GBN 1.8 Gunpla Battle Nexus 1.8: Community Update

[ImAnnoyingHer 111]

Carter had watched the red Gundam fall down into the colony, he let out a breath and shut his eyes "Damn.. I got lucky" He said to himself, though he had no time to relax- His mobile suit was detecting a machine coming towards him and fast. 'Who the hell?' he thought to himself before finally recognizing the machine; he smirked at it and then turned his MS to face the red comet.. 

“Come on, Red Comet!" Carter yelled as he went in full throttle. He wanted to greet Char properly, he tightened the grip on his Knuckle Spikes and Shield, his plan was simple.. Rush towards him, get in low and get a strike right to the head unit of the Rick Dias, he smirked confidently.. and as soon as he was close enough he swung at the Red comet and.. Missed? "Where?-" He couldnt even finish his sentence as the Red comet popped up underneath him, kicking his Zaku in the cockpit and pushing him back quite a bit 'Tsk.. I knew he would do that'. The Blue lightning stared down his adversary.. The chest area of his MS was dented, though lucky for him the cockpit was relatively okay.. for now at least. 

He took in a deep breath, he could fight an NPD at the least, He made his MS Point directly at Char "Come on! Hit me with everyone you have!" He challenged as he dashed at his adversary, winding up for a strong punch with the spiked knuckle, only to feint and try to get behind him to smash the backpack in 

[MM007 81]

When Aida executed his maneuver, there were three key problems with how he did so.  One, he announced his attack.  Two, he started a pirouette of all things as part of the move.  Three, his enemy was still pointing a beam rifle straight at him.  Thus, Hikaru did the most basic thing in the world and simply pulled the trigger to fire on the modified GM III when it willingly exposed its back.  Dishonorable?  No more than having snipers, he figured.  "Tolle?  Remember where you are.  Quit posing like some tokusentai and give Ryu Jose and Sleggar Law their due!"  He wasn't thinking of Captain Bright being around to hear the names of his fallen comrades, he was just a bit irritated at the dissonance.  They were in the Universal Century, for goodness sake!

While evading the thrown shield as Aida had anticipated, Hikaru returned to the Alpha/Argama channel.  "The secondary objective has been targeted!  If anyone sees a blue-haired boy in a two-tone blue-green sweater, please save Kamille before the Titans and their allies can-!"  Before he could say anything more though, the modified GM III managed to fire its Shot Lancer at the general location where Hikaru had been led to evade the thrown shield.

The Shot Lancer was an odd weapon that was easy to underestimate in GBN because of the lore until one saw its relative size.  Developed for penetrating the thinner and more toned-down armors of the Second Universal Century's smaller Mobile Suits, a basic to-scale Shot Lancer wouldn't be able to do much against a Gundarium Gamma machine like his in most cases.  When employed for GBN, however, Shot Lancers from 1/100 scale kits were often altered by Divers for use with 1/144 scale builds and became roughly 70% larger in each of the three dimensions due to this scale difference.  This was a modified model appropriate to a 1/100 scale 14 meter tall machine like the XM-01 Den'an Zon, or a 20.2 meter tall 1/144 scale build post-conversion.  While the effectiveness of its heavy machine guns' 70% caliber boost was still an unknown against the Beta Gundam's armor, the lethality of the weapon's primary function wasn't in question.  Thus, though Hikaru couldn't work out the math or the details right away, the need to block was evident.

Bringing his shield to bear at an angle to intercept and hopefully deflect the blow,  Hikaru gritted his teeth and was thrown in his cockpit when the sound of crashing and scraping permeated the air.  The Beta Gundam was forced back and lurched to the side, with red warnings briefly flaring on Hikaru's console detailing the strain on the arm and knee joints before abating almost as quickly.  Upon stumbling to avoid falling over from the force before recovering, and continuing to move in the direction of the imparted momentum to try and move out of the heavy machine guns' line of fire, he took stock of his situation.  The lower part of his shield, bowed inward with a long scrape compromising its structural integrity and anti-beam coating, had thankfully been the greatest casualty.  Hikaru didn't want to think of what might have happened had his shield not been angled and if he'd tried to meet the whole of the attack with brute force.

"Tch.  Clever...ish."  Hikaru responded, not willing to praise the enemy too much for his foolhardy move.

Edited November 22, 2019 by MM007
Small addition/reference to Captain Bright, size adjustment

[Aida]

"Uaaaaahhh!" Right in the middle of the spin meant to give his shield some impulse, his rival had simply shot Airbatel in the back with its beam rifle, without a care in the world. "It was in reference to the shield throw decapitation, you thick-headed buzzkill!" While the wing binders had taken a very bad hit, Aida was still able to complete his move, throwing the shield then firing the Shot Lancer at his enemy for a direct hit at… his shield, which had taken the worst of it. And while the Gundam was pretty much in one piece, Airbatel in turn no longer had a chance in the world to compete. The propellant in the wing binders had ignited, destroying the backpack and damaging the unit. His shield was gone, and so was his spike. "This is very bad… I'm grounded." All he had remaining were two beam sabers and his dual machine gun. "I’m relatively powerless… or am I?" Aida wondered, his finger menacingly hovering over the button that activated Airbatel's special functionality: EXAM System. But it was meaningless. His GM had entered the scuffle in an incomplete state, and this was meant to happen. "We were having ourselves a nice little duel, until you decided to show your most treacherous aspect... Beta One, falling back!"

As the blue GM retreated on foot, hoping that the machine gun’s fire would be enough to keep the pursuing Gundam at bay, the green Galbaldy kept itself occupied with the Savior. The NPD was as skilled as its opponent this time, but the level of proficiency of the AI was always set before the battle by calculating the odds of each team winning, to give them both an equal chance. Could the Game System have predicted the downfall of Aida? Could the Game System have seen him as the weak link of his force? "Concluding that the defunction of Kamille Bidan will be critical to achieving our goal… Beta Four hereby commences sentencing of target." said the Galbaldy's pilot upon seeing the Zero Savior pull out its beam cannons to point them at her machine, and prepared to block, knowing the Galbaldy would survive a pair of shots. But her shield was oddly angled. Only the NPD could have known the face of the shield was pointed towards the suburbs… More specifically, at the torso of Higanbana, which lied still on its position, for a curious Jerid to climb on top and try to find the switch that opened the hatch.

"Damn it, is the hatch even here or in the head? More importantly, what's with this designation… RX-124? Was this Mobile Suit made by our guys? Why does the AEUG have this…?" While Jerid kept looking, a figure climbed on top of Higanbana's torso with a vengeful stance, clad on a recognisable blue and yellow sweater, and holding a metal rod. Right on time, Jerid saw the reflection of his assailant in the shiny metal, and tried to turn around. Instead, he was hit by the rod in the nose, rather than the back of the head. This pissed him off considerably, and he stood up, nose bleeding, to face the angry teenager. "You tried to hit me in the back! Face me like a real man… YOU SISSY!" Jerid and Kamille promptly trading blows right on top of the red Gundam, while the NPD followed their movements by subtly adjusting her shield. Aida was amazed by her grade of control over the Galbaldy Beta. "She can control the machine like it's her own body… But it's not like those expensive Mobile Trace Systems on the market… she still moves like a machine, even though she wouldn't really have a problem imitating us."

Another line of thought popped up in Aida's head as he tried to hide behind a radio tower, the only structure tall and wide enough for the task. "The goal of Alpha Team is very obvious… And she spoke of our goal, meaning we have one too… but it's still nowhere to be seen. I don't see it in the HUD, at least. Can she see it? What could it be?" His thoughts were interrupted by a pair of suicidal Titans, speeding past him at full speed on an electric military jeep, headed towards a pair of returning Rick Diases, which had made a trip to the space freighter Alpha Team had deployed from to acquire ammunition for their Clay Bazookas. The Titan in the passenger seat pulled out a portable Surface To Surface missile launcher after getting close enough to Apolly's unit, and yelled out before firing: "SPACENOIDS GET OUT!" An idea crossed Aida's mind, as the Rick Dias dodged the missile meant for one of its waist joints and leaned forwards to destroy the jeep with its Vulcan Phalanx.

