Chapter 21: Shootout at Malta"Chief, have you finished loading it yet?" Captain Karl asked the head mechanic as he boarded his GM Cannon. In addition to the 180mm cannon, his GM was also supposed to be equipped with a beam pistol and a couple of grenades. "Not yet, but it'll be done on time. You don't want me forget something, don't you?" he replied. The 44th was going out on a solo mission, and it was imperative that they were properly armed. "Chief, where's my sniper rifle?" Max asked suddenly. "We've already loaded it, didn't you check?" he replied in a slightly annoyed tone. "Not the beam one, the shell firing one." "Why the hell would you want that piece of junk?!" he asked angrily. A beam rifle was a far better weapon than a shell firing one, why the hell did he ask for one anyway? "Please, just load it sir," Max requested reasonably.
"I'll have to get rid of a couple of grenades and bazooka shells, but that's your choice Lieutenant," the Chief replied in a confused tone. What the heck was Rifle up to? Juan checked his GM's loadout just before he strapped himself into the cockpit. A bazooka with five shells, three HE grenades, a beam spray gun, a 90mm machine gun with three extra clips, and the customary beam sabre. Pretty heavy load, he thought. Fred's GM was also similarly armed, but not Eric's. "Why are you loading all these extra clips on my GM?" Eric asked as a couple of mechanics started to attach a backpack filled with ammunition on his GM. "You're also the Company's mobile ammo dump," the mechanic replied in playful tone, "They can't carry an infinite amount of bullets you know. Don't worry, just drop the pack off before the firing starts." "What if we get ambushed?" he asked worriedly. "You'll probably end up dead anyway, just with a bigger explosion."
"Great." Maurice checked her GM Light Armor's systems as she boarded her unit as well. She carried slightly less weapons than the others, only a beam rifle and three grenades, but she wasn't worried about that. Her Light Armor was designed for maneuverability and speed, not firepower. She checked her clock before asking the Captain, "Sir, how many more minutes before we go?" "Twelve minutes. As long as the mechanics can finish loading in time," he replied coolly.
"We CAN!" the now familiar voice of the chief mechanic interjected, "Now stop complaining!"
Sylvie Gressier muttered a curse as her seventh attempt to contact Malta Base failed. Damn it, she thought, she HAD to find out more information. Lives were at stake. Or was it just... she shook her head before completing the thought, and tried again.
Jean Powell cringed as he saw the flashes from the Zeon guns. The Zeon ships had started bombarding their positions a few minutes ago, and they only had four guns left on the Brandywine and Saratoga to respond. The Monmouth was joining them soon, but they were still badly outgunned. "Pretty hard to make'm out in this wreckage, Sir," the pilot of the Zaku Flipper reported as he carefully observed the Federal positions. "I know that," Colonel Jefferson replied, "But we need more information on them. Try harder!" "Yes, Sir," the pilot replied simply. He knew Jefferson was a good CO, and he didn't want to disappoint him. "Jefferson," General Hill called over the radio, "We may have to delay the attack for around fifteen to twenty minutes." "Sir?" Jefferson asked, surprised, "The enemy fleet is getting near, if we don't..." "We've lost a lot of our mobile suits," the General replied, "I've called for a resupply Papua. They could get us six Rick Doms. We'll delay the attack till we get them."
"But, Sir..." Jefferson started before stopping himself. The General was right. Federation ships couldn't go THAT fast. It was only fifteen minutes, after all, and he knew that he'd gained at least three hours on the enemy fleet when he escaped. But something told him he was making a mistake... "We're in range, Sir!" John reported to Colonel Patterson. "Alright, launch mobile suits!" Outside, all six mobile suits eased their way out of the Spruance's hangar and headed in the direction of Fire Base Malta. Another six GMs from the Anzio and Gloucester followed them.
"Good luck, Men," Patterson whispered as he watched them head off into the darkness. Their fates were now out of his hands. Jean and the rest of the defense force breathe a collective sigh of relief as the firing subsided. The defenders had lost four Sabre Fish and three Balls in the half hour long bombardment, but it wasn't that bad, and he was grateful to the engineers for providing them with good cover. "Jean, I'm back," Willis reported as he pulled his now patched up GM beside his. The engineers had nearly collapsed from exhaustion to fix it in record time, but at least he was back on the line. He'd even managed to nap a few minutes too, and was now looking somewhat human.
