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Patrick Foley, leader of the BOLLOCKS fleet, ex-Zeek war hero, a strategy-wise be-mohawked man of action, sat in the cockpit of his broken GM Sniper II. He'd ordered the mechanics to get everything back in working order as quickly as they could, starting with basic weapon and propulsion systems. They all needed to be ready. The Zeon fleet would be back for more, as sure as sharks to blood, and they needed to be as ready as they'd ever been. He was running pretty low on tricks up his sleeve. But he and his men weren't the kind to give up, especially after the rousing speech he'd recently given them. "Our honored dead who gave their lives to destroy Zeon's crucial resources in Earth's Orbit will not die in vain!" These were the words he'd spoken, and he still meant to make good on them. Simmons' death would not be in vain. He gave a commanderly wave to sublieutenant Sentara, who was poking around his Saberfish II. The combat resiliency of the fighter pilot surprised him; not many living men had piloted fighters for as long as Sentara. Officer 3rd-class Carter was helping with repairs too; the Guncannon pilot was fairly handy with a wrench, and knew his way around fighters almost as well as mobile suits. He hoped the men would be able to rest, soon. Suddenly, the familiar metallic sounds of the hangar were overwhelmed by blaring klaxons, followed quickly by a message from the bridge. "The Zeon fleet has commenced a long-range artillery barrage. Brace for evasive action, and prepare for possible sortie. Also, please be advised that the-" Abruptly, the lights in the hangar dimmed, then went out as an explosion rocked the ship. "Bloody hell!" Foley growled, then began barking orders. "I want power restored to the hangar 5 seconds ago! We need to get our mobile suits out there!" He hoped the ship's weapon systems would be brought back online soon, so that they could retaliate with a complement of missiles. He hopped into the GM Sniper II's battle-scarred cockpit, and waited. The Zeon fleet had merged, and was larger than ever before, despite its recent losses. Veronica Wu knew when to push an advantage, and this was definitely one of those times. They had the Federation dogs on the run, and they couldn't afford to let them escape to safety. She knew that the large Tianem fleet was relatively close, and she had no intention of engaging such a threat with her own fleet in a damaged state. Still, if everything went as planned, there wouldn't be much of the BOLLOCKS left to chase. She expected little resistance from the battle-broken Federation forces, which was why the presence of two lone Public-class vessels maneuvering into attack positions surprised her so much - but only for a moment. "Balloons. Did they really think that this trick will work more than once? Still, we have to be safe: Send a few mobile suits to deal with them." Anya Wilds and Junichi Ghettid received their orders, and moved to meet the new threats, along with a few other suits. "Those ship captains are pretty ballsy, attacking our fleet like this. Don't you think?" Anya addressed Junichi, trying to start some friendly banter. "Ballsy? Then we'll cut off their balls. I am looking forward to adding a couple Publics to my long list of defeated enemies." Ghettid was no-nonsense when it came to killing Feddies. The Zakus - Kai and II HMT - led the charge against the enemy ships, splitting a bazooka round into each of the ships. Anya noticed that the ships exploded in exactly the same way the other ship had, yesterday. "More balloons, it looks like." Anya was only a little disappointed. "Yeah." Ghettid was significantly moreso. "Let's head back to the fleet to report." Perhaps there would be a few enemy mobile suits foolish enough to engage them. He certainly hoped there would be. Meanwhile, missiles were streaking back and forth between the two fleets, both of which were content to strike from long-range, at this point. The missile barrage from the Federation fleet was much stronger, but the Zeon mobile suits arrayed in front took care of most of the enemy ordinance before it struck a target. Caleb Degrau and Yoritomo Naizen were certainly doing their part. The mechanics had somehow pulled their suits back into working order. Yoritomo certainly didn't feel up to engaging an enemy prototype suit - well, not as much as he usually did - but taking down a few missiles while avoiding their brethren was not nearly as difficult. Caleb moved his Gelgoog cannon jerkily out of the way of in incoming missile, which passed dangerously