"Could that be it…? Nothing to lose for trying..." stated the team leader, and grabbed a hold of the mic on the right side of his head to speak on the team line, hopeful things could still be turned around. "Beta Two! Beta Three! I want you to disengage that maniac and the Red Comet! We are ganging up on the black Rick Diases! Hurry! We haven't much time..." Airbatel came out from behind the radio tower, and started running towards Roberto and Apolly, taking aim and firing single shots with its machine gun. His ammo count was in the single digits, and his thrusters were gone. He had to be really careful if he wished to get into melee range to try a saber attack on them, and he didn't really know whether Beta Gundam had given up on them just yet. But it could be their only chance...

Edited November 28, 2019 by Replicator
yeetus yeetus imma commit self deletus

[Roromi 417]

As the blast erupted from the dual Amfortas beam cannons, Creed grimaced. He studied the effect of his attack. Time seemed to slow down as the reddish blue beam arced out to touch his foe. The Galbaldy foolishly tried to block the attack and Creed had to wonder if the NPD just went daft. The beam was merciless in its course and any damage to the Galbaldy was overshadowed by the arc slamming into the ground of the colony opposite of where they were on the far side. Black smoke retreated from the impact just before being sucked back in by the small hole etched into the colony, leading into space. 

Satisfied at causing a big enough distraction with the colony damage, Creed transformed his damaged mobile suit into a mobile armor to jet away. Between the growing winds of the colony hole and the damaged arm, the Zero Savior began to drag sluggishly to the right. With his main weapon out of commission and the recharge time between his cannons slow, Creed was relegated to a supporting role; still he looked for the objectives. 

The black banner of smoke spilling from the inoperable MKII caught his attention first. Really it was just the cockpit that had been destroyed the rest of the mobile suit was still there. Grim furrowed his brow and veered his craft to the abandoned black Gundam. He transformed back into a mobile suit and began to lamely pick up the damaged suit with his good arm. While he had no idea if securing the damaged unit would count towards victory, he was willing to give it a try. If nothing else maybe he could make the enemies panic in assumptions. The only downside to his plan was how vulnerable he would be performing the task. 

——

Quattro gritted his teeth as the Rick Dias landed home on the blue Zaku. The momentum of the kick transferred over knocking the blue suit away and giving the lieutenant a moment to swing his bazooka back around. As he did so the blue Zaku charged forward to swing a punch at him of all things. Just then a familiar sensation tingled in Quattro’s senses and he instinctively pivoted the cannons on his back to shoot blindly behind himself. He rarely used the weapons and the jolt to his cockpit startled him, in fact the recoil was much too great. 

The cannons fired successfully but an impact to his back sent the Rick Dias tumbling forward. “Argh! He must have feinted and got me!” Quattro yelled out as he fought the controls. He had little time to orient himself much less properly assess the damage to his machine, but he did quickly realized the back cannons were damaged. “Looks like I have to give this guy some credit!” The lieutenant grimaced. He switched his comm again, “Higanbana please respond if you’re able to assist!” 

[FrostyFoster 453]

"Beta Two! Beta Three! I want you to disengage that maniac and the Red Comet! We are ganging up on the black Rick Diases! Hurry! We haven't much time..."

“I’m a little busy right now…” Thought Kyle as the maniac proceeded to mock him. “Knockoff?! I’m even better than Lockon!” He brought up his own shield in an attempt to deflect the blasts back at the Astray. After all, the Sazabi’s shield was covered in Beam-Resistant coating. “Not this time, budd-“ The first shot scraped across his left arm as it went under the shield, causing some exterior damage. “Damage! Damage!” Haro yelled out! Kyle rolled his eyes, wondering how useful the robot could really be in battle. “Yes I know!”

Thankfully, he managed to deflect the next blast back to his enemy, but the same couldn’t be said for the third. Not only did the final blast cause some harm to the shield, knocking Kyle back, but it deflected towards colony’s ground. “Uh oh…” An explosion erupted near the base as a massive hole opened inside, sucking everything it could into the depths of space. Kyle pulled back on the thrusters away from it as many vehicles and people were sucked out of the colony. “DAMMIT!” He said as the controls got tighter.

The gaping hole was finally out of range as the Trinames slammed into some nearby trees. He instinctively held his head, even though no physical damage could be done to the diver. Turning on the main camera again, he couldn’t see his opponent anywhere in range. “Hopefully it got sucked out.” Suddenly, the spherical toy bounced up. “Kyle! Kyle!” Haro chirped. “Apolly, Roberto!” Kyle glanced up to see the Rick Dias’ in combat. “I don’t know why they’re so important, but fighting them will be a nice change of pace.” Kyle opened the comm line. “This is Beta Two. Engaging the enemy!” He yelled out as he blasted upward towards them.

[Shin Hakuren]

Shin laughed as the combatant struggled the shots flying off in other directions and even the fact that he tired to fire one back at him. It didn't matter this Meister was about to be taken out. Shin payed little attention to his thursters warning indicators, this was the moment he had been waiting for his chance to eradicate this Gundam from the field. His machine began to close the gap, his GN Rifle returning to blade form. He arm of his gundam extending into the air to pull off a powerful slash. 

A large explosion, and then Warnings the pilot couldn't Ignore.

"What did you do! KNOCKOFF!" With that he tried to stay with the Dynames but his thruster blew out as he tried to keep himself from being sucked out into space. As him and the Dynames got separated and his machine flew closer and closer to new hole in the colony. Shin had to figure out a way not to get blown into space. If he had been sucked out into space it would take him far to long to get back into action. With a little quick thinking he adjusted his remaining thrusters for a quick burst. His gave him just enough thrust to break free and crash land somewhere on the colony floor.

As the dust cleared Shin looked around his systems to see what was affected by the crash. Minimal damage to the outer shell and mostly everything seemed fine. His thrusters where almost completely shot and on further examination his left arm was going to have limited mobility. Looking around the area is was vastly different then where he had been with the pull and burst of his thrusters he didn't really care where he landed just that it wasn't space. He was agitated that, the coward had used his shots to make a way for him to escape. He should have just let his gunpla lose... but no he had to leave a bad taste in Shins mouth and run away. He was no Knockoff, just a coward.

As Shin sat in his cockpit coming up with some sort of plan. He could see something in the distance a Gunpla just laying on the ground. It was that TR-6 Woundwort, It had that quiet pilot. With that Shin turned his coms back on. He didnt want to admit it but if he wanted to win they would have to work together especially now that the Astral AGE was maybe at 73% functionality. He would have to rely on them coming together as a "Team" god that word made his skin crawl a bit.

"Listen up! The enemy team blew a hole in the colony so be careful. I'm sure it will have all sorts of effects on the terrain for a while.... and I wasnt able to take out the coward in the Dynames." As he finished talking he got a few notifications from the chat from Risu and saw that most all of his team was in combat. With that he raised his gunpla and slowly started moving toward his downed Ally Gunpla. As he started to get closer he saw the wreckage of some other gunpla. He chose to play it safe and used his scope to check out the scene.

[ImAnnoyingHer 111]

"Tsk!" Carter clicked his tongue, even after getting the drop on him- The red comet was able to get a shot at the Blue Lightning. "You'll have to do better than that though!" he said, re-orienting himself to face his rival once more, he checked his mobile suit and saw the damage, the beams that the Rick Dias fired found purchase around the legs of the Zaku, though.. his mobility wont hurt much at least. 

He activated his thrusters, preparing to launch at the Lieutenant at fast speeds, he still had one weapon up his sleeve.. Literally, he aimed his arm forward, and the triple barreled vulcan guns he had installed came to the surface. He started firing at the tumbling Rick Dias while boosting hard towards him, he was preparing to do a quick barrel roll to avoid a head on collision, and.. 

"Beta Two! Beta Three! I want you to disengage that maniac and the Red Comet! We are ganging up on the black Rick Diases! Hurry! We haven't much time..."

"What?!-" Carter asked, suddenly veering off course and facing down the Red Comet.. He sighed deeply and shook his head, opening up Communications with him "Next time" He said to him before turning and then going at top speed.. He was searching for the marked enemies.

