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The year is 0080. The Earth Federation is victorious with their victory at A Bao A Qu. The news had spread far and wide umong all forces in the Earth Sphere, and back on Earth itself. There were however few on the losing side that refuse to stop fighting. One of the surviving Zeon ships, the Vigilance was about to attack a EF ship in the area around ABAQ. The Big Sioux II was conducting a routine patrol when all of the sudden its radar blew up with blips on its screen. Before the crew of the Big Sioux II could do anything they felt impacts up against the hull of the ship which made it rock on the inside. With their weapon systems damaged by the enemy, the captain of the ship gives the order to retreat back to A Bao A Qu. The Vigilance gives chase, picking up the mobile suits along the way. The Rick Dom and Zaku II's were all loaded into the hangar bay. The mechanics quickly get their bazookas re stocked with their explosive rounds so they can go back and finish the job. But by the time they were able to relaunch, the Big Sioux II had come in range of A Bao A Qu. “God Damn federal dogs!” As Clancy Breen cursed when he saw A Bao A Qu in the distance he orders the ship to come to a full stop. His eyes squinted and orders to retreat. Clancy Breen: 5/2 VP Gained, Fatigued +1 Jim Irwin: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Historians can often pinpoint the exact point in time when a war begins. Usually it is the signing of a document or the opening volley of a battle. Finding the true ending of war, however, is much difficult. Far away from the bloody battle field of the asteroid fortress A Bao A Qu where a ceasefire has been declared, the rest of the Earth Sphere is still on a war footing. The farflung Zeon base of Vladivostok which lies on the far east of the Siberian coast, is one such installation. To the men and women who guard this base, the blazes of war still burn strong. Across the frozen hell where Vladivostok stands sentry, are their enemies. The Big Trays of the 87th Integrated Fleet hold a standard siege formation around Vladivostok. General Olaf Ostlund and the Federal commanders are not too worried about the situation. While Zeon had surprised them in the past, experts concluded that Zeon's last hurrah into the teeth of Jaburo's defenses depleted everything Zeon has on Earth. So all the 87th has to do is wait out the Zeon garrison. A base like this one won't survive long without supplies from the outside word. The Zeon garrision would need to eat SOMETIME. Never underestimate what a cornered man would do. Or woman for that matter as Oberscharfuhrer Akira Sasaki buckled herself in the cockpit of the Kampfer. As the machine hums to life, the SS officer's mind drifts. Sasaki had struggled with the news from space. As a member of the SS, she would face charges for crimes she didn't commit but must share with the whole of her parent service. A sense of duty and ultimate righteousness had propelled her through the fires of the One Year War. But with defeat undeniable, the stone pillars that kept her world together began to crack. Sasaki isn't the only one rethinking their choices. Elsewhere, Corporal Gilgamos Uruk is pondering why he even bothered returning to the service. Had he kept low and out of sight, his pending court martial with Zeon would have disappeared when the Federal forces dismantled the Zeon military. I guess he can blame his friend, Tony Knight. That particular TAF officer is standing high on top of his Gelgoog S Cannon. He had lost his original mobile suit in the jungles of Jaburo and is worried about his replacement. Captain Tony Knight knew his old machine well. He can feel the mobile suit twitch and know what was happening. But not this one; it needs to be broken in before Knight can feel the same level of comfort. Unfortunately, it will have to happen through battle. Along the catwalk surrounding the hangar, the two ranking officers of the Vladivostok base inspected the assembled mobile suits. "I must applaud your civil response to the Federation's gesture," mused Vladimir Antonov. Captain Alec "Warmonger" Irusk looked briefly at Vladivostok's commander. "There is no point in making threats. Not while we need them to be relaxed." "Yet you warn them that you would 'see them on the ice very shortly'...?" "It is a subtle posturing. They can interpret it in many ways. Besides, they would probably waste several hours