You are currently involved in a stemming a massive assault by the Federations fleet from Luna II. 20 Battleships, 30 Cruisers and 100+ Mobile Suits as well as countless Balls and Space Fighters vs your meagre forces, which can only muster half of that at best.
Reinforcements from Grenada have yet to arrive, but luckily extra forces from Solomon arrived before you did, stabilising the situation.
As well as this several elite forces units arrived and are also trying to keep the Federation threat contained.

Currently you have cut off a small federation push of about 10 mobile suits or so and are engaging them with friendly help.

A pair of GM's send innacurate fire your way from below. You can see carbon scorching and occaisional sparks emmiting from the two mobile suits sporadically. You suspect they've just been on the wrong end of one of Hovis's Plasma Leaders.

Unfortunately the wildness of their innacuracy makes it ironically more difficult to dodge. You send a burst from your Beam Carbine their way and they scatter out of the way. Giving you the opening you need.

You gun your boosters and get between them, you stun one with a heat rod and take out the other with a second burst from your Beam Carbine. You finish the remaining GM off with a spinkick from your leg fitted heat blade and take stock of the situation.

Several Zaku's from the defending force have pushed up to help you, and it seems that the rest of your team are having no problems with the GMs. You are a little worried about the heavy beam fire your getting from the supporting Federation Ships though...

YOUR ORDERS?

BUMP

>>13189913

Leave the remaining GMs to the Zaku forces that have pushed forwards to us, ordering them to pull back once done.

Link back up with the Val Valo, perform hit and run attacks against the Federation ships. Ideally, we want to lure the Mobile Suits and Pods out of the protective cover of the ships, into our own formation.

Fuck Yes Zeonquest!

That said, we need to take out the ships. Can we get Hovis to pick up Zol, and then make those Feddie ships have a very, very bad day?

>>13190112
>>13190115

Thank fuck. I thought the thread had died there.

Taking out the ships would mean charging into the teeth of their guns, as well as the guns of the supporting Balls, fighters and yet more Mobile Suits. Even for you guys that's asking a lot.

There's a level of cover where you are, but the enemy ships are staying outside of this zone, to minimise the risk of enemy mobile suit assaults.

>>13189913
Let the Zakus worry about the GMs.

Is another push of GMs and balls occurring? If not, are they hanging back within the fire envelope of the Feddie ships?
Is there a group of Feddie ships we could attack with minimal enemy MS defenses, or are they sticking close together?

>>13190174
In that case, we should mop up the GMs then get out, watching for when they try another push. They can't attack us without exposing themselves, and we can't attack without flying right into massed beam fire.

hooking back up with the val varo and wreaking as much havoc among the federal ships seems to be the best option here- I'm gonna go out on a limb and figure the reinforcements and incoming other elite teams can handle the balls and GMs

>>13190310
But doing that means flying right into massed beam weapons fire.
The Feddies aren't being stupid; their ships are all being protected by their superior numbers of MS, balls, and space fighters. Those same escorts are staying within the firing envelope of the battleships and cruisers.
It's too dangerous for now.

>>13190193
>Is another push of GMs and balls occurring? If not, are they hanging back within the fire envelope of the Feddie ships?
>Is there a group of Feddie ships we could attack with minimal enemy MS defenses, or are they sticking close together?

The ships are hanging back, acting as ressuply vessels for the Mobile Suits, they're also supported by Balls and Space Fighters as well.

>>13190208

Already cut off, you quickly dispatch the remaining GMs before linking back up with the Val Valo and giving the order to push back to the Outer Heaven to plan your next move.

>>13190323
How much anti-beam chaff do we have?
Would it be possible to load them up on missiles, fire them into section of the Federation line, and spread chaff? Could that be used to get us in close enough to where they couldn't mass fire on us, so that David, Zol, and Hovis tear the Feddie ships apart while the rest of the team keeps the escorts off of them?

>>13190322

shit, yeah, just saw that.

Damnit. we need some kind of long range standoff weapon to break deadlocks like this without having to smash the majority of their small craft.

I guess the best we could do, in this case, then, is to smash whatever tries to push, otherwise, I guess we'll have to settle for not allowing this force to break out.

Is there any way we can suggest stepped up recon patrols in other areas? we know they're not just doing this to be cute...

>>13190323
Apologised, has there been any sign of Aces? Amuro, Bandit, Yuu? Or does it seem to be the GM RUSH KEKEKE! type thing?

>>13190353

Possibly, however there are the following problems.

1) If the missiles are shot down, they won't spread their AB-Chaff properly, if at all.

2) Beam Chaff isn't like minovsky particles, it dissapates faster. The time you'd have to hit the ships and pull out would be short.

3) Solid weapon will still work just fine.

>>13190413

GM Rush kind of thing.

>>13190415
What's the general disposition of the Federation line? As in, are the GMs, balls, and space fighters at the edge of the capital ship firing envelope, or are they sticking close to the ships?

Would it be possible to have Hovis transport the team to behind the Federation line (remember to think in 3 dimensions!) and attack the ships from an unprotected flank? If it worked, the escorts would have to move back, and might present an opening for our forces.

>>13190474

Bit of a mix. As the GM's run low on ammo and fuel they travel back to the ships for ressuply. The fighters were staying close to the ships for protection, but after the stunt you pulled they seem to be clustering forwards along with Balls to prevent you from pulling that trick again.

That said, the Ships all have what looks to be one or two Mobile Suits as close escorts.

The GM's are pushed relatively forwards, forming a battleline. Using the debris and asteroids for cover but staying within the ships fire envelope.
If Friendly ships push forwards, it's likely that they would get mauled by this battleline.

>>13190550
Is it all standard type GMs and Balls? And are the fighters all Saberfish? Or are there variants mixed in there?

>>13190550
I think we need a lighting raid behind the battle line, using Hovis to get us in, fuck shit up, then GTFO before the rest of the escorts can pile on top of us.

Also, is there any way to throw large numbers of small asteroids and debris at the battle line? Most will undoubtedly miss, but it's something to keep the Feddies busy.

>>13190550

but the cover would work both ways- we'd have cover from their ship's fire if we went in to clear them out close quarters, right?

>>13190323
If we can take out even some of their ships, we'll do a lot damage to the endurance of their MS and ball forces, which will make taking out those 100+ MS units a lot easier. But with all those guns supporting each other there's no obvious way to do that.

>Reinforcements from Grenada have yet to arrive, but luckily extra forces from Solomon arrived before you did, stabilising the situation. As well as this several elite forces units arrived and are also trying to keep the Federation threat contained.
So just who are there elite dudes and what are their specialties? And how large are our conventional forces?

>>13190589

yeah, and we can't go "zeon rush kekekekeke"and just bludgeon our way through- we don't have the manpower, or the equipment, to spare.

>>13190570
>Is it all standard type GMs and Balls? And are the fighters all Saberfish? Or are there variants mixed in there?

Standard GM's for the vast majority, a couple of D type mass production GunCannons, and a couple of GM Command suits as well.
All of the Balls appear the standard type, and the Saberfish make up the vast majority, you think you've spotted a couple of Core-Boosters but they seem mercifully rare.

>>13190572

Possibly, but you don't have the specialised gear to do so at any speed. They'd certainly see them coming, and combined with the fact that you'd be depleting your own much needed cover it's a plan that could backfire horribly.

Also I'm off to get my tea.

BRB

>>13190611
I smell a trap. We've got all our forces here, with more from Grenada on the way. And the Federation are fielding a large number of standard issue GMs and Balls to keep us busy.
We're in this big time consuming stalemate, while the Federation and their Ace units turn around and take out Pezun or Solomon or something.

Apologised, how thick is minovski concentration in the area? Can we get off a laser transmission back to Pezun or Solomon or something?

I think we're all agreed that we need to find some way of getting in close with those ships, to start depleting them and preventing the Feddie GMs and fighters from resupplying.
But I'm still drawing a blank on how to get past all of those escorts.

Whatever we do, though, we'll need to do it fast. We want this entire force wiped out or severely depleted by the time more reinforcements arrive, so we can try to attack Luna II.

>>13190680
Actually, using OOC meta-game knowledge, we know that this operation was meant to tie up Zeon forces while the Federation launches a massive offensive against North America.

>>13190699
...Oh. I did not know that.

>>13190706
It was in an Omake in the previous thread.
Operation Star 1 (this attack) is drawing forces Zeon forces to Luna II, so Revil told Federation High Command that this was a perfect opportunity to implement Operation K. That operation, it was implied by the responses from other Federation base commands, is a coordinated assault on North America using forces from Asia to attack California

>As the GM's run low on ammo and fuel they travel back to the ships for ressuply.
How often are they having to fall back? Are they swapping out in groups or singly as they each run low? With the numbers advantage they have, they probably don't feel the need to really push themselves too hard yet, but if there's a pattern in their movements we should try to exploit that. It could make hitting the ships a lot easier.

>Also, is there any way to throw large numbers of small asteroids and debris at the battle line? Most will undoubtedly miss, but it's something to keep the Feddies busy.
>Possibly, but you don't have the specialised gear to do so at any speed. They'd certainly see them coming, and combined with the fact that you'd be depleting your own much needed cover it's a plan that could backfire horribly.
Balls. And I was just thinking about a plan like this. It might be worth it if we could use it to disrupt their formations instead of using the debris as an actual weapon. We toss junk at them, it causes disorder in the beam phalanx as the ships step maneuver to get out of the way, and then we or one of the other elite teams slips in can causes some hell. But it is fairly risky, and a lot of our plans seem to usually spawn HORRIFIC UNFORESEEN COMPLICATIONS. Still worth looking at though. With the way things are we're fighting the offensive side of battle of attrition against a well placed defensive force of greater numbers. We're going to need SOMETHING a bit crazy to pull off a win here.

