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"Mistress!" a burly man wearing a sleeveless Zeon uniform called over his shoulder, one massive hand holding a headset to his ears. "We have reports of two Federal ships! One carrier and one hovercraft type. They've launched fighters... our scouts report at least 20 of the new kind from each, plus some older ones." Sitting on a couch covered in various animal skins, Cima Garahau snarled her displeasure. The Zeon fortification of Archangelisk was located in one of the more hospitable corners of the European sub-continent, operating as a refueling station for the larger number of Jukon submarines that operated around the Federal strongpoint of Belfast. "How many mobile suits?" the bitter female commander asked, flexing a riding crop between her two hands. The larger man paused and looked at a sheet of paper he had been writing information on, nodding and mumbling as he tallied. "None with the carrier, ten or so with the hovercraft." the man replied after a few moments. Cima did not stop scowling, there had been reports of massive Federal movements toward Europe. Was this the big Federal push? "Ready our defenses, get the U-101 ready to evacuate core personnel though. The Gogg and Z'Gok will guard it." High above Archangelisk, a Luggun and it's three Dopp escorts moved through the heavy cloud cover that seemed typical even on the best of days in this area. The pilot yawned just as the craft broke through the cloud cover, and was presented with the sight of four Medea transports, escorted by sixteen Tin Cods. All four craft were shot down before a message could be sent to Archangelisk Base. From the Halcyon, 1st Lieutenant Daren Sanders watched as the final bombs fell on the defenses of Archangelisk Base. The few Dopps that launched from the base were simply overwhelmed by the massive air force presented by the attacking forces. Anti-aircraft fire had been stiff at first, but as more of the emplacements were destroyed by the sheer number of high explosives being dropped on the base, losses had been relatively few and mostly due to mobile suits. Now, it was time for the ground forces to begin their assault. "This is Sanders. Begin ground assault." he spoke, launching a flare at the same time to signal the remaining fighter-bombers to break off their assault. With him were an array of Federal mobile suits in addition to his own team, Elizabeth Daniels in a GM Ground and Susan Magnus in a Gundam Ground. Crouched next to the Big Tray was Ion Bossa-Nova's GM Sniper, it's Long Range Beam Rifle aimed at the Zeon base. Her two teammates in GM and GM Desert stood nearby, having been picked to remain on rearguard duty. Cameron Sune in his GM Cannon stood near Daren's GM Command, his new squad member Aaron Juliano moving ahead of his commander in his Gundam Ground Type. The final two Gundams of the ground force were piloted by Hector Lagrama and his teammate, Raja Levi. What the ground force lacked in numbers it made up for in raw strength. The Halcyon's big guns boomed overhead as it began it's own bombardment of the base, targetting any buildings that remained standing. The three Guntanks lined up nearby added their own fire in. Not to be outdone, Ion swept the powerful beam across the base, leaving everything it touched in flames behind. As the ground forces neared the Zeon base, the remaining mobile suits in the drop forces neared their drop point, the lagging Alab II breaking from the formation as he moved toward the fleeing Samson. In the lead Medea, Maurice Jackson gripped the controls of his GM Sniper Custom as he counted down toward the drop. He'd arranged the operation so he would be the first to hit the ground, despite this being the closest he had been to flying in entirely too long. Behind him, the two GM Cold Climate Types of his team, piloted by Kenji Watanabe and Terry Newcastle prepared for their own drops. In the other three Medeas, Harold Bernette, Tobias Kendrick Obrian, and Vina Sealander all prepared as well. The red light on all of their viewscreens flashed green, and the mobile suits entered freefall. Crouching behind cover, Cima Garahau gauged the distance to the incoming Federal attackers and prepared to give the signal for the mobile suit forces to pop out from hiding and attack. The base was a loss, but that didn't mean the Feddies should get off without paying for it in blood. Glancing back toward the half collapsed hangar that hid the massive Xamel artillery mobile suit, Garahau fired a red flare into the air, signalling the attack. Three Zaku Js, one already damaged by the bombing, as well as two Zaku Cannons openned fire, forcing the advancing Federal force to slow take cover. The two Doms skated ahead of the Zeon forces, moving to flank. Cima grinned, until a beam shot from above hit one of the Doms in the torso, knocking the suit off it's feet before it exploded into an orange fireball. A GM with a beam rifle landed off to her forces left side, more mobile suits landing behind it. She spat a curse and wheeled her mobile suit to fire at the incoming force. "Hot damn.. he hit it!" Tobias exclaimed after Jackson's beam shot destroyed one of the advancing Doms. Blasting toward a Zaku Cannon, he riddled the stationary artillery suit with 100mm rounds, Cayden finishing the suit off with