Though the remnant forces engaged with Flight Two hurried to plug the hole in their formation, their efforts saw little success. Fresh off her first kill of the day, Hansen was quick to engage an incoming Stutzer-type Rick Dom, her beam rifle snapping off a pair of rounds as soon as it was in range. Both sailed wide of her target but a follow-up shot had blasted through its bazooka, robbing it of its main armament before it could truly get into the fight. But keen as she was to keep the pressure on the Dom’s pilot, Hansen was starting to move too far for Epstein’s liking, his own mobile suit having to wade through other remnant pilots to keep pace.
An incoming Act Zaku, perhaps favoring its chances in a melee, had drawn its heat axe as it closed the gap with the Flight Two’s lead pilot but would fail to go the distance. Unlike the aggressive Hansen, Epstein was more on target with his reaction fire, a single round boring a hole in its cockpit and sending the pilotless cyclops into an uncontrolled glide through the shoal until it hit something. But just as one enemy met its demise, the shriek of a warning alarm marked the arrival of another. But as Epstein twisted his Marasai around to meet this next foe, he found himself taken aback at what the targeting computer was displaying.
One of ours turned…?! No, that’s not it…!There was no mistake on the computer’s part. The mobile suit in question was none other than a Hizack, the most common mobile suit among the Titans’ forces and popular among the regulars as well, albeit in a darkened blue color. This one looked to have belonged to the latter but had been hastily repainted to match the green of the average Zaku II with a
choice array of yellow diamonds painted upon its shield as well. Almost eight years since their collapse and the South Seas Alliance was still causing headaches for the Federation.
“Damn zealots, no wonder they’re so tenacious…”That tenacity was quickly becoming apparent as the Rick Dom that was gunning for Mok had fired off its sturm faust in the precious moments she had been blinded. Fortunately, the Ensign had forged good habits from her past experience, instinctively guarding her vitals with the Marasai’s shield and with excellent timing at that, as the top half was obliterated by the rocket. Undeterred, the Rick Dom II maintained its pursuit, uncaring of the vulcan fire sent its way as it drew its heat saber for a charge. It would be to its detriment as several rounds crashed into its chest-mounted spray gun, shorting out the blinding weapon, but if it could cut down Mok before she recovered, it would be a fine trade.
While Mok was reeling from her own engagement, JG Auguste countered the remnant’s tenacity of his own. The Barzam was the new darling of the Titan factories and Auguste quickly put it to work, wresting his mobile suit into a sharp swerve to escape from the incoming missiles while snatching up as much loose refuse as he could. And then, he turned them loose right into the missiles’ flight path, setting off a chain reaction of explosions as they began to collide and cook one another off into ignition. A fine maneuver that had kept him alive, if showered with rock and metal, but it also momentarily masked his presence from the Stutzer-type Dom that had targeted him. The remnant pilot fired several explosive shells at Auguste’s last estimated position but it had definitely lost him. A perfect opportunity as any to close in for the kill.
With Flight Two holding the line for the Rhodes, the task of keeping back the mobile armor and its escorts fell to Volkodav and Flight One. Even with two Dra-Cs bearing down on him, Roken had found someone’s jugular and went right for it like the snake so many viewed him as. As soon as the beam ripped through the Dra-C’s saber arm, the sudden loss of mass destroying its balance as it jetted by uncontrollably before slamming into an errant mass of rock. But while one had become a fading fireball, the other had committed to firing until only clicks came from the gatling, the steady stream of rounds now beginning to eat through the Galbaldy’s shield. Worse still, another unit was looking to join the fray as it opened fire with its beam rifle. Worryingly, much like with Flight Two, Roken’s targeting computer had readily identified it as a Federation-use Hizack albeit one with the same questionable markings upon its shield.
The sole Rick Dom of the group had little luck in eliminating Peri before she rose higher, its bazooka shell sailing beneath her Hizack while the missiles either missed outright or were shot down soon after launch, their explosions scorching the old heavy-hitter’s armor. And with Peri now at a higher-vantage point, the raining beam fire forced them on the defensive with one round blowing apart the now-empty missile launcher right from its shoulder-mount. Despite that blow, the Dom’s pilot continued their offensive with a goal in mind: To wrest the offending weapon entirely away.
