|
"Thanks." Kuuro said, raising the glass to the bartender. The old man smiled wryly, turning away and attending to the other customers. He looked like an old veteran, and well could have been, scars and worry across his entire body. Kuuro sipped the whisky, while the old man started shaking up a martini. He had pulled it off. Duped the Duchy of Zeon into selling him a nuclear warhead. What Konishis ends were no one quite knew, but they did not coincide with his contract, or the hidden plans of the Schutzstaffel. Kuuro looked at his watch, and wondered when the TAF would realize that he wasn't at their rendezvous. Maybe they already had. He didn't know, and he didn't care. He knew he had his package, and a team of Zakus to defend it. Even the Federation had chipped in on his little ploy. Konishi smiled, finishing the last of his whisky and stepping up out of the bar. He left a generous tip on the table. He was in a generous mood. After all, pulling off a con of this magnitude was something to be proud of. No one had seen it coming. The self proclaimed doctor left the bar with a smile on his face, the weary old bartender ending up at a table on the far end of the room. He gave a customer his martini, the well dressed man hugging the wall, his face embedded in a newspaper. He folded the paper up, smiling at the old man with a refined grace, elegence showing past his neat bow tie. "As much as I love a good drink, it seems my ride is about to leave." He left a few bills on the table, and hurried out the door. Konishi's Xamel was already powered up, taking up nearly six parking places outside. Dust flew into the air, the beast raising just a foot or so off the ground, the light brown cloud doing well to hide the well dressed man, who slipped up onto the rear end of the mobile suit just before it shot off into the jungle. "Keep our head level ensign, I don't want so much as a ripple on the surface." Marina scowled over the Pendragons helmsman, a young boy not over seventeen. They almost looked like children playing with toys, except that one of the children was an actual child, and the other was a professional murderer. Nimue had been extra hard on them, and there was not a speck of dust in the entire bridge. You would have expected Ghiren himself to drop in for a surprise inspection any minute. "Captain, we're getting a message from Commander Char." The comm officer spoke up, wondering if her tone would get her in trouble. There wasn't any tone, but Marina liked to scold you just because it was fun, it seemed. "The commander isn't here yet, punch it through to his personal-" Marina was stopped mid-sentence. "I'll take it here. Thank you Marina." Sebastian nodded. The screen above them fizzled to life, the red-suited and masked Char Aznable coming into view. He gave a salute, which Standartenfuhrer Brennan responded to. Two of Zeons legends were meeting face to face. "I've just gotten word from Garma. He's running a little late, seems they were ambushed by the African Union in southern Mexico." "Damned Federal dogs. I told my brother to deal with them." Sebastian growled angrily. Everything to him was somebody not living up to expectations. "Marina, how are we doing on the impress." Char said, changing the subject. Even the Red Comet was not able to override Sebastian on a mission, and it was good to keep the Standartenfuhrer in a reasonable mood. "Sealance is reporting its found the entrance right at the position you gave us commander. Our Mad Anglers are somewhat noisier than the Jukon IIs, but with the enemy focusing on lord Garmas assault, we should be able to slip in fairly easily." Marina was tense, hoping she was performing up to Sebastians expectations. She had lost Xavier, and all that was left to her was her mission. If they could win this day, Xaviers death would not be in vain. "Are you sure it's alright to let lord Garma act as a decoy Char?" Sebastian, as always, didn't like the plan. Putting a Zabi in danger was well beyond his comfort zone. "I heard both the White Devil and the blue Gundam are here, if either one were to move to their front line..." "We heard that the Blue Destiny did not launch in the battle with fleet Sigma yesterday, and are expecting it is out of comission." Char said, turning as if to review some previous information. "And our spies in Jaburo confirm that the Trojan Horse is in drydock. We are expecting the White Devil to sortie to face us, if at all." Of course, in actuality, Char was trying to keep his true intentions from the Standartenfuhrer. There was one very important reason why he wanted Garma to be the decoy... The Prince of Orange sat on his lofty throne, the Pegasus class carrier traversing the humid air above the amazon rainforest, a flotilla of Medeas trailing closely behind. Nigels past few engagements had ended in failure. They had failed to prevent the Zeon encroachment from devastating the Federal base at Rio de Janeiro, and failed to stop the combined air and naval fleets from besieging Jaburo. The Union forces that Ferdinand had requisitioned in Mexico had failed as well. "Sir, I just got a message from Lt. Gerard. He says it's going to be a bit before his team is ready to launch, something about regulation cockpit cleanings, I don't know. Oh and, a minor report from the brig, it apparently smells so much like rotton fish that the guards are wondering if Thorvald can detain himself for the day." And to top it off, Nigel had completely failed to control his crew. It was definitely not good to be king. "First they're playing wargames on top of my ship and painting it plaid, and now this..." Nigel muttered. "Get Gerard on the line. I'm fed up." Nigel picked up the phone sitting at his chair, the comm officer flipping it to Gerards cockpit. Gerard broke out in a cold sweat, which was noticable to Aurem and Arieta, the newlyweds strolling through the hangar, moving to their own units. "Yes sir. No sir. But sir, regulations sir... I understand sir. No sir, it's not sir. Yes sir. We'll be ready sir. Yes sir. I'm sorry sir." Aurem burst out into a fit of laughter, catching himself on the railing next to him as he tried to stay focused. Arieta waved, Gerard flipping her the bird while responding to the captain. In the EZ-8 Kyle snickered, quickly moving back to his regulation cleaning duties when the lieutenant stuck his nose out of his cockpit and glared. Elsewhere, in the Orange Bases brig, a dastardly, nefarious plot was being hatched. "Alright, the guards'r gone. I think th'smell finally got them t'go." Thorvald snuck back to his bunk, procuring the two springs. He really had no idea if this would work, but where Thorvald was concerned, ridiculous hijinks tended to pay off. "So, you want me to tell you where EVERYONE in the ship is." "Jus' 'till I gets m'self inta the Destiny. If they find out, they may not let us launch agin lassie!" Thorvald had already gone over the plan with her, but she wasn't buying it yet. They were usually spot on about things, but this was a little out there. "There's over a hundred people on this ship! What do you think I am Thorvald? Magical?" "Well... Yeah." Thorvald hadn't really thought of it before. Because it was obvious to him. She was a fairy. "White Base is going to be a decoy?!" Bright said, audibly annoyed. Revil and the rest of the senior staff nodded. "We know you've proven yourself captain, but the fact is, the enemy has shown a willingness to throw far more resources at White Base than is necessary. They took a lot out of us in Odessa, if Star One is to be successful, we need an effective decoy." Bright smiled, putting an aged hand on the young captains shoulder. "I know you can do it." The next moment Jim Irwin shot into the room, the Lieutenant gasping as if he'd ran straight from the fighter deck to the tactical operations center. He saluted as best he could before stammering out his message. "Sirs, they're here! Amy and I flew through their formation on the way in and we've got confirmation. It's the Viktoria Luise II, I'd know that ship anywhere." "So Garma decided to come himself..." Revil mused. If they could win this attack, the TAFs back would finally be broken, perhaps along with its crown. "Irwin, I want you to get every single thing we have into the air. Lets remind them that no Zeon aircraft has ever made it over this jungle in one piece. Woody." Revil looked at the senior officer, sitting at his left. "Organize a ground defense force, I expect them to attack from the water as well." "From the water sir? We haven't sighted any enemy submarines in the area." Woody said, confused but still standing and moving to go about his duties. "The fleet that sacked Rio wouldn't have just left before a major operation. Inform Ackart and Ferdinand, tell them we need them here as soon as possible." Revil ordered, finally sitting back in his chair. He had a lot ahead of him this day. "General, I'll go prepare White Base for launch." Bright said, adding a quick salute. "Negative. You've done enough for us Noah, we need your ship in one piece. This is the EFGFs turf, let us handle it." Revil smiled. He was already on shaky ground with the senior staff, after giving White Base much of the glory for finally routing the enemy at Odessa. "Have