Episode 26 - Operation Maelstrom

[Tangerine]

- the Hamburg -

“Wait a minute, you mean that’s not Paris’ Suit?” Irene was rather furious about it.

From bad to worse and now even more. “Where the heck is Paris?” she asked or rather demanded answer from anyone in her vicinity. Unable to wait for an answer she made her way to the hangar where she could get a good look at the Nemo in question. She didn’t even need to see the marking. It was still in good shape unlike Paris’ Nemo.

So, it really is not Paris’ machine… good grief.

Her thought flew to Al whose shape and fate now still uncertain. The boy was a mess no matter how she looked at it. Another one... Paris is still missing.

Irene reached for the phone and called the comm. officer. No luck. The line was busy.

“Hey, Joey!” she called at one nearby technician.

“What, me?”

“Yeah you sir whoever your real name is. That Nemo looks okay to me,” pointing at that one Nemo that just land. “Get me stats on that one quickly. Someone may need to fly it to retrieve Paris or to defend this ship.”

“You want what? My.. you pilots are craz... Okay enough! Just don’t give me that look I’ll talk to Doc and see what he can do about it.”

“And get somebody to prepare a rifle,” said Irene which provoked minor panic to the crew.

“She serious about this?” asked the crew.

“You heard the lady. Leave unit 2 and 4 for latter. Get everybody to check and fix that Nemo that just landed. Make it quick leave the big repair for next time. Patch the hole and seal the leak, I want it armed and fly-able in less than 10.”

[Rob DS Zeta]

-Kalinin Team; Arc-

After a bit more of dodging debris and watching for flares and friendlies, Arc and his Marasai finally found the Kalinin.

"Kalinin," Arc hailed the Salamis Kai-class warship. "This is Sunoue. Commander Bate sent me back. Need directives." he reported.

Inwardly, he did not like falling back to the fleet, especially not when there was such a big sh*t-storm going on out there. Still, there was not much an inexperienced pilot like him could do to quell the beast. For now, he guessed that the best he could do was protect the ships.

That, or he could do whatever else the Kalinin might ask of him. There was a pit in his stomach where the possibility that he might be asked to go back out sat, giving him another sense of dread.

[mcred23]

-The Kalinin-
-Bridge-

Other than the hum of the electronics and other equipment on the bridge, plus whatever other noise the Salamis Kai generated, the bridge had been a crypt since the mobile suit team had launched. Not that Nguyen would think of it that way, to him it was running exactly as it should be. There had been a few odd chirps, and brief words of reports as they watched the flashes of a distant fight. Nguyen wasn't concerned, the crew was.

Then things came to life at the comm station, where the tech reached into his helmet and pressed his hand to the side of his headset. "Sir, word of a message from Scirocco," the young man reported.

Before Nguyen could respond, a lookout on the bridge held up a hand to get his attention as he scanned with a pair of binoculars. "Incoming mobile suit!" The lookout called, barely controlling his concern. One of the techs quickly went to work getting one of the Kalinins' cameras on the incoming suit.

Marshall sighed and turned to the comm tech, who was twisted in his seat waiting for him. "If it's important, Kirov will let us know. Ignore it for now," He droned, turning to the sensor operator. "Ensign...?"

"Marasai, sir." The man reported.

Nguyen nodded and things calmed down a bit. A moment later, the comm tech turned again. "Sir, it's Ensign Sunoue. Commander Bate ordered him back and he is requesting orders."

Nguyen frowned, wondering why only the one pilot was returning, and sighed again. "Order the Ensign to return here to rearm and refuel, then prepare for a patrol." Nguyen ordered, figuring that the rookie and probably done something and such actions were needed. Even if they weren't, it was always good to keep the suits in their best condition.

"Yes sir." The comm turned and keyed the channel he had with Marasai. "Ensign Sunoue, return to the Kalinin to rearm and refuel. Be ready for patrol duty as soon as that is completed."

==================================================================

-Kalinin Team-

Runnels, Craig, and Hicks had been hanging near the point the Kalinin team had first hit the debris, or so they thought. Runnels had tossed aside her own rifle and stolen Hicks', who was now floating around without a weapon, having not even bother to draw his beam saber because he could barely use it. They'd been floating around, not seeing much, when Hicks caused static as he fumbled with the comm.

"Uh-er-ah, guys-ah, Lieutenant Runnels, I-"

"What?" Runnels sighed, hoping to speed up the conversation.

"Uh, I saw a Marasai heading back."