having analysts work over it. Aren't you worried about what the Federation would do to you?" "I doubt they would do anything. Who would want to take command of a post out here? This is my world and I doubt anyone wants it other than to plant a flag." The two officers reached the end of the walkway. Before turning towards their machines, Antonov and Irusk shook hands. There is nothing much to be said. Even a symblic "Sieg Zeon!" would be improper; there is no more Zeon military per se. The first sign that something was wrong is the sudden disappearance of the Tin Cod patrol over the 87th Integrated fleet. "We have Dopps incoming!" shouted a radar operator on the Dish aircraft. "Scramble the rest of the jets!" ordered her superior," get the word out that Zeon units are attacking from the base!" But the chill had slowed down the Federal war machine greatly. Under the booming of Vladivstock's single howitzer, Tony Knight's Assault Force try to position their heavy weapons close enough to accurately hit the Federal ships. Missiles and artillery lifted up from Jukons, Zaku II Ks, Xamel, and Knight's Gelgoog S Cannon. Damage is minimal but it did frighten alot of Federal soldiers in those crucial opening moments. Chaos began to compound as the next step of Alec Irusk's plan took shape. Shadows wavered beneath the icy waters as Irusk's Marine Assault Force burst from hiding. The amphibious mobile suits took the Federal flank by surprise, tearing apart tanks and low flying aircraft. Caught in the middle of responding to Knight's artillery attack, the first Federal counterattack crumbled before it began. As the area around Vladivostok grew hotter than the arctic climate ever remembered, Sasaki's Assualt Force charged the distance between the Zeon base and the 87th Integrated Fleet. Counterbattery fire from the Federal Big Trays are now mixing in with the outgoing fire from the Zeon artillery units. This results in nothing but more confusion as Akira Sasaki's Kampfer encounters the first of the Federal mobile suit units. Sluggish due to the climate, the GMPGT took repeated hits from the Kampfer and other Zeon mobile suits before collapsing into the ice. Type 61s swivel their turrets to track the new threats. But there are too few of them spread out over the area. It was only the appearance of the GM CCT types did Sasaki's force began to slow. As the Zeon three-pronged attack is unleashed unto the sieging Federal fleet, General Ostlund unleashed their own aces. Thierry Mersault's Guncannon HDT literally dived into the fray as he and the fleet's Don Escargots tackle Irusk's Marine Assault Force. Antonov responds by grabbing two of the ASW planes and crushing them into one ball with his Zock Custom. Meanwhile, the Warmonger took shots at Mersault's Guncannon HDT. The toll is heavy for the Federal defenders. Knight's Artillery Assualt Force is starting to zero in on the Big Trays and Sasaki's Assault Force is making slow progress. That is, until bombs began to fall from the sky. Depp Rogs, Fly Mantas, Jet Core Boosters, and Tin Cods hounded the Zeon force from the air. The ten Dopps that first bit into the Federal air fleet had been shoved back towards Vladivostok. Soon, the heavy weapons of the Big Trays are hitting Tony Knight's position. Now back in control of the air, the 87th Integrated Fleet made their comeback. Under the blazing fire of the fleet's GM Snipers, Edmund Blackadder's GMPGT and Lieutenant Aaron McCaskey's GM Command Kai placed themselves between Sasaki's Assault Force and the Big Trays. The firefight grew in earnst as the small number of Federal MS struggled to hold the Zeon push at bay. He can see a hundred fires burning on Federal wreckage. But the Warmonger is not fool. Irusk can see that the momentum he needed to attack the Federal ships directly is not there. Whatever fire he was able to direct against the Big Trays had only begun to dent their armor. While his primary objective is out of reach, Irusk's three attack forces has made a mess of the Federal formation. If it wasn't for the Federal Force's air superiority, he would have kept grinding down the Federation's ground troops. But as his Z'Gok E blasted away at another pesky Tin Cod, the Warmonger did what a responsible officer would do. A signal flare lights up the sky, interrupting the fighting raging around Vladivstok. Like a well oiled machine, the Zeon mobile suits pulled away. They slip back into the hidden positions where they came