Episode 14 - Disaster in Hatte

[King Monkey]

Jacob listens intently to Clute's radio communication. And falls for it all hook, line and sinker. He's still not certain of his abilities, but feels much more confident after Tideland professes to trust him and to pick him as his wingman. He breaths easier as he awaits the order to launch and it doesn't occur to him that he couldn't tell the man "no." Not that he would, anyway. He might still follow his heart on the battlefield, but he's not going to outright disobey orders directly to his commanding officer.

"Yes, Sir. It will be an honor to serve as your wingman. I'll be right behind you," he responds through the radio. "You can count on me. There won't be a repeat of last time. I'll wait for your orders."

The reminder of his past failure stings just enough to make him dread doing it again.

[Psyden]

Jack’s comment is not well received, despite it’s intentions.

“Jack! Stop treating me like a little kid! I’m not going to stab everyone in the F***ing back if you don’t baby me or keep a sharp eye on me! Is it so f***ing much to ask for a little bit of f***ing trust once in a while?!? I swear to f***ing G-d, Jack, you and Clute are exactly f***ing alike, do you know that?”

With that, Celeste cuts the connection, thankful that she had the forethought to make sure it was direct at him -and only him- before going off like that. Now that the deed is done, she regrets doing it, but it’s Jack’s fault. Him and Clute both, for not having faith in her. Is Trust something that is really worth so little? Has she done anything to warrant their suspicion, something to lose their trust?

Fortunately, now is not the time to dwell in such things. She contacts the bridge to give her readiness status.

“Lt. Jay-Gee Celeste Angelina, armed and ready to launch.”

[mcred23]

- The Dervish -
- Hanger -

For an assortment of reasons, real and non, Team 2 arrived after the rest of the teams had boarded their mobile suits. The teams Rick Dias were already armed with their usual weapons, Eckardy had his beam rifle while the rest carried the standard issue Clay Bazooka's. Eddie broke the silence by opening the team's channel. "Good news everybody, we'll be the third team to launch."

"Hooray." Marvin said, his voice deadpan.

Eckardy snorted. "Cheer up kids. What's done is done and once we get back to Luna we can all get drunk as hell and either forget this s*** or hire some idiots to beat up MacAlpin, which ever is cheaper."

Ian's face appeared in his teammates sceens. "Now where would we find the school girls to do that, and why waste them?" He said with a weak grin.

Eddie's was larger, he was back to normal. "That's the spirit. Now, here's a story even Cowpokey hasn't heard...." He said, going into a story dating from around the time of Operation Odessa.

[EZero8]

--The Dervish--
--Hanger--

Wes's Rick Dias hummed to life as he started it up. As it went through the long list of boot screens and set-up stuff, he sat back. What was he to do during battle? He was prepared to fight, though he wasnt sure exactly who he will be fighting. The Titans? Or Jim?

Once the Dias was moving, he confirmed that he'll be carrying a beam rifle, like always. Maybe one random day he'll use a bazooka, but he'll stick to his weapon of choice.

"Gundam Gamma... prepare for anything hmm?"

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Inside The Shoal Zone -

- The Gela -
- Bridge -

Capt. von Gyuden, usually a model, stone-faced military man, had to focus mentally to stop nervously grinding his teeth. When the mine had gone off near the ship’s bow, it hadn’t done anything worse than superficial damage, but it had served to set the Gela’s captain further on edge. He had very recently begun to regret volunteering to scout this shoal zone, and now their exposed position was immensely clear to him. Jackson spoke up from his station and pulled Yurius’ thoughts back to the task at hand. “Sir, we’re drifting. We can’t clear a straight path that’s safe enough to follow my initial course. I’m compensating as we go, but we’re being forced in the wrong direction until we find a better lane through these mines.”

Another mine went off near the ship, and the captain winced. “Fine. Just keep us moving. We can’t sit still in the middle of this,” he ordered. He actually managed to keep a calm and professional tone to his voice. Jackson rumbled a wordless affirmative and the Gela’s heading changed slightly. “Losing contact with the Dervish, captain. Minovsky just jumped to near combat density...” the sensor tech reported.

