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A new day dawns on the Russian steppe. Fires still burn from the fighting the day before. Their dark smoke snake up into a new dawn as sunlight spill past debris and wreckage that dotted the land surrounding Baikonour. Zakus and GMs alike lay mangled like discarded litter. Black monoeyes and crack visors lay as silent tombstones to the dead. But the time for mourning and proper monuments has yet to arrive. The no-man's land surrounding Baikonour is a deadly place and the Star One Ground Force Bravo commanders must consider their next move. News of the fall of California Base has reached before the Zeon defenders and the Federal attackers. While the victory is reassuring to the commanders of the Federal fleet, the fact that Ground Force Alpha is a shadow of its former self is disheartening. The news of a large Zeon force escaping the fleets at California Base is particularly worrying. Neither the Zeon nor the EFF knew what is going to happen next. Will the siege be broken by a Zeon relief force? Or will Baikonour be reduced to ashes? Either way, multiple suns bloom throughout the day as an immense artillery duel began. Shells and rockets lifted into the air and crashed down upon the Earth. Empty cartridges and shell casings fell to the floor with a clang as men served the machine of war. Dirt is thrown up and settled back down in giant dust cloud, only to be thrown up again. People would die, but not in large numbers like in the recent battles that rocked the Earth Sphere. To the veterans, the artillery bombardments are just gestures to remind the other side that they weren't forgotten. As the sun sets on another day in the war between the Duchy of Zeon and the Earth Federation, the guns grew silent. For the moment. |