>>13190706
On the bright side, that means we don't have to worry about the extra threat of Gundam Aces or Pegasus carriers, since we're just fighting a flock of diversionary meatbag grunts.

>>13190731
But in canon Operation Star 1 was sending the White Base to Side 6 as a decoy due to Zeon keeping so much attention on them as the Federation attacked Solomon.

>>13190746
No wait, that was Operation Cembalo. Bleh. Star One involved A Baoa Qu.

Wait...did any of the Feddies get a look at us, and transmit back that "It's the Nachtmaren!" before being killed?

Because our reputation as an elite Ace MS Unit might be enough to keep the Feddies from pushing too hard, and give our reinforcements from Grenada to arrive.

I'm wondering if we could, with the OH, sneak around the battle and take some potshots at Luna II, doing some recon to figure out their defenses before busting in like the Spanish Inquisition. If we make it damn obvious that it's Nachtmaren, depending on the base commander, he might panic and request immediate support from the fleet currently attempting a breakout.
That would confuse them, and force them to split their forces, allowing our combined Zeon blockade and reinforcement fleets to tear them apart and chase the remnants back to Luna II.

It's ballsy, but it's the best I got right now.

After thinking about it I believe that we need to find a way to destroy their warships while preventing their own MS from taking out our fleet. Nachtmaren is one of the most experienced anti-MS units on the field right now. We can rack up a lot of GM kills quickly which can free up an anti-ship unit to deal with those cruisers. Just like at Odessa these MS need to refuel and rearm, once their support ships are gone they'll have to attempt a retreat to Luna 2. A fighting retreat is only so effective, we'll kill a lot ot them if we can force one.

We should get in contact with the current fleet commander when there is time and suggest sending either a force of Zudahs or other fast attack MS to deal with the enemy warships once enough of the federation MS are tied up. With the assistance of the Val Varo we can quickly relocate to hot spots where the fighting is heaviest. The Outer Heaven can do roughly the same thing when it comes to warships trying to break through weak points in the line. That new shell firing turret from the Chivvay should be a big asset with beam chaff being used so much lately.

Something tech related to bring up: I was reading more about the Zaku Cannon. I didnt appreciate that it was a failed program. Somthing interesting about it though was that it has an interchangeable backpack system. A J type ground Zaku backpack could be swapped in for the cannon backpack, this would have let it perform better without the extra weight. We have a similar system with the Gelgoog B and C types. Why not try juryrigging a beam cannon backpack on a Zaku Cannon? It'd be similar to the Zaku I Sniper beam weapon modification.

And what happened with the Guncannon II Hovis captured at Jaburo? Try to find out what happened to that thing. Maybe we'll be getting a Gyan Cannon with a beam backpack instead of the weak as hell cannons it currently has.

>>13190789

Actually... I like it. If we can put pressure on them from another angle, we could bust this thing wide open.

it'd be that much better if we caused panic- if that fleet's defensive formation breaks, they're well and truly boned, and we can cause pretty massive casualties amongst them.

>>13190864

If we can hold them long enough for another ace team or two to arrive, one of us could eat their battle line while the other moves for a flank attack on the ships?

>and give our reinforcements from Grenada to arrive.
I really doubt that the feds are going to stick around once it looks like our reinforcements are going to arrive soon. Their job is to divert us, not kill us. Shortly before the Grenada fleet gets close the feds will break off and make a dash back to Luna II. What we need to do is maul them raw before that time comes, or make it impossible for them to escape from our forces.

>take some potshots at Luna II
A diversionary attack on Luna II might have some merit, but it's going to run into a force at least as large as this one, possible with addition of pegasi and actual aces. These guys are a distraction, and they only will have committed enough forces to make it a credible one. And I think we're far enough away that the flight time to get there would have a severely detrimental effect on the progress of the battle here. Even if Luna II does call for aid, the fed forces that respond might be on their way back from a sweet space victory by that point.

How far are we from luna II anyway? Hours?

>>13190874
A lot of that plan depends on the Federation perception of the Nachtmaren, especially amongst the grunts and line commanders.
It's sort of like how in the canon universe, Zeon spends so much time, resources, and attention on the White Base and the Gundam that a diversionary tactic works.
If we are the Zeon equivalent to the White Base and the Gundam, then we could be used in a similar capacity. And the more victories we amass, the more effective this tactic works (until Revil finally bitchslaps some commanders into paying attention to the real threat).

>>13190918
With the reinforcements from Grenada, and the stabilized battle here (with the assistance from the Solomon reinforcements), a Federation breakout is very unlikely.
You are right that they will likely attempt to break off and fall back to Luna II once the Grenadan reinforcements are about to deploy, which is why I think it important that we attack Luna II sooner rather than later, to disrupt their ordered retreat.

Also, we do need to get intel on the Luna II defenses; we don't know if they have any aces or Pegasi currently stationed there.

>>13190927

Well, yeah, but the problem there is two fold- we are a credible threat, and, at this point, one of the, if not the, preeminent MS killers, which has to have a pretty big psychological impact. I mean, look at the damage we did- twice!- to jaburo. That's got to factor in how they see us. That and Revil's not here... at least, as far as we know, so on one's gonna be there to get them to focus on the fleet- they're going to be running scared of us.

the problem for US is one of distance and timing- are we in a position to launch a strike on luna II at this point? if not, we're for sure better off sticking with the fleet and causing as much damage as possible to the federal forces, maybe in the hopes of forcing them to make a mistake.

>>13190550
>The GM's are pushed relatively forwards, forming a battleline. Using the debris and asteroids for cover but staying within the ships fire envelope.
>If Friendly ships push forwards, it's likely that they would get mauled by this battleline.

I don't understand this. Space is a three-dimensional battlefield. If they push forwards and present a battleline, we literally can just go over or under it. While they wouldn't be able to shoot at us while we did so, it's not like they can physically stop our ships from just going around them, short of going up and grappling our ships and MS.

I'd suggest getting a couple of fast ships and maybe a few of those aces from Solomon and going around their battleline. With their GMs and Balls concentrated there, that leaves mainly fighters and only a few resupplying GMs +2 GMs per battleship guarding their ships. Seems to me like it wouldn't be hard to speed in and wreck a few of their ships before pulling out. And if their main battleline pulls back to deal with us, then OUR main forces can push forwards and shoot them in the back.

>>13190980
So right now, we need to know how long it would take us to get to within attack range of Luna II, and for that, we need apologized back from his tea.

What are we going to do if we can't attack Luna II?
Are there any empty dead hulls of ships we could hide suits in, and then launch it at the Feddie line?

>>13190980
I think we're better off right here, where we can scare these guys into being more easily killed. If we can wipe out these forces, THEN we can start thinking about a raid on Luna II after our reinforcements get here. We need to disrupt their foramtions and resupply patterns so they start running low on fuel and ammo, and start making mistakes. We have the advantage of going up against 100% non-ace, non-gundam troops, so making them fall for something that a more experienced opponent would avoid should be viable.

We've got two ideas of how to do this right now:

>toss space junk at them to get them to dodge possible collisions, then take advantage of the disorder

>rapid strike with fast mobile suits while we hold the line with our superior speed

rolled 20716 = 20716

Whoo! I get in 30 posts in instead of 75!

So, what sort of plan are we thinking here. I've seen a couple of possibles for attacking the cruisers and battleships directly.
Also, I've seen suggestions about doing a sneak around to attack Luna II directly.

So, which one do you want to go for?

>>13191064

of the two options, I like the first best. the only other one i can see is trying to bust into their MS battleline (the one in cover) and trying to cause such horrific damage as to route them. the rapid strick still holds the problems of dealing with the massed firepower of their ships- 20 battleships and 30 cruisers isn't something to sneeze at even for us.

god, I wish we could use nukes......oh shit. that jackass doesn't have any forces nearby, does he? he'd violate the Antarctica treaty in a heartbeat.

>>13191081
Well, first, how long would it take to get within striking range of Luna II?
Is such an attack even feasible, time and distance wise?

> They think a bunch of Zaku's can beat GM's.

>>13191081
Well, Luna 2 probably has many more ships there, along with their defense turrets. I'm in favor of going after their battleships here.

>>13191064
If we go with the deep strike into the rear of the ships, then we can attempt to either go over or under the main battle line. We're in space, there's no need to line up in a horizontal line in a true 3-D battlefield.

>>13191115
>probably has many more ships there, along with their defense turrets.
Doesn't the blockade fleet have any idea of the number of ships stationed at Luna II?
Is there really a sizable force left there, or is this the bulk of their forces?

>>13191130
Apparently not. Yeah..... seems odd to me too. But apparently this is just a diversion, so I'm guessing they've still got ships in reserve. Thoguh that is meta knowledge.

>>13191085
>god, I wish we could use nukes......oh shit. that jackass doesn't have any forces nearby, does he? he'd violate the Antarctica treaty in a heartbeat.

Gihren's political stock has dropped somewhat lately since the failed assault on Von Braun. It's doubtful he'll be trying anything right now.

>>13191098

A hour, maybe less. You'd have to take a highly eliptical route to escape direction, but coming in from the american orbital zone looks like it might work, you can use the gravity to increase your speed.

However, do keep in mind that recon data of Luna II is sketchy, we've never really mounted a full-scale attack on it, due to never having the forces.

Throwing wreckage at them will deplete our supply of cover.

