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On the coast of southern China, just before dawn, three Dom pilots in full flight gear gathered. The shore was brown with refuse from the many rivers that poured into it, and the sand was dark with a light film of grease and oil, a symbol of the injury overpopulation had inflicted on the planet. One of the three soldiers, a meaty cigar between his lips, walked up and down the beach, mucky water lapping at his boots. The other two soldiers stood rigidly at attention. "As you no doubt have heard, the Earthnoids have blockaded the loyalist base at Malta as of two days ago." Aldo said, turning and looking in the eyes of his men. "We are here to liberate our men in the Phillipines. You will not eat until they have fresh food. You will not sleep until the Feddie bombs are not waking them up at night." Armistad took a step forward, a scowl piercing through his cigar. "We will make sure that these Earthnoids, who love gravity so very much, will sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As far as I am concerned, the only good thing about gravity is it makes this rock easier to piss on." He stomped on the murky sand as emphasis. "Yes Sir!" responded Donny and Hugo, saluting their commander. Without even waiting for the sun to rise, the three climbed aboard their mobile suits, the advance force of the 433rd taking off for the Phillipines. Hirsch sat in his bunk, still wearing only his boxers. He was a mess, but it wasn't like he could talk to anybody about it. Over the last hundred years the military had become much more forgiving about homosexuals in their ranks, but most of the people in the military hadn't. He kept thinking about the whirring blades of the Himalaya. He hadn't been able to do it. He had nobody to talk to. He fell back in his bunk, wondering when, if ever, this torture would be past him. Up until now he was only worried about coming back to his mother after the war. Now he was worried about what she might say on his return. He gazed up at the ceiling, tears starting to form in his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know who would understand. He just didn't know what to do. Above decks, Jarvis Ackarts naturally sour mood was momentarily gone. Jack Murphy's guntank was still immobile, and had been hauled away from the fighter launch deck to make room for thirty eight brand new Tin Cod fighters, which had arrived from Jaburo this morning. The two acres of Federation soil that constituted the Arianrhod were full of pilots and machinery. Over a dozen Don Escargots patrolled the waters in front of the fleet. Ackart had been angry over the bungling of yesterdays attack, but knew his men were ready to repel anything that could be thrown at them today. In the middle of the forest of fighters, Bigby tried to swim through the tide of mechanics, pilots, and other personnel. His GM was the least damaged of the group, and he and Ackart were on the days first watch. A number of pilots were already scowling at him, comments about sisters and mothers having flung freely in the mess hall at breakfast. Wolfe didn't care, head held high as he moved to the mobile suit deck at the edge of the carrier. "You ready to kill some Nazi's Aurem?" Bigby yelled with a chuckle as he arrived, the other pilot clambering into his GM Sniper. "Yup." Aurem responded, somewhat coldly. He was a nice guy, but not one for many words. Bigby's laughter was drowned out however, air raid sirens blaring across the ship. Turning from light-hearted to serious in a moment, Wolfe leapt into his GM Desert and fired up the machine. "Bridge, report." Jarvis yelled, now strapping himself into his brand new GM Command. His good mood was gone, and his scowl became worse as a familiar female voice responded to his order. "Sir, they're coming at us again, same formation as yesterday." "Guess they've had enough of our bombardment. I want everything in the air, not one of those fighters is to make it back to the island today. Launch the GM Divers and tell Hirsch to sortie, and move the Gilfaethwy behind the Arianrhod! I don't want it hit again." Personnel rushed around the Federal fleet, ignoring the sound of the Himalayas guns as another pair of shells hurtled towards the base. A trio of GM Divers hopped off of the Golden Platypus, plopping one after the other into the deep. In the bowls of the Arianrhod, Hirsch heard the air raids, but refused to get out of his bed. "Bridge to Hirsch Muncheck, report to the mobile suit deck immediately." Munchek didn't respond, simply staring at the ceiling. The order came a second time, and he finally snapped out of his depression, climbing slowly out of his bed. Putting on nothing but a pair of pants, he turned on the sink, slapped some water onto his