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Post by Lars Langstrom on Oct 4, 2014 7:51:12 GMT
Lars Langstrom was a tall and frail man. He stood in contrast to the well built mobile suit pilots surrounding him. Anxiously, he paced back and forth to get a good look at the faces of his new team. In the back of his head, he concocted some rhetoric that suited his taste for grandiose introductions.
“Upon victory, great Roman generals celebrated their exploits in the form of massive parades known as triumphs. At the end of the Roman Civil War, Gaius Julius Caesar celebrated his four triumphs; Which many considered to be in bad form. He celebrated the death of his enemies, but his enemies were fellow Romans. The historian Plutarch correctly attributed to motives that led to the fateful decision to assassinate the dictator. Shortly thereafter, Rome entered another period of turmoil that resulted in the ascension of Gaius Octavius and a autocracy built upon the Julio-Claudian dynasty."
"There will be no triumphs here. We will not parade upon the lands of our enemies, nor celebrate the deaths of our enemies as a means to impose new regimes. The AEUG is not a particular state nor ideology. The AEUG is a deterrent; a deterrent to an ongoing crisis within the Earth Federation. Our mission is trivial: Disarm the Titans and remove their capability to exert influence on all other political bodies. In my hand in a charter given to my by Admiral Kowen. From this point on, you are pilots of the Zodiac Squadron and members of the Polaris Battle Group.
I am Captain Lars Langstrom. From this day, you are under my command."
There was no ignoring reality. At some point, someone was going to ask. He decided to act pre-emptively.
"I am certain that your previous operation has raised you many questions. Were there nuclear warheads on that vessel? If so, what became of them? These questions are now being answered by the senior members of our organization, who wish to release a joint statement with the Earth Federation. Until then, you must refrain. Even you, who never imagined themselves in this place years ago, must sense the gravity of our situation. We must all tread lightly."
"Before I give you your mission, I'd like you all to introduce yourselves. I make it my agenda to be informal. A name would suffice. In return, you all call me Lars."
This process became invariably complicated after joining the AEUG. He had no problems getting to know his men during the One Year War. Some of these men within the AEUG simply didn't want to be known.
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Post by Hilda Steiner on Oct 7, 2014 3:27:02 GMT
Hilda smiled thinly as Lars launched into his routine. He certainly likes to lay the history on... wonder how many of them will bite, like I did, and check the historical files for all those references. I doubt anyone else here has your level of knowledge, skipper... and I'm still not comfortable with how familiar you like to get with the men, Lars she thought. She couldn't deny that his method got results, though, even if it was a bit different than Commander Hauptman's methodology in the Geists.
She smiled, standing on his last note. LeNoire isn't going to be happy about that sidebar I had with the Captain... or maybe he is. Who knows, anyone who says the don't want a leadership role shouldn't be permitted anywhere near one she figured as she looked out at the team. "Hilda Steiner, as most of you well know. As of today, welcome to the Zodiac squadron. I'll be assuming overall command of the team and personally leading Gemini Flight." she said, her face that same, generally discontent frown. Wouldn't do to let them all know that I was always a specialist, never a leader before. But unlike Eddy, I'm not gonna run from responsibility she thought, looking out to the assembled pilots. "Our second flight, Taurus, will be commanded by Lieutenant LeNoire, who most of you know from your training" she said, looking the Feddy vet straight in the eye. Wonder why Lars still supports him, but absent that kid Regard showing me something, better the devil you know she figured, motioning towards her newly-assigned exec. "Lieutenant?"
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Post by Edward LeNoire on Oct 8, 2014 3:08:07 GMT
Eddy inadvertently found himself matching Hilda’s expression at the start of the debriefing, sporting a thin smile though with a bit more life than the lady’s. He was impressed with Langstrom’s command style so far, as well as the man’s grasp of history. He’s a well read man... Though he managed to hide his displeasure at the fact that he’d been shifted to full active himself, Eddy still wished he was back aboard the Geronimo, helping with the repairs and retrofit and prepping for the next group of trainees. And as far away from Finley and Ennis as humanly possible...