Runnels, who was mainly looking foward at the debris, spun around and looked, and sure enough, there was a Marasai heading back, and to the Kalinin, of all ships. Runnels didn't bother vocing her annoyance, she had told Craig and Hicks to report such things instantly, and the Marasai was too far away for that to have been the case. She keyed her comm. "Lets head back." She rolled her Marasai and started back to the ship at a fairly slow speed, worried about her damage, with the other two falling into formation behind her. It would take them a decent amount of time to get back to the ship, but they had seen the flares and all three pilots figured things were wrapping up.

[Kite_Ishma]

Kite foudn it hard to get any rest. The water was more than refreshing but he was too amped up to really relax. HIs muscles would tense and relax almost making it look like he was shaking, luckily no one was really around to see that. He calmed himself just enough to make it so he was more presentable and put his helmet back on. After closing it down and sealing it he went back to the hanger and floated toward the Nemo.

One of the mechanics that had been working on his Nemo had come up to him to give him a status report.

"I see, so the leak is being sealed now? That's good to hear. And the problems with the knee joints have been sorted out? Awesome, just need to wait on the seal now." He floated to the cockpit not really hearing what all was going on around him, he was more or less focused. And considering he had no real orders he would be sure to request an are where he would be needed once he got out.

Leaning into the cockpit he looked over the damage reports on one of hte lower displays and watched the repairs. "Wow you guys are good. I know what ship i'm coming back to for repairs if I make it out of this alive." Kite watched the reports the mechanics had been sending for him to check up on. It seemed like there was more than one leak. Preasure had built up as a result of him pushign it too hard and preasure just built up in several places. Teh good news was that other than the main hole which was now sealed, the other three were jsut small preasure cracks that could be sealed in no time.

[The Green Flame]

Following Bate's departure Alex didn't waste anytime in heading back into the debris belt. From what he could see the fleet had sent out flares to call back the rest of Echo's mobile suit teams so he had better get back to the Herakles soon. Looking around he could make out some figures in the distance but they were Marasai from what he could tell.

Weaving through the debris Alex kept an eye out for anything that looked like a Hizack. His team had returned ahead of him but he couldn't be entirely sure with Orsino lashing out at anything that looked at him funny.

Boosting the signal strength Alex attempted to raise his team again "Herakles Team, what's your status? Everyone accounted for?"

[Rob DS Zeta]

-Kalinin-
-Arc-

"Ensign Sunoue, return to the Kalinin to rearm and refuel. Be ready for patrol duty as soon as that is completed."

"Roger that."

With the ship's permission, Arc landed his Marasai and put in place for resupply. By some feat, he managed to avoid ripping a hole in the ship or some other ridiculous mistake.

Deciding that he wanted to move around a little, Arc vacated the cockpit and moved to where the mechanics were doing their things. Maybe he could get them to do something about his wide shots.

"Anything specific you want done, Ensign?" one of the mechanics asked as Arc floated along side him.

"The rifle's calibration is a little off. Every shot I fired went a little wide." Arc stated, holding on to a part of the Marasai.

"How was the action? Pretty different from Earth, right?"

"Yeah," Arc agreed. "But the action was kind of stale for me. The battle was already half-over when we got there. I think we arrived late to the party."

"Ha! Well, you can't kill 'em all yourself."

"Yeah..." Arc sighed, watching the man type on his little maintenance computer with his gloved hands. By this point, the engineers were all over his mobile suit as they went through the motions. "I guess not..."

[Inferno]

"We're good, for the most part." Marco replied to Alex. "I lost a foot, so I'm going to need some help coming in to the ship. The rest of us should be able to land just fine." He sighed. Sure, they shook up the AEUG, but this had been a phyrric victory. The suits had taken unnecessary damage, Criss was scared witless, and everyone on both sides was flat out terrified of Orsino. "You can take point, sir," he said to Alex, "I can cover the rear."

[wonton bob]

Delta Team

Ltjg. Kyle Roberts

Kyle turned his X-3 around in time to catch the withdraw flare launched from the Kirov. With the C.O. nowhere in sight he decided to heed the fleet's orders.

"Well Kelborn, looks like we've been recalled. Lets move out."

Taking a last look at his sensors he proceeds to the Kirov's position.



Kirov Hanger

Ltjg. Allister Grant

Exiting the Marasai's cockpit he takes a look around to see if any of his team mates had arrived. After losing Lt. Alvarez he caught sight of the flares and returned from the uneventful sortie. "Guess I'm the first..."



