Chapter 12

First Battle

11/24/2503

Bridge

MSAC-01 USS Pegasus

In orbit of Ammazzarra (Planet ID B11425-4)

Six hours later

2227 (Earth Zulu Time)

Because of the new Reactor system installed in the Pegasus, the 1st MS Corps had managed to arrive at Ammazzarra before the Enterprise and Excelsior, even with a two hour head start. The maximum speed for a behemoth battle group was only as fast as their slowest unit, which typically was about warp 5. The Pegasus maximum speed was just over warp 9. I ordered, "Comms officer, get me the Yorktown." "But sir, we are supposed to report to Ammazzarra Command." "I am aware of that. I just want to get a complete assessment of the situation." "Aye Sir." About five seconds later, the Yorktown Bridge appeared on the Main screen. Rear Admiral Plaskette was a man of about forty five, whom had seen many battles. He stood up and addressed me. "This is the UNBC-012, USS Yorktown of the United Earth Directorates Naval Fleet. Identify your Immediately." "Admiral Plaskette, This is the MSAC-01, USS Pegasus, of the United Earth Directorates Marine Corps, 1st Mobile Suit Corps. We are here to assist you." "Ohh. It's the experimental unit. Well better late than never. My men are starting to lose ground. Where is the Enterprise and Excelsior?" "They are right behind us sir. What exactly are dealing with in terms of firepower from the enemy?" "They have somehow managed to get their hands on Minotaur Battle cruisers and Banshee Assault Helicopters. The have also managed to fortify their Stronghold with many layers of anti-air and anti-ground defenses. And we just received word that they are using heavy weapons against us." "I Understand. The Pegasus and the 1st MS Corps, will make planet fall and backup the UED Troops. We will then proceed to eliminate the enemy." "Understood." The screen went blank and I gave my orders, "Ensign Newman, Maneuver the Pegasus into an ideal descent trajectory. Then make your way to the forward command center of the Ammazzarra Defense Forces." "Aye Sir." The Pegasus was moved to just above the primary battlefield and started to enter the atmosphere. All on us new that because of the luna-Titanium Armor, the Pegasus could withstand much higher re-entry temperatures than any other space faring vessel, so we were able to get through the re-entry in about a minute and a half. Once we had reached flight altitude, it took us about ten minutes to reach the forward command center. Once we were in range I contacted the Commander of the Ammazzarra Forces. "This is the United Earth Directorates Assault Carrier, MSAC-01 USS Pegasus, and Command Ship of the 1st Mobile Suit Corps. Do you read us, Ammazzara Forward Command?" a woman of about forty appeared on the screen. "This is Major General Redding of the UED Ammazzarra Defense Forces. I do hope you brought more than just one Battleship. And to whom am I speaking with?" "I am Colonel Thomas Radford, Commander of the 1st mobile Suit Corps. I assure you general, this Carrier will tip the balance of this battle, but if it makes you feel better, the Enterprise and Excelsior Groups are right behind us. The 1st MS Corps and the Pegasus are awaiting your command, General." The General gave me a very serious look for about ten seconds before saying, "Right. The 1st MS Corps will deploy and provide fire support for the 106th Infantry. Meanwhile the Pegasus will provide direct air support for the ground forces." "Understood. We will prepare to deploy the 8th, 1st, and 6th MS Teams. They are my best units. Also I myself will deploy in my custom unit called the Heavyarms. We will deploy in ten minutes." "Understood Colonel." The screen went blank and then I turned to Madison, "Madison, take command of the Pegasus." "Aye Sir." I then made my way down to the mobile suit hanger to ready the Heavyarms. Even though I was confident in my abilities as a pilot and in the abilities of my men, I could not shake the uneasy feeling I was experiencing. Within about five minutes I was in the Heavyarms readying its systems. Even though I was the one who designed it, I was still very impressed. I even got to upgrade the Beam Gatling to double Beam Gatling in each hand and add more missiles to the shoulder mounts and leg mounts, as well as repainting the Heavyarms to green and white before this fiasco.

