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The two day from Earth line had become a warzone. Both sides had stacked a massive fleett presence in the region, which went for a ways to both the right and left of the now unoccupied region of Side Five. Skirmishes were common, and minovsky particle density across the region was always high. Both sides were chomping at the bit, fleet commanders refusing to give ground and waiting for an excuse to press into the others territory. At the moment it was a standoff, but the right spark could cause an explosion of violence in the region. At the edge of the Zeon occupied zone, the Musai class ship Erinyes slowly floated into position, the distant sun lighting its front a dull and unforgiving green. Captain Jeanne Schwert looked off in the distance, watching for the telltale signs of her prey. They were a ways beneath the orbital plane, the invisible line of latitude on which the moons orbit travelled. While a ship could travel great distances above or below the line, it took much longer and much more fuel to do so, making most space travel more or less along the orbital plane. However, from their position deep below the enemy fleets, they were in opportune position for an ambush. Schwert tapped the armrest of her chair, watching as the small blinking light came into view. "How long before they see us." she asked, coldly and with a singular purpose. "Can't tell maam. We're ready to start the engagement as soon as we get their heading data from Veil." The captain nodded, not taking her eyes off the small offblue dot in the distance. "How far out is it." "We can be in weapons range in ninety seconds, maam." Inside his quarters, Wu Jinyuan was reading a book. He had to be on the bridge when action stations were called, so he decided he would make the most of his copious free time. He had just managed to smuggle this book aboard, and he was sure they would find it soon. What did the Duchy have against good reading, anyhow. They should open their minds a little. Especially that Kycillia woman. So closed minded. "Sir, I'm getting an encoded message from Lieutenant Banks. He says their team is in position." The comm operator of the Erinyes said, looking intently at his instruments. The common bridge crew for any space vessel consisted of five men. A helmsman, a communications officer, a sensor officer, the first mate and the captain. "What is taking Veil..." Schwert muttered. They were in a perfect position, and a delay of any period of time could give away their position. "Is the shuttle ready to go?" Next to the Erinyes was a small green space shuttle, filled to the brim with MAF marines from Granada. Their orders were simple, to storm and capture the ship after it had been disabled. "The shuttle is fine... Sir, I'm getting a sighting of a mobile suit off the starboard bow, coming in fast. It's one of ours, Zaku II E." "What?! Open a channel, have the ship go to action stations." Jeanne howled, clenching the arms of her chair. A square communications box blipped into life on the main screen, showing Laredo Veils familiar face. His normal suit was jet black, standard for the Schutzstaffel, and he was not wearing his helmet. "Sir, coming aboard as requested." Laredos voice was dull and monotone. A small leather strap around his neck supported a large and bulky camera, which floated just off his chest in the zero gravity environment. "You weren't told to come aboard, what's going on here?" Jeanne howled, angered at the thought of simple miscommunication ruining her ambush. Out of the corner of her eye, the dull blue dot in the distance began to move. "Captain, enemy forces confirmed. One Musai, one space shuttle, one Zaku type mobile suit. It was seaman Ford in engineering who spotted it sir." "Double rations to that man, we need more eyes like his on this boat." responded Captain Lon'Dozai. He was one of the most handsome men any of them would ever meet in their lives, with perfectly trimmed deep brown hair, and a face that assured you that he would take charge and lead in any situation. His eyes were a deep grey, showing the reflection of his experiences, and he was above all a captain. He had captained several different vessels in his own day, and was a mans man, always keeping his promises and never going against his word. He wore a brown shirt under his Federation uniform, collared just over his rank tabs. No one knew why. "Captain, your orders." asked his