- The Bindra -
- Hanger -

"Nets!" Shellia yelled as she raced to take cover. A second damaged Gaza was coming in hot. They just barely cleared Lt. Ball's heap when they got word from the bridge. From the looks of Korbel's Gaza, he seemed to be having trouble keeping it steady. Hopefully no other suits will appear until they can change and reset the crash nets.

[Ziryab]

-Bindra team-
-ahead of the Bindra-

“What’d I tell you?” Pris continued to fly alongside Djorn towards the Bindra. Her battered Gaza-C pointed its one hand over towards the distant debris field to one side and behind them.

“Those flares have to be Titans,” she concluded. "None of ours is that far nor that idiotic. And the Aggies ain't really gonna stop now while we fall back. Come along--let's get ready for round two of this love triangle."

-the Bindra-
-bridge-

Raquel shook her head as she listened to M’Quve’s hypothetical planned scenario. So this was him, she thought. From the operation's beginning and continuing even now the man's behaviour seemed to confirm much of what she was told about him. And along with the main terms of calculating and aloof she labeled him as, Raquel made a check box in the category of aristocratic.

[Attomoku]

Gamma

Lt. Te'Litha

Bernard's first beam went high, alerting Nick to his presence and with a quick flick of his thrusters Nick reoriented in time to catch the second shot on his right shoulder shield, the beam dissipating as it burned away a small amount of AB coating. The third shot went wide as Nick now punched towards him at an odd angle, "Retard! I don't want you! I want the ZEKES!" he yelled at Bernard and fired a few rounds at him anyways before he heard Daren's attempt to warn him: "TELITHA! Th*skrk*" the rest was lost in static as he looked up to see 3 sets of full spread heading towards him. "Ritter! You c***!" he yelled as he swept the gun upwards above his head, firing the entire time to ensure nothing landed directly on him taking out a missile or 3 coming for him as he did so. Reorienting himself again to have the gun between his legs, he dove down and away weaving around a few missiles to under Marvin, using his Dias as an umbrella from the downpour of missiles where he changed vectors and took off deeper into the fray towards the direction Team 1 to present a lesser target. "Wolf, you Motherf***ing team-killing bastard!" he ranted over the open channel while Spach and McCoy whizzed across his monitor. Never one to miss an opportunity, he whipped his 120 into position and tried to bisect Spach with machine gun fire as he continued his tirade of curses at Wolf.

Delta Team

Ltjg. Kelborn

"Well Kelborn, looks like we've been recalled. Lets move out."
"Right" She acknowledged, spinning her suit back towards the Kirov and seeing the prep to return flare. She made a few manual adjustments and with a flare from the engines set back for the ship at cruise speed.

[King Monkey]

-Bindra team-
-ahead of the Bindra-

Djorn's eyes narrowed as he spotted the flares coming out of the debris field. It didn't take him long to dismiss them as coming from one of the other factions in this war. And it didn't take him long to guess that it wasn't the AEUG, although, theoretically, they could be trying to outflank them by coming in through the debris. He wasn't sure of Pris' assessment. As far as he was concerned, they'd given the AEUG a good drubbing and if they were smart they would retreat now before getting totally destroyed by the mighty forces of Axis.

"Sounds about right," he replied. "I'm always ready for another round of a love triangle."

But to put reality to his boasting, he adjusted his Suit with a few light touches of his controls so that he and Pris were covering overlapping but distinct arcs of the battlefield. They'd be able to see anyone coming from a long way away.

[Xvlai]

- Beta Team -

Firing his thrusters Sven 'dipped' down in position relative to Beta Team to avoid some stray rounds that had made it through the cloud of micro missiles. In conjunction he lazily swung his bazooka to keep it relatively pointed at Te'litha's fleeting Mobile Suit. The camera eerily picked up the glare of the exploding missiles and projected it inside the paneramc cockpit. Its bright light only offset by the dull glow of his computer monitor which was tracking Te'litha as he made his headlong advance, or retreat, into the battle.

Communicating over the team frequency Sven kept the message tight and quick given the disturbance around them. "Seems Te'litha has advanced against the enemy, do we follow and continue providing support." Sven highlighted the statement by gesturing at the direction Te'litha had taken, with his bazooka

[The Green Flame]

Well that was just swell. Dragged into a fight with the AEUG and Axis forces, revealing the Titan presence in the area, and extremely unnecessary damage to the Hizacks. And the captain was probably furious with what they had done as well, let alone the rest of the fleet.

