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In her two weeks as a fully commissioned soldier in the Duchies Space Assault Force, Nadia had already seen more than she'd desired. The wounded coming in to Solomons hospital deck from the front, the days and nights on end working on making this or that calibration on a weapon of destruction complete, as well as her attempt at collecting data on the Federations top secret weapons programs. She was not exactly enjoying her job, and she did not like being shot at even in the slightest. However, she knew her predicament and understood what she had to do. At least, that's what she kept telling herself as she and her Zaku sailed through the blackness of space, three F types trailing ahead of her. Soon they'd be right above the enemy fleet. Was attacking an entire fleet really necessary? At least the other units were in front of her. She kept an eye on the controls for her Zakus minovsky particle emitters as she went. They were working superbly, the new cooling instruments brought from Side 3 were exceeding expectations. Taking a long sigh, she reread the plan of attack, and checked her armaments, keeping herself busy was the best way of keeping her mind off what she was doing. Bazooka... Possibly used for killing other humans, check. Shield... Not exactly enough to keep from dying at a young age, check. She took another sigh. Far below Nadias teams attack vector, and about one kilometer to her left, the main decoy group was on a similar heading. This group looked a little more oddball than the four green Zakus above, consisting of a Rick Dom in standard colors, a strange looking prototype weapon, and a second Dom painted all in white. Richard was a little perturbed by his two wingmen. Neither Florian nor Caleb seemed to talk at all, although in Florians case the boy could be labelled as just mentally ill, whereas Caleb was, to put it simply, a jerk. The lack of conversation didn't bother Richard too much, he was wholly focused on the mission, and radio silence was probably for the best anyways. Florian went out in front under Richards orders. He had been sent straight from the Flanagan agency, and Banks was interested in how such a young boy would react in combat. Much farther below the Duchy mobile suits, a single mobile armor, running on silent with its engines shut down, floated into position. It was painted entirely black, another one of the Flanagan agencies weapons. Literally standing on top of the Braw Bro was a Zaku II E, Laredo Veils black recon suit already armed and ready for battle, a camera gun pointed at the EFSF Resupply fleet. Veil was preoccupied, trying to piece together the incidents of his most recent mystery. How had the rebels managed to get data on a Federation Columbus, and produced IFF codes that would fool even them? Or maybe the Sos Ro's destruction was faked after all... Far ahead of them, the bridge crew of the Atlantis were enjoying a slight respite in their duties, the Columbus fleet having just restocked the Blex fleet with fresh rations and medicine. The fleets in this area never had any time to return to base, and had to be restocked in the field, forcing the supply fleet to come to them. For this reason Synapse's escort fleet was nearly as strong as one of the front lines fleets itself, and because of its constant revisiting of Luna II, usually had newer weaponry. Synapse, one of the older and more loud mouthed Federal commanders, had been given this detail as a punishment. It was no secret that neither Jamitov nor Wakkein liked the man, and Revil had gone along with the decision, believing that it made sense to put the most competant of the Federations commanders in the position that demanded the most responsibility. "Sir, I'm picking up several bogies on radar, long range." The Atlantis's comm officer said, a young man by the name of Jeremy Huller. He had already seen his fair share of combat, and had been pushed back to the rear lines after losing his left leg to the knee in Operation Hellion. The injury did not prevent him from manning a computer panel. "Looks like two groups, three coming straight at us, and one headed from below. Two Doms, a... A Zaku, and some sort of mobile armor sir, the computer isn't giving me a match." Synapse put a hand to his chin, thinking as he scratched the scruff on his neck. He was due for a shave. "And no ships in the area?" "No sir. We have one particle cloud at vector 3N79, but spotters indicate there's nothing there. Must be lingering from an earlier battle sir. Enemy ETA is two minutes sir, should we launch mobile suits?" Synapse closed his eyes, giving himself a few seconds to think before making his decision. Picking a phone up off the arm of his chair, he pushed a button that said 'missile control.' "Get me a firing solution on the enemy mobile armor, half anti ship and half anti fighter rounds. Fire in one minute." He put the phone down in its rest point and looked at his crew. "Order the Relentless, Audacious and the Ball teams to stay with the freighters. There may be more that we've missed. Raise particle density to twenty percent and move us ahead, I want a flak barrage trained on the units to the front. Mobile suits will launch towards the enemy Doms." Orders were sent throughout the fleet, Columbus class freighters tightening up roughly in the shape of a square while the two Salamis class ships covered them from either side. The Salamis Kai and Magellan moved ahead of the fleet, turning on their sides in order to broadside the enemy. Ahead of them, Richard, Florian and Caleb were just close