Gundam 00: Phoenix
Show of Force
HRL Space, February 11, Phoenix Carrier
Daveral watched as another mobile suit went into flames, struck down by a well placed shot from his carbine between the Tieren's torso plates. He then turned to face another mobile suit that was firing its cannon and machine guns at him. He moved out of the way before firing a single missile, the mobile suit, however, shot it down before the missile had come close enough to do any sort of damage before shifting its attention back to him.
Daveral moved the Lancaster's shield in the way of the shots before he retaliated with another missile while firing his carbine. The mobile suit dodged the beams, but was ultimately unable to dodge the missile he had launched earlier and the resulting explosion left nothing more than mangled wreckage.
Daveral then looked to see the Zesus slice a mobile suit in half before being forced to back away as three mobile suits opened fired on it and maintained pursuit.
"Flint, I'll draw their fire, and when they're distracted you charge in!" Daveral instructed. "Helana you cover the bridge and rear of the Phoenix."
"Understood," Helana replied with quick nod before racing to the rear of the ship engaging the mobile suits that were going for the ship's blind spots.
"Got it," Flint then responded as he began moving out of the Tierens' line of fire a trail of leaving behind a trail of bluish-white particles in its wake.
Daveral immediately then moved into the path of the three mobile suits and drew up the Lancaster's heavy shield– the shots ricochet off the shield .
The Zesus then charged into the squadron's left flank while they engaged the Lancaster and lunged at them with its large sword, impaling one of the mobile suits through the torso before it tore its sword out and lashed out at the nearest enemy, taking off the arm and cannon of another Tieren.
The two remaining mobile suits then dispersed while the Zesus chased after the one that was unscathed.
Daveral then moved his shield out of position and began locking onto another mobile suit that was now shooting at him from the front.
This is almost like shooting a defenseless man, but I have to do it, he thought to himself. Fighting an enemy that had little chance of fighting back was not something he was going to be proud later in life. A part of his mind trembled at the thought if this would haunt him by just how unnecessary this was.
Before he could get a lock, he felt something slam against the back of his Gundam then the mobile suit that was in front of him maneuvered away, breaking his lock.
He fired back with his carbine, while he tried to retain a lock back onto the first machine through his scope. Before he could finish locking on once again, shot speared into the launcher's fragile tracking system–Daveral was now looking at a blank image. He then switched the scope off as he tracked the first mobile suit firing the beam carbine only to miss.
"What a lucky shot," Daveral commented slightly surprised at what just happened as he continued to press down on the trigger all his shots continuing to miss. "Damn it I can't do anything!" he then cursed as he was forced to dodge the incoming rounds which were continuing to impact into the armour of the Lancaster, being too slow to out manoeuvre the two mobile suits. "If only this thing wasn't so damn heavy and slow."
Another mobile then swooped in, attacking from behind as well.
The three mobile suits able to evade the flak cannons by getting closer up to the point where the flak cannons would make the situation worse for Daveral. Thankfully, the cannons had stopped firing once the turrets' targetting systems deemed that a friendly was in danger of getting hit.
The three machines were just unloading everything they had, hoping the Lancaster would fall from their relentless barrage. They circled him making it that more difficult for him to aim.
Daveral looked to see the status of his machine and saw the rear of the body glowing red on screen; the armour was starting to give way from the barrage of shells.
Their GN Drives just simply did not offer the same performance Celestial Being's did by a considerable margin even if though they could generate an endless amount of particles.
Anymore of this and I'm finished, he thought to himself as another shot slammed into the back of his machine, shaking Daveral around in his seat. At this rate, one of those shots were going to get through and that would not be pleasant at all.
He then saw them stop circling and charge in with their rifle bayonets raised towards him.
Immediately the carbine was stowed away and then the Lancaster's beam sabe was ignited. The Lancaster lashed out at the two behind him while detaching its massive shield just when the one in front of him was about to strike causing the machine to hit the shield instead
Daveral immediately then launched half of the Lancaster's GN missiles, most managing to plunge into the two machine's body before he pulled out of the blast radius, letting the two Tierens explode in a shower of particles.
The last one then tried to engage the Lancaster with the two heat sink bayonets mounted at the end of its rifle again.
The young man nearly froze in the face of death until the Tieren immediately cam to a halt, a blade emerging through its chest causing the machine to go limp.
"They're not so tough!" Flint shouted with a grin on his face.
Daveral gave a sigh of relief before he commented on Flint's attitude after he had pulled himself together. "Stay focused, this isn't a game you know." He was grateful that Flint had saved his life, but it didn't change his opinion on how he acted during combat like this was some sort of game.