face, and then bolted out the door. He would have to hate himself another day. Wing after wing of Tin Cods began circling around the Federal fleet, waiting for the duchy airgroup, now one fourth the size fo the Federations, to begin the engagement. Bigby was in the back of the Himalaya, picking a machinegun out of the weapons storage when he noticed a few dark dots on the horizon behind the fleet. "Uhh, bridge, this is Private Wolfe, I think they've got reinforcements coming from the mainland!" Behind the Federal fleet, the three Doms skidded across the water, their heavy rocket thrusters enabling them to effectively act as hovercraft even in the open sea. With them were a quartet of old aircraft, Mongoose and Dragonfly model fighters flying with the three Doms. "Good of you old boys to join us, but I thought you'd be launching from closer to the enemy." Aldo said, the cigar in his mouth by now chewed to a fraction of its former self. "No sir, we ain't got no ships." responded one of the pilots. They were mercernaries, on loan from the private gun runner Scarth Maheart. "Well, alls well that ends with a dead Feddie." The MAF officer chuckled, turning on the reactor to his Doms beam bazooka. If left with a full charge for more than thirty seconds the weapon would explode, forcing him to not turn it on until just before the engagement. Donny and Hugo would run interference while he delivered a killing blow to the Federation ships. "Sir, it's three Doms and a group of old aircraft... They're broadcasting friendly IFF signals." She who has not been named said, Jarvis's scowl pervading through the communications equipment and causing her to get goosebumps. "I didn't hear about any more reinforcements, especially Doms. Shoot first and we'll let Neptune ask questions later." Ackart answered. He turned the GM Command around, joining Bigby's GM Desert at the back of the Arianrhod. Two wings of Tin Cods pulled back, moving away from Manila's Dopps and flying to engage the Basterds. Another pair of shells burst out of the Himalaya, exploding on the fortress almost like a signal for the air groups to engage. The eight Dopps launched all their missiles almost immediately, rewarded with a number of explosions inside the cloud of Federation aircraft. Zakus added to the barrage, 120mm shells and leg missiles piercing into the cloud. However, it was not enough to scare away the might of the Federations air power. Tin Cods swarmed around the group from all sides, groups of three fighters descending on the Dopps and causing them to explode one after the other. Two of the Zakus were knocked off their mounts and destroyed by a cluster of air to air missiles, the Dodais flaming wreckage hurtling into the sea. The remaining Dopps flew cover for the now lone Zaku II, which burst through the other end of the air battle. Flying straight for the Arianrhod, AA fire from the Federal fleet lanced into the air, shells tearing the Dodai under the remaining mobile suits feet. The pilot leapt his unit into the air, firing bazooka shells onto the Arianrhods deck. A single round exploded next to Aurems GM Sniper, Aurem carefully training his machinegun and calculating for the Zakus descent. The green mobile suits altitude peaked, and just as it started to fell it was hit with 100mm rounds, the pilot dead before Aurems fire pushed his suit into the ocean. Behind the Federal fleet, Armistad bit his lip as he watched the brave defenders of Manila falling one after the other. A dozen Tin Cods flew at his team, Hugo and Donny splitting up. The three zigzagged wildly as they went, 25mm vulcan shells splashing into the water all around them. The mercernary fighters did their best to stem the tide, but there weren't enough of them, and they were quickly consumed. Aldo looked at a small timer on the corner of his console. 20 seconds left. "Hope they have something better to hit us with, can't tell if these are bullets or rainwater." Donny Gerard laughed, firing a bazooka round into the sky. A Cod exploded, the others strafing his unit, but doing negligable damage. A Tin Cods machineguns were simply incapable of penetrating the Doms thick armor. An air-to-air missile got lucky, striking his suit in the shoulder, but it was not enough to take him out of the fight. As they got closer, Jarvis and Bigby began firing, mega particles and machinegun fire adding to the Cods harassment. Armistands unit dashed off to the left, Donny and Hugo pulling right as they threw 360mm shells towards Bigby and Jarvis. Wolfe managed to strike Gerard in the right arm, disabling it as a bazooka shell slammed into Ackarts shield. The giant bazooka tore the shield to shreds, the GM Command pushed onto its back by the impact. Ackart smashed his head into the forward console, muttering about hating