Slowing his Hizack down, Alex hailed the Herakles as he began landing procedures "Weber here, all accounted for. Be ready for Marco's machine, he might have a little trouble landing" he said as the Hizack landed inside the hangar and moved aside to make way for the next machine.

[Inferno]

Criss flew in next, with Marco right behind her. Missing his foot, Marco moved exceptionally slow until he could be certain the ground crew had his suit held in place. After that, he exited to go meet up with Criss. "So Rookie, how was it?"

Criss was silent for a few minutes before responding. "Are all missions like that?"

"What, you mean do they all get thrown out of control all of a sudden? No, some go just as planned. Why, did the combat scare you?"

"There was this one Nemo... It charged me, even though it kept taking hits... I didn't know what to do."

"Keep shooting," Marco replied, seeing the last Hizack roll in casually. "Did you manage to get any kills?"

Criss went silent for another long period. Finally, she spoke softly. "There was this girl... She could have looked by age... She was bailing out when her suit exploded..." She took a deep breath, to shut out the trauma. "Does... Does this get any easier?"

Marco instantly knew what she meant. "Yes and no," he replied gently. "If you think about it, it becomes harder and harder. But since you have to do it either way... Well, everyone finds their own coping mechanisms."

"I just thought I would be bringing justice and peace to the Earthsphere..."

"So did I, back in 0079. But when you really get to see your opponent, and you realize you're both human beings, that stops working. So everybody comes up with their different ways. Some better than others. Myself, I make it about skill. I turn the fight into a contest, me versus the other guy. We're just competing, and the better man wins. So far, I always win. It's not the best way, but it helps me sleep at night. But I have to warn you, rookie, some ways you need to steer clear of."

"What would those be?"

Marco turned to look at the pilot approaching them. "You'll know them when you see them." Criss turned to see Orsino and got a VERY good idea as to what Marco meant. She remembered hearing him laugh, and disgust washed her guilt away.

"So, all in all, pretty fun mission. I'd say we pretty much thrashed them. Oh, and uh, Criss- Great work with that assist. I think it was pretty effective, the tag team. You should stick with me more often- we make a great team." It was if that last sentence filled Criss with nausea, and she took a step back.

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Near Gryps 2 -

- The Kirov -
- Bridge -

"I'm not a child, captain. Do you really need to continue your little game?" Trent rasped, keeping his voice down as he addressed Black Friday. The console's glow lit the lower half of Trent's face as he tried to avoid prolonged eye contact. He peered out from beneath the brim of his cap as Friday seemed to mull over his words. "Fine, Andrewson," Friday said faux-amiably in his usual way, with a small nod as if he were approving a minor business transaction, "I suppose it's time you were filled in,". Trent unconsciously began to grind his teeth as he felt his headache and fatigue start to creep back. With a faint smile that caused Andrewson to avert his eyes again, Black leaned forward slightly and explained, "By now you've surely began to wonder exactly why you're at Gryps 2. Of course, you were lent the team of Eye-Zacks to snoop around with, but any data they collect is just a small boon for us,".

Friday laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the desk in front of him. "You really should have listened to Scirocco's speech. It was quite invigorating. So invigorating, in fact, that our fleet is now in the process of... removing the rest of the uncooperative and undesirable elements within the Titans," he grinned. Trent wanted to reach through the screen and strangle him. "You're a very angry man, Andrewson," Friday tsked, "You need to relax. This is an important step,". So they were finally moving against the Jamitov loyalists, and Echo wasn't even there... "You didn't even give them a choice? An ultimatum?" Trent asked through gritted teeth, he raised his vision to meet Friday's. "Do you really think Bask would have ever agreed to cooperate? We're committing treason. The old Titans' tactics and policies would have surely spelled the death of us all. The kind of petty Earth-centric ideology Bask Om stands for is an obstacle in the path of Paptimus' goals," Black shot back, suddenly seeming much less affable.

The two stared each other down in stony silence. "The reason that you're a distance away from us is that you're being held in reserve in case of some kind of unanticipated trouble. I was against it, but I suppose Scirocco knows more of tactics and strategy than I," Friday continued icily after a short pause. Trent's hands balled into fists as he leaned on the console. "We're coming back," he said finally. One of Black's eyebrows raised slightly and he said, "I beg your pardon?". "There's no reason for us to be here," Trent spat, "This is absurd. We've needlessly been put in danger,".

