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"Do you see anything yet?" ...... "Kobayashi?" ...... "So useless..." Marc Simmons muttered to himself at his failure to attract the attention of his current patrolmate, Issa Kobayashi, as he checked his sensors once again. For the past ten minutes, he and Issa had been searching this region of space near Side 7 for what a supply ship had called "a Zaku with big titties." What Marc didn't know was that Issa was hard at work, trying to adjust his Gundam's scanners to cut through the unreal levels of Minovski particles that had somehow permeated this part of space. Marc's GM E followed close behind the Gundam, swinging its machinegun back and forth in search of the mystery Zaku. "If I were in that sweet-looking Gundam," Marc thought to himself. "We would've found this bitch by now." "I had a feeling a couple of pigs were looking for me," Nadia Adelaide remarked, slowly tailing the two Federal mobile suits in her unusual Zaku I. She swung her machinegun back forth, trying to decide which one to fire at. "Why do all of their machines have to look the same from the rear?" Nadia asked herself, finally deciding on the mobile suit that wasn't wiggling to and fro. Issa was finally starting to wonder if he and Marc were wasting their time when Marc began to shout a warning. Issa was barely aware of it until the loud echoes of bullets ricocheting off of his Gundam's back finally got through to him. He began to turn and noticing the GM E was already firing back at what looked like a Zaku I with big nozzles on the back. Issa joined in with his beam rifle, tagging the Zaku's empty hand. The GM E charged in, firing another extended burst of bullets, getting a few 105mm shells in return. Suddenly, toast with marmalade and reconstituted milk was looking really good to Nadia compared to what was happening now. The first mobile suit, which had a human-like face she now noticed, was barely even phased by her attack while its companion had begun shooting HER before she'd even shot the other one! Some kind of energy weapon had shot off one of her arms and 90mm shells were peppering her armor and damaging her delicate particle scattering gear. A hard shake in her cockpit told her that one of those energy beams had just hit her left pod. Luckily, she still had the ability to put up a formidable screen with her right pod. She fired the last bullets in her ammo drum, putting a large crack in the faceplate of one of the MS and begun pumping particles into space. "Issa!" Marc called out. "Part-zzt zzt ris-zzt-g!" "I know, I know," Issa tried to reply, not sure if Marc would hear him through the super-dense particle cloud. "Try not to lose sight of it!" Issa had already lost track of the Zaku though. Marc's GM was spraying bullets in a direction as if he had a better idea of where the enemy had gone, but as near as Issa could tell the enemy had already left. When the GM E was out of bullets, Issa edged over to it and put the Gundam's forearm on its ally's shoulder. The two performed one more sweep of the area, on the lookout for any signs of the Zaku or any useful pieces of it. Marc Simmons: 8 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Issa Kobayashi: 8 VP Gained, Repairing 1 Nadia Adelaide: 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Kasey found himself and his team drifting towards the island base of Malta on a legitimate looking cargo ship. It'd cost quite a bit to pay the captain of the vessel off, to allow not only his men but their mobile suit a ride. But as much as Kasey hated handing over the money, he admitted it was the most sound plan. So he resigned himself to wait for the voyage to be over. On the bright side he could see Malta in the distance and the captain of the boat was a nice old man. He wasn't sure which he was happier about. A formation of four Don Escargots cut through the skies on their routine patrol. The captain of the lead ship glanced back as his radar officer alerted him to an unscheduled boat. "Are we expecting anything from that direction?" asked the captain. "No sir. I even confirmed it with HQ." The captain sighed and radioed his flight. Some ship had probably just gone off course, but he had to make sure. The formation of Don Escargots swung around and within minutes had located the ship. "No running lights on the ship Captain." Said the spotter from behind him. "Can you see anyone at all?" he asked. Seconds went by before he heard a gasp. "Sir I see soldiers and what could be a mobile suit on that ship." said the spotter in a rush. With no choice left to him he pushed his squadron forward in an attack run. "That's hilarious." Said Kasey from his position near the doorway. He'd managed to find his way to the bridge and had spent the latest portion of their journey chatting up the captain. However Kasey felt a knot form in his stomach as the man stationed at the radar called out four contacts. Kasey saw a flash in the distance and years of training and combat made him throw his body backwards out of the bridge door. Just as he hit the stairs and began to roll down them the bridge of the ship exploded Kasey groaned as he pulled himself up. His chest felt like it was on fire. "Damn, I think I cracked a rib." He said to himself as he ran for his men. "Get to the life boats." He yelled at his men as he hobbled towards them. He saw Margie and Shawana pushing the others to ready the boats as he reached them. "What about the Zaku?" He heard someone yell. "No time." was all he managed before he drug himself into the life boat. He couldn't seem to get enough air in his lungs, as his soldiers quickly lowered the boat into the water and pushed away from the doomed vessel. They'd been drifting for less than a minute when he looked up to see a Don Escargot take a final run at the cargo ship. It must have hit the Zaku's reactor he figured, as he watched the ship be torn apart in an explosion. Kasey Greer: 6 CP gained, Injured 2 They met at dusk on the North African landscape. The GM Sniper Custom rose to greet the approaching GM Sniper and GM Ground type. A trail of dust kicks up from the army truck shuttling his Rangers. They are the elite infantry that the Earth Federal Forces have to offer. Arden Massenfer had to admit that it felt good to be assigned such high quality troops. From inside the GM Sniper Custom's cockpit, the 2nd Lieutenant visually checks the surrounding area. His forces are gathered right on time. Now all he needs is for darkness to fall before he begins his attack. Corporal Rhett Paruta of the Terrestrial Assault Force crept along a gully in his Zaku II K. It is the first time in days that he has