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The African continent always had a history of being a tough place to do anything, especially for militaries. Securing territory in the natural hostile deserts, jungles, and plains is neither pleasant nor wanted; but all together necessary. It is the patrolling unit of the 24th MS Team that found it slugging through the flooded jungle of South Africa. The three GM Ground Types made their progress through an efficient use of leapfrogging their Type 74 vehicle. The hovercraft would settle on dry ground and bury its piston sonar system. Meanwhile, the three GM Ground Types took up defensive positions nearby. Once the Type 74 gives the go ahead to move forward, the three Federation MS would advance a certain distance within detection range of the hovercraft. The speedy vehicle would then race over the flooded land to set up the sonar in the next tactical position. It is with this hopping through their long patrol of the South Africa region that the 24th MST picked up the undeniable sound of other mobile suits. The sound of tons of metal echoed through the ground and amplified by the floodwater. Inside the Type 74, the commander of the four-man crew cupped the headphones over his ears. "Golf One, this is Tango. We're picking up mobile suit movement. Hold your position, over." On the signal of the lead and more experienced GM Ground Type, the team took defensive positions in the flooded jungle features. The leader hoists his 305mm Bazooka while the others cradle their 100mm machinegun. The three of them scan the skies. No signs of aircraft. "What do you hear, Tango?" Inside the Type 74 hovercraft, the crew narrows down the sound of the approaching mobile suit. "Golf one, we isolated the sources." The commander flipped through a detection book. "We identify the target coming southwards from the north… going by the walking speed, vibrations of the footsteps, and length of stride… it's a Gouf and two Zaku IIs." An audible curse can be heard from the GM Ground Type. Edward Night is growing tired of the African landscape. His MS Team includes two veteran Zaku II Fs that faithfully follow him on his flanks. This is a simple movement into Federation territory right now and Night has little impression of any Federation resistance until he reaches his location. Thanks to the warnings of the Type 74, the three GM Ground Types formulated a plan. With minutes to spare, the more experienced GM pilot raises the 305mm Bazooka and took aim in the direction of the approaching Zeon mobile suits. He waited as the Type 74's crew fed him data until the Zeon units are in his optimal firing zone. The Gouf brought up its shield as the first enemy bazooka round exploded right in front of Edward Night. As more bazooka rounds began to appear, his Zaku II Fs are already firing their machineguns in the direction of the attack. Angry that he was naïve enough not to see this ambush, Night charges forward. He needs to close in before he can confront the Federation force. His Zaku II Fs threw cracker grenades ahead of him before following and covering the Gouf with their 120mm fire. The explosions destroyed much of the forest but the fires created steam and smoke in the flooded region. Soon, only the muzzle flashes of the Zaku II Fs, and the 75mm finger machinegun of the Gouf broke through the smoke. It is at this point in the chaos did the two other GM Ground Types break their cover. Throwing grenades first into the smoke to add to the confusion, they then attack the two Zaku II Fs. The first Zaku II felt the hits of 100mm shells eating at its armor before falling backwards on the ground, returning fire. The other Zaku II turns to face the excited shouts of its comrade before it narrowly dodges the path of a beam saber. The GM Ground Type aggressively swung a few more times, missing the Zaku II. But then the Zaku II F felt the teeth of the arm shield bit into the belly of the Zaku II, sending the Zeon unit stumbling backwards. By this time, the GM Ground Type that fired the 305mm bazooka has started throwing its own grenades into the chaos. Then a shadow casts over him and he sees Edward Night's Gouf pounce on him. The heat sword ate deep into the GM's arm shield as the Gouf started pounding on the Federation mobile suit. As Night fought the surprised GM Ground Type, his own Zaku IIs weren't faring as well. The two GMs broke off as planned into the smoke and steam of the earlier grenades. They return sporadic fire, trying to make it look as if there are more than three Federation