Chapter 2
"Are our mobile suits ready for deployment?"
questioned Captain Thomas Fielding, turning to his X.O., LTJG.
Richard Priss.
"Yes, Sir," replied Priss, "Ready
to launch on your command." He added.
"Initiate
launch sequence, all hands to combat status," ordered Fielding,
"90 degrees starboard, pilot."
"Yes, Sir,"
replied the young Ensign Roxxane Summers, rotating the ship's
controls to turn the ship a quarter turn, heading for the Side 3
Colonial System.
"Switch to active radar, anything that
isn't EMF, blast it," ordered Fielding, sitting in his chair
aboard the bridge.
"Yes, Sir," returned the
Communications Officer, Cmdr. John LeGraud.
"All of our
mobile suits are prepped and ready for launch, Sir" said one of
the operators in the mobile suit bay over the intercom on the
bridge.
"Launch all available mobile suits ASAP,"
he ordered.
"Yes, Sir" replied the operator,
cutting off the intercom.
"We are now entering Side 3
airspace, activating all online turrets, now," informed the
X.O.
The EMF crusier's turrets came to life, turning, looking for
targets. The ship drifted into the airspace with ease.
"These colonists are either stupid or unsuspecting,"
commented Fielding to himself.
The mobile suits started flying out
of the launch bays, one after another, until there were at least 15
EMF suits in standard formation, cruising towards the colony.
"With
this cruiser and my mobile suits, I will take over Side 3 just as we
did Side 6," thought Fielding.
"ALERT, ALERT,
ENEMY FORCES ARE IN OUR AIRSPACE, ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL TO COMBAT
STATIONS, I REPEAT, ALERT, ALERT, ENEMY FOCES ARE IN OUR AIRSPACE,
ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL TO COMBAT STATIONS, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I
REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL," screamed the alarm throughout the
base. Rush fell out of bed, hitting the floor, and grabbing his
boots. He ran down the hallway to the hangars and went up to the
control room.
"What's going on," questioned Rush,
buckling his belt.
"We detected an enemy cruiser with
at least 10 mobile suits, maybe more, in our airspace," replied
one of the radar operators.
"Do you need me to pilot
the Gundam and take them out?" he inquired, putting his glasses
on his face.
"No," replied his C.O., Captain
Gregory Hastings, "You will stay here and help the crew in your
hangar prep the Gundam for deployment, in case our troops can't hold
them off."
"Yes, Sir," stated Rush, as he
saluted and headed back down to the hangar.
"Enemy
mobile suits are within range, Sir," informed LeGraud, "at
least 25, standard defensive formation."
"Fire
all bow cannons, scramble them," ordered Fielding.
The
cruiser vibrated as the massive particle cannons located in the bow
of the ship fired, sending bright, white-hot beams of light towards
the formation of Neo-Leos. The Leos took evasive action, scrambling
to escape the beams. 3 suits were caught off guard and were
vaporized, nothing left at all.
"3 confirmed kills,
Sir," informed LeGraud.
The remaining Neo-Leos attacked the
in-formation enemy mobile suits. Vollies were traded, blows were
dealt, and ammunition was spent. In the end of the skirmish, the
Neo-Leos were eliminated, while the EMF only lost 4 mobile suits to
the USC's 25.
"That is why space should be ruled by
Earth," commented Fielding, "Spacenoids grow weak over time
in all aspects, military and civilian.
"Sir, our
mobile suits were wiped out, and the cruiser is headed this way,"
informed the radar operator.
"Things look grim,"
thought Hastings, "Is the Gundam ready to be deployed?" he
questioned.
"Yes, Sir, all you need to do is give the
word," replied the operator.
"Initiate
Deployment sequence, get that Gundam out of here and on its way to
Earth on the double," he commanded.
"Lt. Rush,"
said Hastings, over the intercom, "get in that suit and head for
Earth, the EMF is on their way."
He obeyed, jumping into the
cockpit as the mobile suit was inserted into a reentry capsule. All
of the hangar personnel waited as the door opened, allowing the view
of Earth fill their sight.
"Here I come, you
bastards," commented Rush, pushing buttons, and activating the
capsule's engines as he drifted into space.
"Sir,
unidentified object at high velocity, heading for Earth,"
informed LeGraud, bringing the capsule on the main screen.
"It's a reentry capsule," stated Fielding, "They WERE
hiding something, maintain current course, send projected coordinates
of the capsule's landing point to our ground forces and let them deal
with it," he added.
"Yes, Sir," obeyed
LeGraud.
"90 degrees port, now"
"Yes,
Sir," replied Ensign Summers, turning the ship longside against
the area where the capsule launched.
"Fire all
starboard weapons and compensate the recoil with the thruster
output," ordered Fielding.
The cruiser shuddered violently as
the numerous beam cannons, missile launchers, and PHALAX system guns
fired, causing a tremendous blast in the side of the colony, where
the USC MS training facility was at.
"Target
neutralized, Sir," informed LeGraud.
"Excellent
work, people," congratulated Fielding, "Retrieve our mobile
suits and inform Solomon that we have eliminated USC resistance and
have captured Side 3," he added.
"Yes, Sir,"
replied LeGraud.
Rush slammed his fist on the control rest in
the cockpit.
"Damn it, why did I listen to that
senile old man, I should have followed my gut instinct and took those
bastards out," said Rush, blaming himself.
"No
time to mourn, only more people and friends I need to avenge,"
he stated, taking his mind off of the tragedy.
He keyed a
combination in on the control panel and released a drone.
"Let's see them track me now," he said, steering the
capsule in the atmospheric reentry.