"Glad to see you here. Boy do we need more mobile suits," he replied in a tired tone. He realized that he hadn't even had a proper sleep for two days now. Damn, he thought, I hope I don't doze off at the wrong time... "So what is the enemy strength?" Ming asked as he pored over the map of the area. There was just so much debris to hide in, and he didn't want to get caught unaware. "We aren't sure," the fleet's MS Commander replied over the radio, "They have a sizable number of Balls and fighter craft, but we don't have exact numbers. Twenty to thirty, give or take. In addition, they have some fixed defense satellites, though they're mainly for anti-ship use. But the real problem are the humanoid types. We aren't sure how many there are, maybe as many as five. These new ones, they can carry..." "Beam weapons, I know. I've encountered them already," he replied coolly, "But they are not as good as our new equipment. A Rick Dom is more than a match for them." "But we only have seven of them when the Papua arrives. Plus your Zaku R-1A Type. It won't be easy." "But we can do it, right?" Ming asked confidently.
"Yes, we can," but the voice that replied was not as confident. "Damn, how did they ever get a base built in all this junk?" Juan remarked as he saw all the debris fly pass him. It was good, he reflected, that they had a clear albeit crooked path to follow. "According to the Colonel, some fighter jock got lost here and found this zigzag road while on patrol," Eric explained while he kept his eyes on his radar screen, "On the other end of this path is a colony. What's left of it that is. It's largely been destroyed by a Zeon nuke, but the dock area was still intact. They figured it'd make a good spot for a base and started to fix the docks into a base around three months ago. And THAT is the result," he continued, as he pointed to something in front of him. All the members of the 44th turned their attention to what was in front of them and saw their destination, Fire Base Malta. Max looked on impassively as the colony came into view. It reminded him of his past, but he had long since gone beyond that. Though at what cost... he shook his head and began assessing the status of the base. Its main hull was the dock area of a now destroyed colony, the rest of which had become the debris that camouflaged this base. It had been heavily modified, he noticed, now being armed with several beam gun turrets and radar facilities. But something he saw struck him as odd. Why the hell was the Magellan still here he realized, as his gaze shifted to the dock area, when a battle was supposedly going around? "Malta Base, this is Captain Karl Grunther of 44th Company from the 17th fleet, do you read us?" Captain Karl hailed. "Malta Base command here, boy are we glad to see you. Where's the rest of the fleet?" the voice asked. "They'll take more than hour. We're here to help you hold Malta till then. What is your situation?" "The Zeeks have stopped their attack around an hour ago. But we think they'll be making another push. Your fuel must be pretty low now sir. We have the docks ready to take you in," the voice offered.
"Alright, thanks," Karl replied. Running out of fuel was one of his main concerns, and he was glad that they had the sense to prepare for them, "Alright men, time for a pit stop." "Haven't they tried out those Rick Doms before?" Ming asked as he saw the rather dismal performance of the fleet's new Rick Dom force. "No, they were trained on Zakus, and the new Zimmad machines take a little time to get used to," the MS commander replied.
"Crap," Ming muttered. Without good pilots, it was quite likely that the new MS's capabilities would be wasted. Maybe they'd do better under fire, but... Karl was impressed by the speed in which the engineers finished the refuelling. Less than five minutes by his clock. Too bad the commanding General wasn't as sharp. Now he and the rest of the teams were approaching Malta Base's second line of defense, the Bravo Line. "You the guys from the 17th Fleet?" a haggard looking Lieutenant asked them from the cockpit of his battered GM. "Yes, and who might you be?" Captain Karl asked back. "I was the commander of the MS force, I guess you're that now, Sir," he replied as he saw his rank insignia, "Major Gearing on the Monmouth has overall command of this sector." "Thank you, Lieutenant. Any advice you could give us?" "We've built a LOT of space bunkers for MS and Balls. If you let me, me and the rest of the guys will lead your men to the best spots. We've arranged those bunkers to give us good coverage of the enemy positions, and we've also prepared alternates in case your first bunker gets toasted. Oh, and ammo dump is over there," he continued as he pointed to a large piece of debris, "You can store your spare clips there now if you want." "Eric, you know what to do," Captain Karl ordered. Eric nodded as he headed for the dump, glad that he was finally getting rid of his extra explosives, "Got a good perch for a sniper?" he inquired. "Yeah, want me to show it to him?"
