Chapter Three: Baptisms In Hell
Bridge, EFSFS Gabriel, Approaching Lagrange Point 1 Colony A-029.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0600 Hours.
"We are approaching Colony Twenty-Nine, captain. The sector commander wishes to speak with you, and requests our participation in any actions undertaken by the Rossa Fleet." reported Macarthur, from her console, on the captain's left.
"Acknowledged. Send Admiral Wallace a reply, informing him that I am willing to meet at his convenience, and that we will submit to Rossa Fleet's authority, if required." replied Barillas.
The captain stood, the magnets in the soles of his boots keeping him on the deck. He took his cap from its pouch on the outside of his chair's left arm, sliding it on from the back, covering his military-cut black hair. At forty-two years old he was one of the younger officers to hold the rank of captain in the EFSF, and his hazel eyes showed little of the jadedness reflected in those of older officers of his rank.
As his captain left the bridge, Commander Harrison stood from the executive officer's station parallel to communications and, with characteristic slowness, occupied the captain's chair. He really did hate doing this, it brought out a paranoid idea that he may be having to take the chair permanently if the captain was killed. A twenty-eight year old, even a highly capable one (modesty was something Harrison lacked), shouldn't be commanding a warship.
Harrison chose to simply survey the bridge, lest negative thoughts consume his conscious mind. In front was the helm, manned by one David Burnett. Burnett was among the quieter of the bridge officers, but was one who could keep his cool even in the toughest situation. To the either side of the helm were the ship's operations consoles, occupied by Donna Angel and Chris Philips, two capable, if young 'console pilots', the amusing term by which operations officers were known. His own XO's station was empty, as there was currently nobody to fill it. Behind was the 'tactical pit', a slightly elevated area just behind the captain's chair where the four weapons and MS control officers were seated, two facing to either of the ship's broadsides, with consoles and quartz displays in front of them, and a large plasma screen on the aft wall.
The ship slowly entered Berth #4 of the colony's main dock, as hydraulic clamps and docking tunnels extended out to moor it into place. Alongside her, the Bethlehem and the Jerusalem entered their own berths, and locked into place. They were going to sit at the colony and wait, until the inevitable move by the League was made. Only they and the gods knew what that move would be.
Part of Harrison's instinct told him he didn't want to know.
Bridge, League Fleet Vessel Enlightenment, Close To L1 Colony Cluster.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0610 Hours.
Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 02 Hours, 20 Minutes.
Aboard the carrier battleship Enlightenment, Major Victoria Gray found her temper to be rising quickly. A slip-up by the mechanics had made necessary the replacement of several actuators in her personal Rhino's left leg. The engineers had committed two sins unforgivable by the Major: inefficiency and stupidity, the things she loathed most in military officers.
Shifting slightly in her command chair, the tall, blonde haired woman adjusted the silver-plated mask she wore, covering her eyes, and a lot of the upper portion of her face, including the bridge of her nose. Through the small eye covers, annoyance could clearly be seen in her deep violet eyes. Nobody knew why she wore the mask. Few had ever asked about it; fewer came back in any condition to forward her answer. The unspoken consensus amongst the crew was that she had been a very attractive woman, but some injury had permanently scarred her, tainting her beauty.
"A little under two and a half hours to go." she said to the bridge officers, her cold voice hanging in the recycled air. "Soon, we shall see what the Federation's supposedly-mighty Rossa Fleet is made of."
Her vessel was the leading ship in a quartet of Zanzibar squadrons, groups of three Musai cruisers led by one of the larger carrier battleships. Her command was a Special Assault Force vessel, part of the smaller, and more capable branch of the Fleet; the three at her aft broadsides and directly aft were of the Main Battle Force, the 'grunts' of the League. In total, sixteen ships and one hundred and twenty mobile suits came under her control. She intended to lead the MS contingent herself, in her dark violet Rhino Commander type, one of the extremely limited 'S-type' variants. Its colour scheme reflected the major's 'Purple Fox' nickname, picked up based on her rare eye colour and amazing abilities in the simulators, especially at hunting down and finishing whoever opposed her.