enough to see the enemies movements. Looks like they see us. I wonder who will get more kills, the SAFs finest or Flanagans toy. Caleb thought to himself. Would be nice if that little boy covered me and not the Lieutenant. DeGrau whistled softly to himself as small sparks of yellow started popping off the two ships ahead of them. The three pilots pushed on their throttles, the mobile suits shooting off in opposing directions as a hail of anti aircraft fire launched towards them. The ships AA guns were firing in regular intervals, on a pre-set course designed to prevent the enemy from flying straight at them. MPCs fired purposely below the three, forcing Florian, Caleb and Richard to come slightly from above, where the Magellans AA would have better firing angles. "Perimeter established." Jeremy said, keeping a close eye on the sensor readings. "Launch mobile suits." Synapse responded, staring straight at the enemy units in the distance. "Mobile suits cleared for launch." The ships comm officer, a woman named Helen Baker, was just as fixed to her console as Jeremy. "Signal all GMs, engage enemy mobile suits only, leave mobile armor to us." Helen repeated the commands, the fleets seven GMs moving into position, the Atlantis's beam rifle equipped GM Light Armor at the front. "All units adopt a staggered formation, remember their bazookas have range on us, and for fucks sake stay out of Atlantis's firing solution." the GMs broke apart, forming a wide line and attacking the three Duchy units from above, trying to force them into the constant hail of flack beneath their feet. Caleb was the first to fire, his beam rifle narrowly missing one of the GM E's. The Federation mobile suit flipped around, zigzagging through the black before opening up with its vulcans and machineguns, DeGraus Gelgoog dodging to the left. Florian slowed his Dom and spun between several rounds of machinegun fire, launching a bazooka shell into the Light Armors shield. Placing his bazooka on the weapons rack behind him, Richard brought out his MMP-80, trying in vain to hit the Federal units. "Christ, these GMs are as fast as a Rick Dom." he muttered, sending rounds into the Federal units as they zigzagged around. Caleb narrowly dodged a shot from the Light Armors beam rifle, ignoring it as he trained his own rifle on one of the GM E's. Firing, he scored a hit, the GM losing its arm and quickly retreating. "This is Atlantis. Unit five, return to the impenetrable, do not continue to engage. Unit three, cover Brensky." Helens hands were quick, moving small points on a computer touchscreen as she monitored the units angles of attack. "Adam, Kinkaide, move to vector two Beta five, they're leaving their side open." Two GM E's pressed their thrusters to full, coming around Richards flank with machineguns blaring. However, matching their step almost instinctively was Florian Cuyler, the newtype scoring the first kill of the battle as a 360mm shell slammed squarely into one of the GMs cockpits. The other GM backed off, using his vulcans to cover his retreat and preventing Florian from engaging in close combat. "Florian back off, they're forcing us to use our fuel reserves. We'll have to go back to base soon." Richard grimaced. Without a word Cuyler immediately complied, the two groups fighting at medium range where they had to move less, making sure not to maneuver into the sea of lead beneath them. Far below the battlefield, Burnett and Veil slowly floated into position, hoping that their decoys were successful. "Alright, I'm firing up the reactor now." Chris stated, small red lights starting to glow throughout the Braw Bro. He closed his eyes, focusing hard on the single tentacle that slid out of the armors core, snaking its way towards the underside of the enemy ships. In the Zaku II E, Laredo was almost bored when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. His hands swatted at the pictures floating around his cockpit so that he could see them better. "Uhh, Specialist, we have a problem. Enemy missiles incoming." He said, launching the Zaku II E off of the mobile armor. A half dozen warheads were coming straight for the two of them. Chris pulled the tentacle arm back, a blast of mega particles destroying one of the warheads before another slammed into it, tearing the tentacle arm in two. Veil had already decided discretion was the better part of valor, and was running away as fast as he could when one of the missiles on his tail opened up, dozens of smaller rounds flying out of it. He dodged as best he could, but the missiles were tracking his movements. Wishing he'd brought his machinegun, Laredo's Zaku was torn up by round after round, losing both legs and an arm to the missile barrage. Chris and the Braw Bro were having similar trouble. Turning the mobile armors engines on and leaving the battlefield as quickly as he could, Burnett was unable to focus on his psycommu controlled tentacle arms and the armors movements at the same time. An anti-ship warhead slammed into the side of the Braw Brow, the massive explosion tearing through the armor and sending it flying off course into he black beyond. "Sir, enemy mobile armor appears to be destroyed. Enemy mobile suits are backing off." Helen said, Synapse nodding his approval. Suddenly she turned around in her seat, a look of worry on her face. "Captain, message from the Relentless, there are four Zakus right on top of the freighter group!" "What?!" Synapse howled. "Have the GMs disengage, cover them with a second round of missiles. Pull the Atlantis back to the freighters now!" Behind the main battle, the