your people sortie, but leave White Base out of it." The next few minutes were a blur, mobile suit and aircraft pilots scrambling to order, literally thousands of personnel moving to positions like well oiled machines. Entire trees were uprooted as hidden hangar bays opened up, the sky filling with the might of the Federations air force. "I haven't seen this kind of firepower since last month!" Amy chuckled, the Desert Eagles circling above the base. Despite the induction of the new powerful Core Booster into limited production within the airforce, Amy still preferred her slightly faster Tin Cod. Irwin did as well, the autonomous forces fighter ace flying wingman in the Eagles formation. "Remember, Archer and his group are right behind them, as is Orange Base. We pick good timing we can catch them in a pincer." Irwin was always a bit more serious than most, his drill instructer days never quite able to leave him. "Hell, we can't go too fast, don't want them to complain about nothing being left." Sleggar Law laughed, his Core Booster shooting into the sky, along with Job John. The G-Armor had been re-aligned in its tank mode, Sayla, Kai, Hayato and Amuro defending the underground passageways from any sort of Naval assault. Thierry moved with them, smoking in his cockpit as was his custom. The Harbor Defense Guncannon would be a valuable ally, a team of them forming the main line of defense against underwater assault. Thierry was hoping he'd be paired with Amuro in the exchange, wanting to meet the boy pilot, but Woody moved his team to the mouth of the river, the EF-enlarged water feature huge enough to ferry mobile suits straight into the underbelly of Jaburo. Woody surmised that, if they were attacking by water, they must have found the hidden entrance used by the Federations own navy. "Only on Earth a month and I'm already in the two biggest battles of all time. Lucky me." The nihilistic Mersault blew a smoke ring, trying to relax as he and his squad moved out. "Excellency, we have two Federation airgroups moving at us, from either direction. Your orders?" The young woman aboard the Viktoria Luise II was worried. Garma nodded, flight helmet in one hand. "Send a message to Commander Char, tell him he's free to make his move. And send another confirmation to Knight and his men. If they can keep the Prince of Orange off our backs long enough, we'll have a good shot." Garma smiled, giving his crew a salute before turning and walking out of the bridge. "Good luck to you all. I'll be launching in my Gelgoog." "Here they come." Tony Knight said under his breath, looking at the Federal fleet in the distance. His four Gallops were covered with brush, the yellow battlecruisers barely concealed inside the canopy of greens and browns. They had been ordered to hold the line, preventing Garma from being attacked from the rear by Federation autonomous units. However, Kuuro Konishi, the Rogue who was supposed to be bringing their artillery reinforcements, had not shown. "Without those Zaku Cannons we won't have much anti-air. Have our main guns target the enemy Pegasus." Knight ordered. His gunnery officer looked back at him. "But sir, those Big Trays are still advancing. If we lose the element of surprise now, we'll be sitting ducks." "I don't care, we need to protect lord Garma. I was expecting us to have more mobile suits..." He grumbled. Knight left the bridge of the Persia, moving quickly to his Gelgoog. He met up with Marko in the hanger, the two pilots saluting before jumping into their test machines. "Pitting us against the entire 42nd. Great idea, Tony.." Marko grumbled. He didn't know how he had survived as long as he had, with bad odds. Even with his new machine, he had a bad feeling about this battle. Ahead of them, the three Big Trays rumbled forwards, squadrons of mobile suits of all shapes and designs walking ahead. At the front line of the battle, as always, was Cray and Ions devout little tank, the Type 61 having survived countless battles, disregarding all manners of death. As usual, Ion was complaining about some bad riveting in the secondary engine or something, while Cray was ignoring it. Some things never changed. Jarvis mopped at his face with a handkerchief, the air conditioning in his GM Command just having blown out, right before the battle. Oh but how he hated the jungles of East Asia, and South America was no different. He grumbled, entirely dissatisfied with the refit the tech crews had put on his machine just days before. "Be about ten minutes yet before we catch up with the main line, don't get nervous just yet." Ackart told his men. In answer, a number of explosions rang out from the jungle ahead, shooting into the air and slamming into the bottom of Orange Base. A small number of fighters exploded as well, the heavy artillery shells demolishing the Tin Cods. "What the hell?" Edmund said, instinctively aiming his beam rifle and firing back. He missed the target, but sliced through the bottom of a tree, which came tumbling down and revealed the bright yellow exterior of a Zeon Gallop class cruiser. "Nigel, you've got Gallops underneath, we'll take them here you go ahead." Jarvis said, hoping the communicae could make it to Orange Base through the minovsky particle fog. "Roger that. Tell all ships to raise altitude and move ahead, flank speed. We're leaving the 87th behind to clean up the mess." Nigel ordered. The Pegasus class ship began climbing into the sky, the Gallops getting another barrage in before the Big Trays guns rang out, ruining the forest before them. Scott Archer and his team flew ahead, Tin Cods and Fly Mantas from the 42nd, 87th and even the Lleu Llaw Gyffes meeting up before assaulting Garmas Gaw squadron from the rear. Communications over the fortress were completely cut off, a Recon Gaw doing its best to snuff the Federations coordination efforts. However, even the best of situational advantages can pale in the face of sheer numbers, and there were already more than one hundred Federation fighters in the air, including numerous aces. Small explosions dotted the sky, and bands of tracers shot up from the trees, pop-out AA turrets sending shells sailing into the clouds above. "Jesus Christ.." Archer said, amazed at what he saw. A number of Dopps turned on an enemy fighter wing, slicing into several Cods before exploding themselves in a vicious counterattack. Lines of bombers did strafing runs over the enemy Gaws, two of which were already billowing smoke. The Core Booster pilot was already going full speed, right into this swathe of carnage. Just before he arrived, the closest Gaw to him lost a wing, a huge band of mega particles shooting up from the forest floor and slicing the purple appendage in twain. A wing of Core Boosters and Tin Cods cut across the opposite side, filling the battleship with holes before spinning away. The carrier exploded, scattering debris and shraphnel over Jaburo in one final insult, its last act of Spacenoid defiance. Scott juked away from a line of enemy fire, catching a glimpse of Amy Bauer-Meister and Jim Irwin saluting him as they flew past. It was impossible to communicate in a minovsky cloud this intense, but the Federations fighter aces were still engaging the enemy with precision and grace. "Fuck if I let those two outdo me." Scott said, flying away from his team and into a hailstorm of enemy units. He gunned down one Dopp with machinegun fire, launching a pair of missiles into a second. Just as he was about to ram a third he dropped altitude, flipping and coming up behind an enemy formation. "YEEHAW, MOTHERFUCKERS!" Archer yelled, blasting out with his MPCs. He was going to make up for lost time the only way he knew how, by being a badass. One more experienced Dopp pilot fired a couple shells into his reserve fuselage, but the heavy Core Booster was able to take a bit of punishment. Scott gunned forward, made a tight spin, and took out the offending Dopp, tracer shells flying true to their design into the enemy craft. "That's five, what the hell do you have to say to that, Irwin." Scott chuckled. In the distance, another Gaw lost its wing, the Desert Eagles moving from battleship to battleship and taking out enemy engines. The purple carrier dropped altitude immediately, smashing into the forest floor and destroying several turrets and Federation tanks as it lumbered along, its dead carcass rolling through the Amazon jungle. "That's two. We're all out of missiles now, time to turn back to the small fry." Jim chuckled. The Eagles broke up, each maneuvering to a seperate target. There was simply nothing that Zeon had that was able to take the Federation in the air. Dopp pilots fought on valiantly, the superior Zeon craft more than able to dish out a decent amount of punishment before going down, but in the end, the air battle was always a numbers game. And the Federation always won the numbers game. "God, I hope this re-designed rust-bucket is as waterproof as they told me it was." Sebastian grumbled. A pair of Acquy's were literally carrying his Gundam upstream, Sebastian insisting on following Char for the entirety of the assault. He didn't trust the MAF. At all. Char and his men led the group, the Red Comet having gone this way once before, after