The ships under her command were to destroy the Federal presence within L1, with a broad mandate to 'do what is required'. Gray liked this.
Office of Rear Admiral Robert Wallace, EFSF Offices, Colony L1/A-029.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0615 Hours.
Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 02 Hours, 15 Minutes.
In the office of the Rossa Fleet's commander, Taylor Barillas found himself feeling rather shabby, despite his near-perfect uniform. The office was as if lifted from Victorian England, with elegantly wood-panelled walls that showed signs of being recently varnished, an almost blood red carpet which was completely spotless, a small chandelier-like light fitting in the centre of the ceiling, and large bay windows that opened to a balcony that overlooked the colony's main city. Whether it all served to satisfy the ego of the admiral or not, it was an impressive office. The door faced the windows, in front of which was an oak desk that matched the wall panels, and was adorned with a flat-screen computer monitor, keyboard, and several photograph frames, containing images of Wallace with (at least Barillas assumed) his wife and daughter. The pictures looked to have been taken on Earth, the skyline too expansive to be any colony.
"Captain Barillas, thank you for meeting with me." Wallace said, welcoming the Gabriel's captain into his office. The superior officer stood, straightening the jet black flag officer's jacket he wore. The admiral wasn't a very tall man, standing around five feet nine, but he was broadly built, seeming strong for his fifty-eight years. His coppery-brown hair was short with a centre parting, accenting his pale green eyes.
"It would be rude to turn down a flag officer, sir." replied Barillas.
Wallace laughed. "You seem unaware of your position, captain. Being answerable only to Admiral Schenkelberg puts you on a par with any flag officer in the Fleet, regardless of your junior rank."
"Still, the chain of command…"
"-is irrelevant, captain. I may be their age, but I'd like to think that being away from the admirals at Luna Two gives me a more modern perspective on the military than the obsolete views held by the senior staff."
"I'd guess so, admiral. Aside from Admiral Schenkelberg herself, few other flag officers are so… flexible, with the regulations."
"You're here to aid our Rossa Fleet, from what I can gather. Am I correct?" enquired Wallace, curious as ever.
"Correct, sir. We will participate in any actions Rossa Fleet executes, but I reserve the right to exercise our mandate as an autonomous unit."
"Of course. If you believe your flotilla would be more effective somewhere other than where Sector Control orders you, by all means use that mandate of yours."
"Thank you, admiral. Is that all?" asked a relieved Barillas.
"That is all, Captain Barillas. Dismissed."
Jane Yoshihara's Quarters, EFSFS Gabriel Residential Block.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0630 Hours.
Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 02 Hours, 00 Minutes.
"How, Jane, have you managed to get sick? We've been on a sealed warship for days, everybody else is fine, the rations and water were checked more than we were, yet you are sick. Sometimes you amaze me." exclaimed Alex Williams, sympathy for his long-time friend apparently in very short supply.
"Well, you know how easily I get sick, Alex. You better than everyone aboard apart from the doctor." replied Jane, her voice lacking its usual upbeat tone.
Alex remained silent for a few seconds. Jane was very right about how prone she was to illness. Every year she had known Alex he had nursed her through a cold, flu, or other bug. One year she had been so severely ill both took quite an extended leave to allow her to recover. Despite this, she was an excellent mobile suit pilot, more capable than most in handling the awesome machines. Like Alex, it was those above-average skills that led to her being assigned as one of four Gundam test pilots, one of two now.
"So, what's going on in the world outside these quarters?" she asked, trying to brighten the situation.
"The same old nothing. We're in port at L-One's twenty-ninth colony, there's suspected League activity close by. Nothing the Rossa Fleet can't handle, I'd guess."
How wrong could a pilot be?
Hangar, League Fleet Vessel Enlightenment, Close To L1 Colony Cluster.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0800 Hours.