mobile suits there. But the Zaku IIs are not complete fools as their 120mm machineguns found their mark on the lunar titanium armor. But even as Edward Night tore the left arm of his target from its socket, a 305mm bazooka shell struck him in the back. Momentarily distracted, the single-arm GM Ground Type raises his 100mm only to miss the Gouf as Night dodged away. Regrouping with his damaged Zaku IIs, Night came to the quick assumption that he has encountered a reinforced squad and not just a small patrol. With that, Edward Night's MS Team began to retreat, firing as they went. The ambush has already damaged his team more than he can tolerate when they reach their destination. They head back north under small bursts of harassing fire from the three GM Ground Types. But they relaxed when the Type 74 assured them that the Zeon units are leaving and not flanking. The patrol, while successful in its mission, suffered for its gambles. A GM Ground Type lost a left arm while the other two face more overall combat damage. Edward Night's MS Team may be deterred from their original travel plan but they only suffer moderate combat damage. Edward Night: 5 VP gained, 3 days damage The calm rolling hills of Eastern Europe are shattered once again by the sounds of war. Not by the rumble of diesel engines or howls of jet aircraft but the screaming of mobile suit thrusters. The huge foot of Darius Carver's Dom dug a huge depression into the hillside before the thermonuclear hoverjet engines sent the mobile suit speeding away from a stream of paint splatters. As opposed to the graceful slide of the Zeon Dom, the Zaku II High Mobility Type with John Church as it controls did powerful jumps and skips across the field. The crack of the 120mm Zaku Machinegun are occasionally interrupted by the vibrant thump of the Dom's 360mm Giant Bazooka. Had this been a battle between the Federal and Zeon forces, the hill would be burning. But amongst allies, the hills are instead covered with fluorescent paint. Church has long ago given up trying to hit the swift Dom with his 120mm bazooka. The paintball shell would seem to just reach Carver but the Dom would then spin or dodge out of the way. His rapid fire weapons, however, are proving to be much more effective in cornering the elusive Dom. As for Carver, he is used to using the enormous power of the 360mm Giant Bazooka to score single hit victories against his enemies. But against a mobile suit that was performing a stopgap role for the Dom while the MS was still in production, such a weapon proves frustrating. Both pilots are instinctively aware that they both need to get close enough to score a significant hit on the other. For Church, it is to bring the full blunt of his machine gun on the Dom instead of glancing hits. For Carver, it is to feed a big mouthful of paint to the troublesome Zaku II. Suddenly Carver spun the Dom evasively as he fed another magazine of shells into the Giant Bazooka. It is at that moment that Church gambled the distance to be close enough. The Zaku II HMT lunged forward, machine gun blazing. Paintballs tickled the front skirt armor of the Dom but Carver brought the Dom into a leap of its own. The thermonuclear jets send the Dom above the Zaku II and Church found himself staring up at the barrel of the 360mm Giant Bazooka. A desperate yank of his flight controls caused the Zaku II to rocket higher into the air, shaken by the wake of the point-blank shot. The 360mm paintball shell exploded in a fountain of paint below them. Church brings the 120mm up at the Dom and gave a triumphant "HA!" before the tables are turned on him again. Quite unorthodox but simple, the Dom's left fist connects in a hard left hook to the Zaku II's head. Stunned, the Zaku II drops the 120mm machinegun as it lands on the paint-splattered field. The Dom, having lost its balance in the melee, tumbled nearby. A quiet half a second past before the mobile suits stirred. Carver in the Dom reached out and grabbed the dropped 120mm Zaku machinegun. Seeing his primary weapon stolen, Church unhooked the MMP-80 90mm machinegun from the Zaku II's rear hardpoint. Both mobile suits stood up, barely fifty meters from each other. As their engines scream their song, both Carver and Church unloaded their weapons in a long burst of paintball fire. When both mobile suits landed again they each bore the painted marks of mobile suits hit in combat. This ends the duel between John Church and Darius Carver. Darius Carver: 5 VP gained, 2-1 days damage John Church: 5 VP gained, 2-1 days damage |