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Post by Carlos on Jul 30, 2010 0:26:39 GMT -6
January 15-16, U.C. 0079
Lagrange point 1, Side 5, Loum.
After Operation British's failure to destroy the Federation's Jaburo base and thereby bring about a swift resolution to the conflict, the Zeon Military Force (ZMF) gathers its forces at Side 5's Loum colony to attempt a second colony drop.
However, they are engaged by the Federation's 1st Combined Fleet, commanded by General Revil himself. Subsequently, Commander Dozle Zabi orders the Principality forces to abandon the attachment of nuclear pulse engines to the colony and concentrate on attacking the Federation fleet.
The following event chronicles the actions of the men and women that fought upon this battlefield.
((Ok. So I suck at dramatic descriptions. If you have a better post. Message it to me. I'll replace this. And give credit where it's due. ))
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Red
New Member
Bwah.
Posts: 44
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Post by Red on Aug 1, 2010 15:23:41 GMT -6
UC 0079.01.15, 11:00h
A fist slamming against the wall of the pilot’s briefing room broke the tense silence as the Moscow cruised slowly toward Loum amidst a sea of other Federation warships.
“Fucking bastards!” Garth grunted, though the outburst drew little attention from the other pilots sitting in the room.
Most were freshly drafted. A few others were survivors of Operation British. All knew how the Federation’s last encounter with the Principality had led to the loss of 70% of their fleet present at the battle and the destruction of nearly half of Australia.
“Why can’t we make it there any faster?! Why are we lettin’ them have the first strike on another innocent bunch of colonies?!” the Australian bellowed out, looking to his fellow pilots as though they had the answer.
Roy sighed, reaching out and putting a hand on Garth’s shoulder, “We know you’ve got a lotta reasons to be so angry Garth, but sometimes things’re just out of our control. We’ll make it when we make it, and we’ll give those bastards what’s comin’ to ‘em, got it?” he said, shaking the man’s shoulder a little.
Garth grunted, frowning intensely before sighing, “I…rgh…you’re damn right we will…” he huffed, crossing his arms and seeming to calm down as the back door to the room slid open and an officer floated in, the room becoming even more utterly silent beyond the various faint noises of the ship.
Upon reaching the front of the room, the man turned. He was clearly less than forty, but those who knew him prior to the last few months could tell how quickly the stresses of looming war had aged him recently. The lines in his face were showing much more severely, and his once well kept black hair was nearly half gray now, his face covered in stubble.
“I don’t think I need to even begin to explain to you all the importance of stopping this…”Principality” here and now,” he said calmly, though there was a deep passion underlying his words, “I’ll waste no breath on a passionate speech, but know that no matter what new monstrosities they throw at us, we will adapt and overcome. You’re the brightest bunch of pilots I’ve had the opportunity to work with, and I have faith that each and every one of you will show those heartless bastards that they’ve got another thing coming if they think they can indiscriminately kill citizens of the Federation without facing the consequences.”
Roy sighed softly to himself, Why does every speech begin with “This isn’t going to be a speech…”? he thought, amusedly, doing his best to keep his mind off the impending battle and his likely death, considering the odds.
The officer droned on now about the mission plan, actually having kept his rousing speech rather short. This turned out being a good thing, as an announcement that Zeon had begun its attack blared through the speaker system in the ship right as he had concluded. Expressions of shock, anger, and fear swept across the room before the officer spoke up again, quickly quelling the pilots’ emotions as he commanded them to make ready for battle.
“Dismissed!”
Roy had always liked that word, as he could occasionally be a bit of a slacker when not in combat, and that word usually meant he was free to go about his business. However, this time was far different. That word marked the end of the briefing, his last bastion of distraction before the battle, and especially before the waiting. The waiting was far, far worse than the battle itself. At least death would be swift, he hoped, unlike the seemingly endless hours of watching the guillotine rise slowly above your neck.
