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They had come from the other end of the solar system. Far past the belt, towards the cold and chilling land of gas giants and moons upon moons upon moons. The fleet was huge, gigantic guild operated Jupitoris class ships dwarfing the small fleet, slowly towed alongside them like barnacles on a whale. It was no wonder that the ships were named after stars. Each Jupitoris class ship was a third the size of a space colony, and much larger than one when its solar sail was deployed. Looking out the front window of the Bones, all Samuel and Garcia could see was metal, smooth grooves and contours going on into the distance, like that of a small planet. The JDEG ships were designed to operate almost perpetually in their trading routes, stopping for scarcely more than 24 hours at each end of their path. They were pack animals, trained to do their work with a sort of efficiency of which lesser corporations could only dream. Each ship held a crew of over a thousand men, the vast majority of whom would migrate from fleet to fleet, crews rotating with each pass through the Jovian sphere. However, a small cadre remained on each ship full time, the captain, the chief navigator, and their closest associates. They ensured a proper working environment, and ensured that accidents didn't occur. Company men, some had not left their ships in over ten years. After ten years in zero gravity, some of them didn't exactly look like men anymore, their bones shrivled and weak. After that long without even partial gravity, it was impossible to go back. In return for the service of men like these, Helium 3 flowed from the red orb of Jupiter to the rest of the solar system, and fueled its very existance. It was the oil of the Universal Century, and it was under the sole control of the JDEG. Whoever controlled Jupiter controlled the solar economy. "Can't believe you're tradin' with these sons a' bitches cap'n." Garcia sneered as he looked at the huge ship overhead. John Cassidies transports had been loaded to the brim with ice, fine dirt, and other Earthside nutrients. A Jovians favorite trade. "Money's money, dear Garcia. We'll get those Jover bigwigs yet, ye' have me word." Samuel slammed his rapier down on the floor of the bridge, Mutie jumping a bit at the noise. With the ship being towed by the JDEG, he had little to do. "I wasn't talking about the JEF Sam, I meant those damn Zeeyons. They've gone and captured my Robby." Garcia frowned. He liked Sayer quite a bit. "Ahh, yes, bigwigs of a different persuasion." Samuel chuckled. "The reds should be dealin' with that problem as we speak." Aboard Callysto, Nadia was stretching and getting out of her bunk. She had had quite a time in the SAF, and was enjoying her time with the pirates. They weren't exactly the most well mannered, but she hadn't seen anyone die of late, and the Callysto was an extremely interesting ship. After her spar with Addie Joiner yesterday she had spent hours and hours in the maintenance deck, looking at all of Callystos bells and whistles. It could nearly manufacture its own mobile suits all on its own. This was something a Jupitoris was actually capable of of course, but the JEF was extremely strict when it came to immigrants, and considered the inside of a Jupitoris their own sovereign territory. She had just finished dressing and was about to brush her hair when the door opened, startling her. No one had knocked. She looked over and saw the gigantic, lanky Jacobin Conroy, staring down at her. He was not wearing his mask, but it hung loosely about his neck, along with his enormous dagger. "C-can I h-help you?" Nadia stammered. Jacobin didn't reply. Instead he took two steps forward, lashed out an arm, and grabbed Nadia by the neck. Squeezing tight, he turned and dragged her to the nearest airlock, while she kicked and scratched in vain, her voice gargling softly as she barely managed to breathe with the weight of long Martian fingers pressing into her throat. Jacobin Conroy - 7 CP gained, No Damage Nadia Adelaide - 6 CP gained, Captured Alec Irusk had heard of the mobile armor but never seen one in person and just stared blankly at the oddly shaped flying weapons platform; what a goofy fucking suit he thought to himself as he shouldered his bazooka, loaded with a special paint round, and his machine gun. Taking one last look at the giant blue mobile armor, he shook his head and powered up the Xamel's many thrusters, creating