three Zaku II Fs launched a barrage of 120mm shells into the enemy Balls, destroying several and damaging one of the Columbus transports. Nadia fired several rounds into the Audacious, but the ships AA fire was too strong from above, and her bazooka rounds were caught and detonated before they reached the enemy ship. The Zakus pressed on, but two were hit by the massed fire from the score and a half of Balls protecting the freighters. "Looks like they're pulling away from Richards team, we'll have to make a run for it." Adelaide said to herself, watching as the final Zaku zigzagged between the enemies rounds. Something in her gut told her to be heroic for once, and she jetissoned her external fuel tanks, blasting at top speed towards the Audacious. Dropping her bazooka as dead weight and pulling her panzer faust off the Zaku MPSET's back, she launched it into he side of the ship, several heavy AA rounds connecting with her shield. The MPSETs arm was damaged, however the heavy steel shield kept the rounds from pushing into her cockpit. Nadia pulled away, the panzer faust hitting one of the Audacious's portside MPC turrets and destroying it nicely. "Sir, it looks like the enemy battlegroup is retreating." Helen said, Synapse angry at the thought of an enemy group getting around them. "Should we pursue?" "Negative, I don't want any more surprises today. Give me a damage report and keep your eyes peeled for a secondary attack." Richard Banks - 7 VP gained, Repairing 2 Florian Cuyler - 7 VP gained, Repairing 2 Injured 1 Caleb DeGrau - 7 VP gained, Repairing 2 Nadia Adelaide - 7 VP gained, Repairing 3 Chris Burnett - 7 VP gained, Repairing 4 Injured 1 Laredo Veil - 7 VP gained, Repairing 4 They've landed again. That doesn't mean they're safe however as this week's experiences have taught him. For what it is worth, the events this week clearly showed that they've caught Zeon's attention. Afterall, you're not doing your job right in this business if the other side doesn't want to kill you. But at least this time, 1st Lieutenant Nigel Ferdinand of the 42nd Brigade is staking his own welfare on the line while the injured stay behind. Well, staking his own life as much as possible while hiding inside the armored hull of a M3563A4 Bloodhound vehicle. Thanks to the vertical takeoff and landing capability of the Medeas, the 42nd Brigade manage to hid themselves behind a sand dune not far from their target. Like a throwback to wars of centuries past, this attack will be done with infantry and only the GM Sniper in long range support. Thorvald Siggurdson had left the 42nd Brigade with his Blue Destiny unit. The beam sniper rifle on the GM Sniper is only good for one shot before a lengthy recharge process. It effectively has one shot for every battle. But when connected to a ship's reactor, the GM Sniper is many more shots available. The Medea-class transport is cutting it close, but when the plane is sitting on the ground the technique is doable. Powering a beam sniper rifle during flight is out of the question. Well, there is also Sergeant Cray Vermillion's Type-61. The battered vehicle rolls off the ramp of the Benedictus. It's tracks ate into the dirt as the main battle tank pivots. The twin 150mm guns and engine still works but much of the armor is missing or needs to be replaced. For what it's worth though, a tank's armor doesn't matter much to the rapid fire punishment of a Zaku's 120mm machinegun. But Vermillion didn't really care for the moment. His tiny driver, Private Ion Bossa-Nova, stops the Type-61 in front of the Marines. All three squads of Marine infantry form up around the Bloodhound and the Type-61. Together they began to move at a walking pace towards the direction of the RF-1 Mine. There is no point trying to ride on a metal vehicle; sitting on metal plating under the Saharan heat is a bad idea. Inside the confines of his Bloodhound, Ferdinand sulks. He can hear the shouts of Joe Dzurik as he handles the infantryman as best as he could. Most of the vehicle is open top with a command antennae. But the forward partition is enclosed and that is where Ferdinand is right now. He is disappointed, mostly at his streak of bad luck but particularly at himself. Now he hopes his puny attack force can take over a Zeon base. They were spotted about twenty minutes from the RF-1 mine. The Zeon garrison quickly launched their Dopps and Lagunn into the air. Shortly afterwards, the Zaku II Js step out of their hangar cages. The mobile suits raise their weapon and a few eyebrows when they are told the attackers are mostly infantry on a few vehicles. The two Dopps strike first. They came fast as Marines scatter away from the two vehicles. Vermillion yells at Bossa-Nova to get them off the road just as vulcan fire strafes them. The hovercraft Bloodhound evades the attack easier thanks to its ability to skim over sand. The gunner on top traverses the machinegun in a futile effort to force away the jet fighters. Dzurik himself is trying to figure out what to do with only light weapons. The Marines took cover behind sand ridges when things got worse. One of the three Zaku II Js of the RF-1 Mine is approaching them. Its 120mm machinegun pummeling the sand where Ferdinand's force is hiding. The Bloodhound is hiding in the temporary safety of the shadow of a sand dune. Vermillion's Type-61 is not so lucky. Weaving and turning as best as the Type-61 can manage, the main battle tank returns fire at the Zaku II J. It definitely tore the Zeon pilot's attention away from the cringing Federal Marines. A stream of Zaku machinegun rounds nearly nails the