from, leaving behind a quiet battlefield. They may not have broken the Federal fleet's grip around them, but they did remind the 87th Integrated Fleet that it is going to take much more than kind words to break their spirit. Edmund Blackadder - 7 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Aaron McCaskey - 7 + 1 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Thierry Mersault - 8 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Alec Irusk - 5 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Gilgamos Uruk - 7/2 VP Gained, Repairing 3 Tony Knight - 7/2 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Akira Sasaki - 6 VP Gained, Repairing 2 The Federation Flags had been hoisted. Even the color schemes of their captured Zakus had been painted to those of the Federation training Zakus. The scheme had been set, and they knew the mission. With the news of the surrender of Zeon forces at A Bao A Qu, the remnant forces left on Earth had few options. Doctor Kuuro Konishi, together with his comrade Malak Lazarevich had left the briefing led by their commander, Aisha Vemunio. This was the final push to finally free their African homeland from the clutches of Zeon forces. The rumored fortress of Kimberlite was the last vestige of power, and soon, it would be gone, and Africa would finally be free. Their mobile weapons were still not in tip top shape, but they were still far more advanced than anything the underground fortress was rumored to have. The trucks were spread out, flanking the massive Big Trays as the Federation flags flew high in the air, as they approached the rumored entrance to Kimberlite. The message had been sent out. "We, the members of the Earth Federal Forces have come seeking your surrender. Please send out your representative, and we will discuss terms." Kuuro tried to act as authoritative as possible. It was all a ruse, of course, to lure out the Zeeks, and to wipe them off the face of Africa. Commander Neuen Bitter watched from the command position of his Dobday, the various forces already sortied. They were not going to sit still and surrender. Zeon still had a vision, a dream, and they were not giving up on that dream. The massive guns of the Suden aimed down at the approaching enemy fleet. He smiled, as he gave the signal. Flares rose into the air as the Doms skimmed across the desert surface, being led by the shells from the main gun of the Suden. Malak was the first to see what was happening, as the enhanced sensors of his GM Sniper II picked up on the enemy approached. He was only a second ahead of an explosion that rocked the ground around him, shattering the truck known as the Ice Cream Truck. White contrails streaked towards the African Union fleet as the Doms launched the rounds from their Heavy Bazooks, marking the lead of the counterassault from the Zeon Fortress. Bitter smiled as he watched the Zakus start to follow their Dom counterparts, being backed up by the artillery shells of Zaku Cannons. "Curses!" The Gundam of Aisha Vemunio recoiled as she was caught in the blast from an artillery shell, another truck exploding, coupled with the screams of Guerillas. They weren't counting on such strong resistance from a surrendering Zeon fortress. Maybe things weren't as crystal clear as the terms of surrender from A Bao A Qu made it seem. She raised her Gundam's arm, the beam rifle pointing directly towards one of the skimming Doms. A lance of mega particles arced out, the pink beam slamming into the reactor of one of the Doms, a large explosion rocking the battlefield yet again. But even with their superior mobile weapons, they just couldn't continue to press against the mountain fortress. Yet another truck, this time the Goll, joined its brothers Ice Cream Truck, Geirdriful, and Skuld, in a towering inferno of wrecked transports and mangled Guerillas. The MS forces of the African Union were starting to scatter, as the Zeon forces continued to press on in their defense. "Everyone, fall back!" Aisha ordered, as she covered their retreat, firing beam after beam until the e-cap of the Beam Rifle had extinguished itself. They were losing men, material, and ships far to quickly to mount an effective surge, and something had gone wrong. Maybe the information they had been given was wrong. Either way, she wasn't going to sacrifice any more men today. Aisha Vemunio: 3/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 Malak Lazarevich: 3/2 VP Gained, Repairing +2 |