close. The beam machine gun was an excellent choice for taking out the cloud of incoming missiles - as long as he could keep the damaged mobile suit out of harm's way. He thought about sending a short spray at a group of missile's coming Yoritomo's way - the Action Zaku's projectile machine gun wasn't as effective - but decided instead to target a larger group of missiles coming in from another direction. Efficiency was key in war, and Yoritomo could take care of himself. Fortunately, Felix Mendalshon sent a large MPC burst at the group of missiles, which exploded harmlessly in front of Yoritomo. The Val Varo then quickly zipped away, looking for other targets. Yoritomo cursed - without speed and maneuverability, piloting a mobile suit was too much like piloting a tank, and he disliked it. But, it was his duty; he kept on fighting. Elsewhere in the ranks of Zeon forces, Florian Cuyler was concentrating. "Do you think he'll be alright?" Emil Myberg mumbled to Richard Banks tentatively. He'd had nightmares about Florian dying horrible deaths, and he didn't want them to come true. "We're the only mobile suits near him; he'll be fine," Banks growled back, more meanly than he'd meant to. Fighting in the back - if it deserved to be called "fighting" - was not his style. But Emil was too jaded to take much notice of Banks' tone, and even if he had caught it, he'd have understood. The incoming Federation missiles held no Federation pilots, which meant that the explosions he was causing with the 90mm machine gun were causing no deaths. He would kill many more later, he promised himself. Many more. He started laughing wildly. "I'd appreciate less chatter." Florian was all concentration. The initial Zeon artillery barrage was weakening; it was time for him to strike. His few remaining functional bits were all clustered around one of the Federation ships. One of the Federation ships erupted as beams from no fewer than 10 bits poured into it. It had as much chance as a blindfolded man against a firing squad. Florian shuddered as he lost contact with the bits, consumed in the large explosion. He hoped that his superiors would be pleased to the degree that his peers were impressed. "What do you mean, it just exploded?!" Cassandra Beckett swerved her Guntank away from the remains of the ship she'd been assigned to cover. Her 100mm machine gun had been fairly effective in keeping missiles away from the ship, but her efforts were in vain. Ships didn't just explode in space, did they? Maybe it was an inside job? In any case, she needed to find another ship to cover. She headed over to the Salamis-revised-class Hydra, hoping that this ship wouldn't explode as easily as the last one. "Bits! It had to be bits!" Nacho Quintal said to himself as the Centaur exploded. Where there was beam fire from nowhere, there were bits. But, he wouldn't worry his crew with needless information. Hoping that none of the Newtype devilry had survived the ship's explosion, he barked orders as artfully as possible. The ship had its hands full with the Zeon barrage, but with any luck, The Factory would survive another battle to crank out punishment to the Zeeks. Veronica Wu was surprised when the enemy ship was destroyed; she had been certain the pair of Salamis ships were balloons. She wondered why Florian hadn't destroyed the Richmond, as she'd intended; then again, she wasn't quite sure how manipulation and control of the weapons worked at long-range. She'd have to ask the boy or his handler sometime. But right now, there was another artillery bombardment to coordinate. The fleeing Federation ships were feeling the heat of the long-range assault, but Derek Carter wasn't worried. His Guncannon was doing a fine job of keeping any stray missiles from the crippled Richmond, and he'd just received word that the Tianem fleet was minutes away. He spared some thoughts for the memory of Simmons as he blasted a cluster of missiles with his twin 200mm cannons. "Zeon fleet is now in range of our long-range weaponry." Admiral Tianem listened to the news from the bridge of the Agincourt, and gave the signal to fire. Scores of missiles streaked through space toward the Zeon forces as the Tianem fleet advanced to receive their weakened brethren. "Ma'am! We are now in range of the Federation fleet, under command of Admiral Tianem!" Dima kept her voice level as she addressed Beria on the bridge of Lucifer's Fury. "We retreat as planned. We have done significant damage." Beria was a little disappointed that the Richmond had not fallen, but one never got everything one wanted, especially in