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The scrublands of South Africa are not as harsh as their northern counterparts, but it is a close thing. Dust is lord here. Only scraggly vegetation dots the horizon - none of the lush forests of other continents, and few of the resources that such abundance brings. That is not to say that resources do not exist here, however; they are hidden from the naked eye. The exploitation of this region has always been prominent, as the industrial nations of Earth tore minerals and fuel from the depths of Africa's soil and ravaged its people. None of this matters to the tawny eagle. Animal insticts governed its actions as it soared effortlessly above the scattered scrubland, sharp eyes on the lookout for any meal in the bush. It's wingspan nearly topped two meters, a massive predator in a land of rare prey. But it is not the largest predator on the hunt today. The tawny eagle abruptly banked to the left as its keen senses detected another hunter in its airspace. An oddly-shaped craft flew overhead, dwarfing the eagle in its shadow. The Dish cruised leisurely, sending data back to its point of origin via tightwave radio beam. The dark-skinned pilot kept half an eye on the instruments and half and eye on the book he was reading. Don Quixote certainly wasn't deep fiction, but it was pretty funny. A light on the panel blinked soundlessly. The pilot tore his attention away from Alonso Quixano's misadventures and manipulated a few of the controls. On his viewscreen, the picture came into clear focus: four massive mechanical beasts making their way through a canyon. They were trying to avoid detection, he assumed. The pilot grimaced. It looked like he wouldn't get to finish his book after all. Andrew Vinsko was nervous. This was one of his first solo assignments as a member of Scorpion Brigade, and Colonel Jackson would not be happy if he fucked it up. That isn't to say Andrew was scared. Nervousness honed the senses and made every movement exact. He was in complete control, but he did relish the strange twisting in his gut as the men he was responsible for followed him down the canyon. They were in radio silence, hoping that the mine's detector tower would not spot them. They came to a spot that Andrew recognized through his GPS system. Ahead of them, the floor of the canyon rose to a point where a mobile suit standing upright could easily look over it. This was it. His Desert Zaku raised its hand with a whine of motors, and then made a forward motion. The Zaku Cannon stepped carefully onward, crouching when it got to the low section of the wall, and knelt. The other three Zeon soldiers drove their mobile suits forward to just below the point where they would have been revealed while standing. They were all well-trained and experienced warriors, and had prepared for this extensively. They all knew their roles. Andrew gave the signal, a single click on the comm system, and the three Desert Zakus fired off their thrusters in a roar of superheated air. They rose on columns of fire, leaping above the canyon walls and charging forward to the base, which sat on a small rise around five hundred meters perpendicular to the canyon. "Let's-" Andrew yelled, throwing his controls forward. His battle cry was interrupted. Four missiles bore down on his location, their siren screams echoing over the barren land and joined by the throatier roar of the Tin Cods suddenly soaring overhead. Andrew's Zaku II-D ripped a quick ninety degree turn, catching only the peripheral of the explosions. His compatriots performed similarly, but one of them - the newest member of the Scorpion Brigade, and relatively inexperienced compared to his compatriots - was caught partially in the blast. "Back to the canyon!" Andrew yelled, "They know we're here!" His leg shattered, the damaged Zaku II-D jumped and boosted backwards at the same time. Unfortunately, it was once again not quick enough. Perhaps he made himself an easier target, for near the base, four puffs of smoke shone white against the brown landscape. A massive artillery shell slammed into Vinsko's subordinate, tearing a massive chunk out of his suit's torso. The two smaller subsequent shells caught the boosting Zaku and tore it apart, with only a single shot missing. It exploded into bright light, illuminating the sudden anguish on Andrew's face through his cockpit screens. He said nothing as he and his remaining subordinate retreated to the relative safety of the canyon. They ducked beneath its protective surface. Andrew's teeth ground together in frustration and rage. They had lost a man without firing a single shot. Well, that was about to change. "Return