"No need to fear, I know," Flint said with a laugh as he caught up with a fleeing machine and sliced in half with the Zesus's blade. "But I rather not be faced with the grim reality with what we're doing. You can mope after this if you want to."
Darren sighed. "Right and you can go get yourself killed while you're at it," he muttered as he went after another Tieren.
Underneath the ship the Variant engaged with two Tierens both exchanging fire with each other. The Variant then disappeared behind its optical cloak before it closed in for a better shot.
The two mobile suits, however, kept moving knowing the Variant could strike from anywhere, staying still was suicide.
The Variant then fired at them from behind taking one of the machine's head off before firing into its torso causing it to explode. The second one began to shoot at the Variants's position before the machine disappeared from sight once more with a mere flicker of energy.
"Where did you go this time?" the pilot snarled before he let a blood curling scream as a beam saber went straight through the cockpit.
"Alright, moving on," she said softly to herself before she was suddenly interrupted by a Tieren that fired at the Variant catching her by surprise. The shots impacted into the Gale pack and Helana was forced to jettison before it exploded.
Before the mobile suit could get another shot off a volley of flak began raining down at it. The shrapnel merely scratched the machine, but it was more than enough to cause the pilot to back away in fear of a direct hit.
Kail then appeared on screen with narrowed eyes and a frown. "You've got the Gale pack destroyed already?" he said in surprise before he let out a sigh.
"Well, I'm sorry, if that makes anything better," she apologized half-heartedly. "The Gundam is still intact, at least," she then stated.
"It's not like they're easy to replace, this is costing us more than it costs them," Kail grumbled before he disappeared from her screen..
Helana then scanned the bottom of the ship and found there were no more mobile suits to engage and decided to check on the bridge.
The Variant emerged from beneath the Phoenix and looked to see the other two Gundams had drawn the remaining mobile suits to the port-side of the vessel, the Zesus cutting a swath through the Tierens while the Lancaster provided fire support.
"Guess the simulation paid off," Daveral said as he fired at one of the mobile suits with his missile launcher and letting loose another salvo from his Gundams GN missile pod.
The Zesus then quickly flew out of the area as the missile tore apart anything they had tracked on to. As a large smoke cloud came from the destruction, the Zesus then went back in to finish anything that was left.
"You said it!" Flint replied with a shout as he lunged at another mobile suit.
The Tieren backed off just when he slashed while the remaining suits surrounded him and began launching containment gel and nets in a desperate attempt to hold the Gundam down. It appeared the units sent to intercept one wanted to take a Gundam if possible or they could be simply equipped with such weapons to have a better chance at surviving.
"Shit, this isn't good!" Flint exclaimed as he dodged the strange substance that was fired at him as he charged at the Tieren in front of him again.
He then tried to slash with his sword at the mobile suit only to notice the right-arm would not move. It had been somehow struck right in joint and deny all attempts for the arm to properly function.
"I think it's about time you pulled back," Daveral announced to him.
"It doesn't matter!" Flint growled. "I've still got use of the other arm!"
The Zesus left arm pulled out one of its beam sabers and charged at the mobile suit straight ahead of him.
The mobile suit skirted to the left causing the Zesus to fly straight past it, but it didn't matter as the Zesus quickly spun around a second later taking the upper section of the torso of with one stroke.
Daveral watched as Flint went back on his spree of destruction while he sat back providing support fire, constantly scanning the area to make sure no mobile suit would flank him.
Just retreat already, he said in his mind, looking at the enemy.
A warning signal rang in his cockpit as Daveral looked to see a mobile suit coming from right flank. One of the remaining Tierens had broken off to engage him hoping that a lucky shot would penetrate that already weakened Lancaster.
The thing let loose all its remaining ammunition only for the rounds to bounce off the shield before lowering it so the beam carbine was pointed right at the Tieren.
Daveral just shook his head at the mobile suit pilot's stupidity as he pressed down on the trigger sending yet another enemy to their death.
Wesker smiled as he watched the battle unfold beside him from the bridge. The enemy forces were rapidly dwindling; soon the enemy would be forced to call a retreat with their casualties. This was bringing in both experience for their pilots and combat data that could be analysised in the future.
"Well, Kail, they may not be fighting those new GN-X mobile suits, but what do you think of their performance?" he asked.
"I would say that they're decent, but against any experience opponent their going to have a tough time," he paused as he took a quick look at the battle before he continued. "Those new GN-X mobile suits will pose a big problem with their beam weaponry, speed, and thicker armour. And our pilots still don't work the best in a team with Flint being the hotshot he is and Helana being a bit of a lone wolf unless Daveral starts shouting orders."
