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Raven Tarasova stood at the helm of a newly acquired Gaw. The giant purple aircraft lumbered towards its target - eager to take the Federation by surprise. On board, Zeon's Gundam, two Panzergrenadier squads, and the infamous Hans Bond. As a parachute was affixed to the out of place Gundam, the ship shook with vulcan fire. "Tin Cods! Twelve o' clock!" The anti-aircraft guns of the Gaw opened up, anti-aircraft machine guns filling the sky with black plumes of smoke. Mega particle guns lanced out at Fly Mantas. The big, lumbering bombers found their missiles matched by missiles, and incapable of out-running the much faster Dopps. Below, the Mexican Border Patrol used a Type 74 to direct accurate fire. Beam spray guns lanced pink beams through the Gaw's underbelly, causing a chain reaction of explosions. The hangar opened up, dropping the lone Zeon's Gundam with little grace. At the sight of the green demon, the GMs turned tail and ran. Trailing after them was the Type 74, clearly not as fast or well protected as its counterparts. A beam lanced out at it, causing it to explode loudly in front of Sebastian Brennan. The sound caused his ears to ring, and by the time his senses returned, the GMs of the Mexican Border Patrol had escaped. The crew of the new Gaw started to wonder if Standartenfurher Tarasova was alright. Since the battle began, she had been at the arm of every gunnery soldier, pointing and yelling at the screen, constantly yelling for more missiles, more beams, more anything. It was really more of a distraction to them than good command. "All units, cease fire!" The guns of the Gaw fell silent. Only a lone Tin Cod remained of the two aircraft battle groups that engaged them today. It sputtered on, trailing smoke, its pilot barely keeping it in the air. "Now, EVERYTHING!" A full salvo of missiles, AA fire, and beams enveloped the unit. When the smoke cleared, not a spec of debris remained. Raven Tarasova: 4/2 VP Gained, No damage Haifa was so bored. She wouldn't mind being imprisoned so much if there were more to do. Sure, there were orders to follow, exercise to be had, interrogations to endure - all normal fare for a POW and all expected by the capable Zeon pilot. She was a fairly stubborn person, and she knew that she could hold out for a long time, but the classical music and terrible food in this joint were killing her; she longed for some of the latest Principality space pop, or the chance to scarf down a hot German meal. She would almost welcome a chance at combat at this point, to escape the boredom. Amost. Haifa was not very fond of combat for its own sake. The two Federation guards outside her cell were generally talkative; Haifa suspected that they were still riding high from their recent victory at the battle of Jaburo. They might have been trying to flirt with her - not that Haifa was really interested. Still, it was better than being bored. She began to dream of being rescued, of a Knight in shining armor coming to take her away, out of captivity, back into her GM Command. But these fantasies always ended with her shaking her head and smiling to herself; there was little chance of Zeon's finest braving another assault on Jaburo, just to rescue one of its pilots. True, she wasn't a bad pilot, but risking the lives of hundreds to save 1 from captivity just didn't make any sense, tactically. She sighed again, and prayed that the war would end soon; she was really craving some German food. The alarms startled her. They were different. She'd never heard anything like them, during her captivity. Maybe it was a drill? She tried not to get her hopes up as the sound of Feddies rushing to and fro in the underground fortress filled the hallways. Well, at least today would be interesting. She began to hum one of her favorite tunes to herself, then singing, as the noise outside grew louder. It was a liberating experience in and of itself. Jaburo was under assault again, and that was fine with Revil. They didn't have nearly the force that they'd had before, but then again, neither did Zeon. And the way Revil saw it, this was just a smaller, quieter recapitulation of Jaburo. Zeon was feinting with its land troops, while trying to penetrate the base from the relatively-weak underwater entrances. Revil smiled as he surveyed the battlefield from his Big Tray. He barked out orders, the Sir Francis Drake rumbled forward, and the sky was suddenly filled with aircraft. Zeon would pay for their repeat tactics. The attack from the air started hitting Zeon's ground troops even before they'd emerged into the edge of the