Doms as he slowly picked his unit off the Arianrhods deck. 10 seconds left. The Basterds officer spit the husk of the cigar out of his mouth, knowing that he didn't have any time to get closer. He dodged a shot from the now kneeling GM Commands beam gun, picking up his prototype bazooka and aiming for the Gilfaethwy. With less than five seconds left, he stopped his Dom for a split second, firing the weapon just as another blast of mega particles struck his mobile suits right leg. The leg exploded, the Dom S beginning to sink into the water. At the same time a huge ball of pink energy erupted from the beam bazooka, smashing into the front of the Hillock and causing the entire front third of the ship to explode. Fires raged on the deck, gun crews stopping their normal duties immediately to fight the blaze. "God damned gravity lover!" Aldo cursed, firing an orange flare into the sky even as Donny's Dom sailed in from the side, covering them for a moment with a flash from his scattering beam gun and grabbing Aldo's one legged Dom. He slung the officer units arm over one shoulder, the two Doms turning and skidding away from the battlefield at high speed. If he had struck the center of the Hillock instead of the front end it would have sunk for sure. Hugo zigzagged in front of the fleet a moment longer, using up his magazine to cover the damaged Basterds before making his own escape. The air and ground battles won, all that remained was the forces fighting deep beneath the waves. Hirsch had been late, but the battle was still going on, two surviving GM Divers battling against the enemy Goggs and Z'Gok. The slower Divers were low on torpedos, the faster and more heavily armored Goggs circling around them. One Gogg lifted itself up from under the Divers, about to finish it off with MPC fire when a number of torpedoes hit it from behind, the thick MSM exploding. "Fire control isn't working right.." Hirsch sighed, dropping an ink grenade and pulling to the right as the Z'Gok flew past him. Torpedoes from the Jukon sailed through the water, but the three remaining GM pilots were too busy to deal with them. The Arianrhods rudder was hit, the ship rocking violently in response. One of the Goggs moved past the group, moving dangerously close to the Arianrhod. Aurem saw the silhouette in the water, lobbing fragmentation grenades in after the Gogg. One struck it head on, the MSM disabled and falling to a watery grave. Hirsch fired off another salvo of torpedoes, but with his damaged mobile suit he was unable to hit the enemy units. The Z'Gok fired on his suit from behind, Munchek doing his best to dodge the attack. One of the Divers was split in two as a Gogg rammed into it, firing torpedoes and pushing through to the Federal ships. Out of weapons, Hirsch pointed his scissor anchor at the Gogg, firing and latching it onto the suits leg. The winch on the anchor retracted, the GM Aqua being pulled onto the back of the Gogg as it sailed for the Federal carrier. Hirsch and his GM splashed out of the water, on top of the Zeonic mobile weapon and gripping it as if it were a bucking bronco. Holding a beam pick high above his head, Hirsch smashed it down into the suits reactor, kicking off the Gogg as it exploded and splashed pacific sea onto the Arianrhods deck. A moment later, an absolutely monstrous explosion came hurtling out of the water in front of the 87th Integrated Fleet. With no danger of being caught by enemy fighters, the fourteed Don Escargots under Ackarts command had sought out and found the U-212. The two remaining MSMs began their retreat, the remains of the Jukon submarine sinking into the bottom of the ocean. Both Gogg and Z'Gok ran into charges as they tried to retreat, the Goggs reactor exploding while the Z'Gok got away with only losing an arm. The pilot of the Z'Gok, and the men of the 433rd, would be the only Zeon pilots to escape the 87th this day. Now unopposed, the rudderless Arianrhod and Jack Murphy's Guntank resumed their shelling of the Zeonic fortress. Hiding in a forest just east of the enemy base, Tael Thorn and his marines crept towards the edge of the bushes. The thirteen of them had been shot in torpedoes onto the island four hours earlier, and had set up a small base camp in the thick of the woods. Having established their safe zone and set up a portable laser communications relay, they were now at the edge of the woods, seeing if they couldn't scout out the enemy fortress in the thick of the battle. "I'm not seeing any openings onto he base, are you?" One of Thorns men said, pulling a pair of binoculars away from his gaze. Only seven of the marines were at the forests edge, the other six patrolling the base camp and using the comm equipment to communicate with the Arianrhod. Another group of shells struck