Making a fast-MS attack on the ships will have our guys charging right into the teeth of their guns.

A diversionary attack on Luna II will take us (the most capable guys here) out of the battle for an extended period of time, if not entirely, and will have us attack (single handedly!) a force at the least equal in strength to this one, and on even better defended ground.

The first option seems the least risky to me. The third one just seems silly.

I'd say that we should throw some of the wrecks we've been taking cover in at them and then use our own speed to strike the battleships ourselves. An all out attack at the forces main camp is sure to spook their commander into calling back forces from the main line to defend the ships. When that happens the rest of our forces who have been holding the line while all this happens, charge and attack the retreating federation forces.

Or something like that anyway. Maybe we could use the flung wreckage as cover for slipping some MS units into their lines?

And what about their movements for swapping out their suits when they need to get resupplied? Is there anything there that we can use?

>>13191197
>A diversionary attack on Luna II will take us (the most capable guys here) out of the battle for an extended period of time, if not entirely, and will have us attack (single handedly!) a force at the least equal in strength to this one, and on even better defended ground.

This isn't too unreasonable actually.

Wow, we've come a long way since Mexico.

>>13191197
The diversionary attack on Luna II will take an hour, and ace squadrons and additional reinforcements from Grenada are already on their way to reinforce Zeon's position here.
Since the Solomon reinforcements arrived, the battle has stabilized into one of attrition, and because of our attack, the Federation has stopped their slow but inexorable advance.

I agree that we don't know the defenses of Luna II, but that is the very reason why I am advocating it.
They will not expect an attack, when Zeon would be occupied with the threat of a Federation breakout. Also, it is an opportunity to feel out the defenses of Luna II, something we don't have data on.

>>13191267
I hope you guys get your asses blown up. We're past the point of "EXACTLY, THEY'D NEVER EXPECT IT."

Sometimes a suicide mission IS JUST AS A SUICIDE MISSION. Zeon needs us to survive for the grueling battles to come.

>>13191227
If we could take on Luna II all by our lonesome, then why aren't we just mopping up these guys here so the rest of our forces can take a quick breather?

>Gihren's political stock has dropped somewhat lately since the failed assault on Von Braun. It's doubtful he'll be trying anything right now.
THANK GOD. More problems caused by that meddling incompetent is the last thing we need to be dealing with right now.

>an hour to get to Luna II.
In an hour the rest of the forces we have involved in the battle might to too worn down to do anything more strenuous than 'lose gracefully'.

>Doesn't the blockade fleet have any idea of the number of ships stationed at Luna II?
They should. We should talk ask them about that once we have more time.

>>13191291
I'm inclined to agree.

>>13191291
Then suggest a course of action that doesn't involve us doing exactly as the Federation expects us to do.

If, as you and Sam pointed out, this is only a force of expendable grunts out here to act as a distraction, then wouldn't staying here be exactly what the Federation wants us to do?

Do you have any plan on what to do about the greater strategic problem of our forces being out of position due to this Federation offensive, and that we've done exactly as the Federation wants without finding out what they were using this distraction for?

OK, right now, we need to think defensively. Our top priority should be holding off the Federation until reinforcements arrive. So, no counter-attacks or diversionary attacks just yet. Right now, we draw a line and hold it.

>>13191383
>If, as you and Sam pointed out, this is only a force of expendable grunts out here to act as a distraction, then wouldn't staying here be exactly what the Federation wants us to do?

Actually, the part about these forces being expendable raises an interesting thought- what if they're not? What if they're under strict orders to break off the battle if they're taking unacceptable casualties, or after a certain amount of time has elapsed?

we don't know how much of luna II's garrison this represents, similarly, we know they're fighting pretty defensively, everything considered- even if this is just a feint with enough forces to make it credible, they had plenty of force to punch through the fleet before we got here- why didn't they?

If we're not going to make an end-around on luna 2, then we've got to do as much damage as possible- and the best option there seems to be trying to break up the ships, so we can get in and do damage.

>>13191383
Except that the distraction is for an attack on Earth. Attacking Luna 2 won't help that. Inaddition, just because they expect us to be battling them here, doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. If we take out their support ships, the GMs, fighters and all their units really, will run out of ammo and fuel and then we can destroy them on our terms. We just need to do better than they expect us to do. But diving right into their nest without support and probably getting killed because we don't even know what or how many forces they have there is just a bad idea.

>>13191465
>Except that the distraction is for an attack on Earth. Attacking Luna 2 won't help that
No, nothing we do, short of taking Luna II, could help that.
>We just need to do better than they expect us to do
But that does nothing to change the overall strategic situation. The Federation remains holed up in Luna II, we don't learn anything about the fortress' defenses, and the losses we inflict can be absorbed by the Federation within months.

>>13191383
It's a force of expendable grunts, but it's still a significant number of expendable grunts. 100+ mobile suits and pilots is not something they can just replace over right, and the way their ship building is currently set up, NONE of the warships that get sunk here today will be able to be replaced before the war is over. The feds are expecting their raiders to tie up the bulk of the Zeon space forces for as long as they can and then dash back to Luna II when the force from Grenada starts to close in, taking only 'acceptable casualties' in the process. If we can win a victory that has them taking 'very unacceptable casualties', then it might leave Luna II open to a retaliatory strike once we have our full forces gathered together.

If we go and attack Luna II our forces here will likely lose. Things are tied up in a battle of attrition right now, but we're outnumbered by a significant margin. That's not good. If we go and charge off to Luna II not we will not only be abandoning them but also attempting a solo attack on the most heavily defended federation installation after Jaburo. We'll make our attack, the fed commander here will get word of it, be a bit puzzled as to what we were thinking, and then finish killing the rest of our forces. An attack on a base of that size, even by a renowned ace team, does not warrant all the other federation assets in the region dropping what they are doing and rushing to wipe us out. WE ARE NOT SUPERMAN.

>I'd say that we should throw some of the wrecks we've been taking cover in at them and then use our own speed to strike the battleships ourselves. An all out attack at the forces main camp is sure to spook their commander into calling back forces from the main line to defend the ships. When that happens the rest of our forces who have been holding the line while all this happens, charge and attack the retreating federation forces.
So how about this plan. Ideas? Suggestions?

>>13191465
The point of the diversionary attack is not to attempt to take over Luna II. Even as good as we are, we're not that good.
The point is to go there and take some potshots, to see what defense systems react, and attempt to get a count of how many ships are still stationed there.
Also, to attempt to scare the base commander into calling for an early withdrawal of the Federation attack force, allowing the Zeon forces to ravage them from behind as they retreat.

I did not advocate attempting a full-on attack of Luna II or attempting to seize it with just the Nachtmaren unit.

>>13191445
I think the reason they're not sending 100% of their forces is because this IS a feint. If they went all out, they would have steamroller'd the blockade fleet already, which would mean remaining forces retreating. Possibly to Earth, which is what they don't want. Once they start their attack on NA, I'm guessing then the rest of Luna 2's fleet will come, leaving us between a rock and a hard place. They're trying to hold our forces here. Which is why the best thing we can do is to simply provide too great a challenge. Do enough damage to force them to retreat, or destroy their ships so that they become weaponless and unable to move from lack of fuel. That way, when the attack on NA does come, when the other shoe does drop, we and however many of our remaining forces can come down to earth to help.

If we do well enough, we might even be able to destroy this distraction and then push onwards to Luna 2 with the rest of the fleet. If we manage to fight them there, and defeat them, then having them retake NA might not be so bad; after all, the reason we started this was was for freedom for Spacenoids (dear god guy who created Gundam, what were you smoking when you thought up that name?) and letting the Feds keep Earth while we hold control of space seems like a victory for us.

>>13191574
Additionally, the Feddie commander could be all "Oh fuck, those guys. I SAW THE TAPES FROM JABURO MAN, WE'RE FUCKED. FIRE EVERYTHING! EVERYBODY BACK!"

>>13191518
We're not going to be fighting in months. The war is going to be over soon, one way or the other. It's been said dozens of times already: Zeon cannot win the war any longer. Right now, we're just trying to get back on our feet from Odessa and stage one last strike to make it seem like we can go on, and then force the Feds to the negotiating table.

>>13191574
>Also, to attempt to scare the base commander into calling for an early withdrawal of the Federation attack force, allowing the Zeon forces to ravage them from behind as they retreat.

Except they're not going to do that. See the end of >>13191544

>>13191445
I did mention in the discussion in the last thread that they might have gone heavy on the mobile suit component of their force to the point where the Luna II garrison could be undermaned right now. It'd be a good risk to take in order to make sure their MSs outnumber ours and really got us to jump to answer their threat.

All the more reason to take them out here and now.

>>13191574
This is much more sensible. It has the downsides of gaining us a small degree of intelligence at the cost of most of our forces here, and having a third step that has absolutely no chance of working in a world governed by rational thought. A half dozen mobile suits, one mobile armor, and a (admittedly quite nice) transport warship will not illicit a complete fall back by the federation forces.

Just popping in here quick, we need to resolve the situation with this fleet as quickly as possible. Time favous the enemy here.

We need to get some of our MS teams into weapons range of the GMs and try to pin them in the cover they're using, conventional weapons would work fine to do this. Once they're supressed we relay targeting data to our cruisers who use their beam weapons to destroy the debris they're hiding behind. The beam weapons will go clean through the cover (and hit), or cause it to explode hitting the hiding suits with shrapnel.

If we're lucky this might be enough to lure out the Fed fighters or invite them to make a counter attack, which we should be able to handle if they rush it.

