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A billion people used to live here. Now all that is left of the Side 1 population are a handful of survivors and an endless debris field to mark the graves of those who perished here during the One Week War. Buildings torn from their foundations of their shattered space colonies float freely across space. The hulls of ships and limbs of destroyed mobile suits bounce off each other in a dance that would last until the end of time. Void of life, traffic, and above all interest, Side 1 is the perfect place for those who want to disappear. Which is what Brigadier General Veronica Wu and her Zeon Expeditionary Force needed. Nested inside a small safe zone inside Side 1, one of Zeon's last two great battlefleets are moored to a space installation. Built with the covert stockpile of JINYUAN Industries resources, the new headquarters of the defense company is the new home of the vaunted ZEF. There, the tired and weary soldiers and pilots under Veronica Wu's command can finally have a moment in peace. The end of the war is confusing for them. For months they had wrecked havoc on the EFSF, yet they had just witnessed the surrender of the Duchy of Zeon. None of them understood the mix feelings of accomplishment and failure that occupy their minds. Least of all, their leader. Metal squeaked sharply until the sound of falling water fills the room. The mirror in the room began to fog up as steam from the warm water began to collect. A hand reaches for soap as Veronica Wu lathers up her hair. The middle-aged chinese woman runs a soapy hand over her body. She cringed as she touched tight muscles that knotted up during those stressful hours in combat. A smile crossed her lips as her hand traced the stretch marks still there from her the time she was pregnant with her son Winston. Her hands began to tremble as the water from the shower flows down over her body. Ending the war like it did was not an easy decision. The hardest part is putting her hand to pen the signature for the ceasefire. While she felt that she made the right choice at the time, Veronica felt her fleet deserves better. The men and women who followed her into battle deserve more than to be assimilated into the enemy's ranks or to return home in defeat while never really being defeated. Her fleet would need a new mission. A new purpose. They had fought bravely for a cause that was warped by the Zabis. A cause that may resurface untainted by the corruptness that plagued the Duchy of Zeon. Someday, Veronica knows they would be needed again. Until then, she has a son waiting for her at Side 6. Lieutenant Commander Richard Banks took a step outside the cockpit of his Gelgoog Marine Commander. Out there, beyond the debris that hid JINYUAN Industries HQ, is Side 3 and the Earth Federal Forces. How did it come to this? Banks looks up as the familiar face of Flight Sergeant McHale came up to him. The SAF officer returns the man's salute before handing over his recon report. "Sir," remarks McHale," the fleet is moored and powered down. The rest of the mobile suit teams have also landed. The General is also calling an officer's meeting at 1900 hours." "Well, let's get moving shall we?" said Banks as he stood up and looked around the hangar. McHale looked at his superior quizzically. "Is something wrong sir?" "No, nothing is wrong." Banks shook his head as he casts one last look out into space. "It has been a long war. It has been a tough war. I have a feeling... that the general is getting us ready for for the day... when spacenoids would need the heroes of the ZEF again." They were running on borrowed time. The EFGF had hounded what was left of the Terrestial Assault Force ever since the lightning attacks on Jaburo. First California Base, Baikonour, then Vladivstok. Now, at the hastily erected base of Laurentia in the East Arctic, it seems as though their "time loan" is up. The former artillery officer known as Captain Alec Irusk took a good look at the Big Trays surrounding his base. The Warmonger lowers the binoculars from his eyes. He stood there in his winter parka as Irusk's mind wanders for a moment. So much has happen. So much was sacrificed. So close they had come. So far they had fallen. So many memories. Irusk turned towards his aide. "Let's go." Minutes later, the captain enters the rudimentary hangar in Laurentia. Corporal Gilgamos Uruk looked up from his rations meal as the Z'Gok E pilot walks past him. The Zock pilot wonders where Tony Knight went. His friend is what got him back into the Zeon military, and quite frankly Uruk is astonished that he lived this long. Especially when testing Zeon's crazy prototypes. The few pilots at this arctic installion salute him as Irusk is lifted up to his Z'Gok E. Before enterring his cockpit however, the Warmonger grabbed a handy talkie. Soon, his voice echoes over the intercom. "Well, it seems the Federation has come to end us. They want to destroy the spirit of Zeon, and crush her yet. Fear not, brave comrades. I'm certain they will not accept surrender at this point, and I will be marching out with you." "It may be our darkest hour, but it will also be our finest. Just like the Spartans at Thermopylae, we will be an example of honor on the battlefield, where these Federation dogs have none. If you want to escape, now is the time. I will not, however. It's been an honor serving with each and every one of you, and am proud to call you all friends." For a while, all that can be heard are the sounds of the arctic landscape. Then a slow cheer began to erupt. It would be the last thing anyone