a round from his 305mm bazooka as he followed his friend and teammate. Vina Sealander, piloting a Guncannon Mass Production model, pinned a Zaku II J as her fellow pilots advanced. While the former desk jockey had been nervous going into her first combat sortie, she had allowed the constant training and simulator runs guide her actions. Nearby, Harold Bernette and his GM forces assisted in the bombardment and remained to provide support should one of the faster mobile suits try to attack the test pilot. Daren Sanders and Hector Lagrama found themselves working together against the remaining Dom, the faster mobile suit unable to advance against the Big Tray due to the pairs interference. Using his suits nimbleness, Daren continue to interfere with it's attempts to go around while Hector's beam rifle kept the mobile suit from advancing recklessly. The frustrated pilot prepared for another attack when a high velocity round slammed into his mobile suit's shoulder, knocking the Dom off balance long enough for Hector to send a single beam shot through the cockpit. Glancing over his shoulder, Hector spotted Cameron Sune and nodded in thanks. From her position, Ion followed the movements of the Xamel. The massive suit had already fired two shots, one impacting well behind the Halcyon, the other landing closer to her side of the ship than she would have liked. "Come on.. just give me one openning.." Ion mumbled to herself as her finger took up the slack on the firing trigger. The Zeon artillery suit swung behind a burning building, and didn't appear again as the female sniper followed. Realising the Zeon pilot was targetting the she and by proximity, her, Ion centered her sights on the middle of the inferno and fired. The pink beam swept the flames aside, and for a brief second Ion could see the giant hovering suit. Then the inferno was blown away by the violent explosion of the Xamel. Not far from the base, the Samson truck with it's six Magella escorts moved steadily away from the burning base. Above, the remaining two Gunship Helis provided meager cover from the air, the lack of any sizeable Federal air forces in the area helping. Above, the Alab II began what would be it's final descent. WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DIE YOU BASTARD!! Inside the cockpit of the Blue Destiny, Allen Gentle held onto the controls, his face hidden behind the custom helmet designed to work wit the EXAM system. It didn't matter how much the machine hated him, he was going to prove his worth to the only person that it mattered to. He'd kill more Zeon with this machine than any other pilot, and then he'd have his acceptance. The Medea lurched and then began to fall faster, the two Gunship Helis firing at the craft even as the pilots bailed out. The yellow craft, trailing black smoke, soared overhead of the fleeing Zeon forces and crashed in flames ahead of them. A black silhouette rose from the smoke, flames, and wreckage. It's red eyes flashed, and then hell came for the Gabriel and it's escorts. "Launch now!" Cima Garahau ordered as she entered the command room of the U-101. Having retreated and stowed her Zaku I S aboard the submarine, The Gogg and Z'Gok were already in the water as the submarine left it's dock. The two mobile suits moved foward to provide cover for the ships escape. Two groups of six Don Escargots patrolled the waters, as well as Jay Shark in his Jet Core Booster. Having been involved in the early bombing and strafing of Archangelisk, he had grow slightly restless with nothing left to do but assist in anti-submarine operations. "We got contacts! Two mobile suits!" the sonarman of the Hillock-class Waves of Jade reported, reading off bearings. One group of Don Escargots broke off and moved closer to the Himalaya Asuka, the others continuing foward. A silhouette in the water ahead caught Jay's attention, the fighter-bomber pilot jerking the stick of back and moving away from mega-particle streams that burst from the water. Two of the Don Escargots weren't quite as quick and splashed into the cold ocean water soon after. Gritting his teeth, the piloted put his craft into a short climb before turning back toward the water and moving in a diagonal to the mobile suits motion. The Gogg that had fired continued toward the cruiser, moving in for a killing shot. Dropping low near the water, Jay dropped two of his three ASW torpedoes, the weapons splashing into the water and moving toward the Gogg. The pilot turned his mobile suit in time to fire a burst of mega particle fire at the first torpedo, destroying it. The second continued on, impacting on the marine suit, destroying it. The Z'Gok, having provided cover for the fleeing Jukon as long as possible, dove beneath the surface and fled after. Archangelisk Base had been levelled by the Federal assault, Cima had only escaped with two mobile suits aboard the U-101. The forces of the AFEF had struck the first blow of Operation Odessa. Daren Sanders: 7 VP gained, 2 days damage Maurice Jackson: 7 VP gained, 1 days damage Hector Lagrama: 7 VP gained, 2 days damage Ion Bossa-Nova: 7 VP gained, no damage Cameron Sune: 7 VP gained, 1 days damage Jay Shark: 8 VP gained, 2 days damage Vina Sealander: 8 VP gained, 1 days damage Harold Bernette: 8 VP gained, 2 days damage Allen Gentle: 8 VP gained, 3 days