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Wind kicked snow up off the ground in the West Arctic as two Federation suits faced off. With the area recently coming under Federation control. Both pilots could indulge in a quick spar to further hone their skills without worry. "Hey, you ready over there or what?" asked Zanzen with laughter in his voice. "I've been waiting on you." replied Edmund not bothering to hide the arrogance in his voice. Zenzen shoke his head and laughed. "Have it your way." he said as he braced himself in his GM Ground type and opened fire from his suits machine gun. Paint rounds flashed towards the GMPGT, but Edmund reacted quickly and brought his shield up blocking all of the fire. "As if you could hit me." Edmund muttered to himself and he boosted his suit sideways. "How about this then?" he asked. And fired off a burst as he went. Not expecting such a quick counter attack Zanzens GM Grounds shield arm was splashed with paint. Zanzen groaned to himself as is suit was hit. "So much for having some fun with it." Zanzen said. He threw his suit backwards dodging the next burst of fire from the GMPGT and returned fire again. "Lets see how he likes this."said Zanzen. The GM Ground jumped forward heading straight towards the GMPGT spraying fire as it went. Edmund raised an eyebrow as he saw the Gm Ground jump forward. Raising his shield, he stood his ground and returned fire. "Reckless." Edmund commented and multiple rounds slammed into the GM ground, though the GMPGT was splattered as well. But Zanzen wouldn't relent and skewed sideways from the GMPGT at the last second dropping an unseen grenade. "Do you intend to take this seriously at any point?" Edmund asked his fellow pilot. "Ha I already am you should pay better attention." Called Zanzen. Edmund looked confused for a moment before the paint grenade exploded right next to him. "Looks like I win this round eh?" called Zanzen. Edmund just clenched his fist and didn't respond. Zanzen Hosei 6 VP, Repairing 1 Edmund Blackadder 4+1 VP, Repairing 1 "Hydraulics: pressure normal, check. Radiators: nominal temperature, check. Cameras, check, ventilation, check, weapons... check. Okay Sergeant, we can start now." "Confirming simulation start, roger." The radios went silent, and Second Lieutenant Suzaku Sefflaw began to move his mobile over the dense blanket of snow while a several hundred yards away, Staff Sergeant Seth Yamanu and his marines leaned into the brutal wind and snow flurries. Suzaku left car sized tracks in the snow while Seth and his men traced rapidly disappearing lines in the snow like ants. Dressed in snow gear, the marines were equipped to handle the snow, letting it become only a facet of the battlefield and not a distraction, allowing them to completely focus on the task at hand. That task at hand happened to be finding a giant robot and beating it in mock combat. Some of the mechanics and other marines had made bets before the spar started, and now they were all anxiously awaiting the outcome of the battle. The marines had assured the mechanics that there was no way the Mobile Suit could win; it couldn't even fire its weapons on the marines without killing them, paint rounds or not. The mechanics had responded in kind that there was nothing some jarheads with tiny guns would be able to do the Mobile Suit. Of course, they were both mostly right, but marines were creative in this day and age, the Mobile Suit age, but Mobile Suit pilots were tricky as well. Back in the snowy field, the marines had dropped to the ground, crawling atop the densely packed snow, pushing the fresh and fluffy type out of the way. They weren't far from the Gundam now, and they split up, one half of them moving to the Gundam's right side, and one moving to the left. Staying out of the direct line of sight of its cameras would help them sneak up on it, and they were already aided by the snowstorm's blurring effects. Inside the Gundam, Suzaku cursed and made the Mobile Suit kneel down. He couldn't make out the trees or mountains in the distance, and he could barely make out the ground in front of him. He scanned the landscape intently, looking for anything moving-- anything that wasn't snow. He didn't find anything. "Team 2, what's your status? Team 1 is primed and ready to go." Seth Yamanu prepared his men to take the Mobile Suit. They were waiting at the kneeling machine's flanks, gracious for Suzaku's decision to shorten the distance they'd have to climb. "Team 2 is ready. We'll move after you give the command." Seth grinned and decided now was time to move. "I'm moving out now." He turned off the radio and turned to two