>>13191620
I realize that Zeon cannot continue fighting much longer.
We both agree that we need to gain some kind of victory that could be inflated to bluff the Federation into thinking that Zeon can continue the war, and agree to a cease-fire and peace talks.
We both seem to agree that the capture of Luna II would be just such a victory.

I still believe that my diversionary and recon attack plan to be superior to your plan to decimate the Federation forces here.

I propose a compromise: we will initially go ahead with your plan to attack the rear of the Federation lines and destroy their capital ships until the Grenadan reinforcements arrive.
If the Federation begins to fall back at that time, then we have the rest of the Zeon forces harass them as they retreat while the Nachtmaren go on an extremely fast vector to arrive at Luna II before the Feddies do, to get an idea of the ships that are stationed there, and if all-out attack by the currently assembled Zeon force is feasible.

>>13191544

>I'd say that we should throw some of the wrecks we've been taking cover in at them and then use our own speed to strike the battleships ourselves. An all out attack at the forces main camp is sure to spook their commander into calling back forces from the main line to defend the ships. When that happens the rest of our forces who have been holding the line while all this happens, charge and attack the retreating federation forces.

I like this plan.

>>13191702
Seems like a good compromise to me.

>>13191730
>>13191702

How about we do both of these? And throw in some AB-Chaff dispensing missiles into the mix as well?

Just to check, will the Ship-Hunter force just consist of you six, or will you be taking anyone else with you?

>>13191544
>>13191730
>I'd say that we should throw some of the wrecks we've been taking cover in at them and then use our own speed to strike the battleships ourselves
I'll agree that we need to attack their battleships, but isn't hiding behind the debris we fling at them kind of dangerous, if they decide to simply shoot them with beams?

>>13191746
Yeah, both of them will work together well. For now, we do what we can to take out the enemy here (via the "kill their ships" plan) then if/when they retreat, follow them with our main forces while we, Nachtmaren, zooms ahead to do recon.

As for taking people with us... See if any of the other ace teams want in on this. There's room for more people on the Val Varo, isn't there?

>>13191702
I propose an Idea.

Any potential scouting of Luna II should be done by professional scouts. Our team should stick to its specialty of killing larger numbers of the enemy than anyone actaully thought was physically possible. Everyone has a role to play in the battle according to their own skills. We are not a recon team. We are a heart of the storm, holding the line when all others would fail team.

>>13191746
I can get behind both plans, with anti-beam chaff missiles thrown into the mix.

As for any other teams, see if there are any other ace units that want in on this, and especially if they have fast MA's to help.

>>13191772
I don't know if there are any specialist recon units taking part in this battle; we'd have to check with some of the other commands.

It should just be us. If we're just doing a hit-and run, then Nachtmaren would work just fine. Besides, we need as many guys at the line as possible. (Although it would hlp to have some cover fire for our retreat)

>>13191746

Sounds like a winner.

>As for taking people with us... See if any of the other ace teams want in on this. There's room for more people on the Val Varo, isn't there?

The Ace team "Death Wasps" has just returned from a failed breakthrough attempt. They're a small 3 man unit that specialise in light high-speed raids. Probably perfect for our purposes.

Their CO LtJG Jake Brain says that his team is up for the task, if you can give them five minutes to re-arm and repair from their Musai mothership: The Versis.

You can use this time to change your own loadout if you wish.

YOUR ORDERS?

>>13191768
I admit that the specifics were a bit murky when I considered it, but the general idea was something along the lines of finding a few pieces with some good heft, getting mobile suits behind it, and then having them turn their thrusters up to max to give it a push. These units would be covered by a few others, and once the piece had picked up enough speed (or was getting close to the enemy line) they break off and fall back to the rest of our forces. The pieces then coast on towards the ships under their own power, unmanned unless we want to try and hide an ambush team in them.

>>13191835
>YOUR ORDERS?

See if there's any recon specialists here and if so, see about them doing recon on Luna 2 like was said here >>13191772

I think our loadout is fine for now. Is there any weapon especially good at blowing up ships?

>>13191835
In addition to finding out if there are any recon specialists who could start making their way to Luna II now, or when the Federation forces start to withdraw, let's load up on chain-mines and panzerfausts.
We want to cause as much damage as we can, right?

How about trying an EMP blast? Overload a generator - Either that of a damaged MS, or find a damaged ball; Generator, when overloadign, gets high electric charge, exploding it leads to an electro-magnetic pulse blast.
Disable their electric systems, wreak havoc, gtfo to Luna.

>>13191855
>>13191875

the command network tells you that the garrison lost most of it's recon assets in the initial fighting, and none of the reinforcements have considered Recon teams all that high a priority.

>>13191879

Thanks to the massive profileration of Minovsky particles, pretty much everything is EMP shielded.

We have no hope of conquering Luna II. Yet, we should assault it anyway. There, we shall make our final stand by striking out at the enemy. Equip our mobile suits with all of the ammo they can carry, they will need it for the grizzly task ahead. Most of us will not survive, but I expect that every one of our men to take 10 of the enemy down with him. If the enemy is to achieve victory, then let us make it so costly that they will never again challenge the independence of our great nation.

Seig Zeon!

>>13191964
This is stupid. Your face is stupid.

>>13191964
That's the kind of ass-backwards pants-on-head idiocy I would expect of a Gihren Loyalist; taking a perfectly good idea (attempt to scare Luna II and see if it can be attacked successfully) and turning it into shit (sacrifice our best in a futile attack).

rolled 23568 = 23568

"SIEG ZEON!"

We make it simple and to the point/

>>13191988
>>13192013
Pretty much these.

So. How about that hit and run attack, Apologized? You go for dinner, or...?

>>13192189

I was sort of expecting some kind of response on whether we wanted a new loadout. But yeah, since it seems that everyone is fine with the current loadout, I'll get going with that.

>>13192013
Indeed. And even their target goals in the sacrifice are pitifully low.
>every one of our men take 10 of the enemy down with him
10:1? That's it? Disgraceful.

I do have a couple question though:
1) We have taught the others how to override limiters, yes?
2) Where's Calvin? Elaine? Haven't seen them mentioned in a while.

>>13191835

I think our loadout is fine as is.

>>13192208
No big changes; just rearm, and maybe pick up a couple extra chain-mines and panzerfausts.

And grenades. A whole bag of them if possible.
And Zol needs lots of heathawks.

You wait for the Death Wasps to reload their mobile suits. Presently their Kampfer and 2 Zudah's rejoin with you.

They give you the thumbs up and after coordinating your mission with the rest of the defence forces you begin your attempt at a breakthrough.
You give the second line of mobile suits about a minute to begin pushing some suitably choice asteroids towards the defence line. A few seconds later, a barrage of defence ordinance missiles, containing a mix of flares, conventional chaff, minovsky launchers and Anti-Beam Chaff.

That's your signal to go.

The massive engines of the Val Valo burst into life surging forwards, following the 11 defence missiles like the three wise men following a star.

Come to think of it, Christmas is coming up isn't it?

Anyway, ahead of you you spot radiating dust clouds and smoke as the asteroids pushed first begin to either collide with the ones the Federation forces are using for cover or explode from enemy fire.
Luckily this momentary cloud of particles and debris covers your advance past the primary battleline. It's after that that things get hairy.

Now clearly visibile, the enemy ships and second line Balls and Fighters begin to direct their attentions towards you and the missiles. The first of which begins spewing it's flares and AB-Chaff.

This helps safeguard against the beams of enemy ships, but it's not going to stop the incoming enemy fighters, or slow down the heavy kinetic shells fired by passing Balls.
Obviously Hovis will be doing his best to dodge their attacks, however extreme manouvers are going to slow you're advance down.
Attempted to fight them off is risky as at these speeds there's a chance your mobile suit could lose it's grip on the Val Valo, in which case you would be in a LOT of trouble, behind enemy lines like this.

YOUR ORDERS?

>>13192407
Provide suppressive fire while Hovis attempts to break through as quickly as he can?

And what are Elaine and Calvin doing, by the way? Are they with us on this attack?

>>13192407
Maximum speed. They don't have targeting computers, right, what with Minofski particles. So being fast can be just as good to help avoiding getting hit as making evasive maneuvers. We need to get to their ship and blow them to bits ASAP. The faster we're in and out, the better.

>>13192434

Elaine and Hovis are indeed with you.

Who do you want to try and give covering fire?

>>13192463
Hovis! Give us some covering fire while Hovis does his best to avoid enemy attacks!

>>13192463
Calvin, Zol, Bernie, and David.
Not necessarily aimed, but just in the general direction of the enemy firing at us to disrupt their aim.

>>13192513

You ask Hovis if he can use his heavy weapons to punch his way through the incoming fighters.
"I'd have better odds if you weren't lying face down on top of my missile ports to be honest. If I bring out the claws it'll unbalance the armour, and the beam and vulcans are forwards facing only. I'll see what I can do..."

Bullets and heavier shells begin to whizz around you as the Val Velo begins to twist around, firing it's beams and vulcans forward sporadically. Trying to make sure that they don't hit any of the defensive ordinance ahead.

Unfortunately, whilst several fighters are either destroyed outright or forced to pull away, a couple of these vital missiles are destroyed before they can unload their payload of AB-Chaff.
As you pass through the empty spot left defenseless by this beams once again begin to fill the air around you. Hovis has no choice but to twist and turn to avoid their attacks, straining your hand actuators. You hope that there's no real damage to them...

A brilliant ruby lance pulses past you and there's a cascade of sparks nearby.

"Damn!" Hovis remarks.

"What?" You urgantly inquire.

"I thinks it's okay. My leftmost thruster was showing damage, but I think I've gotten it locked down."