Countdown To "Operation Iron Fury": 30 Minutes.
A door slid open from the hangar's dedicated changing rooms. Major Gray stepped out into the hangar proper, clad in her violet pilot suit, its silver shoulder pieces reflecting the light from the hangar. In her right hand she held the helmet of the suit. She pushed off the deck toward her mobile suit, watching as fellow pilots either waited around for the order to board or sat in their cockpits preparing. Mechanics scurried around the hangar like ants, running final checks, preparing weapons, doing anything to make sure the mobile suits were at their best.
"Major!" exclaimed one mechanic, a stocky brown-haired man. "My apologies for the earlier error, it was my mistake in checking the-"
WHACK!
A loud smacking sound echoed in the hangar as the mechanic spun back in the microgravity, hands to his reddened left cheek, where Gray had slapped him full force. The action, while not out of character, was still quite shocking to the remainder of the people in the hangar.
"Idiot! Mistakes like that are not acceptable on my ship, I believed I had made that clear! Next time it happens, your pitiful backside will be kicked out of the bay door by the foot of my mobile suit! Is that clear?" replied an incensed Gray.
She still wore her mask, so the reddening of her cheeks from the outburst was not visible. Gray could feel the heat of them beneath the mask however, feeling ready to collapse as her emotions conflicted. Not only was there the obvious anger, but also guilt. She felt a cold, cruel person for doing such a thing, but knew that such outbursts were needed to maintain the crew's respect, and fear. Such was the emotional turmoil suffered by an Evolved. She would have to return to Lake Aldrin, to see what could be done.
Turning away from the mechanic and the rest of the hangar, she faced her Rhino Commander type. It was built similarly to the regular model, a long but relatively broad torso with a central cockpit hatch; long, thin arms, with inwards facing elbow joints protected by blocky doorstop-shaped armour pieces; a shield mounted on its right shoulder armour, a rectangular piece running down to below the elbow, topped by a curve where it joined to a triangular piece above the arm, the triangle's point facing the head. On the left shoulder armour was a rounded pauldron, on which were three short, thick spikes. The head itself was shaped like one half of a vertically-cut egg, but with a 'muzzle' cooling vent linked by coolant cables to a block on the back of the head, and a track in the centre of the head, running from the front to forty-five degrees off-centre, a blood-red circular sensor on the track, the infamous 'mono-eye' of League mobile suits. The legs were long but relatively wide, with kneecap armour similar to that on the elbows, and feet like ovals, cut off to a flat edge at the back.
The similarities between regular C-type Rhino and her S-type ended there, though. This Commander type, its body painted in violet and purple tones, had the unit leader's 'horn' antenna on its head slightly above the mono-eye track, as well as an entirely redesigned propulsion system. Where the regular model used an ordinary backpack design, with two rotating thruster nozzles at the bottom, this version had four small nozzles, pair mounted one above the other, as well as two large thruster binders. The binders, long, thin wing-like things mounted on pylons that held them slightly behind the backpack were pointed down. The two sections that comprised each binder were separated slightly, to allow the two large thrusters within to spew white-hot thruster flares. Capable of rotating in multiple directions, the binders gave the S-type incredible mobility, compared to other mobile suits.
Other differences manifested in the weapons. The S-type included the chest-mounted vulcan cannons seen in the Wolf but not the production model Rhino, which gave it suppression fire abilities. The custom battle sword stored close on the backpack by the right side binder, rather than on the left waist. This unit also carried a different rifle. Rather than the 120mm machinegun with 100 round ammunition drum used by the grunt Rhino pilots, this model used a high-powered 75mm assault rifle, whose ammo came from a 60 round clip, four spares of which were carried on the side skirts. Finally, the left forearm mounted shield of the Commander type also equipped with a 3-barreled 60mm gatling cannon, fed by an ammunition drum stored on the left side of the shield.
