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“88th Airborne, this is Command, give me a sitrep.” “Command, 88th Airborne, we’ve picked up a Hillock-class. We believe it’s the Marsh.” “88th Airborne, this is Command, the Marsh was lost in the Atlantic.” “Command, we have every reason believe this is the Marsh and it’s in formation with two Gallops.” “Say again?” “Command, the Marsh is in formation with two Gallops.” “88th Airborne, we’re routing additional forces to your heading. Keep your distance and wait for further orders.” “Wilco, Command.” When all was said and done, there were twenty-one pilots in the air. Five of the Federation’s anti-submarine gunships, six fighter-bombers armed with a plethora of missiles, six of the Federation’s most modern fighter craft, and finally four long range patrol craft. They were all centered on a single Hillock-class vessel, the Crag. It was a mean force. It had plenty of information on the force that it was about to attack. They knew perfectly well that there was a large vessel hidden underneath the waves and they knew perfectly well that there was not a lot that the enemy force could do to prevent them from going in and sinking their surface force. There was thus no surprise then when things did not go so perfectly. There were seven Dopps in the air or at least there were seven Dopps until the opening salvo of the battle. The six Fly-Manta opened up on the agile green aircraft from long-range with a plethora of missiles while the more agile Jet Core Boosters roared in close to finish off anything that managed to get out of the way. It was a swift ruthless action with no real romance or excitement. Each of the Zeonic aircraft burst into fireballs or spiraled into the ocean leaving the Federation once again supreme in the air within mere moments of the initial exchange. To their credit though their ill fated return fire managed to disrupt the JCB wing and claim two of the Fly-Manta. That would not be enough though. With the way cleared for them the dual role craft all went in for the kill as the Zeonic vessels beneath them began to pour everything they had into the air. The missile fire from the recently renamed Marsh and Arthur in particular was ferocious thanks to their sophisticated missile delivery systems. Fire from the Mordred, however, was cut short when a dive-bombing JCB found its mark and the Hillock vessel’s bridge was cracked open. A moment later one of the Fly Manta’s missiles barrages finished the job right before one of the Arthur’s own missiles incinerated it. All the while the Crag chugged ahead. It had entered a shooting duel with the Gallop-class Lancelot; the naval destroyer laying hit after hit at the hovercraft with its mainguns while the land battleship did its best to respond in kind. Don Escargot craft buzzed around it, doing their best to protect it from the underwater menace they knew would hit any moment. They were not expecting the Acguys that suddenly burst from the water to spray them with fire or the myriad of torpedoes and other agile contacts that came soaring out from their original contact. Someone onboard the Crag swore right before the entire vessel found its lower sections torn out from under it. Still though as the situation turned into a chaotic mess, the Federation forces continued to fight hard with morbid determination. The Crag only truly stopped fighting when Gil Krundel’s Grabro and Alec Irusk’s Z’Gok E managed to blow one its magazines while its accompanying aircraft wings fought to the last man. “This is command, give me a sitrep.” “Command, we’ve been chewed up bad. The only signals I’m getting are from my fellow Dishes.” “Has the enemy fleet been stopped?” “Negative, Command, but we hurt them bad.” Alec Irusk: 5 VP Gained, Repairing 1 Gil Krundel: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 1 Gilgamos Uruk: 1 VP Gained, No Damage The waters of the Indian Ocean were warm this time of year - out of season for most of Earth's history, but a giant colony in Sydney changed all of that. The air cushions of the Big Sioux glided over the sea with the maneuverability of a standard hovercraft, casting a huge shadow over various sea creatures. Little did those aboard know, some of those creatures were made of metal, minovsky, and man. The Red Sea Fins were buried up to their necks in sand, lone eyes peeking out of the water. The three Goggs were in position long before the Federal forces arrived, thanks to their detector. The divers breathed in recycled air, waiting for their time to strike. Their emblem was hidden, half buried in sand, red markings intertwined with passing schools of fish. Meanwhile, the emblem of the Red Sea Fins shone brightly thousands of feet above sea level. It made its rendezvous over Djibouti airspace, meeting up with the Luggun of the Mamlukes II. In the long history of Zeonic Africa, coordination between