Neither man realized Trent’s plan was playing out to the letter. The Thunderchild’s course changed to stay near the Gela’s starboard side. Both ships were now headed almost directly for the Kirov and away from the rest of the AEUG.

- The Thunderchild -
- Bridge -

“We’re still receiving navigation data from the Gela, sir,” called out Coates’ helmsman. The captain leaned forward in his chair and grimaced as another mine exploded at the Gela’s bow. The helmsman left his station and approached the command chair before asking in a hushed voice, “Captain, are you sure it’s a good idea to continue reliance on the Gela for navigation? We’re rounding farther out into the debris than I anticipated. I trust Chief Bergsel to lead us out of here, but maybe I should take back full course control for the Thunderchild...”. Coates cracked his knuckles and shook his head. “No, let them take care of the hard part. That way we can focus our efforts on clearing a safe path for the both of us. There’s no reaso–“ the captain began to explain, but the voice of a spotting team cut him off as it echoed onto the bridge through the radio. “Unidentified thruster flares to starboard. They look like mobile suits...”

Somebody else’s voice crackled through the radio onto the bridge, “BELOW US. ONE OF THEM IS BELOW US!”. The spotter’s cry sent a chill down Coates’ spine and he slapped the armrest of the chair before bellowing, “Open fire! Shoot it down!”.

Wolf’s launcher shot came close enough to the ship that its wake melted and bent the smaller forward gun on the Thunderchild’s starboard into a useless lump of metal projecting out of the Salamis’ hull. Luckily for the ship, Alexandra’s beams flew harmlessly past the ship, closely followed by Ryo’s potshots at the bridge. The ship’s lead Nemo pilot, a Lt. Campbell, furrowed his brow as he tried to follow Wolf’s movements without the assistance of his computer. He touched one of his ensigns long enough to tell him to stay with the ship to continue minesweeping before gesturing to his other two wingmen. The Nemos fanned out, each one trying to find and close in on a member of Beta Team.

Campbell moved in closer, tentatively using debris to shield himself as he rolled through the sparsely filled areas. As he got closer to his target, he switched his computer back over to the targeting system for the beam rifle and fired twice at Wolf. His two activated wingmen maneuvered out from the Thunderchild in a similar manner until they were close enough to challenge Alexandra and Ryo to keep them away from the ship. His XO fired at Alexandra, and the other man, an ensign, held fire as he tried to get behind Ryo.

- Outside The Shoal Zone -

- The Dervish -
- Hangar -

Fritz and Michiko were the last ones to suit up, and just as Fritz had settled into his mobile suit and finished the last of his pre-flight checks, Jane’s face appeared on his and every other pilot’s HUD. “Attention all teams. Stand by for immediate launch. Team 2 will deploy from the rear catapult. Teams 1 and 3 will launch from the starboard and portside catapults respectively. Please stay within 800 meters of the ship until we enter the shoal zone. Once the Dervish passes into the entry area, Teams 1 and 3 are clear to begin separate hunter-killer operations at their commanders’ discretion. Team 2 is to remain within 1.5 kilometers of the ship until new orders are issued. All teams are now clear to launch. Good luck,”.

Fritz quickly reached over and adjusted his radio until he could only be heard by Clute and Celeste. “Lt. Tideland, this is LtCmdr. Ashlyn. If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking Ltjg. Angelina with me for this operation. I’ll leave Ltjgs. MacAlpin and Curren with your team in exchange. There’s a sensitive situation I believe I can take care of with Celeste’s help,”.

Fritz hoped asking so close to their launch would help press Clute into agreeing. Plus, he’d be getting two pilots for one. Even if it sounded like Clute would say no, Fritz had made sure Celeste had heard the request so she could speak up if the situation required it. Fritz could only hope that a slightly smaller unit could move more quickly, especially with Celeste’s experience in the shoals, and give them an earlier and better shot at locating and engaging Wolf and Nick...

