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Patrick Foley patted the thick hull of the Magellan-class Richmond as the BOLLOCKS fleet moved through the darkness of space. The ship had sure been through a lot lately, thanks mostly to the latest iteration of those damn Zeek Wus. But this time, there would be no Wus; Foley was certain of it. Well, at least no Wus who could stop him. Surely news of the Federation victory here would reach Veronica Wu's ears one way or another. The retaliation would probably come later, but for now, Patrick Foley was looking forward to the next battle. He was going to enjoy himself. Elsewhere in the BOLLOCKS fleet, Nacho Quintal had just finishing his pre-battle briefing, comparing the great artists of the past to historical military commanders. He threw in a hint of their battle strategy for today, and a dash of verbal cubism, just for good measure. Their crew, especially Felipe, groaned inwardly again; it looked like they were going to have to play things by ear, again. Their commander rarely explained his orders; he just gave them, and so far, it had gotten them through battles alive. Connor nodded thoughtfully as Quintal concluded his speech; he'd understood roughly half of it, which was more than most of the crew, but he appreciated it as a work of art, and art didn't always need to be fully understood to be appreciated. In their forward monitor, distant flashes lit up the night sky. It was always night in space. Connor wondered whether Nacho would ever say anything about that, artistically, not that he had time to - not now. "The artillery barrage has commenced, captain!" An image of Richard briefly flashed through Quintal's head before he started giving orders. The Factory was leading the attack, and there was no room for error. He gave the order for the M-particle warhead to be deployed. Communication was key, and they were going to do their best to disrupt it. "Bring the Arminius of the ships around to deal with the barrage!" Commander Conscon was confident that the barrage was mostly a distraction, sent to turn their attention from the bulk of the attacking Federation fleet. The Siegfried was rocked by explosions, but she was a good ship, and strong; she'd pull through like she always had - at least if Conscon had any say in the matter. And he intended to. He idly wished Wu hadn't left them so soon, and wondered where she'd gone, but decided that it was probably more important than protecting his fleet from a bunch of Feddie upstarts. He'd have to hold them on his own. "Battlestations, everyone! This is gonna be rough!" The commander smiled as one of the Salamis-class vessels exploded, thanks to their concentrated MPC fire. He knew it wouldn't be enough, but commander Conscon would die before he gave up. Megaparticle cannon fire lanced from the Richmond, Duke and The Factory, striking several of Conscon's ships. Foley cursed at the still-standing Siegfried, and sent a stream of pink fire at it from his sniper rifle. The beam cut satisfactorily through the ship's thick hull, crippling or killing it - Foley couldn't be sure. He rushed back to the hangar of the Richmond for a recharge, hoping that he'd have time for another shot - not that he'd be disappointed if his fleet finished off the dman Zeeks before he got the chance. Cassandra felt at-home in the comfortable cockpit of the Guncannon MPT. Life in the Federation forces wasn't nearly as ornate as it had been back on earth, or as full of creature comforts, but where others complained of their lack of freedom in the military, Beckett reveled in the open space and the ability to choose her own destiny. She was concentrating her fire on one of the enemy's Musais. She could just read the markings on the side: "Seyne" Suddenly, she noticed a Zaku IIF streaking into her blind spot. She whirled to return fire, but was too late; the Zaku pilot had already sent a bazooka round streaking toward her. She managed to throw her arms in front of her to keep the blast from destroying her cockpit as she jetted backward and to the side, but she was certain that the pilot would be righrt behind her. She fired blindly, hoping to cover her retreat long enough to get her bearings. The shots swung wide, and the Zaku did not stop his assault, but where the Zaku pilot was alone in his attack, Cassandra Elaine Beckett was not; Derek Carter swooped in with his Guncannon, destroying the attacking unit's cockpit with two well-aimed cannon shots. Cassandra muttered her thanks, and the two swerved off toward the rest of the Conscon fleet's mobile suit complement. Looking wistfully at the twin Guncannons disappearing into the distance, Jack Murphey, newly transferred to the fleet, careened around the Richmond in his new GM Command. He hadn't really met anyone in the fleet yet, but he was loving his new machine. The Guncannon was a good unit on earth, but it was slow as balls. Space was wide open, and the thrusters