the ground, the noise permeating the otherwise quiet forest. "Negative. We won't be able to get inside from here." The self dubbed pirate scowled, bandana wrapped tightly across his head. There was a tall barbed wire fence between the woods and the fortress, with guard towers placed at regular intervals. It would be much easier to move into the facility from the city at the other side of the base, but in order to do so they would have to move their camp, which would not be possible without alerting the enemy patrols. They would have to find another way inside. Jarvis Ackart - 8 VP gained, Repairing 2 Injured 1 Jack Murphy - 8/2 VP gained, no additional damage Hirsch Munchek - 8/2 VP gained, no additional damage Bigby Wolfe - 8/2 VP gained, Repairing +1 Aurem Senaiha - 8/2+1 VP gained, no additional damage Aldo P. Armistad - 6 VP gained, Repairing 3 Scarth Maheart - 1 VP gained, no damage Tael Thorn - 4 CP gained, no damage. Scouting failed, Taels Marines established on island. The sun raises in a brilliant crescendo of orange to yellow as the ground crunches under his army boots. In the early dawn, Joe Dzurik gave a last look at the Federal marines lying in the foxhole he just visited. The successful capture of Zeon's RF-1 Mine had bolstered their confidence. But as professional soldiers, they cannot afford to be so naive. Everyone with a brain in the 42nd Brigade knows the Zeon will be back. They hounded the fleet of Medeas ever since the Federal force tried to enter North Africa. There is nothing in the 42nd Brigade that isn't damaged in one fashion or the other. In fact, if it wasn't for the timely arrival of 2nd Lieutenant Arden Massenfer and his MS Team, they wouldn't have been able to take over RF-1. Even 1st Lieutenant Nigel Ferdinand's pessimism about the situation can't be ignored. Dzurik have been working himself fanatically to fortify their position. Overhead, a half dozen Tin Cods flew a wide combat air patrol. More Tin Cods and Depp Rog heavy bombers rest on the airfield. There are also not one but two Dish surveillance aircraft flying right now. But the preparations don't end there. Dzurik have arranged for their GM Sniper to be hooked up to the Medea transport Dignity at all times as a makeshift beam turret. They were also added a Type-61 main battle tank and a Type 74 command vehicle to their ground forces. Sergeant Cray Vermillion is the most happy about the new armored arrivals. He and his tiny driver are no longer the only vehicle targets out here. The two man crew of that Type-61 are enjoying ice cold lemonade on their break. It is still odd watching the driver, Private Ion Bossa-Nova drinking from a cup the size of her face. Joe Dzurik passes the battered Type-61 on his the way to the Mine's hangar. It still bares the wounds and fatigue of the last week's battles. But like the other two vehicles, even Vermillion's tank is in a battle-ready hullsdown position as repairs continue. The veteran soldier came across his biggest concern outside RF-1's main hangar. Even though they captured enough Zeon supplies to restock their resources, most of the 42nd Brigade's still need serious repair. Out of all of them, only Private Jane Sheppard can get her GM S Type into combat. The rest are on large mobile suit carriers with mechanics swarming over them. Despite the air cover and the relative safety of the Mine, the pilots of various mobile suits decide to leave and head into the wilderness. Clearly, they present a big target for Zeon as a group. Perhaps as individuals it'll be harder for them to be caught. Nigel Ferdinand saw Dzurik return from the trench line. The aftertaste of alcohol still lingers in his mouth. Ferdinand's short break with the Tin Cod pilot Sergeant Jim Irwin was refreshing and did alot to calm his nerves. He had left the monkey Jojo with Melissa and Mike Rhea in the medical tent. Hopefully they and the rest of the 42nd Brigade will be okay. There will be no pause in the constant string of battles stalking the 42nd Brigade. The Zeon soldiers of the Terrestrial Assault Force are here to stay and they will push back whatever attempt is made to pry them off Earth. The first thing to raise alarm on the two Dish aircraft is a thick wave of Zeon Dopp fighters heading for their position. It grew worse in the middle of their frantic scrambling of Tin Cods when they notice the monstrous contact on their sensors. The large purple airframe of the approaching Gaw-class atmospheric attack carrier can be seen with the naked eye now; its three mega particle cannon turrets are exposed. As Tin Cods lift off with their afterburners glowing, mobile suit pilots and Marines alike ran to their positions. Ferdinand and Dzurik ran to each other to discuss what to do. It is clear to them that Zeon is going to perform