all. His red Z'Gok was barely concealed by the river, light ripples protruding from the surface. It was unavoidable. The group consisted of a rabble of Goggs, Hygoggs, Z'Goks and Acquys, along with a handful of specialized one-use mobile suits specifically designed for this assault. In the rear was a Zock, the largest mobile suit able to fit inside the mouth of the river. The group slowly moved upstream, trying to be as stealthy as possible. Alec Irusk brought up the groups rear, the Warmonger staying slightly higher than the rest of them, able to watch the shoreline for any funny business. "Ma'am, all units are away. Your orders?" One of the operators of the Pendragon asked. Marina wanted to give them as much support as she could, but the huge sea tender was unable to approach any closer to the fortress. "We'll just have to trust the Standartenfuhrer from here on. Gunnery, I want incendiary rounds loaded in all missile tubes. Prepare a spread over the entirety of the enemy base topside. Lets get rid of this damned jungle, I want Garma to have a clear shot on these bastards." Marina scowled, always annoyed when she was unable to assist her superiors. The oversized hat she wore drooped to one side, and it looked somewhat comical. People wanted to ask her why she didn't just get a uniform that fit, but of course they didn't. She would hit them if they did. A number of missiles shot out of the ocean, rockets guiding themselves on pre-set paths towards the jungle. As they flew they sprayed and ignited napalm over the entire area, setting the undergrowth of Jaburo ablaze, a fire that would last until the next rains. Trees crackled and what wildlife remained scattered, mobile suits and turrets which were up till then hidden becoming revealed. The fire slowly but surely would eat away at the Federations terrain advantage. "Missiles away ma'am." The gunnery officer replied. "Alright. Is that Federal aircraft carrier still on our starboard?" Nimue asked, looking back at her instruments. "Aye ma'am. Himalaya class carrier, confirmed to be the Lleu Llaw Gyffes." "We've let that blasted ship survive too many times. Inform the Grabro pilots, now that we've given away our position, lets make ourselves useful." The Pendragon and a number of Jukons began slowly turning for the right, advancing towards a thick group of Don Escargots that was quickly moving towards them. The Zeon units had been confirmed both at the mouth of the river, and in the river itself, and there were not enough Dopps to contest the teams of Federation snails. Beyond them, the Lleu Llaw Gyffes coordinated efforts, trying to plot out the sound signals coming from the Jukons and organize the fighters through the minovsky interference. Ahead of the Duchy fleet, two Grabros sailed forwards, moving for the quite possibly unsinkable Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Gil Krundle tossed another beer behind his chair, the crumpled up canister bouncing off of another tin can and settling at the bottom of the cockpit. He belched, going about his mission in as unrefined a way as he possibly could. It wasn't like he was trying to be gross, there was simply only one wavelength that Krundle operated on. Both battle lines moved, depth charges beginning to drop beneath the blue. The MS squadron was surprised to find the river littered with minefields, the objects having been moved since Chars previous incursion into the area. A handful of MSMs exploded, the mines and depth charges taking their toll, but Alec quickly responded, blanketing the top of the river in lines of Freeze Yard. The Duchy squadrons advanced, Federal airpower unable to keep them from their goal. In the ocean, Krundle and his newtype wingman advanced towards the LLG, which began firing torpedoes and charges into the water. The number of Don Escargots was impressive, but it did not exceed the numbers found at Odessa, and Krundle was able to dodge the majority of the fire, his thick Grabro tanking the rest of the damage. His wingman however, was not so lucky. While at Odessa the two were supported by squadrons of advancing Goggs and Z'Goks, here they were all alone, and the Grabros made an especially large silhouette as they reached the top of the waves. Charge after charge impacted the mobile armor, till it finally exploded just a single nautical mile from the LLG. "One Grabro lost ma'am." Marina bit her lip. Grabros were expensive, especially those crewed by Flanagans best. "Launch all torpedo tubes at that blasted Himalaya. I want it down now." She hissed. The Schutstaffel fleet blasted a flotilla of warheads towards the LLG, coupled with anti-ship rounds from Krundle as his Grabro circled the carrier. The Gyffes shuddered and cracked, fumbling down into the water in two pieces. The warship, a legacy of from months past, had finally been sunk. "Good shooting. Begin diving preparations, we can't take many more hits." Marina ordered. In the next moment there was a huge shudder starboard, the sound of metal buckling and caving inwards. "Captain, the Lorelay has been sunk!" An aide yelled out. Marina bit her lip once more, gloved hands angrily attempting to twist the metallic sides of her chair. "Blast them... That was my ship.." In the burning jungle, Esther and her team advanced. The Dobdays of Sigma fleet had trundled forwards all this time, arriving just behind Garmas airforce, even though they had set out much earlier. MacKernan advanced ahead, her Gyan signaling both the advance, and the thunder of the guns, heavy artillery shells battering into the incinerated jungle ahead. Flames and smoke were everywhere, adding to the explosions above as the devastation raged on. "Keep moving! Keep firing! Keep uhh... Keep it up!" Esther cackled, enjoying her position of authority. Dobdays, Zakus and Gyans trudged forwards, exchanging fire at long range with enemy GMs and Big Trays. The ground shuddered underneath, those in Jaburo able to feel the vibrations of the battle above. Along with Esther, a lone GM advanced, the green GM Command an oddity amongst so much Zeon metal. The 202nd Aggressor Squadron was making its big debut on Earth, Haifa the lone member of the team. The 202nd used exclusively Federation mobile suits, and tried to take advantage of this fact. Haifas beam rifle blasted away, the only working beam weapon amidst the team. Elsewhere in the line, Persephone marched ahead, bespeckled with machineguns of all shapes and sizes. Dawn had lost a lot of her impetus in the war, as much as she had learned more about her newtype abilities. She had lost her brother after being shortly reunited with him, and prior to that had lost one of her only friends. She was starting to forget what she was fighting for, but she had not forgotten how to fight, the mechanics that she had learned at Granada. She marched forwards, silently firing off rounds one at a time, conserving ammunition until the group reached shorter ranges. On the opposing side of the battlefield, Aaron McCaskey orchestrated the defense. Several Big Trays were lined up, protecting the entrance to the underground complex. Rows upon rows of turrets and tanks lay ahead of them, causing the Duchy forces grief for every yard they advanced. However, the mobile suits, as well as Aaron, were already in the thick of combat. Garma and his forces had already airdropped right into the maw of the enemy, and Marina removing much of the jungle undergrowth had allowed them to attack the enemy quickly. McCaskey grunted as his beam saber plowed through another Zaku, jumping away from a beam as the brown Gelgoog moved on to another opponent. They would need help soon. "We're just about there, another couple hundred meters." Char said, the red Z'Gok still taking the lead. Their Freeze Yard rounds had run out, but they were past the minefield, and many of the Federal Don Escargots had moved off to attack the two Mad Anglers. Irusk and a couple of the MSMs dipped out of the water for moments, firing MPC rounds into the sky, and had scored at least one kill with this kind of hasty counterattack. It seemed as if they were going to get away scot free. It was then that a number of torpedoes slid into the water, obliterating several of the Zeon units. It wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed to get into the hidden gate. At the shoreline of the entrance, a number of torpedo turrets, as well as a team of Guncannon Harbor Defense Types were positioned, ready to repel the MSM assault. Under the water, a half a dozen or so GM Divers, as well as a single Aqua GM, blocked the actual entrance. "Alec, lets burst through." Char said, punching the thrusters on his Z'Gok. Irusks Z'Gok E flew ahead of the others, the two slamming into place between the Federal MSMs. Grenades and torpedoes were tossed at the enemy, but Irusk and Aznable slid past gracefully, chopping one and two of their enemies apart respectively. Above the river, Thierry and the other HDTs fired shell after shell into the water, quickly expending their ordnance. A single mobile suit leapt out of the river, barely visible as white seaspray splashed around it. One Guncannon fired its cannon point black into the unit, the shell exploding triumphantly against the surface of Duchy steel. However, the