"Speaking of new machines, what are the UN forces up to?" Cray then interrupted turning his head to the two.
"I believe the UN forces are about to do battle with Celestial Being again," Wesker brought up a visual of a large golden mobile armour and several GN-X mobile suits with it taken by a satellite disguised as debris.
Cray looked in awe at the size of the thing. He had never seen anything like along with the rest of the crew only Wesker and Kail weren't surprised.
Kail turned to the captain. "So are we going to intervene?" he asked.
Wesker shook his head. "We've got our own personal matters to attend to." He then brought up an image of one of their base on Earth which was located in Pakistan.
"The HRL is amassing forces to enter Pakistan and go after our base in the Thar Desert that has been a pin their their back for years," he stated. "It's the first base they've managed to find, and I don't intend it to be the first one we lose."
"Don't forget we're also going there because we've got a few things to pick up," Kail then added.
"What exactly are we going to pick up?" Cray then asked curiously.
"We're picking up a few new packs for the Variant. Right now only have two packs onboard both being Gale packs, one which was just destroyed, and a long-range heavy beam cannon for the Lancaster so it will be less reliant on something hulling the ammo for it," Kail answered as he looked to see the mobile suits begin to retreat probably to enemy transport vessels out of their sensor range. "I bet Flint is going to be pissed that he's not getting any gifts," he then chuckled. "Which is good, he's got enough toys to play with as it is."
He then saw the Zesus pursue after the remaining mobile suits on radar. "Enemy is on the retreat, let them go for now," Kail ordered as the three Gundams began to return to the carrier.
"Alright Cray," Wesker began. "Set a course to the designated marker, from there we'll begin our descent."
"Roger," Cray acknowledged.
The Phoenix then began its slow, but steady course through space soon it would begin its descent to back to Earth.
The three Gundams landed in the hanger and headed to their respective docking zone; crews were already waiting to begin repairs on machines from whatever damage they had took.
"Well I guess I need to keep close to one of you guys next time when in combat, almost got myself killed there," Daveral said to the others through the comm. as he then opened his cockpit and proceeded to get down from his Gundam via a rappel line.
When he got onto the hanger bay deck he met up with the lead engineer who was monitoring the repairs already taking place.
"Well, what's the damage?" he asked.
The engineer signalled him to wait as he looked at the monitor which was analyzing the Gundam before it came back with the results.
"The E-carbon armour in the rear and front section of the torso has nearly given away. It's tough, but not that tough. We're going to just replace the whole thing since it's quicker, after that we have to rearm the machines GN missile pod and replace the missile launchers tracking system. Should take about hour or two depending on how it goes," the engineer explained as he showed Daveral the results on the screen. "Seriously, don't get so shot up next time."
"I'll try." Daveral then looked over at the Drei which had been nearly patched up and was now undergoing replacement of its drive. "What is the status on the that thing anyways?" he then asked.
The engineer then began bringing up the results for the Drei. "It's been repaired, but we still have to install the GN Drive and take of Veda support after that we have to upgrade it," the engineer answered. "Those false GN Drives are abominations. The fact that their particles are specially treated to the point where the particles can cause poisoning just makes me want to throw the one from the Drei into the Sun. They are, however, much cheaper and easier to build. If we lose our Drives there'll be no replacements for a long time."
"Thanks for the info and the heads up," Daveral said as the engineer then turned back at his screen while Daveral decided to head back to his quarters.
To his left was an Ace tactical fighter to his left in a smaller sub hanger specifically meant to store them.
The Ace was a high speed tactical fighter the workhorse of their aerospace forces. It was capable of doing almost anything due to its customizable weapon pods that took the shape of the fighter's long wings. From dog fights, reconnaissance, to tank hunting and bombing, it could do it all. The only thing it lacked was armour, but its high speed made up for it.
Its standard armament was two 75mm high velocity auto cannon system one mounted along each side of the cockpit providing the craft with enough firepower against ordinary mobile suits. Still it wasn't an ideal fighter for use in space, especially since space debris could tear through the craft if the pilot was not careful. The fact their thrusters were fixed also did not take advantage of space combat.
He then looked to see several long, but narrow low profile tanks with a 100mm rapid fire cannon and twin rocket launchers on the side of the small round turret. Several crews were working on equipping them with a small domed shape pod on the sides of the vehicles. He didn't know the vehicles name or what those pods were for, but he knew it was the mainstay of their forces on the ground for their operations being a fast hit and run tank and the missiles were the tanks main armament the cannon was just for hitting soft targets.