"Any power loss?"

"Doesn't look like, but I'd be wary about pushing my engines this hard on the way back."

"We take out enough ships and we won't have to worry about beams too much..." you point out.

>>13192687
Objective: Fuck shit up.

>>13192687

outstanding. when we're inside their defensive formation, we need to make a lot of holes, and quickly.

then fill them with explosives. 'cos, ya know, if there's a hole, it's a man's job to fill it.

Luckily you manage to pass through the danger zone without any additional hits, and by this point you've passed beyond the second defensive line and are now zeroing in on a large cluster of enemy ships. You're close enough that their missiles and flak are able to reach out at you, the remaining Defense Missiles begin discharging their payload of AB-Chaff before they get shot out of the sky.

As the ships loom close you give the order and the 9 of you detatch from Val Velo.

You're going to have to be quick here, the Anti-Beam chaff will dissapate in about 5 minutes or less.
In striking range are three Magellan class Battleships and 8 Salamis Cruisers. Aside from that you can see about 4 Mobile Suits as close defence, several Balls and fighters, and at least 5 more Mobile Suits queing up for repair and reload. Presumably most of these ships are also currently loaded with GM mobile suits as well.

YOUR ORDERS?

Hey. I haven't read up on this in a while. When I left off, I think you all had just finished up a fight up in Canada with some GMs. Or was it visiting your parents after some assassination attempt...

Anyway, does anyone know what part starts after that? Need to catch up.

>>13192901
Start firing any panzerfausts we have at the Magellan and Salamis' along with any other solid slug weaponry we have. The Val Varo is on defense, dealing with the guarding GMs. For now, ignore the GMs who are lining up to rearm. Once we're out of solid weaponry, move in to use our beam weapons. Destroy as many of their ships as we can, then meet back here if things get to hot and GTFO.

>>13192901

Smash shit in this order:

Battleships
Cruisers
Small shit

The more damage we can do to the ships, the more strain we put on their MS and fighters- We're hurting their repair and refit capabilities, as well as knocking out weapons and ammo supply points.

and, maybe more importantly, disrupting their defensive screen. if I'm reading this thing correctly, part of the reason a strike is so hard is because they're using massed ship fire to defend against MSes like us, and keeping our ships at a distance. If we can break up that formation, even a little, we can create an opening our fleet assets can exploit for massive damage.

Go for large clusters of enemy mobile suits repairing and rearming if possible. Especially those reloading their solid state weaponry. If we can detonate a supply of ammunition that's so close to a ship or enemy forces, it could cause a serious quagmire for them.

>>13192901
Magellans first. The three of them equal the fire output of all the cruisers put together. Throw Hovis, Zolomon, and Jo at them. With any luck this will disrupt the cruiser formation as well. Everyone else screen MS and targets of opportunity.

>>13192941
>>13192961
>>13193010

Order of attack being
Maggies
Salamis
Other stuff

Hovis is on defence, kiting the Mobile Suits, drawing attention and trying to cause as much damage as possible.

What about groupings? Will you be splitting into teams to cover more ground?

>>13193101
Splitting up is a surefire way to get killed. Stay together in a group to inflict maximum death possible in a short time with the smallest loss of life to us.

>>13193149

Seconded. Stick together, priorities targets, cause maximum havoc inside our Operational window, out before the chaff starts to give out.

>>13193149

You tell the team to stick together and cover each other, you won't be able to take down as many ships, but you'll have better odds of staying alive that way.

As a team you push towards the nearest Magellan Battleship, the Val Velo moving somewhat obliquely in a different direction to intercept the incoming GM's, missiles flaring from their various ports and Vulcans vomiting bullets at a prestigous rate.

You have bullet problems of your own deal with, combined flak from the two escorting Salamis cruisers attempts to bracket you. You return fire with a cavalcade of beams and rockets from the team, setting it aflame from stem to stern. It explodes brightly shortly afterwards and you use the bright explosion to cover your advance.
You give the order to fire your Panzerfaust ordinance at the battleship and 16 disposable missiles streak ahead of you towards the large ship.

Flak fire redirects itself to the missiles instead of you, taking out five of them before they hit.
Explosions rock the vessel, and although it's smoking and heavily damaged, it remains combat worthy. It takes a close pass from you, Elaine and Zolomon, along with the Death Wasps to finish it.

The rest of the team meanwhile is drawing the last Salamis's fire whilst you do this.
You see a Guncannon escape from the rear hangers of the doomed Battleship and fire it's cannons at you. You take the shot with your Gundamnium Shield, but it pushes you out of formation.

Before it can do any further damage, the two Zudah's of the Death Wasps flank it, taking it out point blank with their Bazooka's.

"We could do with some help here sir!" Jolyne calls from the Salamis.
You see that as well as the ship, several flights of Saberfish and Balls are also backing it up. You move in to clear the decks.

>>13193346
Disengage and find easier prey. We're on a time limit, we've no time to go about playing with small fries like balls and sabrefish. Try to take out their Magellans.

>>13193346

You surge in, pulling out the Bullpup you keep for such occaisons. You spray a salvo of bullets at the circling Saberfish, catching several in the initial salvo.
You spot a lone Core-Booster, it's beam guns fizzling ineffectually in the AB-Chaff and swing past it, grappling it and stunning it with your Heat Rod.
You spin around several times and hurl the disabled fighter towards the salamis like an olympic hammer.
It passes through the flak screen and collides with the ships bridge.

A massive explosion follows, and the Salamis's fire becomes noticably less coordinated. You're team use this oppourtinity to disrupt and take out the Balls and fighters in the area before finishing the last Salamis off.

You order a quick ammo count. Most people are at 80% remaining ammo, apart from the Kampfer, which is down to 60%.
Also you're all out of panzerfausts. Apart from the kampfer which has a couple left.

TIME PASSED: 2 MINUTES 10 SECONDS

>>13193444
Okay, NOW go for the Magellans.

Aware that the clock is ticking you pull out towards the next nearest Battleship.

"We don't have time to waste, we might have to risk ignoring the escort cruisers and hitting the Battleship in a hit and run. We have to take it out in a single high speed pass, don't spare the ammo, but also leave enough left to finish the last Maggellan off and get out of here. Calvin, what's Hovis's situation?"

From his Gyan-E Calvin takes a moment to take stock of the local battlespace.

"He's engaged with several mobile suits at close range, with his beam gun out though, that's to his advantage. But he's pushing his missile magazine pretty hard sir, he's going to run out by the time we have to leave. He's still close enough for us to bug out if we need to though."

You tell Calvin to tell Hovis to make sure he doesn't let himself get pulled too far away, as he's the taxi back to safe territory.

The next Battleship is coming up. You're targeting computer shows that it's ejecting it's GM's to meet you. Although whether their rearmed and repaired to full you can't be sure.

Bullets and missiles craze about you from the escorting cruisers. Everyone pushes their engines to their limits to try and bypass the escorts as quickly as possible. A cloud of balls attempts to block your path, and you see a shell hit Bernard Zaku Kai, luckily he blocks it with his Gyan Shield, which takes the blow.
A Zudah from the Death Wasps does the same, but loses his shoulder shield in the process. You can see sparks fly from his arm, possibly indicating damage.
You send a salvo of bullets from your Bullpup and several others join in, the barrage punches a hole clear through the enemy, alloung you to penetrate into attack range of the Maggallen...

>>13193470
Tally ho! We'll pull a Red Comet yet!

At top speed you all open fire with your heaviest ordinance. The Kampfer fires both of it's bazooka's off at the target in quick succession, you pull out your Beam Carbine and fire barrage with both your Bullpup and Carbine at the same time at the Magellan.

Beam fire from the GM's defending catch your attention and you fire a second salvo at them, you take the leg of one and shred the arm of another, but you see no kills. They continue to fire their beams in response, and you see one of the Zudahs take a direct hit through his thruster pack and explode brightly.

There's no time to react any further though as you overtake the battleship completely, you see Zolomon streak at a diagonal angle and lash at the engine block, in a manouver that reminds you of Cima's efforts in Odessa when she was piloting that blue Gyan.
Like that time, the engine block falls away neatly sheared, glowing golden along the superheated cut.
You also spot Calvin making a similar pass with his beam sword across the front bridge. You see a cascade of sparks and about half of the structure also appears to have been severed. But at a price, you clearly saw his mobile suit take Flak fire at close range.

"Calvin, are you okay?"

"I'm okay! There was some minor penetration in the center, but nothing vital it seems. The rest must have pinged off my armour."

"What's the status of the Battleship? Did we take it out?" Jake from the Death Wasps asks.

There's a large explosion from the severed engine block behind you all. The rest of the vessel does not follow suit.

"It's not gone up, but it's lost it's reactor and engines and it's bridge, it's out of this fight if nothing else. Mission Kill confirmed I say" Elaine states over the commlink.

TIME ELAPSED: 3 MINS 30 SECONDS

>>13193653
Calvin is wounded and isn't saying anything so that we don't worry about him and sacrifice the mission. You read it here, first.

Hit targets of opportunity but prepare to return to Hovis to help him out with any trouble he has and prepare for evac.

>>13193528
>Tally ho! We'll pull a Red Comet yet!

>>13193653
>Start to loose our wing men

We may have pulled a Red Comet... but at what cost? Ah well... let's see if we can get one last Magellan.

>>13193705
>We may have pulled a Red Comet... but at what cost?

Perhaps one should think back and remember what the Red Comet's track record with wingmen is actually like prior to Roberto and Apolly.