African patrols had successfully tossed off various Federal engagement. But even they would not be enough for the considerable forces coming through. In the city of Djibouti, the Zakus of the Mamlukes II were preparing to ambush the Federal forces. They knew they were out numbered, and heard of the considerable losses in Jaburo - but nontheless they were men of Zeon, ready to give their lives for their cause. Meanwhile, the Big Sioux was approaching the coastline. Aboard, Jim Irwin was shining his plane, getting ready for the upcoming engagements. Charles Gano was reloading the ammunition to his GMPGT. Cray Vermillion called for more grenades. Edmund Blackadder chatted with the pilot of a Tin Cod in the mess. Thierry Mersault felt on edge. Scott Archer slept in a bunk. The twin Lugguns took to the skies, verifying the enemy forces. Behind the Big Sioux, two more Big Trays by the name of Elizabeth and Fury trailed it. Above them, five Medea. Big Sioux hit the coast. It was time. Beneath the Fury, the three Goggs made their first move, bursting out the sand with thrusters and clawing into the soft underbelly of the first Big Tray. Klaxons blared immediately, as the ship banked heavily to its side. The Goggs continued clawing on the ship, breaking into the lower compartments, causing it to sink even faster. The marines were the first to arrive, but were caught in the suction. An entire squad of bodies passed through the break, into the open sea. On the deck, Tin Cods launched plane after plane. Seven took to the air before the ship banked again, planes sliding into each other. A Depp Rog exploded, taking another bite out of the ship. A screaming junior officer was on the scene, ordering all hands to fire control. The seven Tin Cods spread the word quickly, cutting through the Minovsky clouds and landing at the other ships. The Elizabeth was emptied in short order, the lighter unit making double speed to meet up with the Big Sioux on the coast. Meanwhile, a host of mobile suits supported by aircraft treaded into the water. At their head, only one man fit for the job - Thierry Mesault. The Guncannon Harbor Defense Type hit its jump jets, arcing into the sky before splashing into the scene of the Fury. Luckily, the ship had grounded close to the coast, undoubtedly saving countless lives from drowning. Jim Irwin led a fleet of Core Boosters to the skies, anxious to maintain aerial superiority. "Contact! A Luggun, twelve o' clock!" Irwin looked up, alerted by his wing man, and sure enough, a Luggun with a splash of red on his side was watching the whole operation go down. He took aim personally, cutting into its wing with 25mm vulcan fire. The Luggun maintained its course, like a deer in the headlights, bursting into a ball of flame and splashing into the sea. Irwin kept calm, radioing in that aerial superiority was established. In the meantime, the Luggun of the Mamlukes fled the scene, landing in Djibouti and making his way to a motel. The battle was going just as planned, but unlike his Red brother, he was more than happy to watch this from a safe place. He sighed to himself, relieved with escaping danger. But not for long. His wall burst, debris flowing in all directions, as the giant hands of a mobile suit wrapped themselves around his bed - and crushed him. Not the best way to use a GM Sniper II, but Malak enjoyed his theatrics. The African Union had broken the Zeon code in Djibouti just a few days before. Now it was time to pay the piper. Charles Gano and Edmund Blackadder's GMPGTs flanked Malak's Sniper, scanning for the enemy units. The three moved through Djibouti, supported by the Type 74s of Cray Vermillion's squad. The three Zakus were motionless, sitting in the city, surprised by the early advance. Then, one tipped off balance, taking a step back. The step was enough to hit the sonar monitor of the Type 74, and a pink beam cleaved through its cockpit - courtesy of Malak's GM Sniper II. The other units charged in, vulcan guns doing their best to scare up the other two, but they were making double time out of the city - taking advantage of their squadmate's mistake. They exited, hiding behind a mountain. Mountain? But this was no mountain. Coated in camouflage, a fourth and fifth Big Tray showed themselves. A number of guns focused on the two units, and it was the end of the line for them. Fully outmaneuvered by the Federal force's African Union counterparts, they surrendered. The Fury was secure. Thierry Mesault coasted through the water, three destroyed Goggs behind him. The four Trays dragged it to the coast, as repairs on its air cushion and undercarriage started immediately, aided by the mobile suits of the Earth Federation. And Scott Archer still slept. Jim Irwin: 5 VP gained, repairing 1 Charles Gano: 6 VP gained, repairing 1 Cray Vermillion: 1 VP gained, no damage Edmund Blackadder: 6 VP gained, repairing 