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It is round two now for the skies over South America. The skies are good and visibility is clear as the six Tin Cods of the 198th Fighter Division lanced through the blue sky. They leveled off at a nice easy cruising altitude for their patrol. Having learned their lesson from their last skirmish in this region, the 198th Fighter Division is not going to allow itself to be ambushed by a ground unit. With renewed confidence and a full load of ammunition, the Tin Cods pressed forward. The uneventful day took a turn for the worse as a combined hail of AA machine-gun fire, 60mm Vulcan fire, and assorted missiles blasted through the group. One unlucky Tin Cod took the full blunt of the attack and disintegrated in a brilliant fireball. The pilot had no time to bail out. As the 198th Fighter Division did an open split, the pilots strain their neck to see their attacker. Reality struck home as they saw the mobile suit they thought they were safe from, flying towards them on a Dodai II. The blue sub-flight unit blasted its small AA guns as Eric Kyrion reaches for the Efreet Custom's shotgun. This sort of combat is different for Kyrion, whose mind is still dwelling on his last battle with the Tin Cods. By sheer force will, he pushes his body to the rigors of aerial combat. The Dodai's weapons managed to separate a Tin Cod from the others and Kyrion pumped a full shotgun blast into its fuselage. The swiss-cheesed Tin Cod fell several hundred feet before exploding, much to Kyrion's satisfaction. But the joy is shot lived as the four remaining Tin Cods got behind him and in a volley of air-to-air missiles lands two hits on the Dodai II. The sub-flight unit struggles to maintain aerodynamic performance as Kyrion turns the Efreet around. But even the recoil from the Zeon mobile suit's weapons is dealing damage to the dying Dodai. Finally, gunfire from a Tin Cod's 25mm cannons causes the Dodai to go into a fatal dive. The remnants of the 198th Fighter Division gave the falling Dodai room as it careens into the greenery of South America. Black smoke rose from the crashed Zeon aircraft. The Tin Cods edge in closer and one of the pilots claim that the Zeon Mobile Suit jumped off before impact. With that fact in mind, the 198th Fighter Division kept their distance. After circling for several minutes, they returned to base. Eric Kyrion 5 VP gained, 3 days damage The six helicopter gunships, armed with a massive Gatling gun and a full complement of missiles, raced over the desert sands of North Africa. A section of Zeon's forward TAF positions has spotted a pair of fast moving, desert camouflage Federation mobile suits. They claimed, the helicopter's commander reflected, that the mobile suits were new models, specifically designed for desert combat. "I," Lieutenant Jim Calex murmured, "will be the judge of that." "You say something, Black One?" one of the other helicopter pilots asked. "Neg," Jim answered. His eyes scanned the desert sands. The minutes crawled by as the patrol sped in northeasterly direction. The Zeon officer suddenly spotted movement. "I've got them. Confirm, Black Two." "Confirm," the other pilot replied. The pair of Federation mobile suits, each armed with beam spray guns and arm shields. "Right," Jim announced, checking his weapon load outs. "Spread out and feast." Harold Bernette's Desert GM crested the sand dune and the Federation pilot surveyed the seemingly endless desert in front of him. He and his companion, another newly constructed Desert GM, were partaking in the always risky operation of penetrating Zeon's frontiers in North Africa. Harold had heard stories of other Federation mobile suit squads trying repeatedly to enter Zeon-held North Africa, but he resolved to break the curse. "Sir," the other GM pilot yelled suddenly, "I have contacts." "What kind?" Harold asked, slowing his mobile suit and readying his beam spray gun. "Looks to be helicopters," the pilot answered. "Definitely Zeon." "Prepare yourself," Harold said. Hefting his beam spray gun, he scanned the sky, suddenly spotting a pair of helicopters. The pair of enemy gunships opened fire, sending a volley of missiles towards the two GMs. Harold barely raised his arm shield in time, blocking a missile. He swiftly raised his beam spray gun, blazing away at the enemy aircraft. He scored a hit, sending one of the Zeon helicopter's spinning out of control, slamming into the desert sands below. "Great shot, sir!" the other Desert GM pilot yelled in