Still keeping up a healthy poker face as Steiner announced that she and Eddy would command both flights of the Zodiac Squadron, he felt a mild chill run up his spine as the lady stared him right in the eyes. Allowing a healthy smirk to replace the thin smile, Eddy gave her a respectful nod as he faced the pilots in front of him and spoke, exuding a sense of relaxation that he didn’t really feel. “Lieutenant Edward LeNoire, but most people just call me ‘Eddy’. To the pilots of Taurus Flight, I promise you one thing: I’ll give you my all and do my absolute best to lead you into battle and back home in one piece.”
Hopefully, I’ll do right by all of you where I couldn’t with Emir...
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Post by Fred Castle on Oct 8, 2014 20:23:15 GMT
The Captain wasn't what Fred had been expecting, the guy was obviously a history nut, but Fred found his explation of what the A.E.U.G. was to be disappointing. They didn't seem able to deter anything, save for stopping this shipment of nukes from getting where it was headed, but even then responding to force with force meant the deterrents already failed, they were here to clean up the mess, not prevent it. But what he'd said after the history lesson was something Fred actually cared about knowing, as the Captain said that the entire group was being placed as pilots under his command. Fred had been under the impression that only a few of them would be selected, but apparently there were enough slots for all of them under Langstrom. Either way, Fred was glad to be placed in an active position, if he'd sucked he'd be dead or not selected.
Langstrom then basically said not to speak or ask around about the cargo they'd discovered, because of some bull about the higher ups wanting to release a joint statement with the Federation, they just didn't want some retard talking about it and giving anything away. Something was obviously up if the political leadership was in talks with the Federation already about this particular op they'd just gotten done with. During the war, because of his posting he'd been cleared to learn that Torrington stored nuclear weapons, so he knew the benefits of secrecy regarding them, even after the Antarctic Treaty ended, but he couldn't see a few nukes causing this much of a stir by themselves regardless of how or where they'd been found. Unless it was because of the incident with the GP-02, but it still seemed a bit much to not even be able to know if they'd been successful, regardless of what they were protecting. The other thing to consider was the Colony 30 incident, if they were willing to gas a colony, what would they do with a nuke?
Obviously Fred didn't know the whole story, but he knew better than to ask, plus his clearance rating didn't follow him to the A.E.U.G. anyway, he had to prove himself loyal after all. He had better things to do than get distracted by this shit, like introducing himself apparently, as that was what the Captain wanted from them. Steiner had gone first, saying that she'd been placed in command of their "Zodiac Squadron", which was very welcome after LeNoire's run, she was also running their Gemini Flight, while LeNoire had the other, Taurus Flight. He felt for anyone stuck in Taurus, but was sure he'd be one of them anyway, that name was better but knew that he'd rather be away from LeNoire.
LeNoire spoke up after Steiner, standard stuff, including the bit about doing his best to get them home alive, just like he had with Emir of course. Lost track of one of his own team, and did nothing about it, and now expects them to believe that he's going to watch over his new team. Fred had no issue with him trying to keep his people alive, but they weren't exactly doing something safe either, the idea was to be in danger and worrying too much was just as dangerous as not worrying, you had to take risks during combat, it came with the territory. A commander who takes no risks will cause just as much damage as one who takes them all. Trust and respect were both earned, and necessary for a leader, but Fred didn't have much of either for LeNoire, and saw nothing from the man to add to either column.
No way was Fred going to call the Captain by his first name though, that was a bad thing to get used to, though he also doubted that he'd be speaking directly with the other man very often anyway, that's what higher grades were for after all. But, he knew he should introduce himself, even if the Captain knew who they all were already, pissing off a new commander never ended well. "First Lieutenant Fred Castle, Sir." he said to the Captain, using the terminology from the Federation Army rather than the Space Forces' term for his rank. He didn't know where he was yet, and had nothing else relavent to say so he decided to leave it at that.
