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Three Salamis-class vessels, one of them a Kai refit, glided silently through space, hoping to go unnoticed until they joined their companions at Pezun. A light contingent of mobile suits, 7 GMs in all, were spread out around them, straining for any sign of enemy contact. They could not afford to lose a ship, or even a mobile suit, due to substandard vigilance. "Enemies sighted!" The GM pilot's voice rang clear through the comm system, fearful. "At least 6 Zeon ships, and..." his voice trailed off as his sensors lit up with blip after blip, each signifying an enemy mobile suit. "And over 30 mobile suits!" There was terror in his voice now. There was no way that they could match their enemy man-for-man against those odds. There was no way they would survive. "Sir!" he hastily tacked on, remembering that he was a soldier in the Federation military, reporting to a superior officer. The commander of the Salamis Kai knew their chances of survival were slim, but they could not run, they could not surrender, and they could not push through. The only choice left to them was to fight. The outcome of the war was on a tipping point, and they needed to do their part, even if it cost them their lives. "Rally the mobile suits to our forward flank, and organize the ships behind them to maximize the firepower we can put out! We will stay close, and make them come to us!" We may not have long to do damage, but we're going to give them at least a few minutes of hell, if it's the last thing we do! Grimness and resolve seemed to go hand-in-hand. The Commander of the Federation fleet turned to his crew, ready to give orders for as long as he had a ship under his command. The mobile suits grouped together into 2 squads, and waited in front of the 3 Salamis-class cruisers. They watched the blips draw closer, watched the shapes of Zakus, Rick Doms, and more uniquely-designated mobile suits fade into view. For the better part of a minute, they fought fiercely against all odds. Beams from both fleets streaked above and below them, and scores of missiles from the Salamises followed. Their orders were to target the weaker units, to take as many down as they were able, and they did so bravely. Kenshiro Iwamano had swung around the mobile suit sortie to take on one of the Salamis-class vessels himself. The large Bigro was more meant for that kind of thing anyway, and he was certain that the mobile suit massacre wouldn't benefit much from the addition of one fearsome mobile armor. Missiles were still flying from the Goliath when he entered within suitable range for use of his megaparticle cannon. Grunting as the suit shook from the concentrated AA fire from the ship, he fired, and the Salamis broke apart into two pieces, dead. Felix Mendalsohn had chosen a similar path for this battle, swinging wide of the rest of the mobile suit division to focus on one of the ships. He dodged the main streams of AA fire expertly, narrowly skirting a large pink beam, while rolling out of the way of a stream of AA cannon fire and missiles. The sound of ordnance glancing off his hull told him how close he had been, but the damage was minor. The damage from his megaparticle cannon, however, was anything but, and when the glow from his suit's main weapon had faded, another Salamis lay in ruins. The Salamis Kai was the last to go, courtesy of the combined efforts of Richard Banks and Anya Wilds. They had blown through the middle of the Federation GM groups, stopping only to fire a few rounds at the beleaguered enemy units. The salamis Kai continued directing its fire toward the zeon fleet, oblivious of the danger before it, or unwilling to waste ordnance where it could be used to damage or destroy the less-durable Zakus and Gattles. Between Richard's machine cannon and Anya's beam rifle, the Salamis Kai was cut to ribbons rather quickly, and their ace piloting skills saved them from major damage from the ship's AA fire. After a quick sweep of the area to ensure they hadn't missed anything, they returned to the main fleet, with plenty of stories to tease the injured Florian with; the injured boy had been unable to fight, and would jump at the chance to experience the battle, if only vicariously. They soon realized, however, that the last stand of the Federation had not been in vain. There were fewer mobile suits to return with, and, more worringly, fewer ships: The Musai Final, Freya's Anger, had been destroyed, and a few other ships sported new scorch marks or large craters that had not been there before they'd started fighting. But, they had accomplished their mission, by ensuring that no reinforcements arrived at Pezun - or at least no reinforcements from this particular fleet. Veronica Wu would be pleased. Kenshiro Iwamano: 7/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Richard Banks: 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Anya Wilds: 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Felix Mendalsohn: 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Florian Cuyler: 1 Vp Gained, No Damage The remnants of the STFU were making one final push at Jaburo - or at least, part of the remnants. The Pendragon, carrying Marina, Sebastian, and Gil Krundle away. The remaining two Jukons, heavily-damaged from their recent engagements, with little chance to repair, stood with a lone Samson, ready to throw themselves again at the fortress of Jaburo. At this point, they were making a statement, more than a serious military push. At least, that's what the men and women of the 87th Integrated Fleet thought, as they descended on the 3 Acguys, 2 Jukons 1 Samson, a smattering of marines, and a few other mobile suits. Charles Gano descended upon the Samson, along with Edmund Blackadder, in righteous fury, and the two GMPGTs made short work of the cargo truck, as the machine gun fire from its lone turret presented little threat to their Luna Titanium armor. Aaron McCaskey stood somewhat far away from the main battle, watching the Acguys closely for an opening, or a weakness that he could exploit. A beam rifle made short work of one, and another fell under concentrated fire from Thierry Mersault's Guncannon HDT. What the 87th lacked in odd characters and personality, it made up for in experience. They certainly didn't have any Aurem Senaihas or Thorvald Siggurdsons, but they made do quite well with what they had. On Zeon's side, the Warmonger drove his mobile suit out of the water with a gigantic splash, taking down two Don Escargots before plummeting back beneath the waves. The Federation might dominate the skies, but the water was his. He stared disbelievingly as he saw the final Acquy fall, broken, beneath the waves, having surfaced to fire at the Federation's ground forces, only to be shot down by one of said units. That had been unwise. Akira Sasaki and her Kämpfer were having a much more difficult time finding her niche in the battlefield. There were just too many Federation units on the ground and in the air. She spun to pepper a squad of Type 61s with fire from her vulcans, as she twisted out of the way of their return fire, behind a rock that protected her from a group of strafing Tin Cods. She pulled out the unit's Panzerfaust, and jumped from behind cover, sending the large bazooka round into the center of the Federation tank brigade, before jumping past the ruined Samson onto the remains of the sinking Jukon, Avalon. Another panzerfaust covered her retreat to the other Jukon, Unnamed, as she radioed in the retreat. Staying any longer would only result in more losses, and likely the deaths of them all. The latest attempt at sieging Jaburo had ended before it had begun, and the severely wounded Unnamed barely made it back above the waves, such was the extent of its injuries. The marines and mobile suit pilots who had made it back aboard stared at each other sadly, disappointed that they hadn't had the forces necessary to pound the Federation fleet into the ground, to say nothing of Jaburo. "You know, this is a lot easier now than it was when there were more of us," Hans commented to Raven as they made their way through one of Jaburo's mazelike corridors. "Though, it is a pity; I remember there being more beautiful women around last time." After a sharp look from Raven, he quickly added, "But, I suppose quality is better than quantity." Raven glared even harder. "Just be quiet." She couldn't stand an unprofessional man, and any man who bantered on like that during a covert operation was unprofessional, no matter how impressive his service history had been. They had a mission to accomplish here, and they would complete it this time. This time, they would not fail. A half-hour later. Deep in the bowels of Jaburo, a shuttle rumbled as an unscheduled launch roared through the hacked-open shuttle bay doors. Hans Bond and Raven Tarasova had found their ride to space. Charles Gano: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Edmund Blackadder: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Aaron McCaskey: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Thierry Mersault: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 1 Alec Irusk: 3 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Gilgamos Uruk: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Akira Sasaki: 4 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Raven Tarasova: 3 CP Gained, No Damage |