war. She gave the signal to retreat, and Lucifer's Fury joined the rest of the Zeon Expeditionary Force in an abrupt about-face. The mobile suits outside did their best to keep the barrage of the missiles away from their ships - most of the chaff and anti-missile missiles had already been spent. A particularly heroic Zaku pilot threw his ammunition-less mobile suit in the path of a missile streaking toward Athena's Wrath. Malak grinned in disgust; he would be performing no such sacrifice. He spun out of the way of the resulting explosion while dodging two missiles and peppering a third with machine gun fire. Judging by the brief halt in the Richmond's progress, his contacts had done their job well. And if his employers hadn't gotten what they'd wanted, what was it to him? He'd still get paid. The Jeanne d'Arc was slow in turning, and several missiles struck the already-damaged Musai. It was torn in half by the force of the impacts, and difted, lifeless, in the wake of the retreating Zeon fleet. Patrick Foley's GM Sniper II had just made it out the hangar door, delayed by still-attached fuel hoses, re-arming procedures and a hangar door that they had only been able to open a quarter of the way. He was just in time to see the last of the Zeon ships drop out of sight and sensor range. Sighing, he lowered his new beam sniper rifle and returned to the hangar; at least there was no line to get in. He glanced once more at the debris-filled space outside, swore fiercely, and returned to the repair crew. Caleb DeGrau - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Emil Myberg - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+2, Fatigued 1 Richard Banks - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Anya Wilds - 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing+2, Fatigued 1 Felix Mendalshon - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Florian Cuyler - 5/2 VP Gained, Injured 2 Yoritomo Naizen - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Junichi Ghettid - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Veronica Wu - 6/2 VP Gained, Fatigued +2 Malak Lazarevich - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Alex Sentara - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Cassandra Elaine Beckett - 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing+2, Fatigued 1 Packie Foley - 5/2 VP Gained, Fatigued 1 Derek Carter - 5/2 VP Gained, Repairing+1, Fatigued 1 Nacho Quintal - 6/2 VP Gained, Fatigued 2 One of the many duties performed by ships at sea is search and rescue. Even for navy ships in times of war, a vessel under distress will most likely not be ignored. Such was the case for the Hillock-class Stalagmite of the EFGF 3rd Naval Convoy. Marines lined the railings as the naval gunship moved towards the distress beacon. Lookouts soon spotted the crippled fishing boat drifting across the ocean's waves. "Lower a rubber boat and send some Marines to check it out," ordered the captain of the Stalagmite. Moments later, a small rubber craft pulled up alongside the disabled fishing boat. On the aft deck is a man in clear view. Despite the amount of guns and artillery pointed at him, he is clearly happy to see the soldiers. "You blokes took your bloody time to get here, eh?" grinned Hans Bond under the bright Pacific sun. He smiled the smile of a relieved fisherman as the Marines began checking the innocent fishing boat. Men clad in black armor sat on long metal benches. They are silent as they checked weapons and numerous other preparations. The red glow of battlestation lights made them look sinister. One by one, they donned their helmets turning into the red-eyed devils they are. They looked up as the sound of boots on metal grating grew louder. The footsteps stopped and a commanding voice spoke. "I hope your men are ready," said Captain Marina Nimue. "More than ready," reassured the squad leader. "So... Mr. Pierre, what are you doing this far out?" "As I said, sir," answered Hans," I was following the ocean current in hopes of finding new fishing grounds. That devilish move of blotting out Sydney had made a mess of things with the fish." "Amongst other things," agreed an officer of the Stalagmite. "My motor burnt out when I tried going across the current," continued "Mr. Pierre"," I was going to have it replaced once I'm back on shore." "Luckily for you, we were close by." "Luck indeed," nodded Hans with more sincerity than the Federal officer could possibly understand. "Well, we have your boat under tow. You can bunk in here until we get to harbor again. Unfortunately we are going to ask