evading tank but the Saharan sand took most of the damage. The single cannon mounted on RF-1 thunders, spelling doom to several Federal infantrymen. Then their first break occurs as a precise beam sniper shot blew off both of the Zaku II J's arms. The GM Sniper, whose rifle is attached by long cables to the Medea transport plane known as the Dignity, adjusts its sights again before firing. Seeing the Zaku II J fall provokes a massive cheer amongst the surviving Marines. Together, lead by Joe Dzurik they rose in groups of fireteams and dash towards RF-1. Vermillion tells Bossa-Nova to turn the Type-61 around. After some groaning the stressed out tank obeys and follows the Federal Marines forward. The twin 150mm cannons roar as Vermillion lay some covering fire for the foot troops. But it is much more difficult for the GM Sniper of the 42nd Brigade to hit the targets on the RF-1 Mine. Interference is too great and now the remaining two Zaku II Js are scattering. The Zeon base's AA guns are brought into action as their gun barrels are depressed and swiveled to face the charging Marines. One Zaku II J kneels down to prepare to fire off its 3-tube leg missile launcher. It seems as if Nigel Ferdinand's bad luck has ended. From a completely different direction, two beams strike the Zeon base. The first beam cleanly severs the still standing Zaku II J in the torso. The second beam impacts the mine itself, shaking the defenders. Inside his GM Sniper Custom, 2nd Lieutenant Arden Massenfer grins as he saw the results of his strike through the Advanced Targeting Visor. Around him, the GM Ground Type raises its 100mm machinegun and starts blasting at the Dopps. One is caught in the sudden hailstorm and explodes. The GM Sniper, with its one beam sniper shot depleted, took out its own 100mm machinegun. With the elite Rangers infantry doing their own charge, Massenfer's MS team attacks. The remaining Zaku II J, caught between two directions of attack, is literally torn asunder by a mass of tank shells, 100mm shells, and beam gun fire. It focused its final moments in blasting Massenfer's GM Sniper Custom headon with its 120mm machinegun before dying. As the Zeon Marines in the base saw their last hope explode, they order the Samson to withdraw while they use the mine's AA guns to slow down the Earth Federal Force. Confronted by the Zeon marines' last stand in the RF-1 mine, neither Ferdinand nor Massenfer notice the Samson leaving behind the base. It doesn't really matter though, as what was left of Ferdinand's marines share a camaraderie moment with Massenfer's Rangers while hoisting the blue Earth Federal Flag over the mine. Ferdinand himself is feeling pretty good too. Nigel Ferdinand - 8/2 CP gained, No Damage Cray Vermillion - 8/2 VP gained, Repairing +1 Arden Massenfer - 8 VP gained, Repairing 2 Jim Irwin - 1 VP gained, No Damage Jay Tessa - 1 VP gained, No Damage Jack Verse - 1 VP gained, No Damage Jane Sheppard - 1 VP gained, No Damage Oh but how he hated sieges. The shooting had been at odd intervals ever since they'd established their perimeter just after the sun had set. Ordinarily one would be trying to sleep, but the sound and shake of the Arianrhods guns every ten minutes or so were keeping Jarvis wide awake. Maybe he would make some tea, that would keep a good Englishman awake, right? The lieutenant muttered as he climbed out of his bunk, picking up the ceramic tea kettle that somebody had so thoughtlessly decided to give him for a present, and attempted to find the lightswitch. The guns cried out again, and as the room shook he dropped the kettle, which smashed into an inordinate number of pieces on the cold metallic floor of the ship. Oh but how he hated tea. The shots were beginning to pick up now, and it was clear that they'd established a firing solution on their target. What with the heavy minovsky particle cloud emanating from the base, and the lack of Federal documentation as to what the composition of the fortress at Manila was, training your guns was mostly trial and error. There would be civilian casualties, but it was not as though five billion people weren't already dead because of this war. A call for him came on the intercom, and Jarvis decided to leave the mess, grabbing his jacket and buttoning it on his way up the stairs. A Lieutenant in charge of an entire fleet. Oh but how he hated his father. He reached the Arianrhods bridge and looked out through the dark, the flickering lights of Manila sparkling in the island beyond. It was just after ten PM local time, but it was a clear night, the moon in full view. Those on deck could even see the lights of Side 6, a small constallation of flickering colors about a tenth the size of the moon. It wasn't entirely easy to spot but if you knew where to look it was certainly there. The lights shone over the island, which jutted out of the black waters that strode on like a canvas, lapping at the edges of the ships of the 87th. It was a nice night. A nice night to be sleeping if he didn't have to listen to those blasted guns. "We've completed our triangulation sir, moving the mobile suits onto the flight deck now." She said. One of these days Jarvis would have to have a drink with the young girl, and see what exactly she thought of him. They had met in far too many embarassing situations already. Ackarts internal monologue halted briefly as a huge ray of pink lit up the night sky, casting bright blue shadows on a swathe of sea going straight towards the island. At the far end there was a small explosion, and several men on the bridge clapped in approval. "Excellent work