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Post by lighthawk on Sept 10, 2007 9:05:49 GMT -5
The deep rumble of the engines was a muted hum where Lira sat, in a small briefing room halfway up the length of the ship. She was alone at the moment, having arrived early on purpose so as to have a few moments to think. To her left, stars shone in the great blackness of space, showing nothing of where the craft might be heading. Lira thought she knew though, was certain almost that they were heading for the moon, for the dark side of the moon. It was there that the Marsians were preparing for their assault, making plans in the bases they had taken from the UESA. They had nearly taken the whole moon, and would have if they had risked to bring their behemoth of a space ship around to the light side. It had been that vessel more than anything that had won them their victory. But they hadn't wanted to risk it to the orbiting defense satelites, and Lira didn't blame them. The orbital platforms could shatter a standard warship, and even the OSSF's monster of a ship probably couldn't take one on...probably. Her nails tapping on the table, Lira waited. She was to meet her new team mates soon, two others like her, newtypes with full cyberized bodies. It was an exciting thought, a team made entirely of newtypes, when most MS squads would kill just to get one newtype. Such a team would be nearly unstoppable, if her new team mates were good, and Lira had no doubts that they were. She ran over a list of names in her head, she knew of every newtype in the UESA, though she hadn't met more than a handful herself. She wondered who she would soon be working with...
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Post by Roara on Sept 11, 2007 19:59:42 GMT -5
Jake walked into the room, and saw Lira sitting alone in the room. "Hey. I suppose you are here for the mission too?" He asked rhitorically, then sat down. "My name is Jake. What is yours?"
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 11, 2007 22:18:56 GMT -5
"...Lira" she answered slowly, taking the moment to eye the man up and down with her golden eyes. She smiled slightly. " I don't suppose you know who our third is, do you?"
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Post by Roara on Sept 11, 2007 22:33:02 GMT -5
"Not a clue." He said, looking out the window now. "I heard news my new mobile suit came in (yes, I am changing it) Its a custom model, based of the Jester Design." He said, trailing off into the characteristics of his new machine.
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 12, 2007 7:18:29 GMT -5
Lira listened intently as Jake described his MS, she was always interested in new designs, especially custom jobs. Outside, the stars began to rotate past the window, showing that the ship was turning. " We're setting up for entry into an orbital approach." she said, just loud enough that she wasn't talking to only herself. " I doubt we have half an hour before you'll be testing out your new toy Jake."
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 12, 2007 9:50:57 GMT -5
A couple miles back from the UESA warship, a smaller, sleeker craft trailed behind. It was a dart shaped craft, looking rather fragile compared to the wedge shaped bulk of the MS carrier it was following, and it's outward appearance gave no indication that it was in fact, almost twice as expensive as the UESA ship. The carrier knew it was there, but only because the captain had been told it would be, the new Lanchester vessel was almost invisible to standard sensors. It was there with permission, to assist in the first strike back at the OSSF. Inside the stealth ship, final pre-flight work was just finishing up on the four suits that were crammed inside the hold. Hardly an eighth of what the UESA would be fielding in the coming battle, but with their delieverly vessel hopefully able to slip passed the OSSF senors, they could be placed in a much more advantacious drop zone for the start of the fight. Between the four MS, five people were gathered, ignoring the bustle around them. Four were dressed in pilot suits, the fifth in a fine suit of dark grey with lengths of golden cord across the left breast, indicating his rank in the Lanchester military force, the ship's captain. He eyed the pilots sternly. " We're thirty minutes out from the start of the operation. You've been over the mission file, so you know what to expect," He said, tugging at one side of a long, black moustache that hung down nearly to his chin. " However, it bares repeating, we are being given an oppertunity here to prove our worth to the UESA. As soon as you are unloaded, you will take out the OSSF's sensor system so that flying bathtub of the UESA can get in unnoticed." The man snorted, as if he doubted that would be possible whatever happened.
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Post by Airkshil on Sept 12, 2007 14:36:43 GMT -5
Jehanna burst into the room and, out of breath, began to apologize. "S-sorry for being late." she stammered with a slightly downcast look, "I'm Jehanna; here for the mission briefing."
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 12, 2007 14:49:44 GMT -5
Lira eyebrows shot up in surprise, she hadn't expected their third member would be so...young. It lasted only a second though before she got her expression back under control. " A pleasure to meet you Jehanna," she said, smiling in a way that suggested she really was pleased. " I'm Lira, and this is Jake. And as you made it here before the mission briefing, you're not late."
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Post by ev1lpoptart on Sept 12, 2007 15:20:11 GMT -5
Allistaire stood in the hold with his hands behind his back and feet apart, at ease. The captain was probably right about the UESA's bulky ship. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if their mission went all to sh**, regardless of how the Lanchester unit performed. He had replaced the Vulcan on his MS with the rail-gun, specifically so he could take out the OSSF's sensors. It didn't bother him that he was sacrificing the impromptu fire-power of the Vulcan; he was confident enough in his skills as a pilot, as well as with his beam sabers should the need arise. As for his associates on this mission, he couldn't say...
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Post by Airkshil on Sept 12, 2007 15:22:05 GMT -5
"Really? I thought I would be for sure." Gratefulness ran thick in her tone of voice. Moving away from the door and sitting down, she tried to act calm, which was the opposite of how she felt. "Can't be too much longer, can it?" She said, trying to cover up her anxiousness. She hoped they hadn't noticed.