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Post by Aluria Rey on Oct 12, 2014 6:39:58 GMT
Time seemed to move along at its normal pace, not particularly fast nor painstaking slow as Aluria continued to work on her mobile suit. "New guy gets stuck tuning their mobile while everyone else goes off to the briefing. Oh well, at least I wont have any complaints about performance from the machine." A small smile came across her face as she played with the controls of the suit making sure everything was just the way she liked it. She wondered what her new teammates would be like when she finally got the chance to meet them. "I wonder what the next move is?"
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Post by Jim Anderson on Oct 12, 2014 23:46:47 GMT
Chuck simply leaned back in the comfortable chair in the ready room as Steiner started her welcome speech. At least she's got some guts - more than Eddy, anyways. Maybe she'll turn out to be a decent squad lead. Of course... he thought, wishing they could come up with someone competent to not only fly, but command this so-called 'Zodiac' squad. Seeing the others were doing the whole 'intro' thing - probably more for their new Captain's benefit than their own - the only new addition was that guy Regard - he stood himself and spoke up. "Chuck Finley" he said plainly, minimal inflection in his voice, before sitting back down, continuing his general trend of 'leave me the fuck alone'.
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Post by Lars Langstrom on Oct 14, 2014 0:20:03 GMT
Those are defiant eyes. No man could hide their identity. The skipper made his conclusions after seeing Chuck in person. He gave him a kurt nod, before turning to the noises behind him.
"Good."
Lars looked up at the curious girl, scurrying around her mobile suit like an ant, on the gantry behind him.
"Lieutenant Junior Grade Aluria Rey, would you mind joining us? I think it's about time I introduce you the other pilots."[/color]
He paused for a moment before giving his briefing. As he spoke, he slowly paced back and forth in front of the pilots- searching for some kind of feedback.
"I'll now give you your mission briefing.
"Like any military, the AEUG is an organization with limited resources. We cannot fight wars on many fronts, nor can we expand our goals beyond singular objectives. For that reason, two contradictory, but equally valid, plans were drafted shortly and presented after our formation. One plan meant to limit the Titan's influence in outer space through defensive tactics. The other plan meant to force them to recall their armies to Earth by a direct offensive."
"Until recently, this was a nontrivial matter. However, it has come to my attention that a decision has just been made. Our target is Jaburo. As you are all aware, the Titans have made it their headquarters after 0083. We'll send a message to the Earth Federation that we have the power to resist." "As we speak, AEUG command is gathering its largest strike force ever to take part in this operation. Admiral Kowen wants to send an advanced party to deal with a few loose ends before the attack begins. That's where we come in. In response to Stardust, the Earth Federation set up a complex anti-air battery array to repel massive invasions. It consists of flak batteries, surface to air missiles, and a powerful sensor array capable pegging ships in lower orbit. Its attack radius is limited, but it's enough to cause worry. You'll be inserted in advance into the Amazon jungle. There, you trek to the compound and destroy its arrays."
"Their destruction would guarantee the success of this operation. The code name of this operation is Able Archer. Hilda, do you have anything to add before we adjourn?"
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Post by Benjamin Regard on Oct 14, 2014 6:18:04 GMT
Mentally kicking himself for not quite understanding all of Lars’ impromptu history lesson, Ben nonetheless grinned as the round of introductions went on. Bit of a mixed bag as far as who was sociable or not but they were alright enough in his book. Most of them were apparently together from the get-go so he was one of the few to truly be new to the team. “Lieutenant Benjamin Regard, Ben for short,” he said with a quick salute, sparing a glance to someone working on a mobile suit. Another new pilot apparently.