war-forged clearing in Jaburo's forest. Bombs whistled through the air, shaking the scorched earth of Jaburo once again. Fly Mantas and Depp Rogs, escorted by a small cloud of Tin Cods and squads of the ancient Mongoose and Flatmouse, were taking the fight to Zeon even before they reached the fortress. The Magellas, Gallops and a small army of mobile suits were pressing forward through hell, and they were paying for it. A Magella next to Tony's Gelgoodg exploded, and Tony craned the unit's neck, searching the sky for their attackers. He wished he could fly. His squad of Gallops, damaged from their recent engagements, thundered forward, struggling through the heavy artillery fire coming from up above. Where was their air support?! He knew the answer. Their unit was composed of ground and naval forces. Too often, they let the Federation rule the air, and now they were paying for it. He watched as their lone aircraft - a Luggun danced around the sky, miles behind Zeon's ground advance. There was no point in him getting involved in the battle; just the thought of it had probably made the pilot wet his flightsuit. Twice. But Tony wasn't just going to plug forward mindlessly, letting his troops suffer from the carnage raining down from above. He had an idea. It was reckless, it might not work - even though he was sure it would - and it was flashy. It was a Tony Knight plan, through and through. He assumed the guise of confidence necessary for a young leader, and gave the necessary orders. When all was said and done, one of his Gallops was angled upward in one of Jaburo's own trenches, littering the sky with heavy artillery fire as fast as its gunners could maintain it. It might not be particularly effective, but it was giving the bombers something to think about besides killing helpless Zeon troops. He shot a few beam rounds into the air above him as he continued forward, waiting for the chance to engage the enemy mobile suits. He wasn't the only Zeon soldier with a plan for the Feddie aircraft. Marina watched from the bridge of the Mad Angler as a swarm of MIRVs downed a few of the Tin Cods and bombers. She tried to avoid wasting the precious ordnance on the Mongeese and Flatmice - those ancient machines would do little on the battlefield today. She reviewed her orders mentally. The missive had come stamped with the silhouette of a spider, and were very clear. Their first objective was to rescue corporal Haifa Hahnemuehle, and their second, to destroy a few key facilities at Jaburo. She wondered if the reports about a Jaburo facility for taking care of chld orphans were true; apparently, some children had derailed a plot by Char and some Zeon panzergrenadiers. Then again, war made people tell stories, sometimes. No, it was too ludicrous. She fingered the orders in her pocket once again as another Tin Cod dropped out of the sky, struck by another MIRV. A spider stamped on orders from high command - it was certainly different. But Marina was a good soldier; she followed orders. She would rescue this lowly corporal; if she was important enough for high command to take notice, she was important enough to deserve another assault on Jaburo, backed by Marina's considerable tactical consideration. Gai Kaiser almost winced as his mobile suit was struck by debris from a bomb that landed nearby, then immediately convinced himself that nothing would ever stop him and the zeon assault. He was just too awesome, and if the Zeon forces were tackling a giant Feddie fortress at somewhat of a disadvantage, it didn't matter; they would still succeed. The bombing was letting up now, as the Federation forces began to mix with the advancing Zeon front on the ground, but that just meant that there was more to keep track of. He ducked under the clumsy saber swing from an over-eager GM pilot, and confidently blew a hole through the suit's middle with his Galbaldy's beam rifle. It may have been a bit of waste of a beam rifle shot, but it was awesome as hell. he chose his next target and smirked as he pulled out his beam saber. Meanwhile, things were going slightly better for Zeon in the river - but only slightly. The Desert Eagles - that damned squad of talented Tin Cod pilots, old relics, every one - had been outfitted with torpedos to complement the rather small squad of Don Escargots, which were struggling against the numbers and strength of the Zeon naval force. Gil Krundle shrugged off another glancing blast from an air-to-surface torpedo, as he struggled to get his gigantic mobile suit into a tactical position. They had told him that there would be a river, not a damn stream. He was fairly certain