I was monitoring the radio traffic. The soldiers on the front lines were calling for reinforcements. I then heard General Redding over the radio, "Attention, Attention. 8th, 1st, 6th MS Teams prepare to reinforce 106th infantry. Attention Colonel Radford, stand by to move out with the 8th, 1st, and 6th in Heavyarms. You will command the three MS Teams, over." "I then responded "Roger that, HQ. 1st team, 8th team, 6th team listen up. Once you are ready, move out of the hangers and form up in a triangle formation. 8th team directly in front, 1st team on the right, 6th team on the left. I will be in the 8th team. All teams acknowledge. 8, 1, and 6." I then heard the team commanders respond, "8th team, acknowledged." "1st team, acknowledged." "6th team, acknowledged." I looked to my right and saw on the screen, the 1st team form up on my right. I then looked left and saw the 6th team do the same. I then flipped a switch above me and on the screen directly in front of me I saw the 8th team directly behind me. Four of the RX-79s had the weapons they were assigned so that we would have a well-balanced force. Once I saw that all units were ready, I ordered, "Move Out." The Gundams all started to move toward the front line. And I saw the Pegasus lift off and follow us. After about twenty minutes we approached the front line. I then heard over the radio, "Look out, what kind of enemy weapon is that?" "Must be Directorates new Mobile armor that we've heard so much about." I then ordered, "All units, Scatter, scatter, scatter. Support infantry, Support Infantry." The twelve individual Gundams of all three teams scattered about and started firing at the enemy. I did the same with the Heavyarms. I raised my Gatling gun and started firing, sweeping across the enemy's front line. I saw that we were mainly fighting Ground forces, such as infantry, Siege Tanks and even Goliaths After about ten minutes of fighting, I fired my missiles at the tanks, and then continued to fire the Gatling gun. Suddenly the incoming fire alarm sound and one of the soldiers on the ground called, "RPG!" I saw it coming at me, but it was too late. The RPG exploded and everything went white. I was blinded but then I heard, "TOM…TOM…THIS IS MADISON, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT." My vision then started to clear. After about ten seconds I could see clearly. "RESPOND TOM." "Yes I'm all right. No appreciable damage has been done to the Heavyarms. The enemies battle strength is starting to thin out. Attention infantry, regroup and move forward. Attention 8th, 1st, and 6th teams. Move forward and eliminate the Anti-air defenses. Pegasus move forward with us and take care of the enemy air units. "This is Pegasus. Roger." "106th infantry, Roger, Moving forward." "1st MS Team, Acknowledged." "8th Team, Roger that." "6th Team, Copy." All of us were moving forward. Indeed, the Cobalt Lines were thinning out the ground defenses were practically powerless against the power of the Gundams. After five minutes, we saw that three Minotaur Battlecruisers were heading our way. "All units hold position. Pegasus director main cannon fire at the Minotaur's." The Pegasus moved ahead slightly. It fired its Gottfried and Isolde cannons at the two ships on the wings of the central ship. Both of these shot were destroyed after only a few shots. The Pegasus then fired the Lohengrin Cannon and destroyed the third Battlecruiser in one shot. One they were defeated we continued our advance and the enemy was in full retreat. We saw that a number of shuttles and flyable building were attempting to escape. The Gundams and the Pegasus made short work of these but we saw that one got away. After about ten more minutes of fighting we got a message over the radio, "Attention UED Forces, this is General Freeling of the 2nd Cobalt Knight Battle Fleet. The Cobalt Knights presently fighting on Ammazzarra, are declaring an unconditional surrender, we no longer have the strength to continue this battle. I Repeat, we surrender." I then heard General Redding, "Attention Cobalt Knights. You are lay down your arms. You will be taken into custody. Colonel Radford, Thank you." "No Problem General." We stayed to clean up the battlefield and by the time that the excelsior and Enterprise arrived, the battle was long over.

11/26/2503

United Earth Directorate General Headquarters- Washington DC, Earth (A00101-3)

Board Room 2

1019

Despite the fact that the Battle of Ammazzarra ended in victory for UED, the top brass were not entirely pleased with the fact that I deliberately took over command of the front line troops during the battle. It was an action that was noted in the after action report that got sent to the Brass. The Officers on the panel of inquiry included General Hayward, General Gillespie, Admiral Fleming, who was Fleet Admiral Cartwright's assistant, Lieutenant General Roberts, Operations commander for the UED Army Ground forces, and General Williams, Operations Officer of the UED Air Force. The persons currently under review were, Myself, Madison, 2nd Lieutenant Duo Maxwell, 2nd Lieutenant Jo Tankai, and 2nd Lieutenant Trowa Barton. The brass went through the entire battle, step by step. After reviewing battle footage and going through the events of the battle, General Gillespie addressed me specifically, "Well, Colonel Radford, I would say that the first combat test of the Mobile Suits and the Pegasus Assault Carrier were very successful. You have obviously given our military a great victory. However there is one point about this battle that I must address. After the Heavyarms was hit by the RPG, you immediately took over command of the front line units, without authorization from General Redding. This would technically be classified as insubordination of a flag officer, and punishment is imprisonment." I was shocked and scarred. "However, because the overall outcome of that decision was a positive one, this panel has decided to withdraw such punishment, and we hereby call upon you, Colonel Radford, to make sure that you follow proper procedure in the future." I was then relieved. "Off the Record, Colonel, You created one hell of a mess. After the retreat of the cobalt knights, the command structure was in disarray. The troops were not sure of who to follow, and in a combat situation, that can result in more individuals getting hurt or killed." I was now starting to sweat and becoming fearful again. "For the record, it is the conclusion of this panel that Colonel Radford, Lieutenant Colonel Salinas and all other combatants of the 1st Mobile Suit Corps overall acted in a manner best fitting to the traditions and ideals of the United Earth Directorate. It is also the judgment of this panel, that effective immediately, that the 1st Mobile Suit Corps be dissolved and recreated as a new UED armed forces branch called, the UED Mobile Suit Corps, and that Colonel Thomas Eugene Radford and Lieutenant Colonel Madison Catherine Salinas, both be subsequently given the promotion to Brigadier General and overall Co-command of the UED's Mobile Suit Corps, and authorization for the construction of customized Mobile Suits suited to the unique abilities of individual elite pilots within the Mobile Suit Corps." I was shocked. "Unless of course, you wish to challenge this judgment?" I said, "No, Sir." "Colonel Salinas?" "No Sir." General Gillespie then nodded and said, "Dismissed, Generals." All of us then saluted and exited the board room. Once we had left the headquarters building, all of us took a big sigh of relief. And that is when Duo playfully elbowed me, "GENERAL?" "Yeah, Duo. For a moment, I thought that I was going to be in serious trouble." "No kidding." Trowa than spoke, "Col…General, What was that unit that you were piloting? I've never seen it before the battle?" "That, Lieutenant Barton, Is now your personal Gundam. Its name is Heavyarms." "What? Mine?" "Yes Trowa. Your battle methods are well-suited for the Heavyarms, which I have classified as a Heavy Assault Mobile Suit. I had yet to put the Heavyarms through a combat test. But it seems that this was a baptism by fire for it." Jo then said, "Congratulations, Trowa." "Thanks Jo." I then said, "Jo and Duo, You guys too are amongst the elite mobile suit pilots. Therefore you too will receive a customized Gundam for your own use." "Really?" "Yep. I will give you guys all of the details when we get back to Los Andares."