They were the one of the few paramilitaries who still used fighter planes and tanks, and although considered obsolete, they were putting them to good use as they both suited their style of hit-and-run warfare to whittle down the larger enemy forces with surgical strikes before landing the final blow with the new Gundams. The fact they were cheaper and easier to obtain was likely also another reason, they also all happened to be Rising Phoenix designs.
Daveral proceeded to one of the lifts. After a short trip he got off he headed down to his quarters.
Quickly he proceeded to stip out of his flight suit once he had entered his room and got changed after a quick shower.
The ships intercom came on. "All personnel prepare for atmospheric re-entry," a voice came.
Daveral glanced around just to make sure everything was buttoned down. He felt the ship shake and rattle slightly as the ship began entering the atmosphere.
Laying flat on his bed, he grabbed a novel waiting from his collection of books. Something to pass the time between the boredom of staying on the Phoenix.
When the ship had made it through the intercom then came alive again. "We've entered Earth's atmosphere and proceeding towards our Pakistan base. E.T.A ten minutes"
Great we're going to be in a desert, Daveral thought to himself as he flipped the page.
He continued reading unti it was announced over the intercom that they had arrived at the base.
It was at that very moment Flint then opened the door to Daveral's surprise causing him to lower his book just enough so he could see Flint's head.
"C'mon, Captain wants us on the bridge."
"And I was just getting to the good part," Daveral said closing his book as he got up and exited his room the door shutting behind him.
He boarded the lift with Flint as it proceeded to the bridge.
"So what did you think of that battle?" Daveral asked.
"It makes me excited for our next one, nothing like feeling the rush of combat," Flint replied with a grin.
"You enjoy combat a bit too much in my opinion," Daveral began with a look of concern. "Why do I get the feeling that your eagerness for combat is going to get one of us killed?"
Flint gave a laugh before he settled down. "Don't worry, I'm not to the point I won't follow orders, you can trust me to get it done." He gave a thumbs up.
Daveral just turned back to face the door of the lift with a 'hmph', unamused.
He neither wanted Flint, Helana, and himself to be killed for he was their leader and it was his responsibility to be in charge of them, but Flint always brought a feeling of uneasiness due to how hot-blooded he was. The guy would rather charge unless told of strategy, which he was thankful for.
The lift door then opened and the two exited the lift and moved towards part of the bridge where Helana, Wesker, and Kail were, the three looking at one of the large monitors which showed several videos of fighters and mobile suits engaging each other from the previous sortie that had happened before they've arrived.
"Well, now that our three pilots are here we might as well begin." Kail said to Wesker who nodded his head.
"Daveral, Helana, Flint, we're giving you another assignment." Wesker told them as he switched the screen so it was looking over one of the HRL bases in the region. "Your assignment is the destruction of this forward base. Daveral, you'll be using the 450mm howitzer to bombard their mobile suit storage facilities from afar. The Variant will head out first and spy on the enemy base with its cloaking field on relaying the precise coordinates of the targets to the Lancaster. Flint you're going to be staying in reserve for the moment."
"That's no fun," Flint whined with a saddened face.
"It's not suppose to, you're just back-up if the enemy responds to our actions," Wesker said before he moved on. "Anyways, Daveral you should be able to bombard them from here so no need to having to worry about ammunition."
"Won't that give away our position?" Daveral questioned. "And we've only used the howitzer in simulations, you sure its accurate enough?
"It doesn't matter they already found this base." said Kail. "And any half-decent artillery piece should be well able to hit a stationary target from several kilometers away without any trouble."
"What about the other base in the region?" Helana then asked as she switched the screen without permission to the second base not quite far from the first one. "Is our aerospace force taking care of that?"
"Nope, our Viper tanks have got that. They'll eliminate all key targets in the base before quickly getting back out," Kail told them.
"You're sending these...relics to engage an actual enemy force?" Helana said in surprise.
Kail sighed before he explained to her about their tanks. "The concept of tanks is ancient, but these vehicles are not and they've got enough speed and firepower to do their assigned tasks as hit-and-run vehicles."
Helana wasn't so convinced by Kail's explanation as she crossed her arms and went silent.
Daveral looked around to see they were the only pilots on the bridge. "Where are the tank crews, shouldn't they be getting briefed on this?"
Kail turned to him. "Tank commanders have already been briefed, they know what they're doing."
Wesker then opened his mouth. "You have three hours before the operation begins, that should be when most enemy mobile suits have returned to base and the crews are asleep, although just be ready for the worst case scenario, relay anything strange back to us during the operation."
The three were then dismissed as they began moving back to the lift.
"What do you know I get to bombard the enemy from extreme ranges, something that I may actually enjoy where the enemy can't strike back most of the time," Daveral said, rather relieved they were staying out of the thick of the fight, to the others.