a paradrop attack on them just as they had suspected. Ferdinand ran off to get the mobile suit trucks moving while Dzurik went to lead the defense. The first shot to be fired came from the GM Sniper connected to the Medea transport Dignity. The beam barely grazes the Gaw and vaporizes a Dopp. At that moment, the Gaw open fire with its mega particle cannons. The beams rake the Tin Cod combat air patrol just as the fourteen Dopps closed in. Guided by a Lugunn surveillance craft, the Zeon fighters tore into the aerial defenses of RF-1. The outmatched Tin Cod fighters are overstretched as they try to defend the Dish and slow lumbering Depp Rog heavy bombers at the same time. This practically left the Dragon unhindered as Magella attack tanks, Marines, and mobile suits descend from its hangar bay. Corporal Markos Steiner in his Gouf descends to the Earth, heat sword drawn. Not far from him is Corporal Noelle Everett, who prepares the thermonuclear "ground-effect" hover jet engines of her Dom as she glides towards the ground. Both saw limited action in the attack on Malta but they will make up for it now. A mobile suit broke cover and aimed its beam sniper rifle at the Gaw above him. Massenfer's MS Team saved the 42nd Brigade the other day and it looks as if they will do so again. But just as the GM Sniper pulls the trigger, a 180mm artillery shell explodes beneath its feet. The beam went wild but still dealt the Gaw a deadly wound. A Zaku II K flew by on a Dodai YS, it's 180mm artillery cannon smoking. The beam sniper rifle is broken in the GM Sniper's hands. Not that it matters anyway since the rifle used up its one charge. In the meanwhile, the rest of the Zeon force have landed on the ground circling the RF-1 mine. The Gaw climbs into the sky as the last feeble dogfights of the Dopp-dominated aerial battle plays out. This time its bomb bay doors open and tons of unguided munitions fell onto the Federal positions. It was as if an earthquake was shaking the mine to its very foundations. The futile fixed AA guns are blown to pieces as soldiers took cover in foxholes and slit trenches. Anything caught in the open was torn apart by high explosives. An giant explosion eclipses everything else as the Medea transport Dignity explodes along with the GM Sniper under the rain of bombs. The rest of the Medeas took some damage but remain operable. As the Gaw finishes its bombing run, the Zeon ground force began its own bombardment. The two Zaku II Ks pound the 42nd Brigade with their 180mm cannons as the two Zaku II Js knelt down and fire off their Leg Missile launchers. Under the covering fire of so much ordinance, Everett in her Dom outran Steiner's Gouf and the Magella attack tanks as they close with the Federal defenders. The 360mm bazooka of the Dom echoes as the enormous shells flew with deadly intentions. But the 42nd Brigade isn't just going to keep quiet. From their protective hull-down position, Sergeant Vermillion and his fellow Type-61 return a salvo of 150mm shells. Guided by the Type-74 command vehicle, their first shots land in the middle of the Magella tank line. Massenfer's GM Ground type mobile suit hoists the 305mm bazooka and unloads a full magazine of shells. One of the approaching Zaku II Js took one directly in the face. Rising from its mobile suit carrier like a wounded soldier, Private Jane Sheppard grabs her 100mm machinegun and marches the GM S Type towards the fight. Some of the armor plating are in the middle of being replaced. She swung the 100 machinegun towards the nearest Zeon mobile suit and open fire. Noelle Everett felt the rounds hit and saw the rounds sink into the ground speeding past her. The pink monoeye swivel and spots Sheppard's GM S Type. The Dom leaps over the Federal entrenched position, blasting the stationary Type 61 tank and Type 74 with ease. Vermillion is already yelling at his driver to get the Type-61 moving as Sheppard tries to follow the Dom with her 100mm machinegun. Markos Steiner saw his chance and shot out his heat rod. It caught Sheppard's mobile suit around the right forearm as Steiner launches himself to finish her off with his heat sword. A lucky backstep however only causes the heat sword to cleave off portions of the GM S Type's front armor. But before the Gouf could finish off the GM S Type, something collides into him. Second Lieutenant Arden Massenfer blindsides Steiner's Gouf and drops an explosive grenade onto the falling gouf. The GM Sniper Custom pilot got a face full of 75mm macehinegun rounds for his efforts right before the grenade explodes, blowing apart the Gouf's left arms to its bare frame. The GM Sniper from Massenfer's MS Team tries nail Steiner's Gouf with a blast of its 100mm machinegun. But then something fast blurs into existence behind it and the