Federation pilots target was completely undamaged. As the water and smoke dropped, a green Gundam was revealed, lifting up two arms and slicing through the Federal HDT with gatling and beam rifle alike. "Waterproof indeed, fuck Federation technology." Sebastian chuckled, rolling his gatling around to the next Guncannon. This model however seemed to have reinforced armor, the small shells bouncing off it harmlessly. Thierry turned and faced Sebastian, letting off a blast from his beam rifle. Meanwhile, the Agg, Juagg, Zogock and Aggugguy burst out of the water, the freakishly armed test units moving into the other HDTs and the turrets. California Base had designed them specifically for this assault, but they didn't seem to be very effective. In the end however, it was four mobile suits against a single Guncannon and a handful of turrets, Thierry and Sebastian too busy with each other to lend a hand elsewhere. Sebastian moved in, realizing that this Guncannon must be using Luna Titanium armor, and dropped his gatling on the ground. Thierry blasted away with his beam rifle and cannon, forcing Brennan to sidestep back and away from the action. Mersault caught him with a volley of vulcan rounds, but they did nothing at all to the green Gundam. Sebastian fired off a shot from his own beam rifle, but Thierry narrowly dodged, part of his Guncannons left arm beginning to melt. "That's a long range model.. So I'll go in close." Sebastian muttered to himself, charging forwards. Thierry blasted away with his cannon again, the point blank round doing a number on the Gundams right shoulder. It began to spark and Thierry started to pull back, but the Gundam was simply faster. Sebastian sliced out with his beam saber, clipping one of the HDTs legs and causing it to topple over. "Hmph." Was all Sebastian said, raising the beam saber up in both hands, before coming down in a long swipe, intending to slice straight through the Guncannons cockpit. However, at the last moment the HDT broke in two, a small Core Fighter shooting out of the center like an escape pod. Thierry had gotten away. Sebastian muttered, opening his cockpit for a moment to look at the damage on his units shoulder. It was bearable. While the squad of ugly test units cleaned up the turrets, the Standartenfuhrer walked his mobile suit back into the river, where Alec and the rest of the MSMs were just finishing the mop up of Federal defenders. The Warmonger had lived up to his name, competing even with Char Aznable in the race to slaughter the outdated GM Divers. "Have fun up there?" Irusk chuckled, Sebastians Gundam falling back into the river, sinking until the two Acquy's grabbed it. Alec knew the SS officer couldn't hear him with all the interference, and it was probably better that way. Now undisturbed, the survivors of the Duchy attack team slipped into the base, already deep within the bowels of Jaburo. However, between torpedo turrets, Guncannons, Don Escargots, Minefields and the Lleu Llaw Gyffes, they had already taken quite a number of casualties, and it was still unknown what kind of defenders they would find inside the base itself. At the back end of the battlefield, the Big Trays of the 87th Brigade were under heavy fire, trying to advance into melee range with the enemy units. While the mobile suit and tank numbers were fairly equal, the Federations mobile suits and pilots were on the whole better. However, most of the Federal models in the field were designed for short to mid range combat, with few GMPGTs, Guntanks and Guncannons among them. Tony Knight and his men however, were almost entirely long range artillery units, and the 87th was taking heavy damage on their way in. Cray pounded back with his tanks main guns, launching a minovsky particle bomb and grenade smokescreen to deter the assault. But it was helping very little. The Gallops had the cover advantage, this part of the jungle having not quite met the napalm induced blaze just yet. Zaku Cannons blasted out, shells whistling through the sky. Fedral tanks were popping left and right, the smokescreen doing little to stop the advance. "Back the Gallops up, we're getting within range of enemy MPCs!" Tony yelled, the four yellow cruisers starting to slowly move backwards. However, the jungle encasing them was a double edged sword, preventing the Gallops from moving away with their usual speed. As soon as they came within range, the three Big Trays belched out high output waves of MPC fire, the forward mounted cannons completely melting the Munnin in one shot. "This is going to be ugly." Marko muttered, charging forward with his Gelgoog, Duncan Keystone and the groups small squadron of Goufs joining the fight. Machinegun and melee fire rang out, one Gouf felled almost immediately. Charles Gano and Edmund Blackadder both descended on Marko, Dresner using his superior skills to block both GMPGTs beam sabers with his shield, quickly leaping away before giving the minovsky particle weapons a chance to eat through the Gelgoogs thick armor. Marko's wingman in the Dowadge rode out, slamming into Edmund and knocking his Gundam to the floor. The ace pilot proceeded to make short work of a number of Federation tanks, but Jarvis put a stop to it, slicing off one of the skating mobile suits legs with a blast from his beam rifle. The Dowadge toppled to the floor, Seth Yamanu leading a marine charge towards the injured mobile suits. Veteran marines scaled the hide of the behemoth, blasting open its cockpit with C4 before rushing inside and killing the pilot. Duncan Keystone slammed his Gouf into a number of Federation mobile suits, slicing one apart before three descended on him. In the background, the Big Trays blasted out again, another Gallop turned into paste. In the thick jungle they simply had nowhere to run. Keystone sliced out with his heat saber, beating one of the Federation Gundams back. However, Jarvis was on him as well, the Federation officer moving from one combatant to the next. The two locked blades, Keystone waiting until the beam saber ate through his heat sword before going into action. Jarvis was thrown off balance, and Duncan leapt backwards, holding his shield arm out and peppering the GM Command with shells. He moved back where Knight was, Tony laying down cover fire while the Federation units overtook them. Their numbers and ability to fight close in were just too small. "We need to retreat. We can't hold them any longer." Knight grumbled, firing off the rest of the rounds from his beam rifle. Duncan threw a grenade, the flashbang lighting up the sky and allowing the two veteran units to escape. However, the Gallops, and Marko Dresner, were not quite so lucky. Marko ducked a blow from Gano, swinging his heat saber at Edmund, who parried with a heavy luna titanium shield. The Gelgoog was an amazing machine, but not enough to handle two Gundams, especially with the rest of the Federation descending upon him. A third Gallop was turned into scrap metal, Marko looking for a way out. It seemed that his luck had finally run out. He dropped the saber, moving back and firing his beam rifle, taking out one last mobile suit before Blackadder and Gano went into motion, moving to either side and then attacking, spearing the Gelgoogs reactor from either side like a pair of fangs. The Gelgoog, and Marko, exploded, the TAF officer giving his all in his final defense of Garma and the TAF. He had survived Seattle, he had survived Constantinople, he had survived Lhasa, and he had survived Odessa, but Jaburo was finally too much for the veteran soldier. "We'll just have to leave things up to Garma now." Tony said, the two pilots rushing off into the jungle. Knight didn't think his Gelgoog would make it much farther, the suit heavily damaged from a blistering amount of enemy tank fire. In a secluded part of the jungle, still unstruck by the flames of war, a reasonable handful of Zaku Cannons sat, in something of a ring formation. In the middle was a single Guntank, and a single Xamel. Atop the lumbering brown Zeon mobile howitzer, Dr. Konishi watched the battle rage on with a pair of binoculars. He had originally thought to target Garmas Gaw, but the Federations airforce had made short work of the Viktoria Luise, and he'd seen the Duchy paradrop its forces quicker than usual. For a while he thought to perhaps ignore his contract and run away, nuke in tow. There would be a better place to use such a warhead, right? But his deals with his secret benefactor, and the payment he had been promised, kept him on target. He thought long and hard, wondering about what would be just the right place to plant such a device. It was hard to look for Garmas mobile suit amidst the carnage and the burning jungle. He watched and waited, looking for the coordinates of that familiar light brown recolor. As he did so, a single man dropped off the back of his Xamel, quickly moving between the units. Hans had kept himself hidden until he saw the warhead, loaded into one of the Guntanks cannons. It also seemed as if they were setting up some sort of a photo-op, planning on taking pictures of the offending Guntank and possibly selling them to the press after the incident had occured. Hans main objective however, was to reacquire