- Sick Bay -

"Yeah..but it doesn't mean squat when the ship is blown out from under you. How long have we been at station? How's the Gela?" Barrique croaked, his voice tired but stable. The doctor leaned back from the bed and shook his head, “They don’t tell me a lot. As I recall, the Gela and one of the other ships went into Side 2 to look for that fleet we were chasing. Sounds like we may have found something,”.

- The Hamburg -
- Bridge -

Loweno drummed his fingers on the side of his head in frustration. That should have been the Hamburg out in the shoal scouting for the enemy. He had more or less convinced Abbey to make her the fleet’s scout picket, and Loweno had felt his ship pay for it back on Luna. “Does McHale have the team ready yet? I want us right next to the Dervish the whole way,” he asked. His usual gung-ho command had faded into a more controlled, precise style after he had to nurse his ship along just to chase the enemy. “Time to see if the guns still work,” he mumbled as he straightened his posture.

“Sir, Ltjg. McHale says they’re ready to launch. Ens. Davidson is contacting the bridge...” the comm tech replied. He reached for the proper switch and Jimmy’s voice changed over to speaker. “...ission to launch? If I have permission, I be staying on guard near the Hamburg, may look out for any item that may come across.” Loweno crossed his arms and nodded, and communications gave the Hamburg’s pilots the signal to launch.

- The New Yark -
- Bridge -

Capt. Guanche broke the efficient silence on his bridge to order, “Give our team the launch order. Tell them to stay in front of the ship until we’re in the debris.”

- The Dervish -
- Bridge -

Abbey watched Jane’s station as the New Yark, Hamburg and Chuikov began bouncing back acknowledgment for all of his orders up to that point. When the majority of the board was green, he gestured ahead at Hatte and announced, “Once all three teams have launched, all ships are to move into the shoal zone at the safest maximum speed they can maintain. All ships are to stay within visual distance of the Dervish. No exceptions. I don’t want another Salamis wandering away from the group. We’ll rely on the Rick Diases as guides and spotters until we’re safely inside the entry area.”

[Cybaster]

At the moment the Nemos had fanned out to hunt the attacking Beta Team, however, Delta Team --- almost hot on Beta's heels --- was just making its own approach towards the Thunderchild from the upwards bow direction, and the trio of red-painted Marasais moved in from above in the opening presented by the splitting Nemos. It would likely be only brief --- the Nemos would be reacting soon, as would the other ships outside of the debris field, but perhaps it was all Delta Team would need.

Without further ado and coming in at maximum speed, Gilliarme said nothing --- he didn't need to, and there was no need to frequently micromanage Samantha and Shin all the time at the start of battle --- and simply raised his Marasai's Beam Rifle, turning right and downwards in a strafe away towards the port side of the Thunderchild, and fired three quick beam shots --- the first two at the two 2-barrel secondary guns on top of the Thunderchild, and then the third, as his Marasai began its swerve, at the ship's bridge --- before turning inwards and spinning left to avoid any AA fire from the Salamis Kai, while pursuing the Nemo pursuing Alexandra, and firing a fourth shot at it from behind to catch its attention.

There was no need to do further else against the Thunderchild; Nick Te'litha's Gamma Team would be behind them (assuming Nick didn't suddenly decide to hang back and let the AEUG murder Wolf for him), and even if Gilliarme missed the bridge with his own shot, Gamma would likely be able to finish the job for good.

[Wedge14]

"Guard duty? So we're stuck babysitting the Sallys...." Pan complained over the com's as he put his nemo onto the launch. "Bull f****** s***!! I didn't sign up for this pansy crap!" He gnashed his teeth suddenly, as his pink nemo was hurled out into space.

The man actually would of had plenty of time to go put on his pilot suit. But he was still pissed off about the mix up with his nemo. He grudgingly maneuvered his Nemo back close to the New Yark. Cursing awhile per usual.

He gripped his controls tightly, tighter then usual. He glanced around at all the other ships. The Hamburg was still floating with them. Somehow he managed to frown moreso. Why the hell didn't they send the damaged ship out into the shoal zone first?