1 Thierry Messault: 6 VP gained, repairing 2 Scott Archer: 1 VP gained, no damage The view of space from Texas Colony was an ominous one. From any angle, the silhouettes of Federation battleships could be seen. BOLLOCKS, the impressive fleet under the command of captain Evander Creed, slowly drifted into position. The reinforcements they desperately needed had arrived, and the fleet captain was ready to begin his attack. Externally, Texas Colony was relatively defenseless. In more of a show of protest than anything else, the colony fired its two AA turrets. A reserved volley from the fleets more precise gunners ended the attack before it had even begun. Nothing more than cosmetic damage marred the surface of Texas Colony. Evander was quite pleased with the start of events. A group of balls emerged from the fleet, rushing towards the colony walls. The fleet took defensive positions around the Richmond, temporary host to the entire fleets marine core. The Balls went to work on the colony walls, assisted by the fleet's veteran GM Command. Like a crack team of surgeons, the GM Command slowly carved an entry point to the colony, assisted closely by the advanced ball pilot on hand for this operation. The regular grunt ball pilots busied themselves clearing the debris as it broke off in small chunks, giving the more experienced GM Command and Ball a clearer view. A wayward federation patrol venturing into the contested Side 5 territory caught a glimpse of the fleet surrounding the Zeon colony. After the patrol commanders discussed the situation, a decision was made to assist their comrades. Giving a final farewell salute to their commanders, the patrol selected its best combatants and loaded them into a military shuttle. Packed to its limit, the shuttle detached from its patrol and joined the BOLLOCKS fleet. “If fighting is sure to result in victory then you must fight! Sun Tzu said that, and I'd say he knows a little more about fighting than you do pal because he invented it! And then he perfected it so no living man could best him in the ring of honor. Then he used his fight money to buy two of every animal on earth. And then he herded them onto a boat, and then he beat the crap out of every single one! Hehehehehe. And from that day forward any time a bunch of animals are together in one place its called a Tzu! Unless its a farm.” the head of the veteran marines recently obtained by BOLLOCKS for this mission addressed his fellow soldiers. The troops were nothing special, the generic run of the mill foot soldiers, but these were the men he would live and die beside. He intended to make their deaths glorious. A siren blared in the hangar. “Alright men. Time to earn our pay.” The veteran marines let out a proud hoorah before grabbing their equipment. The GM Command had finished its mission, a hole only slightly larger than its own saber marked the entry through the wall and into the heart of the colony. The remaining balls circled around the hole, guiding the Richmond backed into position, approaching as close as possible before opening its hangar bay doors. The balls took position between the Richmond and the colony, guiding the marines toward the entrance. Once there, the veteran GM Command and advanced Ball formed a quick salute before returning to their ships. The marines entered the colony, prepared for war. Within Texas colony, a dozen squads of Zeon Marines were waiting for the Federation boarding party. The Federation marines had barely entered more than 50 meters within the colony when the first ambush struck. Armed with anti-personnel weapons, the federation soldiers unleashed a hail of gunfire on the invading Feddies. “Damn Zeeks. Ugh. Is that the best you can do!” The lead veteran federation marine roared, taking a bullet to the shoulder mid-sentence. Unimpressed, he grabbed several of his fellow soldiers' grenades strapped them to one of the injured Federation marines, pulled all the pins in one quick motion, and with the help of his squad tossed the doomed marine towards the Zeon forces. The bullets killed the soldier almost instantly. One of the other veteran marines aimed his anti-MS bazooka at the dead soldier. “Jump boost” he yelled, firing the explosive shell into the back of the dead marine, incinerating his corpse. The force of the explosion tossed his remains scattering forward at the Zeon soldiers, as well as his equipped grenades. Before any could react, the grenades tore the corridor apart, killing the entire first ambush party instantly. “That's 1 down. 13 more to go.” The leader grunted, applying pressure to his wounded arm. “How many are down?” “Two sir, including brave soldier who volunteered to save us all.” another veteran marine replied. “Alright. Lets keep moving. We don't want to keep the next ambush party waiting.” the leader mused. Outside the colony, the marine support's shuttle had arrived. After