He looked back to the Captain as he started their proper mission briefing and as soon as he announced the main target of their operation, Ben could barely hide his surprise. Jaburo was their goal? It certainly was a daring plan, to go straight for the Titans’ headquarters. They’d be insane to simply ignore it and since they’d only be engaging the Titans, there’d be less chance of a disaster like Zeon’s in the first war. Their job of clearing up the anti-air batteries would go a long way for them as well. Assuming they pulled it off without a hitch anyway. It’ll be a make it or break it operation, that’s for sure.
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Post by Lars Langstrom on Oct 19, 2014 3:19:29 GMT
One Week Later...
Lars gripped the sidearm of his command chair. He was anxious. They were in low orbit. This was a bad place for such a large ship to be. There would be no room to maneuver if they suddenly got engaged. Even if the frigates were out picketing, he never felt sure enough. No amount of preparation or experience could change his mind.
"Are our scopes clear?"
A reassuring nod is all that it took. It's time. They had a limited launch window to get this right and not overshoot the target by a few hundred miles. Langstrom had to get it right. The traditional stopwatch in his right hand told him everything he needed to know.
"Navigator, lower the bow and give our pilots a vector. Standby to get us out of here."
The ship slowly rocked as it took on an aggressive pitch with its nose pointing at somewhere short of South America. A sinking feeling caused by Earth's gravity made its way into his stomach. With a tempered gaze, he picked up the PA phone and delivered his message to the crew.
"Commence Operation Able Archer. Initiate drop."
A warning klaxon in the hangar was the last call for technicians to clear. They were opening up the doors and freeing the deck up for launch. Beyond several inches of metal was outer space. It was cold and hostile, but not nearly as hostile as Earth's atmosphere.
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Post by Fred Castle on Oct 21, 2014 22:53:46 GMT
Fred wasn't eager about this operation, it wasn't actually the direct attack on Jaburo, but it was close enough to the base to make him worry. He hadn't been here for Zeon's attack during the war, but he knew it had left them crippled by destroying most of the remaining MS they'd had on Earth by that point of the war. He knew that within the Federation, and Titans the space forces got the bigger budget so the ground forces had older equipment, but what happened to Zeon had been caused by a largely non-MS defense force, granted only half of the Zeon units had landed, and that type of landing was what they were here to prevent, the same fire that shredded the Zeon, MS would do the same thing to the A.E.U.G. attack force this time, the difference was that they knew more than Zeon had when they attacked, and more importantly knew better than to underestimate the base.
As for the operation itself he felt pretty good about it, someone needed to do it, this plus it was better than attacking the base directly. Besides, he was directly under Steiner's command, rather than LeNoire's, so that was something to feel good about, even if she had been with Zeon. She at least seemed to know what she was doing, while LeNoire was content to focus only on what he was up to, rwther than keep tabs on his men. But then they hadn't practiced or fought with her that much anyway, so he didn't have a proper idea of how she led or fought yet but what he had seen was promising at least. Steiner being easier on the eyes than LeNoire was a plus to.
What was really bugging him though was his "last minute" MS assignment, as he'd been given one of the new Rick Dias units, and didn't get much time to practice with it, he'd spent all his time preparing for an evaluation that didn't happen, in a Mobile Suit he wasn't going to be using. With both machines made by AE, he didn't have too much of an issue with controlling it, but it did perform slightly better and felt different so he wasn't used to it yet, worst of all though was that he'd never used anything that wasn't a GM before this. The weapon options were nicer, as was the armor and improved performance, but this thing had a basis in both Federal designs, and Zeon designs, rather than being another improved GM model.
The most odd thing was the head-mounted cockpit, which had taken the most getting used to, granted in the age of panoramic displays, the perspective hadn't changed, but he wasn't used to going to the head to board his machine. It was a fine machine, just not what he had been trained in or what he was used to, so he had to go into this battle in a new machine, with a new leader, and a new team, never a good combination in his book, but then it was only slightly different compared to his first op as a Red Possum.