helmsman, looking off into the black distance. "Minovski particles to battle density and turn us around. Missile room, load buckshot in all frontal missile tubes. Plot a firing trajectory for the enemy ship and fire when ready. And send a distress signal to admiral Tianem." His bridge crew hurried at their tasks, small emitters almost like ballasts under the ship broadcasting a thick field of minovsky particles even as the gunnery room programmed large anti MS rockets to fly for the enemy vessel. Aboard the Erinyes, Jeanne ignored one bedheaded Wu Jinyuan walking onto the bridge and barked out her orders. "Full speed ahead, fire at will. If we can't catch that son of a bitch we'll sink him instead." The Musai blasted forward, engines burning as it picked up momentum, able to accelerate faster than the more ungainly Salamis. Laredo moved ahead with the shuttle, a few small specks of light popping out of the front of the growing Federation vessel in the distance. "Captain, enemy has launched missiles, ten seconds to impact." "Evasive maneuvers, return fire." Jinyuan responded. Jeanne looked at him with a scowl, but the crew obeyed. Eight large rockets maneuvered towards the enemy ships, aiming themselves in pre-determined pathways. Once they reached the target position the sides of the warheads opened up, dozens of smaller missiles firing out of their carriers in all directions. Laredos console was suddenly filled with small red dots. he blasted on his thrusters to maneuver, but was caught by several, his mobile suit bouncing around and spinning in erratic circles as it was hit. The bridge of the Erinyes started to shake as the small warheads impacted the hull like hailstones. "Damage report." Jeanne howled, looking at her communications officer. "Damage negligable, but the shuttle and Veils Zaku are out of action." "Blast. Launch mobile suits, send a message to Banks to continue the assault." she snarled. Aboard the Floppy Lion, captain Lon'Dozai stood resolutely, his arms crossed over each other and in front of his chest. "Enemy missile barrage incoming sir, they appear to be launching mobile suits." "Flip the ship around and have the AA batteries target enemy missiles. How long until Tianem arrives?" the captain responded. The Salamis began turning on its head, positioning its undefended underbelly away from the attacker, antiaircraft gunners trying hard to shoot down the enemy missiles. Two connected with the Salamis, sections of hull exploding and blast doors automatically locking down to contain the pressure inside the ship. "Two minutes sir. We have more targets coming in fast from behind." The Floppy Lion had turned around by now, and both ships exchanged a salvo of mega particle fire, both rounds off target. Gunners adjusted their trajectories, each salvo coming closer to hitting the enemy than the last. Zaku pilots banked to the right, avoiding the firing solution of the enemy ships. One hit from a battleship deck gun was enough to completely melt an entire Zaku II. "Stay heading, target the enemies engines. See if we can't force them into Banks team." Jeanne ordered, slowly gaining ground on the Salamis. Richard and his men, three Zaku II's commandeered from Pezun, started zigzagging wildly as they made their way towards the enemy ship. Antiaircraft guns swivveled around, lines of orange tracers flying through the black as they trailed their targets. One of the Zakus was hit almost immediately, a barrage of heavy 105mm shells tearing it apart. Banks kept moving, his Rick Dom too fast for the inexperienced gunners to catch. However, it was not their job to shoot Richard down, their job was merely to keep him focused on the antiaircraft barrage and not on setting up a clean shot to the Salamis' bridge. He fired with his bazooka, spinning around in a barrel roll as he did, maneuvering thrusters firing and pushing him towards the underside of the ship. The two missile sponsons one either side of the Salamis fired, forcing him and his remaining companions to move back while the AA gunners moved their attention to the five Zakus coming from behind. It was like a group of fly swatters trying to keep a swarm of bees away. A Zaku scored a hit on the Lions underside with its bazooka, Richard managing a second as he flew past the ship. Coming back around, a pair of shells tore into his Rick Doms left leg, the punctured appendage exploding as liquid rocket fuel met with firey sparks. Richard cursed, his Dom sent in a spin