Senaiha." someone said over the ships comm system, Aurem responding with another shot. Next to his GM Sniper a Guntank let off a salvo of 180mm artillery rounds, Bigby Wolfe in the GM Desert Type firing its railgun, throwing a shell into the distance with a relatively silent noise, sounding almost like a giant blowpipe. "Our sources confirm that there is little they can use to attack us at this range sir. They'll surrender after two or three days." The voice came from behind Ackart, somebody in the bridge crew. Jarvis wanted to sleep. Another round came from the Arianrhods main guns, the Gwydion and Gilfaethwy brightening the night with a salvo of intense missile fire. "That's good, that's good... Say, what are those lights coming from the other side of the island?" Jarvis asked, pointing ahead. Small dots were coming into view now, coming up from the far end of the island. "Aurem, can you get us a visual of those lights at one o'clock?" the communications officer said. A TV screen above the bridge was patched into the GM Snipers sensor equipment, which zoomed in on the dots in the distance. It was unmistakable, two or more wings of Duchy aircraft. "Their airfield must be behind that ridge." somebody said, Jarvis letting out a deep sigh. Somebody was asking him for orders. Why couldn't they handle this themselves and let him sleep? "Well, launch our fighters for crying out loud!" Jarvis said, as sarcastically as he could manage. "Sir, our artillery units are on the flight deck, we won't have anything in the air but the CAP for at least three minutes." "Well get started! And have Hirsch and that Aqua GM Diver Harbor Thing put in the water, I'm sure they'll launch their marine units too." Ackart said, trying to scratch the fatigue out of his brain, but succeeding only in ruining his hairdo. The two Hillock class destroyers were brought in front of the Himalaya, long range surface-to-surface rockets traded for anti air ordnance. Their verticle launch systems were multi-use, capable of taking on targets in any theatre. The mobile suits were quickly moved aside, Tin Cod pilots scrambling to get airborne. The first few fighters shot off the landing deck and into the night sky just as the Hillocks guns went ablaze, yellow tracers and missile exhaust forming a bright cloud of death and flying into the Zeon aircraft. The nimble Dopp fighters dodged and rolled, three being caught in the barrage and exploding while the rest moved around towards the battleship. As they moved for the Federal carrier, a wave of missiles struck into them from the side, the 87ths Combat Air Patrol biting into them. Tin Cod pilots pressed on their guns and Dopps rolled away, AA gunners on the himalaya pouring lead into the air as the dogfight began. The Duchy fighters swam higher and higher into the sky, using their better maneuverability and smaller size to great advantage. Several Tin Cod carcases smoldered as they dropped into the waves, more fighters launching from the Arianrhod to assist. "Sir, I'm getting more contacts, looks like a wing of Zakus on Dodai transports, coming from the base." the comm officer called out. By now the fighters had all launched, and Aurem had moved his GM back to the front, replacing his sniper beam rifle for a GM bazooka. He shot two shells into the air, the first missing but the second striking one of the Dodais on the bottom. The red bomber-transport exploded, the Zaku it was carrying falling into the waves. A column of ocean waters shot up shortly after, the Zakus reactor exploding as it was pierced with one of the GM Aquas beam picks. Jack Murphy and Bigby Wolfe quickly moved back into position, launching vulcan and machinegun rounds into the air instead of artillery rounds. The Zakus fired back with machineguns, several shells hitting Jacks Guntank in the treads and disabling it. "Captain, we're not going to be able to get Jacks unit off the runway with that damage." somebody called. Ackart sighed again, wishing his crew was not entirely composed of morons. "Have the Platypus come up front and tell it to take the damaged units, how many fighters can we hold in a C-88? Oh and keep an eye on the sonar, I don't want their Jukon sneaking up on us." Jarvis answered. If only his new mobile suit had gotten here from Jaburo already. Oh how he had hated Cambodia. The Medea was brought up to the front lines, damaged Tin Cods trying to manage the difficult job of landing in the airborne carriers hold. The Platypus had recently joined the fleet, picking up Tael Thorn and his marines and waiting for the order to assault the fortress. Another Tin Cod exploded as the fighters circled on above him, a Dopp catching fire and sailing into the ocean as the Gilfaethwy turned around, launching waves of missiles into the air. One of the Zakus managed to get close enough to the Federal battlegroup and leapt off its Dodai, slamming into the GM Sniper and knocking it across the flight deck. One of the remaining aircraft, a Dish, was pushed into the waves as the two mobile suits skidded across the aircraft carrier. "Christ, help!" the usually silent Aurem yelled, reaching for his bazooka even as it bounced into the water. The Zaku raised its heat hawk, slicing off one of the GM Snipers arms and incapacitating it. It reached its arm up again, the bright orange axe prepared to slam into the Snipers cockpit and kill Aurem when it went silent, 90mm rounds from Bigby's machinegun cutting into the Zakus reactor and causing emergency failsafe systems to shut it down. The two GMs laboriously pushed the Duchy suit into the water. However before they could