of them would hear outside of their cockpits ever again. "Have we make contact with the installation?" "Yes sir," said a junior officer as he hands a message slip to General Olaf Ostlund. "Any response to our terms?" asked the general. The junior officer points to the lower section of the letter. "Yes sir and it's quite crude." "I see..." said Ostlund as his face redden while he read the reply," have all units commence the attack." All around Larentia, the Big Trays of the 87th Integrated Fleet open fire with their heavy weapons. In the sky, Federal airpower reign supreme despite some futile SAM and AA fire from the Zeon base. Five Medeas with escorts quickly established a presence over Laruentia. With bombs and mega particle fire chewing up the entirety of Laruentia, the Zeon defenders rose from their hiding spots and charge the Federal lines. The sudden appearance of Zeon mobile weapons so close to the advancing Federal line startled the veterans for a few seconds. But a few seconds was all it took to mow down the green pilots Zaku II J pilots. Slightly longer for the Federal aircraft to hunt down the lone Zaku cannon trying to snipe them. Very quickly, Alec Irusk and Gilgamos Uruk found themselves alone. Edmund Blackadder's GMPGT soon came upon the sight of Irusk's Z'Gok-E tearing apart three GM CCTs like a blender on overdrive. The mangled right arm of a GM CCT slid to Blackadder's feet with a 90mm machinegun still in the hand. Blackadder brought his beam rifle up swiftly, squeezing off three shots in quick sucession. Two of them clipped the Z'Gok-E, tearing away armor and machinery before Irusk collides with the GMPGT. The ever dependable Lunar Titanium took the impact like a champ. But even that high grade armor began to buckle as the Z'Gok-E started bash relentlessly on the GMPGT. Gilgamos Uruk saw the captain dive headfirst into the mayhem. Unfortunately, due to the size and bulk of the Zock, Uruk cannot follow. The large size MS is boggled down in the snow, becoming instead a large mega particle battery instead of a heavy assault unit. A shower of mega particle fire rakes the sky, causing the Federal aircraft to evade. The Medeas weren't quite as fast as the fighters, as the Tug took several shots to its starboard side, causing it to disintegrate. The Z'Gok-E manages to wrestle the GMPGT to the snowy ground. As Blackadder tried to get back control of his mobile suit, Irusk fires a point blank shot from his rapid-fire arm MPCs into the GMPGT's firing arm. As the right arm is severed, Blackadder slams the armshield into the Z'Gok-E's side. This gave the GMPGT pilot a moment of respite. The cynical pilot primes a grenade. But before he could act, Irusk grabs the hand holding the grenade. A brief struggle follows as both pilots try to get control of the device. No one know who would have won the struggle as the grenade detonates in their hands. As the cloud of smoke and snow dissipates, Irusk spat blood onto his cockpit console. Through the static-filled monitors he can see the still damaged Big Tray-class Big Sioux continue it's bombardment of Laruentia. The Federal land battleship is not tha far away. But as Irusk's Z'Gok-E stumbles to full height, so did Blackadder's GMPGT. The Lunar Titanium mobile suit took less damage but it still is a mess. Blackadder pulls the trigger on his mounted vulcan guns. The bullets began eatting into the Z'Gok-E as Irusk pushes his mobile suit onwards. Once more, the Z'Gok-E tackles the GMPGT. This time however, Irusk hits him head first, lifting the GMPGT slightly into the air as he charges the Big Sioux. Through no small amount of luck, Irusk felt the head of the Z'Gok-E pin the wounded GMPGT to the side of the Big Sioux. The amphibious mobile sank to its knees as Blackadder's GMPGT slumped over the Z'Gok-E. In the distance, the beam barrage from Uruk's Zock is slowly losing strength. The Medea New York fell to the erratic attack, finally tumbling into the snow in a devastating fireball. But that would be the end of Uruk's rampage as Lieutenant Aaron McCaskey's GM Command Kai and Thierry Mersault's Guncannon HDT leap upon the stricken Zock with beam sabers and machineguns blazing. In the distance, the Jukon II-class Avalon is sinking from the combined attacks of the Don Escargots and Mersault's Guncannon HDT. An enormous explosion woke the unconcious Alec Irusk as the Zock's reactor exploded, shaking the snow. The Warmonger realized he is all alone and there is only one thing left for him to do. The hatches for the six head mounted VLS open. Each VLS holds two rockets with high explosive warheads. Irusk grips his controls sticks one last time as the memories of all who serve under his command flash through his mind. Then with one simple twitch, he pulls the trigger. The rockets struck Blackadder's GMPGT at point blank range, detonating both the Federal and Zeon mobile suits. The combined explosion of two fusion reactors shreded the Big Tray-class Big Sioux. The hull of the land battleship buckled then tore itself asunder in a massive ripple of explosions, throwing debris far past the immediate area surrounding Laruentia. With the last Zeon defender gone, the 87th Integrated Fleet regrouped over the ruins. Their general is dead and it would take some hours before the chain of command shifts accordingly. Like always, time moves on. Edmund Blackadder - 7/2 VP Gained, Killed In Action Aaron McCaskey - 7 + 1 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Thierry Mersault - 8/2 VP Gained, Repairing 2 Alec Irusk - 4/2 VP Gained, Killed In Action Gilgamos Uruk - 7 VP Gained, Killed In Action |