At 0810 hours Gray boarded her mobile suit and gave the order for all other pilots to do likewise. As the front console rose to meet the forward monitor panel, the female ace pressed the generator activation switch. Pressing the monitor button brought online all of her external cameras, filling the six panel display with a view of the hangar and some of the other Rhinos, bordered by status displays. To check the analysis system, Gray focused the mono-eye on one of her comrades. Happy to comply, the computer identified the model and brought up a small window on the front console screen, identifying the MS she was looking at as an LM/MS-06C Rhino, with a rotating three-dimensional image and a small technical profile.
At 0820 hours, the warships moved into position. Ten minutes later, all Hell broke loose once more.
Earth Federation Space Forces Sector Control, Space Colony L1/A-029.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0830 Hours.
"Operation Iron Fury" Commencement Time.
The images provided by live camera feeds, coupled with the status displays in the control centre, painted a very ugly picture. The League vessels that had been detected had nuked the intercept squadron from Rossa Fleet, and were now in the process of blasting colonies with nuclear missiles, to prevent Federation ships and mobile suits emerging. It also had the effect of killing three million people per colony. So far, a dozen had been destroyed; thirty-six million human lives with them. Suffice to say, Admiral Wallace was extremely angry. The order was given to deploy the remaining forces of the Rossa Fleet to rally close to A-029, one of the furthest colonies from the League, who were attacking from the L5 side of Luna, either from Lake Aldrin or the asteroid fortress Lucifer.
"Bring everyone here, NOW!" ordered Wallace. "Contact Barillas aboard the Gabriel; order him and his escorts out to meet the enemy's first wave."
As communications technicians scrambled to carry out the admiral's orders, four more colonies and a dozen million more people were claimed by the vacuum of space, casualties of a fortnight old war, already brutal on a previously-unseen scale. Civilian casualties had already reached fifty-one million, an astonishing number even with an overall population of twelve billion in the Earth Sphere.
Bridge, EFSFS Gabriel, Space Colony L1/A-029 Spacedock Berth #4.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0837 Hours.
Seven Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury".
"Once we clear colony airspace, send out the mobile suits! Tell Bethlehem and Jerusalem to lay down a missile barrage to cover us, main guns when they're in range. Ready all anti-air blocks and missile tubes, prepare to fire positron cannons!" ordered Barillas. He realised he had forgotten something. "All hands, battle stations! Red alert!"
As the orders were executed, pilots scrambled from the changing rooms to the hangar decks, where they were readying their mobile suits.
Hangar, League Fleet Vessel Enlightenment, Within L1 Colony Cluster.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0841 Hours.
Eleven Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury".
Making sure the movement selector was set to "Walk", Victoria Gray began moving her mobile suit forward, to the portside hatch. As it left the berth a long cable extended out from its back, an umbilical which provided power while the mobile suit was in the hangar. As it exited the hatch, the violet mobile suit stood at the end of the catapult. Turning ninety degrees right to face towards the bow, the way that the portside catapult ran, Gray detached the umbilical cable, and stood on the launch plates, two tray-like things on which a mobile suit placed its feet, linked by a central bridge.
"Rhino Commander, Gray unit, launching!" the female pilot exclaimed, as her mobile suit was forced down the catapult at high speed. Detaching a split-second before the end, Gray pushed hard down onto the thruster pedals for a split second, sending her MS bursting forward with white plumes of thruster exhaust spilling out behind it.
At the same time, mobile suits were launching from the other three Zanzibar class vessels and their escorts as well as her own ship, and soon the full company of one hundred and twenty was in open space, split into eight neat groups of fifteen, each of which could clearly be seen were in three groups of five themselves. All accelerating forward towards the rally point of the Federation fleet, the large group found themselves coming to a rapid stop as they detected a vessel approaching them! Their computers brought up an ID window for the vessel, but the class was listed simply as "New EFF Carrier". The vessel was flanked by two others, clearly identified as Magellan class battleships by the Rhino combat computers.
The unidentified Federal carrier quickly began launching mobile suits, as a hail of missiles, then mega particle beams, then more missiles fired from the Magellans.
