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Mexico City, this Zeon controlled city is about to see a whole lot of action. The EFGF ground units are holding their position for now, using the cover of some of the buildings and sand dunes. The artillery crew of the Sir Francis Drake were loading the shells into the cannons of the land battleship as it was moving in closer to its intended target. The Dish from the Desert Eagles transmits the data back to the Sir Francis Drake. The gunners receive the telemetry and plan their shots accordingly. The order goes out for the GM Sniper to acquire a position out of range of both the Zeon and EFGF bombardment ranges. The cannons of the Sir Francis Drake are finished loading and are angled for optimal bombardment range. As all the preparations for the Federal bombardment are underway, they are just awaiting the order to fire. The Sir Francis Drake sends out its Type 61 tank to join in the bombardment, as the Meada Revised's continue to fly over head. They also unload their Type 61 Tanks. The tanks move into formation along with the Big Tray. The commanding Officer signals to bring the rain, and that is when the Bombardment begins. Artillery shells are dislodged as they impact the Zeon base. The siege of Mexico City has officially begun with a hail of cannon fire. The moon was slowly sinking in the sky, darkened by smoke and ash from the artillery exchanges that continued well into the early morning. Flashes illuminated the barrels of canons, betraying positions as the shots rang out. Fires littered the city's landscape as smoke whisped away from the twisted skeletons of the buildings that once stood; Baikonour couldn't take much more. The walls of the Duchy's base shuddered under each impact, the foundation began to show its weaknesses as cracks expanded with every passing volley. The war was winding down and both sides knew this, but it was most apparent for the unfortunate souls under Lillenthal's command as they waited for a miracle - one they all knew was not coming. The second day dawned on the EFSF's siege of Pezun. Two groups - the conventional Blex Fleet, and the ever-unconventional 42nd Brigade, released their respective salvos of long range bombardment. Blex's flagship, the Manticore, unleashed a flower of mega particle guns and missile launchers, surrounded by Salamis and Magellans following suit. The power of Blex's Group helped bolster his appetite for action, starved after months of blockading. The impressive array burrowed into the side of the asteroid, sending up pieces of rock floating into oblivion. Rumbling inside, Killing's two Musai and supply ships had a moment of brief worry. The siege had cut off their supplies - but one day hadn't shown its effect much. The most important thing lost in the siege was their communications. Repeated distress signals to Solomon had called no reply, while others to A Baoa Qu were lost in the minovsky build up. They needed reinforcements to deal with these threats. The fruits of their labor - beam equipped Galbaldy Alphas were now set for defense, working hand in hand with the relatively ancient Zaku mobile suits. Orders were clear - hold at all cost. But such conditions created anxiety in the men of Pezun. Would this prison become their grave? The large mega particle cannon and laser array created an apt response to Blex's bombardment. The beams threaded into the Blex fleet, creating explosions, tearing metal, causing confusion. Minovsky density was at its highest level since the beginning of the engagement, making ship to ship communications all but impossible. Another strong attack exited the Blex Group, chewing up Pezun a great deal more. This touch and go of bombardment and counter-bombardment continued, under the watchful eyes of Nigel Ferdinand. The Prince of Orange invited the crew of Orange Base so its bridge, to watch the exchange of fire. Blex's orders were very clear - a by the books bombardment. Kyle Slater's eyes scanned the field, watching the bright pink rays of the Blex Group intertwine with the giant yellow beam of Zeon's counter-siege and the smaller yellow rain from the laser array. If Professor Minovsky could only see this dance of his technology. At his side, Aurem watched with great solemnity. His thoughts were not on the weapons at all, but the men and women of the Blex Group, bearing the brunt of the counter-siege. Though the disparity between the power of each side was clear, he still saved his sympathies for those that wore his own colors. He only wished that Pezun would fall quicker, and was eager for the moment to take his Heavy Gundam out into the thick of it. Notably absent from the bridge was one Thorvald Siggurdson. He had instead settled for another test day for his unit. Entering the debris of the destroyed asteroid, he cast out towards the fortress. The damage was superficial, but had opened a few holes in Pezun's considerable defense. Thorvald leaned forward in his seat, eager to pick up anything at all. And there - there it was! The massive hook at the end of his line had bore into something! He pulled his reel back in, sending the hook rocketing out of the hole it had entered, moving torwards the Blue Destiny with the speed of a core booster. The quickness had caused Thorvald's excitement to die down, as he figured he had lost whatever he hooked. But - upon closer inspection, it was not a loss, but a guppy. Thorvald winced. One very dead Zeek, impaled on a hook. Nigel Ferdinand: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Thorvald Siggurdson: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Aurem Senaiha: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Kyle Slater: 1 VP Gained, No Damage The march of the men in red jumpsuits went unnoticed in the cavernous hangars of the newly christened Konpei Island. There were people everywhere; entire armies of mechanics and technicians rushing to repair damage to the Federation's innumerable mobile suits and fighting vessels. To think that the men in red were simple mechanics though was utter folly. They had a mission of utmost importance which only began to become clear when they started to close on their target. "I want all White Base mechanics to stop working on the Gundam!" The shout came from the lead man in red. He was an older man with frizzy gray hair and a voice tinged with a slightly feminine lisp. At once the jumpsuited men around him took off while the mechanics working on the Federation's most iconic mobile suit stood unsure of what to do. "Just stop where you are! We will take over from this point on!" the gray hair man shouted again. This time the working men and women shot each other a few unsure looks before ceasing their activities. "What's going on here?" a voice called out. It belonged to a boy hardly old enough to be a soldier and yet he wore the distinctive uniform of an Earth Federation pilot. He landed in front of gray haired man with a concerned look on his face. The gray haired man gave him one look before turning his nose up at the youth. "What do you want? Who are you?" he demanded impatiently while tapping his foot. He was already behind schedule and every second that the brat wasted was another second that his precious breakthrough would go unused. "My name is Amuro Ray and I'm the..." At once the the man in front of Amuro lit up. A big cocky smile grew on his face and at once he reached out to touch the boy on the shoulder. "I'm only here because I read your report, kid. Don't blame me if it doesn't work. We haven't had an opportunity to test it properly!" he excitedly stammered with his trade mark lisp. He didn't wait for the boy to reply before turning his attention back to the Gundam. His men were already swarming over it and he dearly wanted to join them. Amuro stood confused for a moment as the strange man floated away. The man hadn't answered his question. He just raised even more that Amuro wanted answered immediately. "What are you attempting to do?" the youth yelled after the gray haired man who was already poking his head into the Gundam's cockpit. "I'm applying my theory to make the Gundam's response time faster!" That made some sense to the Federation hero. The Gundam had been suffering badly in recent weeks. In many ways, Amuro had started to outgrow his machine and the damage that it was steadily racking up was testament to this. "Are you sure that's possible?" Amuro hollered back. "Anything is possible. With MAGNETS!" For some reason, Amuro wasn't exactly convinced. Evander Creed: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Lutz Leon: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Vaan Kashky: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Ray Tatsuma: 1 VP Gained, No Damage Breakfister Turbulance: 1 VP Gained, No Damage |