[MM007 81]

(OOC, Fa and Kamille are played by Roromi.  We RPed this out together before posting it.)

 

“There's a time and a place for duels, and team missions aren't it!” Hikaru exclaimed as the enemy GM III variant attempted to use its machine gun to keep the Beta Gundam at bay. The caliber increase of the weapon did make Hikaru play a bit defensively due to his lack of shield, but Gundarium Gamma armor was likely to have little issue with the rounds as long as they didn't hit something like an optic or vernier. No, what kept Hikaru at bay long enough for Aida to escape his sight were the explosions making nearby holes in the colony wall. This had the effect of causing his machine to be pulled away by the suction, at least until he employed his thrusters. “Seriously?” Hikaru groaned out as he fought to avoid being sucked out into space. Of course, there was something that gave him pause. Zooming in on something which caught his eye due to the contrasting yellow and red, he noted Fa Yuiry of all people. She'd briefly slid along the ground before being sucked up and drawn into the air toward the holes in the colony wall. Alarms triggering in Hikaru's mind as he failed briefly to distinguish between human and NPD, the pilot activated his thrusters and worked to try and guide the Beta Gundam to intercept her in time...

At first, Fa slid along the ground but as the winds picked up so did her body. Fa twirled in the air like a ballerina, wind and debris whipping along her body. It was that sense of weightlessness that caused her to gasp awake suddenly. The girl shrieked out in terror as the colony ground shrunk away from her. Her world twirled in a blur as she helplessly flailed her arms and legs out to grasp at anything. Her surprise was complete when she felt her hands grasp onto the cold metallic hand of a mobile suit. This did little to halt her terror as she had no idea what kind of mech had saved her.

Catching her in his machine's left hand in a move that invoked mental imagery from Gundam Unicorn's final OVA, he noted the terrified young woman's face. This was supposed to be a non-living entity? It was understandable horror on her face though. If Fa looked behind the Gundam, she'd clearly see the hole in the colony as well as open space and the stars beyond... Hikaru opened the cockpit of his machine, the Beta Gundam looking much like the famous Gundam from the One Year War, and drew the Mobile Suit's hand close to its torso. The boy reached out to Fa with his hand, to pull her into the cockpit. "Hurry! Get inside!"

Fa looked around in terror, at first not comprehending what the strange pilot was telling her to do. “Kamille!” She shrieked out, “where’s Kamille?!” It took a moment as common sense soon caught up with her and she jumped into the cockpit finding it preferable than the unpredictability of a mobile suit hand. As she entered the cockpit she trembled with fear as she witness her world literally fall apart around her from the destruction. “Have you seen Kamille Bidan? He’s a boy... a teenager like me...” she began to form her request unsteadily.

The fellow adolescent pulled her back firmly and closed the cockpit door behind her, flopping back into the linear seat with the girl on top of him rather than immediately answering. The reason for this became clear as they passed the colony wall with less than two seconds to spare. Fa saw open space all around her through the panoramic monitor, her mind likely believing that she had been that close to death if Hikaru had to guess. He had since forgotten about her artificial nature.

Her voice choked back in throat as they entered into space reminding her once again of how fragile her home was. Tears welled in her eyes from the realization that her friend if not her family were dead or soon would be. Shock settled in for her as she trembled in rage and fear. “How... how could you do this?” Was all she could mutter under he breath. Her eyes still glued to the damage outside.

Hikaru was quiet for a moment before responding. "I'm sorry...this wasn't what I expected either. This wasn't the plan." He had honest regret, the immersion immense and her grief convincing him.  He pressed a sequence of buttons on a console, causing a a pair of jump seats to unfold to the rear and sides of his linear seat in response. "Have a seat and buckle up. Kamille Bidan was last seen fleeing Titans custody. I've already asked my allies to keep an eye open for him. Hopefully one of them can assist. I apologize in advance for re-entering combat after this..."

Fa reluctantly sat down and looked around in a panic at the screen. She glared at the pilot and his rather cold responses. Then the weight of his words hit her. Go back into combat? Kamille was fleeing? She wanted to yell at the pilot right there and then but the thought of finding Kamille made her bit her lip. “If it means finding Kamille safely.... well ... please help me find him... I beg you.”

Hearing the plea, he nodded lightly. Hikaru ignited the thrusters, pushing the Beta Gundam back into the colony. He knew his words sounded lame. How does someone justify causing such suffering just to play a game? He couldn't. Could he even keep playing if things were this real? "This machine is geared for general combat and capture rather than the sheer damage of whatever did this...hold the phone." Hikaru's screen zoomed in on the red Woundwart...it still hadn't moved? Moreover, a familiar young man was visible on the screen.

As Kamille raised his fist up for another swing at the pompous jerk Jerid a loud explosion caused both of them to pause and regard the noise. Kamille’s eyes grew wide as the air around them picked up into a violent steady gust leading towards a hole in the colony. Kamille clenched his teeth to regard Jerid again, not eager to let up the fight just yet.

“This is Hikaru to Risu! Please snap out of it! Hurry up and save Kamille! He's the guy with blue hair fighting the enemy in the black pilot suit! He's right there with your machine! Please get him in your cockpit and get back into action! Tell him that Miss Yuiry is worried about him if you have to, just get him inside!” Hikaru looked around him, taking in the battlefield as he spoke. He noted the movement of the blue Zaku toward the Rick Dias/Gundam Mk-II stalemate, and his eyes narrowed.

“Not on my watch!” Hikaru extended the Beta Gundam's damaged shield as far as he could, and then used his Beam Rifle's jitte to slash the bottom off of it off. The remains of the bottom and its sliding armature were ejected, leaving the intact top of the shield with its vulcans and ammo storage racks in place on his arm's hardpoint. His machine moving in a hurry, it passed a wrecked GM II and picked up its intact shield in the Gundam's hand, re-entering the battle.  Claiming a shield from a fallen enemy wasn't something early versions of the game allowed, but it seemed likely to work given how the game seemed to treat debris...

“I'll have to try and trust my ally with your friend for the moment, Miss Yuiry. Keep watching that window and let me know right away if I have to withdraw to grab him.” With these words, he fired his beam rifle at the Zaku Forerunner, leading the shot to try and strike the machine as it rushed to intercept...

Edited December 13, 2019 by MM007
Small fix regarding previous shield's status, does not change end result.

[Rabbidy 65]

For a while, Risu’s hand hovered over the button labeled ‘quit’, staring at the glowing blue shape and the almost alien English text written across it. As far as she knew, she’d already failed. There was no point continuing like this. They were going to lose, and it was all her fault. However, as her hand lowered towards the button to press it, she would look up. The face of a young man met hers but only briefly. His eyes betrayed his stoic face, belonging more to a boy who was time and time again scorned by others, forced to carry the weight of expectation: a burden he simply could not bear.

How could a game portray such emotion? She knew those eyes well, and even just that fleeting moment of contact between them, however wordless, was enough. She stirred in her seat upturned, moving her hand away from the button as it disappeared and instead grabbing the pair of control sticks at either side.

Finally, Higanbana would move, sitting up slowly as steam billowed from the vents on its narrow chest doubtlessly attracting the attention of anyone who was watching. Its pilot stared at the scene unfolding before her, as the two men traded blows. It was the boy again, with those pain-filled eyes. Risu may not have known who he was, or even what was happening, but something inside whispered to her: help him.

The crimson machine lurched forward, reaching out towards the pair as they fought, holding its hand out flat in an effort to separate them like a wall. She had to help him, and she didn't know why. Risu was shaking the entire time, overcome with a feeling of relief that she had not felt in a long time.

