Chapter 9: Abduction
July 5, UC 0087. 1500 hours Zulu Manila, Capital City of the Philippine Islands "John, I think you guys had better get out of
here..." Jean observed as the minutes slowly ticked by, "If you don't
get out of here now, you might not be able to..." "I've gotten most of the guys out already," John
interrupted before Jean could finish, "I've got only two guys left in the
engine room. Just another extra three minutes to fix some coolant cables and
they're out of here, and so am I." "John, you'd better get back there so you don't waste
anytime trying to..." Jean started. "I know, just take better care of your self and this
bucket of bolts," John advised as he began to walk towards the engine
room, "And watch your back when that crazy Yoko is around. Blood-thirsty
Zeon Captains make bad company." "Will do, Magic, will do..." --------------- "Almost done?" Yoko asked as she entered the
engine room, "Those *******s are almost on top of us now." "Give me less than half an hour, and we'll be
done," Scott promised as he wiped some sweat off his forehead without
taking his eyes off the particular component he was repairing, "I'm sorry
Yoko, but we just can't just get it done any earlier." "Status of my Zugock?" Yoko inquired as she eyed
the two remaining local engineers. Brothers who had lost their parents due to
Titans brutality. She wondered briefly if she could be able to... persuade them
for a certain errand... "Functioning at eighty percent," Scott answered,
"Most of the weapons are back online, but expect it to be a little less
maneuverable and a bit more fragile. Also, don't take it anywhere below two
hundred feet..." "Alright, just get someone to warm it up for me
soon..." Yoko finished as she decided to walk towards the two brothers who
had just finished repairing a final set of coolant cables. Yes, she thought,
this may truly work if she pulled this off right... --------------- "Damn Luftberry..." Liv observed as she took her
JCB Kai as close to the enemy air formation as she dared. She wanted to attack,
but attacking a Luftberry was no small matter. Attacking from behind a target
would expose her tail to her target's wingman, while attacking head on would
expose her to her target's weaponry. Either way, the risks far outweighed the
rewards. "Mam, what should we do?" Gordon asked worriedly
as he also tried to trail the enemy formation, though having more difficulty
due to the cloud cover in his area, "I don't think we could really stop
them, but we can't just let them get to Manila with our guys..." "I know that..." Liv muttered in reply, "And
I'm afraid they're going to have to take care of themselves this time..."
Come on Jean... she thought but didn't say outloud. What the hell is taking
you? --------------- "What now Yoko?" John asked tiredly as he found
Yoko in the last hallway separating him from the engine room, "Are you
going to ask me to go with you again?" "Of course, Big Game Hunter," Yoko replied as she
kept her face perfectly neutral, "I may have crossed swords with you in
the past, but I would be foolish to let go of your talent. And persistence is
one of my best traits." "Only if you use it for good things Yoko," John
replied as he tried to step pass Yoko, who was seemingly trying to block his
way, "And trying to be a roadblock isn't a good thing." "Fine, fine, we'll just have to win this war without
you then..." Yoko replied icily as she tapped John in the shoulder. Almost
immediately, John noticed what was going on. "What the...?" John started as he grabbed his
shoulder, having felt the distinct pain of a needle prick. His eyes suddenly
went wide as he realized what Yoko was up to... "Sleep a while, John Recto," Yoko advised as John
began to drop on his knees and found himself slowly fading towards the
darkness, "Because I will be needing you, very soon..." --------------- "Three minutes until we reach Manila Bay!" the
lead Flatmouse pilot reported as his plane skimmed high over the ground, its
high-grade optics already recording the visual details of the terrain below,
"Still nothing so far..." Damn waiting... Natalie thought as she tried to keep herself
from biting her fingers. She neither smoked nor drank heavily, but she had a
nasty habit of finger biting when she was a child, and she hated having other
people see her do that now. ESPECIALLY Hawkins. He'd see it as something
childish and immature, though he'd be polite except maybe for a sly grin he's
suppressing, though she knew that it was forming in the back of his head. She
felt herself sighing at that thought. Why were human emotions so complicated
anyway? One would think that any sentient species that would have to deal with
such emotions would eventually go insane and die off... "Mam! Several Midea transports are breaking off
formation and are going on a low altitude run over Manila!" Hawkins
suddenly reported, "They seem to be preparing for a low-altitude Mobile
Suit jump!" Oh ****... Stop day dreaming Natalie... "Who's Mideas
are they?!" Natalie demanded. "Hasegawa's," Hawkins reported, "Captain
Romanov is requesting permission to pursue them and for fighter escort!" "Get me that damn Hasegawa on the line!" Natalie
growled as she picked up the radio. All she got was static. "No response!" the radio officer reported,
"It may be heavy Minovsky interference, or..." "Intended accidental technical difficulties,"
Natalie muttered angrily as she pulled out another euphemistic contradiction
from her vocabulary, "Damn it... Get another four of our fighters to cover
him, but keep Ivan's platoon close. I don't want to lose our second squad
to..." "This is Flatmouse 01!" an excited voice shouted
into the radio net, "Definite contact! U-class submarine, docked in Manila
Bay!" --------------- "Two Mideas, breaking off the main formation for a low
level attack run!" Gordon reported excitedly as two of the giant Midea
aircraft broke off the Luftberry and started to head straight for Manila,
"I think they're heading straight for the bay area!" "Let's go get'm!" Liv ordered as she tried to keep
herself from swearing outloud in frustration. She hadn't been able to do one