Across the bridge, Mortimer turned from where he stood behind the primary comm console to look at the captain. Surprised to see him simultaneously so animated and haggardly stooped over the video station in the corner where he had gone to take Friday's call gave him pause. "Sir, we have mobile suits returning," Gojiro called his attention back. The operator leaned back in his seat to look past the chief at Trent. "Is the captain okay, sir?" he asked, frowning. "He's fine. I want us ready to leave as soon as all of the taskforce's MS have been recovered," Mortimer answered gruffly, raising his voice to convey the order to the other crew.

- Alpha Team -

"You think that you can beat them. I know that you won't. You think you have everything. But no you don't!"

Dolk let Jacob shove them apart, partially to avoid the angry beam saber slash and partially to duck a shot provided at a distance by Koenig. The Titans pilot frowned slightly as the rounds from the phalanx guns thumped across the front of his mobile suit. He turned slightly, offering his beam rifle as a hefty temporary shield. The Rick Dias pounced at him again, giving him little time to collect himself or move away. With a growl Dolk let the rifle roll out of his Griffin's hand - a beam saber was in its place in the blink of an eye, it's downward-pointing blade raised to block Jacob's charge. As the weapons' blades collided and slid across each other, the Griffin adjusted its position slightly to better parry the attack.

"Now you're down in it! You've got a head like a hole if you think you can commit the sin of taking me out! Anyone that's found happiness in slavery to the AEUG's corporate sponsors can only wish they're good enough to touch me. Once we take Gryps 2 back, you'll be part of the march of the pigs to the slaughter - get a little closer and you'll all burn! And it's going to hurt, piggy!" Dolk snapped, suddenly speaking at length more than he had probably said in the past month. He pushed back against Jacob, noticing his computer's multiple warning messages as Fritz and several other enemies drew closer. "You spacenoids are all the same, and the AEUG provides the perfect drug: that contolism crap. The day the world went away would be your last, you idiot! We're in this together, whether you like it or not!" he growled, using small vernier bursts and AMBAC movements to shift his suit's bulk again.

He suddenly shoved back at full power, putting a small distance between him and Jacob as he pulled away. "Jacob watch out!" Fritz yelled as he accelerated in at full speed, coming at Dolk from the Griffin's 4 o'clock low with his bazooka raised. "Into the void, starsuckers! Incorporated into this move is a little 'deep hurting' as I like to call it," Dolk responded, forcing his suit into a move that made it look as if he were practically bending over backwards to twist into a slicing attack aimed right at Fritz. The slash connected with Fritz' weapon, melting through the clay bazooka and biting into the Rick Dias' left arm. "Damn it, how does he move so fast?!" Fritz cursed as he was thrown against the restraints. His suit's forearm and part of the slagged bazooka spun away into space as he continued past at high speed. To avoid getting a face full of explosion, he quickly tossed the other half of the damaged weapon before the ammo cooked off.

"Dolk!" Stukov roared as he blasted into the area, "I know you are not deaf yet!". Dolk's suit straightened up and moved away from Jacob as he turned to look at his leader. "Ah, the hand that feeds," he said, moving closer to Stukov's suit. "We are leaving. You've caused enough trouble for today - prepare to withdraw... and in the future do not ignore signal flares or my orders," the Russian said coldly. "Follow orders, sir. Fine. Only every day is the same around here. The Titans are getting a little too into survivalism if you ask me," Dolk answered. As they got closer to Jacob again, he darted nearer to the AEUG pilot and warned on an open channel, "For future reference, this is the Griffin. With a capital G. Just wanted you to know the name of the machine that played patty-cake with your friend. The next time I find you, fight with a little more discipline if you want to stand a chance. I won't back off again,".

- Beta Team -

"Damn it! He heard you, you fool!" Wolf snapped at Daren as he took off after the evading Barzam, "After him! He'll need more 'support' if he's heading deeper into their lines!". "Ritter! Yo*zzzk*nt!" Nick's voice crackled into his helmet, causing Wolf's hands to tighten into a death grip on the controls, "Wolf, you motherf*bzzt*ng team-kil*zz* bastard!". "Shut your worthless mouth, Te'Litha!" Ritter snarled back, not bothering to stay off the open channel any longer. He fired a pair of rounds from his bazooka in Nick's general direction. "Here's some more support fire for you!" he yelled. "Seems Te'litha has advanced against the enemy, do we follow and continue providing support?" Sven asked, dutifully staying in formation. "Don't let him out of your sight," Wolf commanded, "We're following him all the way back to the Kirov,".