and losing the majority of his maneuverability. He would have to break off. At the same time, Lon'Dozai's crew fired their MPC salvo again, managing to correct their aim faster than the Erinyes gunners. Two bright pink beams sliced through the Musais portside engine, the ship angling slightly as the nacel exploded, shraphnel pouring into the side of the hull. "Damn it!" Schert yelled. Her plan had been ruined. "Have the Zakus pull back, we're retreating from the area. I want a bloody damage report!" Issac smiled aboard the bridge of the Floppy Lion, which managed to shoot down one of Scherts Zakus as they broke off. The Salamis captain did not push his advantage, high tailing it back to the Tianem fleet. "Double rations to the man who spotted that ship, definitely." Issac Lon'Dozai - 9 VP gained, Floppy Lion damaged Wu Jinyuan - 7 VP gained, Erinyes damaged Richard Banks - 7 VP gained, repairing 3 Laredo Veil - 7 VP gained, repairing 3 While the Earth Sphere housed more than ninety percent of humanities twelve billion inhabitants at the outbreak of the war, a quarter of a billion of them lived on the outskirts, in places far removed from the politics and culture of Earth. The initial settlers came to Jupiter and the Asteroid Belt, building waystations for the even then envisioned mighty Jupiter fleets. While Ereism and Contolism preached the philosophy of breaking ones soul away from gravity, here at the outer solar system gravity was a fairy tale, spoken by parents to children to lavish degrees. It was about as believed as the Easter Bunny, and about as relevant to a mans life as the war Earthside. That was what they called it here. To a Jovian or an Earthnoid they were Nearside and Farside, but here they were Earthside and Joveside. While it was called the Asteroid Belt, and indeed there were many rocks of all shapes and sizes, it was not a jungle of dust and rocks like many would tell in their tales if ever they went to one of mankinds three populated planets. There were small rocks, and many bigger rocks, some containing large settlements of miners, entrepenours, or simply people who were left behind, forgotten after the building of the colonies, when the Asteroid Belt stopped being an important source of building materials. These rocks however were few and far between, islands in a sea of stars, navigated by a bright blue star to show Earthside, and an even brighter red star to show Joveside. It was here that men such as Samuel Riley and his crew were truly free. There was no law here, no military police to force them to behave. Might made right out here on the fringe, you did what you pleased and only two things could stop you. Your conscience, and the man you were faced against. And today they had set their sights on the Dark Star. It was one of the older mines, a rock of some god forsaken shape, with contours and edges that seemed totally inexplainable. It looked almost like a lump of clay that God had discarded as unusable. It was high in magnesium ore, providing a small mining trade to AXIS and the local settlements. With a population of nearly sixty, some second generation, it was not the smallest settlement in the Belt. Once the ores were dried up it would be hollowed out, and room would be made for nearly five hundred souls. Then it would be a city, commanding the respect of the region. It was this mine that Riley had set his sights upon. He stroked his hands through his beard, either to pamper himself on an idea well thought, or to remove some of the grit from his hair, it was hard to tell which. At this point the mine was barely even a spec in the black distance, but it was on their charts. The Wraith hadn't actually explained where they were going, for he loved his surprises. Without surprises and books, ones life might just be boring here in the Belt. "Fly colors." That was all he said. Mutie, Garcia, Baigley and Sayer all looked at him. They were the regular bridge crew, and were all present every time they were doing something important. "Cap'n?" Garcia responded. Even though there was not a forest of rocks in the belt, it could be dangerous to fly a solar sail through the field. One stray rock could severely damage the sail, trapping a ship in the Belt until it could be repaired. At least, this is what Garcia assumed the Wraith meant. "Ye' heard me. Hoist the sails. I wanna give these wee pups a scare." Samuel chuckled, standing and squinting ahead into the distance. "Aye Cap'n. I'm sure