damn thing to stop Jean and the others from getting attacked by the air group
up until now, and now she was going to vent her frustration on the two stupid
Midea pilots who had broken formation. She quickly put herself in a tail-chase
position on the trailing Midea, all the while checking her back for enemy
fighters. Her caution quickly proved well warranted. "Four Sabrefish, right behind you mam," Gordon
warned as he kept his own fighter discretely out of view, "What are your
orders?" "Sandwich’m," Liv ordered as she kept her eyes on
the enemy Midea. Suddenly, several tracers streaked close to her JCB Kai as a
machine gun from her target opened up on her. She fired back with her cannons,
shredding the rear cargo door of the craft and chopping off bits of the tail,
but the gunner on the Midea still fired back, this time punching a few holes on
her plane. It didn't faze her however, and she fired again, this time her shots
scoring a hit on one of the engines,
and causing the plane to rapidly start losing altitude as the damaged engine
set itself on fire. Satisfied that the erstwhile Midea wasn't going to make it,
Liv quickly broke off, now focusing her attention on the four fighters now on
her tail... The four Sabrefish pilots pursuing Liv had already gotten
within gun and missile range minutes before, but fearing they would hit the
bigger, more vulnerable Midea, all four pilots had hesitated and held their
fire. Now angered by the loss of the transport they had been supposed to
protect, all four now pursued Liv relentlessly, opening fire at every opportune
moment at her and even managing to score a few more hits with their guns.
Unfortunately however, they didn't know that all this was part of the plan... Gordon had already slipped behind the four Sabrefish who had
taken the bait Liv had set for them, and had armed his last two missiles.
Before they even knew what was happening, Gordon fired his missiles at the
group, instantly destroying one while crippling a second, while the two,
shocked survivors instinctively broke off. It was a mistake one of them would
not live to regret, as Gordon had already bored in close behind his missiles
and put one of the survivors in his gunsights. With a press of a trigger, that
Sabrefish was gone. "Where's the second Midea?" Liv asked as she
pulled her fighter beside Gordon's, still on a lookout for any of the surviving
fighters that may still be flying out there. "I don't know, I lost him when he went below cloud
cover and..." "This is the U-606!" an excited voice declared
over the radio, "Enemy ground units are dropping on Manila! All hands
prepare for combat!" --------------- "Here we go people..." Jean warned as he watched
the surviving Midea sweep low over Manila's dock area. As expected, a platoon
of three Mobile Suits jumped out of its rear cargo area, using their thrusters
to slow down their descent, and landed on one of Manila's main roads. A missile
streaked towards the Midea, but missed the rapidly ascending transport aircraft.
Jean quickly turned at the source of the fire, and was amazed to see an old
Zaku II, brandishing a smoking bazooka with marking from the legendary
Afrikaans Brigade* from the Federation's South African Campaigns. Jean's
amazement was interrupted by a transmission. "This is Fernendez, where do you want my squad?"
the familiar voice of the city's mayor resounded over the radio, "And
sorry I missed." "Fernendez? What the hell are you doing in that old
piece of junk?!" Jean demanded as he scanned the area around the mayor's
Zaku and found another two Zaku IIs, both having markings from various guerilla
outfits from the One Year War, "You're not thinking of..." "I've done well enough fighting in South Africa back in
79' to get this suit as a going away present from the Afrikaans, so don't
underestimate me Powell," Fernendez replied coldly, "Now do you want
my help or not?" "We do," Yoko replied as her Zugock E2 arrived on
the scene, "More baddies are coming in. Hold those three GMs while I get
rid of any follow on groups. O'Connor have you set up those portable
SAMs?" "Yes mam, we're ready here," O'Connor confirmed as
he finished setting up his infantrymen's portable SAM launchers, "But
we're still awfully short..." "I have a SAM battery setting up in the airport
area," the mayor added, "Plus a few old Type 61s and 74s scattered
around the city. Not much, but they will help some." "Any help is welcome," Yoko replied as she began
to eye the skies above her, "Just get that sub fixed Jean, we'll handle
any leakers that get through..." "I certainly hope so Yoko..." Jean replied as he
also saw several more Midea aircraft start approaching the dock area, "I
certainly do..." --------------- Resistance had been tougher than expected, Hasegawa thought
as he finished gaining his bearings. Half of his command had been shot down on
the way in, though from what he heard they had made a successful emergency
landing, and now he was experiencing some unexpected ground fire from an
unknown source. One of his team members had already lost his Mobile Suit's arm
to a well-placed rocket, and now he was wondering how those treacherous AEUG
could have sent such a large force on Earth... "Spotted one!" one of his wingmen, a rookie pilot
named Hoffman, reported as his Mobile Suit's arm pointed at a low-lying
building, "Type 61 tank! Hiding behind the civilian structure." "Take it down, machine guns only," Hasegawa
ordered as he aimed and fired at the hiding Type 61, glad that Hoffman's sharp
eyes had found him another enemy just as he spotted the enemy submarine
earlier. His shots went through the building and struck true, exploding the
tank and sending its turret flying into the air and landing in a trashed heap
upside down. No one, it seemed, got out alive. "Two more of our Mideas, coming in!" Hoffman
reported as he squinted his eyes towards the sky. Suddenly, a missile streaked
into the cockpit of the first one and sent the Midea crashing into the ground,
while the second took a hit from a smaller missile and began to lose altitude.