fire!" He ordered, his command flashing across a tight beam transmission. The Zaku II-K that had remained behind raised itself barely over the canyon wall, signature cannon peeking out like a curious meercat. The pilot had dug his machine in carefully, and now he loosed the fury of his artillery. The cannon roared out its own challenge, loosing several shells in rapid bursts. The shells soared over the terrain with uncanny accuracy, slamming into the three Type 61s that were rapidly covering ground towards the entrenched Zakus. One exploded in a glorious blast as the other two began evasive manuvers. The rest of the shells detonated within the mine compound itself, trashing an anti-air turret. Debris from the gun was launched into the bright blue sky, a final defiance of gravity. A siren began to ring out in the mine, personelle scattering like ants as more shells impacted and knocked entire buildings down. The Tin Cods blasted overhead once again, loosing another wave of missiles. This time Andrew was ready, and he and his companion returned fire with their 120mm machineguns. The bullets traced twin lines in the sky, but the Tin Cods were too fast. Their pilots rolled quickly under the Zakus' firing arc, blasting out across the dusty plains. They would be back, but for precious seconds they could deal with other threats. "Bazookas!" Andrew yelled as he and his subordinate pulled their powerful 280mm Zaku bazookas off of the magetic storage racks on their Zakus. They readied the weapons, two monoeyes staring through two scopes. They fired at the same time. The two rockets left streams of smoke glistening in the dry air as they sped toward their targets. Both projectiles impacted on Type 61s, and at the same time the Zaku Cannon had finally gotten a bead on the mine's one artillery cannon. All three targets exploded as the last of the mine's effective ground defenses were destroyed. And then the Tin Cods were back. Those damned missiles exploded around the Zakus once again, two near Andrew and two near the Zaku Cannon a few dozen meters to his side. Practically stationary in its half-crouched firing position, the Cannon was unable to do much as both missiles impacted on its armor. Smoking and shuddering, it rose on unstable legs as the pilot gave a gasping "I'm okay, sir" over the radio. Andrew and the other Scorpion returned fire once again, but had little luck with the speedy Tin Cods. Machinegun fire lanced out uselessly as the jets rolled again out of their reach. Vinsko felt his heart sink as he checked out the ammunition readouts in his cockpit. Things were not looking good. The tactical situation was almost untenable, as any sort of charge at the base would make them incredibly easy targets for those Tin Cods, but while in the canyon they were unable to get clear firing solutions on the speedy jets. Andrew was angry, but he was not a stupid man. He valued the lives of his men over the completion of the mission. Although in his heart he begrudged this choice, he knew it was the right one. He gave the order to retreat. With one Zaku II-D supporting the wounded Zaku II-K, the three suits ran down the canyon, walls flashing past in their rush to escape. Andrew returned fire as the Tin Cods continued their harassment, but the same canyon that so hindered the Zeon soldiers also protected them from direct strikes by the missiles of the jets. Rocks rained down upon them as explosions rocked the upper walls of the canyon, but they were not quite touchable. Eventually, the Tin Cods pulled off, their sortie time down to mere minutes. Andrew let out a sigh of relief. It had not been an entire disaster. And they would be back, he promised himself. That was certain. Him or other Zeon forces. It didn't matter. Andrew Vinsko - 10 VP gained, 3 days damage It was nice to have a cigarette, this close to the operation. Thierry had been told by the flight deck to, quote, get the hell back in his unit, but he didn't much care. This shuttle was alright. The boarding crew? They were alright. Laid back boys from the Earth front who didn't much understand why they were in space, but who would do what it took to get the job done. Thierry puffed deep on his cigarette, enjoying the culture he found in the room. Two small shuttles filled with armed assault crews floated slowly and quietly through Zeon controlled space to their target. Intel had picked up a ship flying in this area, with scouts tracing the movements of the Tianem and Ohm fleets the last few days. Because the main force defending the area was blocked by similar Zeon forces in the area, the decision had been made to use a small number of prototype units in an attempt to