Max was sure he was dead, but the finishing blow never came. As he turned, he saw an enraged Sylvie, in her Hover Truck's 30mm turret, shooting like crazy at the Dom while Pat ran the truck around it in circles. Normally, the Dom would have ignored her, but she had scored a lot of hits in the mono eye area, temporarily blinding the Dom as it tried to literally stomp her into the ground. He wasn't about to let the enemy suit to do that to her after saving his life, Max thought, as he pulled a beam saber from its knee compartment with his good arm. The Dom's backup camera came back on line and it once again faced him, but by then he was charging the Dom.

He swung his sword, but the Dom had just managed to block his sword slash. Then, the laws of physics took over. The Dom's sword, like all Zeon's melee weapons of the time, was made of a very heat-resistent metal to allow it to be heated to high temperatures to melt metal, but the force of the slash, coupled with the extreme temperatures created by the super heated plasma trapped in the saber's I-field, broke the sword apart. The blade then continued on into the torso of the Zeon suit, cutting it open and exposing numerous internal circuits within the Dom. Max considered not finishing it off, after all it was a new suit, but the enemy pilot didn't seem to be in a surrendering mood, and Max was not going to take any chances. A final stab to the chest finished off the Dom.

"Max... are you..." Sylvie asked, hardly breathing.

"I need a new arm, but I'm ok," Max replied coolly as he picked up another 100mm MG. The other Zeon MS were now almost on top of the tankers, he saw, and the tanks had just about run out of ammo. Not good. "Sylvie, thanks, but unless we get any further reinforcements, we are dead."

"Working on it... and... don't mention it, just returning the favor..." Sylvie replied quietly. Well, maybe today is a good day to die... she thought as he picked up the radio again. She looked at Pat and Earl, they were both exchanging playful looks on their faces, despite the carnage going on around them. Sylvie considered beaning those two, but decided against it. Back to work..."MAYDAY! MAYDAY! 71st here! Request..."
--------------------------

Juan was the only one on the hill top who could still fight. Both Fred and the Captain's GMs simply couldn't move with their busted legs. He emptied his last clip of 100mm and picked up a bazooka. Only one shot left, but at least it'd be more effective at closer range. The bad news was there were still eight active enemy suits, and only twelve tanks and 1 GM Sniper left to oppose them...
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This is it. This was just it. Four tanks left in his company, Dave thought. An MPT Guntank and a GM Sniper were a nice addition, but there was just too many. He fired two shots at a Gouf, only to see it get deflected. "Damn their armor!" He thought angrily... He considered telling his driver to bail out now, but he doubted that he'd live outside an armored shell with all the shrapnel flying around. He watched as the Gouf pointed its 75mms at him, and knew that was it, but then it took a bazooka hit and went down, its cockpit a mass of flames. Well... on second thoughts... maybe not yet! "Driver! Let's get outta here, NOW! All tanks, pull back, we've had it!" He ordered, and he saw all the Type 61s start running, some still firing back. He too searched the field for one last target, and seeing a Zaku squadron leader, he aimed at its cockpit and fired.
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"Sir, I have lost contact from the ground commander," an aide reported grimly, "His subordinate is reporting severe losses. Both Doms have been lost. And sir... the main defenses..."

"Have been breached," General von Bock replied quietly. The aide nodded. The General looked out into the clouds. Whatever he did now, it was over. The Feds were going to get Odessa back. He considered the situation for a moment. He had not yet recieved an order to fall back, but he had reports of two bomber groups and additional ground forces on the way to Hill 14. It was just too much. He could not let them die anymore. "Order all units, withdraw now. Tell them to gather at the HLV base or get to our second Gau. Our Gau and supporting air units will cover them till then," he then paused, and then spoke again, "I'm sorry, men, and please be careful."

The aide nodded. The General didn't need to say or do that anymore, they all knew, but that was the man he was. "A Gau and eight Dopps against a pair of air groups, huh? Nintey plus planes in those groups..." He thought. Well, he'd follow his general to hell, probably literally in this case. He issued the appropriate commands.
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"What the...?" Max asked as he saw the Zeon forces begin to fall back. They were doing so at full speed, though they were careful to recover wounded and stranded soldiers, especially from the Dobdays. He didn't fire at them, lest they come back, but he was still surprised.