damage Tobias Kendrick Obrien: 7 VP gained, 2 days damage "Where is Myer... God dammit where the hell is Myer." Laurent hissed. This was the second time in recent memory that Steve Myer, and his Gaw, had simply not shown up for an engagement. The three Jukons of the 237th floated easily outside of range of Torringtons aircraft, trying to call in what little air support Hughendon might have been able to bring. "I will have some higher ups see what can be done..." Weiss said, shaking his head slowly. It was embarrassing for a member of the Schutzstaffel to be so unreliable. "Can we call the mobile suits back now?" Auclair asked, looking at his crew. They were already on full combat alert. "No sir, the order to move has already been given." Came the response. "Very well. Prepare to fire our missiles and a retreat flare at the same time. We'll use the Jukons to cover our MS force. Lets get to work people." Laurent ordered, trying to liven up the mood a little. When the attack first started, the Zeon forces were doing very well. A Dish patrol had mobilized the defences, and more than a dozen aircraft were in the air by the time the motley crew that was Auclair's land forces had gotten into weapons range. However, the Zeon pilots, veterans from Europe, North Africa, and several of them having seen action with White Base in North America, proved to be a little more than the ass end of the Federation could bear. Eugene stood back with his wingman in the Zaku Cannon, the two of them training their 120mms on fighter after fighter, downing half a dozen Tin Cods between them very quickly. "We need to push in deep before their air support overwhelmes us." Eugene yelled over the particle cloud, radio barely working in the condensing minovski field. A dozen Dopps had arrived from Hughendon and quickly joined the fray, and although Torrington possessed an impressive AA compliment they were standing their own fairly well for a while. However, with every passing minute more fighters got into the air. "If there's one thing I'm good at it's pushing in Deep." Zuhr joked, happy that the ghost of his past had since left him. His two female wingmen skated alongside him in their Doms, the three pushing through a line of Type 61's and tearing them up with bazookas, heat sabers, and all manner of other Zimmad goodies. Cervantes let out two rounds with his giant bazooka, taking out the bases two Western MPC turrets before they could even respond. Behind them, Kalila and the 237ths MSM detachment engaged the enemy Federal mobile suits. Wrapping her heat rod around the arm of an enemy Zaku, Darwesh shot it to ribbons with her finger machineguns, shaking her head as the stolen mobile suit slammed to the floor. "I hate to see them painted grey like that..." She sighed. Kalila was soon startled as the Acquy to her right exploded, a trio of Federal GMs emerging from behind a bunker. Firing their beam spray guns, the white GMs closed quickly, trying to get into close combat with the more cumbersome Zeon MSMs. "White Dingos! Kyrion, get over here!" Kalila yelled, boosting into the fray and body checking one of the Dingos GMs. She pushed a little too far and took a direct hit from a type 61 closer to the base proper, but the damage was minor. Laurents two Z'Goks moved quickly to surround another one of the Dingos, which came at the enemy to his front with a beam saber. He cut off one of the Z'Goks arms just as the second slammed a clawed fist into his backpack, the sharp claws piercing through the thin GM armor and killing the pilot. "Gh... I'll have to retreat, useless without this arm." The Z'Gok pilot said, and turned around just as the last of the Dingos engaged him. Before the killing blow could be delivered, Kyrion stepped between the two, taking a beam saber to the hip even as he slashed the GM in two. Kyrion had vowed that despite his cursed mobile suit he would protect his comrades to the last. Kalila, having done a similar number on the third Federal GM, was about to press the attack when she saw the last of the Dopps go down. Zuhr and his wingmen had to quickly double back as the Federation started bombing their own airfield, Depp Rogs now unhindered as they began to drop ordinance at the enemy. Eugene kept at it with his machinegun from the rear line, another Fly Manta going down, another Fanfan... However, one gunner simply wasn't enough. When the Zaku Cannon next to him exploded in flames, he decided it was time to order the retreat. "We need to get out of here, we don't have enough support!" Eugene yelled. There was a general agreement, and the lot of them fired off suppressive rounds in their various machineguns and started the retreat. Just then a volley of missiles broke out of the sky, and a small green flare was seen off in the distance. The missiles had a haunting level of accuracy, and they slammed straight into Hawkings command ship as well as Torringtons repair bay, nearly destroying the first and obliterating the second. However, what Auclairs missiles had in offensive ability they lacked in defense, and what they managed to miss was the dozen or more tanks that were now rolling out of their defensive positions to take out the Zeonic mobile suits, which were all in various degrees of damage. Kyrion turned around to retreat, but just then he saw a round from a Type 