Main Hangar Deck, EFSFS Gabriel, In Lagrange Point 1 Space.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0846.
Sixteen Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury".
"Deal with it, Yoshihara. Millions of lives depend on this operation, quit whining about your little cough!" retorted Hughes-Jones, as the Gundam pilot complained of her illness.
"Yes, ma'am." Yoshihara replied, bitterly.
Boarding her Gundam, whose shoulder armour bore the initials "J.Y." and the unit number "02-03", Jane powered up the mighty mobile suit, ready for battle. Alex appeared on the small communications screen atop the front monitor to give her a thumbs up and a "Good luck". She'd need it.
Lagrange Point 1 Space, Between Colony L1/A-029 and League Forces.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0850 Hours.
Twenty Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury".
In the void of outer space, battle was joined. Supported by the rapidly approaching MS of the Rossa Fleet, the Shadow Warriors dug into the League mobile lines, 105mm rifles firing as they accelerated forward. Several of the Shadow Warriors mobile suits hadn't jumped into the fray, however. Four were behind the main line, carrying out other tasks. Two Titan Cannon types were providing support fire, bombarding the enemy suits with the pair of 240mm cannons over their shoulders, attached to a modified backpack. The Electronic Warfare type was hanging back also, using the large sensor array on its left arm to keep a constantly updated picture of the battlefield. Finally, Fowl's Sniper Custom was at the back, using its communications link with the Electronic Warfare type's sensors to keep a clear view of the combat zone, and the optics of both its own head unit and the high-velocity 90mm sniper rifle it held.
Lisa Hughes-Jones found herself engaged in a duel with a Rhino. Its 120mm bullets were getting nowhere near the armour of the incredibly rare Federation MS, but the 140mm shotgun shells being sent back were proving to be similarly inaccurate. This was annoying Hughes-Jones.
"Come on you bastard, die!" she exclaimed, firing another shot from her mobile suit's assault shotgun. The powerful, if slow firing weapon was only used by the Titan Kai, it was an ace's weapon.
This time her shot hit, and tore the left leg of the Rhino off at the knee. The jolt through the League mobile suit off balance for a second, which was all the time the Shadow Warriors commander needed to fire again, her shot hitting the Rhino's torso dead centre. The shell breached the armour of the cockpit before exploding in a hail of shrapnel, killing the pilot and fracturing the torso of the mobile suit. A second or so later the reactor housing collapsed, partially crushing the nuclear fusion reactor at the centre of the assembly. The reactor exploded seconds later, vaporising what remained of the mobile suit.
Another Rhino exploded a moment later, as a precision 90mm round breached its own reactor. Fowl was pleased with his own accuracy. As he attempted to line up his next shot, a rocket fired from a Rhino's 280mm bazooka narrowly missed his right leg. Fowl ditched the sniper rifle and took the 90mm submachine gun from his suit's left thigh, ready to fight his new enemy. Another inaccurate rocket gave Fowl some idea of where his attacker was, allowing him to respond with a burst of gunfire. Extending the close combat blade on his right forearm, the Shadow Warriors' sniper made sure he was ready for whatever his enemy decided to do next.
The Gundams were in a difficult situation. A full team of five Rhinos were pursuing them, machineguns firing. Most of the bullets were being taken by the shields on the left forearms of the Federal mobile suits, but their beam rifle fire was failing to score hits on the Leaguers. One Rhino charged at Yoshihara's unit, machinegun firing a constant volley at her, sword drawn for close combat. Storing the beam rifle on her right thigh armour Jane took a beam saber in her Gundam's right hand, firing a burst from her head vulcans to distract the enemy. Aptly evading the low-calibre fire the Rhino pilot tossed away his rifle, before beginning to bring his sword down toward the Gundam's shield.
The sword's blade sliced into the upper edge of the shield, tearing a groove a short way down toward the centre. Ejecting her shield Yoshihara backed away, once again firing vulcans to cover her move. The Rhino pilot, left stunned by the fact of his sword being embedded in a useless shield, was totally unprepared for the particle blade of the Gundam's beam saber impaling his cockpit.