[Aida]

Struggling to hold on and stay on the betting table, Aida and his hapless machine launched a desperate attack against Apolly and Roberto in their black Rick Diases, putting all of his cards in the chance that disabling one of the enemy machines would prompt the entire Argama Team to leave and trigger the next stage of the fight. However, the circumstances seemed to keep conspiring against him. Elsewhere, Beta Team’s had taken a very big energy impact with full force. When it fell down to the floor, the extent of the damage became apparent. Its shield ended up lodged in the torso, just above where the cockpit should be, the forearm holding it disabled and severely burned, while the arm had been vaporized, along with the head of the unit. The rest of the Galbaldy was burned and some parts had been engulfed by flames, but surprisingly, it hadn’t been entirely destroyed. Game System had probably buffed that piece of walking scrap to oblivion so as to balance it against all of those custom machines. Still, it would not move again for the moment. "The Game System probably buffed that piece of walking scrap to oblivion, it wouldn’t have stood a chance otherwise… Anyways, how the hell do you even… ?"

While it was clear the NPD had misjudged the Savior, there being no other explanation for its foolish attempt to block such a potent attack, if NPDs had been known for something up until that point, it was for having extensive knowledge of the capabilities of their machines, or those of the enemy. Another feature to humanize the NPDs? "Tch, i prefered the bland but tried NPDs of old! Smart NPDs, my… anybody with a little common sense knows that if an attack requires a charge and a pose, you better clear out. A pose…" Aida’s furious train of thought lingered on the word for one second and took a downshift. "... that poor kid in the custom Barzam is just no fun. Is JANET hiring randoms to prod me again, or does he simply not know a life outside this place? Whatever the reason, he takes this too far."

Turning the camera towards the black AEUG machines before they could surprise him with a shot to the cockpit, Aida tried to hit Apolly’s with one of his beam sabers, abandoning his now empty machine gun for the other glowing sword. But again, the action showed not a single sign of waning, nor did Aida’s bad luck cease. The Savior’s rays hit the colony walls with full force, and a massive hole appeared on them. What followed was an equally vast whirlpool, which mercilessly took him away from Apolly and Roberto before they could shoot him with their beam pistols, but which left him at the mercy of the winds, being that his thrusters were shot. Airbatel promptly crashed down onto the floor a pair of times, completely deprived of control, smashing the Mobile Suit’s head in and bending the left leg forwards, thus breaking it. Finally, the blue GM III crashed into one of the factories responsible for the creation of the black Gundams, and shut down on the spot, laying among the rubble. "NO, NO, NO! Airbatel, wake up! The team is counting on us, so turn on and fight… !"

No matter how furiously Aida mashed the controls, how dramatic he made his pleas, the machine, or rather something inside it didn’t have the strength to get up, so it stayed inside the factory, where the pull of space couldn’t lift it up and throw it outside the colony. For better or for worse, he was stuck in that factory while air escaped through the . The electronics inside the cockpit still worked, however, and the secondary cameras gave him a somewhat clear view of what was inside the building: dark blue, unfinished Mobile Suits with a clear resemblance to the Gundam MkIIs lied down on the floor, lacking legs and pieces of their armor. They were most clearly members of the RX family, with certain discrepancies… for example, the very odd addition of a single circular sensor rather than the dual ‘eye’ sensors normally sported by Gundams. Intrigued, Aida briefly respited his diagnosis of the Mobile Suit, and stared into the monoeye sensor of a dark blue head, suspended over a headless body. A weirdly astonishing sight to see…

[Roromi 417]

The Saviour and the battered MKII floated through the whirlwind like a kite in a hurricane. Marco grimaced with each jerk and rock of the machine. As the winds picked up from the gaping hole, so did the speed in which the Saviour moved. Marco wanted to get out of the colony before any bigger pieces of debris could shove out first. His gamble paid off as the two damaged machines jetted out into the relative calm of space outside of the colony. The veteran let out a small sigh of relief but only tentatively. His eyes darted around as he scanned for enemies or friendly units. He caught a glimpse of the modified MKII one of his teammates was using but they faded away to re-engage inside the colony. 

Creed was torn on how to proceed; he could see the ship they arrived in and set course while wistfully looking back at the colony where seemingly everyone else was at. He was betting a lot on a condition that he wasn’t sure was valid anymore. Still the feeling that damn NPD had instilled in him, it was both concerning and exciting. He glanced down at the sparking stump of his savior and nodded in acknowledgment. Yes, an NPD had damaged and caused him to withdraw; that was a reality Marco Creed was going to have to accept. One notion stood out in his head from the exchange of blows; He was fired up. An eager grin crossed his lips as he proceeded with his course. Marco hadn’t been excited about GBN in some time but for a challenge to present itself like this. It almost reminded him of all the previous grandiose battles that the system had experienced some time ago. No more would he stand by idly taking reckless risks, he would go back to the drawing board and apply himself much more adeptly from here on out. 

Sight of the ship closing in caused him to wonder. Could he drop off the damaged MKII and perhaps double back to cause some havoc? Maybe help his teammates? He’d have to decide soon after he took the limp MKII to dock. For Marco he couldn’t get there soon enough. He quoted one of his favorite wing characters as he got closer, “I hope I’m not too late!”

 

——

For Lieutenant Quattro the hour was getting late indeed. He hated feeling inadequate. Traditionally the Lieutenant was never one to complain, he was a soldier through and through and he performed. Yet, there was something about theses enemy Titans that irked him, made him realize that he wasn’t working with the best tools in the tool box. He flexed the controls of the Rick Diaz and gazed up at the growing swarm around his wing mates with their black Rick Diaz. His back sputtered from damage and he saw the blue Zaku dart away as if he wasn’t target enough for it. If he couldn’t save his comrades then who would? The irregulars the AEUG had conscripted? Lieutenant Quattro was shaking his head as the thoughts clouded his head and he hoisted his clay bazooka and started to take careful aim. Part of him wondered what he could do with a bigger cannon as he brought his reticule in line with his target. Once he had headshot a member of the Zabi family with a similar weapon, part of him like to fancy himself as a crack shot with Bazookas. As he locked in at the backpack of the Blue Zaku he fired a volley, emptying the weapon. 

One of the irregulars spoke up on the radio, “Listen up! The enemy team blew a hole in the colony so be careful. I'm sure it will have all sorts of effects on the terrain for a while.... and I wasnt able to take out the coward in the Dynames." Quattro’s eyes grew wide at that revelation, did he say that there was a hole in the colony? The lieutenant didn’t even see if his shot connected as he looked to verify the news, and indeed there was a hole in the ground on the opposite end of the colony. 

“Roberto! Apolly! Form up with me! We need to reassess the situation, the Titans are much better prepared than we anticipated!” Even as he gave the order he scowled at the cockpit displays. If the Titans were willing to go this far then who knows where they would stop the attritions. “Everyone we need to form up! The titans have proven that they are willing to escalate this to a new level.” Quattro chided to himself as he closed the comlink “we need to stop these monsters before they kill more innocent people…”

 

——

 

Kamille was bloodied from his exchange with Jerid and was breathing heavily, even when the colossal hand came down between the two forming a giant wall. He felt a sense of relief wash over him with the steam from the mobile suit. The comfort was stolen as he only just then realized that the “woosh” of air was coming from a hole in the colony. Dread and fear washed over him at that point and all the teen could do was look up at the machine with plea in his eyes. He had little choice, so Kamille Bidan jumped into the wall like hand and began to climb into it hoping the colossal would scoop him up into safety. He banged his hand into the giant hand in a motion, asking for the mobile suit to start moving them away. He only hoped that Jerid would get squished or at the very least left behind. 

 

——

 

The two black Rick Diaz were formed up practically back to back as a wave of enemy attention came their way. They had been engaged with one of the MKII’s when they got notice of more enemies moving to engage them. Roberto And Apolly were equally annoyed at how skilled the enemy Gundam was proving to be. Oddly both ends of attacks had been somewhat timid up to this point. The Rick Diaz pilots were suspecting that they could shoot down the enemy if that had been their goal. The Lieutenant’s words cut into their deadly dance and the two obediently obeyed to retreat to their leader. As they put their backs to the MKII they fired parting shots from their rear cannons to help cover their retreat. As they duo moved away Apolly remarked, “holy smokes look at all these enemies forming up to take us on! When did we get so popular?” Roberto grumbled in response, “all the more reason to get to the Lieutenant! We can’t take them all on alone!”  As they flew they saw a Blue Zaku coming their way along with several different shot arcs leading towards the lone enemy unit. The duo would have fired too if they weren’t busy avoiding the MKII from their rear. 