"This is a joke..." He said to himself as he slammed his helmetless head into the back of his seat.

[Goose]

-Dervish, Hangar-

“Lt. Tideland, this is LtCmdr. Ashlyn. If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking Ltjg. Angelina with me for this operation. I’ll leave Ltjgs. MacAlpin and Curren with your team in exchange. There’s a sensitive situation I believe I can take care of with Celeste’s help.”

"Copy that Sir. When God asks, you deliver," says Clute amiably, smiling. "Wilco. I'll inform my people."

* * * * *

Jack winces at Celeste's angry reply, and swallows, then opens a new channel to her - and only to her.

"Celeste, it's not that I don't trust you! I just don't want you to f*** up yourself the way I did! I shut up everything I felt and I had a breakdown! I don't want that to happen to you!

"I never said you were gonna stab us in the back! I just.... just..."

Jack sighs deeply and sadly, and lifts his visor, letting Celeste see his saddened expression.

"I just don't want anymore friends dying, that's all. I don't want to see you or Clute or Jacob buying it. You've got something to handle with that tiger Marasai. I... I just wanted to help. I.... you kinda remind me of my sister," he says, out of the blue, looking off to the side. "I... nevermind, Celeste. Just... be safe, okay?"

It's at that point that Clute interrupts both of them with a message, not knowing what's happened. "Alright, Jack, Celeste, heads up. Jack, I need you to watch over Lt JGs MacAlpin and Curren. Commander Ashlyn is detaching them to join us for this op."

"Copy, Boss. It'll be good for MacAlpin, I think. I'll fill you in later. But six suits? That's gonna make manuvering in the Shoal a tad tricky."

"That's where Celeste comes in. Celeste, Commander Ashlyn has asked you to join him on a sensitive mission - I'm not going to ask, so don't tell. You'll launch as his wing. Jack, I want no problems from you. Clear?"

"Crystal. Sir."

"Good. Celeste, Jack, you have your orders. I don't know what the problem between you two is, but this is not the time for it. We go out there and do our jobs. Good luck. Be safe, Celeste. Our hearts and thoughts go with you."

"What about me?"

"Jack, you don't deserve hearts and thoughts following you," deadpanned Clute.

* * * * *

Clute opens a private channel to Fritz, and reports. "All done, Sir. I've informed Celeste that she'll be joining you, and I've told me people about MacAlpin and Curren joining us."

[Gambit01]

Actually, Gilliarme's suspicions were exactly what Nick had in mind; let Wolf get in over his head. However, he delayed as long as he could without looking blatantly suspicious.

"Gamma Team, charge!!"

Rocketing forth to due battle, the self-ordained 'Black Tiger' launched forth to give combat.

"Gamma, follow my lead; take the shot when I'm clear."

As Delta fired and flew off, Nick performed a flyby incase the bridge survived; this would, for a brief moment, get all attention focused on his mobile suit...leaving them vulnerable.

"CLEAR!!!"

[jim1899]

Jimmy was waiting for a reply from the crews, and suddenly someone open the com link to Jimmy Nemo, “Sir, the captain given permission to launch immediately.” Jimmy instantly close his protective screen of his pilot helmet, Jimmy than pilot his Nemo to the weapon storage place and take his Nemo beam rifle and his shield, than Jimmy quickly move his Nemo toward the catapult launcher, he was ready on the catapult and waiting for clearances from the crews who in charge of securing the Nemo and make sure it ready to launch. Thirty second later the green light is on and Jimmy ready his booster throttle and ready to be catapult out “Ens. Davidson with Nemo, launching to space.” With that Jimmy and his Nemo from a stationary position quickly get shoot out from the Hamburg catapult and into space. “So, guess I’m back in space again, hope this time I have a better memory about it.” Jimmy quickly boost his Nemo near to the Hamburg bridge and salute with his Nemo and station himself on one of the spot on the Hamburg that was suppose to be where Nemo fortify and defend the ship till further command. Jimmy quickly open a com link to the Hamburg bridge and say “Ens. Davidson in position, also arm and ready.”