they'll appreciate our taste in decorations." Garcia responded. The Cuban was a little odd, even compared to his fellows, a loud fuschia headband tying his long golden hair securely into the air. The Comm officer pressed a few buttons on his display, and for a moment Jove's Bones shook, but then they could feel it. Slowly but surely they could feel it. Catching the solar wind even out here on the fringe of civilization, the ship began to speed up. Old Jove's Bones was one of the earlier models of interplanetary transport, split into four sections. The rear section was entirely engines, massive nuclear pulse thrusters powered by very hazerdous fuel and an older model of Minovski Ionesco compact fusion reactor. The front two thirds of the ship were broken into three sections, the right and left being the cargo decks, mostly hollow. The center was the crew quarters, the bridge perched up in the center of the ship, the mess and living quarters in front of it. Although the cargo containers were expansive, the living quarters were extremely cramped. Modern interplanetary craft had grav-blocks for maintaining crew health and for carrying gravity sensitive cargo, but this ship did not. A few of Wraiths crewmates had never felt an ounce of gravity before in their entire lives. On either side of the bridge was a large, rabbit-ear shaped appendage, that was currently expanding, slowly but surely. Two dark, blackened solar sails, shaped each like an oriental fan, unfolded into their proper positions. When finished each sail would be larger than the circumference of the entire vessel. They caught solar radiation, pushing the ship along much like a canvas sail pushed ships of yore. And much like ships of yore, the Wraith had painted his personal emblem upon them, that passers by might understand who they were dealing with. On the starboard sail, a giant laughing skull, and on the port, a red and yellow Helium 3 isotope. The ship sped up, and slowly but surely the Dark Star mine came into view. Rocks poked a few holes in the solar sail, but it was of no matter. They would have their repair bay soon enough. "Open a channel with the offending mine." Samuel whistled, Garcia activating the ships laser sensors. "One-way visual, I don't want t'see the scamp I be dealing with." "Aaaaand channel is a go captain. Makes me think of the time my ma' made us-" Robin Sayer, Riley's first mate, cut Garcia off. Sayer was an Irishman, a large Irishman, and more than capable of punching the mans skull in if he needed to. "Shut yer blimey yap Garcia we've nary the time fer yer mothers-" Before he finished his jab Sayer too was cut off, this time by the captain. "SILENCE! ....Yar" Samuel took a few steps forward, limping as he went. "Good evenin' ladies and gents of ye' old Dark Star mine. I hope y'be havin' a pleasant t'do, yer babies tucked in fer the night n' yer womenfolk holdin on to 'ye fer comfort. Fer they need to be holdin on right about now, yes they do." Samuel chuckled a little, turning around as if he were speaking to himself. "I won't bore ye' with the piddly details of who we are or why we're here, no doubt it isn't much to yer interest. The fact o' the matters is we are here, and ye will be takin' orders from us from now on. That is to be supposin' that ye have a like for Oxygen. The old O2. I suppose maybe ye'd rather take yer licks from the black than do in with us." the Wraith smiled, slapping a hand on his first mates shoulder. "I might not blame ye either." "Captain, the channels been cut." Garcia responded. Jonothan Baigley, the ships sensor operator, chimed his own two cents in. "Looks like they're closing the hangar door, two gun turrets right outside." Samuel scoffed, his mouth forming a very elaborate frown as he tugged on his beard. "Well m'boys, guess we'd best turn around and go home. Would be a pleasant thing to have some o' them mow-bile suits in th' cargo bays. Would be pleasant." Addie was upside down. Floating in the cargo bay was no easy task. It took talent. It took precision, it took patience, it took art. She stuck her hands in her white vest pockets, happy with the momentum and slight spin with which she glided through the bay. She was in fact brimming with confidence when the captain came into her ears over the loudspeaker. "Miss Joiner, we'll be needin' some help from yer cargo if ye please." Addie flipped around in mid air, going into a wild spin and grabbing her pistol as the centripital force caused