the device. He smiled at the lack of an infantry presence, and quietly made his way to the back of the Guntank, creeping up its metallic frame. "Perhaps... Perhaps there." Konishi grumbled. "Or maybe there? Oh. Oh wait! I found him!" He exclaimed, his eyes centering in on Garmas familiar brown Gelgoog. Even though it was Garmas first sortie in the new machine, Konishi had pictures of it already. His benefactor had been very thorough. "Alright. Fire on the following coordinates." Kuuro annoounced, punching in a set of figures to be relayed to the Guntank. As he finished them, a shot rang out, his Xamel shuddering and collapsing on itself. The Guntank had fired an armor piercing shell straight through the Xamels main turbojet engine, immobilizing it. "What the hell?" Kuuro said, falling onto the side of his cockpit as his mobile suit toppled over. The Zakus in his team turned, only for one to be gunned down by the offending Guntank. Its pilot lay dead on the ground in front of it, a 9mm shell rattling around in his brain. "Surprise surprise." Bond mused, turning the Federation mobile suit towards the ocean. The Zakus opened fire with what close range weaponry they had, and would destroy the Guntank in moments. Bond had to act fast. "You know, Zeons modern nuclear warheads are quite a marvel. I can fire her before priming her and there's no chance of a detonation at all." Hans chuckled. He quickly punched off a set of coordinates, sending a coded signal to Marina in the Pendragon before firing the nuke. The unprimed warhead sailed through the air, plopping neatly down like a dud in a pre-set coordinate deep within the jungle. The SS would pick it up later. Hans opened the Guntanks cockpit and pulled at the ejection seat just as the mobile suit exploded, shooting into the air. As the seats parachute opened up he leapt off of it, Zaku Cannons shredding the chair while Hans dropped down into the canopy, trees and jungle growth cushioning his fall. Kuuro had barely gotten himself upright again to see what was going on. It had all happened right under his nose. At the battlefield, the jungle flames rolled higher and higher, black smoke rising in plumes up into the sky. The artillery on both sides had devastated the jungle, turning the northern end of Jaburo into a charred wasteland, not even closely akin to its former self. It was a desolate and barren deathworld, filled with nothing but devastation. What turrets still remained cried out in vengeance, huge shells sailing through the sky, which slowly turned dark, an artificial haze of black smoke blotting out the sun. The Duchy aircraft had all but been taken care of, and Federation bombers strafed the Zeon position in waves, the Dobdays slowly advancing towards the exposed tunnels that were the entrance to the fortress. Haifa had put his beam rifle away, turning to the more easily reloadable MMP-80, and was pushing forward at the right edge of the battlefield, the lush jungle visible just a few hundred meters away. Persephone was at his side, and the two were effortlessly beating back the Federations troops. Type 61's and 74's rolled backwards as carefully as they could, while Marine squadrons shot off their anti-tank weaponry before taking cover in the spoiled earth. Slowly, but surely, the Federation was being beaten back. Haifa aimed at an enemy GM, carefully pulling the trigger, a trio of 90mm shells slamming into the targets shield, placed in the nick of time. The Aggressor switched the safety off of his rifle grenade, aiming for the shield with the intent of destroying the GMs elbow joint. Piloting a GM for as long as he had, he was well aware of their weaknesses. However, he stopped as one of Persephone's manipulator arms grabbed onto his shoulder. "Get back!" Dawn shouted, and the two jumped away, a panzer faust shooting past them. It exploded in the dirt on their left, sending up a column of mud as if it had struck oil. Haifa and Persephone both turned, finding a trio of mismatched mobile suits appearing out of the jungle. One GM Ground, one GMPGT and a Rick Dom II, painted in blues and yellows blocked their way. "FOR AFRICA!" Aisha yelled, charging forward and blasting her rifle, machinegun rounds sailing in between the two mobile suits. Haifa leapt forwards, Lazeravich charging him with his Rick Dom II. Not optimized for Earth combat, he could not skate along the soil, and was forced to run on the RDII's bulky legs. Vemunio drew her beam saber, charging into Persephone's spider Zaku with saber and shield barred. Persephone dropped her weaponry, knowing machineguns would have little use against an enemy Gundam. However, the six handles literally duct tapped to the back of her Zaku were another story. The manipulator Zakus arms pulled back, snapping the bonds on the heat hawks before whipping forward, locking six red-hot blades in place. Persephone was prepared for the enemy charge. This one feels different. Persephone thought, locking two hawks with Aishas saber as the two closed distance. She swung out with two more axes on one side, Aisha jumping backwards, using verniers to balance her machine while firing vulcan rounds at the opposing Zaku. A literal shield of axe blades blocked the low impact shells. Malak fired a burst of rounds from his machinegun, Haifa dropping his shield and sidestepping. He knew he had the maneuverability advantage against a Rick Dom on Earth, and intended to make use of it. However, the other Union GM joined Lazeravich, and two on one Haifa would have to withdraw. The aggressor grabbed a machinegun in his right hand, beam rifle in his left, and fired on both targets, boosting into the air while he did so. A single Fly Manta saw him from the air, dived down and fired missiles into the green GMs chest. Haifa was knocked backwards in his seat, but managed to destroy the Manta with vulcan fire as it tried to ascend. Malak blocked the machinegun fire with one arm, unable to dodge effectively in the poor terrain. He launched a grenade at the green GMs landing point, but Haifa was able to strike it with a 90mm shell, the grenade round exploding before hitting its target. The two soldiers slowly backed away, unable to cause any critical damage to each other. Meanwhile, Persephone and Aisha continued their duel, Persephone slowly becoming angrier and angrier. The pressure of the enemy newtype offended her, the feeling as if she was being somehow persecuted, invaded, kept going further and further into her psyche. Each lash of her heat hawks became more intense, her lip bleeding as she chewed on it, trying to ignore the emotions of her opponent. Aisha, much less experienced as a psychic, was unaware of the troubles she was causing, focusing only on defeating her enemy. She blocked a squadrons worth of heat hawks with her shield, using the GMPGTs superior strength to knock the Zaku to one side. Throwing her beam saber to the ground, she quickly whipped a machinegun off her shoulder rack and fired. But it was as if Persephone knew the attack was coming. She actually dropped her Zaku onto all fours, ducking under the fire before throwing a clod of mud at the head of Vemunios Gundam, for a moment blocking all of her sensors. Aisha scrambled to switch to secondary cameras, a loud jolt striking her cockpit. A sideways kick from Dawn knocked the Gundam back, slamming it into the mud where it would have difficulty escaping. Persephone, her nose bleeding, looked at the fallen Gundam for a moment, and then turned her mobile suit around and walked away. For some reason, she could not bring herself to kill the enemy newtype, even after such a short introduction. "Is it time yet lassie?" Thorvald asked again. The guards were still gone, the rotton herring had done its work. He couldn't stand the smell himself in fact. He had to get out of that cell as fast as possible. Alright, they're about to launch now. Do... Whatever it is you're going to do. "Ye'll be surprised ye' didn't think o'this yerself." Thorvald chuckled, taking the two springs. He fastened one to a prison bar each, a single bar between the two, and then attached each end to one end of the can of spraypaint. Grunting like an angered scotsman, Siggurdson pulled back on the springs, getting as much pressure built up as he yanked the can to the end of the room, aiming the thing at the middle bar. "Alright, here she goes!" Thorvald said, letting go of the contraption. The can of paint slammed against the bar, the springs propelling it at explosive speeds straight into the steel rod. And explode was what it did, blasting yellow paint all over the entire brig, and Thorvald, with a triumphant crack. Thorvald ignored his knew yellow makeover, pleased that the impact had also severely bent the bar. He rushed to the opening, squeezing out of the resulting hole and appearing on the other side. "Ta-da! I'm out! Now's yer turn lassie, get me t'the hangar without bein' seen." Thorvald whispered. He was crouching low, trying to have the sly grace of some wild Snake, but as he was, covered in yellow paint, he really just looked like a bent over old Ocelot. Okay okay, let me think... Okay, should be clear if you open the door and run to your right... Now. The newtype ghost guided him, using her sensory abilities