[King Monkey]

Jacob looks up when the voice comes over the PA system. Due to the panoramic view of the cockpit, it feels not unlike he's hovering several meters off the ground in his chair, so the fact that there's no reason to actually look at the speaker doesn't strike him.

"A hunter killer mission? I thought we were the defensive team," Jacob murmurs to himself. He broods on the change for a few moments before grinning softly. "At least this way I'm sure to get a chance at those Titans."

He keys his radio to communicate with his whole team. "Ltjg. Jacob Markado ready to launch on your orders, Lt. Tideland."

[The Big Zabowski]

“They don’t tell me a lot. As I recall, the Gela and one of the other ships went into Side 2 to look for that fleet we were chasing. Sounds like we may have found something,”.

Richard furrowed his brow, and squirmed to sit himself up. He hissed at the pain in his collar and chest as his muscles wrenched against the wounded bone that resided within his body. As soon as the pain subsided, having now moved to an inclined position, he grumbled to the doctor..

"I sure as hell hope that Yuri knows what he's doing. Those Titans probably planned things this way... The hunters become the hunted.."

---

Shin also made his attack a wordless assault on the Thunderchild, popping off a trio of shots into her deck guns, hoping to finish what Gillarme started. As he saw his commander tear off after a Nemo which had begun tailing one of Beta Team, Shin rolled high, comming around and starting back at the Thunderchild. He let off another trio of shots, two up the Sally Kai's tail pipe, and one at her stern dorsal cannon.

He didn't wait to see if the shots connected, as Gamma team was screaming right toward him, and readying their rifles for a barrage of their own. Shin decided to slide left and low, scanning the space around him as if he had a rubber neck, trying to find one of those blasted Nemos from the Thunderchild's compliment..

[wonton bob]

- Inside The Shoal Zone -
- Near The Gela -

Bernard stops firing his vulcans at incoming debris when he notices streaks of light barely visible just off the Thunderchild.

"beam rifle?.."

A secondary minor explosion from the Gela puts his focus back on debris duty.

at this pace we're just sitting ducks here.. Bernard tries to contact Ltjg. Applegate.

"Sir, maybe one of us should scout ahead...the hairs on back of my neck are standing." Bernard says with a small laugh trying to snap out of the feeling of dread that came over him since they entered the shoal.

[EZero8]

--The Dervish--
--Hangar--

"So I'm being transferred temporarily... fine by me," Curren says with a shrug as he leaned back on his chair, "Team 3, this is Curren. I'm ready for combat as well. Looking forward to working with you guys."

He couldnt help but feel a bit curious with the whole shift. It's apparent that whatever Fritz had planned also involved Celeste as well. It wasnt Wes's business, but perhaps it has to with their discreet talks.

[RGM-79G GM Command]

After seeing his shots miss and some AEUG Mobile Suits head towards Beta team Ryo fires at the ships portside hull twice with the beam rifle before turning to face the Nemo that he saw was getting closer to him and fires one shot at it's torso with the beam rifle. 'I wonder why the pilot didn't fire, oh well I guess the AEUG can't train it's pilots as well as a military, unless of course he is trying to conserve his beam rifle shots which isn't such a bad idea.' He thinks to himself.

[Ascension]

-Dervish, Hangar

Jim raised an eyebrow, but complied with the order to join Team 3. He had heard that the team's "designated marksman" (AKA sniper-in-denial) was a nut, but he figured the sniper wouldn't do anything too crazy during this single op... so the team should be safe... at least as safe as anyone can be on a battlefield...

"Team 3, this is Lt. Jg. James MacAlpin reporting in... Let's go fry us some Ea... Titans!"

Jim barely caught himself in time to avoid saying "Earthers" instead of Titans. He'd have to be extra-careful to watch his tongue in the next few weeks, or else he could easily end up more than simply bruised.

-Chuikov, Bridge

"You heard Abbey! Into the shoal zone, full speed ahead!" Dombrowski barked.

"Umm... sir? Didn't Captain Abbey say 'maximum safe speed,' not 'maximum speed'?" his XO asked.