of the marines. "You two will be with me." They nodded and grunted a confirmation, and then they were on their way. They approached the gundam from its back left, a blind spot regardless of the size of the target. Seth mounted the hulking frame, the two marines he brought with him acting as spotters, ready to catch him if the mobile suit suddenly moved. Fortunately, all was well, and Seth clambered over the shoulder of the Mobile Suit. He smirked, feeling a little smug about his plan working. Inside the cockpit, Suzaku was sitting patiently, having decided that the best strategy to beat unarmored soldiers would be to just wait until they gave up. Just as he began to nod at his sage decision, Seth pulled the emergency open lever, and the howling wind pierced through Suzaku's light pilot suit. "OH MY GOD THAT IS COLD YOU WIN," Suzaku said in one breath, and Seth lowered his gun, his victory earned, and marines all over the base vindicated. Later, Suzaku exited the Gundam and commented to a mechanic, "You know, they should really put locks on these things." Seth Yamanu - 5 CP gained, Injured 2 Suzaku Selffaw - 4 VP gained, Repairing 1 "We received a request for Anti-MS training from a Schutzstaffel infantry unit earlier, so the rules are going to be a little different for this one." Diego said into the radio from the truck he was driving alongside Persephone's Zaku. "They'll consider themselves down if you hit them with a paintball. If you hit all of them, you win. If they manage to hit your main camera, they win." Diego continued pointing to the Zaku's pink mono-eye. Persephone wasn't sure how she felt about this. They had trekked out a little ways from the base to where the infantry unit was hiding and waiting for them. She could feel the presence of someone familiar, but wasn't exactly sure who it was. "Just think of it as a game of paintball." Diego said trying to encourage Persephone. Persephone had other ideas about which game they were going to play though and they didn't involve anything to do with combat. Ritter knelt in his hiding place patiently observing the bleak California desert like landscape for a sign of movement. He'd already explained his plan to his men and they were in position, just waiting for their opponent to appear. It was a fairly simple plan, but something felt odd about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on what, but he felt something strange as the Zaku II Manipulator Type approached their position. Ignoring this strange sensation, Ritter ordered his men to begin the operation. Upon arriving at the designated area, Persephone began seeking out the familiar presence. Not long into her search one of Ritter's men emerged from his hiding place and lobbed a paint grenade high into the air hoping to hit the Zaku's mono-eye. The grenade exploded covering the Zaku's shoulder in paint. Persephone countered with a single paint round to the panzergrenadier's chest, which sent him sprawling to the ground. "Duck!" Persephone announced after tagging what she deemed not to be the one she was looking for. Persephone moved forward, continuing to search. Another panzergrenadier appeared, threw his grenade for a similar effect as the last, and was promptly shot. "Duck!" Persephone announced again, seeming to enjoy this new game that she'd created for herself. She continued to search, finding and pronouncing five more panzergrenadiers as 'ducks,' all with roughly the same result of a missed grenade and a paintball to the chest. By the end of this Persephone's Zaku was almost entirely covered in paint, but her main camera still hadn't been hit. Ritter decided that his target was sufficiently focused in looking for infantry on foot. "Now." Ritter ordered to his remaining men over the radio. Three Panzergrenadiers tore off the branches covering their Wappas, mounted them, and began riding straight for The Zaku, trying to keep out of its line of sight for as long as possible. As soon as Ritter saw them coming, he and the last remaining panzergrenadier on foot jumped out of their hiding places and lobbed their grenades, hoping to keep Persephone distracted long enough for the Wappas to finish the job. "Goose!" Persephone said excitedly as she floored Ritter with a paint round to his chest, having finally found the person she was looking for. Her celebration was cut short however, when the three Wappas rode past and finally disabled her main camera. "I guess this means you lose." Diego said to Persephone over the radio, having watched the spectacle through binoculars from a nearby hill. Persephone Dawn: 3 VP gained, Repairing 2-1 Ritter Novosad: 5 CP gained, Injured 2-1 |