Chapter 28: Interception"Alright, everybody. Any questions?" Captain Karl inquired as he concluded the briefing. If the documents they had received were correct, the Zeon resupply fleet was launching today, and they had to move now if they wanted to stop it. "Sir, any word on what mobile suits they will be carrying?" Fred asked. It was highly unlikely they knew, but maybe intelligence got lucky for once. "Most are probably Zakus, but they will probably have a significant number of the fat, black mono-eyes we have been encountering recently. And..." Oh crap... John thought, what has Zeon developed now?
"Possibly a new prototype mobile suit," the Captain continued, "But we aren't sure of it's capabilities. We think it's a Zeonic machine though, so it's probably just a souped up Zaku. At least that's what intelligence told us." "So, is this the new prototype the Ace Pilot Corp has been testing?" Zeon's Colonel Gerald Malik asked as he watched the dock workers load a new green-colored mobile suit into one of his ships. "Yes, they call it the Gelgoog, and they say it is powerful enough to beat that White Devil. Its beam weapons and high maneuverability are a potent combination," Lieutenant Colonel Killing replied. "So why is Lt. General Dozul not getting any yet?" the Colonel inquired acidly. His ship, the Zanzibar class cruiser Falklands, was part of Kishiria Zabi's fleet, but he and most of his crew had spent most of the war serving under Dozul Zabi, and they all knew that man was to be respected. "It's not my concern, and neither should it be yours. Just get the supplies delivered." "With only fourteen combat ready mobile suits?" he replied, anger in his voice. His fleet was actually carrying a total of nearly forty Mobile Suits, but General Wavell had "requested" to keep most of them in storage to avoid possible damage during transit. Stupid ship driver, he thought. Wavell was one of those dinosaurs who were still stuck in the battleship era of the 60's, and the only reason why he wasn't gone yet was because he had Giren's ear. *******. "Don't worry about it, Malik," Killing replied with an evil smile, "You'll be passing through friendly territory. Dealing with raiders is a Federation problem, not a Zeon one."
"Don't be too confident about your statement," was the cold reply. It was easy to be nervous when several two-ton mines were surrounding you, Colonel Patterson thought, but he had to trust the engineers that they had done their job. At least he could see the Johnston now, guarding the end of the path that had been carved by the minesweeping K-Type Balls*. "Very hairy..." Lt. Colonel Yang said out loud as his ship finally reached the end of the path. The Gloucester was just behind her. "Agreed, Sir," Major Martel muttered as the Gloucester finally passed by the minefield, "Miles, I really pity you since you still have to go back..." "Don't remind me..." Miles replied. The Johnston was merely there to wish them off and was to return to Malta Base once they were off. He didn't envy them. Their mission was most certainly going to be dangerous. More than a simple minefield transit, "Good luck!" "Thank you, Miles," Colonel Patterson replied as the Spruance also passed by the minefield. Inside, he could here everbody breathe a collective sigh of relief, "Alright, set course for the 43rd Colony. Let's get ready for the party."
"Aye, Sir," Lt. Colonel Yang replied, "Setting course for the 12th Colony," It had been decided to change the plan slightly. Instead of having two forces exclusively composed of mobile suits or ships it had been decided to split the ships and mobile suits evenly between the two groups. The Gloucester, the Anzio, the GM Sniper and the EWAC GM on the 12th Colony, while the Spruance and the rest of the MS on the 43rd. Yang wondered who would meet the enemy first. "The damn waiting..." Ming said out loud as he tried to relax in the wardroom. He couldn't. He wanted to kill some more Feddies. For his family. And for himself.
"We can't go until the supply fleet arrives," Mike replied in a dull tone. Partly because he was bored, but partly because of Mei Li's death. He wished he had gotten the chance to know her better. He wasn't sure if he could stand three more days of this... "Now comes the damn waiting..." John declared as the 12th Colony's remains came to view early on the 11th. If the document was true the supply fleet wouldn't get here until the 12th, but they didn't want to leave that to chance. Besides, he thought, it would give them time to find a NICE hiding spot... "Sylvie, let's look for some cover."
