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0079.10.27 Always a picture of confidence and manliness, brigadier general Yuri Kerane moved quickly to the hangar of the Westliche, transports and small ferry boats rushing to collect as much personnel and gear as could possibly be stored. Kerane held a cellphone in one hand, a flotilla of aides and attendants behind him. His large jacket was placed precariously on his equally large, muscular frame, his hair as wild as it always was. "Yes sir. No sir. No reinforcements whatsoever sir. I'm not sure what they're doing sir, I hear the Australian front is going well? Don't worry sir, even without the Westliche and the Deutschland my men will hold them for at least a day. Eheh, a good day to you too Garma, say hello to your father for me." Kerane hung up the phone and handed it to a woman half his size, who quickly deposited it in her jacket pocket. An SS member caught up with him as they reached the hangar, Kerane saluting the new commander of Constantinople. "Sir! Charges have been placed all over the base. We've moved everything that can fit onto the warships, and have ascertained that the enemy fleets are still several hours out." "Good. I'm sorry that we can't give you any more support in this venture. However, be assured that you are the embodiment of the spirit of Zeon. Your sacrifice will allow us to hold the line at Odessa." Kerane saluted the black coated man, who saluted back. Without another word, the sacrificial lamb strode back onto the base proper, quickly shouting orders to teams of panzergrenadiers as they ran to and fro along the base. Kerane hated to retreat like this. He was a proud soldier, and had held Europe for months, only to have it flattened by the last ditch maneuver Revil had brought to the table. He would have liked to stand and fight, but without any reinforcements from the Asian front, victory would be impossible. They would hold at Odessa, however. Kerane would make this certain. Odessa would hold. The Odessa Task Force, organized using the full remaining strength of the Federation military, had assembled just a few hours outside of Constantinople. It had taken a full day to merely organize it all, the number of warships present unprecedented in terrestrial warfare, although the numbers were small compared to earlier battles in the space theatre. 5 Big Trays, 5 Himalayas, 4 Hillocks and 7 Medeas made up the Odessa task force, the Autonomous core having just arrived from their recent victory over Archangelisk. There were around one hundred tanks, four hundred aircraft, and seventy five mobile suits in the battalion, troops arriving from every Federation held base on Earth. More than enough to crush the remaining Zeon presence in Europe. The briefing room in the Sir Francis Drake was covered with maps and diagrams, a central map of the Sea of Marmara, with little figurines to show Zeon and Federation positions, were being stared at by the officers present. Revil, Ryer, Kojima, Elran, Corini, as well as the Autonomous forces commanders Sanders and Jackson, were discussing battle strategy. "I'm convinced Kerane will adopt a scorched Earth policy." Revil flatly stated. Ryer and Kojima agreed, although Elran voiced his concern. "Zeon needs their resources too much to destroy them. There is no sense in them blindly destroying the colonies lifeblood." Elran firmly disapproved of Revil's plan, urging them to attack the base with their full forces as fast as possible. "There is no sense in them trying to defend a battle they are sure to lose, either. Jackson, what did they do at Archangelisk?" Revil looked up at the lieutenant, white eyebrows raised. Jackson and Sanders had earlier been given applause for attacking and destroying Archangelisk before the Odessa fleets had arrived. Corini's fleet had been en route to destroy Archangelisk, but instead was saved the trouble, allowing for the full might of the Federation to punch into the Sea of Marmara as hard as possible. "They sent their best units inward to Asia over the railroad, and defended with light forces. Just enough to stop us from getting to their supply train." Jackson said, startled. Just a month ago he had been a simple fighter pilot, and now he was giving advice to Revil. War did seem to change poeple, in ways Jackson hadn't realized. "Right. And they will do the same here. Prepare the fighters for launch. Take positions in artillery range and shell the base, we're going to turn it into swiss cheese before a single unit takes foot onto the compound." Revil's orders were absolute, despite Elrans grumbling. Two hours later, the shelling began. Big Trays rained down heavy artillery rounds onto Constantinople, explosions rocking the interior of the city, destroying Zeon gun emplacements at the same time as they crashed into millenia old Orthodox churches, only the Haghia Sophia being labelled an off limits