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Rhett Paruta stared across the training field at California base, eyes fixed on the Zaku II F standing opposite him. Across the field, Ferusha Glavadeen returned the same stare at Paruta's Zaku Cannon. The voice of a base officer calmly explained the terms of this sparring match over their radios. "You'll be using paint rounds and the heat on your hawks has been deactivated, you will spar for three minutes, starting when you hear the air horn. Obstacles will be raised into position to provide cover and make things interesting." "Lets get this party started." Paruta spoke to himself, their radios weren't set to transmit to each other, but he was sure his opponent was saying the same thing. Large sections of the field split, revealing a trench and raising several metal blocks the size of large mobile suits from the ground. Before either pilot could ponder the tactical possibilities of this, the air horn screeched loudly, signalling the start of the match. Immediately both machines began running for each other, both nearing machinegun range, and Paruta taking cover just as the first burst of 120mm paintballs spewed forth from Ferusha's gun. Rhett edged up to the corner of his cover block, getting a partial lock on the opposing Zaku. "Bullseye." He thought aloud, springing around the corner and cutting loose with the 180mm cannon. To his surprise, Ferusha saw it coming, and dodged the first shot, a massive splatter of blue paint covering the ground not far behind her. Cursing himself, Paruta fired again, and again, driving the other Zaku into the trench. Suddenly, a voice came in over his radio. "You'll have to do better than that!" Ferusha challenged, not letting it show that she only narrowly escaped the last paintball. Keeping a close eye on his last position, she slowly makes her way down the trench as it curved to Paruta's right. As she peered over the edge of the trench, surprisngly her foe was still standing in the same place. A wry grin slid across her face as she slowly raised the barrel of her machinegun, pulling the trigger. *Click.* "Click?" She asked herself, pulling the trigger again only to hear: *Click, click, click* "I can't believe it jammed!" She shouted, climbing out of the trench and tossing her gun in anger. An unwise move, as Paruta began to turn her direction. Without hesitation, she set her Zaku in a dead run for the Cannon Type, pulling her Heat-less Hawk and charging in. "Oh there you--AHH!!!!" Rhett shouted, quickly trying to fire his machinegun as Ferusha's machine plowed into his, knocking both down. Paintballs blasted into the air, hitting nothing, as Ferusha struck down on the Cannon Type's arm, knocking the machinegun free. Putting a knee down on her enemy's chest, she reached for the gun. "My gun jammed, mind if I borrow yours?" She asked playfully, pointing the barrel to the Zaku Cannon's head and painting it blue with a short burst. Ferusha Glavadeen: 5VP Gained, Repairing 2-1 Rhett Paruta: 3VP Gained, Repairing 2-1 High above the glittering Pacific Ocean, a sickly green disk lazily circled. The disk had four fins, and a long neck with two eyes, giving it the general appearance of a large sea turtle swimming through the air. Instead of food, however, the reason why a normal turtle might be circling a singular area, this turtle was looking for enemies. It had been searching for a while now, and the men inside its head were starting to get a bit placid, bored of watching nothing but blue below them and blue above them. Fortunately, there was something approaching at a rapid clip that was anything but boring. "Unterscharfuhrer, are all your systems optimal?" Two Doms kicked up white foam as the skated along the water's surface, suspended above the azure by powerful thermonuclear jet engines mounted in their legs. Above and slightly ahead of them, there was a Dodai in the sky, a craft which Zeon had found greatly useful for transporting Mobile Suits. And indeed, atop the Dodai was a blue Gouf, piloted by Finus Yamamoto. "Oh, of course. The Dodai is working beautifully, almost as beautifully as the weather." Finus was in a a good mood, which made the next sequence of events all the more poignantly disturbing. In the distance, a small group of dots became just barely perceptible, and at about the same time the Dom pilots took notice of this, the dots grew exponentially, clearly not friendly Dopps, and that meant that it was time for mortal combat. The Jet Core Boosters accelerated, closing the distance between themselves and the Zeon Mobile Suits, ready to unload some high explosives. Two Jet Core Boosters took point and roared past the Zeon team, and the Doms were unable to turn quickly enough to fire on them. Three of the Boosters that had held back unloaded a salvo of missiles, targetting the Dodai. Finus smirked, and raised his 35mm machinegun, and opened fire. The Core Boosters pulled out of formation, out of Finus's line of fire, and at about the same time, the missiles struck the Dodai, which suddenly found itself falling to the Pacific's surface. Falling quickly. Finus fired his boosters, but the Gouf was thrown off balance and damaged enough that it sunk under the water a hundred meters from the Dodai it had separated from. "Unterscharfuhrer!" Two Jet Core Boosters came back around for another run at the Doms. However, the Doms were ready this time, and their bazookas hit their mark, immolating two of the passing fighters. The Core Boosters pulled out, and headed back to where they came. Yamamoto wasn't making it through today. Finus Yamamoto: 6 VP gained, Repairing 2 Jay Tessa took a cautious step forwards. Her new Gundam Mass Production Ground Type was going to take a bit of getting used-to. The freezing cold weather of the Siberian plains didn't help. 