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It was a sunny day when the Federal forces glided into North American airspace. Three aircraft carriers, three destroyers, four cargo planes, a bee hive of air units and Revil's own Francis Drake skirted the waters by Los Angeles - devoid of him, due to space adventures. As they neared the shore, the steady hum of klaxtons combined with the screams and confusion indicative of a military invasion. The 55th Armored had already sent their scout back to California Base, and hid themselves into the urban landscape. But this was no wandering reconnaissance. The guns of the Ditch, Perry and Iowa made loud percussions, sending their artillery into the air and slamming into the rich urban skyline. Big plumes of grey smoke arose in the air, through which Tin Cods weaved and banked. Two anti-personnel carriers made a hard turn into a parking complex, lucky to have found a place where they could wait the siege out. Unluckily, artillery shells punched through the ceiling, cutting through a center support and sending the complex into a debris cloud. Meanwhile, the senior officer was in a third anti-personnel carrier. Five tanks took up the rear, as the GM forces of the Andres and Claymore aircraft carriers arrived. They traded fire on and off, the giant magella tank rounds pounding into shields, only to be eaten up by the invincible beam fire. Six melted husks were produced in short order, and the position was secured. The last holdouts of the city barricaded City Hall. Three marine platoons took up high positions, sniping incoming infantry from the Claymore carrier and further barricading the building more. As their last stand, the beehive of aerial units shot up the remnants of the hidden forces and encircled the building. With a stern and enthusiastic order from Nguen Vao Kai, City Hall exploded under the incredible forces of Fly Mantas and Tin Cods. GM and marine forces secured the wrecked building. The 55th was annihilated to the last. Derek Carter Drifted through space in his GM II, staring out the front monitor, waiting for someone to pick him up. It was lonely, but beautiful, watching the stars swirl around him. One could almost forget the war that was raging on the Earth, and in certain parts of space. Normally, he'd be chatting up one of the good-looking mechanics while he slapped a replacement part on a damaged mobile suit, but he'd never heard of a mobile suit so big that it had a hangar for other mobile suits. He'd have to settle for his cockpit. He thought back to the excitement on Side 6, how he and Alex had rescued Jack from Zeon operatives, and how Jack had died in battle soon after. He'd fought hard to protect him, along with all the other EF pilots, but you couldn't save everyone who fought with you, no matter how hard you tried. He smiled as he remembered his attack on the asteroid mine. They sure didn't make blast doors like that in the movies. The heroes always were packing enough heat to blast through whatever was put in their way. He should have known better, but he had never been good at solo operations. He was a team player - one of the best - and one of the best Federation pilots to grace the vastness of space with a killer mobile suit, and killer talent to go along with it. Huh. That's new. His sensors were picking up several inbound shapes. About time! He looked forward to having some standing room on a real Federation ship, with real Federation crewmates. That was the part he would remember about the war when he was retired - his companions, and the times that they'd shared, the mobile suits they'd repaired, and the Zeeks they'd harried. He looked forward to retirement. He waited patiently for the friendly fleet to open communications, while he enjoyed his last few moments of peace. "Enemy sighted, General Wu!" Veronica still felt strange hearing her new rank. Brigadier General. It was time to act like one. A lone Federation mobile suit was drifting through space up ahead, and it could be a trap - though judging from the Federation's past tactics, it could just as likely be a balloon. Or, they'd be ambushed by nothing but balloons. Balloons - The Federation had so many more of them than decent pilots. "Pop it. Tell our pilots to get ready to deploy if necessary, and raise ship status to high alert for all ships in the fleet. We're taking no chances. Oh, and tell them to fire at will." The ships converged on the lone mobile suit, AA weapons and huge beams converging on its small shape, annihilating it. All of the crew who were able, watched the gigantic display of Zeon's power, as the blackness of space was lit up for a few brief moments. Carter saw the Zeon ships, and saw that he could not win. He might have surrendered, he might have fought to the death, but he was tired of the war. He just wanted to go home, to knock back a few with his comrades. He was an excellent pilot, but he could not prevail over so many enemies. No more death. It was his last thought, as he took his hands from the controls, closed his eyes, and felt peace. The war was over. He was back home, a war hero. It was a good feeling. Some in the ZEF said, after the strange encounter, that they had seen the balloon move moments