His machine was ready to go, he was of course using the clay bazooka due to the targets of the mission, he had it loaded with standard rounds for now, but had a mag of clay rounds with him so that he could use it if the option presented itself, besides that he was also carrying a shield and it's normal fixed weapons. He couldn't help wondering why he had gotten the machine, as he was the only non-flight lead with a Rick Dias, but he wasn't going to complain about it either. As the klaxon began to go off, and they prepared for the MS to launch, Fred lowered the visor of his helmet and gripped the controls of his machine.
"I hope you're as mobile on the ground as you are in space fatass." he said to the Rick Dias, speaking purely in regards to the bulky look of it, even if it was slightly lighter than his previous machine. He was ready to go, but hadn't gotten permission to launch yet, since the hanger doors weren't fully open yet.
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Post by Jim Anderson on Oct 22, 2014 0:40:46 GMT
GM Rechts Taurus Two
Chuck sighed, shaking his head to clear the last vestige of a hangover as they prepared for drop. Shouldn't have had that many last night... thank God for that inhaler he thought, rubbing his eyes to try and clear the remaining 'stretched-over' feeling of his face. He looked down at the displays, double-checking he had the right drop profile loaded. Because going in ahead of the rest of the fleet on a wild weasel run always works out for the weasels he thought, not thrilled at the idea of them going in first on a SEAD mission. Of course, no one asked him, and now it was time to deliver the goods. He spared a glance at Eddy's shiny new Rick Dias, shaking his head. You had better step up your game, 'sir' he thought, thinking thoughts that would be very dangerous if anyone could read his mind. As a simple pilot, he was near the back end of the launch order, and while his entire status board was one of the first glowing green, he had a bit of a wait. To make a point, he opened up his comm. "Ready up" he said simply to Eddy on the comm.
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Post by Edward LeNoire on Oct 24, 2014 2:02:38 GMT
Rick Dias Taurus One
Eddy didn’t like to admit to such things, but there was a part of him that felt almost giddy right now. It had been a long time since he’d had the opportunity to pilot a high-class mech and the Rick Dias certainly fit the bill. Although it appeared to be rather bulky on the outside, he found that its armor was lighter than conventional materials but was nevertheless durable and able to take some harsh punishment. Being a variety of gundarium definitely helps too...
Combined with a high-output generator, plenty of thrusters and maneuvering verniers to run circles around a Hizack and a well-rounded set of armaments made this one of the best mobile suits Eddy had come across. Hopefully I can prove good enough to handle it like Steiner does, he thought to himself as he gripped the control sticks. He did feel less comfortable, however about the fact that the cockpit was located in the head along with the vulcan phalanx system. Wonder whose bright idea that was...
Of course, there was another thing that was on his mind at the moment: Jaburo. It had been a long time since he’d been there, but the memories he had of that place still rang clear as day. In a way, it felt wrong for him to descend on what had once been his home and soften it up for an invasion. But on the other hand, he knew that it was now headquarters to the Titans and that taking Jaburo would give the AEUG a sorely needed advantage in the conflict with them. So Eddy put aside any notions of nostalgia and concentrated on the job at hand.
Hearing Finley’s voice on the COM snapped him out of his reverie as he replied to the man’s comment, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’ll assume that’s your way of saying you have a green light, Finley. By the way, hope those stims keep you going today. After all, the last thing I’d want is for the best pilot in my flight to crash at a crucial moment.” Eddy permitted a particularly devilish smirk as he recalled how many times Ramirez had used stims to defuse nasty hangovers or give him a wakeup call before a combat op. Of course, Hector was a little more honest about his ‘miracle cure’, too.
Still, it felt good to throw one in Finley’s face for once, considering how clear it was that the two men detested each other. Aware that it was almost time for the drop, Eddy switched over to Rey and Marika and checked in on them. “Tauruses Three and Four, this is Taurus Lead, please confirm whether or not you have a green light for the drop, over.” He himself looked over his status board and found that it was green as the smirk faded into an easier smile. Propellant tanks at max, voltage steady, all cameras working and the ballute pack is a-ok. All that's left is a little atmosphere...