any piece of mind. Most of his time was spent making sure Private Alta Femister, Private Louie Longanecker, and Private Cora Posada didn't kill each other in a training accident. Such was the life of the 71st Combined Arms Team "Carnivore Racers". Which made this opportunity all the more appealing to Paruta. He is following the trail of a Federal mobile suit. Paruta found the trail on his Dodai while on a practice flight to make sure his Dodai pilot doesn't drop him. Although, Paruta is still sure that other Dodai did do so intentionally. After having his liable squad set up camp somewhere where they won't get shot at, he sets out to investigate. He is now following on the ground the rough depressions that a mobile suit normally leaves in its wake. His amateur upbringing in geology and rock collecting gave him a intuitive guide on his mission. Now the Zaku II K rests against the side of a gully which is the biggest geographical feature in the immediate region. There are some soft rolling hills but they don't really matter. Perched in a crouching position, Paruta confirms his suspicions. A Earth Federal ground force is grouping together, obviously preparing for an assault. Paruta needs to act and he came well equipped. The 180mm artillery cannon locks into place as the auto loading system cycles the first high explosive shell. The Zeon pilot starts his calculations: windspeeds, firing arc, optimal grouping, Minovsky Particle densities, etc. As the darkness of night engulfs them, Paruta felt satisfied with his estimates and gently squeezes the trigger. The Rangers were the first one to noticed something was wrong when the experienced troopers heard the whistling of an artillery shell. They dove into prepared foxholes and temporary slit trenches. The three Federal pilots felt the Earth shake. Then more shells came down. One shell blew the ground away beneath one of the GM Ground type's feet, causing it to fall face first into the ground. Massenfer and the GM Sniper are already searching for the attacker but to no avail. "Shoot at the direction of the shells!" orders the 2nd Lieutenant to the GM Sniper. The long range equipped GM hefts its beam sniper rifle. Massenfer was about to say something when two shells straddle him. One detonates close to the GM Sniper Custom's left elbow and the other one explodes bare feet from his Advanced Targeting Visor. The GM Sniper didn't even bother to check on his squad leader. With a steady hand, the Federal mobile suit lets loose a shot towards Paruta's position. "HOLY MOTHERF-!" Paruta had seen live beam fire before and even GM Sniper attacks before. But that time, 2nd Lieutenant Ando Shoji in his Zaku II S did all of the hard work. Namely being shot at. But this time, the blazing pink beam seem to reach out for him as though it knew where he was hiding. Paruta instinctively rolled the Zaku II K out of the way. But the beam was close enough to melt and scorch the top layer of his mobile suit's armor. Gasping for breath, Paruta brought his Zaku II K upright from the bottom of the gully where it had slide. Content with the mayhem he probably caused tonight, the Corporal withdrew back to the rest of his squad. Massenfer stayed in his cockpit among the static filled screens to wait out the artillery bombardment. The GM Ground had recovered and had begun to drag Messenfer's mobile suit to safety. Miraculously, the artillery stopped with the GM Sniper's one beam shot. Ten minutes later, the disappointed 2nd Lieutenant rose from his cockpit to assess the damage. Despite the good news that there are only light casualties, his anticipated attack is delayed. Least of which because his GM Sniper needs to recharge its one shot and his own GM Sniper Custom needs immediate repair. Rhett Paruta - 4 VP gained, Repairing 1 Arden Massenfer - 2 VP gained, Repairing 2 SMACK!!! As if in slow motion, Samuel spun right back around in his seat, his jaw following slowly behind him. He managed to stop just inches from his face slamming into his glass, rubbing his face as he tried to process what had just happened. "Ummm, Sam? Sammy buddy? There a reason she just slapped the shit out of you?" His drinking buddy spoke up after watching what he felt was the funniest thing he'd seen all night. James Radcliffe patted the old pirate on his back and laughed. "What godf'rsaken whore of a...!" SMACK!!! This time he knocked his drink over onto the stranger sitting to his left. "Why you son of a bitch!" The man erupted out of his seat and pushed Samuel out of his chair into James. The two, forgetting about the angry female, stumbled to their feet to face the bear of a man they had seemed to anger. "This is all your fault!" The two of them said in unison as they realized the cause of this mess, pointing wildly at Robin. She looked around anxiously, realizing she may have over reacted a little. "Uh oh." The young girl pointed to her left at the man they had turned their back to. The two looked at each other, then to their right to see a huge fist coming their way. The old salt dog clumsily dropped out of the way, leaving James to take the hit right in the face. Robin, feeling guilty jumped in the way, causing the behemoth of a man to pause at the site of a woman. Her distraction allowed Samuel to sneak up behind their attacker and bash him over the back with a barstool. Splinters showered over James as he wrestled himself to his feet. "That hurt sir..." The rogue grabbed two beer bottles and slammed them against his neck. Robin, ever the opportunist, took the chance and kneed the man in the groin before kicking him in the stomach. The man doubled over in pain as he gasped for breath. "Shall we?" The two scoundrels grinned as they grabbed the man by his waist, and back of his shirt and threw him across the room, into a table of shady looking men. The scene played before them in slow motion, as they let go they winced, seeing where their human javelin was heading. They could see the faces on the men as they erupted, and the whole bar flew into a fit. "Ok, that one was y'alls fault my good sirs." Robin exclaimed as she slinked out the back, leaving the two men to get caught in the fray. Chairs were being thrown, fists flying, glass breaking, the bar was an absolute mess. After taking a few licks, and doing their best to escape the mob, they limped out the front door. "Never again... we need to find a new bar Samuel..." "Aye, indeed we do my g'sir... tis a shame, I rather liked the beer wench." "I told you, its not socially acceptable to go around calling women, wenches..." Robin Sayer: 5 CP gained, injured 1 James Radcliffe: 5 CP gained, injured 1 Samuel Riley: 5 CP gained, injured 1 |