Angered by his comrade's death, one of the four remaining pilots broke off from failing to damage the other Gundam to fight the one that had claimed another Leaguer's life. As his former opponent sped toward Jane's now-shieldless Gundam, Williams pulled his rifle sights from the new Rhino that had come to fight in favour of the one heading for Jane. The two dotted yellow circles of the rifle camera's sensors slowly converged, until they formed a solid red one, with crosshairs marking the centre. Alex squeezed the trigger.
A red purple beam sped across space from the barrel of the rifle. The Rhino it was aimed for didn't stand a chance. The beam impacted at the right hip, lancing through to just below the left shoulder joint. The reactor breached and cockpit vaporised, the now-useless Rhino exploded a scant two hundred metres from Yoshihara's Gundam. Throwing Alex a quick "V for Victory" sign with her mobile suit's left hand, she quickly returned to battle.
It was at this point Alex realised he still had a Rhino on him. The realisation came when a 280mm rocket hit the torso just above the cockpit hatch. Even though in terms of actual effect the rocket was no more damaging than a 120mm round thanks to the Luna Titanium armour ('KN System' was no use against explosives), the fact that he had let himself be hit annoyed Williams no end. Raising his left arm Williams pointed the missile launchers in his shield at the Rhino and depressed the trigger on the left control stick. Two missiles fired from each launcher, four of the six in the Gundam's shield. Ironically given their name, the quartet of missiles completely missed the Rhino. The manoeuvre it had made to avoid by dodging left, however, put it at the centre of the overpowered Federation mobile suit's rapidly-forming lock-on reticule. The trigger was squeezed once more. Nothing happened.
Checking the status indicators on the front panel, Williams found that he had drained the twenty-five shots worth of energy in the rifle's energy capacitor, mostly on shots that missed the enemy. Annoyed, he threw his rifle to his right and drew a beam saber, igniting the blade with the switch close to the end of the cylinder. The Rhino pilot fired another round from his bazooka before abandoning it and taking his sword in his right hand. The rocket was easily evaded by the Gundam, which began closing the distance between them rapidly.
The first attack was made by the Rhino, whose sword came down on Gundam's shield. The blade's edge made a small gouge in the centre of the rectangular piece of Luna Titanium, but had little other effect. The Gundam swung its shield arm back, so forcefully it tore the right arm of the Rhino out of its shoulder joint, leaving the arm and sword still attached to the shield of the Gundam. Williams swung the right arm of his suit back before quickly bring it down, slicing the torso of the Rhino vertically in half.
Federation warships were rapidly joining their allies, firing missile barrages toward the League vessels. So far two Musai cruisers had been sunk, as had a Federal Salamis cruiser. Unfortunately, a League mobile suit attack on the Federation's left flank had left several vessels exposed. One of the Magellans in the area launched a blue 'Help!' flare, to signal its need for aid from allied mobile suits. Two Titan squads broke the battle line in order to assist, and eventually succeeded in destroying the thirteen Rhinos that had got through. Unfortunately, they had succeeded in destroying two of the Federation's battleships and five cruisers without losses, a figure that appalled the Federal commanders.
Benjamin Fowl found himself having difficulties with his opponent. It had been decapitated by 90mm fire and was now without its left arm, but he wasn't in much better condition. His Sniper Custom lacked its right leg and left forearm, both claimed by his opponent's sword. Parrying another slash with his combat blade, Fowl swung his left arm round to punch the League MS' cockpit hatch, which shook the pilot. His enemy momentarily stunned, Fowl plunged his blade into the cockpit, a small gush of blood and dismembered body parts confirming that the pilot was well and truly dead.
"Idiots! These losses are unacceptable, we need to do something quickly." complained Gray, angered at the losses being taken by her first operational command.