that if the "river" were made of beer, he could drink it, given enough time. He was probably right. As it was, though, he was limited to his flask, and the Grabro grabbed and rowed helplessly in the shallow water. He contented himself with shooting his surface-to-air missiles into the sky, and was rewarded with a satisfying explosion, as a Don Escargot crashed into the water almost on top of him. Damnit! Now it's even harder to move! Alec Irusk shot the trapped mobile armor a quick grin as he shot past in his Z'Gok E. The rotund pilot continued to wallow around like a fish in a mostly-empty lake. It just meant more kills for him, not having to share the offensive with that killer whale of a machine. His Z'Gok E was a shark, and he cleared the underwater tunnels of torpedo emplacements almost singlehandedly, taking only minor damage when he'd been caught in the crossfire of three torpedos. He'd dodged the brunt of the blast, and the titanium/ceramic composite armor on his mobile suit had protected his vital systems, but a hit was a hit. It was too bad that they'd killed all the Federation's Aqua GMs last time. It would have made their part of the offensive more exciting. He could still feel the Federation artillery thundering up above, and he thought back to his own time as an artillery instructor. It seemed so long ago, now. The Z'Gok E's controls felt comfortable in his capable hands now, and fighting underwater was almost normal. He felt that he could handle whatever the Federation navy threw at him; he probably could. Gilgamos Uruk was helping Alec clear the way for the marines they had in tow. He wasn't as adept in underwater combat, but the Zock was an excellent machine, and he was a competent pilot. The megaparticle fire from his 8 front cannons left nothing but fragments of twisted metal where the torpedo emplacement had once been. He wondered how his buddy Tony was doing up top. Some people gave him a hard time about his memory disorder - they thought it was funny - but it wasn't like he forgot something major during every battle. He was a decent, intelligent guy, and as the Zock thrusted forward, he fixed Tony's image in his mind, resolving to have a drink with an old friend after the battle was over. Haifa had belted her way quite respectably through half of The Space Dogs latest release, when there was a knock at the door of her cell - a very hard knock that resulted in the door of her cell getting blown into the opposite wall. "For the love of all that is good and decent! What the hell?!" She shouted at the green-suited marines standing outside. The green-suited marines. standing outside. Outside. Wonderingly, she stepped out of the cell. The marines started moving back the way they'd come almost immediately, placing Haifa in the center of their squad as they covered her escape. Most of the Federation forces had moved elsewhere during the assault, and the few left to secure the prison block had been easily dispatched by the trained Zeon forces. As they hustled her into the waiting transport, Haifa wondered how, why, and at what cost she had been rescued. This certainly was a day to remember. Esther wondered what her character would do in this situation. Normally, she was a fan of unfair fights, but this time, she was on the wrong end of it. No matter how many enemy mobile suits she killed or disabled, more kept coming, and the constant threat of bombs or strafing from the Federation planes was, frankly, annoying. Her Gyan's trademark red scarf was still burning around the suit's neck, lit by a GM's beam spray gun that had come too close to disabling her suit. Only her expert piloting skills and honed reflexed had saved her Gyan from death. There was no way that she and her compatriots could press forward any more. They'd lost too many units during the bombing, and the fortress of Jaburo was just too... fortressy for them to get any farther. The war factory that Char had failed to destroy would live another day. The normally-extroverted young pilot found herself at a loss for words, and for ways to advance. She began to fall back, and the other quickly followed. Akira had fought well, but her mobile suit was tired. The lightly-armored Kämpfer was not very well-suited to the rain of artillery, machine gun fire, and criss-crossing beams of this disordered battlefield. It had been all the talented pilot could do to keep her suit from destruction, as she cut a safe path through the chaos. Individual targets had been no problem at the beginning; her suit was fast and highly-maneuverable, and the GMs, Fanfans and Type 61s hadn't stood a chance against her. But after