"Yes, we'd better finish preparing soon. There is no telling when the enemy wil attack again." He was right. "Dispositions are completed, Sir," the XO reported to General Hill. "How many MS do we have now?" he inquired. "Seven Rick Doms, an R-1A Type, and fifteen Zakus. We didn't have enough time to fix more."
General Hill merely grunted in reply. He wasn't sure if it was enough, but time was of the essence. The attack would start in five minutes. "This is a pretty good view," Max observed as he settled into the spot. It was really just some space debris patched together for protection and camouflage, but it had a clear line of sight to the enemy fleet. "Yeah, problem is that once you start shooting they'll probably spot you easily. Pretty easy to trace a beam fired from here..." "Don't worry, that's why I have this," Max replied as he tapped his rifle. "Oh, a shell firing one eh? Clever. But don't stay here too long, alright?" he cautioned.
"Don't worry, trust me." "Alpha squad here, we're all set," the commander of the Anzio's MS team reported. "Bravo, ready as well," the Gloucester's MS commander continued. "Alright, 44th MS, are you all ready?" Captain Karl inquired from his position just behind the frontline. He was stationed there because his MS was a support type, after all, but also for better command and control. "Everybody is set, except for Maurice sir, give them another minute," Eric answered for them.
A volley of beams suddenly lanced out from the darkness and hit the Federal positions. A second one followed it as the prelimenary Zeon bombardment began. It seems that Zeon wasn't about to give Maurice another minute.
Maurice cringed as she saw the beams come, and had just barely managed to evade. A Ball behind her was less lucky, and was vaporized by a direct hit from a Musai. She managed to hide herself among the wreckage while more beams came. Sometimes finding their mark, but all too often not. By the end of the two minute long bombardment, two Balls and one of the Gloucester's GMs lay dead, but the rest of the force was still intact. But that was only the start of it, she realized, as she saw the Zeon line begin to advance... Here they come... Max thought as he aimed his rifle. His gun was a custom shell-firing sniper rifle that was designed for the yet unfinished GM Sniper II. It was not as powerful as a beam rifle, but it had other redeeming qualities. Unlike beam rifles, it did not register a significant visual signature when it was fired, making it a perfect stealth weapon. And its special armor piering rounds were good enough to kill a MS in one shot anyway, as long as you know what to hit. His first target would be an S-Type Zaku. Like before, officers would be his main prey. His first shot hit the Zaku right in the cockpit, and the now pilotless Zaku abruptly loss control and rammed into another one. He fired a second shot, this time at the S-Type's main propellant tank, and the resulting explosion blew both mobile suits apart. The enemy force by now had begun to try to frantically locate their assailant, but by then the defense force had begun to engange them, and they had no time to continue their search. Max took aim at his next victim, a Rick Dom squad leader trying to give covering fire to his team. His exquisitely aimed shot hit the bazooka, right on the ammunition compartment, and it abruptly exploded, taking its mobile suit with it. Unfortunately for Max though, a second Rick Dom had spotted him this time, and was aiming his 360mm bazooka at him. Max quickly turned his attention to the second Dom and squeezed of a round. The bullet impacted it on the mono-eye and temporarily blinded the enemy mobile suit. Before its backup camera could go on line, two more shots impacted the Rick Dom, right in the reactor area, and the mobile suit exploded, pieces of it flying off in all directions.