full length of a Dom's heat saber protrudes from the GM Sniper's chest. However, the Dom was finally standing still and a bazooka round from Massenfer's GM Ground Type nails Everett's mobile suit on the right knee causing her to fall to the ground. The dead GM Sniper lands on top of the crippled Dom. During the rampage of the Zeon ground forces along the entire RF-1 defense line, the rest of the 42nd Brigade are finishing up their evacuation. The only mobile suit trailers that haven't left are Jack Verse's GMPGT and Jay Tessa's GM Ground Type. They are quickly loaded onto the Benedictus whose flight crew is finishing preflight checks at world record speed. The wounded and survivors of the RF-1 Defense line are climbing onboard now. Dzurik could see through his binoculars the dust kicked up by the tracks of Vermillion's Type-61 as it escapes. Further away, he saw Massenfer's GM Sniper Custom helping Jane Sheppard's GM S Type limp away while Massenfer's GM Ground Type gave them covering fire. Sergeant Jim Irwin manages to lift off in his damaged Tin Cod, perhaps forcing it to fly by sheer will alone. Nigel Ferdinand caught up with Dzurik and together they ran up the ramp under the roaring engines of the Benedictus. In a few moments, they and the Chicken Little took to the air. By a strange stroke of luck, three Tin Cods are still alive. They flew low and intercepted the Dopp that sighted the fleeing Medeas. But by that time, the wounded Gaw had to set down on the mine's airfield. The hits from the GM Snipers are too much and the large plane needs repair before it can fly again. The Dopps were called back as Zeon troops reoccupy their RF-1 Mine. To their dismay however, their enthusiastic artillery had collapsed most of the mine's tunnels. Markos Steiner - 8 VP gained, Repairing 3 Noelle Everett - 8 VP gained, Repairing 3 Nigel Ferdinand - 6 VP gained, No Damage Jane Sheppard - 6/2 VP gained, Repairing +2 Cray Vermillion - 6/2 VP gained, Repairing +2 Arden Massenfer - 6/2 VP gained, Repairing +2 Jim Irwin - 6/2 VP gained, Repairing +1 Jay Tessa - 1 VP gained, No Damage Jack Verse - 1 VP gained, No Damage "Something just doesn't feel right about this." Marc Simmons peered down the corridors of the Salamis Kai-class Floppy Lion with trepidation. It was a privilege to serve on a ship such as this one - and the reason for which he first enlisted in the Earth Federation. But something just felt wrong to him at the moment. He strode towards the bridge, wondering if he could find some peace of mind there. 'And if I can't, I'm sure there's somebody there who needs my expertise in one way or another...' As he walked, lost in thought, he brushed past Issa Kobayashi. As tall and lanky as Simmons was short and stout, Kobayashi headed towards his room. He was hoping to get some rack-time before they began their descent to Earth, and now seemed to him the best opportunity to do so. As he passed down the hallway, he could hear snoring from one of the rooms. Huh - that'd be Emil again. That guy needs to shape up!' Across the hall, Rachel Arronax sat cross-legged on her bed, toying with her terminal. Issa couldn't tell what the young woman was attempting to do, but she seemed to be amusing herself greatly, and he could see her bright eyes raise in apparent satisfaction. "It's insubordinate and a danger to the command structure of this ship, Issac!" Cato Goloni's one good eye burned with anger as he once more attempted to introduce that insolent pilot Simmons to the brig of the Floppy Lion. However, the ship's captain and caretaker would have none of it. "If you hadn't pulled your own weapon the whole altercation would have never happened. I understand that you feel you're entitled to some sort of superior treatment due to your connections with some of the Federation's officers. But I'll have none of that on my boat." Issac Lon'Dozai's voice was firm, and his gaze brooked no argument. He turned slowly and stared at his staff. One young crewmember had been glancing at him, and as he turned she reddened and quickly looked elsewhere. Issac sighed inwardly. He was almost getting tired of the astonishment some of his crew seemed to feel at his physical appearance. Sure, he was a good-looking guy - many of those in the service of the Federation were. But somehow his combination of boyish charm and mature sensibilities had managed to grab the attention of several female crewmembers. 