As it chased its target upwards and banked to the right, the winch-unit mounted to its chest snapped to a ready-position pointing right at the Hizack’s weapon before it launched its armament, the modified-forearm of a Zaku II unit. Attached to the unit by a lengthy cable, it crossed the distance with ease and grasping the sniper weapon by the side of its barrel with a grip that wouldn’t just be broken with a casual wave of the weapon. Moments later, it suddenly began reeling in with a strength that would surely snatch the weapon away if Peri didn’t fight for it, if not drag her along for the ride, as it sought to finish things with a carefully aimed blast of its bazooka once again.
And while Peri quickly found herself in a game of tug-of-war, Ilse had her own troubles to deal with. Even after bracing herself, she could already feel her body slightly aching from the hard impact. But for as minor her aches were, the Act Zaku’s pilot was feeling it far worse, having been T-boned by what amounted to a tank with rockets strapped to it. So out of sorts they were, they had just begun to gather themselves and face the Hizack Custom only to realize too late that the Zeon pilot had recovered first, her beam launcher locked onto the older model’s cockpit before firing a single shot that vaporized it with ease.
Yet, just as one exited the stage, another stepped up to take its place, this time the Zaku II that had originally gunned for Volkodav. However, rather than fall back on the same ranged tactics, this time they had gone right for their own winch-unit albeit without even attempting to knock Ilse’s beam launcher away. They had instead chosen to fire off the modified forearm as no more than a straight punch, catching Ilse by surprise as a green fist grew comically large in her camera feed before it was replaced with patches of static.
“S-Seriously? Of all the…” Ilse couldn’t help but grumble as she hastily backed away from her attacker. Not that she wanted to be hit all (had it been a beam, she likely would’ve died outright) but the audacity to simply sock her one with an extended fist seriously ticked her off. Who even thinks of these things in the first place?
The question would likely go unanswered for today, lost in the intensifying firefight Helios found itself in, especially where the elephant in the room was concerned. The exchange between the armor and the temporary commander was as lethal as ever with all of its focus directed at the Russian, her Hizack Custom staving off death through a combination of fancy flying and the cluttered environment soaking up some particularly dicey barrages. That same clutter (as well as incomplete repairs) meant the mobile armor had a tougher time evading harm with a round ripping off a chunk of its dorsal armor while another struck one of its still functional beam cannons.
But, for Volkodav, what was most important was that, for all the heavy firepower it still possessed, much of it was useless in the close quarters she had managed to reach. This wasn’t lost on the armor’s pilot, even as it wantonly unleashed a new barrage into the space around it, hoping to catch anyone unawares. Switching gears as it were, the mobile armor’s one good claw flexed slightly, the only real warning Volkodav would get as moments later, it took an open-clawed swing at her machine. Even now, wounded and out of its prime, it could still crush her to a pulp much as it had the late Greer if given the chance.
--
The distant lights of detonating munitions and mobile suits could be seen from aboard the
Rhodes’ bridge, its observation teams scouring the shoals for the slightest sign of a daring (or suicidal) pilot. Thus far,
Helios had things in hand. The
Graf Spee had stonewalled the remnant force on their end while the
Rhodes’ mobile suit teams were steadily eliminating the other. Despite that, there was still some trepidation regarding the mobile armor. It had been preoccupied with Volkodav at present but she was still only one pilot. If it slipped past her, to say nothing of Flight One as a whole, the Rhodes would be in some serious trouble…
“Captain, we’re getting a communication from JG Montebairn. He says there’s something you should be aware of regarding the remnant.”Are they all cut from the same cloth? Banis wondered, motioning the communications officer to allow the connection. He preferred keeping communications with the pilots to a minimum during active combat but if it was something vital, it was worth hearing out at least.