Sylvie barely nodded in reply. John had been on Earth during the One Week War, but not her. And the sight of the derilect colony sickened her. But it didn't hurt as much anymore. Maybe because the past days had left her numb, probably because she'd finally stopped caring... She turned and saw Max's GM Sniper, searching for a good sniping perch. He was deathly quiet as well. "Sarge, you need some help with that?" Juan inquired. "Yeah... thanks," Fred muttered back. His GM had been repaired, but it still had an awful lot of bugs... "Sergeant Chan, perhaps you should..." Captain Karl started. "No sir, don't worry about it. We probably still have a day," Fred replied. Besides, he didn't add, you need every man you've got.
The Captain nodded. He just hoped that he made the right decision. "I have Malta Base, Sir!" Gorbachev's communications officer jubiltantly reported. He'd been trying for three days since they had left Luna Two, and now... "Malta Base, this is the Gorbachev. Please respond," Major Taylor hailed. "This is Brigadier General Dolvich, glad to hear from you Gorbachev..." the voice in the radio replied. "Are you alright, Sir?" Major Tyler replied, relieved that they were still alive, "Enemy reinforcements are..."
"Being taken cared of." "Bingo..." John declared quietly as the EWAC's cameras focused on a trio of moving objects, "Looks like they're here. Right on schedule. And they're heading right for us..." "Are you sure it's them?" Major Martel inquired. "Yes, Sir, I'm sure. Two Musais and a Zanzibar, up front, a couple of ships in the rear." "How many ships are there in the rear?" "Not sure, Sir, but we ought to tell the Colonel," John advised.
"Done. Get ready and find some place to hide," the Major ordered.
"Alright, take us behind the enemy force XO," Colonel Patterson ordered. There was an off chance that they'd be spotted, but if they planned it correctly... "Enemy mobile suits in sight," Max reported coolly, "Four Zakus and two of the new black ones." "Hold fire till I say otherwise," Lt. Colonel Yang ordered.
Max nodded, and hoped they weren't going to be seen... "There's the waypoint, Sir. Side 2's 12th Colony," the Falkland's XO reported to Colonel Malik. The Colonel nodded, but kept his eyes trained out. He still didn't trust the route was safe. But at least now that Wavell...
Suddenly, a Zaku right in front of his ship exploded. The one beside it died a second later. "What the hell happened?!" he demanded, just as a Rick Dom exploded. Three kills, Max thought, three to go. And they still hadn't spotted him. They were now diving for whatever cover they could find, but before they could he fired a fourth shot, and a Rick Dom tumbled out of control and exploded as it collided into a Musai. And now it was the perfect opportunity for the ships. "Perfect firing, Rifle..." John commended as he started to center the lead Musai in his sights. The EWAC GM also had a "fire director" system linked to the ships' fire control systems to help the ships in aiming for their targets. And the system did not disappoint. The Gloucester and the Anzio each had five forward firing guns, and all were fired in the initial volley. The enemy ships were evading, but the fire director system improved accuracy greatly, and the lead Musai quickly took six hits and exploded. The second Musai started to turn towards the Gloucester, but Martel fired a second volley that took out its bridge. The Musai lost control and began to careen wildly, nearly colliding with the Zanzibar. Onboard the Falklands, Colonel Malik muttered a curse. "A Federation problem only, huh? WHAT RUBBISH!" he thought angrily. "That Wavell..." "Sir! the Papuas are under attack!" the communications officer reported, trying but failing to contain his fear, "What do we..."
"Prepare to launch our mobile suits! Let's show these Federation *******s what we can do!" Unfortunately for the Zeon cruiser Dresden, which was a mile behind the lead ships, that was no longer possible. She now lay in pieces after taking four hits from the Spruance, and her Mobile Suit complement never even got the chance to get out of the hangar. The Papua class transport Panay was luckier, being able to launch three suits before she was vaporized by the Spruance, and those three were now valiantly trying to protect the last surviving transport, the Tasmania. "Alright men, take'm down!" Captain Karl ordered as he fired a shot at one of the survivng mobile suits. The MS, a Rick Dom, evaded, but Karl had fired two more follow on shots. The Rick Dom tried to evade, but the first caught its leg and left him helpless, allowing the second shot to finish him off. Fred fired his beam spray gun and killed a second Rick Dom, before a third started sneaking up behind him... "Fred!" Juan screamed as he saw the Rick Dom aim his bazooka at Fred. Before Fred could turn Juan fired his 90mm at the Rick Dom, his shells narrowly missing Fred's interposed GM. But his aim was perfect, and the Rick Dom slumped dead, still clutching the bazooka. "More Mobile Suits coming out of the last Papua!" Captain Karl reported as he fired a shot at one of the Papua's hangars. The shell hit a large fuel tank inside, and half of the Papua suddenly disappered from the resulting explosion as ammunition and fuel cooked off. A follow on volley from the Spruance finished it off, taking all but one of its mobile suits with it. And Juan quickly fired a final shot to finish the survivor off.