glee. The other GM raised his beam spray gun, firing as well. Around them, missiles rained down as the rest of the Zeon air patrol arrived from behind them. "Shit," Harold cursed, turning to face the new threat. As he began firing, the helicopters began to maneuver, easily dodging several beam lances from Harold's GM. All of the gunships swiftly circled around the two Federation mobile suits, laying down heavy fire of both missiles and 60mm gatling fire. Harold cursed again as his GM shook under the withering fire. "Damnit," the other GM pilot screamed as a trio of missiles slammed into his GM, knocking it to the ground. Swearing like a drunken sailor, Harold blazed away with his beam spray gun, scoring another hit. The gunship exploded, sending debris in all directions. Another missile streaked towards his GM and he was just able to raise his arm shield, blocking most of the explosion. By the time he lowered the shield, the gunships were gone. "Where the hell did they go?" Harold ask, astonished. "I think they ran out of missiles," the other pilot replied "Thank god," Harold said, sighing in relief. Harold Bernette: 8 VP gained, 3 Days Damaged The three Jet Core Boosters streaked over the jungle below. Jay Shark and his fellow pilots scanned the eastern Asian landscape for potential targets. Federation intelligence, clued in to rebel chatter in the region, had picked up word of two Zeon mobile suit's making their way through the Asian jungle. Those enemy suits are around here somewhere, Jay thought, somewhere... "Rook One," one of the pilot's announced, "I think I spotted the enemy units." "Copy that, Rook Three," Jay replied. "Location?" "Three o'clock, boss," Rook Three answered. "I'll strafe," Jay announced, "Then you two follow." Both pilots acknowledged Jay's orders. Ardan Massenfer's Gouf crashed through the jungle foliage, crushing plants and knocking trees aside. He and his fellow rogue compatriot, piloting a Zaku II-J, were making their way through eastern Asia, heading to meet up with other rogue elements in the region. The village the pair had just passed through seemed friendly enough, Ardan thought, stroking his chin idly. Both suits were heavily armed - the Gouf equipped with a 100mm GM machinegun and the Zaku with a 280mm Zaku bazooka - and, as the pair reached the edge of a clearing, Ardan hefted his machinegun, taking in the jungle beauty. "Love this place," Ardan announced, grinning. Something on the horizon suddenly caught his eyes. "Feddie fighter!" the other pilot yelled suddenly, backpedalling his mobile suit into the jungle canopy. Ardan suddenly recognized the outline of the fighter as a Jet Core Booster. "Oh damn," he muttered, watching as the enemy fighter released a pair of missiles, both heading straight towards him. Ardan smashed his controls forward, out of the way of the missiles. The Federation weapons exploded harmlessly in the jungle behind him as the fighter streaked overhead, southwards. His rogue ally fired a 280mm bazooka skywards, unfortunately missing the Jet Core Booster. As the enemy fighter disappeared over the horizon, Ardan caught his breath. "Just the one?" he asked. "I don-" The other pilot suddenly broke off as the jungle around them exploded in missile fire as two more Jet Cores should up. The two rogues opened fire in response, sending machinegun fire and missiles skywards. In a lucky break, Ardan clipped one of the Jet Cores with a burst of 100mm shells, shattering the plane's wing. It slammed into the jungle a half-mile to the east, exploding violently. "Yes!" Ardan screamed in glee. "Goddamnit," Jay yelled, watching helplessly as Rook Three exploded in the jungle below. He swiftly turned his Jet Core back for another strafing run on the Zeon mobile suits. As he lined his attack up, he loosed the remnants of his missile, scoring a pair of hits on the Gouf-model. As his Jet Core screamed over the battlefield, his fighter suddenly spun out of control as a 280mm bazooka round from the Zaku exploded just off the right side of his plane, sending his fighter barreling out of control. "Agh!" he screamed in panic as he fought to control his aircraft. He pulled on his joystick and mashed his console repeatedly, desperately trying to gain control of his plane. After a brief fight, he managed to regain command, leveling off and retreating northwards. "Fall back," Jay ordered to his remaining unit. "We can't handle these two units by ourselves." Jay Shark: 6 VP gained, 2 Days Damaged Ardan Massenfer: 8 VP gained, 1+1 Days Damaged |