before it was obliterated, but their comrades just laughed at the carelessness of the Federation, leaving one of their balloons out in the middle of nowhere. Derek Carter: 3 VP Gained, Killed in Action Caleb Degrau: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Kenshiro Imawano: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Olivia Baklitskaia: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Ray Walker: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Richard Banks: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Anya Wilds: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Felix Mendahlson: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Veronica Wu: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Yoritomo Naizen: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Junichi Ghettid: 1 VP Gained, No Additional Damage Having finished its mission of destroying one of Zeon's resource mines, the lone Salamis Ogre made its way to its next objective. They obviously didn't expect to encounter much resistance, or they might have brought some help, or at least gone a different direction. The sensor operators were the first to notice something gone awry. "Sir, we're detecting several large objects in front of us assumed to be Zeon ships of varrying class. They appear to also be deploying several mobile suits." The operator relayed to the captain of the Ogre. The captain swallowed the lump in his throat before nervously giving his orders, "Have the mobile suits prepare to launch, aim the guns at the largest easiest target." The ship leapt into action, the meager squad of five veteran mobile suit pilots deploying and the guns preparing to fire. The whole crew knew today was their last day, but they weren't going to just give up without a fight. Among the advancing Zeon mobile suits were Florian Cuyler in his massive Perfect Zeong and Anya Wilds in her still slightly damaged Gelgoog. Both were really just added insurance at this point as the three ships behind them preparing to lay down a barrage were already more than enough to destroy the lone Salamis class ship. As the two forces closed in on each other, beams lanced both sides with varrying effectiveness. The small force of GM's met Florian, Anya and a host of Zakus in between the ships. Skilled as the Federation pilots were, there were just too many Zakus to deal with. The Perfect Zeong and Gelgoog only made things worse. Much worse. The Zaku pilots knew who the real aces were and backed up Florian and Anya, forcing the GMs attention away from them at critical moments in the fight. In the span of a minute or two, the GMs had been reduced to floating space wreckage, with only two or three of the Zakus accounting for some of the mess. Before they could even receive their orders to help finish of the Salamis, the beams from the small Zeon fleet finally struck a critical section of the ship. It exploded brilliantly instantly multiplying the amount of wreckage in the area. With the Federation ship and its mobile suit complement silenced, Florian and Anya lead the Zakus back to the fleet with minor scorch marks each to mark the battle. Anya Wilds: 7/2 VP gained, Repairing +1 Florian Cuyler: 5 VP gained, Repairing 2 When the battleline at the "2 Days from Earth" region was first formed, there were eight fleets. The Earth Federal Space Force held the line with Blex, Ohm, Tianem, and Wyatt. Opposite of them were Dren, Conscon, Bomer, and Hellsing. Each commander had their rival and at the start, spent most of the time staring down their counterparts in relative peace. But thirty weeks of war and attrition saw the fleets dwindle down to a mere three. Even the supply fleets that pass through the battleline are gone. The EFSF had Ohm's fleet left which is hosting the surviving flagships of Blex and Tianem. The Zeon barrier fleets fare slightly better. Dren's small Musai fleet is keeping Ohm in check while the much larger Hellsing fleet blockades the region with the help of Bomer's Chivvay II-class Tannhauser. That is about the change. It all began with a wave of missiles from the direction of the Federal battleline. Shortly after the missiles were detected, an enormous eruption of Minovsky Particles blankets the Dren Fleet. On board the Camel, Dren himself consults with his bridge crew. "Estimated time for the missiles before the Minovsky blackout is... a minute and a half sir." Dren nodded his approval. "Pull the Zaku II E back. I don't want it to get caught out there alone. Where are the ZLS-15 and ZLS-16?" "In position and holding." "Well, who knew transport ships can be this useful." Indeed they are. Dren's fleet is the smaller of the two remaing Zeon fleets. After being targetted by Nigel Ferdinand's "Operation Blowup Doll", Dren's command staff refined their defense. In most textbooks, transport ships would avoid a combat zone. But the one thing the Pazock and Papua-class transports have over their Musai cousins is ample AA firewpower. The Pazock alone has 12 AA batteries and with the Papua they nearly have as many AA turrets as a Gwazine. Space turned into flashes of lights as gunners visually tracked the missiles from the Federal artillery support. On board the Magellan-class Richmond, Evander