"Don't you have faith in our helmsman? With the proper level of skill, maximum speed is safe! Just tell the gunnery teams to go on standby... if anything drifts too close to us... blast it! That's what we did to space junk back in the old days, before everybody got so squeamish about the shoals..."

-Chuikov, Hangar

Dombrowski's gruff voice grated over the Chuikov MS Team's comm systems.

"Launch immediately! Form a defensive perimeter around the ship! We're entering the shoal zone ASAP!"

[Folken Fanel]

Dombrowski's gruff voice grated over the Chuikov MS Team's comm systems.

"Launch immediately! Form a defensive perimeter around the ship! We're entering the shoal zone ASAP!"

Vantz nodded, although no one could see him inside his Nemo, and stepped towards the launch catapult. "Vantz Howards, launching!" he said as his Nemo was thrown out into space. He used his thrusters to slow himself down, brought up his shield and rifle and hovered near the catapult to provide covering fire for the rets of the team.

[Wedge14]

That Chuikov ship it was fast. They would be the first ones into the shoal zone. The New Yark and Pan where still ambling on at there less then stellar speed.

He groaned angrily. Thibault was blabbing on about some nonsense but Pan just didn't give enough damn to listen right now. All around him he could see mobile suits popping out of their ships. They all looked the same. Few of them stood out, cept for the Rick Dias units.

"I stick around here with the Nemo's i'll get picked on....but if I follow those Dervish suits, chances are i'll be ignored...."

[Cardi Doorl]

- Beta Team -

The AEUG units had quite clearly been caught by surprise. It wasn't until a moment after Wolf had opened fire that the rebel guns spoke. Anti-MS fire on the targeted Salamis opened up, but the real problem was the Nemo team, already deployed.

Thunderchild Team's leader was quick to zigzag between bits of debris to advance directly at Wolf and fire off a duo of beam shots. Already moving at a high speed, Wolf forced himself around to fly directly at Campbell. The change in direction at such a high speed was harsh, even with the linear seat, pilot suit, and restraints, but Wolf knew it was worth it when he saw his opponent's shots sail right through the spot where he would've been had he not turned so sharply. This guy was a good shot, but Wolf intended to put a stop to that soon enough.

Still rushing Campbell not quite directly head-on, Wolf shouldered the beam launcher and fired a shot, then shoved off a piece of hard debris to change course leftward immediately after the shot.

-

Alexandra threw her Marasai into a hasty roll as the Thunderchild's guns lit up. This same roll allowed her to avoid the enemy Nemo's single beam rifle shot. She saw the mobile suit attacking her, but saw also another one gunning for Wolf. Suddenly the one attacking her became a nonissue; in a flurry of irrational emotion, she ignored it completely.

Instead, she veered toward Campbell's Nemo. She almost snarled as she let fly a trio of beam rifle shots at the mobile suit that threatened her Wolf.

- Delta Team -

Gilliarme and Shin stormed ahead to strafe the Thunderchild. Samantha followed, but held her beam rifle energy in reserve until she spotted the one Nemo that didn't rush out to greet Beta Team. It was the Ensign assigned to stay with the ship and continue minesweeping. Without a second thought, Samantha angled her Marasai to come at that particular Nemo from an aggressive angle. She leveled her beam rifle and fired twice, trying to knock it out before it could get a chance at returning fire.

- Hades Team -

Picard burst out into the combat area with all the power his Hizack could muster. He'd taken a significantly different course than any of the Kirov teams, and thus emerged near the Gela rather than the Thunderchild.

M-Hover gave a brief series of hand signals to his team: split up and be aggressive; Silverwind sticks with me while Drossel takes Miller. Then he dashed forward, firing his beam rifle at the general mass of AEUG in front of him.

Varis, meanwhile, knew his machine gun would have minimal effect against the thick hide of a warship, so he looked for a mobile suit on which he could concentrate. On the Salamis itself were at least two Nemos he could see: Norman and Bernard. Still following Picard, Varis popped off two three-shot bursts, one at each of those two Nemos.