'And unless I'm mistaken, at least one of the males as well. Best be careful not to let any rumors get started, I suppose.' He grinned briefly, which annoyed Goloni even further, and the grizzled fellow officer raised his finger to once more begin admonishing his peer. That's just when Marc Simmons, still lost in his thoughts, shambled right onto the bridge, tripping straight into Goloni's back as he did so. The older man's face turned a neat shade of pink, and one could almost imagine steam coming from his ears. Simmons took a half-step back, trying to hide his amusement at the circumstances. He couldn't help but open his mouth, though. "Bad time, gentlemen?" "That's right, ma'am. Werner picked them up with his advanced detection suite. We figure there's two capital ships, with maybe another cargo ship to boot. They're headed towards Earth, no doubt." Cima Garahau sat in the Captain's chair of the Musai-class Cleopatra and tapped her finger against her chin. Multiple potential battleship opponents - but the Federation's units were severely outgunned even against the standard Musai. 'And this Cleopatra is more than a match any Federation ship that might cross its path,' she mused. The tapping stopped, and that same finger depressed the button to send an announcement to her entire grouping of forces. "All hands prepare for battle. We will engage the Federation forces and attempt to drive them away from their intended flight path. Mobile suit units, approach immediately and attempt to generate the element of surprise. We will follow you shortly to support. Good luck." Her five Zaku IIs immediately turned in formation and blasted away, towards the predicted intercept point. Cima felt a pang of pride at their coordinated movements. They were a well-trained unit, and would acquit themselves well. She turned back to her main screen, and attempted to plot out her own plan of attack. It would require patience, she supposed, so as to not give away her position. Before Cato could pull his spine out through his neck, Marc side-stepped the officer gracefully and headed straight to a detection console. Issac looked at him curiously, and even Goloni couldn't help but express his interest, though in the gruffest manner possible. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Petty Officer?" Cato spat out the rank with as much venom as possible, making it clear that he was emphasizing his own superior position. Simmons ignored him, tapping a technician on the shoulder to get his attention. "Ensign Lon'Dozai encouraged us to be on the lookout, right?" He was speaking as much for the two officers as for the tech. "Can you check this portion of space here again? We had some anomalies the last time we did a flyby of that sector, but figured it was nothing. I'd like to be sure." The young crewman looked up at his captain, and Issac nodded. He followed protocol most of the time, but every once in a while a hunch played out. This proved to be one of those times, as all four men could see nothing. Nothing at all. Exactly how a screen would look due to Minovsky particle interference. Issac knew just how to react. "Shit." Within five minutes, the entire ship was on full alert, and its fellow fleetmembers - the Fuji-class Shinji Ikari and the Columbus-class Monitor were spilling out their mobile weapon contingents. Well... The Shinji Ikari and the Monitor were. Marc Simmons grimaced as he maneuvered his GM E onto the launch catapult. He had already been wearing his pilot's suit, as normal. Issa was waiting next in line, realizing his rack time would have to wait. But Rachel and Cato still needed to suit up, and Emil was barely even awake much less ready to fight. 'At least the enemy won't have the element of surprise,' Issac mused, as he waited for his pilots to launch. Then there was no more time for annoyance at the Salamis Kai's poor suit launch capabilities, as he was flung into space, and into the midst of a firefight. The five Zaku IIs had come on approach as stealthily as possible, but quickly abandoned that idea as soon as they could see the GMs and Saberfishes dashing in their direction. How had they been found? It didn't matter to them, as they were soldiers who would do their duty regardless. A brief burst message to the Cleopatra was all they could manage, before they turned their attention to the Federation forces. The five split into a trio and a pair, attempting to maneuver in on the boxy transport ship. If they could damage it enough, perhaps the entire opposing fleet would have to withdraw. They approached warily, though, as 5 GM Es came close. The GMs attacked in single-file, showing their inexperience. Their individual maneuvers were solid enough, but their tactics proved them to be lacking in many mobile suit fights the Zeon forces had lived through. One fell quickly to a round from a bazooka. He had no warning, with a fellow GM dodging straight across his field of vision until it was far too late. The GMs attacked with machine guns, and their greater mechanical prowess was obvious. But they would struggle to win the day without assistance. Until one of the Zakus exploded from a battleship-class