[FrostyFoster 453]

"What a mess!" As Kyle attempted to reach the others, he thought about how poor the mission seemed to be going for Beta Team. Not only were the Rick Dias' putting up a very good fight, but it felt like Alpha Team had the upper hand with their high quality skills piloting a Gundam. "Wish I was on the AEUG's team..." He thought, but the diver understood that type of mentality was futile. He had to work with what he had in order to win. "The challenge will make me stronger, even if the situation's not in my favor." As he crept closer, Kyle contemplated why Beta's leader felt that Char's buddies were so important to take down. "Who cares if one of those NPD pilots bites the dust? Wait a minute... Could that be the event condition?"

He knew this was based on the G Generation games and that Alpha Team had an established mission, but could Beta Team change the battle with one death? "Either them or Quattro needs to die for this fight to truly progress!" Kyle was now reinvigorated, knowing (or at least thinking he knew) how to turn the tide in the colony battle. "Who do I fight?  Where do I Attack? What weapon would work the best? Obviously I'd rather not use my damaged rifle, but what if-"

"FIGHT DUMMY! FIGHT DUMMY!"

His companion Haro brought him out of his rambling train of thought. "Thanks, little buddy." The diver responded. "Wait. Did you call me dummy?!" The sphere spun around and flapped its "ears". "Apolly! Roberto!" It responded. "Look down!"

The Lockon fan had finally managed to catch up with the AEUG forces. In fact, him not paying attention ended up putting him above the action. It'd be the perfect time to snipe, but risking his right arm wouldn't be for the best, especially before the event condition., As he surveyed the battle, he saw that it seemed as if everyone else had beat him to it. The diver with the GM III was no where to be seen while the other in the Zaku looked to be engaging the Red Comet. "All I wanted out of this mission was to fight one of my idols, but all of this chaos..." He thought to himself. The diver surprisingly holstered his pistols, bringing out the Sazabi's heat axe instead. "I'm a good shot, but this definitely won't miss!" Kyle pushed down on the controls and headed directly into the firefight. Thankfully, it looked as if the two Zeon veterans were distracted with one of the MKII's, along with all the other madness surrounding them. "Someone's dying earlier than expected!" He yelled as the sliced toward one of the AEUG machine's head. "Sorry Apolly! Or maybe Roberto?!" (It was Roberto.) 

[ImAnnoyingHer 111]

Carter had believed that he had gotten away, which was clearly not the truth- as a beam rifle shot would find purchase right through the side of his mobile suit, he bit his lip and tried to assess- the damage, nothing too bad.. luckily- he would take a deep breath before his mobile suit would suddenly rock and be set off course; as he was nailed in the back with a rocket, and then another. He clicked his tongue and redirected himself to turn back to the Red Comet that he thought he could run away from "Alright, then.. guess I won't be able to help much" He looked at the small map on his Mobile suit's hud; he noticed one of his allies closing in on their targets and hailed them on comms "Hey lockon! I wont be able to back you up there for awhile" He said before reorienting himself and aiming right at his real opponent, he took a deep breath and pushed his mobile suit to the limit "Let's see you try this!" he said, going straight towards the Lieutenant and finally flicking on his saturn engine.

The Blue Zaku quickly lived up to it's name, the Blue Comet would be seen picking up speed at a high rate, before he did a spin and started firing his vulcan guns right at him, quickly blasting backwards and circling his opponent while attacking with the guns, keeping careful watch over his engines temperature..

Edited January 4, 2020 by ImAnnoyingHer
Missed a part

[MM007 81]

Hikaru, on seeing that the enemy Zaku was back to fighting Char, kept moving.  It didn't seem to have beam weapons, which was a bad match for the Rick Dias' Gundarium Gamma armor.  Char wasn't a Diver, but his skill and the disparity between the machines should at least buy him some time.  No, Hikaru needed to get back into the main battle.  Of course, he was growing more than a little irritated.  Risu was taking half the battle doing even the simplest blasted thing of getting a civilian in front of them into their cockpit.  The others were either not in view or doing absolutely nothing of note anymore.  With everything falling apart and the irritation of being left without support, he decided that it was time for a wake-up call.  As his machine accelerated, he switched to Alpha Team's own comm channel.

"Hey!  I know you aren't all out, so why in Tomino's name am I the only one on Alpha Team that's still fighting?  Save Kamille, back up me and Char, and get back into the fight!"  He might have said please or otherwise tried to be more civil, but he was sufficiently irritated to drop the formalities.  Especially since he surged forward and attempted to intercept the saber blow aiming for Roberto with a weapon that had yet to be used in the fight.  A Beam Saber blade mounted on the hard point of the Beta Gundam's right arm flared to life, the pink blade of energy meant to dissuade the easy kill.

Edited January 6, 2020 by MM007

[Rabbidy 65]

A long, pregnant pause marked the gap between Risu's thoughts as she stared at the dark-haired boy while he begun to climb the hand of her gunpla. She'd stare for a while, noting just how small he was against her machine. All of this seemed so real, and people enjoyed it? How? Remaining still, she'd look around at her surroundings, watching the combat continue overhead, seemingly without her. Risu wiped her eyes with her sleeves, which were quickly stained with her tears, and eventually, Higanbana begun to move again, rising to its spindle-like feet, clutching Kamille close to its chest. A brief flash of light, and the boy would disappear, only to materialize behind Risu.

[Replicator 169]

This story will continue in Gunpla Battle Nexus 1.8: Challengers of Diamond.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Replicator

[Aida]

The first gleam appeared under the only Gundam of the group - Kyle’s, a modified Dynames. Looking at the differences between it and a normal Dynames, Aida could only guess the model was incomplete during the skirmish in Gryps 2. Praying that it was complete now to help him battle the gleaming machines of the opposite team, he was shocked when the GN-Particle powered Gundam was replaced with… a massive Zeong, seemingly stock, which sat on its skirt rather than use any legs for support. Aida wanted to pull out his own virtual hair and eat it. Oh, no… If he wanted to play Newtype, he could've at the very least brought along a Qubeley! He better know how to use that thing. Two faces in the ship were alarmed, however. One of the bridge hands, a bespectacled, brown haired man sporting a Federation uniform, was talking with an aging Titans engineer.

- “Hey, i know that thing. That's a war relic.”

- “From the time you were manning White Base’s sensors, right? It’s going to be another weird tale of yours, isn’t it, Oscar.”

- “I mean it. It's a Zeon psycommu machine. One of the first and last. It guides those beam fingers with just the power of thought. One of these faced Amuro at A Baoa Qu and wrecked his Gundam. We saw it there.”

- “So what you’re saying is… at least we’ve got a Newtype to face all of those Coordinators.”

- “Two at least. I don’t buy all that crap about the Moebius Zero having an Oldtype-use, quasi-psycommu.”

- “It’s wire guided. That means it doesn't require space magic.”

- “So are the hands of that gray behemoth. And it was designed exclusively for Newtypes. Besides, if any schmuck could control a Psycommu, why aren't all Moebius like the Lieutenant's?”

- “Great. First one of the mercenaries is not only a Newtype, but now, so is La Flaga. You’re an... interesting fellow to speak to, Dublin.”

- “You never do listen, do you.”

Before he could look at the Zaku Forerunner’s cubicle, which was still empty, however, the Comet Meister himself came out of the enormous Mobile Suit, greeting him with an enthusiastic:

- “Yo!”

- "Hey there. Looking to haunt the ruins of Junius Seven, I see." Well, at least he seems confident.

- "Oh, this? Heh, I wasn't able to finish the Trinames in time for this stage, so I thought I'd try something different tonight." Kyle landed next to Aida and stood by his side, as he noticed the absence of his red Haro.

- "Well, i suppose it makes sense from a terrain perspective. We are in space." The one in the blue Federation uniform shrugged, then looked at the Dylandy lookalike. "Surely you’ll want to turn the pointy one into debris before he gets any chance to even look at you." Aida, of course, was talking about the Astral AGE.

