KnightOfZaku: Well...yes, but actually no.
Clpsealion: I mean, I'm pretty sure Type 61s were literally the punching bag of the One Year War.
Justinq719: It's M'Quve, the man single-handedly fucked over the European Front.
Music:
1. Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team - "Soldier" Extended
Operation Wyrm Part III: Jaws of the Enemy
The 300th Newtype Corps had now long left the scene of their battle with the Big Tray battleship, and was pushing the frontline deeper into the Alpine mountains. Along the way, they had linked up with some additional mobile suits from the rest of the division.
"You know, at first I thought this would be alot more difficult, especially with these junk mobile suits. But we're doing pretty well!" Alma said cheerfully,
"Yeah. Even the Ones are holding up pretty well I suppose." Zero shrugged,
'Almost too well.' Char thought to himself, but remained silent.
"Everyone be careful. The terrain in the Gurktal Alps is alot more difficult from here on out. Lots of hills and trees. Perfect for Type 61s. Not so much for Zakus." Ryan explained,
"Understood, commander!" The Corps replied.
"Hurry! There isn't much time left!" Rose ordered, "We can not afford to fail here! This is all or nothing!"
An officer guided several jeeps into position. Loaded onto their beds were M-101A3 Regina guided missile launchers and their ammunition. Soldiers swarmed them, immediately preparing to unload them and place them into position within the forest.
Without warning, several Type 61s suddenly drove straight through the preparations, startling several soldiers.
"What the- what are those idiots doing?!" Rose yelled,
"The 301st Tank Squadron. Or more accurately, that's the irregular platoon we formed for the mission." Lilith stated,
Rose shook her head, "Type 61 pilots. I wouldn't mind their ego if they held up any better against Zakus…"
Lilith didn't say anything, but got in the jeep with Rose, who proceeded to drive it over to the front of the area, where an officer was hastily barking orders.
"Lieutenant Barberry!" Rose called out to him, "How is it looking?"
"No sign of the enemy Lt. Commander." Lt. Barberry reported, "We will be fully set up in the next ten minutes."
"Make it five." Rose whipped out a pair of binoculars, and adjusted their range before surverying the hills and peaks in front of her.
"Yes ma'am!" Barberry saluted, before rushing off to admonish a group of cadets.
"Yo! Commander!" Helios waved at her from a kneeling Sky Type.
"Idiot! Mobile suits should be prone!" Rose yelled,
"Eh~ alright." Helios stated, briefly retreating into the cockpit, the mobile suit moved into prone position, leaving only enough space so that Helios could freely enter and exit the cockpit.
"Do you think they can do this?" Lilith asked,
"I don't know." Rose sighed, "The Anti-MS platoons are extremely undertrained, barely two weeks of training. Zeon might not have soldiers, but neither do we. And don't even get me started on the tank squadrons."
Rose looked up, "But. We have the advantage of surprise and terrain. Those Zeeks…they won't know what hit them."
"Still, this is a rather bold plan…" Lilith said,
"Eh?" Rose threw her arm around Lilith, "What's wrong? Normally, you're all gung-ho to kill Zeons!"
"It's just…" Lilith looked at her, "Can't you feel it? It feels like…"
"Death itself." Rose's voice suddenly dropped into seriousness. Lilith looked at her, surprised.
"I feel it too. Like something cold is watching us, or rather, riding on our backs." Rose said, and Lilith gasped in surprise, Rose was describing it in ways Lilith had never thought to.
"I've felt it before. At Loum. At Riah." Rose stared off into the distance, but she suddenly lightened up.
"Anyway, we shouldn't worry so much about it, otherwise, we'll lose sight of what's important!" Rose patted Lilith on the back.
Lilith nodded silently before walking off, unaware of the change to gold in Rose's normally blue eyes.
"...Ryan?" Alma called out to Ryan over the comms.
"Hm?" Ryan grunted in response,
"You spaced out for a second…are you alright?" Alma asked,
"I'm fine. Just thinking." Ryan lied, he rubbed his eyes. 'Another vision…'
This time, it was easily interpreted. The Golden Valkyrie had come out of the trees with her Gundam and begun to attack them during an ambush.
'But where…?' Ryan wondered.
"Everyone. Stay on your guard." Ryan said, "There might be an ambush nearby."
"I can go ahead and check." A Zaku pilot volunteered,
Ryan hesitated for a moment, '...it might be for the best.' He rationalized.
"Alright. Two of you can go ahead." Ryan ordered, and immediately, two MS-06J Zaku IIs activated their thrusters and lept ahead.
