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"Okay. I spy..." "Snow." "But I didn't finish-" "SNOW alright? SNOW. It will ALWAYS be SNOW. That's all you see and that's all I can see. So, SNOW." Silence fell upon the two Federal marines as they huddled for warmth in their frozen foxhole. The snow of the West Arctic is blowing at the Earth Federal force with all of its usual fury. To Lieutenant Nigel Ferdinand, it was as though Mother Nature had thrown on a Zeonic uniform and came to jeer at him. For the moment though, the Lieutenant stared blankly out of the windows of the relatively warm cockpit of the Chicken Little. The Medea Revised is parked on the frozen ground and is risking being buried whole by the snowfall. But only one thing occupied Ferdinand's mind, the fact that Melissa is in Canada somewhere. Large thick power cables protude from the cargo bay of the Medea Revised. They disappeared under the snow until they rose out of the ground to three GM Ground Sniper units. One of them is a new addition, having trekked this far to join in the ambush. Between the three of them, the Medea Revised can barely supply enough power for them to take simultaneous shots. Too many misses and the Medea will have to waste crucial time building up its power reserves. Private Aurem Senaiha stared past his fellow GM Ground Snipers at the Land Combat GM guarding them. His mind replayed that wondrous moment of affection they shared in their tent. Senaiha counted himself lucky to have someone like her at his side. On the other side of the perimeter, Lieutenant Suzaku Selffaw reflected on his good fortune to be in a Gundam. The lunar titanium armored Gundam Massed Production Ground Type is one of the best the EFGF can offer. To make it even better, Selffaw has a second GMPGT at his side. How can he possibly lose? High above them, twelve Tin Cods is trying to help the ground force locate their target. The Federal aircraft criscrossed the region but to no avail. In addition to the fruitless search, it had become very difficult for the Tin Cods to locate each other in the blinding snowstorm. "Baker 4, come in Baker 4, where are you?" "Baker 2, this is Baker 4. I should be half a click to your East. I'm going to pull closer to you. This storm sucks the big one." "Roger that, Baker 4. I don't know why we are flying- Hey, I think I see you. Wiggle your wings a little." No movement from the shadow the Tin Cod pilot sees. "Damnit, I said wiggle your damn wings so I can tell if that's really-" At that moment the snow parted. Both the Dopp pilot and the Tin Cod pilot shared the same alarmed expressions before eveything went to hell. The door to the bridge of the Gaw-class Dragon flew open as Lieutenant Ando Shoji burst in. He ran up to Lieutenant Aldo P. Armistad who had been standing watch on the bridge for almost 24 hours. As Armistad updated Shoji on the situation, explosions and tracers darted through the blinding snowstorm. But even as the aerial battle went into full swing, the Dragon sent word to the Zeon Ground Force for immienent contact. The tank threads of six Magella Attack Tanks ate through the snow as three large Zaku II F mobile suits stride beside them. They are first spotted by Arieta in the Land Combat GM. Her 100mm machinegun open fire, causing the rest of the EF ambushers to open fire. The three GM Ground Snipers held their fire, conserving the element of surprise for their target, the Gaw. But Senaiha kept an eye on the Zeon units anyway. They had came at an unexpected direction, with the Federal mobile suits now moving in to intercept them. The surviving Magella Attack tanks ran around their burning comrades as they returned fire with the Zaku II Fs. Much to the alarm of the GM CCTs and Arieta, the heavy artillery rounds straddle the GM Ground Snipers. Senaiha clenches his teeth as he lowered his sniper rifle to pick up his 305mm GM bazooka. Selffaw saw the firefight and charged the Zeon mobile suits. The sudden motion however, caught the attention of the three Zaku II Fs. A barrage of Zaku bazooka rounds exploded close to his GMPGT, but true its word, the lunar titanium shielded him from the worse and Selffaw fell upon the Zaku II Fs weapons ablazed. ,br> Back inside the Chicken Little, Ferdinand listened to both the chatter of the Tin Cod pilots and his mobile suit force. The Gaw is near, he knew. They may only have one shot but by god they will use. Then even in the blinding white snow of the blizzard, a large shadow fell upon them. The GM Ground Snipers suddenly noticed the shadow too. Turning their attention away from the tanks and enemy mobile suits, they raised their Sniper Rifles. Several heartpounding moments passed. In the middle of the snowstorm, their targetting equipping found nothing to lock on to. Rather than let this chance go by, the three GM Ground Snipers fired. Armistad and Shoji knew a trap was sprung when they saw three pink beams melt away the blizzard around them. But by sheer luck and lack of target acquisition, the three beams passed harmlessly by the monstrous Gaw. One of the beam vaporized an unsuspecting Dopp but that was all. After the unsuccessful surprise attack, the fighting for the day ended. The Gaw quickly changed course away from Ferdinand and his Federal force. The pitiful remains of the Zeon ground force broke off not long after, leaving both sides relatively intact. Suzaku Selffaw - 7 VP gained, Repair 2 Nigel Ferdinand - 6 VP gained, Fatigue 1 Aurem Senaiha - 6+1 VP gained, Repair 1 Aldo P. Armistad - 6/4 VP gained Ando Shoji - 6/4 VP gained |