The female League ace quickly led a charge forward with the four mobile suits that comprised the rest of her team, heading for the members of the Condor squad currently in the field. In a matter of minutes 120mm fire and expert swordplay had claimed six Titans, the rest of whom had quickly escaped.
"Gabriel Control, this is Williams. Please send out a spare rifle, I kind of lost the empty one."
"Confirmed, Williams. Try not to lose more equipment, the stuff your Gundam has looks pretty expensive!" replied the chief mechanic, admonishing the first of the two Gundam pilots in a semi-joking manner.
A spare rifle was indeed launched on an equipment pallet from the Gabriel's portside catapult. Jane's Gundam was landing on the starboard deck at the same time, in need of refuelling. Dashing out again, Williams found that the Aurora squad were under attack from a Commander type Rhino and its team, and needed help desperately. Accelerating quickly toward the location of Aurora squad projected on the monitor, Williams was amazed at what he saw. The Commander type, easily distinguished from its allies, was tearing apart the suits from Aurora almost by itself. A shot from his rifle claimed another Rhino, which was carelessly backing away after destroying a Titan Cannon type.
A zoom window popped up on Victoria Gray's right-hand monitor, displaying an MS vastly different from those she had been mercilessly picking off. Painted not in the Federation's standard pale blue with white limbs, this model was dark blue with gray limbs, had two pale blue 'eyes' instead of the 'goggle' camera common to Federal MS, and had a very different rifle to the Titan. A label popped up below the image, bearing the simple caption "Ranger Three MS".
"There it is! The invulnerable bastard that carries a rifle with the power of a battleship cannon! Well, let's see how you fare against a real opponent!" exclaimed Gray, ready to fight. She had no idea how she could defeat the Gundam, but she knew she'd try.
Bridge, EFSFS Gabriel, In Lagrange Point 1 Space.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0938 Hours.
One Hour, Eight Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury".
"How many now, Gail?" enquired Barillas, solemnly. The communications officer was unwilling to respond. "How many, Ensign?"
"Sir… a total of ninety-two colonies have been destroyed by this point. Two hundred and seventy-six million civilian casualties." replied the distraught communications officer.
The bridge was silent. Over a quarter of a billion lives had been lost after one hour of combat, the League showing how willing they were to sacrifice Federation civilians to force the surrender of the Earth-based government. Barillas had a simple response.
"Signal the admiral. Request authorisation to retaliate with nuclear arms."
The young ensign attempted to contact the operations centre at colony A-029, but found herself unable to make a connection. She scanned over the list of lost colonies, and found the source of her problem.
"Captain, the Twenty-Ninth Colony has been destroyed. Admiral Wallace and Sector Control have been wiped out."
"Very well then. In that case, load the ship-to-ship missile launchers with nuclear missiles, fire at the League formation on my command." a set of affirmative responses were received from the weapons officers, before a shocked exclamation came from the mobile suit operations officer.
"Sir! Williams' mobile suit is engaging a purple Rhino Commander type!"
"What? Harrison, check for references on that mobile suit!" ordered Barillas, clearly concerned. If an S-type was in the field, it was surely being piloted by an ace.
"Found it, sir." responded Harrison, after searching through the database. "Intelligence indicates that this unit is referred to as the Purple Fox, a League pilot named Victoria Gray. She has the highest simulator combat ratings Intelligence know of."
The bridge crew were worried. Not only were they about to nuke the enemy fleet, but an enemy ace was trying to destroy one of the Gundams. In their minds, they crossed their fingers, some silently prayed. This battle was going to be more devastating than they had imagined.
Combat Encounter Zone, Within Lagrange Point 1 Space.
January 2nd, PCA 0080. 0951 Hours.
One Hour, Twenty-One Minutes Into "Operation Iron Fury".