"They're here." Rose muttered, grabbing her radio, she relayed the same message throughout the ambush force.
"Lieutenant Yandell, you're up." Rose ordered,
"Keh, I've been waiting for this Commander." Lt. Yandell said confidently,
"Do us all a favor. Don't fuck this up." Rose said with deadly seriousness,
"Understood."
The first of the two Zaku pilots came to a gentle landing in a clearing some distance away from the main company. It's mono-eye zoomed in and out on various areas, looking for signs of the enemy.
"See anything yet?" His partner asked,
"Nothing yet." He affirmed, "Minovsky particle density is a little high though…"
"The fighting is still recent, it's taking a little while for them to disperse. Let's try-" His partner stepped forward with his Zaku, only to be hit straight in the sensor with a 155mm round, causing him to fall back
"Franska!" His partner shouted, he tch'ed, drawing his 120mm machine gun.
"I-I'm fine!" Franska said, "My sensor still works, albeit only partially, and these minvosky particles aren't helping…"
"Up there!" His partner pointed where two Type 61s were in dugouts on top of a hill. "Type 61s!" As he said that, he opened fire on them with his 120mm machine gun, only for them to roll off the back of the hill in retreat.
"Shit!" Franska's partner rapidly switched the comm channel, "Commander! We've discovered enemy forces, we're engaging!"
"What?! No! Wait for back up!" Ryan yelled, but Franska and his partner were already rushing over the hill.
"Damn it!" Ryan swore, "Enemy forces have been spotted up ahead! Proceed with caution! Marion, try to scope out the surrounding area."
"Yes sir!" The pilots of the 300th replied,
1. "Dumbasses." Herman snarked, "They took the bait! Smoke Grenades!"
"Launching smoke grenades!" Sgt. Rayban replied,
The M61A5s fired off all of their smoke grenades, creating a screen they could fall back behind.
"Lead them in front of the forest!" Rose ordered,
The tanks swerved and curved to dodge the hail of bullets that ensued as the two Zakus fired at him.
The bullets raised large clouds of dirt and dust as the tanks swerved around them.
"Two Ground Type Zaku IIs." Ben muttered as he looked through the binoculars, and began speaking through his comm in the other hand. "Based on their entry route and what we have planned, we need to focus on a quick elimination rather than a direct confrontation. The Minovsky Particles we scattered should keep our presence hidden long enough to launch the ambush."
In the trees, a line of Regina guided missiles, additional M61A5s, camoflauged Zaku IIs, as well as similarly disgused Sky Type and Ground Type Gundams.
"Alright, Lieutenant Barberry - take the 3rd and 4th Squadrons to the left flank, the 1st and 2nd can go around in the right. We want to draw them all into one large killing zone!" Rose ordered.
"They're coming up hot!" Lt. Yandell yelled over the channel,
"It's almost time! Jonathan, you're our insurance. If the lieutenants barrage fails, you finish off the remaining enemies with your beam sniper." Rose explained to him,
"Got it!" In his Sky Type Gundam, the sound of a beam rifle charging echoed through the area.
"Distance: 1800 meters!" A soldier shouted,
"Missile controls! Check! Ready to fire!"
"Beam cannons aligned! Ready to fire!" Vanessa announced.
"R-3X Beam Sniper Rifle is fully charged!" Jonathan told her,
"Not yet!" Rose yelled,
"Distance: 1700 meters!"
'Not yet…!'
"Distance: 1500 meters!"
Rose inhaled, her blue eyes flashing gold.
1- "Now!"
Franska blocked a 155mm shell with his shoulder shield, but it forced him to stumble back.
"Damn you!" Franska finally stabilized himself and aimed his 120mm machine gun at Herman's Type 61.
Without warning, three blips showed up on his screen.
"What?!" He shouted, he quickly tried moving backwards, and two missiles detonated against his machine gun, causing an ammunition explosion and forcing him to let go of it.
He managed to dodge another missile, with it barely sailing between his neck and shoulder as Franska flailed around, but the unbalanced machine stood no chance against the following two missiles that detonated against it's legs, the machine fell over, disabled.
"Franska!" His partner shouted
"Explosions! They've been ambushed!" Marion said suddenly,
"Damn it!" Johnny said, "We need to go help them!" Johnny immediately rushed forward with his Zaku.
"Johnny, no!" Ryan shouted,
"I'll go after him!" Alma shouted, following after Johnny's Zaku II with her own.
"Damn it!" Ryan slammed his fist against his console, "Everyone! Move in! Watch out for Anti-MS squads!"