Max decided, that it was now time to leave. A Zeon cruiser was now aiming its guns at his position, and it was always better to quit while he was ahead. By the time a volley of beams had vaporized his bunker, he was already gone. Juan fired his last bazooka shell at an incoming Zaku. Hit. He would've grinned, but he had only managed to kill one Zaku with five shots, and a Musai cruiser was now aiming its guns right at him... "Get to the alternate!" Eric screamed as he began to scramble out of his bunker. Before he could do so a pair of beams hit his position. "ERIC!" Juan screamed as he saw that. He realized that he might suffer the same fate if he didn't move, and he just managed to get out of the bunker before a volley of beams vaporized it. Eric was alive, but his GM had lost both legs, and his backup thrusters were malfunctioning. He muttered a curse before saying, "I'm hit! I need help!" Juan nodded as he began to dart to Eric's position, firing his 90mm while he did so. He turned and saw another GM from the Anzio's group start assisting him, but before they could both get away a second volley of beams vaporized them both. Juan simply froze, completely in shock... "Look out, Juan!" Fred warned as he fired at a Zaku aiming for Juan. Juan belatedly realized that he was still in a fight, and quickly shifted his aim to the approaching Zaku. He took a few hits, but the E-Type GM's Luna Titanium armor deflected most of it off. His return fire though, was far more deadly. Fully a dozen 90mm shells hit the unfortunate Zaku, and its reactor cooked off a moment later. Juan, seeing himself exposed out in the open, quickly darted for his alternate position. "Forget it kid, you couldn't have..." Fred started. "I know Sarge, I know... but ****!" he replied angrily as he fired a volley of 90mm shells. He emptied his clip, but one of the Zakus was now trailing smoke. Fred fired another burst that finished that Zaku off, but then several new enemy suits began to pepper their positions with bazooka fire.
"We can't take much more of this!!!" Fred screamed as he barely evaded a 360mm shell, "Command! we've lost four GMs and nearly all the Balls, We need help, fast!" "We are losing too many men!" the deputy MS commander reported. His senior was already dead, killed by a Federation sniper, and he was beginning to think he'd share the same fate, "Seven Zakus are down, so are two Rick Doms. We need more men to storm this position!" "General, the enemy fleet..." Colonel Jefferson reminded. "I know, but their defenses are proving more formidable than we expected. I'm requesting for additional reinforcements. Let's stop this before we waste more lives. Don't worry Jefferson, this is MY responsibility." Jefferson nodded. Granada wouldn't like to have to send more men, but he was right, they were losing too many men, "Ming!" he called. "Yes, Sir?" Ming replied anxiously. He and Mike were being kept in reserve, and he desperately wanted to get into the fight. "You have permission to launch, cover our retreat."
"Yes, Sir," was the stoic reply. "They're falling back?" Maurice asked, surprised. The defense force was at the brink of collapsing, why were those Zeek *******s running away? Her question was suddenly interrupted by a bazooka shell that nearly took her GM's head off. "Damn, missed," Ming muttered as he adjusted him aim. Behind him, Mike fired a second shot at the GM, but it also missed. "****! Help I'm under..." Maurice started before she felt a sudden jolt. She felt a chill through her entire body, think that it was it. But no explosion came, and she realized much to her relief that she had only lost an arm. But before she could celebrate an orange Zaku suddenly popped up right in front of her, mono-eye flashing. She tried to aim her beam rifle, but before she could the Zaku viciously kicked her Light Armor in the chest. She moaned as she tried to get up... knowing that the finishing blow would be next... But it never came. Before she realized what was happening a second GM had entered into the fray and way squaring off with the Zaku with his beam sabre. The GM had the advantage of surprise, but before he could make full use of it a shot from Mike's Rick Dom killed him. Maurice angrily aimed her beam rifle at the Rick Dom, missing the first shot but hitting it with her second. But the hit wasn't fatal, and the Rick Dom began to limp away. "Damn it! I'll get you!" Ming shouted as he saw Mike nearly get killed. He kicked the GM's chest a second time, and its light armor finally cracked. He pulled away and started to aim his bazooka at the now helpless GM. But before he could fire a second GM had arrived to protect her. It was the green one he had earlier encoutered. The one that he so wanted to fight. "I'm not going to let you get her!" Max declared as he aimed his rifle. He's always just there for me... Maurice thought with a slight smile, before passing out from a concussion that she had suffered. "Sorry Mr. Sniper, I'll have to fight you another time," Ming said as he retreated, fire still trailing him. Much as he wanted to, he wanted to make sure Mike was alright first. In any case he'd meet that guy again...
Notice: This story and all related material is copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting, no part of this story may be taken by any other person. If you wish to use any material, please contact me first. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by their respective companies. |