He stood with the other pilots, saluting the officer before they all made for the door, floating slowly across the room.
“Griffin!”
It took Roy a good few seconds for his nervous brain to register his name was called, then another for him to actually stop himself before turning his head slowly.
“Commander Keller?” he thought he said, but nothing actually came out.
The commander motioned for him to come over, “Come here, Griffin. You as well, Ensign,” he said, looking to Garth, who had also stopped and turned around as Roy’s name was called.
The two floated quickly across the room, halting at the wall beside their commander.
“You two look here…” Keller said, leaning toward them, “Those greenhorns know more about pissin’ their pants than they do about flyin’ fighters. You two have seen combat against these fuckers and lived to come back for more, which is more than can be said about most of our pilots. I need you two to keep the others in line out there or we’re even more fucked than we already are.”
Garth and Roy turned to each other before looking back to the Commander, “Aye, sir,” Garth replied first, moving his hand up and brushing aside some of his thick brown hair as he saluted. He was about twenty two, which put him at about three and a half years older than Roy, though it was often the younger of the two who had to keep the older one in line, as Garth had a quick temper and a big mouth.
Keller looked to Roy, who just blinked as though he had snapped out of a daze, “Y-yes, sir!” he said, saluting as well.
Keller sighed, shaking his head a little and putting his hand on Roy’s shoulder, “Calm down, CPO…” he said, “Don’t go pissin’ yourself before you even get out there,” he said in a lighthearted tone. Roy just sighed, closing his eyes a moment and nodding, “Yes, sir…” he said, calming just a little, “...are we…is this really so hopeless, sir?” he asked.
Keller sighed, putting a hand to his forehead before brushing back his hair, “…son, I just don’t know. Those mobile suits they have are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Just one can take down several battle ships, and the damn things can stop on a dime even if they’re not quite as fast as our fighters.”
The commander trailed off a moment before speaking up again as he noticed the dismay on the two pilots’ faces, “…but you know just as well as I do that the damn things are far from invincible,” he said, confidently, patting Roy’s shoulder, “You just get out there and do whatever the hell it is you did last time and I promise you you’ll make it through this, you hear me, son?” he said, smiling a little hopefully.
Roy just stared back before smirking faintly, “I will, sir!” he said, a hint of Keller’s confidence in his own voice now.
“Alright, you two are dismissed. Make the Federation proud out there, boys,” the commander said, saluting.
Both pilots saluted in return before pushing off the wall and floating out the door. Keller just sighed heavily as the door shut behind them, “…and God help us, if innocent lives mean anything to him…”
(( Just a quick post to get things started... ))
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Post by Akira Takamedo on Aug 4, 2010 13:01:24 GMT -6
U.C. 0079.01.15, 11:15
He'd been waiting in the ready room for half an hour, now. Petty Officer Akira Takamedo sat on the bench between the two rows of normal suit lockers; his hands were gripped together in front of him while he leaned forward. His helmet occupied the spot next to him. He didn't feel like putting the thing on until it was absolutely necessary.
Some of this still felt a little surreal to him. It was only a year ago he was still an undeclared college student trying to decide on a focus of studies. He never would've imagined that he'd be here a year later, a mobile suit pilot for the Principality of Zeon. He knew the Feds were on their way, and it was to be here - Loum - this was going to be the setting of his first real battle.
He wasn't quite sure what this feeling was engulfing him right now. Was it fear? No, that couldn't have been it, he mentally prepared himself for this day since the war broke out a week ago.
Anticipation, perhaps? It was his first battle after all, maybe he was excited. Excited over what, though? The way he saw it, one of two things could happen today - either he would go out and probably be stuck on the reserve lines, or run afoul of a missile in his cockpit and have it all end here.
Then he got to thinking - what exactly do people remember about a soldier that went and got himself killed on his first battle? Surely history would laugh at such a person, after all, he-
"Attention all hands, we've received a report that crews have begun attaching pulse engines to Colony 11. The operation has officially commenced. I repeat, the operation has officially commenced."