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Gryps 2 Space -

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

"Did you say something about panic fire, sir? Because I think you're getting it," Wade said with a chuckle as the ship continued to bear down on the Mandra. The unfortunate Axis ship was back to wildly firing at anything and everything close to it that did not belong to their side (and a few things that did) as it hurriedly tried to back away in formation with the other Endra-class ships. Abbey shook his head and commented, "Just goes to show you that surviving a war doesn't make you smart or talented. Just lucky,". He held up a finger before Wade or Filmore could speak and added, "Of course, I survived because I was smart, talented AND lucky,". "Of course, sir," Filmore nodded solemnly, "And I survived because I'm so handsome,". At that Wade deadpanned, "In that case you should probably keep your head down. I think you used it all up,".

"You're all full of it," Jungst grumbled as he continued to monitor his console, "Why don't we all get tired patting each other on the back after we take the colony laser,". The captain looked up at the overhead monitor showing a magnified view of the Axis line opposite them and said, "They're still giving ground. Must be pulling back to a planned position,". Jane turned from her screen and announced, "Several of our suits are on their way back, sir. I'll give Chief Polk the heads-up,". "Good," Abbey nodded, "And make sure at least one of them gives us a quick report of how things look out there on the small-scale,".

- The Hamburg -
- Bridge -

Lt. Stalvern crossed his arms and made his way back to Loweno's command chair from where he had been watching their maneuver at the bridge windows. "Things are quieting down a bit around us, sir. We should have time to make some field repairs and rest the generators," he said, blowing out a breath. "Yeah..." Loweno said, sounding slightly disappointed, "That didn't go the way I expected it to. The Titans are up to something,". "When are they not?" Stalvern asked. The Hamburg continued to follow the rest of the 4th in her new safer position at the far end of the formation. While there, the damage control teams would continue their work and the crew could take a short break from combat. At one of the control stations, an operator called for the captain's attention and reported, "Sir, sick bay is reporting that the medical team has extracted Ens. Izuruha from his Nemo,". The man beside him added, "That MS from the Seattle made a safe landing and is being worked on, captain,".

"Good, on both counts," Loweno smiled. He rose from his seat and moved closer to the line of bridge crew stations. "I want updates on Alfred from sick bay until he's stable and resting," he ordered, gesturing at the blinking comm light from the medical team, "I'm not going to lose that kid in this mess. He's got better things to do than get killed out here by a bunch of Zeke throwbacks,".

- Team 1 -

"Scheißkampfroboter!" Fritz growled as he fought to fully regain control of his Rick Dias. Dolk's attack had neatly separated one of his suit's arms just below the elbow joint, leaving him suddenly down a weapon and much less dexterous. How the Titans pilot had (1) seen him coming, (2) reacted so suddenly, swiftly and skillfully and (3) managed to land such a rough hit on a fast-moving opponent was insane. Finally managing to slow into a turn and take stock of his suit's damage, Fritz swept back into a path that would take him closer to Jacob again. "Jacob, don't follow him - if he's leaving we'll take it," he grumbled, his pride damaged more than anything. "Jacob, are you OK?!" Celeste called out, pulling away from Michiko to jet in as Dolk allowed himself to be herded away by Stukov. Behind her was Michiko, who continued to watch the prowling Koenig and Rand.

"Oh, come on!" Fritz muttered as his computer beeped wildly for his attention again. There were more enemies incoming... two Gaza-Cs and... a Barzam? "Guys, watch it. We're going to be entertaining a few more guests pretty soon - get ready to be on the move again. I don't want us bogged down here," he announced, speeding up to get closer to his team as he flipped a beam pistol into his remaining hand. Besides the light show coming from the two lines of ships, another burst of fire got his attention as the cloud of missiles provided by Beta Team were set off by Nick. From inside the puffs of flame and debris came Spach and Scott, chased by a bulky Barzam that was spurting gouts of high-powered 120mm rounds. "What the hell is that?" Fritz muttered. Despite his computer confidently labeling it >>>BARZAM through some unseen algorithm, he wasn't so sure. He tracked his beam pistol's firing brackets across the closest Axis suits, and --

Rand's Gaza broke apart completely as a mean yellow beam from Stukov's rifle tore through it's midsection. The explosion blossomed as Fritz' reticule hesitated there for a moment before he tracked over to fire at the oncoming units. "We're not going to give up ground now!" he yelled, firing a short burst at Scott. Michiko slid into position between Jacob, Celeste and the enemy, firing a pair of bazooka rounds into the oncoming crowd.