'I suppose I should just be glad that it's not snowing.' Jay's internal reverie was broken as she stumbled upon a patch of icy ground. "Careful boss, that thing isn't even paid off yet!" One of her two Tin Cod wingmen chided her over the radio - she was unable to decipher which, but it didn't matter. He was right, she knew. Thankfully, she'd at least had the good fortune to leave her trained infantry units some distance away to establish a base of operations. At least they wouldn't witness her clumsiness. Shaking her head, she regained her balance, and plodded further into the bleak landscape. Unnoticed, a small red light began to blink at ground-level... Deep in the bowels of Vladivostok's warren-like offices, a trembling warrant officer hesitantly knocked on a gigantic door. The portal, a massive oaken wedge colored with odd combination of purples and blacks, opened inwards. A massive voice bellowed from within. "Enter." As the Zeon soldier walked in, a shadow fell across him, and he instinctively flinched. Before he could be 'desked,' - as the various denizens of the base called it - he threw up a quick salute and began speaking in a quavering voice. "Sir, our perimteter sensors have been tripped. Base command wishes to know your orders." In the half-darkness, a massive cheshire grin seemed to appear and light the room. It had been far too long... "Tell them I will handle it myself. Now. Get. Out." Not needing to be told twice, the officer fled backwards, hearing a rumbling chuckle follow him down the hall. Jay continued to meander down the Arctic coastline. The base was still some distance away, but she knew she was getting close. The emptiness was almost mind-numbing, and the young woman almost reveled in the sensation. Able to lose herself into her mind without being overwhelmed by her memories was refreshing. Breaking Jay's half-trance, the GMPGT's sensors beeped, briefly. She stared at her console in consternation. 'Guess they haven't worked out all the kinks yet.' But the beep returned, more insistent. This time it was joined by a heat signature on her scanners. She examined them closely, unable to tell where the threat was. Jay signaled to her two Tin Cods. The slight woman's voice attempted to portray some strength to her subordinates. "Guys, I've got a signal here. You reading this?" There was no reply other than a wordless scream from both men, and Jay saw distant explosions far above her. Both mangled planes immediately began to nose-dive towards the ground. The only consolation Jay could take as she watched the impacts was that the pilots had clearly already passed on. Terrified, she turned towards the broiling ocean. The warning beeps in her cockpit had grown to a demanding blare, but she ignored them to focus on the sight before her. Rising from the depths came a gigantic mobile suit. Its stubby legs pumped out a steady stream of thermonuclear-heated air, pushing the suit into position above the desolate beach. Its mono-eye flashed a deep red, and its claw hands opened and closed once or twice, a cruel facsimile of cracking knuckles. The mobile suit - 'Mobile armor?!' - dominated Jay's viewscreen. She could see the steam that issued from the mobile weapon as the last of the arctic waters streamed from it. She could even swear that she could see through the metal, to the utter massiveness of the man who piloted this monstrosity. Hear his throaty laughter at her insignificant presence. And even make out a word that passed through his lips, heavily-accented... "Come to me, my little muppetfucker!" In her cockpit, Jay Tessa openly wept as the Zock Custom floated towards her, slowly, with purpose. Satisfied, Vladivostok's Commander, Vladimir Antonov, settled back into his massive chair in his office. A contented sigh escaped from his lips. The Fed had had little experience - barely a morsel for someone of his stature. That was probably why he had let his toy escape. For the time being, at least. Far above, shaking and terrified, Jay Tessa attempted to drag what little remained of her once-powerful mobile suit to some sort of safety. Terrible thoughts of the past threatened to overwhelm her. Even though the strikes to her suit from the Zeon weapon had been surgical, and never endangered her person, she felt... 'Violated...' Jay Tessa: 5 VP gained, Repairing 4 |