Only two of the three Mobile Suits managed to get out alive before the plane
crashed into a building and exploded into a massive fireball, killing the last
pilot and the Midea's entire crew. "Sir, should we..." Hoffman started. Damn, that arrogant Romanov has managed to survive...
Hasegawa thought s he recognized the markings on one of the surviving Mobile
Suits. He was about to order them to say no when a transmission came in over
the radio. It was from Lt. Colonel Dolvich. "Hasegawa, you have got a LOT of explaining to do once
this is all done..." Natalie growled, the anger in her voice crystal clear
despite the grainy signal, "But this is not the time for it. Report to
Captain Ian right now and prepare an assault on the submarine. Our air support
will handle these SAMs." Only if you weren't around... Hasegawa thought but did not
say outloud. But at least he was now truly doing his duty, and was able to kill
those who threatened what he held dear, "Understood mam, we are moving out
immediately. Hasegawa out." --------------- "What are our reserves?" Natalie demanded as she
tried to estimate the actual strength of the enemy, which was proving to be far
beyond she thought possible. Perhaps two Mobile Suit platoons, plus
considerable tank and SAM support. Plus that black monster. Definitely far
beyond anything Ivan could handle... "Only Pollux's teams are ready mam," Hawkins
reported, "And their fighting value is doubtful due to their lack of
training. Of course, we also have our personal units, but with enemy SAM
activity..." "Contact the Fly Manthas and tell them to start doing SAM
suppression operations," Natalie ordered, "And get ready to take us
in Hawkins, we're going in..." --------------- "Remember, keep together and don't waste your
rockets," Fernendez ordered as his team neared the landing site of the
second Mobile Suit platoon, "Our old 120mms would do little against those
new GM IIs and Quells..." "Spotted one sir!" one of his wingmen reported,
"GM Quell, thirty degrees to the right! Crouching behind an old
condominium!" "Aim carefully and take the shot!" Fernendez ordered
as he also tried to find the same GM, but found his line of sight being blocked
by a few buildings. A loud explosion however, told him that his wingman had
fired as ordered, and had hopefully hit that Quell and... "Hit! But it's still operational!" the wingman
reported as he began to shift his aim, "Target is moving, I think...
****!" Suddenly, a beam lanced through several structures and
struck the old Mobile Suit, slicing an arm off the wingman's Zaku. But its
pilot fired back, sending his second shot into the backpack of the now fleeing
GM Quell and blowing it apart. Unfortunately, by this time Ivan had already
corrected his aim, and his second shot struck true as well, blowing a neat hole
right in the center of the Zaku's cockpit. "More enemy suits! Coming in from the right, ninety
degrees!" Fernendez's second wingman reported excitedly as he fired a
rocket, a little bit too early, at one of the three approaching GMs. The shot
missed, but gave away their position entirely, and they were responded with by
a volley of 90mm shells. Fernendez's Zaku took a scratch hit before he managed
to dodge, but his wingman was less fortunate, a shot ripping through the Zaku's
knee and immobilizing the unit. Before the pilot could try to escape, the
Titans Mobile Suits mercilessly fired at the Zaku's cockpit, killing
Fernendez's second wingman and blowing his Zaku apart. Damn... I thought we'd last longer than this... Fernendez
though angrily at himself as he aimed at one of the GMs, this one missing an
arm. He fired and his shot struck true, the shot piercing the Quell's chest and
blowing the suit apart, just a second Quell began to shift its fire at him. He
dodged, and sent a rocket in its way, but it was deflected by the Quell's
shield. A third GM opened fire at him, this time with a beam weapon, but he
managed to dodge its fire with a well-timed side step, before he fired his last
round at the offending GM. He missed. Fernendez then began to take several deep breaths as he
surveyed the situation around him. He was now surrounded by four enemy suits,
all of which were now aiming their weapons at him, and he had just about run
out of room to evade. Taking one last deep breathe, he dropped his now empty
bazooka and began to reach for his heat hawk, wondering if he would see them
all on the other side... --------------- *The Afrikaans Brigade is a non-canonical unit that appears
in the One Year War fanficion MSG 0079: Orange, written by the Master Termite,
available at the Gundamwatch for your viewing pleasure ^_^. --------------- Notice: This fic and all its contents are copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting. No part of this work may be taken by any other person without permission from the author. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by Bandai and their respective companies. |