Alex Williams was mentally singing the praises of the Kinetic Neutraliser and of Luna Titanium. His mobile suit was being peppered by alternate bursts of 75mm bullets from the purple Rhino S-type's rifle and 60mm fire from its shield-mounted gatling. The seven beams he had fired had all missed so far, doing nothing but waste energy. Williams quickly realised that he had no chance of beating the Rhino at range, the pilot reacted too quickly and took full advantage of the suit's agility. Williams wondered how a human could tolerate the stresses that such extreme manoeuvres must be placing on their body.
Williams fired one last beam, another miss, before once more drawing his beam saber. Charging the Rhino he swung at it with the particle blade, but Gray had already dived back, and responded by swinging her suit's right leg, kicking the Gundam in the face. Gray took the time while Gundam was off-guard to attach her rifle to its rear skirt mount, and drew her custom battle sword. The blade was longer and thinner than that of the regular Rhino's melee weapon, and was fabricated from titanium instead of the regular steel. As the Gundam realigned itself and prepared once more to fight Gray charged it. Williams stabbed forward toward the Rhino's head, but a quick duck and dodge move by Gray allowed the plasma blade to pass right above her suit's spiked left shoulder armour, which she proceeded to drive into Gundam's torso. A horizontal slashing attack with her own sword cut off the upper section of the Federal MS' shield, a minor blow, but an important one no less. The Gundam fired its head vulcans, trying to do some damage to the Rhino's torso. Feeling slightly threatened by the 60mm bullets, which could do damage at such close range, Gray fired the pair of chest-mounted vulcans of her own MS before backing away.
"You're nothing, Feddie. The only thing keeping you alive is that superior machine of yours!" exclaimed Gray, trying to intimidate her opponent.
Williams raised his now slightly smaller shield, firing the two remaining missiles at the purple Rhino. The pilot, unprepared, quickly raised the gatling shield on her left arm, which was badly damaged by the missiles. Cursing the Federation pilot, she charged once more.
The Gundam took another vertical swipe with its beam saber, which was blocked by the flat of Gray's titanium sword. The physical blade held for a spilt second before the particle-based one bisected it, rendering the blade essentially useless. Abandoning the remainder of her sword Gray threw a punch at the Gundam's right hand, sending its saber drifting away in space. As the Rhino backed away, covering its retreat with fire from its gatling shield and rifle, Williams took the beam rifle in the Gundam's right hand once more, left hand taking the extended horizontal grip for stability. A red-purple beam tore through the void, taking the left arm clear off the Rhino.
"You were lucky, Feddie. Next time we meet, that suit of yours will be debris like the comrades of mine you've stolen away from me!" With those parting words, Gray began her return to her vessel. The Gundam's pilot, momentarily shocked by the words, returned to combat, where the League were in retreat.
White light filled Williams' monitors, and would have blinded him were it not for the filters built into the camera system. Two covers had lowered over the cameras when the light exceeded that tolerable by the main visual sensors, and retracted after a second or so. To an outside observer, it would appear Gundam had blinked. Williams turned to face the main battlefield. From what he could gather, both sides had launched nukes at the same time, and the detonations almost coincided. All but five of the League ships still in battle had been destroyed, but their nuclear missiles and those of their comrades had destroyed a further nineteen colonies, as well as most of the Rossa Fleet's right flank.
The surviving Leaguers began a retreating manoeuvre as soon as they had recovered the sixty or so surviving mobile suits, most of which used the magnets in their feet to hold themselves on the outer hull of the ships that had recovered them. Victoria Gray cursed, her taskforce largely destroyed, its mission not fully accomplished. Most of the Rossa Fleet was gone but not all, and the destruction of one hundred and eleven colonies, almost a fifth of the cluster, had not forced their enemies to surrender.
Alex Williams was disgusted. The League had wiped out a vast portion of the Federation fleet at L1 as well as dozens of colonies. Barillas, now the de facto commander of the surviving forces, led them towards Earth to meet the Earth Orbital Fleet's Sector Group Two, who had contacted the Gabriel to offer repairs and resupply from their base at the relatively small asteroid of Third Luna. It had been bloody, and nobody had won. Three hundred and thirty-three million civilians had definitely been losers this day.