- Team 3 -

"Whoa! Jeez, back off guys!" Wes warned after firing the lead shot in his team's attack on the Mandra. As soon as they were in weapons range the Axis ship lit up, firing back at the Dervish and them both. Unfortunately for Team 3, Wes had picked an attack angle that left them in a bit of a dangerous spot as the flagship's own mega-particle fire came close on its way to the enemy ship. He pulled up in time to avoid a blast from an anti-MS battery as he turned to lead his team to a safer area.

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Gryps 2 Space -

- The Bindra -
- Bridge -

Capt. Wald continued to nervously tap on his bicep with his arms crossed as he watched the AEUG fleet press their advantage. The Bindra was now back in formation and making good time with the other two (oh God, it was only two now, wasn't it) ships in the Trammel unit. Supposedly this was all well planned out in advance, and the idea of some kind of order and control gave him some confidence. If the Bindra had been operating on her own he didn't know what would have happened to them by now. The knowledge that he was serving the princess and Haman would probably give him the resolve to stand his ground. Probably. "Chief Reyes, make sure we stay on the move no matter what happens to the rest of the fleet or the forward section. We've got to stay linked to the other defense units and the flagship," he ordered, partially to keep himself convinced of their chances at success. "Captain, the damage control teams are making good progress amidships. It looks like there isn't serious structural damage," Vada reported, finally giving him some welcome good news.

"Captain... Ens. Korbel is still on a, uh, landing course. The hangar is working to get the crash nets back up," Gina chimed in. "They'll have a hell of a time of it," a voice rumbled from the door of the bridge. Wald turned to see Lt. Ball enter, the banged-up veteran carrying his open helmet by the chin. "Lieutenant, it's good to see you made it back in one piece," Pizal said, giving the man a pat on the shoulder that made the pilot wince in pain. "One piece is debatable, sir," Ball answered, "And forget my MS. I tore up your hangar crew's crash equipment something awful,". The captain nodded and said, "Yes, but you made it. We can't afford to lose pilots of your caliber,". The lieutenant shrugged and gestured to the windows, out at some of the pockmarked spots on the ship's hull. "I'd worry about enemy pilots of THAT caliber if you follow me, sir. I don't know what the hell that thing was that chased me in, but it's using an MG that puts to shame the one my Zaku carried during the independence war," he said.

- Spach Team -

"Damn it, Spach, that was Lt. Rand!" Scott growled as they watched another of their wingmen get vaped. "We're being herded into a crossfire!" he bellowed, splitting away from his leader to make them a harder target. "Do not panic, Mr. Scott. It's unbecoming an officer of your status," Spach lectured, still remaining dead calm in the face of odds that were growing longer by the minute. He avoided the stream of fire coming from Nick by rolling onto his back and continued, "Koenig is still alive, and the three of us can unite our efforts and break free of the area. Leave the Titans and AEUG to impede each other's movement while we slip away," he said, turning 'up' to follow Scott as they headed in Koenig's direction.

[King Monkey]

Jacob's teeth gritted in fury as he pushed and pushed and pushed against the crossed beam sabers trying to overcome the difference in strength between their two machines by sheer force of will. The light of the two beams filled his cockpit almost blinding him with its intensity.

When Dolk began to talk, Jacob found himself fascinated and confused by the words. It seemed that there was a message under the message and he wasn't able to do any more than continue to strain against his opponent.

He didn't even hear Fritz's warning, the only clue that he had that his CO was coming in was a flash of blue as his Mobile Suit streaked past after Jacob had been shoved back. He was just as confused by what and how Dolk did what he did as Fritz was. One moment it seemed that Fritz was finally going to put the rabid beast down, the next moment, his Mobile Suit was missing its bazooka and was short one forearm.

Another of the blue Titans Mobile Suits rushed onto the scene and the one Jacob had been fighting left with it. Dolk came closer and Jacob rushed toward him with his saber drawn, ready to continue their duel but at that point, Fritz's bazooka exploded, making Jacob draw up short.

As Dolk flew away in his pretty hate machine, Jacob felt broken. He fixed his gaze on the retreating suit and slipped into a downward spiral. Fragile, he felt like his soul had been bitten with teeth and that he was back to year zero of training. Ghosts of his past slip over his mind's eye, taunting him.

Michiko and Celeste arrived then. "No, I'm not okay!" he shouts in response to the latter's question. "Where were you? He was here! The man who killed Clute was here but where were you? If you would have been here we could have brought him to justice for what he did to Clute but it's like you don't even care!"