[Tag Red, Kage and Strike]
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Post by Hilda Steiner on Oct 25, 2014 3:39:09 GMT
Rick Dias Gemini One
Hilda slid into her bird, running through preflight as she contemplated their objective. In a little ahead of time to deal with an area defense site. That many missiles, even with crappy accuracy, could put a serious dent in the main drop she knew, shaking her head. Well, won't be the first time I go into Jaburo ahead of the main assault force... she mused, thinking back to another time, same place. Let's hope this one works better than last time I came into Jaburo to take the place away from the current occupants she figured, looking out at the flight deck. Not counting her, eight other slips had mobile suits in them, including a last-minute addition to their team. She didn't like that, especially since the pilot was a damned kid, but at this point Hilda would take anything she could get, and another pilot on the line never really hurt. Unless she gets killed right out of the gate, but they wouldn't put her on frontline duty if that was a likely outcome she figured.
Instead, she called up a readiness state on every suit in the squadron. Feels off to be dropping as the Acting CAG, but not like there's a better choice in this group of flyboys she mused, keying up Eddy's comm. "Eddy, let me know when your team is ready" she said simply to the other flight leader. Kicking back to her squad comm, she sent to the rest of Gemini Flight "Geminis, report to me when ready to drop" she said, verifying her own unit was drop-ready.
==Tag all Gemini==
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Post by Fred Castle on Oct 25, 2014 20:00:12 GMT
Rick Dias Gemini Two
Fred wasn't sure how he felt about the op yet, as he'd never performed an orbital drop before, sure in Australia he'd assaulted a couple Zeon bases, but even the few air drops he'd performed wouldn't compare to this, one mistake here and you were dead. At least with an air drop, there was less to go wrong, and mistakes were much less fatal. Thinking about it was worse than actually performing the drop, playing out what could go wrong before an op was never a good thing. Unfortunately, Fred found himself with plenty of time to think about this, so when Steiner came through, wanting them to let her know they were ready, it was a welcome interruption and hopefully meant they'd be launching soon. The sooner they launch, the sooner they get this over with and he can get back in his element.
He hit the button to open a channel with her, "Gemini Two here. I'm good to go Ma'am." he said, keeping it simple and short. Clogging the comms wastes time and patience, and there were few better ways to earn yourself a shit duty than transmitting garbage. But he was ready, and eager to get going, and his machine was ready to go as well, it was still new so obviously there weren't any issues with it's systems or anything. He knew that he'd be feeling a lot better once they were on the ground though, ground combat was where he had the most experience after all.
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Post by Rui L'Ciel on Oct 26, 2014 4:12:59 GMT
GM Rechts Gemini Five
Rui sat in her cockpit, sipping a drink while waiting for clearance. She had only been assigned to the unit a few days prior, fresh from her pilot training. Her red Haro was strapped into the spare seat on the back of her Linear Seat, and hooked into the system, particularly to help watch her Radar, for all the use it had in the age of the Minovsky Particle. Either way, her GM Rechts was fairly close to the suit she trained on, another suit from the GM line. This suit she had equipped with a Beam Rifle and it's shield; though she would have preferred something with more range, the rifle would do. She planned to seek permission to customize it and color it red once they had some downtime after the mission.
"Roger, Rui L'Ciel here, Gemini Five, ready to drop the hammer," she said energetically, finishing her drink and lowering her visor. Despite her words, Rui was actually a big bundle of nerves. She was about to go into her first battle, do her first orbital drop, and hopefully not get herself killed. She briefly took her hands from the controls, staring at her hands and trying to will them to stop shaking. She knew with the Ballute system, she'd be perfectly safe, baring AA fire, but she couldn't help be nervous. She'd never been to earth before, she'd never even left her colony before joining the AEUG. The red-head shook herself, trying to clear her thoughts and focus on the task at hand; first things first, get to the ground, then worry about getting shot at.
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