a brief conversation with the fleet captains, both Nacho Quintal and Evander Creed opted to accompany their support first hand. Nacho boarded the shuttle with only his Beretta 92, Evander unarmed. The marines glanced them over suspiciously, not expecting management to babysit their attack. Still, they were outranked, and quickly complied to both captains wishes. Within minutes, they were boarding the colony behind the initial wave. Back inside the colony, the marines had encountered their second ambush squad. This time, three Zeon marine squads in superior positions had laid in wait. Catching the federation soldiers by surprise, the initial gunfire tore through marine after marine, littering their corpses along the ground. If not for a well placed grenade, the entire party would have been lost. Aside from natural cover from the shape of the corridor, the Zeon soldiers had erected an assortment of sandbags and boxes to make a fortified position. The Federation marines had no such cover, trapped at the opposite end of a narrow corridor. Gunshots soon caught the lead marine's ear again. Not those of the Zeon soldiers, but from a different direction. Grabbing another low-ranking marine to peek around the corner, he was amazed to see the head stay in tact. He tossed the marine aside and marched down the corridor. Waving to his comrades, the marines rushed the corridor, laying bullet after bullet into the Zeon fortification. The Zeons were looking in the opposite direction when the Federation charged, reacting to slow as they were overtaken and executed with extreme prejudice. On the other side of the Zeon fortification stood Nacho Quintal, caked in Zeon blood and gripping his Beretta. Several squads of marines stood around the captain. Evander Creed emerged from the group and greeted the initial attack party. “Casualties?” he asked. “Two squads. One standard, one veteran. We already took down one squad when we first entered. This looks like another 3.” the lead marine reported. Evander nodded, motioning for both groups of soldiers to follow him. Nacho reached down to grab one of the fallen Federation soldier's dog tags before following his men. Outside of the colony, half of the fleet's GM compliment had taken position around the entry point to the colony, while the other half patrolled the fleet itself. They were waiting for orders from their captains to support the insertion team, if needed. Little distance was covered before the third and final Zeon ambush had appeared. This time, the remaining 10 squads of Zeon marines had attacked the Federation soldiers. The initial assault was deadly, killing the entire support squad that had come to assist the Federation in a matter of seconds. Evander froze for but a moment before quickly grabbing wounded soldiers and dragging them to safety. Nacho covered his retreat, firing his Beretta wildly. The lead marine stood his ground, firing his FN Scar wildly into the crowd of Zeon soldiers. Bullets riddled his body, and still he stood. His mission was clear in his mind, draw the attention long enough for the rest of his squad and the captains to withdraw. As a round of opposing assault rifle fire separate his head from his shoulders, the last nerve impulse in his body clenched his hand in a 1 finger salute directed at the Zeon soldiers. “Pinned down?” Evander asked his fellow captain. The remaining Federation marines stood their ground, spraying fire back at their attackers. “Looks that way.” Nacho replied, watching another marine fall dead to the ground, eyes cleared of their sockets. “Call the support. A damaged colony is better than no colony.” Evander rationalized as Nacho pressed what appeared to be a black box with a large red button. “Party time.” The veteran GM Commander mumbled as the Advanced Ball rallied the troops. A well placed beam rifle shot expanded the hole from a precision circle to just large enough for his GM to enter. Signaling back to the other units, the GM Commander led the charge, jumping into his new entry point. Like an angel descending from heaven, the GM Commander's presence interrupted the marine conflict. The instance its foot touched the ground, beam sabers flung to life and evaporated the unfortunate Zeon marines. Desperate to rally a counter attack, the Zeon marines fired their anti-MS bazookas. A reply of vulcan fire from the numerous other GM units made the counterattack short lived, though they were lucky enough to claim the life of two standard GM units before they touched down. Broken and scattered, the GM units began a game of whack a mole, stomping on fleeing marines like ants. A few gory minutes later, Evander addressed his remaining marines. With renewed conviction, they continued their advance, marching side by side with Gms and unimpeded by any more Zeon marines. Evander Creed: 1 CP Gained, No Damage Nacho Quintal: 1 CP Gained, No Damage |