to track the movements of the ships crewmen. Thorvald opened the door, rushing down the end of the hall. He slipped on the paint that was now covering his shoes and slammed into the wall, but quickly hid behind the corner as a guard came running. "What was that noise??" The guard said, but seeing nothing, shrugged his shoulders and went back to his post. While Thorvald made his escape, the fighting below Orange Base was heating up, the shadows of the Pegasus and Medea fleet cast down on the protracted melee below. Garma had found his match temporarily, Lieutenant Burning and the Invincible 3rd Team meeting him on the battlefield. "Shit, they're taking their sweet time waiting to launch." Monsha said, looking up at the carriers above, and then back to the battle. He dodged a number of machinegun rounds, returning fire with his own rifle. Garmas bodyguard of Zaku II G's was on the ground with him, and though the Invincible 3rd was more skilled, they were outnumbered by the high maneuverability Zeon machines. "Keep pushing them! I don't want Char to say he got there first!" Garma yelled, charging Burnings GM Comm and once again. He swung his double bladed heat saber in a wide arc, the weapon spinning in the rotating Gelgoog hands like a pinwheel. Burning attempted to block with his beam saber, only to have the weapon knocked out of his hands. He leapt back, using a fragmentation grenade to block the Zabis pursuit. "These new mobile suits... If they make more of these we're fucked." Burning gasped. A Zaku came at his GM from the side, but he ducked down, tipping his unit forwards. He came back up and literally rolled the Zaku across his GMs back, the Zeonic mobile suit almost somersaulting over the GM and into a pillboxed turret. The cannon blasted, the Zaku split in two at the waist. Elsewhere, Aaron McCaskey and his forces were having trouble, slowly backing up while the might of the Duchys forces bared down on them. McCaskeys GM LCT was outdated, and his railgun paled in comparison to the beam weaponry now held by both sides. He fired round after round, doing reasonable damage to one of the enemy Dobdays when a cloud of missiles slammed into his shield from the left. An enemy Gyan was advancing for him, surrounded by Duchy mobile suits. "I won't let Garmas Gelgoog beat the MAF." Esther said, firing another barrage of warheads. Aarons shield splintered and cracked, the two units locking beam sabers and throwing mud into the air as they pushed on each other. However, the Gyan was easily more powerful than a simple GM, and MacKernan knocked Aarons machine down, and into the mud. "Feddie scum." Esther said, snarling at her opponent while she raised her saber, prepared t o deliver the coup de grace. She leapt back however, noticing a number of reinforcing Federal MS dropping down from the sky. "Lieutenant Gerard. Beam Team. Moving out." Gerard said, his mobile suit blasting off of Orange Bases catapult and into the darkening sky, soaring over the battlefield. Kyle laughed as he moved to the loading rack. "He said it! He actually said it!" Slater was flung into the air as well, the Beam Teams Gundam Extra Zero 8 sailing out and into the blue. He lowered his beam rifle, firing shots into Zeon positions on the ground as he sailed over them. "Karol Ryder, Beam Team, launching!" Karol said, next on the catapult line. The Beam Team dropped down amidst the Federation forces, reinforcing them with fresh weapons and fresh morale. On Orange Bases opposite launch deck, Arieta was set to move out first. She blew Aurem a kiss, knowing they wouldn't be able to talk much once they entered the battle and the minovsky particle haze. Her GM Land Combat Type shot off into the sky, her railgun aimed down below. She fired two shells, one piercing and silencing an enemy Zaku. "Nice shot sweetheart, but check this out." Aurem said, his GM Sniper right behind her. In midair, he swerved around, aimed his LRBR, and fired a huge swath of pink mega particles. The blade of plasma cut a line straight through the battlefield, as well as an opposing Dobday, the battleships treads exploded, disabling the battleship and adding to the dust and debris in the sky. Aurem dropped the weapon, its charge spent, the sniper beam rifle steaming as it landed with a thunk on the mud below. "That's our boys... Captain, all teams are away." The Pegasus class ships comm officer gave Nigel a soft salute. "Good, good. Keep circling the battlefield, we'll give close fire support to the ground turrets, but lets not take too much damage this time. It's up to the ground forces now." Ferdinand responded. Their job was more or less finished. However, his comm officer was not quite done with his remark, in fact he was stammering. "Sir.. The uhh, the uhh.." "Spit it out corporal! What is it?" Nigel said, flatly annoyed. "It's the Blue Destiny, sir! It's getting onto the starboard launch catapult, sir!" "What?! I didn't authorize that, who's in it?" Nigel said, his face going pale. There were really only two possible answers, and he didn't want to hear either of them. But one of the two he REALLY didn't want to hear. "Sir, I checked the video feed myself. There's... Nobody in it. Sir." That was the answer Nigel really didn't want to hear. Then the voice came, causing every man aboard the bridge to break out in a cold sweat. Kill me... "Should we close the launch doors sir?" The comm officer asked, finally. "JESUS CHRIST NO, LET IT GET THE BLOODY HELL OFF MY DAMN SHIP!" Nigel yelled, startling both himself and the young communications officer. Inside the Blue Destiny, a bright yellow Thorvald was crouched behind his own chair, where the feed from the maintenance camera couldn't see him. He and Marion were both having a good laugh. Below the battlefield, Garma watched the units launch from Orange Base and the Medeas. Tony Knight had not been able to stifle the EFs autonomous reinforcements like he'd promised, and from here the battle would start to turn south. In order to keep morale high, he would have to make a show of force as fast as possible. "Don't ignore me you brown bastard!" Burning yelled, charging his GM forward. Garma whipped a previously unused beam machinegun off his back weapons rack, aiming it at the Federations ace. He opened fire, bursts of mega particles lancing out towards the GM. Burning dodged in the nick of time, his unit losing its right arm. "God damn it..." Burning said, launching a flare that signalled his team to fall back. The 3rd had held them off as long as they could. Garma ignored their retreat, watching the Federation units sailing in from the sky. They would be at their most vulnerable right now, before they hit the ground. Then, at the back of the line, he saw an enemy sniper fire its LRBR, wasting away the front end of one of his Dobdays. "He'll make a good example." Garma said, pointing the beam machinegun at the sky. He zoomed his camera in, aiming carefully while his Zaku bodyguard covered him, the Gelgoog stopped totally still while the youngest Zabi carefully adjusted his shot. Arieta saw the glint on the end of the beam rifle, and instinct told her what was coming next. "Aurem, you need to move!" She yelled, but the particle density was too thick. He couldn't hear her. Without thinking, she kicked her verniers into high gear, gaining altitude and boosting straight into the line of fire. Garma laid out a barrage, a full dozen beams slamming into Arietas GM and slicing it to ribbons. Aurem could only scream, a mix of anger and the inability to believe what he saw. All four limbs were cut from his newlyweds mobile suit, the torn carcass of a cockpit slamming into the deadened earth below. Looking down, Aurem saw the brown Gelgoog lower its rifle, turning away from him in a show of disrespect. And in an instant, amazement turned to sorrow. And sorrow turned to anger. And anger turned to rage. Deep beneath the surface, a wholly seperate attack was going on. Mobile Suit Marines and a lone green Gundam advanced, snaking as silently as they could through the underground passageways. The cave was enormous, lit artificially and containing a dank glow that you could only find in a hospital basement. There were ships in drydock, many of them, lined in neat little rows. An entire fleet of Federation battleships, all but ready to soar into space, and attack the Duchy at Side 3. "Mein Gott... The Federations resources truly are amazing." Sebastian said, taken aback. It appeared as though the Federal war machine had not stopped at all, even in the face of this attack. They were still building machines for their final push into space. Teams of Panzergrenadiers moved out, the fleets Sealance squadron delivering them into the battle. The black faced, red eyed troopers rushed, crouching low as they ran, trying not to reveal themselves to the enemy even when backed by enormous mobile suits. However, it was only a few seconds before the Duchy position was discovered. "There they are!" One pilot yelled. In here, beneath the surface, there was no particle jamming, and everyones communications worked perfectly. A team of GMs moved to intercept the group, and met a blast of beam fire, the MSMs water cooled mega particle cannons still at full capacity. "Commander Woody, we've