- “Yeah, i should probably get rid of him first. The Zeong has no close combat weaponry to counter that thing. However you seem like you have the most leadership skills. Me and my wired finger guns will go wherever you need me.” Kyle signalled positively, lifting his thumb.

- “Best if we don’t leave that maniac to chance. I’ll have somebody cover you, shall he get past your beam attack. You’ll be OK in the debris field, i think.” Probably… possibly… right?

- “Hey, don’t get nervous. We’ll prove them you don’t need a full pack of Gundams to win… well, i don’t know what our speedy friend will be bringing. Could be Turn A or some other crazy stuff.” Kyle turned around to tilt his head at the speedster’s platform, but fittingly, it was lighting up. A new portal was opening.

- “Speak of the devil, there he is. Cross your fingers.”

Seconds passed, and a portal opened in the floor, out of which came a surprisingly different MS. A shiny new Gunpla, based in the Buster Dagger, with parts from an Astray, and what looked like Duel Gundam's rifle. If starkly contrasted with the Zaku Forerunner, in and out of itself a worn-out Gunpla that had seen its fair share of use, and looked like it hid many mysteries. Furthermore, it sort of felt like it belonged with the others… It might be the blue. All of our Mobile Suits are a shade or another of it… almost like a team motif.

- “Would you look at that. I love it. You don’t see lesser-known units in the battlefield often.” Kyle approved of the new design, while Carter floated towards him and Aida.

- “You know what, Kyle? I think you’re right. Tonight, we prove monoeyes and visors can save the day too!” Aida, marvelling at the design, was now optimistic enough to get Kyle riled up.

- “Yeah! Nothing will stop the Challengers of Diamond now!” There was a long silence after this, with both Aida and Carter, who had just landed right next to the two of them, looking at him with raised eyebrows. Finally, Carter snapped the silence in half.

- “The… what?”

- “Sorry, i was thinking of a name for the team...” Kyle let out a chuckle, and Aida was relieved to see he was not the only one thinking that they might make a fine team after all.

Minutes later, the three of them were joined by the still-unseen NPD in the briefing room, along with Kacricon, Emma, Mu and the others. It wouldn’t be long until Jamaican Daninghan appeared in the room, along with a blond, middle-aged man. Familiar looking… is he a Zeta extra?

- “Sit down. I am Lieutenant Commander Daninghan, of the elite Federation unit… Titans. I assume everyone is aware of our current situation. Yes… that’s how i like it. Then we can get straight to business: we’re currently nearing the Earth’s upper orbit, where the patrol fleet is stationed. We should be making our first contact with them any moment. They should be enough for Creuset for reconsider… or at least, they’ll buy us some time while we enter the atmosphere. Not even Creuset’s Versailles has the capacity to perform re-entry on its own.”

- “Wooo! I’m going to see Amelia again...”

- “However… Creuset is probably very much aware that he won’t be able to touch us if we do that, so it’s very likely that the latter is going to happen, and you, our defense team, will have to battle his forces right here, in orbit. Now, i’ll tell each one of you pilots what to do, so pay attention!” The Titans pilots stood up, and so did Mu La Flaga, which prompted Beta Team to follow suit. “Ahem… Yamato. Kira Yamato!”

Aida opened his eyes wide and scouted the room, only to find, indeed, Kira Yamato, standing up next to Flaga. I don’t understand… he’s not the kind of protagonist to answer to adventure’s call. And there’s other pilots around. Why is he piloting anyways? The blond man next to Jamaican was quick to explain something about the Strike.

- “I was not in the team that designed it, but these files are detailed enough. The Strike is one out of five Mobile Suits belonging to the G-Project… a series of Mobile Suits which count with a revolutionary technology that can render the five suits immune to physical damage when active: Phase-Shift Armor. However, the space occupied by the yet-to-be optimized system means a Minovsky Reactor big enough to power a Mobile Suit could not fit in there, forcing us to give it batteries. Fortunately, it can also use another Mobile Suit as an auxiliary power source to replenish its batteries, but if it needs to be stationary anyways, it might as well come back to the ship and…”

- “Mr. Bidan. Get back on topic.”

- “Ah, yes. Ahem… the X-Numbers count with a revolutionary technology that can render the five suits immune to physical damage when active: Phase-Shift Armor. However, the last rounds of testing ever performed on them resolved that effective management of the system was too much for Naturals. Only a very bulky computer, or a Coordinator, can get anything out of any of these five Mobile Suits.”

- “Mr. Yamato, for the sake of your friends, and the other civilians in this ship, you will be that Coordinator. You will pilot the Strike until we are nearing the point of no return, then return to the ship.” Jamaican sealed Kira’s orders with this, and also disclosed to all of the military staff in the ship that he was, indeed, a Coordinator. Chatter quickly sprung up in the room about the topic, while Emma was simply astonished.

- “So these are Coordinators… they don’t look any different from us.”

- “Don’t let your guard down around these slippery bastards. They’re even deadlier on hand to hand combat. Ironically, they’re at their weakest in a Mobile Suit… that’s where the terms are still somewhat even.”

- “Silence! Kacricon and Sheen will have similar orders to take off in Unit 01 and Unit 02. Strike and the Mark IIs will defend the ship. Meanwhile, Beta Team will sortie, and take a more... aggressive stance. Is that clear? I want the whole lot of you on standby NOW.”

Minutes later, everyone was at the hangar, which bustled with activity. Beam rifles were being taken to the dark blue Gundams. While it wasn’t the time for Beta to take flight, Aida had entered his Mobile Suit earlier, closing the hatch and reaching for his left wrist to open his contextual wardrobe. This is a space battle. I don’t plan on having my ass handed back to me twice in a row… but if I do, it'd be useful to be able to get out of this thing without having my Diver die of oxygen deprivation. Pressing a button, his black on blue normal suit appeared over him, replacing the fancy dress uniform, hat and glasses. Afterwards, he turned on the systems, seeing Sheen, Carter and Kira get on their Mobile Suits. The rest probably were already in their Mobile Suits. All that was left was wait for the signal…

- “Beta Team, do you copy? This is Ensign Badgiruel. We estimate that the enemy could arrive in minutes. I want you to take off first, scout our backs in advance without getting too far away from the ship.”

- “Roger that...” Aida, anxious to get out of the ship for his triumphant rematch, activated the Super Airbatel, lighting up its main camera in a flash of golden light. “This is Beta One! Kyle, Carter, Four, meet me outside.” Quickly, it hogged the catapult, lifting one foot after the other to put theme in the binders, before bending its knees for the takeoff sequence. “Aida, Super Airbatel GM! Flying towards victory!” The red row of lights on the side of the catapult turned on. Soon after, one row after another of the yellows… and finally, the much-expected green. The GM accelerated towards the open hatch, and was finally thrown into space, spinning once over its vertical axis before engaging the thrusters of the GM-Defenser, flying towards the bridge of the ship, narrowly missing it and deaccelerating once floating above the engines of the Archangel. Now, the title of the mission was showing up for him…

 

Victory Conditions: Archangel descends successfully.

- “Fine then. It seems to be game time. Listen up, element! I don’t see anybody showing up just yet, but we can do some preparations in advance. Kyle, you’re next in the catapult queue. Hide amongst the satellites and other debris. Carter, you’re with me. And Beta Four, cover Kyle. Anybody comes close to him, and you’ll make them see the tears of time. After that, the catapults belong to the Gundams. They have their orders.”

Edited March 17, 2020 by Replicator

[FrostyFoster 453]

While opening up the hatch to the Zeong, Kyle also decided to change into his normal suit. The red and gold Celestial Being suited Diver hopped into the cockpit, although he wasn't exactly sure how he'd be able to launch with the machine. The pink monoeye flashed on, looking in all different directions as a test. "This is going to be pretty interesting. As he turned on the rockets thrusters, several mechanics and other crew members were pushed aside from the force of the gunpla. "Sorry!" He yelled out. "Wait. They're not actual people. This game is way too realistic..." Kyle flew to the catapult, waiting for the hatch to open. "Kyle, Zeong! Launch- well, actually I'm just gonna float out." The Archangel's hatch rose, allowing the Diver to put all power into his own thrusters.

