|
"...And this is ZNN Breaking News. I'm Lauren DeAngeles here at the ZNN news counter." The brunette woman in a flawless business suit turns in her chair to face another set of cameras in the studio "A week ago we embedded news reporter Linda Winters on the frontline of the just war the Duchy of Zeon is fighting against the oppressive Earth Federation." "Our home studios here at Side 3 had recieved a recorded transmission from Winters who is currently with the elite fighting group, the Schutzstaffel Tactical Fighting Unit." "After consultations with our Zeon military liasion team, we bring to you straight from the battlefields of Earth... Linda Winters." A static-filled video starts to play but then clears to reveal the interior of a Jukon II-class submarine. Then a blond woman appears, one hand holding onto a hand railing and another clutching a microphone. The sound of machinery is loud in the background. "...Kkkkkkkssssshhh... This is Linda Winters reporting from inside the U-34 Avalon. We have been with the Schutzstaffel Tactical Fighting Unit since our arrival at California Base and already the fleet has been heavily engaged-." The cameraman suddenly shook as the Jukon II lurched to one side. Winters held onto her handrail for dear life until the submarine righted itself. "As I was about to say and that you can see, we have been seeing continuous action against the Earth Federation since we left California Base. I do not know exactly where we are or what units we are fighting against, but what I do know is that the fleet had meet smashing successes at each of their objectives. Truly this is the cumulative effect of the hardwork by the men and women of the Zeon armed forces." The ships shook again as the Jukon II continue in its combat manuevers. "Until our next transmission, this is Linda Winters, signing off." While the civilian television crew were recording their segment on the U-34 Avalon, things are going horribly wrong for the Earth Federation. What was another beautiful night under the bright mooon on the rolling waves in the Atlantic Ocean became a night of fire and destruction. The commander of the EFGF 1st Naval Convoy grips his chair on the bridge of the Hillock-class Desert. Earlier that day, his morning briefing mention a Zeon force enterring Federal controlled waters. Two patrols were wiped out without so much as a sign of damage to the intruders. He had hoped the Zeon force was in transit to somewhere else on the other side of the ocean and would somehow overlook his small fleet. Sadly reality is much harsher. In the distance, the Hillock-class Marsh had slowed to a stop much to everyone's alarm on the Desert. Unseen in the darkness by the rest of the fleet, a Sealance craft bobbed in the water. Its cargo of Marines are already roaming the vessel, clearing out the Federal sailors. A bright monoeye blinked in the darkness. The warmonger, Lieutenant Alec Irusk clung onto the side of the Hillock with his Z'Gok E. Originally Gilgamos Uruk and his Zock were supposed to do this part of the mission, but they found out at the last moment that the large MSM cannot do bluewater missions. It is still a relief to the former artillery instructor however. Irusk is much more comfortable in battle than being chased around by that ZNN news crew. The Z'Gok moved its hand away from the broken superstructure of the Hillock. The ship was more presistent that they had expected and Irusk had to take out the CIWS units to prevent the Sealance from being destroyed. Suddenly a sound caught Irusk's attention. The Z'Gok E's monoeye swiveled upwards. "Oh gods..." muttered Irusk as he realized what he is watching. Above the exchange of fire between Federal aircraft and Acquys, a silhouette of a mobile suit on a Dodai poised in front of a full moon. Lieutenant Colonel Esther MacKernan felt a shiver go up her spine as she flew the Gyan Test Type on its Dodai subflight unit towards the EFGF 1st Naval Convoy. Onboard the Desert, the commander barked orders. "Anti-air procedures! Take him down!" "Sir, how are our-?" "Shoot the plane it's on! Shoot the plane!" In possibily the most suprising moment of her career as a Zeon pilot, MacKernan's feet are literally blown away under her as the Dodai is shredded by the AA guns and vertical launch missile systems of the Hillock. Preoccupied with shooting her MMP-80 90mm machine gun at Tin Cods and Don Escargots on her dive towards the Desert, she was not prepared for the ship's sudden defiance. Tumbling from several hundred meters up, the Gyan Test Type slammed into the Atlantic Ocean in a giant plume of foaming water. The cheering onboard the Desert is shortlived however as a Modified Cargo Ferry lands on the Hillock-class warship. Sergeant Gil Krundel sighed to himself as he hurls another one of the ferry boats at the doomed warship, watching the Desert die and then explode under the weight of two ships it was supposed to protect. Beneath the waves, Standartenfuhrer Sebastian Brennan took a message slip from the communications officer. The U-18 Merlin shutters as it releases another wave of torpedoes. "Oh for the love of Gihren," grumbled the SS officer," do we have a sonar lock on her?" "Aye, she is two hundred meters due west of Sergeant Krundel's position and sinking at a rate of twenty feet per second." "Then get the good Sergeant to bring back our little adventuress. Situation topside?" "Pendragon is directing sanitization of the immediate area. Avalon is approaching the Hillock ship to secure the vessel." As the sounds of battle die off and the red alert lights went back to normal, a group of mobile suit pilots sat together below decks. A well-thumbed deck of cards is shuffled as the bored crewmen looked longly at the hangar access door. "So when do you think they'll let us launch?" asks Sergeant Haifa Hahnemuehle. "Probably when I finish writing the next chapter," mumbles Private Gai Kaiser. "You can write?" asked Private Gilgamos Uruk as he looks blankly at his fellow land-MS pilots. Alec Irusk - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Gil Krundel - 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing +1 Gai Kaiser - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Gilgamos Uruk - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Esther MacKernan - 5 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Injured 2 Haifa Hahnemuehle - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Sebastian Brennan - 6/2 VP Gained, Fatigued 1 |