turn around and continue their suppression fire into the air, several 280mm bazooka rounds hit Bigby's GM in the back. "Christ, we need more fighters." Jarvis muttered. The Dopps were starting to pull back, the wear and tear from the ships impressive AA batteries doing their work. However, all of a sudden an explosion rocked the Gilfaethwy, a cloud of water piling over the side of the ship. "What the hell?! I told you idiots to watch the sonar!" Ackart yelled. Beneath the ocean, Hirsch Munchek was having a time. This wasn't at all like his strange encounter with that TAF faggot in Brazil, and it wasn't like playing soldiers with shell-men either. The GM Aqua hurtled through the waves, Goggs on all sides of him. One of the lumpy Marine units brought itself upright, the black waters lighting up as mega particles shot out of its chest towards Munchecks GM. The Aqua strafed to the side, a grenade popping off of its calf as it did so. The ball detonated in a cloud of black ink, dropping the visibility of the waters even lower as Munchek dived towards one of the other Goggs, using his units superior speed to ram into the mobile suits back. "Time for a hug little boy." He mused, two torpedos firing off the GMs shoulders and into the Goggs reactor. The heavily armored mobile suit was torn in two by the attack, Hirsch moving again as a round of beam fire shot out from behind him. There were too many to keep track of. He sank deeper into the waves, bringing an arm up and firing more torpedos into the enemy units. The Goggs dodged this volley, moving to flank him. "Christ, three on one. Can't handle this many at once." Hirsch sighed. He pushed the Aqua farther and farther away, hoping to use speed to his advantage. Out of the corner of his eye he caught some movement, but it was too late, his cockpit jarred with the force of the Z'Gok ramming into him. He grabbed a beam pick off his suits waist and prepared to defend himself, but the Zeonic unit was already moving away, firing MPCs towards his GM. Munchek barely managed to dodge, dropping another grenade which exploded in a sack of ink. "Four on one..." He muttered, now moving back to the Hillocks and hoping for support. Another volley of torpedoes from the Jukon struck the Gilfaethwy, which shuddered under the strain and attempted to valiantly keep itself afloat. The Gwydion and Arianrhod fired salvoes of torpedoes towards their target, the Jukon struck in the side and suffering a moderate amount of damage. Hirsch kept his eyes peeled on his rear camera, watching for the enemy units in pursuit. However, they did not follow him, moving back to the relative safety of Manila's port. The Jukon had taken too much damage and was forced to disengage, the Dopp wings using their superior speed to break away from the Tin Cods. The 87th had suffered a great amount of damage, and would have to break off its bombardment for now. Hirsch raised the GM Aqua above the waves, letting his mobile suit float on the surface of the night sky. He took a few deep breaths, calming himself and looking up at the stars. There was the moon, looking on them from above, and just to the left of it the lights of Side 6. Hirsch liked playing toy soldiers much more. Hirsch Muncheck - 6 VP gained, Repairing 2 Jarvis Ackart - 6/2 VP gained, no damage Aurem Senaiha - 6+1 VP gained, Repairing 3 Bigby Wolfe - 6 VP gained, Repairing 2 Jack Murphy - 6 VP gained, Repairing 2 Tael Thorn - 1 CP gained, no damage Ride the Dragon to Victory! It was a cold day in the Mediterranean, or at least as cold as a September evening could be in these temperate waters. The sky was full of clouds, and the sun was slowly beginning to set in the west. As the sky turned from blue to a dull yellow, a pair of submarines slowly pushed deep beneath the waves. Both captained by the ruthless Schutzstaffel, their holds were filled with black uniforms and serious, unwavering attitudes, much to the contrast of the color in the skies above. "So we aren't to engage until the air group lands on the island... Marina, take the Ashray to a safe distance, I want to be able to attack or retreat as necessary." Xaviar said, Marina echoing the orders throughout the ship. The Ashray was an impressive vessel, one of the newer Jukon models, and filled to the brim with high quality mobile suits. The crew was mostly SS, and very obedient to their master, Hauptscharfuhrer Brennan. Next to the Ashray, the U-99 moved ahead slightly, one of the older and smaller Jukons. Novosad and his crew had decided to press the attack, the objective being to plant a Duchy flag inside the Federal airbase at Manila during the assault. Novosad had decided this would be a crippling blow to Federal morale. The twelve Panzergrenadiers suited up in the black depths of the torpedo room, carrying a devastating assortment of weaponry as well as their signature pressurized armor suits. The men looked at each other calmly and dangerously, towering above the mechanics who made the final adjustments to their personalized torpedoes. Climbing inside the mobile tombs, the twelve shock troopers were fired six at a time, riding inside projectiles that hurtled silently towards the fortress. Above the darkness of the SS Naval corps, a Gaw Attack Carrier and an assortment of fightercraft flew towards the base, the sun turning the sky a soft orange behind them. Ando Shoji stood, his red Zaku perched atop the Dragon, waiting for the precise moment to make his opening. Alain Grace had just settled into his high. It was marijuana this time, something light, he couldn't be hallucinating during combat after all. He