it to fly out of her pants pocket. Dramatically, she saluted the cargo bay wall. "AYE AYE MISTER TOAST!" She continued her spin until she reached the edge of the cargo bay, gracefully landing on both feet and pushing off, back in the direction of the rear hangar. She pointed an outstretched finger at Jabez Stone, the ships mechanic and chief technician. While for a moment she was pointing at him, she started to spin shortly after, content with her finger only some of the time guiding to its target. "Corkscrew! Fire up the cyclops and get us some shootables! One barrel and two sticks for me please!" Jabez looked back at her, head hidden behind thick rimmed yellow paned glasses. "Uhh... Yes maam?" On the bridge, Samuel picked an old worn out book off of his chair, slapping it into Garcia's chest. It was one of his many books, and he was entirely too fond of it, having worn the cover completely off. "Sayer n' me have to go play with our new toys m'boy, do take care of her." the Wraith grinned, he and his first mate quickly making for the cargo bays. Within two minutes they were strapped into the chairs of the Zaku II C's, Jabez trying his best to prep the suits for battle in obviously understaffed conditions. "So err, miss Joiner. How'd ye say I turned this baby on?" the Wraith asked over the loudspeaker. "I'm likin' the new paint by the way." "Arr! Mister Toast, ye just push on the dealie n' press on the whatsit while steppin like ye' was dancin!" Addie giggled. At this point she was clearly overdoing it, but it wasn't often that she got to have her fun. "Big red button right of the console, press it while pushing the throttle and the first and third footpads." Jabez muttered into his own loudspeaker, translating for Jove's Witch. Without too much more confusion, the cargo bays opened, a now normal suited Jabez Stone clinging to one end while the atmosphere rushed out of the bays, pulling four Zaku II C's with them. The spikes on each shoulderpad had been filed off, the Zakus shoulders painted black, with a laughing skull on the right shoulder and helium 3 isotope on the left. Armed with a motley assortment of machineguns, bazookas and sturm fausts, they danced out in front of the ship, half by purpose, half by accident. "I cannot believe you managed to get me into one of these heaps of tin. Why, I could be in my quarters doing the figures on how much it would take to repair this piece of scrap iron when some other buffoon gets himself killed piloting oh my god are they firing at us?!" James Radcliffe shouted, his Zaku spinning in wild circles. He was the ships accountant, and much more educated than the rest of them, but he had a tendency to talk. A single round hit hit suit in the left foot, mangling it utterly and causing Radcliffe to shriek like a girl. "Just shut yer' yap n' focus on what's ahead of us James, yer' doin fine!" the Wraith answered, cackling as his Zaku flew high above the asteroid, shotgun slamming shell after shell into the top anti aircraft turret. After a few rounds the gun was silenced. James decided offense was the best strategy here, sending 105mm rounds into the other turret, which went quiet before long. "We're up now lassy!" Sayer mused, he and Addie blasting ahead and towards the heavily closed colony doors. Each gripped a pair of sturm fausts, boosting right up next to the blast doors before launching their rockets. Four explosions rocked the asteroid, crates and civilians sucked out into the ocean of stars seperating the Dark Star from Ol' Jove's Bones. Bones sails began to detract, Mutie pulling the ship into a hard port spin while Sayer continued to beat on the door with bazooka shells. "I think she's softened up enough for ye' lad, make a good entrance!" the first mate laughed, Samuel choking a little as his pride and joy sailed straight into the asteroid. Old Jove's Bones crashed its side into what was left of the asteroid mines door, metal buckling on both sides as it forced its way into the hangar. A blast door on the starboard cargo bay was shot open, men in normal suits pouring out of the hangar, firing wildly at anything they could see and hootin' and a hollerin' at anyone they could find. It wasn't long after that that the miners surrendered. Samuel Riley - 3 VP, 1 CP gained, Repairing 0+1 Addie Joiner - 3 VP, 1 CP gained, Repairing 0+1 James Radcliffe - 3, 1 CP VP gained, Repairing 1+1 Robin Sayer - 3 VP, 1 CP gained, Repairing 0+1 Ol' Jove's Bones - lightly damaged |