>>13193736
That's what I meant. Thus raising the question of why he even HAD wingmen. I mean, they didn't do much, did they? So all it did was cause unnecessary casualties for Zeon.

>>13193705

three is a god number... though it's not a HUGE dent in their forces, it's noticable, all the same, especially with a few cruisers added into the mix as well.

too bad they don't have any fleet carriers, so their MS and fighters are spread out amongst their ships. we could really hurt them if they had a single large target like that.

ah well.

>>13193705
We're running out of time and taking casualties, I say we count the mission a partial success and pull back while we still can, taking out as many targets of opportunity as possible. If we push for one more we're going to take more losses.

You're somewhat damage forces push on towards the last battleship, it's a little bit out, but you should be able to make it. You've attracted a fair bit of attention, there are more ships and Balls and fighters scrambling to your location. You might run out of time sooner than you think

That said, the Beam chaff should hold out for at least a minute, so you'll still have that advantage.

"Same battleplan as before sir? Ignore the escorts and hit the Battleship directly? Or do we deal with the escorts first to minimise casualties?" Jolyne asks.

"Also, shouldn't we call back Hovis so we can get out of dodge as quickly as possible?" Zolomon adds.

YOUR ORDERS?

>>13193806
Call Hovis to help us take out the last ship. When we make our pass, concentrate on its hangars to prevent it from refueling and refitting GMs. Once we've made our pass, GTFO. If we have to, continue further past their lines. While this will take us out of the battle for a bit until we can loop around far enough to avoid being attacked on the way back, it will mean not having to go through their battle lines again.

>>13193806
We're running low on time and ammo. We've got no more panzerfausts and we've lost the element of surprise. I say we go for one more high speed pass on the last Magellan and then bug out, regardless if we take it our or not. 2/3 is better than trying to go 3/3 and getting everybody killed.

>>13193806
Have Hovis make a fighting retreat towards us and engage the escorts while we bust through, hopefully distracting them while we handle the ship and giving us a closer rendevous point to get the fuck out after the kill.

>>13193850

agreed. We did damage, and cut a hole in their defensive phalanx.

IDK if it's significant enough to really affect the outcome of the fight, but it's something.

>>13193806

Hm.

Tell Hovis to disengage as gracefully as he can manage and burn towards us for a fast exit as soon as we're done.

Zol and remaining Death Wasps go in and inflict as much damage on the battleship as they can. Remaining pilots try to keep the escorts off of them while they work.

Once Hovis gets here, we get the fuck out.

If the last ship isn't destroyed (merely damage) any chance someone in the attack could leave Nachtmaren scored in the side of the (hopefully nonfunctional) hulk ala the Knight Sabers from Bubblegum Crisis as an act of psychological warfare?

>>13193992
If we had the time and if people weren't SHOOTING AT US, maybe. Plus, we're a freaking military unit, not Zorro. That shit is just gonna get us killed.

>>13193840
>>13193850
>>13193855

You give the order for Hovis to disengage and regroup with you. You tell the rest of the team that you don't have time to waste and it's going to have to be the same plan as before.

"Are you sure? The escort screen is even heavier know that they're expecting us." Elaine points out.

"This time, feel free to send some shot the escorts way, just save enough to take out that last battleship! If you get the chance to take out a ship in one pass, no lingering, take it. Otherwise just supress and move on ASAP." You tell them.

As you close in, you can clearly see that the defensive fire is much heavier. No less than 4 Salamis Cruisers are protecting the Battleship this time. Two on the outlier, and another two close in above and below. Aside from this, there are several more clusters of Balls and Fighters. Luckily no sign of enemy mobile suits.

You all fire a measured barrage at the nearest Salamis as it begins to fire at you. Whilst your fire doesn't kill it outright. Several shots pierce key areas, crippling it with little return.

As you close in on the Magellan you spot Hovis and his Val Velo coming in from below to rejoin with you. Whilst you can see heavy scorching and holes in the armour plating, the mobile armour still seems fully combat ready.

The flak from three ships is getting heavier, you aren't sure if you could survive passing directly over it. You're best chance would be to fire from a distance. Alternatively you could try to draw their fire long enough for the Val Velo to swoop in and make the kill.

Assuming he still has the ordinance for it.

YOUR ORDERS?

>>13194013
I like the latter plan, with Hovis making the kill. Does he need ordinance to kill it though? Couldn't he just scissor it to bits with his claws?

Either way, yeah, we draw fire and maybe use the Salamis that we hit as cover while Hovis does a job on the Magellan, then we GTFO. I suggest continuing past their lines, rather than retreating directly to ours, since that means going though their main line of GMs and Balls.

>>13194013
Are we clear enough that we could get a lasercomm off to Hovis to have him advise as to his remaining ordinance?

I saw we engage the escorts doing as much damage as possible, and if Hovis has the ammo he goes for the kill otherwise we do as much damage to the escort as possible and then GTFO as soon as Hovis is close enough for us to get a ride out.

Pffft, we don't have to worry all that much.

Nothing ever goes wrong for us.

>I like the latter plan, with Hovis making the kill. Does he need ordinance to kill it though? Couldn't he just scissor it to bits with his claws?

He could, but he'd have difficulty getting traction with the claws on a big battleship, so killing could take longer than a quick pass.
If he still has missiles or vulcan bullets it's more doable, but realistically it's best weapon for Anti-Ship work is it's MP Cannons which it shouldn't still be able to use if the Chaff is still about.

All of this assumes that he has any ammo left at all, and if he can avoid detection long enough.

>>13194013
At this point, I think we have to cut our losses and run. Without the panzerfausts, we don't have the firepower to take out the Magellan from range, and standing and shooting is a terrible idea given the Federation's numerical advantage. We can ask Hovis if he's got any missiles left, but if we'll have to assume he's expended most of them keeping the GMs off of him. Plus, I don't really like the idea of having our only ride out of here flying straight into the meatgrinder to fistfight a battleship.

I say we put out suppressing fire to allow Hovis to rendezvous with us and we get out. We've done our damage, so let's hope the guys behind us can capitalize on it.

>>13194071
Yeah, at this point we could probably stick our dick out of the cockpit and cum on the battleship, and nothing would go wrong.

That's the problem with Quest threads...

>>13194011

... Heh. Zollo.

>>13194013
>>13194041

Anyway, the Val taking it out sounds like a good plan. Can we get an update from Hovis on his ordinance status to make sure it's viable?

If it's not, we may have to chance taking it out ourselves. One solid bridge hit, if nothing else. See if we can keep the flak off Jol long enough for her to line up a shot. She's good with the long distance work.

>>13194075
I think we need to get an ammo count from Hovis.
"Hovis, you got enough missiles for that Magellan?"

>>13194095
I wouldn't go THAT far, but I agree that we'll have a positive end to this engagement. I sincerely doubt we'll get cock block'd at this point.

>>13194083

Gonna agree with this assessment. Have to hope we disrupted them enough to make some headway.

>>13194106
Since our objective is to cripple repair, rearm, and refit capacity, wouldn't shooting up the hangar, where there's lots of stuff that could explode, be better than the bridge?

>>13194075
Hmm.... well then, I saw draw fire and let him make an attack run, then we're out of here. He should try to hit the battleship's refit bays if he doesn't have much/any ammo left.

>>13194120
It's up part freaking 87. There's not going to be some kind of twist to screw us over this far in.

>Anyway, the Val taking it out sounds like a good plan. Can we get an update from Hovis on his ordinance status to make sure it's viable?

You make contact with the Val Valo

"Hovis, what's your ammo status."

"I am dry ammo wise sir. I even lost the Plasma Leaders in order to pull away from the enemy GM's. It's basically just my claws, several hits to the main body, mostly-nonessential parts, but I had to dump my vulcan ammo to stop it from cooking off at one point. Plus, my left claw has been giving me motor problems. My AMBAC is looking a little shakey."

>>13194134
The problem is that the Magellan also doubles as a very large, very powerful weapons platform. Even if we trash the hangars, it's still got enough firepower to put a dent in anything that gets too close, and it could just palm reload/refit duties off to the cruisers. If we hit the bridge, we can disrupt ALL ship functions. A bridge hit is something they wouldn't likely be able to fully repair in the timeframe of this battle.

>>13194157
Because we've been SMART. If we start just being hurr durp retards on a whim now, it'll fuck up the game we've made.

>>13194164
We should hit the closest support as hard as we can, meet up with Hovis and run. We're at, maybe past, the point of diminishing returns for this sorty. We've done good damage we'd do better to be able to regroup and continue to aid in the battle than to possibly spend ourselves against a target we might not even take out.

>>13194164

Sonofabitch.

Okay, parting gifts. Dump as much ammo into the Mag at range as we can and once Hovis arrives, mount up and get out.

We've done some serious damage. Their logistical capacity is down to a third what it was. That will have to do.

>>13194164

And that tears it. time to get the hell out of dodge and RTB.

....might wanna have a crash team on standby at the OH too, Calvin took a good lump there, lotta shit in the center of these suits, don't want something failing on landing.

rolled 6075 = 6075

>>13194164


WWQB do....

>>13194164
>I am dry ammo wise sir
I think we have to break sinking the remaining Magellan for this run.
Have everyone regroup on Hovis, expending their ammo at the Salamis cruisers, then we get out of here before the AB chaff dissipates.
It's the safer option.

Or, we could have David and Zol push on to the Magellan, and David destroys the bridge and Zol destroys the engines, while everyone else provides cover fire.

>>13194216

Get his wingmen shot?

>>13194164
Does he still have his mega particle cannons? If the rest of us could create enough distraction killing balls and shooting turrets from range he could make a run at the slightly less defended underside of the battleship.