The Zaku's partner rushed forward as he fired wildly at the treeline.
"We need to reload!" Barberry yelled,
"Jonathan! You're up!" Rose ordered,
"You got it!" Jonathan nodded, pulling a scope across his face, he aimed right for the Zaku's cockpit and fired a small burst, the beam shot out of the treeline and pierced straight through the Zaku's cockpit. The Zaku proceeded to trip over itself and fell over.
In her Gundam, Rose proceeded to type out a short message to Major Colmatta.
'Climb Mount Niitaka.'
"Major!" An adjutant ran up to the major on the bridge of his Big-Tray Class battleship Boston and handed him a slip of paper.
'Climb Mount Niitaka' was all it read. As he read the message, he smirked.
'She might be the most annoying bitch I've ever met, but…she has her uses.'
"It's simple really." Rose explained. "We leak information of an offensive into Poland to Zeon intelligence, and we tell them that we will be relocating troops from the Southern Front for it. Of course, this will be false. The 'troops' being relocated will simply be moved into the Gurktal Alps. When Zeon launches their own offensive into the mountains, we will draw them into our lines with the guise of victory, and once they're solidly in the mountains, where we can limit the effectiveness of mobile suits. We will spring our trap. Divisions will close the salient and create a pocket which we will crush with ease."
"And what of…the 300th Newtype Corps?" Colmatta asked,
"I plan for the 44th Mechanized Composite Division to deal with them personally, along with the Semovente Corps. See, if we draw them here-" She pointed to a hilly spot in the Gurktal Alps, "-we can lure them into a trap. The treeline fits this perfectly, by deploying in a semi-circular formation, we can create a killing zone that they can't escape. Then we come in from behind with Type 61s and the Semovente Corps and we destroy the enemy." She looked up at him fiercely.
"...once and for all."
"Essentially, you're proposing we doctor a false offensive to draw Zeon's southern forces into an encirclement?"
Rose nodded, "Exactly."
'I thought it was insane, especially considering just who she chose to be at the forefront of the plan…but it seems like it might work out.' Colmatta sighed,
"Order the 302nd through 305th Tank Squadrons to surround the enemy. The 129th through 132nd Guntank Squadrons may begin bombardment. Send the message to the other divisions to close the pocket." Colmatta ordered,
"Yes sir!"
"We got more incoming! Company size!" Kayla ordered,
"Send the message to the Semovente Corps to move in!" Rose ordered.
"Yes ma'am!" Kayla replied
"Do we engage?!" Helios asked
"No. We wait until the entire 300th Newtype Corps has entered our killing zone. Relay this order: "Hold your fire until the entire enemy is within range!" Rose told them,
Marion scanned the area around them, but her sensors were clearly having trouble with the large amounts of minovsky particles.
"Damn it. We're effectively blind…" Johnny said,
"Yeah. It's almost like they expected all this." Zero mentioned,
'Expected…?' Char began to think, from the moment they'd hit the enemy line, everything had gone too smoothly. They had cleaved through the enemy lines like butter.
Or had they?
Char formed a direct line to Ryan, "Ryan. Can I speak to you?"
"I know what you're thinking." Ryan said, "Everything we've done up to this point has been doctored according to the whims of the E.F.F."
Char nodded, "It's very likely this trap goes beyond just our unit…"
"It was too easy. All of it." Ryan continued moving his Zaku forward, "But it's too late now. We need to focus on getting out of here-,"
Without warning, bullets and shells began raining down on their unit.
"What the-?!" Gaia shouted, turning around, he saw a group of MS-06J Zaku IIs, Type 61s, and another, seemingly cobbled together type of mobile suit with a visor-like sensor instead of the standard mono-eye, however, it held an incredibly accurate 120mm cannon.
"Behind us!?" Marion said,
"Our sensors are completely shot!" Arlette wailed, "They must've made the Minovsky Particles so dense that we wouldn't even notice them coming up behind us!"
"No, they were lying in wait." Ryan shook his head, "They were merely covering what was already there."
"So…what do we do?!" Alma asked,
"Rush forward! Focus on rescuing our comrades and we'll go from there!" Ryan pushed his Zaku II into a run, evading the bullets and shells from behind.
"They're coming faster now!" Kayla yelled,
"We've fully loaded a second volley!" Lt. Barberry announced,
"Prepare to fire! All units, prepare to engage!" Rose ordered, "Our enemy…the 300th Newtype Corps!"
A/N: It's a trap! Boy, was I positively DELIGHTED when no one bothered to guess that Rose actually had everything planned from the start. Made writing this a whole lot more fun.
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