"Max, I've finally reached Revil's HQ, they've done it! They have broken through the main Zeon defenses!" Sylvie reported triumphantly. Max looked at her, and saw a few tears in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away, embarassed. Well, he thought, it IS nicer to be on the winning side for once.
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"Colonel sir, they are falling back..." an aide reported to Col. Patterson. "Should we...?"

"No, don't fire. Let them go," he said simply. That's what that man would have done, too, if the positions were reversed.
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Regardless of the elation going on in the ground, 1st Lieutenant Maurice Evans (right) still had a job to do. She and the other members of her airgroup had been quickly ordered back to the 71st area right after they returned from a fairly succesful mission. The situation was confusing, but it seemed that the enemy's counterattack had been defeated. However, she and the rest of the Fly Manthas had a very different mission from what she expected. Ordinarily, they would be slaughtering those fleeing Zeon units, but according to HQ they were about to be surrounded, and probably better off captured. Her job now was to find any surviving enemy air units. The Fly Mantha wasn't the best fighter in the inventory, the Tin Cod and the Sabrefish were lot better in terms of air-to-air combat, since it was primarily a bomber platform. But they had a lot of them, and they carried a big load of deadly, though somewhat inaccurate, air-to-air missiles just in case. And after jettisoning the bombs, they were a lot more maneuverable. Good enough to take on a dinky Dopp any day, though she was hunting for bigger fry.

"Dish 2 here, okay the 4th Bombers is taking on a couple of Dodais that attacked the battalion supply column," a cool radio technician reported from a backup Dish aircraft that had replaced the first one, "I'm getting a LOT of radio chatter bearing 200 of your position 3rd Bomber, I'll bet it's the Gau command craft we've been hunting. The group leader has given you guys the go order, give'm hell!" he encouraged.

Maurice nodded and headed for the bearing stated, following close behind her group leader. It was a cloudy day, and they were flying in it to avoid being seen. She knew that Dish could barely detect them with radar now with all the Minovsky interferance, and the Dish was probably better than a Gau in terms of radar capability. PROBABLY.

"Echo 2 here, Tallyho! I've got me a damaged Dopp limping home, bearing 200."

"Hold fire, repeat, hold fire," the group leader ordered. He wanted to follow that guy home, and lead him to the carrier. Now only if they weren't seen...
--------------------------------

The Dopp pilot had already had a bad day. He had nearly died from a 100mm hit in a diversionary effort on Hill 14, and had spent the last few minutes dodging a huge group of Fly Manthas in the clouds. At least he could make it to the carrier now, as he dove clear of the clouds that had been his refuge. He positioned himself right behind the Gau, ready to make a landing...
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"What is that Dopp doing here?" General von Bock asked, "Wasn't he..."

"Sir, he is reporting severe damage and..."

"Scramble the remaining Dopps... we aren't sure if he was followed."
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"I got one big transport up my sights!" Maurice declared over the intercom, "Tallyho! Let's get us some Zeon flyboys!"

"3rd Bomber, show'em what you're made of!" The group commander ordered. Soon, the forty-four Fly Manthas dove out of the clouds and charged the huge Gau.

But the eight Dopps that were guarding it got the word just in time. They dived out of their cover and picked targets for their rockets. The Fly Manthas were surprised by this, and four were felled by missiles. One more went down to gunfire, but by then the rest of the Fly Manthas had scattered and turned on the Zeon planes.

Maurice was pretty angry now, and she was going to get her some Zeon planes. Her first target was damaged Dopp, remarkably still trying to fight. A burst from her cannon exploded it before it even had a chance to see where she was. She picked up altitude and searched the sky for another target. She found one, a Dopp who was trying to put away a Fly Mantha with his guns. She quickly put herself into a tail chase position while the other Fly Mantha managed to break off. The Dopp was a little slow to realize she was there, and another burst of her cannon quickly reminded him of that fact, before sending him down in flames.

"Fire missiles at..." the group leader ordered just before he was blotted from the sky by the Gau's AA guns. Two more Fly Manthas tried to fire at the Gau, but one more went down while the second was damaged. Then a third Fly Mantha rushed past the heavy anti-air fire and fired all four missiles. All four hit, destroying both left engines and causing the Gau to steadily lose altitude. He did not live to see it however, as his Fly Mantha was blown from the sky by rockets fired from a surviving Dopp.