you stay in here until then. This is Ms. Williams. She will see to your needs for the duration of your stay on this ship." Hans Bond looked up as a brunette female sailor took a step forward from where she was standing at attention. She saluted the Federal Officer and Hans caught her glancing at him. "Lovely." Some time later, the sleepy fleet known as the EFGF 3rd Naval Convoy did one of their scheduled course changes. According to the manual, this manuever will randomize their position thus making it difficult for attackers to follow them. It was a good manual. Problem was, almost everyone read the manual. About twenty seconds into the course change, everything went to hell. Sonar operators on every Don Escargot and ship began screaming out acqusition contacts. The screens were clear of everything but wildlife until now. Suddenly, hard returns came back as cavitation from propellors revealed wolves lurking around them. Even before the first sonar buoys and depth charges are dropped, missiles bursted from the ocean waves. They rocketed up then angled over, spilling their munitions across the EFGF 3rd Naval Convoy. The Hillock-class escorts let loose with their CIWS weapons. But even the automated systems can not account for all of their missiles. To their horror, some of the missiles discharged smoke rounds. A heavy blanket of smoke soon engulfs the fleet. The Stalactite is then hit by an incendiary missile, causing chaos as the flight deck crew is killed while getting the Don Escargot into the air. Hans Bond lifted his head off the pillow as he felt the Stalagmite's engines go to combat speed. With gentle care, he got out of the bunk while making sure not to waken the happily sleeping woman next to him. After he got dressed Hans leaned over and kissed the brunette on the cheek," Don't get up my dear, I'll get it." Barely three minutes later, Hans Bond stepped over the dead bodies inside the Stalagmite's CIC room. Next stop, engineering. With the smokescreen and numerous sonar contacts in such tight waters, the battle quickly became chaotic. In their haste, two Cargo Ferries collided together. Neither of them saw the other in all of the smoke. Together they would die as Flight Sergeant Gil Krundel yanked them both beneath the waves with the Grabro's claws. He has a long way to go before clearing his brother's name. But this is definitely a step forward. The Jukons of the Schutzstaffel Tactical Fighting Unit attacked the disarrayed Federal fleet from different directions. The U-77 Lorelay and her esteemed captain, Marina Nimue attacked first, unleashing a wave of torpedoes. The U-18 and U-53 followed suit, causing the cargo ferries to be obliterated. Zeon MSMs popped out of the water, trying their best to shoot at low flying aircraft. But the smokescreen worked both ways, allowing the Don Escargots to do their business while the Tin Cods attacked the marine mobile suits. The U-53 ran out of luck as the badly hit Stalactite isolated the damaged Jukon II from the rest of the chaos. What was left of the Federal defenders pounced on it, pounding the wounded submarine until it burst like a balloon. The victory for the Federal force did not last however. The Stalactite's received Marina's congratulations in the form of six torpedoes directly impacting the Hillock's hull. As the Federal ship crumbled into scrap metal, the U-77 Lorelay pulled up alongside the Stalagmite. The Hillock is now dead in the water with much of the crew confused on what's going on. Those on the flight deck heard a noise. They turned and in the blinding smoke they saw the eyes of devils looking back on them. Heavy caliber weapons fire erupts as the SS Panzergrenadiers opened fire. As the black armored troopers systematically made their way to below decks, more Zeon marines climbed onboard. After them came a Zeon bridge crew and support staff. They have been brought along for the very purpose of getting the Stalagmite under control. Through the smoke they can hear the sounds of gunfire as Federal marines futilely resisted against Gihren's personal soldiers. Overhead, Federal aircraft crumbled as Gil Krundle and the other Zeon MSMs cleared the skies. A figure emerged from the smoke-filled corridors into the open air. At his side clutching his arm in denial, is a woman barely dressed in off-duty clothes. "Who are you? What... what have you done to the Stalagmite?" "Ms. Williams, this isn't the Stalagmite," corrected an always polite Hans Bond to the stunned brunette," this is the Casino Royale." Gil Krundel - 6/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 |