61 blow the head off of Jesse's Zaku. There were only ten mobile suits left, with no ships to spread M particles and no backup forces, with more than a dozen tanks and more than two dozen fighters hot on their heels. At the moment their retreat was more or less clean, but there was nobody covering them. Somebody would need to take one for the team... "Kill me." Eric heard the voice loud and clear, and for once, he welcomed her. He looked out for a moment at the sun, setting over the tops of his friends and comrades as they retreated into the golden Australian hills. Shells and tracers whizzed by him, the sound of explosions coming into his ears all around. For a second he thought he heard Eugene yelling at him to fall back amidst the colors and the explosions, but another voice drowned it out, a voice that he now understood. "Save me." Eric Kyrion closed his eyes, the young woman trapped in the bowels of his war machine embracing him. He felt her soft arms clasp around his neck, and with renewed conviction he turned the Efreet Custom around. Eyes blazing red, the blue Zeon mobile suit gripped a heat sword in each hand and let out a volley of missiles that would rival the firepower of Federation cruisers. With a boost of foot mounted rocket thrusters the Efreet took to the sky, coming down after its final flight straight in the center of Torrington, surrounded by the enemy. That day Marion finally got her wish. Steve Myer - Demoted to Unterscharfuhrer Laurent Auclair - 7 VP gained, no damage Eugene Rice-Ionesco - 7 VP gained, 2 days damage Kalila Darwesh - 7 VP gained, 3 days damage Cervantes Zuhr - 7 VP gained, 3 days damage Eric Kyrion - 7 VP gained, missing in action 7 days Marion - Free Three blue lines of light shot away from the combined Veraschagin and Supply Fleets, the short-lived contrail that mobile suits left behind and their thrusters burned in the vacuum. Two Rick Doms and a Zaku moved steadily ahead of the mass of ships toward the distant Federal Blockade. At the head was the red and black Dom of Anton Veraschagin, the "Battleship Eater". "Thirty seconds to combat range. We have five minutes, then we move on and meet up with the fleet." the MAF officer instructed, adjusting his gloves as his customized Rick Dom continued foward. "You know, I have been in a bar fight before.." John Church replied from his matte black Zaku II, one of the High Mobility types meant as a stop-gap measure until a proper replacement could be fielded. "I heard about that, didn't you end up in the infirmary for a week after?" Ross Howe said from his Rick Dom with a grin. It didn't take a Newtype to know that the information wasn't exactly what Church wanted spoken over the radio at that point in time. The Zeon pilots were in high spirits of late, they'd hit the Supply Fleet for a second time, and this time managed to escape the Vulture Fleet that had decimated their numbers previously. The ships of the Wyatt Fleet began to fire probing shots from their main guns, and the three Zeon aces went silent, focusing on the task ahead. "Sir! Three mobile suits identified! Two skirted ones and a cyclops!" the Sensor station officer reported to Admiral Wyatt, who sat in his chair in perfect composure. "Order all fighters and mobile suits to launch. Get our AA ready to defend the ships.." the elder officer stated calmly, keeping a steady eye on the approaching mobile suits. The five GM Es of the Wyatt Fleet launched toward the approaching MS, keeping well inside the umbrella of AA coverage provided by the fleet. The three Zeon MS moved directly for them, Ross taking the first shot with his Giant bazooka, one of the GM E sacrificing it's shield and the arm holding it to the shot. Veraschagin took out the defenseless suit with a burst from his MMP-80 machinegun soon after. Church circled away from the GM force, moving to flank while dodging fire from two GMs. His Zaku jerked violently as one of the AA guns of the Magellan Revised flagship his right shoulder. "Dammit, lucky shot!" Church shot as he fell back, the right arm hanging uselessly while his left arm held his Zaku machinegun, which continued to fire at the group of GMs. "Two minutes!" Anton shouted as he dodge away from a strafing run of Saberfish, firing a burst as the fighters banked away, destroying one and damaging a second. One of the GM Es scored a series of 90mm hits during the distraction, though his victory short lived as a bazooka round impacted on the chest and destroyed the mobile suit. Ross Howe was having the easiest time, relatively. He flew where his instincts told him to, it was something he was gaining more confidence in lately. His Rick Dom had taken relatively minor damage despite the large amount of incoming fire. Shooting upward and spinning his Rick Dom in a complete 180, Ross sighted in on a Saberfish and fired his final bazooka shot, the fighter exploding as it collided head on with the round. All three pilots had a series of zeroes flashing red pop onto their foward display screens at the same time. "Alright! Break off, get back to the fleet!" Anton ordered as he dropped three flash grenades and boosted away, Church and Ross dropping grenades of their own and following. Anton Veraschagin: 4 VP gained, 2 days damage John Church: 5 VP gained, 3 days damage Ross Howe: 5 VP gained, 1 days damage |