Flint sighed. "Lucky you, you get to pummel the enemy to the ground while I'm forced to wait in the ship and act as back-up. I hate back-up roles."
Helana remained silent, not showing interest on what the two were saying, still staring at the door.
Daveral was glad he was placed in a Gundam designed as a long-range support unit, not only could he stay out of the fighting while bombarding the enemy on the ground but the amount of armour the Lancaster had made him feel alot safer, if he had been placed in the Zesus he would of probably just run away, he couldn't stand to be in such a lightly armoured machine.
The lift proceeded to the crew quarters and the three headed their separate ways, Daveral heading back to his room and sat down in his chair and opened his drawer with a key and pulled out a sleek, expensive looking laptop and flipped it on.
After he got in we looked opened a file know as 'Notes'. The file contained various details about everything Daveral had heard and seen. Every simulation experience, every person he had met, every piece of equipment, he kept notes on all of them and would add to them whenever he felt like it.
He started to add notes from what he had witnessed in combat placing it under something called 'Combat'. He added information about combat with the Tierens, as well as his own performance and the others. He then moved and began typing about Flint stating that one day he would get someone killed before he started another point. He began typing about his first encounter with Nena Trinity, he didn't have much to put down aside that the she had lost her brothers and how she acted during the offer.
After he was finished he sat back in his chair and closed his laptop down, putting it away before locking it in the drawer. He then grabbed his book he had been reading previously hoping the three hours would comer later than sooner.
Thar Desert, February 11, Phoenix Carrier
On the bridge Wesker and Kail discussed about Nena, which was extremely controversial with some crew members who had heard about it. Most people disagreed with the captain's decision, although they would not be able to change his mind once he made a permanent decision.
"You're sure about this?" Kail asked who handed a cup of coffee to Wesker before he drank from his own. "Who's to say she won't shoot your pilots in the back."
"Ah, that question, I've been getting it alot from Helana," Wesker then took a sip out of the coffee before continuing. "I'm sure Nena Trinity will be a valuable asset to the team, it'll take time but eventually it will work out."
"If that's the case," Kail said as he leaned back in his chair, "when do you expect her to get going out on regular missions if she accepts her offer?"
"The moment she's ready to leave her cell and the Drei is ready for action. If she wants to help us, she'll do so immediately. It's the only reason the offer exists int the first place," Wesker stated.
Kail finished his coffee before changing to subject to the operation that's going to happen.
"You think it's possible for the enemy to be using those bases as decoys while they close in on us?"
"It's possible, which is why we're keeping the base's fighter squadrons in reserves as well as our own," Wesker said looking at his watch before closing it.
"Speaking of fighters, I think we need to transfer some of the bases pilots to our ship, having only one squadron out of three could possibly be our doom." Cray then butted in from the front of the bridge.
Kail turned his head to the younger man. "We will when there are enough pilots to go around, but we're still waiting for recruits to join, there's not a lot of people willing to join based on our ideals. Most people these days are driven by money or can't keep their mouths shut."
Cray nodded his head before he asked another question. "You think the HRL is just here to destroy us?"
"I doubt it, they're probably going to get Pakistan to join the HRL, be it by negotiations or force," Wesker said. "We'll just have to see what happens, and although getting Pakistan to join the HRL will help this country quite a bit, there will be considerable of tension, and I suspect people may even riot wanting to remain completely independent nation. Still at least it's unifying the world, though hopefully it won't erode the culture already in place. It would be a shame if it did," Wesker then finished his drink before crushing the cup. "Well I think it's time to see if Nena is going to accept our offer," Wesker then said.
Wesker then activated the intercom to the personnel in the brig. "Bring Miss Trinity up to the bridge."
"Right away," came a response from the other side.
"Now let's see how things turn out." Wesker then looked out through the bridge's observation ports and saw the Variant already deploying, vanishing into the air several moments after it had taken off, all ahead of time.
Nena waited silently, cuffed, as the lift ascended towards the bridge. Two guards stood beside her one on each side both with rifles slung behind their backs. She could tell they were glancing at her as if she was a crazed psychopath and they seemed ready to bring their weapons to bear the moment they felt it was necessary.
It also didn't help that she was still tired, having only slept a few hours; she was having trouble just staying awake.
It was silent ride with only the sound of the lift moving up the shaft towards the bridge being of anything worth of note.
The lift then came to a complete stop before the door in front of her opened.
"Move it," the guard told her in a gruff voice as she walked into the bridge.
She looked out to see it was completely dark outside aside from the lights that were dimly flickering on the ship's hull.