It was fortunate that no one was shooting at him in that moment because he was doing nothing to avoid being killed. But the approach of the squabbling Axis and Titans Suits drew his attention.

"Go away! You're wasting my time. You're nothing but distractions!" he declared over an open channel. He boosted over Michiko as she tried to get between him and the targets and rushed toward the Barzam with beam saber ignited. As he rushed the suit, though he fired a pair of beams from his remaining shoulder gun.

[The Big Zabowski]

Gamma Team
-Hepburn-

"Hold for what? They just gave the damn recall order Faraday. You get Drossel back to the boat; I'll go after Nick.

..The stupid f**k."

With that said, Jack waved the pair off and took off to literally drag Nick Te'litha's hind back to the Kirov before he became sabre-kabob for some lucky AEUG schmuck. Kicking the pedals and wrenching the sticks, the Marasai took off in a flare of thrusters and apogee motors. A smooth arc from the lines turned into a laser like bee line for the engagement going on between the AEUG, Neo Zeon, and Alpha and Beta Teams.

While it seemed to take a while for him to actually arrive on scene, it ended up only taking up to a minute before Alpha team was in range.. along with four AEUG units and a trio of Neo Zeon suits as well.

"Oh for f**ks sake ya pudknocker.."

That was when he spotted the shells being fired at Nick as he began to fall back through the mass of AEUG units toward Alpha and his position as well.

What the.. Ritter what in the hell?

And now he'd stumbled upon it. Seeing those shells and catching sporadic chatter would have made him a witness, and readying his rifle..

Jack knew that if it all was falling apart with Sirroco finally throwing his cards down to take Basque.. that Ritter boy was going to die today either out of arrogance.. or stupidity. Wasn't his call to make though as his voice called out again over the open channel.

"NICK LETS GO! WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING!"

[Attomoku]

Gamma

Lt. Te'litha

"Shut your worthless mouth, Te'Litha! Here's some more support fire for you!"
Nick rolled to avoid Wolf's pair of angrily fired shells with contemptuous ease, "F*** you! F*** you and the high horse you rode in on Ritter!" he continued his rant on the open channel for all to hear and waved his gun with the trigger down in Beta's direction to discourage close pursuit as he continued hounding Spach, still heading towards Team 1 .
An alarm triggered telling Nick he had 8% ammo in the current drum. "Tch," he clicked his tongue, thinking quickly, he blew the ammo tether from the gun and executed a 180, taking his eyes off the Gaza's for a split second and taking note of the position of Wolf and his crew as he did so. Releasing the drum from the shoulder clamp the second he turned, Nick executed a bicycle kick, sending the drum and about 500 rounds careening across space aiming for the area between the two Gaza-C's. Rolling out the kick nearly instantly and re-disengaging the limiter Nick took off like a shot after the drum, even faster than last time, now lighter by 6000 rounds+drum and used propellant. As the familiar feeling of G-LOC started to settle over him, with the last bullet in the chamber Nick took aim and blasted the drum, the tracer neatly punching through the dented drum and exploded in a cracker of shrapnel just off of the front and right of Spach as Nick pealed off to the left. Spinning in a barrel roll, he ignited his saber in the left hand and made a high speed pass at the blue Gaza, making a deadly slash from knee to opposite shoulder on Spach as he shot past. Rolling around the oncoming shells from Michiko as his vision started to go, Nick punched straight for her intending to do the same as he did to Spach until Jacob got in the way, so Nick crashed into him instead, Jacob's first beam missing overhead and the second causing a long melted burn on the thick plate of the right shoulder where the drum had been a moment ago. Their ignited sabers locked as Nick plowed into the Dias variant in almost a flying tackle, his greater forward momentum pushing them both back into the midst of Team 1, while Nick's head swam and his senses returned in a very violent and jarring manner from the sudden harness straining deceleration.
"NICK LE*kzt*O! WHA*shrk*K ARE YOU DOI*zk*" Hepburn's question was a valid one considering, but Nick was not in the mood, "I'm a little busy here! Try later," he replied when he recovered his breath, taking stock of the situation, and now noting the make of the suits he had just plowed into.
"Are you f***ing kidding me?! 4th Squad right? This goes beyond coincidence you know..." he broadcast on the open channel speaking like this was a pleasant discussion over tea though he was still currently saber locked with Jacob after careening from innowhere, while his mind raced on how to get out of this mess now.