As he flew into the depths of space, the Zeon machine was pulled above the Archangel by Kyle, then maneuvered to the back of the ship. "Wow." He exclaimed. "There is a ton of debris out here." Not only could the Zeong blend in with the gray pieces leftover from other battles, but his wired guns allowed him to attack from more place than one. The Diver noticed some debris big enough for him to use cover for, deciding to fly toward it. "This spot will be perfect! I won't even need some NPD to cover me." The confident pilot couldn't do much else but wait for the others. "This is Kyle. I'm in position." He said over the radio. "You're up next, Carter!"

[Roromi 417]

Creed settled into the virtual cockpit for Bael. He cracked his neck then popped his knuckles. He scowled at the screens as they lit up. Marco was in a serious mood today. No more experimenting, no more half taken measures. Today, Creed meant business. Gritting his teeth he gripped the controls for the powerful machine. “Marco Creed, Bael taking off.” He grumbled out  loud as Bael made its way down the catapult of the Versailles. When the alabaster mech cleared the ship he flared the thrusters and spun the elegant mobile suit in a barrel roll. When he got to a safe distance from the Versailles he shifted the suit to gaze back at his teammates. He turned just in time to see Hikaru launch off with his tell tale Gundam and G weapon. 

Creed watched his team launched off one after the other. His mind wandered with each thruster flare and he found himself contemplating just how the day was going to turn out. His gloves hands caresses the controls affectionately. In just a few moments he’d be putting the golden blades of Bael to maximum effect, a smirk grew on his lips in anticipation. Still part of him grimaced at the notion of even working with the renowned nihilist Rae Le Cruset, but Creed knew now was the time to put such thoughts aside. Never mind the fact that in this world Rau’s logic could somewhat be considered reasonable. If Alpha team was gonna succeed in taking down an unsinkable ship they’d have to be indelible in their actions today. 

[Shin Hakuren]

A few lights clicked on in the normally dark room. A thin young man with shaggy brown hair and glasses slowly walked through the room. Slowly he moved a sheet from over a table to reveal a freshly finished gunpla. The man took a deep breath and grabbed it and walked over to the GBN set up. He started the system up and put the VR headset on. The system spoke more like the old style of voice. 

-please set your Gunpla- 

With that the man placed the gunpla and logged in. As his character scanned into the lobby he looked totally different, bright red hair and a very fit body. A sharp smiled flashed across his face 

"Let's get this started!" He headed over to the mission select and chose the mission his team had mostly already started. 

 

As Shin loaded in he was near the completed Gunpla he had just finished. He was hopeful this was one of his best creations and it was very well made at least in his eyes. He teleported into the cockpit, he fingered the controls and prepped every console he would need as he readied himself and the mobile suit. Finally as everything was ready he set up the launch sequence. 

"Shin Hakuren, Astral Age Arise…. Launching" with that his newly upgraded Arise launched with great speed and force. As he flew around and zipped around for a bit he then fell into formation with the others and opened his coms

"So, you all got a plan or what?" He spoke with the same aggravated tone he always spoke in but this also seemed a little less hostile then normal but that could everyone's imagination.

Edited April 2, 2020 by ShirokuHakudo

[ImAnnoyingHer 111]

"Alright! Let's do this" Carter suddenly said to psych himself up, he turned and started walking to his mobile suit; it was brand new, no longer the Blue Zaku that he was so used to- He was in SEED, and he did as the Romans did "Let's see how you'll perform in the field" he said excitedly as he got into the cockpit of his new mobile suit, a combination of the Buster Dagger with parts from the Astray Red Frame and Blue Frame, in his custom Black, Blue, and Silver paint scheme.. The Comet Dagger!

It would be his muse for this mission, he booted it up and checked his weapons.. all systems green, saturn engine at the ready for a burst of energy.. He smiled "Heh, still got that new Gunpla smell" He said jokingly to himself as he placed his hands on the controls "Time to get serious.." He said, shutting his eyes and then readying the launch 

He opened his eyes and smirked "Carter Lee, Comet Dagger, breaking through the battlefield!" he then launched at full speed, feeling the full agility of his mobile suit as he looked around for a place to position himself, the Zeong had hidden behind the debris, which he would love to do if it werent for his bold paint scheme.. he decided to.. take an unconventional tactic. He decided to stand on the back of the archangel, combining his weapons into one so he could use the scope to look out further "In position for shelling!"

[MM007 81]

Hikaru had spent a little time after the briefing looking to the Buster.  With a quick flash of recollection, the boy and his RX-179 Beta Gundam/FXA-00 Flying Armor logged out....only for his full armament and Flying Armor to log back in not long before the mission with the addition of a GAT-X1xx machine's shield in the Buster's colors on its right arm mount.  He'd hurriedly freed the Flying Armor and Shield for others to use before he spoke to the group maintaining the Buster and tried to have them replace the conventional shield on the left arm with the new acquisition in case of emergency deployment.  He'd once built a model kit for the Buster and thought its lack of Beam Sabers and vulcans was somewhat foolish.  The shield he'd modified for it thus housed 75mm CIWS in the face and two Sabers on the back, and that later helped inspire the Beta Gundam's shield armaments.  Now that old shield was hopefully being used for something practical.

Unable to wait and see if the hangar team would abide by replacing the shield on the Buster with it or even letting both arms bear a shield, Hikaru prepared to launch his in machine.  The mobile suit, complete with its new G-Defenser, was not deployed with the Flying Armor attached.  His machine was fast enough without it.

"Hikaru, RX-179 Beta Gundam, launching!"  He truncated the G-Defenser's designation from the call as he launched, speeding off into open space to follow Creed and Shin.  He'd have to be mindful of the machine's larger dimensions as he fought and moved, but the capabilities of his unit were notably enhanced now.  Something he suspected that he would need.

"At this stage?  I'm thinking 'kick butt and be mindful of high-yield long range fire or debris field ambush tactics' for now.  The Moebius Zero would be fairly ideal for the latter.  I could also see them letting others take point while using the Strike as a mobile turret with the Launcher Striker if they go with a canon break.  Keeping a rookie Kira tied to the ship for power and sensors to shoot from afar would be an option now that he has allies to do the close up fighting.  Can't promise that though.  He might be left as-is to be a secondary capture objective, so we'll just have to see."  Hikaru had been carefully analyzing how Kira and the Strike might manifest in this battle.  Trusting Kira to pilot the Strike might yet be necessary, but having him risk the Strike on the front line was not prudent for the Titans.  There were better units and more experienced pilots to handle extended close range combat than in canon.  It all came down to how GBN handled things.

Already, Hikaru was watching his sensors carefully for long range discharge or signs of the enemy.  The debris field had him particularly wary of the Newtype that likely hid within...

Edited April 7, 2020 by MM007

[Rabbidy 65]

[…]

[crimson] says: u sure tho

[crimson] says: cuz once u do this nuthins gonna be back to normal again

[risuwu] says: yea

[risuwu] says: ill do it

--

The next phase of this storyline had come far quicker than Risu had anticipated. Unlike her compatriots, she had little thought of actually changing or upgrading her gunpla, reasoning that it was ‘good enough’. She was far too consumed with her chat conversation just minutes before to notice that things were starting; soon enough, she would find herself alone in the Argama’s launch bay. The rest of the team had long since departed the vessel towards the battlefield, leaving the inexperienced Diver to scramble, making her launch rather inelegant. “H-Higanbana, going out…”

 

“So, you all got a plan, or what?” Risu would hear over the radio. It was that aggressive-looking guy, Shin. There was no doubt he’d be going off on his own again, she thought. This time, though, she’d listen. They were to remain at distance… or something. She thought it prudent to hide behind some of the debris in front of them and hopefully try and help her team from there. Risu knew she was no good in a fight, so the best she could do was try and provide cover from afar. The Higanbana’s Long Beam Rifle/Claw seemed to be effective at long range, judging from what her heads-up-display was telling her. If she stayed out of the way, it would be fine.