on the machine allowed him to move in any direction he chose. It was a liberating experience for the differently-abled Murphey. Somehow, a Zaku of some kind had made it through to the Richmond, machine gun blazing. Jack Murphey could not allow this. As Foley tossed a frag grenade at the approaching Zaku, Murphey squeezed off as many beam rounds as he could in its directions. The Zaku pilot cursed as the frag grenade disabled a few of his verniers, and his cockpit was cut apart by pink beams. Space welcomed the remains of the Zeon pilot, as he joined others faithful to their cause to the end. "Whoo! First space blood!" Murphey was ecstatic. "Bet the Zeek bastard didn't even see it coming!" Another Zaku appeared, and another frag grenade drifted toward it as Foley swapped his sniper rifle for his beam rifle. He managed to kill it quickly, but not before it peppered them with machine gun fire. "Nice work, Murphey, but try to stay sharp." Foley cautioned the new space pilot. Ground-pounders tended to forget that in space, attacks could come from [i]below[/i] you. He glanced off into the distance, and saw exploding ships. He hoped they were Zeon's. They were. The already-crippled-perhaps-already-dead Siegfried was largely ignored by the attacking Federation forces in favor of the more-threatening Zeek ships. There were simply too many Federation warships to deal with, and the Zeon fleet crumpled as Megapartical cannon fire lanced through it. The Factory shook as they were hit with a stray beam, but the crew compensated for the force of the blow, and maintained a steady stream of MPC fire of their own, as they continued evasive maneuvers. The Seyne exploded, and they turned their attention to the Armenius. It wasn't long before the Armenius fell to the rain of MPC fire. Alex Sentara wove through the wreckage in his Saberfish II, enjoying the unit's speed as he peppered the ships with machine gun and missile fire. Beckett and Carter moved in on the Pazock-class ZLS-19, which was destroyed in short order by their cannons. The swarm of GMs and Saberfish from the Federation fleet had cut through the Zeeks' mobile suits like butter, and what few remained were too busy dodging a rain of Federation fire or dying to be much of a threat. The ZLS-18 was next, ahhihilated by beams. The Musai dispatched to deal with the artillery barrage was the last to fall, thanks to its distance from the rest of the fleet. Its crew fought bravely against the combined force of the Cyclops, Ogre and Talos, but the Musai was severely outgunned. It, too, added to the debris that now littered the area. Minutes later, there were no beams, machine guns or missiles streaking across the battlefield. The Federation forces had dominated. It was a good thing space was big, otherwise, these debris fields might become something of a problem. The thought crossed Foley's mind briefly as he stepped out of the hangar with his newly-refueled sniper rifle. Despite the M-particle interference, he was able to hail the crew of the Richmond. "Did we get the Siegfried?" "It appears to be dead in the water, sir." [i]Dead in the water, huh?[/i] The sniper rifle shuddered as another beam lanced through the broken Siegfried. This time, Foley was satisfied with the result. Murphey braced himself in preparation for the shockwave resulting from the explosion, but he felt nothing. Space was strange like that. Foley hoped that no one had had the chance to escape - not that there was much chance of rescue out here anyway. In space, you were almost always in the middle of nowhere. He returned to the hangar again, basking in the feeling of victory, already planning for their next engagement. They'd lost a few GMs and the Hydra, it was true, but the blow they'd dealt to Zeon's space forces paled in comparison. Veronica Wu would not be pleased. Patrick smiled at the thought. Alex Sentara: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Cassandra Elaine Beckett: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Patrick Foley: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Derek Carter: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Nacho Quintal: 7 VP Gained, No Damage Jack Murphey: 7 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Beneath the waves off the coast of South America, the submerged vessels of the Schutzstaffel Tactical Fighting Unit made their way through Federal waters. Ever since the submarine was concieved as a viable machine of war, they had played a neverending game of stealth and disception. But inside the hull of the Mad Angler-class Pendragon, another game of skill and control is being played. "Check." A murmur grew around the ship's galley as 2nd Lieutenant Alec Irusk looked around the mess table. One of the Warrant officers acting as the dealr flips over the final river card in this game of texas hold'em. The former artillery officer turned Z'Gok-E pilot took a look at his two private cards. The