|
Life is boring yet frustrating for the men and women of the Solomon Defense Fleet. Twice already the fleet was brought to full alert only to discover their "bogey" was a decoy dummy balloon. It is one thing to be on alert against a relentless enemy, but against practical jokes by an invisible foe? That borders on harassment. So it was a tense yet bored sensor team that first marked the inbound ships. Nothing seem to be odd about the vessels. The majority of them are civilian tranports and the like... A sensor operator paused in the middle of sipping his coffee. The ship in the middle of the formation is massive. Not on the caliber of a JDEG Jupitoris but bigger than most of the warships he has ever seen. The cup of coffee slammed down hard on the control panel as the sensor operator grabbed for his headset. "Son of a-! Bridge this is sensors, we have a GWAZINE on our scope!" On board the Gwazine-class Addie's Ghost, Samuel Riley stared at the damage still visible in the corridors of the massive vessel. The Pirates of Black Rock Fleet's newest acquisition came at a sacrfice however. The memory and last words of Addie Joiner still linger in the mind of Captain "Wraith". A chime broke his line of thought as the pirate captain snarled at the intercom. "What be the damn problem?!" he demanded. "Hey Skipper," came the Irish voice of Robin Sayer," we be having a little welcoming party coming up on the scanners." "Wat kin of party?" "Iz them bloddy Solomon Defense blokes skipper." "Damn hell, worthless seadogs! Here we be doing them a favor and now they face us?" "Beg yer pardon skipper but their fleet be standing off. A shuttle is coming. I reckon iz a inspector." "Gah, blasted clerks. Alright, at least we got the bloody paperwork." Samuel Riley - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Robin Sayer - 1 VP Gained, No Damage It was coming together. When Corporal Kyle Slater limped back after the hellhole that Constantinople was, he thought he would never again see his Gundam. The poor machine seem destined for the scrap heap. But now, the Federal mechanics of the 87th Integrated Fleet are working their miracles. It is a strange rebirth of sorts. What was most remarkable is that the unit wasn't born out of a drafting table. It was the emobidment of improvisation and battlefield adaptation. But Such a work of art is a responsibility so great that it would humble normal people. Slater's enthusaism hadn't diminshed one bit. He stood there like a wide-eyed teenager meeting a famous rock star. In his hands he clutched the schematics of the new mobile suit as if they were gospel. In fact, it was as if the Mini Nova Sky was being brought back from the dead to fulfill an even greater purpose. Whatever that purpose is, Slater is sure that his gundam will accomplish it. Footsetps came up behind him. Suddenly hands wrapped around his head and Slater felt a thin material tightening around his neck. Startled, the Corporal dropped his papers and tried to fight back. Was this an assassin? A Zeon commando here to take away his new unit? Instead of the green uniform of a Zeon solider, Slater spun around to see the amused expression his GM pilot, Private Madeline Moreau. "What are you trying to-?" She jabbed a finger at him with a bemused expression on her face. "Its a bib. You're drooling on yourself again." Slater looked wide-eyed at the baby bib around his neck as Moreau walked away. The GM pilot feels a little better but the slight bits of jealously still linger at the edge of her mind. Suddenly the eyes of the Ez-8 flashed as electrical circuits are connected. It will be ready soon. Kyle Slater - 1 VP Gained, Upgrading 3 Life is boring yet frustrating for the men and women of the Solomon Defense Fleet. Twice already the fleet was brought to full alert only to discover their "bogey" was a decoy dummy balloon. It is one thing to be on alert against a relentless enemy, but against practical jokes by an invisible foe? That borders on harassment. So it was a tense yet bored sensor team that first marked the inbound ships. Nothing seem to be odd about the vessels. The majority of them are civilian tranports and the like... A sensor operator paused in the middle of sipping his coffee. The ship in the middle of the formation is massive. Not on the caliber of a JDEG Jupitoris but bigger than most of the warships he has ever seen. The cup of coffee slammed down hard on the control panel as the sensor operator grabbed for his headset. "Son of a-! Bridge this is sensors, we have a GWAZINE on our scope!" On board the Gwazine-class Addie's Ghost, Samuel Riley stared at the damage still visible in the corridors of the massive vessel. The Pirates of Black Rock Fleet's newest acquisition came at a sacrfice however. The memory and last words of Addie Joiner still linger in the mind of Captain "Wraith". A chime broke his line of thought as the pirate captain snarled at the intercom. "What be the damn problem?!" he demanded. "Hey Skipper," came the Irish voice of Robin Sayer," we be having a little welcoming party coming up on the scanners." "Wat kin of party?" "Iz them bloddy Solomon Defense blokes skipper." "Damn hell, worthless seadogs! Here we be doing them a favor and now they face us?" "Beg yer pardon skipper but their fleet be standing off. A shuttle is coming. I reckon iz a inspector." "Gah, blasted clerks. Alright, at least we got the bloody paperwork." Samuel Riley - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Robin Sayer - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Alec Irusk stood in the now empty hangar where his Xamel should've been sitting. Men shuffled around, loading the mobile suit's ordinance into trucks. Confused and more than a little irate, Alec grabbed the nearest of the men to interrogate. "Uhhh... Sergeant, you don't have a Xamel." Even more confused, Alec inquired further, "Enlighten me please, if I don't pilot a Xamel, exactly what was that large, hovering, improbably fast artillery machine I was sitting in all this time?" "Oh yes, you DID have a Xamel, but you've been assigned a new machine. As of now you pilot the Hildolfr." Alec did a mental double take, which manifested as an annoyed pause before he spoke. "A tank?" "A large, versatile, improbably fast tank Sergeant. One that provides a more stable firing base and a main cannon better suited for anti-MS and anti-ship combat." Alec was not convinced. "I'd prefer to continue using my current machine." "You think the Xamel's better huh? Well the Hildolfr may not have as big a gun, but it's more accurate, and not even the feddies White Devil could take a hit from it, I guarantee that. Besides, Hildolfrs got hands, not some pansy three-fingered job mind you, real humanoid hands that can carry Zaku weapons." Alec couldn't help but smile a little now, while he loved the death-dealing ability of his Xamel, this tank was sounding better all the time. "Alright, I'm interested, where is it?" "Next hangar over." Stepping into the next hangar, Alec was immediately put into perspective by the sheer scale of the Hildolfr. "My God... Look at the size of that thing..." He uttered in awe, a dark thought brewing in the back of his mind. "We're going to have so much fun together...." Alec Irusk: 1 VP Gained, Upgrading 1 |