Creed growled as he saw tracer fire cut down his volley of missiles. His pride still stings from the setback he suffered from the Zeon Expeditionary Force and the Commodore is more than eager to Dren know how he feels. "Get the mobile suits out there and tell that Dutch playboy to get his gear into play!" barked Creed to his new bridge crew," and get this damn ship moving!" While the Magellan sported bigger guns (the better to kill with), it is much slower than his old ship the Revenant. Never the matter, the Zeon fleet in front of him has nowhere to run anyway. The Bollocks Fleet advances at full steam. Or, as fast as its slowest ship can go. Even with the Columbus B-types left towards the rear, half of the Bollock ships still bear damage from the recent fighting with the ZEF. The end result is a staggered line that limped more than advanced towards Dren and his five ships. In between the two fleets, smaller flicker of lights rush towards each other. In front of the EFSF pack are the new recruits: Petty Officer Lutz Leon and Petty Officer Vann Kashky. Their Powered GM and RX-78-1 are unique to this theatre and despite their green pilots, prove to be quite a surprise to Dren's veteran Zaku pilots. As GMs collide with the outnumbered Zakus, the ace pilots from the Orange Base formed the rear of the pack. Corporal Thorvald Siggurdson and the Beam Team closed ranks with Private Aurem Senaiha and Staff Sergeant Kyle Slater. Normally they would be the ones leading the rest of the fleet into the breach, but their mobile suits are barely combat worthy. "Oych!" complained Thorvald as he throttles his speed controls again," this is taking longer than bread to bake!" He stomped his foot again only to miss the petal and struck something hard. "ACK! DAMN YE!" No one really mind him; they were used to it. Aurem himself is still brooding over the letters about Arieta. He had taped them to the side of his cockpit as an eternal reminder to why he is where and what he needs to do to get home. The same can be said about Kyle Slater. His letter to Nora is not due to ship until the supply Columbus reaches them after this battle. All the more reason to conclude this business. So with a ferocity that surprised their Zeon opponents, the new and old members of Bollocks Fleet plow headfirst into Dren's formation. There is no trickery or cunning here. Just simple and pure brute force. Dren grabbed the railing on the bridge of the Camel as he sees a familar ship loom closer. Captain Nigel Ferdinand watched as the Musai Final Type grow larger in front of him. "Fire!" he shouted. Next to the Grey Phantom is the damaged Salamis Revised-class Revenant. It too open fire but with a fraction of its full strength. The Camel rolled as it too returned a full broadside at the Federal ships. Lucky for Dren but unlucky for the crew of the Egremel, the Musai had wandered into the path of Nigel's attack while it was avoiding fire from a flanking attack by the Salamis Kais. The explosion caused the Orange Base and Revenant to stop firing for a moment as the Egremel died. The pause was long enough for Dren to pump several shots into the stricken Salamis Revised, causing Nigel to pull back his ship while the Revenant joined the Egremel as a gravesite. "Sir! The ZLS-16 is gone!" Dren looked up at the tactical screen to see pincer move slowly enveloping his fleet. "Pull us back!" he ordered," establish a rearguard and get the Tokumel into a blocking position!" On his new command chair on the Richmond, Evander Creed nodded to himself knowingly. He can feel the Zeon commander panicking at the Federal might closing around his ships. This will be a good day. The Camel ducked around the Tokumel as the ZLS-15 explodes in the middle of its slow turn. All that is left between Dren and the Bollocks fleet is a single Musai. The Beam team rushed the Tokumel from above. The doomed ship twisted and turn on its keel under it too ruptured like a metal balloon. As the fireball dies, the ships of the Bollocks fleet triumphantly advanced past what is left of the Tokumel. "Damn that ship's fast," commented someone on the Orange Base as they located the Camel. Suddenly a series of new alarms rang throughout Bollocks Fleet. A new wave of megaparticle and missile fire flew over their hands. Evander Creed smashed his fist into his console. Light sparkles in the distance are growing into definite shapes. Onboard his Tivvay-class flagship, Helsing orders his fleet to open fire again. By the time Dren's Camel merges with the newly arrived Helsing Fleet, the Beam Team had returned to the Orange Base. Bollocks Fleet itself had reversed itself back within range of the Ohm Fleet. As a result, the equilibrium at the "2 Days from Earth" battleline has been restored. Aurem Senaiha - 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Kyle Slater - 7/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Evander Creed - 7/2 VP Gained, No Damage Nigel Ferdinand - 6 VP Gained, No Damage Ray Tatsuma - 9 VP Gained, No Damage Lutz Leon - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Thorvald Siggurdson - 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Injured 1-1 Van Kashky - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 2 |