[Aida]

After having seen the rest of the mercenary team take off, then the black Gundams, the Aile Strike Gundam took to the catapult, piloted by a hesitating Kira Yamato. It all felt wrong, he didn’t want to be doing this, but he did not have a choice. The Titans had been very clear: he had to take the helm as the new test pilot for the Strike… or else, the people he cared about would be in danger. The Federation, so far, had not been kind to him… only Lieutenant La Flaga and half of the original crew of the Archangel (that is to say, Captain Murrue Ramius) had been understanding at all, if only a little. As the Strike was propelled forward, following the conclusion of the launch countdown, he could still hear Mu’s voice in his head, saying…

- “Hey there, kid. Don’t worry about all of this. Stick by me and we both will make it to the end of the day.”

Which was weird, since Kira did not remember the Lieutenant saying that at all before… it took him a while to notice, they were new words, coming out of the radio. And they were coming out of the Gundam Mark II with a big 01 inscribed onto its left shoulder! Ensign Sheen, which hadn’t communicated with Unit 01 yet, was shocked to find out Kacricon was not manning the Gundam.

- “Lieutenant La Flaga! What are you doing in the Gundam?”

- “Easy question. Lieutenant Commander Kacooler is feeling… indisposed. May i suggest the cooks put a bit less pepper on it next time?” Mu, as usual, was taking the fire with a stepford smile and a joke. It made Kira no less nervous, however, and irritated Emma.

- “Show some professionalism, Lieutenant. Archangel, this is Ensign Sheen. I’m assuming command of the Gundam Group.”

- “Roger that, Ensign. All units, we’re approaching a fragment of Junius Seven. Maneuver with caution.”

- “Understood, Control.”

Aida, in turn, was definitely about to have a blast. Turning into a Mobile Armor and firing up the engines, he ventured at full speed into the asteroid field. His teammates thought for a second the Super Airbatel would make contact with one of the pieces of debris and catch fire, but both man and machine turned out to have pretty good response times, and started weaving through the field with ease.

- “Come on… your flashy Gundams are nothing special! I’ll turn anyone who comes near me into ashes!”

 

---

 

Through the eyes of a camera-equipped probe, Beta Four was being watched by two dark figures, shrouded in the darkness of two different rooms. Her GP03 was prepared to ambush anyone who did not wish to play her teammate’s game and tried to come close, armed with beam sabers on its back, a beam rifle on the main hand, and a Hyper Bazooka on its off hand, which could be dropped in a whim to deploy the folding shield.

- “I can’t believe the thing’s still active. I thought we had gotten rid of it. And it was in Gryps of all places, painted in our livery, like we want to be associated with the mess Anaheim and Delaz made five years ago. Jamitov is going to be pissed, like I don’t have enough troubles already. Someone’s been onto us for years.” The first voice, whose signal harked back to an unidentified ship's re-entry capsule, was feminine, elegant and powerful, but was having trouble keeping composure.

- “Calm down. Sounds like you’ve got news regarding the investigation.” The second voice corresponded to that of Bask Om, hailing from the captain’s quarters in the Archangel. A silhouette was standing in the background, presumably Jamaican.

- “My men have already made some progress already. That Mobile Suit could have been planted for a future false-flag operation against us or a surprise attack. But the idea of such a daring plan, disassembling and reassembling a hostile high-performance Mobile Suit inside Gryps...

- “There is precedent for such kinds of event. The One Year War...”

- “I know. The skirmish on Libot Colony. Still, i don’t think it’s more Remnants. For now, all we know is someone inside one of the two affected colonies was plotting against us all along and helped ZAFT and AEUG coordinate this double hit. We don’t have suspects yet but i have my suspicions. There’s this AEU politician... Darlian. He had visited Heliopolis recently with his daughter...”

- “Please, i’ve seen him in television. Doing this would have nothing to do with the ideals of that clown, Peacecraft. The one he keeps on babbling about, over and over again. And there is no way he of all people could know the truth behind the Delaz Incident. Has to be someone else… never mind that, leave it to your men. I want that Mobile Suit confiscated as soon as we’re separated, or we have no need for them anymore. Actually… ground the whole team.” Bask arched forward, preparing to shut down communications with his collaborator.

- “And the pilots?” The woman who had been speaking to Bask was now somewhat visible. She had long black hair, and was wearing what seemed to be a military uniform.

- “Interrogate them. I don’t quite think they stumbled upon that specific warehouse by chance either, and even if they did, it’s a Titans secret they’ve just stumbled upon. Do what you have to.” Following this, Bask turned off one of the televisions, leaving the camera probe’s feed on.

- “Yes, sir...” The woman smiled, putting a long, red cape over her Titans uniform, before shutting down her own TVs and making her way out of the quarters, into a lit corridor where a blond man was awaiting her very next words. “Right on time. I told you they’d be here today. Prepare my Mobile Suit and… give it a ballute. One never knows.”

Edited April 9, 2020 by Replicator

[Roromi 417]

Creed grimaced as he studied his heads up display, their arrangement of mecha was varied enough to make even the three ship alliance proud. One by one they formed up: Bael, Beta, Astral AgeArise, Higanbana and one CGUE. 

Shin’s voice came over the com startling Creed, who hadn’t even seen the other two teammates prior to launching. “So, you all got a plan or what?"

Hikaru responded for him first though, “At this stage?  I'm thinking 'kick butt and be mindful of high-yield long range fire or debris field ambush tactics' for now.  The Moebius Zero would be fairly ideal for the latter.  I could also see them letting others take point while using the Strike as a mobile turret with the Launcher Striker if they go with a canon break.  Keeping a rookie Kira tied to the ship for power and sensors to shoot from afar would be an option now that he has allies to do the close up fighting.  Can't promise that though.  He might be left as-is to be a secondary capture objective, so we'll just have to see."

Marco cleared his throat, “leave the Moebius to our ZAFT colleague.” As he talked, he nodded Bael’s head to the CGUE which silently responded in kind. “Higanbana…” he grimaced and reiterated, “no, Risu… could you please take shots at the Legged Ship? Take your pick of the engines or bridge, whichever target is the better opportunity. Everyone else can run interference with the enemy suits and keep the pressure away from her. If the strike appears off the ship leave Kira to me.” He let that sink in before adding. “Even if we lose this mission it would be more advantageous to take Kira out now. Bael can remedy most of what the Strike has to offer. Same with the MKIIs if they appear.” He added the last parts confidently. 

The legged ship slowly rolled into view, its odd shape becoming more definable with each second. With the ship in view, Creed decided to draw his swords. The golden blades shimmered out ready; their majestic designs reflecting the star shower outside in golden hues. In mere moments the battlefield would come to life. Debris floated menacing around the Archangel, providing plenty of opportunities for cover. Creed involuntarily tensed up as they entered the field. He decided right then what to do, “Bael is designed for close ranged combat, I’m going to flush them out and take a run on the ship if possible, cover me!” 

He hardly waited for a reply as he flared the engines to full power, the mobile suit bucking suddenly from the unleashed thrust and darting forward in a line mimicking lightning. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and get a quick kill…” he mused to himself as he jerked the controls sporadically so as to not become an easy shooting target.

—————

As they approached the field Rau Le Crueset remained poised at the controls of his CGUE. He was composed and vigilant, more curious than anything else really. These sellswords were a peculiar bunch, and he was especially curious to see all of their abilities as well as the arsenal the Legged Ship would be providing shortly. Yes, all the characters were appearing on the stage and the curtain was about to be lifted! 

Just as the twin sword wielding mobile suit flared its’ engines for a charge on the ship it happened; that familiar sensation that seemed to happen whenever that cursed man was around. “I can’t say that I’m surprised Mu…” Rau mused aloud, a venomous smirk curving his lips, “but there’s something different about you today isn’t there?”  As Rau hissed the question as his eyes darted back and forth in the darkness. Then there it was, a glimmer of mobile suit thrusters and a trio of… Gundams? “you’re certainly full of surprises Mu La Flaga!” Rau laughed. He switched in Comm channel on and warned his allies, “I’ve spotted the enemy, I can confirm at least… three Gundams. One of the black ones is mine!” He could barely hide the amusement in his voice and he fired his own thrusters to intercept his nemesis. “lets see just how adaptable you are Mu!”