>>13194227
>Or, we could have David and Zol push on to the Magellan, and David destroys the bridge and Zol destroys the engines, while everyone else provides cover fire.

If anyone could we're the ones to do it. Have us make a past as everyone rallies for the taxi keeping us covered.

>>13194173
No, it's because who the fuck wants to end their Quest thread? Ever? It doesn't matter what the players' choices are, the quest thread MUST KEEP GOING. THE ATTENTION MUST FLOW.

Not that that's a problem mind, it's just that I have to roll my eyes when people say "OH GOD OH NO WE'RE IN SUCH TERRIBLE DANGER". Just have one person say something that isn't "UR A FAG" and you'll coast through it.

>>13194254
Nope. Hovis has basically said he's down to his claws, and even those aren't at 100%.

>>13194256
I know we're badass and all, but even these odds aren't exactly in our favor. If it's just Dave and Zol going in, they're gonna be taking a lot more than just flak damage.

>>13194259
>Not that that's a problem mind, it's just that I have to roll my eyes when people say "OH GOD OH NO WE'RE IN SUCH TERRIBLE DANGER". Just have one person say something that isn't "UR A FAG" and you'll coast through it.

Well given we have post war omake that show some of us surviving you're certainly right that we won't outright die, but we could certainly put ourselves in a worse position or get characters without plot armor killed.

>>13194256
This seems like a good plan. We can do this.

>>13194259
There are still ways for the players to get punished for doing stupid shit without ending the quest, like getting important NPCs or even squadmates killed. So far, we've done all we could not to give apologised any reason to fuck us over.

>>13194203
>>13194193

You realise that you don't the firepower, ordinance but mostly time to finish off the last Magellan and you quickly order the attack off. You tell Hovis to rejoin you on an angle that avoids the worst of the enemy fire and meet back up with you so can all retreat.

You then tell the rest of the group your with to offload EVERYTHING into that last Magellan, at this distance you probably won't take it out, but hell you make sure they know that they've been knocked.

As your assault team pulls away they fire a swarm of rockets, missiles and bullets at the target. Which if nothing else draws away the flak fire from you.
As predicted a lot of this fire is stopped by the AA, and the Battleship weathers what's left. It still takes heavy damage to the fore however, losing it's front beam cannons in the exchange.

As the Val Velo get's close to you, you think that Hovis was underplaying how damaged he was. There are holes and rents all over, a couple of the handle bars have been lost, several reactive armour plates have just apparently disintegrated. It's in a bad shape, but it's still your best chance out of this bad situation.

You mount up as best able, some people having to grab onto holes in the side of the Mobile Armour.

"We can't risk going back the way we came, take an elliptical route to avoid the main lines!" You tell him.
With no time to waste he acknowledges the order and pulls off. His speed seems to have taken a knock as well as everything else. It's a good thing you aren't trying to get out the way you got in, you'd likely not survive.

>>13194256

Better to Bug out and RTB at this point. As it is, we've knocked out 10% of their battleships deployed for this op (a not insignificant number) and put a hurt on their ability to keep Their fighters, balls, and GMs supplied and repaired. It's time to get the hell out of the airspace before it gets REALLY ugly.

>>13194324
He did ruin David's birthday with 400 GM and a nuke though. Also our new efreet.

>>13194324
I'm sorry, perhaps I was being a bit too harsh, but I still have to stick with my point: if a Quest thread wants to be popular, and have any sort of lasting impact on /tg/, it will treat you with kid gloves. Again, not a terrible thing, if that's your sort of thing. But it will not ever make you take difficult decisions, or suffer any sorts of the ups and downs that life usually gives you. You'll bob along just fine and dandy, because otherwise players would lose interest and drift away. No one likes 'losing'.

Anyway, I've gotten on to a tack I didn't want to, which is my opinion about quest threads in general, and I shouldn't. I'm sorry. Maybe we should just drop this?

>>13194334

.... yeah, put in a call to put crash teams on standby.

>>13194334
Continue unloading any and all ordnance we have load into targets of opportunity, which is any Feddie stupid or unlucky enough to be within range of our weapons, as we make our dash back to the Zeon lines.

As soon as we're clear, open up a comm to the OH, have them prepare to accept our damaged suits and to be ready to do emergency repairs.

Also, did our stunt break the formation of the Federation lines enough for Zeon to mount an attack? How far away are the Grenadan reinforcements?

>>13194324
Why I hate Narrativist RPGs...

>>13194374
You've clearly never heard of Destroyer Quest.

inb4 "That just proves my point, it isn't memorable because it didn't last long enough" or words to that effect.

>>13194432
...but it does.

>>13194398
If you don't like them, then don't play them.

rolled 15624 = 15624

:D

>>13194432
Well, compare the votes?

Sticking by his guns and letting things have consequences resulted in a minimum of votes. Compare to Frost Giantess Quest, ZeonQuest, TauQuest, etcetera.

>>13194444
Yeah, it does. Well, actually, it's gone on hiatus due to RL shit for the OP. However, Tau Quest was pretty big AND had some drastic consequences for bad rolls/decisions. However, it came to a natural end because the story came to a close.

I do agree with you though, though that being said consequences for bad ideas or decisions should play a part in quests. Even if they don't end a quest, there should still be consequences for messing up.

>>13194497
TauQuest's consequences were slaps on the wrists. You still become some kind of retarded Taucron waifu cyborg. Yes, I mad. Such potential driven straight into the horrifying creeper bedrock that /tg/ rests upon.

Luckily, slower it may be, but it's still got the power to overturn your pursuers, even with you all on board.

But it's only when you manage to punch through their flanking pickets (the reduced speed makes it less dagnerous to hold on one handed, freeing a couple of you up to take shots with your still largely fresh beam weapons. ) that you allow yourself to breath a sigh of relief.

If you'd have had more time and some ammo tender or something, you could have taken them all out. Perhaps splitting the team into squads, one to deal with the escorts, another to take down the Battleship?

Too late now in anycase.

Travelling back takes longer due to your elliptical route, a good 30 mins in fact. You arrive back to the Zeon lines with the Val Velo making complaining sounds from it's engines. Luckily you make it back to the Outer Heaven in one piece.

"How's it looking now?" You ask Anita once you're all safely docked and rearming and repairing.

"The battle still isn't moving much. We managed to make some gains during your attack, but they seem content to just let the battleline move back a little. They might be making preparations for a tactical retreat back to Luna II as their Public support ships just started deploying AB-Chaff across the battleline, but we can't be sure..."

"Any word from the Grenada reinforcements?"

"Nothing. We should have sight of some of them by now."

"No word on the Tactical Network?" you ask.

"Nothing, but the direct route makes laser comms difficult to get the angle right, so they might be waiting until they clear the orbital zone... wait, I'm getting a priority 1 message from the Grenada forces... I'm putting through to the main fleet network."

Within seconds the face of Char Aznable appears.

>>13194536
.....Fuck, Char is making his own faction and revealing himself as son of Zeon, isn't he?

>>13194536
I have an ugly feeling those reinforcements from Grenada aren't coming...

>>13194598
>>13194568

goddamnit. I fucking hope not.

>>13194598
You're assuming they're not belligerent and about to flank us.

>>13194536
Feds will be launching into orbit most likely. Added to that will either be attacks on California Base, our space fortresses or both.

>>13194568
Dont even go there.

>>13194536
CHAR YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD

DON'T YOU FUCK US.

Also, I note that an exploding battleship would have been an awesome opening for whatever he's about to say.

"This is Captain Char Aznable acting commander of the Grenada forces. We have been engaged by a massive Federation force ascending from Oddessa. We are badly outnumbered, their force consists of 30 Cruisers, 10 Battleships and a full 15 Trojan Horse class Assault Carriers. We have identified General Revil's flagship: The Stallion as well as the orginal Trojan Horse in this force. Several advanced Gundam class Mobile Suits have been spotted. To all friendly units please assist. I repeat: This is a priority 1 situation, a full invasion force from Earth has been engaged over Odessa. All firiendly units please assist!"

You realise instantly that the attack from Luna II was a feint, a massive, costly feint, designed to draw out Zeon forces and then pin them here whilst the main force launched from the Earth. If ignored this force would have taken Side 4 and beseiged Solomon, if responded to it would act as a decoy.

"Sir! I've got a second priority message coming in from Lord Garma!" Anita cries. You immieiately have her patch the signal through to you.

Garma's face appeared on the viewscreen in his piloting gear, and from the inside of whatever Mobile Suit he's using these days.

"Commander! I just received Char's message myself, but I've got worse news. As well as in space, the Federation are making a major assault of the Californian Shipyards. So far it's been conventional forces, but Aquatic Mobile Suits have been sighted! It's a heavy assault, and we're already pushed for men and resources. I won't order you what do under these circumstance, it's your choice to either come to our aid here on earth, or to attack the Federation over Odessa before they conquer Zeon. But will order you to this: choose wisely, and choose well commander.
[his screen rocks as if from a nearby explosion]
...Garma out."

TO BE CONTINUED.

>>13194374
>treat you with kid gloves
Which he hasn't. We've gotten at least one guy killed that had a name (poor Ramirez couldn't kill the Feddies when ordered to) and then there was that entire clusterfuck at Hawaii.

>Also, did our stunt break the formation of the Federation lines enough for Zeon to mount an attack?
At the very least we drew off a good amount of attention that could otherwise be focused on others.