encountered the enemy, they-" The GM pilot was cut off, a burst of pink beams slicing through his machine. At the back of the line, the second line of defense was rushing to the Duchy point of ingress. Woody, commanding the battlefield from a simple Fanfan, was leading the team from White Base to the action. Amuro, Sayla, Hayato and Kai were all ready to fight off the enemy. Amuro fired a shot from his beam rifle, expertly targeting an Acquy cockpit and not the reactor. The machine fell, only for a red Z'Gok to slide in place from behind it. Like lightning it moved, ducking under a GM before slicing it in two with its claws. "CHAR!" Amuro yelled, moving ahead. However, Woody moved in ahead of him. "You stand back Amuro, let me show you how the Ground Forces fight." Woody said, charging forwards. His cockpit canopy was open, and his hair and massive sideburns rustled in the artificial wind. He dodged a blast of mega particles from a Gogg, strafing right and firing his Fanfans missiles straight into the center of the MSMs bulky cockpit. The Gogg slid to a stop, apparently undamaged by the barrage but the pilot slain by impact debris. "And now for that red bastard." Woody turned, firing 12mm shells at Char's Z'Gok. Char ignored the rounds, moving forwards and smashing Woody and his Fanfan between two scythelike fingers. "Woody!" Amuro yelled, tears in his eyes. He rushed forwards, Char braced to accept the challenge. However, on their right emerged the huge Zock, the green giant bellowing forth a mountain of mega particles from all sides, blasting towards Amuro and the Gundam. Amuro flipped in midair, turning his beam rifle to one side without looking, and fired. The shot went straight through the Zocks cockpit, and the devastating mobile suit went silent immediately. "Only I'm going to be able to handle him.." Char said to himself. Another GM came at him, beam saber raised, but Char flipped in a circle in midair, kicking the GM back before cutting it in two with his Mega Particle Cannons. "CHAR! You're mine!" Amuro yelled again. The two legends clashed, locking weapons and trading blows, oblivious to the fight that went on around them. In another part of the battlefield, another Gundam attacked its enemy, Sebastian moving towards the rest of the White Base team. Alec Irusk flanked him, the warmonger and the Standartenfuhrer facing twin Guncannons and the G-Bull. Alec was the first to move, charging straight for Kai, who honestly wasn't paying too much attention. Shiden dropped his paper airplane, focusing back on the battlefield, and leaped back. His beam rifle shot went slightly wide, the Warmonger ducking under it and firing off a row of missiles, which sailed into one of the battleships beyond. A single round clipped the Guncannons chest, but it did little damage to the Luna Titanium armored machine. "Damned White Devil. Where is Char!" Sebastian growled, firing off what remained of his gatling cannons rounds. They bounced harmlessly off of Hayato and Saylas machines, which responded with cannon and mega particle fire, breaking Brennans shield and forcing him back. He aimed with his beam rifle, but the Gundams shoulder was damaged from his previous battle and the targeting was slightly off. Sayla moved out of the way, blasting with MPCs again. Another Gogg went down. Alec charged Kai, moving into as close a range as possible and sliced out with his claws. The Guncannon pilot moved backwards, throwing a grenade to enable his escape. He ducked behind a building, but changed direction immediately, coming out from the same side he had disappeared from. He fired his cannons, scoring a direct hit on Alec, who had been faked out by the maneuver. "Damn, Brennan, we're losing!" The Warmonger yelled, pushed back. The constant fighting had done its toll, and they were unable to defeat these fresh troops. Sebastian fired off the remains of his beam rifle rounds, Hayato and Sayla able to dodge the blasts. They returned fire, forcing Sebastian closer and closer to the water. "Damnable Earthnoids... Why couldn't we have dropped a colony on them." Brennan grunted. He fired the last round of his beam rifle, finally scoring a hit on the G-Bull. Saylas armor was disabled, and she rushed out of the cockpit, thinking another shot would come to finish her off. However, Brennan was out of ammo. By this point, Char had almost beaten Amuro, but fresh reinforcements from above forced him back. Amuro couldn't pursue in his condition, the Gundam heavily damaged, and he yelled at Char while the red comet retreated. He simply was not strong enough to defeat him yet. Char, Alec and Sebastian rushed off to a darkened corner of the fortress, the GMs handling the rest of the mobile suit marines. They were running full tilt back to the water, when Char caught a glimpse of something unusual out of the corner of his eye. He stopped, letting Sebastian and Alec rush forwards. He turned, opening his cockpit and looking out at the blonde woman before him, hiding behind a pile of debris. "Artesia!" He yelled, looking down at his sister from behind his iron mask. Was she really a Federation soldier? "Casval??" Sayla responded. The two shared a glance, but then incoming fire forced Char back into his cockpit. He effortlessly destroyed another GM before descending beneath the waters, the two Z'Goks carrying Sebastians Gundam back out of the fortress. In the hellscape above, an absolute melee had broken out, mobile suits from all sides fighting in a blind frenzy. Smoke clouds billowed higher and higher, creating an ambiance that fit the occasion, while beam sabers and lances of minovsky particles flashed on the ground below. From high above, it looked like the very ground was on fire, alit with tiny pink sparks that blinked around, almost like a swarm of the devils own fireflies. The 87th had finally arrived in Zeons rear line, Big Trays blasting out with cannon fire, joined in by those protecting the tunnels above. Aaron McCaskey stopped for a moment, saluting Jarvis and his men. Cray blasted ahead in his tank, the outdated machine looking a little too gung ho for its own good. Twin cannons rang out, striking an enemy Magella which shattered under their weight. Edmund Blackadder and Charles Gano fired off what remained of their ammunition, machinegun rounds zipping through the air like bees. Sigma fleets defenders were caught between two fronts, the Dobdays halting and turning their guns to face this new enemy. The ships threw hell at each other, gigantic shells tossing up columns of earth that plopped down on the infantry below like a heavy rain. Persephone, carrying a bazooka and 120mm that she had gleaned off a Zakus corpse, moved to defend against these new invaders. Haifa was close behind her, his GM still shieldless. Charles and Edmund and their teams laid down a blanket of fire, Persephone shifting to one side and hiding her Zaku behind a lone tree, burnt but somehow still standing amidst the carnage. She moved out from it, firing bazooka rounds that squarely hit Ganos shield, causing it to crack and forcing his Gundam down on one knee. Missile fire began hitting his unit from the side, heavily damaging it. Esther was running to the scene, his ridiculous shield finally out of ammunition. He bared his beam sword, and was about to charge into Ganos Gundam when beam fire from the rear forced him to turn around. A white Gundam was charging him, the Beam Teams personal logo emblazoned on its chest. Kyle dropped his rifle and grabbed a saber, smashing into Esthers Gyan. The two high performance units locked blades, pushing away before slashing at each other again. The Gyan was able to match the EZ-8 in physical power, and Kyles vulcan rounds did little to Zimmads heavily armored close combat machine. Aaron charged forwards, firing what remained of his railgun ammunition before dropping the heavy weapon. Haifa dodged out of the way, turning around and opening fire, beam rifle in one hand and machinegun in the other. McCaskey dropped down to his knees, producing his own 100mm from a weapons rack and returning fire. The two GMs leapt out of the way from each other, dropping spent magazines and reloading their weapons. A few shells struck McCaskeys suit in the leg, and he went down on one knee. Aaron would be unable to pursue any more. Haifa could not deliver the finishing blow, Vermillions tank squadron opening fire on his position. Shells splattered against the GM Commands right side, an arm cracking and exploding under their weight. Haifa dropped his machinegun, throwing a smoke grenade at the enemy position before rushing away. As he turned, he saw a Big Tray blast out with its mega particle cannon before him, an already heavily damaged Dobday disintegrating in the blinding flash of pink light. Persephone charged towards Jarvis Ackart and his team, expertly dodging enemy fire with a prescient grace only a newtype was capable of. She unloaded the rest of her bazooka rounds into a GMPGT and then leapt to one side, a pair of heat hawks and a machinegun bared at Jarvis's mobile suit. Ackart finished off his machinegun rounds, but was only able to strike air. Oh but how he hated newtypes. Close to the tunnel entrance, Garmas Zaku II G bodyguard was having