a stray beam spray here, a glanging artillery shot there, and more than a few near misses, she was almost glad that the retreat had been signaled; her suit couldn't take much more of this battle. Another time, Feddies. she promised, as she helped cover their retreat with fire from her shotgun and bazooka. When we meet alone, I will destroy you! Smoke rose from the carcasses of two Gallops, victims to MPC fire from Revil's Big Tray, and the constant fire from Jaburo's large Howitzers. Tony Knight was not pleased. True, he'd done everything in his power to protect them, but they had failed to crack the Jaburo nut, again. Nuts! Nuts and damn! He wondered if naval operations had gone any better. If his buddy Gilgamos had survived, maybe he'd ask him over a drink. a good stiff drink. "Hey Gilgamos," The voice came through his speakers all crackly and radio-like. People usually liked to call him "Gill" - it was easier to say, and less ancient-sounding - but since there was someone else called Gil in the water, they had to say his full name, more often than not. "Hey Gil, how were things down there?" A question. Gilgamos almost always had an answer for questions. "Alex Irusk and I were able to destroy all 6 of the Federation's torpedo emplacements on our way through the tunnels, and the marines were able to succesfully secure colonel Haifa... Hahnemuehle. I have sustained minor damage to my Zock's left arm, and 2 of my 8 torso-mounted megaparticle guns are malfunctioning, both located on the front. Alec Irusk seems to have sustained similar light damage during the assault: A few bent claws and a malfunctioning megaparticle cannon on the unit's left arm. The marine unit-" Gai Kaiser cut him off, "Thanks - that's all I needed. Anyway, Tony made it through; wants to know if you want to grab a drink with us tonight, to celebrate." Tony. The name sounded familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Still, he'd never pass up drinks with the guys. Tony sounded like a decent guy; it would be a pleasure to meet him. "I'll be there!" He grabbed Gil's Grabro on his way out, freeing it from the wreckage of the Don Escargot and the riverbank. It was a little like saving a beached whale. Both sides had paid dearly. Once again, Jaburo was littered with twisted metal, and any bits of forest in the area that had somehow escaped destruction before were burning now. Revil and Marina, though, were both smiling grimly - smiling, because they had mostly succeeded, and grimly, because their men had paid for it. Gilgamos Uruk: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Gil Krundle: 5 VP Gained, Repairing 1 Alec Irusk: 5 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Tony Knight: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Esther MacKernan: 5 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Gai Kaiser: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Akira Sasaki: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Haifa Hahnemuehle: 8 CP Gained, No Damage "Sir... enemy fighter has been sighted flying just above the city, it appears to be heading straight for us... alone..." The Commander looked at his radar tech in silence for a second, raising an eyebrow, trying to figure out what the enemy had hoped to accomplish with such a stunt. Not caring to find out he nodded to the artillery officer. "Blow him out of the sky..." Jim Irwin and his trusty Tin Cod flew just above the Egyptian skyline with ease as they accelerated towards Alexandria. All he needed to do was to get close enough to get some intel and his mission could be considered a success. Piece of cake, or so he thought... The lone fighter hurtled along unimpeded as he began to feel he was close to accomplishing his goal, when all of a sudden his radar began to go nuts, tons of small signatured appearing out of no where. "Shit!" The ace pilot tried his best to out maneuver the incoming ordinance, but being so close to the buildings limited his range of manuveurability. He pulled back on the controls frantically to try and roll away from the AA weaponry, but as he exposed the belly of his fighter, several AA rounds slammed into it, one piercing its engine, sending the fighter spiraling across the sky and into the streets of the city. "So much for that... Someone come get me..." Outside the city, the 87th continued its shelling of Alexandria into the evening. Both sides continued to send barrage after barrage at eachother, neither side giving up in their attempts to wear the opponent out. Everybody else in the 87th: 1 VP Gained, No Damage, Chris is a douchebag(...) Jim Irwin: 1 VP Gained, Repairing 4 |