assault, board and capture the ship. The Earth Federation as yet did not have an effective armed mobile suit carrier, and looked to the Zanzibar as one of the best of the duchies designs. Three mobile suits floated along with the two shuttles towards their target. The RX-78-1, tall and menacing with its dark grey on white colorscheme, was unpiloted, Thierry still smoking with the assault crews. The other two mobile suits were placed a ways forward, the ball-toting GM Juggler, equipped with its additional armor and full combat gear, as well as Petty Officer 1st class Nolan Harkin in the GM Light Armor. As the acting ranked officer, he was commanding the mission. It was Nolan who saw the Zaku first. A large piece of space debris, probably a bulkhead from a Magellan destroyed at Lourm, floated past the shuttle and the three mobile suits. Such things were normal in this area of space, and nobody paid it any heed, until the recon Zaku shot out from behind it. Its infra-red camera able to take high resolution photographs through the bulkhead, the pilot had already gotten all the information he needed. Dani and Nolan instantly snapped to the scene, firing up thrusters and bolting to catch the pilot before he relayed the information to the Prinz Eugen. However, the GM Juggler, weighed down by its bits and additional armor, was not fast enough. The GM Light Armor was able to give a chace. Nolan aimed his machinegun carefully, trying to match speed with the fast Zaku. Letting off three rounds, he clipped his target in the leg, but it quickly went into evasive maneuvers, denying Nolan the kill. Refusing to let up, the petty officer kept on his target, the MAF pilot much better than the average soldier. The Zaku finally stopped strafing, simply boosting as fast as it could towards the Zanzibar, and Nolan saw his chance, lining up the shot. He aimed carefully, zooming in his camera and targeting the mobile suits backpack, just in time to see the external fuel cells pop off the mobile suit and float towards him. What he didn't see was the grenade that was launched along with the spent fuel canisters, and the next moment there was a bright flash of white light, blinding Nolan before he could take down the Zaku. When he could see again, the black recon mobile suit was gone. 15 minutes later, Nolan, Dani and Thierry's mobile suits approached the Prinz Eugen, which already had its defensive mobile suits deployed and M particles on battle density. It wasn't quite the welcome they were hoping for, but it would have to do. Well out of range of the Zanzibars mega particle cannons the two shuttles sat, guarded by Dani's attack weapons pods. "Alright guys, the plan is simple. I'll take the Zaku, you two take out the ship." said Nolan over the comm, right before they entered the Zanzibars M particle field. Thierry and Dani already knew the plan, and they boosted in opposite directions as fire from the ships mega particle cannons streaked past their positions. The Gundam and GM Juggler darted up and down, sizing up the patterns of the AA gunners before taking their shots, while Nolan fired a line of 90mm shells over the Zanzibars bow, forcing the Zaku II R1 away from the ship. The yellow mobile suit spun in a circle, firing back with its 120mm, the GM Light Armor dancing about in the empty space above the ship. It was just then that a huge hangar opened beneath the Zanzibar Kai, a dark green mobile armor shooting out of the lower hangar. Dani turned his mobile suit around, distracted long enough for an AA turret to pepper him with heavy 110mm shells, which destroyed several of his outer armor plates. Intel didn't say anything about a mobile armor... Ryu Hazuki's Bigro flew towards its target at speeds a mobile suit couldn't hope to match. Lining up the crosshairs on his anti ship cannon, he waited a few seconds, making sure the shuttle wasn't going to move suddenly. Opening fire, the thick string of mega particles lanced through the shuttle, instantly destroying it and killing the men Thierry had been smoking with not twenty minutes before. The sudden loss of human life made Thierry feel a little sick to his stomache, but only for a moment, the crack of AA guns bringing him back to reality instantly. Lining up the second target with his anti ship missiles, Hazuki noticed the Balls just in time to go into a spin, strafing right as the two ball bits opened fire. A beam from his rear struck the Bigro on the arm, doing a glancing hit and causing the arm to catch fire for a second before the lack of oxygen extinguished the blaze. Having shed its extra armor plates, the GM Juggler was hot on Hazuki's tail, only a few seconds behind the Bigro. Dani