blast. The other pilots glanced around in shock - there was no Federation battleship within range for such an attack! How could this be? "Okay guys, line them up and I will take them out as they approach." Issa's RX-78-1 had arrived, with Marc Simmons in tow in the GM E. The other GM pilots felt cheered at the arrival of the incredible power of the Prototype Gundam, and immediately moved to take advantage of its presence. The Zakus took periodic potshots, but did little beyond scoring cosmetic damage on many of the GMs, including that of Marc Simmons. The action was necessary, as the form of the Cleopatra could be seen approaching in the distance. Harried by the Saberfish forces from the Monitor, it nonetheless had managed to draw near its mobile suits. One last Zaku detached from the Musai and flew on approach to the fray. It was an older model, a Zaku I. Cima had decided to join the fray, and protect her men as best she could. And she knew just how to wrangle every ounce of performance from the older model, which she showed immediately. As the GM of Cato Goloni arrived, he immediately decided to attack head-on. The aggressive pilot saw a latecomer to the party, and figured it would be the best target. He could take out his anger at Emil on this surrogate. "I hate laziness! Take this!" Unfortunately, Cima was more than capable of handling the inexperienced Goloni - who seemed to follow tactics more appropriate to a battleship than a small mobile weapon. His gun blasts went well wide of his intended target, as Cima slid to one side and pulled out the Zaku I S's heat saber. The weapon - a rare sight indeed on such an old mobile suit - caught Cato totally off-guard, and he was lucky to twist his suit as she brought it down to bear on him. Even so, the blade sheared into his leg, and mangled it beyond recognition. "Goddamn Space Nazees! Take this!" Angered, Cato attempted to punch straight through the cockpit of his opponent, but the Zaku was already gone. The motion sent him into a wild spin, and he lost control of his suit completely without one of his legs for AMBAC. "Heh. Inferior Feddies... Huh?" Cima's attention was quickly split. First, the arrival of another two Federation mobile suits - one a standard GM with the usual space modifications, the other a monstrosity the likes of which Cima had never seen. And the insistent squawking of her comm. unit alterted her to the Cleopatra's distress. She punched a button on her console. "Yes, Tactical, what is it?" "We've taken heavy fire, ma'am! These little bastards are... Over THERE you idiot! They're chewing at our defenses. We've probably gotten a half-dozen, but there's still more than 15 and they've depleted our offensive capability by at least forty percent!" Even as Cima attempted to process this information, the odd Feddie suit - 'Are those Ball units attached to it?!' - had stopped, taken aim, and fired a beam blast at her Zaku. She managed to dodge, but had no chance to cry out a warning. In the corner of her viewfinder she could see another of her Zakus fire at the Federation's black-and-white MS. Amazingly, the shots seemed to have no effect. That suit's return fire, however, combined with that from one of the GMs to obliterate the Zaku II immediately. 'This isn't working.' Cima thumbed her communications unit again. "All units, fall back. Fall back! Take out as many of the Fed jets as you can on the way!" The Zakus turned tail and headed immediately for the Musai, destroying 2 more Saberfish as they went. The Federation pilots considered pursuing for a moment, until Issac's voice entered into their cockpits. "Let them go. We need to get to Earth - there'll be plenty of time for chasing down Zeeks once we do... Oh, and somebody go collect Cato, please, on your way?" Issa, Rachel, and Marc looked around, before noticing Emil's GM E join them at long last. His girlish face appeared on their console's, sleep still obvious in his eyes. "Don't worry guys, I've got him." The civilian pilot had found Cato's GM spiraling off into deep space, and had corralled it by grabbing its one good leg. It was a most undignified position, but Cato could do little but grumble - otherwise, he might have been pulled down into Earth's orbit, and eventually gotten snagged by the atmosphere itself. But he was sure to let Emil know his opinions of the cowardly pilot hadn't changed. "You're still spineless!" Issac nodded to himself in satisfaction. They weren't functioning on all cylinders yet... But they were a team. That was all he could ask for. Issac Lon'Dozai: 8 VP gained, no damage Rachel Arronax: 8 VP gained, Repairing 1 Issa Kobayashi: 8 VP gained, Repairing 1 Cato Goloni: 8 VP gained, Repairing 3 Emil Myberg: 8+1 VP gained, no damage Marc Simmons: 8 VP gained, Repairing 1 |