an airpocket just below its 'feet'."Might as well go ahead and get this over with." A careless shrug, and a few switches flipped he sent the Xamel skiing across the terrain as he watched the Adzam ascend into the sky. "Doobie doobie doo~" David Anderson messed around with the switches and levers of the Adzam as he mused to himself; He and his co pilot were still relatively new to the machine, so their orchestrating of its full capabilities left little to be desired. His hands finally found their way to the throttle as they brought the systems on line. A proud grin spread across his face as the monitors lit up and they could see the much smaller Xamel a good distance away. "Lets get this baby in the air." The two brought the Mobile armor just off the ground with a shuddering creak as the legs lifted from the earth. The two high fived each other as they made their way into the sky. "Gotchya!" Alec brought the Xamel slidding to a stop underneath the still ascending Adzam, leveling his Bazooka at the bottom of the big blue mobile armor, letting a giant paint round fly at it. The round exploded in a giant yellow circular splat. Alec grinned, trying to not take this exercise to seriously, he aimed his machine gun and riddled the underside of the armor with several strategically placed shots. "Have a nice day." He chuckled to himself as he spun the Xamel around and radioed his opponent to inform him of the end of the exercise. The Warmonger had won and had a little fun with the Duchy's newest super weapon while he still could. "What is it?!" "I dunno..." "it looks like... a- a smiley face." A passing mechanic scratched his head and raised an eyebrow as he stood behind the two Mobile Armor pilots, looking up at the underbelly of the Adzam. Alec Irusk: 5 VP Gained, No Damage David Anderson: 4 VP Gained, No Damage. Fire. Fear, destruction, madness, hope, rebirth, warmth. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. Fire doesn't care what names you give it. It doesn't care how it's used. It doesn't care what it consumes. It is blind insanity made manifest. It's the enemy, it's your ally, it's eating away at your safety. It's burning down, burning down, burning down. It's-- in the cockpit. Moments earlier- It wasn't like chess. There were no queens, there were no bishops, there were no kings. There were just pawns; pawns who were kings from their own perspective. They created roles for the ones they saw: one man a rook, this ship a knight. The pawns gathered. Black marched forward, advancing on the solitary white piece. "Lieutenant..." "I know, Captain Douglas." Sun Wu lowered his hand. "It's a lot for such a small force." He shifted his shoulders, stretching his neck without ever seeming to change his posture. "It is much like drowning a mouse trapped in a hole." His head casually turned as the lieutenant glanced out the window and nodded. "Artillery coordinated. It's begun." Rachel Arronax slipped through the net unhindered, just as the Federation Balls behind her avoided the barrage neatly. Something as small as a force of balls and a single GM could easily take advantage of the missiles' design-- they were weapons better equipped for a fleet of ships than for a tightly-woven cadre of machines less than 20 meters tall. The first light. A Ball maneuvered ahead and was enveloped in a pink light for a fraction of a second, causing a new, orange glow to emanate from the burning fuel and wreckage of the mobile weapon. "Not now...!" Rachel pulled the armored Juggler out of the path of an anticipated blast from... something. Whatever it was, it passed by her-- it definitely wasn't a beam, she hadn't seen it at all. Zakus, too many Zakus. They overwhelmed the balls in force, easily hacking away at their strength, making them easy targets for anyone who looked in their direction. Emil Myberg flinched as he pulled the trigger again. The explosions were too close. He pulled the trigger again. That one was even closer... He pulled back as far as he dared, not wanting to draw the ire of any of his companions. Caleb Degrau fired again. The pink lance drilled a hole through the Ball's skin, a glowing wound left behind momentarily until the grey pod exploded. He focused on the Balls, a strangely colored one falling victim to another spray of beams. The Action Zaku spun around. The GM tried coming around its back, but the thick armor plating slowed it down and Yoritomo Naizen followed its movements. He fired on the heavy