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Although the battle lines at Odessa had changed from hand to hand combat to that of long range bombardment, the battle for the Ukranian fortress still raged on well into the fifth day of the siege. Both sides had adopted defensive positions, seeing the need to recuperate their forces and repair their damaged units, while at the same time preventing the enemy from doing the same. Day and night the shells fell, gunners fine tuning their measurements to exacting degrees. With each and every day the bombardment on both sides would become more accurate. Even though they had the natural advantage of a raised defensive position and the bases walls, the defenders at Odessa were slowly losing this long range war. Their Gaws were grounded due to the still large number of sniper mobile suits contained within the Federal arsenal, and their Jukon force had been severely diminished by the initial assault. The Federation boasted no less than six Big Trays, as well as a large number of Naval warships, and their gunners were altogether more experienced. A shift in the wind two hours before had seriously hampered Zeons resistance, but the Federation mathematicians had accounted for it in advance. Garma had moved his command center to a secure location underground, and stood next to O-2 Hans Wektin, the man Ma Qube had left in charge of the bases artillery. Garma had insisted on only being in command of the mobile suit forces, leaving Ektig in command of the base proper. From this position they overlooked the artillery, the ground often shaking as howitzer rounds struck dangerously close to their position. "Your excellency, I just got a report back from the Nordlich. Seems it was hit by Revil's Tray sir, it will not be salvageable." A comms officer said, looking over his shoulder with one hand on his headset. "I see. Tell Cima and Boraguard to re-focus the barrage towards the North, it seems they're doing better from that angle. We need to take out one of their trays." Garma replied. He and Ektig looked at each other, increasingly less optimistic. Just behind the perimeter wall, a row of Zaku II K's and Xamels, with a few J types and Doms to guard them from a surprise assault, were being fed ammunition constantly as they pelted long range rounds at the attackers. Cima Garahau was in front, firing almost widely with a Magella Attack Cannon she had pilfered from a tank disabled from the initial assault. "Grr... Blasted Feds... Hiding behind those ridiculous giant floating bath toys. I swear I'll have each and every one of them tortured before I'm through." Cima scowled to herself, firing round after round. Boraguard, his huge and grotesque mobile suit behind her, watched much more carefully, aiming his howitzer for a precision shot. They had been out here for almost ten hours, and their hands, even their minds, had become numb. You couldn't hear the shelling anymore, you could only hear the silence between the explosions. Making the final adjustments to his bearings, Heindsheft fired two rounds out of his Howitzer in quick succession. The rounds soared over the perimeter wall, the trench, and the torn Earth that lied between Odessa and the Big Tray class land battleship Temujin. The first round slammed into the ships bridge, the second burrowing deep into its reactor. The resulting explosion was tremendous, shrapnel showering the Trays mobile suit team for a full minute afterwords. Inside the underground bunker, Ektig and Garma were pleased when they heard the report. There might be hope for this battered fortress yet. After a pause, Garma looked at the SS commander, deep in thought. "How long before the Apsaras is operational?" He said. "Twenty eight hours." Hector Lagrama - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Ion Bossa-Nova - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Daren Sanders - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Allen Gentle - 1 VP gained, no damage Vina Sealander - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Xander O'Reilly - 1/2 VP gaine, no damaged Boraguard Heindsheft - 3/2 VP gained, no damage Cervantes Zuhr - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Eric Kyrion - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Lucas Marcolini - 1/2 VP gained, no damage Bishop Kratos - 1 VP gained, no damage Steve Myer - 1/2 VP gained, no damage |