"Well done!" Colonel Patterson commended, "Now let's go help take down that Zanzibar!" "I'll take care of the Zanzibar, you finish off the Musai, Martel," Lt. Colonel Yang ordered. Things were definitely going their way, he thought, as the last surviving Zaku exploded from a shot fired by Max. The enemy force didn't seem to have that many enemy mobile suits, but who was he to complain? A blinding flash to his left announced the destruction of the second Musai. "Got'm, Sir! Now let's take down that Zanzibar!" Major Martel reported confidently. "All ri..." Yang started before he saw a volly of nine beams lance out from the darkness and hit the Gloucester. All nine penetrated her thick hide and exited on the other side of the ship, leaving neat holes all around her hull. The Gloucester lingered for a moment, seemingly alive and well. But then a series of secondary explosions ripped through her hull, and the Gloucester was blown apart...
"Martel!" Yang shouted, but knew he was gone. He suddenly felt a massive jolt as the Anzio took a hit. "****! Where the hell did THAT come from!?" John shouted angrily. It was the Gwajin type they had earlier encountered, though on closer inspection it was smaller and was significantly altered. But a Gwajin was still a Gwajin, and nothing except a Pegasus could compare to it, and the wreckage of the Gloucester and the damaged Anzio certainly proved that. They didn't have a Pegasus class with them, but at least they had the Spruance.
Colonel Patterson had arrived just in time to see the Anzio take several hits. She was damaged, but not destroyed. However, she was now limping away, disabled. And now he had two formidable Zeon ships against his. That was a problem. "I have two new contacts! A Magellan type... and the Bismark!" the Falkland's communications officer reported jubilantly. "Let's take that Magellan head on!" Colonel Malik ordered, frustration in his voice. This was one of the Zanzibar's greatest design problems, most of its guns could only fire forward, and as a result he had not been able to engange the Federation cruisers earlier. But with that Magellan almost right in front of him..."And contact the Bismark!" "Mobile suits are ready to be launched!" the XO reported. It had taken a while since they weren't on ready-5** status, but now... "Launch them now! And get the Gelgoog first!" he ordered angrily "Malik, this is Wavell," the General's voice interjected, "What the hell..." "Later... let's take that Magellan out first, Sir," he interrupted. "Alright, take him head on, and I'll try to deliver a full broadside on him," Wavell told him before signing off.
Malik's face turned grim and determined. Hopefully that dinosaur can do something impressive... "Come on men, take down that..." Captain Karl started before a bazooka shell took his GM's head off. He tried to evade, but was only partially succesful as his legs were blown off by the follow on shell.
"It's that orange High Mobility type again!" Juan said as he fired a shot in its direction. It missed, but then the Rick Dom behind it was aiming his bazooka right at him. ****! he thought, where was Max when you... Mike grinned as he saw the second GM lose its shield and arm to his rocket. They were in the middle of a mess, but this was better than waiting around doing nothing. He fired again, but then the GM suddenly shot up right above him, far too quickly for him to follow and... Ming suddenly popped up just beside that GM and gave it a devastating shoulder charge. The GM's armor was badly dented and cracked, but Luna Titanium had once again saved Corporal Juan Ignacio. Before Ming could finish him off, fire from a third GM forced him to break off.
Ming took a quick look around. Where is that Sniper? he thought warily... Max aimed his beam rifle and bazooka carefully as the Zanzibar's hangar began to open. Suddenly, a mobile suit, blasted its way out of the hangar at high speed. The mobile suit, he saw, was a type he had never seen before...
Remarks: - ** ready at a moment's notice.
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. |