community cards at the center of the table are an ace of hearts, eight of spades, six of spades, four of spades, and an ace of spades. After a thought, Irusk tosses all of his "chips" (actually notched scrap metal made by the enlisted crew) forward. "I'm all in. Sixty dollars." Next to him, Sergeant Gil Krundel took another look at his own private cards. He's trying hard to hold a poker face. In an attempt to play without speaking, Krundel pushes all of his chips forward and held out his hand with an open palm. "The sergeant is all in with fifty dollars," announces the dealer," miss Mackernan?" The Gyan Test Type pilot stroked the red scarf around her neck. Her green eyes looked up at the last player on the table. "I think I'll raise," replied Mackernan. Someone in the group around the table whistled as the crowd mumbled for a moment. Feet shuffled as the off-duty crew of the Pandragon watches the game eagerly. "A hundred and twenty dollars," confirms their dealer," and you Mr. Bond?" The Interspheral Man of Mystery returned a charming smile to the Eurasian woman. His eyes never blink and after a long moment, Hans Bond spoke in that rich british accent of his. "Four hundred and five dollars all in, my good man." Only the sounds of improvised metal chips can be heard as Hans Bond shoves his pile forward. This puts Esther MacKernan in a pinch. Her instinct tells her to take what earnins she has left and leave the table. But a quick look at her private cards shows an ace of clubs and a six of hearts. With the cards on the table, that's a very high full house. MacKernan has a chance of winning this. Besides, this isn't combat. "I'll call," insisted the actress," all in." It is now a showdown between the four Zeon aces as all of the chips are now in the center of the table. But above them, a more lethal showdown is beginning. The officers who rushed the Brazilian Search and Destroy Unit, along with the 113th Airborne, did so with clear memories of the last time a major Zeon intrusion penetrated the heart of Federal territory. They were present as they watched the Zeon land battleships plowed through their patrols. The enemy in front of them looked less menacing. Only a handful of large contacts. The intelligence officers on the Dish aircraft in both patrols excused the sizes due to the sonar picking up excess cavitation in the water. Looks are decieving however. The Jet Core Booster pilots of the 113th Airborne are befuzzled to discover a single Dopp circling the location of the sonar contacts. As the Don Escargots prepare to drop sonar buoys and depth charges, the Jet Core Boosters raised after the Zeon fighter. What was supposed to be an uneven fight turned out tragically for the Federal pilots. Anti-aircraft missiles from a Grabro tore through a formation. At the same time, Z'Goks and other MSM's burst out of the water weapons blasting. Guided by the ace Sealance detector craft, they caught the Federal patrols by surprise. Some of them tried to pull up and escape into the sky but mega particle fire cut them off. Within moments, nothing is left of the two air patrols other than floating debris and bits of fuselage still falling from the sky. The MSMs waited a while for any latecomers before returning to the ships. Repair crews did a quick survey on the U-77 Lorelay. One of the Don Escargots got close enough to drop a whole stick load of depth charges close to the Jukon II. Fortunately it is only minor damage and the fleet continued on its course. "Okay everyone, show hands." The first was Alec Irusk as he slides his two cards forward. The Warrant Officer flips them over. "King and Queen of spades. Flush, ace high." The next is Gil Krundel, who can't help but give a half smile. He actually handed the dealer his cards. "Hearts and clubs of eights. Full house, eights with aces." A wave of excitement ripples through the room as Esther MacKernan looked at her facedown cards and back up at Hans Bond. The SS Operative looked back at MacKernan with that unflinching face of his. Without breaking eye contact with Hans Bond, MacKernan flips over her two cards. "Um, higher full house," announced the dealer," ace of clubs and six of hearts." The room was ready to go in an uproar with excitement. Everyone who is spectating started whispering loudly. Suddenly, it became quiet again as the dealer turns to the SS agent. "Mr. Bond, would you please?" With an air of confidence, Hans Bond slides his two cards to the center of the table and then flips them over. The room erupts in applause and astonishment. The dealer could barely speak. "Five... and seven of spades.... Straight flush...!" The Interspheral Man of Mystery gave a disarming smile to his company for that evening. They should have known better than to play cards with a man whose last name is "Bond". Alec Irusk - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Gil Krundel - 1 VP Gained, No Damage Esther MacKernan - 1 VP Gained, No Damage |