit from a linear gun. Ibis 1 smiled lightly, aiming for the mobile suit that did him in before howling a final battle cry.

"We've lost the signal of the last fighter," the ship's sensor officer warned. "And we've got bombers incoming, just as he said. Maheart's right behind them."

"Turn us about then," Himuro said, trying not to panic. "Get a machinegun ready for the Zaku as well."

The great ship began its slow turn, swiveling its guns to the rear to defend against the bomber attack. The American pilots saw the ship turning to leave and began acquiring their targeting locks when they were attacked from behind. The formation quickly broke up, making way for Scarth Maheart to charge through. Though his Zaku was missing an arm and most of its armor, it held itself proudly as a warrior even as the Dodai below it leaked fuel. The bomber's hastily flew about in Scarth's wake, managing enough of a formation to get off a missile attack. The scattered shots slammed into the battleship's deck, sending the Zaku standing there onto its back, but little actual harm was done. Now out of fuel, the Dodai landed on the tattered deck and the two Zakus stood shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to concentrate their machineguns on any target foolish enough to approach again. Flak bursts exploded in the air though, chasing off the bombers. The battleship chugged away at full speed at the same time, ending the battle.

Outcome: American Union wins
Himuro Hatsuharu: (6+1) Xp, Repairing 1
Scarth Maheart: (10+1) Xp, Repairing 4
Union Mining Operation Alpha: Loses Radar Tower, Radio Tower, 10 x Gun Emplacement, 2 x L2 Union Flag, 2 x L4 Dish, 2 x L3 Don Escargot