* * *

- Alexandria-class Kirov -
- Combat Bridge -

Suddenly, there they were: two Salamis Kai-class cruisers in AEUG green. Trent could just barely make them out through the debris, but they were definitely in firing range. He could see that only one of the two (the Thunderchild) had mobile suit combat going on near it. The other (the Gela) seemed to have no mobile suits fighting near it. Trent's work was cut out for him.

"All guns, open fire," he commanded, indicating the Gela as the target. Immediately, the Kirovs weapons complied, filling the viewscreens with the harsh light of mega particles as they tore through the debris and toward the enemy. Jonas Sender over in the Hades clearly picked up on Trent's train of thought, as his ship also opened fire on the Gela.

[Fritz Ashlyn]

- Inside The Shoal Zone -

- The Thunderchild -
- Bridge -

The ship had just started an automatic course correction when Gilliarme opened fire. Coates’ eye was caught by the flashes from his beam rifle, and a command to evade caught in his throat. His knuckles went white as he gripped his chair’s armrests, and a lance of energy passed close enough to the bridge to affect the windows. The ship rocked as one of the shots blew off a secondary gun, and the captain finally managed to croak, “Sever our navigation link to the Gela! Full speed ahead! We’re sitting ducks if we wait for second hand data!”.

“Aye, sir!” the helmsman called back, his reply a little louder than necessary due to fear. He reached over and slapped a few controls and the ship suddenly lurched out of it’s smooth turn. “Accelerating...” he added, and the Thunderchild moved forward at a noticeably faster speed. “Sir, aren’t we leaving the Gela open to attack?” the sensor tech asked hesitantly. Coates’ jaw set and he shook his head after a few moments of consideration. “No. Speeding up will let us take a wider turn faster, and we can come back to her port side...” he explained.

While it made some sense, the bridge crew distinctly heard the tone of a man trying to sell someone else on an idea he wasn’t totally convinced would work. The helmsman’s brow furrowed as he looked at a representation of their new course. He felt it would hurt morale to bring up his captain’s inexperience in commanding a space combat vessel, so he didn’t question his orders. The Gela would be left with those mobile suits in her face while the Thunderchild overshot her turn just to come back facing the opposite direction. That meant one of them would have to go hard about to line up depending on what the situation was when they were side by side again. It was just a matter of assuming von Gyuden's experience would allow him to handle the extra pressure until they rejoined formation.

He mumbled his disapproval and had just returned his vision to the bridge windows when something big, black, and fast buzzed the bridge. “CHRIST!” he yelped as he recoiled instinctively. Similar outbursts issued forth from the other crew, some more colorful and lengthier than others. “Captain, I think we should move to the combat bridge...” the comm man suggested timidly. Coates pulled his hat on tighter and frowned, “Not yet... but I might change into a normal suit when there’s a lull here...”

- Thunderchild Team -

The Thunderchild took another glancing hit, this time thanks to Shin’s rifle. A small explosion blossomed out from near the base of the bridge tower. As he changed his angle of attack, the man left behind to shoot down mines, Ens. Ash, switched his weapons system over and began tracking Shin’s movements. He hovered in place near the ship’s bow until the Marasai honed in on his ship’s stern, and then he rapidly broke from his guard position to head the Titan off. In doing so, he had unknowingly avoided Samantha’s attack at his side. Shin’s first two shots at the ship’s stern barely sailed wide, but the third was on the mark and headed for the rear gun. Ens. Ash slammed down his controls to coax the proper speed and movement from his Nemo and managed to slip in between the shot and the Thunderchild before it struck. His shield took the brunt of the attack and the top was destroyed from the mount up. He hurriedly fired a few shots back at Shin to discourage finishing his run at close range.

Off the ship’s bow, Ltjg. Bruce, the team’s XO, was saved from death only by his computer’s insistent lock-on alarm. He snapped out of his tunnel vision’s focus on Alexandra in time to flit out of the way of Gilliarme’s shot at his back. “...The hell? How many of these things are there?” he growled, breaking off from his pursuit to momentarily take cover behind a larger chunk of debris before reorienting himself back at Gilliarme. “Go down, red!” he commanded his enemy as he fired a pair of shots back in the Marasai’s direction.