Maurice saw the Gau start losing stability, and thought it was her chance. She carefully weaved her way through the dense anti-air fire to get a shot at the Gau. A Dopp was on her, but an angry Fly Mantha pilot shot that one down with a pair of missiles, before falling prey to serious, though not fatal damage from the Gau. But it was going to be the Gau's last hit. Maurice waited as a warbling tone from all four missiles indicated a lock on. She fired all four heat-seeking missiles, and the Gau desperately tried to evade. Some flares were fired, an ancient defensive and still effective tactic, but the missiles were not fooled. All four hit, destroying the last two engines. And the Gau quickly lost all power.
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"Sir, backup generators are all down, we are being pelted by missiles all over... sir what are we..." the aide was interrupted by a missile hit.

"I am taking the helm," General Erwin von Bock replied, "All of you, leave the Gau now. You have all done your duty, I'll try to keep it in the air as long as I can. Good luck." There was no emotion other than the sincerest concern for his men in his voice.

"Sir, with your permission, I would like to..." the aide started.

"John, you are only 20. You have a life to live, now go," the General advised his loyal aide.

"Yes, sir..." John replied quietly, his eyes nearly filled with tears. He looked around. The bridge crew was still there. They nodded. "But sir, one last thing," he and the rest of the crew snapped into a salute, "Sieg Zeon!"

The General smiled, then shook his head, "No, for all those fine young boys, even theirs," he replied as he returned their salute, "Now go!"

John nodded. There wasn't really much of a chance he'd live, but as long as there was a chance...
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"Hold fire," Maurice called over the radio. The last Dopp had just been shot down, and the crew was now bailing from the burning Gau. The pilot had to be good, she reflected, being able to keep that thing in the air with no power. But the Gau was now tipping over, and she knew that whoever was piloting that thing now had no chance...
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General Erwin von Bock died a hero's death. Nearly all the crewmen on the Gau had managed to get off just before the Gau started to tip over. As it did, those who got off watched quietly from their parachutes, as the huge carrier began to spin rapidly towards the ground. To the last the he had tried to keep control, and his efforts were not completely in vain as his actions allowed two more men to get off before he lost all control. Having done all he could, the General watched as the ground rapidly approached wondering if he would see them all on the other side...
------------------------------------

John saw that all. And he knew why all these men were still alive and not in the burning Gau below. The General had even managed to get the Gau far enough from the parachutes to keep them from landing in the flames. He wiped the tears off his eyes. Around him, most of the troops were doing the same.
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The relief column arrived twenty minutes after the Zeon retreat. Two tank companies and a GM piloted by one very quiet, blue-haired pilot**. A little late, but she was used to that. Better than never, Sylvie thought. Around her, the wreckage of forty-three Type 61s and three GMs littered the landscape around her. Despite all that she'd been through, she still couldn't stomach this fighting. She looked at Max, his GM Sniper's cockpit now open to allow him to look around. He was still calm, and she just couldn't understand how he could be so cool. She looked back towards the field. The damaged Big Tray was now advancing to take the last of the Zeon forces.
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"Sir, we are surrounded," a Gouf C-3 Type pilot reported to John. They had managed to link up with the Gau survivors, only to find themselves surrounded by Federation forces on all side, "Sir, we have been ordered to..."

"Fight to the last, I know. To hell with it! Destroy all your surviving gear now, we are surrendering! This is what the General would have wanted."

His last statement finally convinced those who still had fight in them that the game was up. There was no use in dying now.
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"Sir, transmission from the enemy 3rd Brigade, they wish to surrender," Patterson's aide reported.

"Give them some time," he replied quietly, "And make sure they are treated well. I would like to meet one of them when the time comes."

"Sir, it could be..."

"No, it isn't. And do as I say, because if we had lost, they would treat us no different."

"How are you so sure, Sir?"

He then looked to his aide and replied, "Because of the man who leads them."

Consistency notes:

- **Cameo! Yu Kajima fought in Odessa;
- Fly Mantha's stats are those in G-Generation and Blood of Zeon video games. Heat seekers are also the logical guidance system along with wire-guideds.

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.