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They barely made 10 kilometers from the hidden entrance to the underground fortress of Gibraltar, when 1st Lieutenant Daren Sanders signals his team to stop. The lead GM Command pulls the breech on his 90mm GM Machinegun. Behind him, his MS Team took up a mutually protective formation. The loud rumbling of the Mediterranean Sea can still be heard at this distance despite the roaring sandstorm. The two GMPGT of Sander's Team took up flanking positions. Both Private First Class Susan Magnus and Jason "Cowboy" Holmes lift their beam rifles to survey the horizon. In middle of the triangle Corporal Elizabeth "Lady" Daniels in her Ground GM raises her 305mm Bazooka to her shoulder. Other than the sounds of the mobile suit engines, the team became quiet. After a few uneventful minutes, Sanders's voice broke over the radio. "Alright, let's keep moving." The four mobile suits began walking again, fighting the strong dust winds that swept across North Africa. Suddenly they see the bright light of an incoming missile right before it strikes Sanders's GM Command. Whole barrages of leg-mounted missiles explode the ground around them as Sanders's MS fell. "COVERING FIRE!" screams the Corporal as the GM Ground rushes ahead. The 305mm Bazooka burps three shells as the Privates fire their Beam Rifles at the direction of the attack. The Lady reached Sanders and is sadden to find out that a direct missile hit has blown apart the right leg. The Lieutenant however is firing his 90mm machinegun into the distance. The bursts of beam fire made temporary clearings in the sandstorm. In these clearings they can spot the shape of four Desert Zakus advancing on them. Zaku machinegun fire pelt the ground as the GM Ground began dragging the crippled GM Command. Sanders threw two grenades, stalling the Pink Panther Patrol for the moment. Suddenly, Susan Magnus in her GMPGT noticed the sound of rotors and jet engines. Pivoting to her left, she barely brought up her arm shield in time to absorb a hail of mini-missiles. She spots what look to be Gunship Helis and Dopps converging on them in the chaos of the sandstorm. Magnus smartly switches her beam rifle for her 100mm machinegun and began blasting at the Zeon aircraft. Meanwhile, the other GMPGT continues to pump beam interdiction fire. Soon, Lady passes the Cowboy while dragging Sanders. "Enjoying the ride Lieutenant?" asks Jason Holmes in his usual humor as he adjusts his sights. "Less talk, more shooting!" The North African Air Patrol and Iraqi Air Patrol continue to harass Sanders's MS Team in order to slow them down for the Pink Panthers. But the Desert Zaku IIs barely got close as the Federal MS began throwing grenades. As they got closer to Gibraltar, Sanders's MS Team manages to knock down two Gunship Helis and a Dopp in the midst of the confusing sandstorm. The Cowboy managed to get a lucky shot and blew the arm off a Desert Zaku II with his beam rifle before the Zeon patrols fell back. It took half an hour of dragging Sanders's ass back to Gibraltar but they did it. Daren Sanders 5 VP gained, 3 days damage Far, far away from the major battlefields of the Earth Sphere sat the privately-owned Asteroid Mine of Equity Return. Stationed in Mars orbit, the miners laboriously extract ore and other minerals from the rock. It's not the best existence but at least there is work. The machinery is turned off during the night cycle, much to the benefit of both the owners and the workers. It is during the artificial darkness that four individuals crept into different parts of the Asteroid Mine. With them are four bags of high explosives; two bags to each team. Sticking to the shadows, they reach their destinations and began opening their bags. Fifteen minutes later one team finished setting the detonators and began to walk out to disappear. Suddenly hands grab them and shouting started in earnest throughout the station. As the four culprits are brought before the now awake owners of the station, cautious men approach the ominous bags left behind. What they found confirmed their expectations. Samson Ellison hovered in higher Mars Orbit in his Rick Dom, the 360mm Giant Bazooka and his first panzer faust ready. He waits for the digital countdown to finish. As soon as that happens, the bombs planted by the terrorists will explode and Ellison will make his presence known. After that, he'll force the Asteroid Mine to capitulate to him and Ellison will be richer. Or so the plan goes. The bombs exploded as planned and the Rick Dom thundered forward. But no sooner had Ellison fired his opening shots did the rogue mobile suit get illuminated by lights and civilian laser sensors. Even before his panzer faust round and his bazooka shell struck the colony, a radio call to the "idiot causing noise in the middle of the night" began broadcasting. Ellison angrily tuned in and is welcomed by the sight of his four "hired men" on their knees. They have obviously been beaten and Ellison knew his plan has been compromised. The owner of the Asteroid Mine appears on camera and began a heated argument with the ARES rogue pilot. In the end however, he threaten Ellison," You want the 'Equity Return'? Then come in here and take it from us!" The rogue pilot can see armed men in the background brandish their weapons right before the transmission was cut. Ellison swore; they know he wants the mine intact and going in there alone is suicidal. Not with a thousand armed workers. The Rick Dom flew a few laps around the Asteroid Mine, firing a handful of bazooka rounds to see if he can force the occupants to change their mine. But a single mobile suit is not enough for a siege, nevertheless to dislodge defenders who knew the real estate is worth more than annihilation. With a disgust and a vow to return, Ellison departs the asteroid mine "Equity Return" with no thought of what would happen to his captured conspirators... Samson Ellison 2 VP gained, 1 days damage Antoni Silverthorn 1 VP gained, no damage |