Ryo’s shots went wide thanks to the sharp and sudden maneuvers that Capt. Coates had initiated. The Nemo moving in on him, piloted by Ens. Williams, rolled out of the way of the shot aimed at him. That was a mistake. The maneuver was hell on Williams' innards, and he gagged as he felt vomit rise in his throat. He immediately halted the roll, and realized why that was a worse idea. He clamped his mouth shut to keep from filling his helmet. After his crafty maneuvering, he was again too busy (this time trying to not lose his lunch) to shoot at Ryo.

Campbell, the team’s leader, cursed as his opponent deftly rendered his charge harmless. His eyes went wide as he realized what Wolf was pointing at him, and he threw his weight into the controls to give the launcher’s beam a wide berth as it burned past. Warning pips alerted him to the fact that someone else was trying to make him dead, and he turned in Alexandra’s direction to avoid her angry barrage. He bobbed around two of the shots, and moved closer to a chunk of debris to avoid the third. The third shot hit the mine he had inadvertently tried to use as cover, and the explosion pushed his Nemo back. Fortunately for him, it hadn’t done any significant damage, but it did stun him with Wolf somewhere behind him.

- The Gela -
- Bridge -

The Gela’s bridge was in an uproar as the Hades unit appeared off their port bow. A stream of reports was bombarding von Gyuden and he was issuing new orders as fast as he could. “Captain, the Thunderchild has broken off our navigational link,” Jackson announced, his raspy voice actually showing some confusion. He made a wordless noise of disapproval at their "escort's" new course and turned to the captain to add, “They’re going to swing out ahead of us. Capt. Coates is accelerating... They’re going to leave us here at that rate! Who the hell is at helm control?”. Von Gyuden’s grip tightened on his chair’s arms and he shook his head, “Jeremy wouldn’t make a mistake and leave us open like that. They must be getting ready to change their heading again,”.

“They’re still moving away,” Erik called out, confused. “Sir! SIR! Hall’s unit spotted something out ahead of us! It’s big!” the spotting team coordinator crackled over the radio. The captain leaned forward but couldn’t see anything other than drifting junk. “All main guns, stand by for targeting information,” he ordered, his voice quieted between normal speaking volume and a whisper. The bridge had suddenly fallen quiet. Something was coming.

Large mega particle beams began blowing past the ship, softly rocking it in place. The crew noise exploded back to it’s former level as new orders were sent out. “Two ships. It’s two,” someone spoke up over the chatter. Von Gyuden pointed at the source of the bulk of the incoming fire and yelled, “Target the larger one. Return fire!”. The Gela’s guns traversed and locked into place, and a few moments later the former flagship of the 4th was answering the Kirov’s fire.

Off their port bow, the Thunderchild seemed to be hesitantly overshooting their position. She made another inexplicable correction to her course and shortly added the power of her guns to the Gela’s barrage. Coates seemed to be shooting at the other Titan ship, the smaller of the two.

- Outside The Shoal Zone -

- The Dervish -
- Catapult 2 -

“LtCmdr. Ashlyn. I’m taking off.”

The blue Rick Dias was flung off the Dervish at high speed, and Fritz worked to correct his course as quickly as he could. He had acknowledged Clute and thanked him before moving to launch. He was honestly relieved Lt. Tideland had been so willing to cooperate; he’d have to remember to thank him again later. While he waited for Celeste and Michiko, he peered into the shoal zone and could barely make out distant flashes.

The Dervish and Hamburg were just reaching the edge of the shoal when Michiko slowed down to fall in next to him. “Here, sir,” she reported in. Fritz’ face appeared on her HUD and he raised the visor of his helmet. “I’m counting on you to help Ltjg. Angelina and I. We’re going to deal with the situation I failed to resolve during our last encounter with the enemy. Those custom mobile suits I got tangled up with...”