breathed out a long sigh and relaxed, his eyes half-shut inside the cloud surrounding his cockpit when the yelling pierced his ears. He shot up angrily, wondering if they were under attack. "GENTLEMEN!!" Ando shouted, startling the entire airgroup. "Today we show the Federation what we are made of! They may outnumber us in the air! They may outnumber us at sea! But we have what heroes are made of, the strength of will to triumph against all odds!!!" He yelled, holding his heat hawk high above his head. He had picked this mobile suit primarily because it was red, and red things reflected his courageous hot blooded nature. "Do not be afraid of their numbers, they have been unable to defeat us throughout this war! And Men, I say this to you. Believe in your own two fists, and you will be victorious!" With that Ando broke into a run, leaping off the front of the Gaw with arms stretched wide. "GATTAI NA!!!!" Ando yelled, slamming onto the base of a Dodai YS below the Gaw. His Zaku stood, pointing an outstretched finger at the enemy base. "ONWARDS, TO VICTORY!" "Is he serious?" Noelle said, her Dom inside the belly of the Dragons hold. Ferusha snickered a little inside her Zaku, riding a Dodai at the far wing of the attack group. She'd have to introduce Ando to her mechanic, maybe he could wear her out. "Hmm... I wonder how old his mother is..." Kasey said. He was happily playing cards with his team inside the belly of the Dragon, the group waiting for the Gaw to reach its paradrop point. Yuji sighed, sending the huge Apsalus out ahead of the Dragon. Ando moved towards the far wing, and the airgroup split into three sections, dubbed Alpha, Beta, and Charlie (but definitely not Cappa) wings. Dragon headed the far flank with the Apsalus and the Dopps, with Shoji's command group heading the flank on the far left. In the middle, Ernest Till and the Zaku II K group flew on, their Dodais protected on either flank by larger forces. "Sir, weren't we supposed to be getting air support from Constantinople?" Marko asked, his Zaku II S riding shortly behind Ando's. "KAMAWAN! We will defeat them with the blazing strength of our fists alone!" Ando replied, shaking an outstretched fist towards the horizon in emphasis. In answer to Shoji's challenge, a haze of enemy fighters started to climb off the island, flying straight at the enemy air group. Depp Rogs and Fly Mantas went for the Dragon, while Tin Cods sailed towards Beta and Charlie wings, the Don Escargots forming a perimeter behind the enemy units. Missiles sailed from both sides, the sky lighting up in explosions as vulcan guns detonated many prematurely. Two Dodais were hit, the mobile suits on top of them leaping off and firing with their machineguns before sailing into the water below. Ando let off round after round of his bazooka, unable to hit the nimble Tin Cods. He threw the weapon aside, snarling and gripping a heat hawk in each hand. However, despite the strength of Ando's spirit, the nimble Tin Cods were more than a match for the slow Dodais, each carrying fifty tons of steel atop its frame. Ferusha managed to score a kill, but her Zaku was hit from below, legs giving way as she fell into the watery depths. Marko followed her shortly, the Federation fighters targeting his Dodai and sending him sailing to the orange mediterranean surface. "Men! Believe and your wings will not fail you!" Ando yelled, clipping one Tin Cod with a heat hawk as it flew past him. He looked back at Alpha and Beta wings, which were both doing just as poorly. The Zaku II K's in Beta wing were unable to use their artillery weapons atop the Dodais, and the Tin Cods were making short work of them, Zakus jumping into the ocean to save themselves. Long range missiles were streaming out of the Depp Rogg wing, peppering against the hull of the Dragon in the distance. Yuji rushed the Apsalus forwards, slamming it into a Fly Manta and crushing it, but the rest pushed past him, slamming missiles against the Dragons hull. The four Dopps with the Dragons escort managed to take down most of the Manta wing and moved for the Depp Roggs, but were stopped by a line of Don Escargots, whose effective AA weaponry pushed the inferior number of fighters away. "No... We... We can't be losing..." Ando cried, even as his Dodai exploded beneath him. He leapt his Zaku into the air, firing thrusters and trying with all of his might to make it towards the fortress. A pair of anti-air missiles slammed into his Zaku from the side, sending it flying backwards and into the watery depths. Even as the Dragon began to turn away, Alain Grace was still fighting, the blue Efreet having the easiest time defeating the Federal airgroup. Grace exhaled slowly, firing another round of his shotgun at the enemy, another Tin Cod exploding in mid-air. "Yup... Running out of ammo, gotta turn around... Good job courageous Zaku boy..." He sighed, wondering what it was about the man that bothered him so. His Dodai turned and retreated, the Tin Cods strafing the Zakus still floating above the surface instead of dealing with the impressive test mobile suit and its devastating shotgun. Beneath the waves, Ando let his Zaku sink majestically, mad at himself for failing to defeat the demons of Malta. However, he would never give up! All this meant was he must strike harder and more decisively next time! He clenched his fist, knowing that one day victory would come. While the air battle went on above, twelve topedoes thudded softly into the mediterranean beach, just to the south of the main port. Hatches opened up slowly, and pairs of black booted feet stomped