...well, perhaps that announcement was what he needed to keep his mind from wandering off like that. It wouldn't do any good to participate in a battle when your only thought is what happens to the ones who get killed.
"Recon is reporting in - there is a large Federation fleet en route to our location. As of now, this ship is on level two combat status. All hands to battle stations, I want the mobile suits to be sent out at a moment's notice."
Another man floated in via the zero gravity train. He was also in an olive-drab normal suit, with his helmet tucked under his arm. His black hair was a fret, and he had stubble around the chin. He wasn't much for keeping up his physical appearance, but if you were just going to put a helmet over it, it didn't really matter anyway. This man was the commander of the ship's mobile suit team - Lieutenant Ryan Morris.
"Petty Officer, is something the matter?"
Akira rose from the bench, taking up his own helmet into his grasp, "Nothing at all, sir."
"Well, we don't have a launch order yet, but I need you to be ready. It can come at any time."
"Sorry about that, Lieutenant. I'll head over to the hangar right away."
Before Akira could go anywhere however, Morris stopped him by placing his hand on the Petty Officer's shoulder.
"This is going to be your first battle, right?"
Akira turned to once again face his superior, "That's correct, sir."
Lieutenant Morris had already seen some action. Actually, this ship - the Larmel - was a participant in Operation British. During the battles that were around it, the ship lost two of its mobile suits, with Morris being the only survivor. Akira and another pilot, Chief Petty Officer Davis Kelly, were transferred in from the reserves of the Side 3 Guard for the Loum operation.
"Are you worried at all?"
"Well, obviously a little. I performed well in simulations and training exercises, but they're no match for the real thing."
Morris let out a hearty laugh. "You're already far past a bunch of the other newbies with a statement like that."
Akira smiled at the compliment from his superior. Meanwhile, he went back for one of the lockers and opened it up.
"I'll tell you what - after we're done here, I'll take you and Kelly to my favorite bar back in Zum City for beers on me," he offered while shuffling through his belongings.
"Heh, I think I can go for that."
Morris shut the locker door, a small photograph in his hand. Akira thought to himself who the picture could be of as the Lieutenant stared longingly at it. Finally, he looked up to notice, and he flipped it around to show Akira. It was himself standing next to a woman - blonde-haired, looked to be in her thirties.
"Is that your wife, sir?"
"Yup, for five years now. I just like to keep this picture with me in the cockpit for luck. How about you, Petty Officer? Have a sweetheart for you back home?"
Akira chuckled at the question. He wasn't in college for long enough to thoroughly get to know nearly anyone, and the closest girl in his life - his sister - hadn't talked to him at all since he told her about joining the military.
"Unfortunately not."
"Well, let's go bring a quick end to this war, and you can get yourself back out there. We're at level two combat status, so get to the hangar when you're done here." He held his hand out, all fingers extended, "Five minutes."
Akira gave a quick salute to the Lieutenant, "Aye, sir."
Morris sprang himself into the zero-G environment; the door to the hangar opened to accomodate him passing through.
Once it shut, Akira leaned against the wall with his eyes shut and a smile on his face. Yes, there were quite a few things he wanted to do once his time here was done.
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Red
New Member
Bwah.
Posts: 44
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Post by Red on Aug 4, 2010 18:50:37 GMT -6
(( Yay a post besides mine! Man that guy's just setting himself up to die tragically...
...but you're totally not cliche and mean enough to do something like that! ))
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Post by Carlos on Aug 4, 2010 22:54:20 GMT -6
UC 0079.01.15, 11:20h
The air was filled with intensity. Carlos sat leaning forward, his eyes fixated on the cards in his hands, gazing across he could see Harris equally as intense. To his right Zeronny sat calmly looking about at the others. Elegant bastard.. Carlos thought to himself. However on his left, Kinto Namari, the most asian, asian, he has ever met. Sat with a sombrero and drawn on mustache. Moron... is all he could think.