“Make it brief, Lieutenant. You said you’ve noticed something with the remnant?”Montebairn held back his disdain for the captain’s curtness. His master had noted some amusing developments during his visit in regards to the Rhodes’ roster so perhaps this was the end result. What a colorful crew. As his Galbaldy fired its smart gun at an errant Zaku, he gave his findings.
<<”Of course, Captain. I’m sure some of them have noticed by now but these aren’t your average Zeon holdouts. Rather, I have good reason to believe they’re the last dredges of the former South Seas Alliance.”>>“The South Seas?!” Banis grumbled at the news, hardly expecting such a relic to crawl out their graves. The former S.S.A. were a breakaway movement in the days following the One Year War and were infamous for their fanatical devotion to their leader and supposed Newtype, Levan Fuu. Fuu and his rebellion were ultimately suppressed but they were outright suicidal with how little regard they held for their own lives. If they were their opponents, this was about to be a grueling encounter.
“Good work, Lieutenant. Comms, have the EWAC units confirm…And get the Graf Spee on the line!”As the line terminated, a smirk crept on the Lieutenant’s face. Levan Fuu, a man who thought that he alone could usher in a new age of peace and prosperity through his tainted abilities as a Cyber-Newtype. It was laughable to think that he could revolutionize the Earth Sphere, not when a true visionary had yet to take the stage.
“Only Master Paptimus has that right, you vermin. Know your place.”((Map and estimated positions of Helios is here!))
((The Solomon Express))
The struggle against the Zeon Remnant continues!
Despite the element of surprise, the Zeon Remnant has failed to gain the momentum and are now stuck slugging it out with Helios.
Flight Two has proven itself to be perfectly capable of stonewalling the incoming mobile suits with Hansen already having downed one enemy and moving on to engage with another while Epstein eliminating his own target before a new one took their place. Meanwhile, Auguste has shown his own ingenuity by utilizing the plethora of debris as an improvised countermeasure against a missile barrage. The resulting explosions have obscured his immediate whereabouts to his opponent, allowing a welcome opportunity to close in for the finisher. On the other hand, Mok is on the back-foot thanks to the bright flash of a Dom’s scattering beam gun. Though her quick reactions and training staved off an untimely demise, she nonetheless lost part of her shield to a rocket and the Zeon pilot is moving to pick her off before she can fully recover.
On the other side of things, there was a reason that Flight One had been designated as the unit for the heavier engagements and it shows. Even while outnumbered and caught off-guard, its pilots had begun pushing back and making the remnant reconsider their chances of success. With two Dra-Cs bearing down on him, Roken lashed out like the snake he was by crippling one of the pair with a well-placed rifle shot, his victim careening into space before crashing violently. However, the other still remained and a captured Hizack was on approach to continue the pressure, firing their gatling gun and beam rifle respectively.
Meanwhile, the three Hizack Customs were in various states of conflict that seemed to scale upwards in terms of danger. Ilse and Peri had both come to see the hoops the remnant had to jump through to maintain effectiveness against the Federation as both had encountered a Stutzer-type unit and the makeshift winch-system it possessed. Fresh off her kill of an Act Zaku, Ilse had been unceremoniously socked in the head by a Zaku’s tethered punch, filling her camera with static while Peri found herself in a tug-of-war with a Dom, its own tethered hand attempting yank Peri’s beam launcher away. And Volkodav, ever the lookout for her team, had chosen to go up against the enemy mobile armor by her lonesome. And much like before, she proved to be a flighty opponent, weaving in and out of the armor’s wanton assault while sneaking in a few rounds of her own. But most importantly, even as the giant enemy crab-like machine took a swing at her machine with its one good claw, it had allowed the Russian into melee-range…
The Graf Spee and Rhodes both are maintaining a decent position against their enemy with the former holding the line well on their end while the latter has yet to be directly attacked, even by a stray mobile suit. However, the liason from the Jupitris has forwarded some vital information to the Rhodes that is surely being witnessed elsewhere by Helios’ pilots: Their opponents aren’t mere Zeon Remnants but members of the former South Seas Alliance. Known for their fanaticism and lack of self-preservation, it’s a clear sign that they weren’t through the fire just yet…