target. Even it would be hit by two bombs from Federation aircraft, although luckily the damage would be repairable. The remaining Zeonic mobile suits gathered by the perimeter wall to the base, moving around cover with as many weapons as they could carry stacked alongside the heavy titanium wall. Eight assorted Zakus protected the rear line, which consisted of four Zaku Cannons and a single Xamel. When the Federation made their final push, this line would fall in seconds. However, Constantinople had a bit of an edge on the Federal fleets in range, and the Zaku Cannons guns were running hot, the long barreled 180mm artillery cannons pouring lead back onto the Federation. Trees shattered to the right and left of the Big Trays, but very little damage was done to Federal mobile suits, Revil having ordered every last ground unit inside or behind their respective ships. They wanted to save their full force for the push into the Black Sea. "Keep firing!" Scharfuhrer Vliscchen, the new commander of Constantinople, ordered. His black Zaku I stood out against the green and brown mobile suits around him. The Xamel's howitzer hit the Temujin with a direct shot, and then with a second, the Tray grinding to a halt. The pilots cheered out, happy to have achieved a small victory. The bases Howitzer, fully the same size as the Xamel, fired out as well, two lands missing the Sir Francis Drake but a third slamming into its side. "Keep firing! Force them to take time to repair their ships! We want to... Holy..." Vliscchen stopped his speech early, the strict discipline of the SS leaving him as he and his men looked up at the sky. The sun, having started its descent into the west, was slowly dimming, and a few seconds later blotted out entirely. A shadow fell over Constantinople as over two hundred fighter bombers flew towards the base in a tight formation. "I guess we're fighting in the shade." The pilot next to Vlisschen smirked, his Zaku II J grabbing a 120mm off of the wall. The remaining pilots were all volunteers, and some of them had seen much more combat, and lost many more friends, than Vlisschen had. This was his first command, and it would be his last. "You ready to go Alice?" Amy Bauer-Meister chirped in, the minovski interference at the base surprisingly light. The Desert Eagles were heading the charge, Amy side by side with Xander in his brand new Core Booster, the first aircraft in the Federal arsenal equipped with beam weapons. Amy had been offered one herself, but she had declined, it wasn't quite as maneuverable as her Tin Cod, and she'd already downed plenty of Zakus with ordinary missiles. "Who have you been talking to?" Xander groaned, his wingmates chuckling over the radio. However, there wasn't too much time for any more tension, as the Tin Cods started peeling off, moving down to the small line of mobile suits while the bombers broke towards their targets. Constantinople still had around a dozen aircraft that Kerane couldn't fit on his warships, but they were on the ground. There was no point in fighting so many aircraft. The Xamel was torn to shreds instantly, the MPCs to Xanders right and left discharging round after round of molten death into their target. Amy went for the enemy leader, Vlisschens Zaku bursting apart as her Tin Cods four missiles impacted into its reactor. The remainder of the mobile suits shot back, a number of fighters going down as 120mm and base CIWS cut into them. With so many planes in the sky it was difficult not to hit, and a score of bombers went down in the initial pass. However, every last Zaku pilot lost his life before Xander even needed to turn around, missile after missile slamming into their small defensive line. At that point it was only a matter of time. Squadrons of Jet Core Boosters dive bombed the base, their heavy warheads slamming into the airfield, the radar tower, everywhere. The ship repair bay was carefully kept intact, and although the Panzergrenadiers would hold out there for almost a full hour following the assault, Revil's marines eventually overpowered them. Constantinople would fall even easier than it had months ago, when Zeon had taken it with the first ever series of orbital assaults. However, Kerane's mission had been accomplished. The Temujin would later have to be towed into the repair bay, and it would take two days to get it up and running again. One lucky Xamel pilot had bought the Duchy a much needed fourty eight hours to prepare for the assault into the Black Sea. Cameron Sune - 3 VP gained, no damage Harold Bernette - 3 VP gained, no damage Hector Lagrama - 3 VP gained, no damage Ion Bossa-Nova - 2 VP gained, no damage Daren Sanders - 3 VP gained, no damage Maurice Jackson - 2 VP gained, no damage Allen Gentle - 4 VP gained, no damage Vina Sealander - 4 VP gained, no damage Tobias Kendrick Obrien - 2 VP gained, no damage Xander O'Reilly - 12 VP gained, no damage |