Dramatically laying out his cards. Carlos declared. "Two pairs.."
"Roya-" Harris started to say, but then Kinto stood up.
"YAHTZEE!" He shouted in excitement then slapped the cards out of Harris' hands.
"You son of a bitch!" Harris shouted as he leapt at Kinto. Attempting to strangle him. All the while Kinto yelling Yahtzee! Yahtzee!
Meanwhile Zeronny simply let his cards fall into the pile of cards. While Carlos chuckled a bit as he picked up a cigarette from the bets they'd made, placing it in his mouth. However he suddenly stood to attention. Standing in the doorway, Lieutenant Nelly Shalls, their temporary commanding officer.
Short, with the most lovely cheek bones, yet with the physique of female fighter. Perhaps her short stature and lovely visage forced her to put on a fierce expression whenever she was around male personal.
"We're on alert status and you're fighting in here!?" She shouted to them angrily, moving in she quickly grabbed Harris by the collar and slammed him against one of the lockers. Which left him pleasantly surprised by her strength. On the hunt for Kinto, she could not find him, so she shot Carlos a venomous stare.
"Third locker from the right." He commented dryly.
Quickly she opened the locker and yanked Kinto out by the throat. Baring in mind that this is space. She tossed him at Carlos. Who casually stepped to the side. Kinto crashing into the lockers against that wall.
"And you!" She snapped, grabbing Carlos by the collar.
"What seems to be the problem, sir," He said emphasizing the last part.
"You're in charge of this rabble of morons. It's up to you to keep them combat ready." Her voice was almost a growl. You can't pay for this kind of entertainment Carlos thought to himself absentmindedly.
"They are combat ready. This is the only way to keep them from going stir crazy, sir," he told her indifferently, except once more emphasizing the sir. She shoved him back, then backed away to the door.
"When they said they would send up their top pilots. I should have known it was all garbage" She told them angrily, then departed.
Carlos simply floated there. Putting the cigarette back in his mouth.
"There's no smoking aboard the ship." Zeronny said with a grin as he floated past, he'd escaped her wrath, perhaps she found him too handsome.
Nonetheless, Carlos shrugged, pulling out his lighter. Then the alert came for all pilots to be on standby in their fighters. Taking the cigarette from his lips, he looked at it, then tossed it aside. "The line to kill me is just too long now.."
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Red
New Member
Bwah.
Posts: 44
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Post by Red on Aug 13, 2010 21:12:28 GMT -6
(( A post, to keep things alive! ))
UC 0079.01.15, 22:00h
Roy sighed as he faced the mirror in his room, adjusting the gloves on his normal suit and making sure the seals were locked in place before reaching up and adjusting his collar a little with his finger.
Ugh, what am I doing…?
He sunk down to his bed, running both hands through his hair and groaning in frustration, elbows resting on his knees as he stayed like this, lost in thought for some time before the comm system buzzed to life.
“All pilots report to your ships! All hands to battlestations! We’re beginning combat maneuvers! I repeat, all hands to battlestations!”
This was the moment of truth, or rather, the final moments leading up to it. He dallied there only a moment longer before snapping his arm out, grabbing his helmet and standing in a huff. If this was to be his final hour, then like hell he was going to spend it moping around.
The hallway was empty, as most of the normal crew were already at their stations and most of the pilots were already boarding their fighters.
Good…
He really didn’t want to run into anyone right now anyway, he didn’t think he would even have anything to say at this point. It was the most he could do to just float down the deserted hallway toward his destination. Garth, William, George, Michael; he passed by the other pilots’ quarters as he drifted along. How many of them would never see their owners again?
“Agh!” he grunted, shaking his head and scratching it roughly as though the thought was an itch he could do away with.