She was greeted by Wesker who looked at one of the guards. "Release her," he said as the guard complied, though the one doing it did not seem pleased by the order.
"So do you accept the offer?" Wesker asked hoping to hear an answer.
Nena simply nodded her head as her answer.
"Just be warned, what you're going to be assigned will not easy, it'll be difficult if not dangerous," Wesker warned her giving her a chance to back down.
"It doesn't matter," she replied a bit sleepily. "I'll still do whatever it takes. I want to live."
A sudden, earth-shaking blast suddenly came from outside it. It sounded like an artillery piece, a really big artillery piece
"Well, I guess that is it then, you'll be assigned to your team tomorrow, for now you'll be locked in your assigned quarters until the time being" the blonde-haired man then signalled the guards to take Nena to her room before he turned back to the monitor.
Nena followed the guards to the lift as they then proceeded down to the lift. When they arrived to the they took her to the room she was assigned. They opened the door and told her to get inside before they then sealed and locked the door behind her.
Nena looked around the small room. There wasn't much aside from a standard military locker, a simple bed, a metalic desk and a trunk in front of the bed. There was also a small bathroom also located in the room beside the locker when she glanced to her right.
She quickly changed out of her flight suit and placed it into the locker leaving her only dressed in her underclothes before she fell into the bed and wrapping herself with the sheets and let sleep envelope her.
Tomorrow she would meet her team and from then on she would work towards a new life.
Daveral pressed down on the trigger as the 450mm roared to life, the shell heading off towards its doomed target over the vast sea of sand. He had switched the screen to a grid square map of the entire area. Currently he had zoomed it in on the base with a green blip showing the location of the Variant while red blips were enemy targets designated by the it. He had already taken out two hangers; the 450mm being incredibly accurate over the long distance when paired with a spotter; though, it may be due to expensive ammunition that allowed the ammunition to adjust for variables while in-flight.
The Rising Phoenix Pakistan base was a large facility, most of it being underground. The only things up top were the runway and several hangers which were made to appear if the place had been abandoned, but ever since word came of HRL forces, the place began to get back into order for what could be conflict.
The underground portion of the base was accessed by a large metal bunker that stuck out of the ground covered completely by sand aside from the wide entrance enough to fit a modern day aircraft carrier. Surrounding the perimeter of the base were automated missile turrets hidden underground only coming online when the bases commander or high authoritive figures in the group allowed it.
Daveral turned his head to his left, around the Lancaster were two large clips meant to feed the enourmous weapon each capable of holding six shells. An impressive feat considering how big the weapon was.
As he sat back, adjusting for a new target, Helana's voice then came on the line.
"Confirm hit on target," Helana said to Daveral. "That leaves three hangers remaining."
"Roger that," Daveral replied as he began adjusting the howitzers angle up several degrees before traversing enough so the Lancaster was in position.
"This is just how I always want to fight an enemy," he said as he pressed the trigger. "Far enough so they can't strike back and that I don't have to see them."
Helana then appeared on screen right after the final shell struck its target bringing up an image of the ruined base.
"Something seems wrong," Helana then commented. "You'd think they would've responded by now," she stated. "This seems like a diversion, I'm going to scout the area before heading back there could be another base further back."
Daveral nodded his head. "Roger, I'll tell the others on what you're doing," Daveral then swapped for the Phoenix's command channel. "Helana's heading out to see if there are anymore enemy bases," he told the staff on the bridge of the Phoenix.
"Understood, maintain watch until confirmed destruction of second enemy base." Kail responded.
Daveral waited for a minute or so before the comm went alive, it was from one of the tank commanders.
"Second enemy base is abandoned aside from a few derelict mobile suit being in the hangers, no personnel detected," a voice radio-filtered voice through his communications then called. "I repeat enemy base is abandoned, no personnel or any sign of activity here at all, returning to base."
A warning then appeared, telling Daveral to glance at his sensor.
Daveral immediately checked his sensors with his eyes widening. Several blips were just coming onto his screen, they had somehow gotten past thier long-range detection sensors.
"Sir," he said over to the Phoenix's bridge. "We have a problem out here, enemy troops are moving in on our position. They've somehow managed to get closer then they should've."
"Engage at will. We're already scrambling the defense teams and recalling all forces in the field, the Variant is to stay in the field to find out where they came from," Wesker acknowledged.
"Roger commencing bombardment," Daveral replied as traversing his Gundam so he was facing the direction the enemy forces were coming from; judging by the blip's speed on the sensor he knew it was a combination of ground, and high-mobility variants of Tierens.
"Enemy E.T.A is five minutes, maybe less," Kail warned everyone.