along the Federation land. Ritter raised an arm, motioning his men to follow him. Their eyes a glowing red haze, the twelve men walked towards the city, the few tourists enjoying their day at the beach despite the air raid quickly gunned down. There were a few screams, and Ritter stepped over what used to be a beautiful young woman as he made his way towards the city of Valleta. They would not take any prisoners, or give any mercy. This was a battle for terror, a battle to show the civilians of the Federation that they were not safe. The panzergrenadiers marched through a narrow city street, one catching movement out of the corner of his eye. A grenade was thrown into a window, a childs screams heard as the building and its inhabitents went up in flames. Smoke began trailing from the houses close to the beach. They came to a square, gunning down a restaurant owner who was telling his patrons to leave shop. A couple ran, Ritter's bullets hitting them in the back. Novosad looked out into the distance, watching the slim figure of the Gaw turning away. The battle was going poorly. There was another scream that went sharply silent, and the men moved on, turning in another direction and heading southwest. They would proceed to the evacuation point, but they would leave terror in their wake as they went. A statue of a Greek God in the center of the square was smashed, a large Duchy flag placed in its place. The twelve men walked on. An old man and his dog were seen in the road. Ritter fired two shells into the mans head, the dog rushing to avenge its master. The dog was kicked, its neck stepped on and broken. After what seemed an eternity the marines came, a group of them blocking the road to the small local fishermans port that would serve as the evacuation point. Huddled around and inside buildings they had made temporary barricades. They fired on the Panzergrenadiers, whose thick armor shrugged off most of the rounds. One man was hit in the neck, the black skinned soldier crumpling to the ground like so much lead. The rest of them took cover, one group going around the buildings while the other threw smoke grenades, moving out with bursts of suppression fire. Several marines were hit, the others hiding behind their cover. It wasn't until the bazoooka rounds slammed into the walls behind them that they knew they'd been outflanked. The panzergrenadiers moved on. A ways ahead, Ritter thought he heard a fluttering noise. The lane was very small here, doors shut tight, civilians cowering in their beds, trying their best to not make a sound. A child was crying off in the distance. The SS shocktroopers red eyes looked up, past the rows of laundry on wires going between the houses and the badly watered plants on the buildings many balconies. The fluttering noise was getting stronger. Suddenly a pair of headlights was shown on the group, a parade of vulcan fire tearing into two of his men. Blood shot out of their armor and splattered against the cobblestone floor. The rest of them dashed behind other buildings, Ritter holding a large red stain on his armored shoulder. While the Federations Fanfan was not much of a match for aircraft or mobile suits, it held a special role for the suppression of infantry. The small blue hovercraft fired a missile into the lane, the explosion knocking debris all over Ritter and his men. A giant piece of concrete slammed into one of the Panzergrenadiers chests, piercing it. He slumped over silently. Ritter quickly made a few hand motions and shot the rest of a magazine into the wall next to him, kicking it in and plunging into the building. There was a family huddled in the corner of the kitchen, he quickly drew his Steyr from inside his armor, making short work of them. He thought he heard a small girl breathing from beneath her parents corpses, but he didn't have time for her right now. Rushing up the buildings stairs, he looked frantically for a roof escape hatch. His men below prepared several anti-tank bazookas, moving into the street and firing. The first round was too low, the Fanfan gaining altitude and firing again. A panzer held his armored arms over his vital spots, protecting against the high velocity 9mm shells. The group fired again, rocket propelled warheads sailing over the Fanfans head. It dropped altitude, coming precariously close to the roofs of the buildings shielding Gihrens soldiers. In the same instant Novosad burst out of a flimsy wooden door, rushing across the rooftop even as the Fanfan gained altitude. He leapt, landing right on top of the hovercrafts hull. The pilot splattered all over the aircrafts cockpit, Ritter caught by his comrades as he fell. The hovercraft began billowing smoke, jerking around before slamming into one of the buildings and exploding, screams following as shraphnel poured into an apartment complex. There would be more, they were out of time. Quickly, the surviving Panzergrenadiers moved to the evac. point, the U-99 emerging on their arrival. They boarded, and were ferried away from the battle even as the Federal aircraft returned from the north to protect against a secondary attack. Ritter Novosad - 8 CP gained, Injured 3 Xaviar Brennan - 8/2 VP gained, No Damage Ando Shoji - 8 VP gained, Repairing 4 Injured 2 Ferusha Glavadeen - 8 VP gained, Repairing 3 Injured 2 Markos Steiner - 1 VP gained, No Damage Noelle Everett - 1 VP gained, No Damage Kasey Greer - 1 CP gained, No Damage Ernest Till - 8 VP gained, Repairing 3 Injured 2 Yuji Takeshi - 8 VP gained, Repairing 2 Marko Dresner - 8 VP gained, Repairing 3 Injured 2 Alain Grace - 8 VP gained, Repairing 1 |