He was almost too busy with his scratching to avoid running into the wall he had finally reached, catching himself with an outstretched hand at the last moment and sighing, turning to the right and pushing off one of the handles placed at the end of every hallway just for that purpose.
A few crew members brushed by him silently as he continued on his way, neither saying a word to him or each other, even though they were obviously travelling the ship together. Had there been just one more person there at that spot, he thought, their combined stress and fear would have surely been palpable. Another crew member passed by, then a pilot, then another crew member, then another, and another…
“Griffin!”
He snapped out of it, catching himself and turning around to see the familiar face of his mechanic, Keith, staring back at him expectantly.
“What’re you doin’?! We’re engagin’ in fuckin’ RIGHT NOW and you just floated by your own ship like it wasn’t even there!” he said, motioning vigorously for Roy to return in his direction.
Roy sighed heavily, scratching his head, “Y-yeah! Sorry, I guess I jus’ didn’t see!”
He floated back quickly, passing by Keith and moving to put on his helmet before grunting as he got a good slap to the back of his head.
“Ugh! Hey! What was that for!” he groaned, turning to face the other man with a frown as he rubbed his head.
Keith just grabbed him by his collar and shook him a little, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, kid, but you’re not gonna last a damn second out there like that! You listen here now, you made it through this shit once, but luck ain’t gonna keep savin’ yer ass out there, you got it?”
Roy just blinked before letting out a heavy sigh, “I know, I know…” he mumbled, before smirking a little, “Though, I have to say I’m flattered you care so much about my well bein’, Keith,” he teased.
Keith seemed flustered for only a second, “What! Care about you, huh?! Yeah right, you know I put my heart and soul into that gorgeous piece of machinery out there. All I want’s for you to keep my baby safe so I don’t have to replace every god damn piece of her again like last time!”
Roy just laughed as Keith let him go, “Right, well, I’ll see what I can do!” he said, smirking as he moved to get into the airlock that would lead him out to his ship, slipping his helmet on in the process and confirming the seal with his hand.
“Yeah, well…good luck out there, y’hear? Give ‘em Hell for all of us!” Keith said as he shut the door.
Roy closed the visor on his helmet, a quick check of the readings on his wrist display meant he was ready to go, and he moved to knock twice on the door, giving Keith a thumbs up to signal he was ready for depressurization. Keith responded in kind, moving out of sight before the air in the room was quickly depleted. Two knocks again and a thumbs up and the door to the endless abyss of space began to open, the underside of his Saberfish coming into view as he took a deep breath, moving slowly towards it, swinging around a handle and climbing up into his cockpit.
It wasn’t until the moment he had seated himself and the canopy sealed that he took the time to look up and notice the massive colonies floating nearby, a sick sinking feeling setting in as something just looked wrong about some of them, the familiar silhouette of large boosters stuck to the outside of what he would later learn was Loum. However, that feeling sunk even lower as he noticed the sea of lights blinking and flickering in the distance. The Zekes were here in force already, and while most seemed to be further away, presumably focused on the colony, there was still a daunting number ready to engage them any second.
The comm in his helmet was saying something, but he only grasped a few words: something about battlestations and launching; target priority was the engines first, then the fleet; who to assist, where to go. He didn’t need to hear, he already had his orders and knew that this would all degrade into a massive clusterfuck once the initial barrage was over, which it was highly likely he wouldn’t survive anyway.
Another deep breath came and left him before he reached out, his motions smooth and practiced as he started up his fighter, his HUD bursting to life as the various instruments in front of him glowed brightly. He could hear the commands being issued for the pilots to launch one by one, the ship shifting and shaking each time one would detach and move into escort position.
“Number 7, disengage!”
“All green! Disengage!” he replied, glad his voice didn’t crack.
The fighter shuddered as the locks keeping it attached to the ship were released, Roy swiftly activating his thrusts and moving away, taking up his position in the formation. This was the moment of truth.
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