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 12, 2007 15:36:12 GMT -5
The captain's personal comm chirped, and the man answered it gruffly. " Yeah...yes...understood," He quickly stowed the tiny device. " We may have trouble, be ready to suit up and launch at a moment's notice." With that he turned, the Lanchester forces never bothered with salutes or put much stock in formality, and headed up the length of the hanger. " There's no way this mission is going to work like they think it is," One of the other pilots said, a short, blue haired woman with a youthful face. Aras spoke as if it was some kind of joke. " Not even close," the woman's twin agreed, and Sara also sounded as if it was something funny. She glanced at Allistaire. " They should have just sent us in." " Yeah, then we wouldn't have pick up the UESA's slack when things go to sh**," Aras commented.
Lira laid a comforting hand on Jehanna's arm, and was about to speak, when the vid screen in the room lit up, showing the rough hewn features of the ship's XO. " Mission plan has been scrubed, we have incoming hostiles," he growled. " Get to the hanger, now!"
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Post by ev1lpoptart on Sept 12, 2007 17:15:47 GMT -5
"Truth," Allistaire mused. "But as long as it pays the bills, I'm willing to mop up some bullsh**," he said, grinning. He began walking towards Executioner, then stopped and looked over his shoulder. "So you're sure you're not free after this?" he asked the two of them. Without waiting for a response, he finished the short walk to Executioner and sat, leaning against its left leg.
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 12, 2007 18:55:34 GMT -5
The twins flashed Allistaire identical wicked smiles, their long bangs falling down over half of each their faces in a sinister fashion they clearly spent too much time working on. " That depends..." Aras started. "...on how much fun we have out there," Sara finished with a nod towards the rear of the hanger, and the empty space beyond.
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Post by Roara on Sept 12, 2007 20:08:35 GMT -5
"Here we go!" He said excitedly, and set his helmet on over his head. He turned out into the corridor, and started running down the halls to the hangar. Upon arrival, he saw his beautiful purple Mobile Suite all polished off and ready. Her (yes, I am referring to my gundam as a girl) body was sleek, and curved, unlike the standard military mobile suits that were common. The head was like one of a gundam, eyes and everything, but on the top sides out came two jagged spikes, making it look like a jester. There were large, twin engines on her back.
"Aint she a beauty?" He asked anonymously. He climbed up the latter to the catwalk to enter his MS cockpit. He stepped in, and looked around. There was nothing but a large cylinder, but on the other end there was a piece of machinery. It had many vertebrae, to fit the shape of a pilot's cybernetic backs, and there were points where it would connect to the suits many receivers. When he leaned his back into it, he felt the grab of the receivers clicking into place. Then, as if out of no where, one grabs into his head.
There was a brief flash of light on his HUD, that shocked him for a minute. When he could see again the door was closing, and the missing area where the door is of the cylinder seemed to fill itself in. He could see the statistics coming up on his screen. First, the ammo in his semi-auto beam rifle, then the energy of both his back up and his primary shield.
When all of the data was clear and understandable on his screen, everything seemed to pixelate digitally for a moment, then his view was from the eyes of his MS.
"Ready to launch?" Came a voice over the intercom. To his right, he could see a control center hanging with a small entry from the catwalk. "All systems check, lift me out of here." Was the response, then, as if he was the Gundam himself, he felt his body being lifted, then propelled into space.
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Post by lighthawk on Sept 12, 2007 20:59:50 GMT -5
Lira followed after Jake, keeping on his heels until they burst out into the hanger bay. She spared a quick glance at the man's new MS, and was determined to get the blue prints for it if she had to steal them. Filing that thought away, she made her way to her own blue and red mobile suit. Quickly gathering her long hair up in a pony tail, Lira hopped into the pilot chair, settling back against the head rest until she felt the contacts slide home with a click. The open chest of the suit closed down, layers of protective armor coming into place to guard the small figure inside that was the heart of the MS. There was always those few seconds of darkness and a sense of crushing pressure, of being held so tightly that not even a finger could twitch, or an eyelid flutter. And then she was gone from that darkness, gone from her old body, into a new, bigger, vastly more powerful form. The mobile suit was her body now, she could feel it, every part as if she had been born into it. Lira checked her layout and cursed slightly. She had opted for the Striker gear, thinking the battle would be on the moon's surface. It was not made for zero g combat, but there wasn't time to switch packages, the rear ramp was already opening.
Mobile suits swarmed out of the UESA warship like bees from a hive. The vessel carried a full load at 33 MS, a truly sizable force. However, the craft they were facing could field far greater numbers. The OSSF destroyer was a beast of a ship, eight times bigger than the UESA warship. And it was cruising on a direct course for the smaller ship. Lira cursed at the sight of it, how the hell had they not seen THAT coming? She knew the latest intel had put it on an orbit nearly three times out from the moon's. " Have to worry about intel slips later," she said to herself, and goosed the thrusters. The pack on her back was meant to launch the MS in a gravity field for long jumps. It was not made for a light touch and it didn't take for it. She hurtled forward like a missile and dots began to appear in the distance around the destroyer. It had launched it's own MS. Lira opened her comm. " Hostile suits ahead, prepare for a head to head pass," She raised her arms in readiness, but kept the beam shield and saber unlit. No need to draw attention by their lights, not yet. Wait for the right moment... ...there! Shield and saber flashed in the dark, a round bounced off the beam shield, sending Lira into a spin. She tried to correct, but her equipment was up for exact control. She spun, saw a brief glimpse of the enemy, a dark grey suit, blocky with a squat head and bulky shoulders, trying to get the beam rifle around at her. She swung the beam saber awkwardly over her head, and a flash of sparks flew as the weapon found it's mark. The first kill was hers.
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