breathed heavy inside the cockpit, his oversized helmet masking his face. His head was already hurting. Moving both bits while piloting the Juggler was still too hard for him, and his vision started to strain as he tried to line five beam guns onto a fast moving target. The second volley came, but the bits weren't quite on target, all four shots going wide. The Bigro swerved around in a wide circle, Dani clipping its outer armor but unable to fire properly with the pain in his head. Hazuki turned his mobile armor around, firing his MPC towards Danyans GM, but the young newtype dodged the shot. Although his head felt like it was going to split in two, for the moment he was still in control of his suits maneuvers. Theirry didn't have the time to help Danyan. They only had limited fuel, and unless he could disable the Zanzibars guns before they ran out, it would be suicide to send a shuttle in to board the ship. However, the Zanzibar had an AA compliment equal or better than that of a Salamis, and faking out all the guns with a single mobile suit was hard, even in a high performance target. Deciding to take a chance, Thierry flew straight in front of the ship, pulling his huge shield over most of the Gundams body and stopping completely. As the AA guns trailed to him he let off shot after shot after shot, mega particles lancing through the Zanzibars hull. One MPC exploded, then two, then a missile port, the heavy Luna Titanium shielded him from fire for a while, but eventually he had to move, a blizzard of AA fire cracking and destroying the Gundams shield and smashing the joints in its left arm. "One more pass like that and the ship will be down..." Thierry said to himself, at the same time thinking that one more pass like that and he'd be dead. He spun around to the back of the Zanzibar, taking a free shot at the engines as he passed through the slight blind spot in the AA fire. Nolan was having better luck, the GM Light Armor a grade above the R1 Zaku in maneuverability. He had tagged the enemy pilot several times now, but hadn't quite gotten the kill in yet. Annoyingly the enemy pilot seemed to be psychic, dodging repeatedly in the blind spot created by Harkins missing eye. Deciding he had to finish this quickly he sped the Light Armor in close, taking several 120mm shells to the legs as he grasped his beam saber, storing the machinegun and cutting the Zaku in two. The Zeon suit exploding, Harkin boosted the GMLA towards Dani and the Bigro. Dani was having trouble. Having decided he couldn't control the bits and keep aiming at such a fast target he was doing better, but just trying had stripped his mind clean, he felt like he had a head full of raw hamburger. Dodging a pair of missiles he just missed the Bigro as it swooped by, Hazuki moving the armor up for a pass where, if Dani dodged, his shot would hit the remaining shuttle. Dani moved the Juggler to block the incoming mobile armor, firing the remaining two rounds in his beam gun and storing it, pulling a beam saber off its rack on the mobile suits back. Both shots hit, but the monstrous armor could take a lot of punishment, Hazuki flying straight at his targets. The beak shaped plates that housed the MPC opened, and at the same moment Dani threw his beam saber straight at the mobile armors cockpit. Hazuki saw the missile and knew he had to dodge, flying past the Juggler with the shot going wide, missing the shuttle. Dani closed his eyes in that moment, trying to line up a shot with the bits, but at the same time one of the Bigros arms slammed into the GM Juggler. The collision coupled with Dani's straining to keep his control snapped his mind, and he went out like a light. Hazuki picked the Bigro back on target, its other arm tearing through the shuttle and killing the second assault crew before turning around. But as he did Nolan arrived on the scene, tearing into the mobile armors thick hull with an entire 90mm clip. Now having sustained too much damage to stay airborne, Hazuki blasted off towards the Zanzibar, hoping his armor wouldn't explode before he reached the hangar. Thierry didn't want to admit defeat, but he knew when the battle wasn't winnable, and there was no shame in a timely retreat. Firing several more rounds into the Zanzibar, he managed to get a lucky shot, the ships engine bursting into a chemical fire as he flew back. The two Federal mobile suits picked up the GM Juggler by either arm, and as best they could carried Dani home. Danyan Jhouti - 10 VP gained, 3 days damage 4 days injury Thierry Mersault - 10 VP gained, 3 days damage Nolan Harkin - 10 VP gained, 2 days damage Ryu Hazuki - 12 VP gained, 5 days damage Prinz Eugen - heavily damaged |