Mobile Suit, rounds solidly impacting on the armor. Deep craters formed and shook the Juggler, and finally, the heavy armor system was at its limits. The red flashing in the corner of a screen prompted the pilot to purge the thick plates. The Val Varo sought out the Federation MS, the only remaining machine of the initial force. The cockpit undulated, vibrations from the powerful thrusters vibrating the entire frame while it accelerated. And then the Juggler was in range. The Val Varo extended a claw, and the Juggler-- It's cold. I shouldn't be cold. There's a fire right there. It's still pressurized. Everything's broken. I can't see. Everything is going black. It just grabbed me, and now... is it over? Why is it over? The Juggler's crushed torso exploded, jagged metal flesh peeled away from the body and ejected themselves into the void. The head drifted towards Earth, and the rising sun glinted on the cracked visor. Rachel Arronax: 5 VP gained, Killed in Action Emil Myberg: 7+1 VP gained, Repairing 2 Caleb DeGrau: 7 VP gained, Repairing 1 Yoritomo Naizen: 7 VP gained, Repairing 2 Sun Wu: 7 VP gained, No damage Felix Mendalshon: 7 VP gained, Repairing 1 Somewhere in the Sahara, Jarvis Ackart was leading two GMs to hunt down the remenents of the Mamlukes patrol unit. Jarvis had been tracking the trail of three zaku units for the last hour. If he had the option too, he would of taken on the mission on his own, for the fact that his two dunces of sidekicks have been talking nonestop over the comm. Unfortunately Jarvis needed them, because without them there was a chance that all three Zakus would flank and overwhelm him. After 10 minutes pass, Jarvis sees the patrols in the distance. He issues a signal for radio silence and orders his men to surround the three Zakus. He leads the charge taking the mid zaku surprise with his 100mm machinegun. The bullets tear through the Zaku's backpack and the unit begins to spark. The pilot shifts his Zaku to face Jarvis, with a 290mm rocket launcher in hand, firing it at the GM Command. Simultaneously, both aiding GMs opened fire on their targets, but they were nowhere near as acurate as their commander. They too turn to face their agressors, firing their Zaku machineguns without question. The GM pilots shielded themselves best as they could from machinegun bombardment. The 120mm rounds eventually began to tear through, but for the time being, it kept the GMs at bay. Meanwhile Jarvis hastily reversed, tossing his shield forward to protect him from the blast. "Heh...that was all too easy boys." commented the Mamlukes fearless leader. The sight caused one of the GM pilots to lose focus, making advancement from his oppoenent possible. As the pilot dropped his guard slightly, the machinegun rounds pierced the GM's armor. In these brief seconds, the desert Zaku pressed on forward ramming the GM to its knees with its shoulder shield. The pilot proceeded to behead the GM with a nice clean swipe from his heat hawk. "I'm afraid you are quite mistaken, old lad." replied Jarvis as he made his way through the flames with a beam saber in his free hand. Covering his entry with his vulcans, he lunges at the squadron leader, impaling the zaku in the cockpit. The Zaku that had just disposed of his comerade, turned to face him, firing the 120mm machinegun relentlessly. Jarvis protected his unit by using the Zaku that he had just impaled as a shield. With the cover, it was easy for him to take down his opposition. After a few well placed shots at the knee joints, the Zaku was pinned down. As Jarvis delivered the coup de grace in the form of machinegun rounds to the cockpit, he took out his beam saber from the impaled Zaku. Both blew up concurrently. Jarvis turned to face the last Zaku and was both surprised and relieved to see that his ally was holding his own. Both the Zaku and GM were caught in deadlock of machinegun fire. The Zeon soldier even attempted to use a cracker to break the GM's footing, but this ploy was futile. Jarvis mad his presence known, flanking the lone desert zaku. Within seconds the two GM cornered the Zaku into a sandbank were they turned the unit into swiss cheese with machinegun fire. Jarvis was pleased to have completed his mission, but distressed at the fact that he had lost a squad mate. He didn't show it though, covering up with comments on how it was the pilot's weakness at fault, and then silence. Jarvis Ackart: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 1 |