Daveral nodded his head in acknowledgement. "What a risky move using both bases as diversions to spread our forces thin," he then said. "But just how did they manage to get so close?"
The Lancaster then began to fire in the direction of the enemy while fighters from the main base, and the Phoenix began taking off. With all of their tanks were on their way back, it would be at least fifteen minutes until they've returned.
Daveral then switched over to Flint's channel. "Looks like you get to have you're fun after all," Daveral said, although he was not too happy about it.
Flint grinned as he began moving his Gundam out of the hanger.
Daveral watched as several blips on his sensors disappeared; the targets being caught in the howitzers large blast radius. "Talk about luck," he commented as he squeezed on the trigger once more.
On grid screen the slower enemies was beginning to spread out to avoid the artillery fire. As they did so, he switched off the grid map, returning to regular view and undeploying the Lancaster's stabilisers. The howitzer was useless against the enemy if they've got any closer, and if he was caught in the open while this was equipped he wasn't going to be able to put up much of a fight.
Daveral then began moving the Lancaster back inside the ship and into his docking zone before one of the engineers appeared on his screen.
"Why are you back in here shouldn't you be bombarding the enemy?" the engineer asked.
"I need to swap out for the missile launcher. That way I'll be ready for them when they arrive," Daveral explained.
"Will do," the engineer then began activating his console. "If you wanted to know the beam cannon is ready to go if you need it."
"I'll use it later," he responded hastily as he disengaged the locks for the howitzer on the shoulder mount with the flick of a button.
A large mechanical arm had already clamped onto the howitzer and removed it before another one quickly attached the missile launcher onto the shoulder mount. Daveral did a quick inspection of the systems to make sure it was mounted correctly and ready for use.
As soon as it was fully equipped and prepared, the Lancaster walked back out the hanger and down the ramp.
When he got back in front of the ship he saw several dots in the sky and zoomed in on them. Like he had expected, they were high mobility Tierens while a tleast three dozen of desert camoflauged, ground-types marched over the dunes clouds of sand behind them.
He began locking onto the lead mobile suit and fired once the system gave him the go ahead. He looked to see the enemy trying to shoot the missile down, but the projectile was just too fast for their tracking system and like that, one of their comrades was gone in a massive explosion leaving the remains smoldering.
The Lancaster then took off into the air to get a better a view with the Zesus beside it.
When the enemy was within engagement range of the ship he opened up with a volley of missiles from his missile pod and launcher.
The missile plunged into mobile suits unfortunate to get hit before they exploded leaving only bits of flaming debris and burning husks.
"There sure is alot of them," Flint pointed out as he watch the turrets popping out of the ground, and began engaging the advancing enemy forces.
Daveral ignored Flint's comment as he bombarded the enemy again whittling down the mobile suit strike force. It didn't matter how many there were, as long as they held out until the others got back they would be fine.
After another barrage of missiles Flint then recklessly raced into combat while the fighters that had been dispathced and had been waiting overhead also began to move in.
The battle then started to rage as Daveral saw shots being fired from both sides in the darkness. Mobile suits were getting cut down by the Zesus, while fighters launched missiles at the high mobility variants which were in the air while others dived in strafing the area with cannon-fire and deployng either bombs or missiles onto the enemy.
He then looked to see a high mobility Tieren dodging several autocannon rounds from one of the fighters which passed by the machine. The Tieren began tracking and fired at the fighter forcing the plane to veer to the right as it attempted to come around for another run.
A stray round then impacted the fighter's lightly armoured wing which still contained some missiles sending the plane into a roaring explosion a second after it got hit, bits of debris being scattered across the battlefield while what was left of the plane burned brightly a plummeted to the ground.
He could not tell what was happening to both sides as more and more explosions filled the darkness which was night with fireballs falling towards earth, tracers being fired wildly through the air, while small black specks would occasionally appear on screen before hitting the ground and engulfing whatever was around them in a devastating explosion that temporarily flickered in the dark before quickly disappearing.
A mobile suit then began firing at him before he dispatched it with a shot from his carbine going through the chest at short-range.
He began to set back down onto the ground as the mobile suits in the front ranks began coming to a halt and focusing their fire on the Zesus that had torn into their ranks.
"Flint get the hell out of there unless you want to be a dead man!" Daveral shouted as the Zesus then immediately began to pull from combat after he had launched his smoke screen. There were just too many for even Flint to be comfortable with. The man might enjoy fighting in Gundam but he wasn't completely crazy.
Daveral launched a missile at the first mobile suit that came into his scope. The mobile suit was distracted by the fighters and turned to intercept just as the missile was about to impact into it, and in a split second there was only a mangled husk from where the Tieren once stood.