trouble, a lone, red eyed and blue skinned mobile suit crashing through their position. Thorvald was at the controls now, he and Marion working in tandem to fight off five mobile suits at once. Watch the left! "I see 'im lassie." Thorvald grimaced. The Blue Destiny dropped into a crouch, spinning and firing machinegun shells into one Zaku even as a bazooka round careened overhead. The blue demon then boosted backwards, dodging the slash of a heat hawk while pounding missiles into its own former position. One Zaku was caught, the warheads destroying its knees and sending it toppling to the ground. Behind you! Marion cried out, another bazooka round smashing into the Destiny from behind. Thorvald was unable to dodge in time, and his mobile suit smashed into the ground. Dropping shield and machinegun, the Scotsman was dazed from the fall, but his angel was not. Marion leapt the Destiny back upright, grabbing a Zakus arm at the elbow and stopping a heat hawks downwards chop. She reached out with her free hand, tearing the steel cockpit hatch open before punching the Zakus pilot. "Thanks, I can handle 'er now." Siggurdson said, grabbing back at the patrols. He picked the fallen Zaku up on one shoulder, tossing it at the rest of the bodyguard. They all scattered, firing away with bazooka and machinegun rounds at the Blue Destiny. Luna Titanium armor creaked and groaned, barely taking the combined assault. There's just too many of them.. Marion said, screaming shortly afterwords as a round struck the Destiny in the head. Its eyes lost their reddened glare, turning back to a lifeless blue. "Lassie?? Where'd ye go? Are ye alright?" Thorvald stammered. Another Zaku charged him, but he whipped out a beam saber and struck the suit directly in the reactor. A huge explosion rattled the area, tossing the remains of the bodyguard aside, and throwing the Blue Destiny into the dirt. Its saber arm had been severed, the EXAM system had failed, and the entire rest of the frame was horribly damaged. Thorvald sank into his chair, blood on his face, and didn't know what to do. The Blue Destiny had been destroyed. Garma watched the battle, looking around and surveying his TAF brethren. They were shaken, fragmented, and soon to rout. Another Dobday exploded in the distance, just after its guns had finally taken care of the Renegade, the Big Tray shuddering to a lifeless halt in the mud. There was nothing he could do now. The Terrestrial Assault Force had lost its final chance to take control of the Earth. Garma was wondering if he should retreat or stand and fight when a dark green GM Ground slammed into the mud before him, holding no weapons but a beam rifle. Aurem glared at his enemy, affixed on nothing but the single passionate thought of vengeance. Garma snapped to his senses, raising his twin bladed beam saber to face off against the new combatant. Brown and Green mobile suits clashed, Aurem parrying Garmas blow and moving quickly to one side. He slashed out, saber flashing pink as the brown Gelgoog leapt away. The two circled each other, watching for another opening. Garma fired quad vulcans into the Ground GMs hide, but its thick armor ignored the blows. Aurem charged forwards, the twin beam saber rotating and spinning, impact force knocking Senaiha's saber out of his suits hand and high into the air. Garma sliced off the forearm of Aurems suit, but the sniper pilot continued his charge, recklessly tackling the Gelgoog and forcing the two of them to the ground. Unable to lift the heavy GM off of his Gelgoog, Garma was pinned. He looked for his bodyguard, but they were all locked in combat with the Blue Destiny and other Federal forces. The Zabi fired vulcan rounds, tried to kick the GM off of him, tried everything he could. Aurem pinned Garmas beam saber arm down with a knee, his suits one good hand punching the heavily reinfoced Gelgoog cockpit over and over. The GM Grounds hand smashed at the knuckles on the cockpit, but he continued punching, slamming down on the brown Gelgoog over and over. The Zeonic commanders mobile suit squirmed, kicking and beating at the GM but unable to dislodge it. And then, after one final punch, the Gelgoog stopped moving. The cockpit, covered in a multitude of dents, had finally crushed its pilot. Aurem sat atop Garmas fallen body, amidst the smoking black terrain that was formerly the lush amazon rainforest of Jaburo, and began to cry. The 87th was now the primary force fighting the Zeon remnants, as mobile suits routed towards the north and through their position. What little morale still remained was obliterated when they saw Garma fall, and now the battle was certainly over. News of the Zabis collapse quickly moved from place to place despite minovsky particle interference, and it heralded the Federation victory. However, the Duchy MS still running through the 87th posed a dangerous threat. Persephone, still locked in combat with Ackart, became a much more ferocious foe as soon as he was blocking her escape path. She fired the 120mm into the GM Commands leg, slicing it off at the knee. "Shit." Jarvis said, dropping to one knee and looking up at the six armed mobile suit. He raised his arms to block the heat hawks, but the blows never came. Persephone rushed past his mobile suit, her Zaku running off into the cover of the jungle beyond. Jarvis breathed a sigh of relief, sitting back in his seat and feeling as though he had lucked out. However, it was not to be. By complete surprise a beam sword slashed through his cockpit, Esther MacKernan tearing Ackart in two as she rushed past, heading for her own escape route. "That'll teach you to relax during a battle." Esther chuckled, running away. It was what she did best, after all. The battle had ended, but the mop up would take hours. Seth Yamanu led a team of Marines in mop up, moving through the entirety of the Jaburo base, trying to find the Panzergrenadier squads and their bombs that had been planted during the mayhem. At the maintenance deck, pilots and mechanics rushed about, trying to repair severely damaged mobile suits before they exploded. Two pilots stood out amongst the mess, Thorvald Siggurdson and Aurem Senaiha both praying to god that their better halves were okay, or at least hadn't felt any pain. Thorvald rushed from mechanic to mechanic, trying to explain the situation. "No, no, y'don't understand. There's a faerie in mah machine, y'gotta make sure she's okay." He stammered, sweating and looking for the remains of his mobile suit. Finally he found it, a team of specialists looking carefully at the head. They assured him that it was okay, that they would rebuild it, and make it better. Faster. Stronger. Aurem on the other hand sat on the floor, surrounded by grief and despair. He barely noticed the doctors wheeling Arieta to the medical bay on a stretcher, only catching sight of it by the glint of her wedding ring, sparkling on her limp hand. Aurem ran to the doctors, tears in her eyes. "Is she going to be okay?!" He asked, one of the men pushing him aside. "She's alive for the moment, get out of our way." Aboard the Mad Angler, Char had retired to his quarters, thinking about the result of the battle. It hadn't really gone as planned. He underestimated Federal defenses at Jaburo, and his contract with Kuuro Konishi to fire a nuke at the Viktoria Luise II had somehow ended in failure. However, a brave Federal ace had apparently felled Garma regardless, saving Char the trouble. Only four Zabis left to go. Duncan Keystone - 8/2 VP Gained, Repairing +3 Marko Dresner - 8/2 VP Gained, Killed in Action Tony Knight - 10/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Esther MacKernan - 8/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Haifa Hahnemuehle - 8/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Persephone Dawn - 8/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Sebastian Brennan - 8/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2, Fatigued 1 Aurem Senaiha - 9/2 VP Gained, Repairing +3-1, Fatigued 3, Promoted to Private 1st Class Charles Gano - 10/2 VP Gained, Repairing +3-1, Injured 1-1, Promoted to Corporal Edmund Blackadder - 10/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1-1, Fatigued 1, Promoted to Private E1 Cray Vermillion - 9/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2-1, Fatigued 1 Kyle Slater - 11/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2-1, Fatigued 1 Seth Yamanu - 10/2 CP Gained, No Additional Damage Aaron McCaskey - 11 VP Gained, Repairing 4-1 Jarvis Ackart - 9/2 VP Gained, Killed in Action Thorvald Siggurdson - 9/2 VP Gained, Upgrading 6, Jailed +1, Injured 2-1, Promoted to Corporal Marion - 9/2 VP Gained, EXAM system damaged Aisha Vemunio - 10/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Malak Lazarevich - 10 VP Gained, Repairing 3+1 Injured 1 Kuuro Konishi - 10/2 VP Gained, 8/2 CP Gained, Repairing +1 Nigel Ferdinand - 10/2 VP Gained, Fatigued +1 Injured 1-1, Promoted to Captain Jim Irwin - 10 VP Gained, Repairing 4-1 Scott Archer - 10 VP Gained, Repairing 3-1 Alec Irusk - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Gil Krundle - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 4 Thierry Mersault - 11 VP Gained, Destroyed 6-1, Promoted to Private E2 |