By then the Lancaste hadr fired another missile, but this time it was hit by a barrage of shells causing it to be destroyed in mid-air. The front line of mobile suits were putting up a wall of fire to stop any missiles from the ground from hitting them as well as forcing the Zesus and Lancaster into a defensive position while their back ranks where attempting to blast fighters out of the sky
The turrets that were in the enemies path were now long gone being overwhelmed by the amount of machines and firepower the HRL had brought with them. And while the fighters were managing to put up a fight they simply could not fight in a prolonged engagement.
Flint then appeared on his screen. "What're we going to do now?"
Daveral thought for a moment before he answered. "Flint, get in there and disrupt their formation. Your GN field just might be able to hold." he instructed.
Flint nodded his head, with a slight glare at Daveral. "Oh, now you want me to get in there. If I die because of you, I'll be back to haunt you for your mistake," Flint stated as he steeled his nerves as he began moving back into the fray with his GN field up.
The Zesus rushed towards the line while the GN field took the shots for it and sliced at the first mobile suit that was at sword's length. The machine toppled over, a portion of the upper torso began to fall that off before the mobile suit went critical and the rest of it exploded.
The other Tierens then began backing away from the machine which just continued to cut through whatever got in the way of its sword. They were no longer able to put up a wall of rounds to stop incoming missiles.
Daveral looked at his ammunition count. "Only three missiles left, might as well hurry and use them while I still have a chance," he said to himself as he began locking onto three separate machines.
He fired his remaining missiles, two managing to make it through and strike their target dead on taking them out. The third missile spiralled out of control having been struck midway through flight and exploded near the Zesus's position, the machine just right outside of the blast zone.
If Flint cared, he didn't show it as he just kept cutting down enemy units with a grin back on his face.
With an empty launcher Daveral decided it would be best to use the beam cannon, it would be faster to swap out then reloading the launcher, and he would have alot more shots to fire which could almost not be stopped.
Daveral then got on line with the engineers from his station. "Better ready that beam cannon, I'm coming back in!" he shouted as the Lancaster began moving back inside the Phoenix.
When the Lancaster was docked the mechanical arm began removing the missile launcher before replacing it with the new beam cannon. The weapon was a dark black colour and was relatively the same size as the missile launcher.
The engineer then appeared on screen. "Be warned this thing drains alot of particles if you decide to fully charge it," he warned.
"I got it," Daveral said as he began moving back out once the large, heavy beam cannon was fully secured.
He looked to see the Zesus still out there disrupting the enemy formation.
Daveral began charging the beam cannon, he didn't know how powerful this weapon was or how many particles he would be left with, but firepower was what they needed. The enemy would surely run if enough show of force was witnessed, although destroying just as many machines would work as well. And one single strike was better than several seperate strikes.
"Flint get out of there!" Daveral demanded through the comm. "You've done your job!"
He looked to see the Zesus begin pulling back with its GN Field back up after launching more smoke to mask itself from additional shots. The Zesus had taken some damage with dents and scratches lining almost every part of the machines frame from either shell splinter, debris, or nearby explosions, but it was nothing serious.
When Flint had got out of the way Daveral pressed down on the trigger. A moment later a powerful beam was emitted from the beam cannon which caught several Tierens, spearing through them before the Lancaster did a sweep with the beam that began to cut down many more as machines began to evade and loosen the formation, some using nearby comrades to take the brunt of the blow allowing them enough time to get out of the beam's reach.
Once the computers began warning Daveral about the drain on his particle supply he ceased-fire and let out a breath. Some many people had just disappeared in just a few seconds by his hand.
"That's what I call drawing the line in the sand," Flint said as he stared at the carnage before he saw the enemy begin to retreat. "Their pulling back, I think you scared them off."
Daveral then looked up at his screen. "I don't think it was me though, even with that show of force," he pointed out as several friendly blips appeared on his sensors.
He zoomed in and saw several tanks roll out behind the enemy forces and began firing a barrage of missiles before quickly backing off before repeating the cycle. The rockets dug into the enemiy's armoured bodies before detonating from within the machine which sent pieces of their victims everywhere across the sand.
"They're on the retreat!" someone then shouted out.
Daveral watched as the Tierens began retreating, the high mobility units covering the retreat for their slower ground cousins.
Daveral just sat back and took his helmet off and lay back in his seat while he stared at the flaming wrecks smoke bellowing from the carcass of dozens of machines which filled the night sky as the Viper tanks continued after their prey.
Author Notes: I know Nena didn't get much spotlight in this chapter, but I promise in the next one she'll be in the story alot more and please don't have anything against the Viper tanks I know it seems out of place, but they're here to stay.