>>13194696
It's hard to say, but we need to stay in space. Earth is all but lost. Garma has to get out of that mess on his own. We can't spare ourselves to do it. We need to gain space superiority. We need to go help Char and capture Revil.

rolled 10476 = 10476

>>13194696

>>13194696
Well shit, looks like the Federations finally using its industrial and numbers advantage in a smart way.

If we move away from here, this Fed Fleet take Side 4 and sieges Solomon. If we don't go to Char, Revil and his Trojan Horses get a direct path straight to the Zeon home-colonies.
And if we don't go down to NA, we lose the resources and manufacturing capacity of the California shipyards, and possibly Garma.

>>13194696
Ugh, there's no way we can't ignore the invasion force from Odessa. They're threatening to take the only advantage we have left, space superiority. But it's going to be an ugly battle. The whole Feddie side is literally loaded down with plot armor and all we've got is Char.

>>13194735

Sadly agreed. Earth was a lost cause after Odessa fell, and we've got to keep them bottled up on earth. If they get that fleet topside and linked with Luna 2, we're boned. Garma's a big boy, hopefully he's not gonna throw his life away on something we all know can't be done.

>>13194696
Well fuck.

So our options seem to be...
A) Assist in space & probably lose California/Garma dies
or
B) Assist ground-side & surely incur heavy losses in space

I'm with Char.

>>13194812
inb4 Zeon completely loses the war and Nachtmaren and Char spend years acting as guerrillas fighting for spaceoid rights.

A part of me wants to say bunker down, burn every inch of California we give up, and go down fighting.

Still...our space superiority is important.

I don't believe we can turn the tide on Earth. We can drag it out, make it costly, and maybe knock out a major character or two...but Zeon on Earth is probably done for. It pisses me off for all that we did down there to be nothing but salvaged a little extra time.

We need to fight in Space, Char needs us, I'm almost certain.

It's a shitty decision.

inb4 omake with Revil going 'Just as planned'

>>13194696
We're screwed. Not a little screwed but totally, totally screwed.

>15 Trojan Horse class Assault Carriers
We killed 4 of those suckers dead there. They'd have had time to salvage maybe 1 out of all of that wreckage in the time they've had. IF the internal machinery wasnt destroyed in all of them by the fall. Jesus Christ.

Okay, that fleet if I've got it figured right will be carrying a minimum of 220 Mobile Suits. The Luna II blockade is over, we wont be able to keep the two fleets from linking up if they try. I propose we fight the Federation fleet in Earth Orbit and do as much damage to them as possible. California Base wont hold if it is blockaded from orbit.

So, the big question is, did we do enough damage to the Federation forces, that Nachtmaren and maybe a few other elite units could leave this front to the regulars, and get ourselves to where Char is fighting Revil?

Can Revil still be reasoned with? I mean can we get a peace treaty signed that doesn't involve a colony laser blowing him up? Regardless we've got to go to Granada.

>>13194899
I hope so as we're gonna need all the troops we can muster for this one.

>>13194906
Oh yes, he could be reasoned with, probably into accepting a full and complete surrender of Zeon.
That is the scenario that we have been attempting to prevent this entire time.
The problem is that if we kill him, then only hard-liners will be left at Federation High Command, and they won't stop until Zeon is crushed into dust.

>>13194869
That said, what does stopping Revil's fleet do?

How long before California falls and the Feddies organize an even more massive assault? We don't have an advantage, we're delaying the inevitable. Zeon will lose this war. It's a silly thought, but it is likened to Germany in 1944. Enemies pushing in from every side, a miracle victory of absolute dominance and morale crushing propaganda is the only thing that could save us.

Whether that's killing Revel, reestablishing our hold on North America, or something more...dastardly, I don't know.

>>13194696
We're gonna have to go with Char. As distasteful as it is, the Earth is lost to us. I'd suggest he and all his available forces full out and try to head to the battle above Odessa. If nothing else, we can try keep them on Earth and maintain space superiority.

--OMAKE--

Garma's Gelgoog took cover behind the shattered ruins of what had been a spare parts warehouse but minutes ago. The continuous whine of Missiles as the long range barrage continued was unending. The barrage was too heavy for his AA units to deal with properly. He'd clustered his Gigans and Zaku Cannons around the key dock structures. But then he'd had to spread his forces even thinner by making sure those AA groups were protected by Mobile Suits.

Cima and the Mashiba Team were striking at the enemy landing teams before they could offload their conventional forces of Amphibious Tanks and APC's. Several ground force commando divers had also been spotted with AT-Weapons in the dock area as well.

His Marine Mobile Suits were currently bogged down in a cat and mouse game with a team of infiltrating Federation Mobile Suits in some kind of Marine Gundam, and last word from Hawaii was that they were engaged with marine and air forces from the federations Australia base.

Things were not looking good for holding California.

"We need to take down those Missile Cruisers somehow! What available Mobile Suits do we have left?" he ordered over the command net. Staff back in the secure command bunker began relaying information back to his Command and Control software.

What he had left wasn't much. 2 Dom's and some left over Jaburo Assault specials that the Nachtmaren had left behind.
The MARINE CAPABLE JAburo Assault Specials that the Nachtmaren had left behind.

"Gentlemen, I have a mad plan. Get me some pilots. Mad ones!"

>>13194984
He's mad.

>>13194955
Stopping Revil's fleet would stop a massively powerful force that is aimed at the Zeon home-colonies.

It's possible that if we stop both Revil's force and the fleet that came out from Luna II, even if we lose California we can force the Federation to pause while they get they reorganize their forces.

If we actually capture Revil a second time, that might be the propaganda victory we need to get the Federation to agree to a cease-fire.

>>13194984
"Oh God! It's the Skull Knight, run away!"

Does the space above Odessa falls within the space laser? Amuro,Char,Revil,Natchmaren in one place is a dream come true for Gihren.

As far as Revil's fleet goes... unless something about this happened early and I missed it... aren't we about to be running smack dab into the Federation's Solar System antarctic treaty loophole? I know in canon it was used at Solomon but since at this point that attack was apparently the feint...

rolled 31265 = 31265

>>13194984

>>13194955
>a miracle victory of absolute dominance and morale crushing propaganda is the only thing that could save us
We'd have to eliminate pretty much everything they have in space & completely isolate (if not downright crush/capture) their space holdings and, even then, we probably couldn't win. Decent cease fire agreement? Probably.

The war is over. It is now a matter of determining how badly Zeon comes out of it.

>>13195036

Technically speaking, the Jaburo Specials in Nachtmaren colours look less like the LORD OF DEATH and more like those El Mariachi Skeleton Puppets you can get in mexico.

I'm kinda sitting here wondering how a fucking fleet got topside from odessa, got formed up, and was able to bring us to battle when someone in ZGHQ, presumable, should have had the foresight to send some recce patrols out over the major surface-to-orbit areas the second luna 2's fleet started making noise?

Gentlemen, we are destined to lose this war. not because of a shortage of personnel or equipment or supplies, but because of crippling incompetence at the highest levels.

>>13195101
>Gentlemen, we are destined to lose this war. not because of a shortage of personnel or equipment or supplies

To be fair, we're destined to lose it for that reason too, just not as soon.

>>13195079
Meh, it should cause sufficient confusion either way.

Thought up another Mobile suit modification that we likely wont have time to make use of now. The MS-06K has a modular backpack system that can be swapped out for a regular J-type backpack. If we fitted it with one like the Zaku II Stutzer we could give it a Beam Rifle. This should be much simpler than refitting a Zaku I into a Sniper L type.

>>13195101
I think our problem, is that we've been so good at killing Federation officers, that we killed all of their incompetent ones, and now only their smart ones are left.

>>13195101

Earth operations were in complete turmoil after Odessa, on Garma had anything like his shit together after that, everywhere else folded like a house of cards.

As for where Revil's fleet got that many ships, it's basically like this: After you destroyed the conventional shipyard in Jaburo back in June, the other Federal construction bases on earth (Torrington, Madras and Dublin) started to take up the slack in producing Maggies and Sallies. Roughly when White Base arrived at Dublin, they decided to stop this and those bases started construction of Pegasus class vessells.

The Pegasus ships yout fought in Odessa were 'just' the ones built at Jaburo. The ones you face now are a mix of those and the ones subsequently made by those three bases I listed.

>>13195161

Probably.

Though, to be fair, I think at this point, Revil could be a 12th grader with zap brannigan's big book of war and he'd still be running rings around whoever is plotting the strategic moves for zeon.

Shit, a nutless monkey could too, for that.

>>13195078
If it's that bad, why bother? Absolute defeat in a month is absolute defeat in two months.

Perhaps it's time we stopped worrying about Garma, Char, or even Zeon's fate and start worrying about our own.

One of the greatest mobile suit pilots and strategists of the war and were going to get ground to dust with the fools who would have lost it months ago without us?

>>13195079
And they still speak of the day, the day that David Lister won the Siege of California and crushed the Assault on Side 3 at the exact same time.

>>13195209
Because no man wants to be remembered as a coward.

>>13195204

I'm not asking where he got them- i can accept that earth is, at this point, a bigass weapons factory.

I'm asking how he got them topside when we've enjoyed- and still, supposedly, enjoy orbital superiority. We know, for a fact, that the luna 2 fight was at least 4-5 hours long, I'm going to go out on a limb, here, and assume that we could have some kind of recon- even if it's just some jackass with a bigass telescope- looking at the major STO areas and go "yep, they're launching ships"

and yes, I know it wouldn't make a difference with, say, pegasus class ships, they're SSTO. but it would for the battleships and cruisers, which make up the bulk of the new fleet.

So, again, i point out. we're going to lose. not because we can't fight anymore, but because a 12 year old could beat us strategically.

>>13195230
Who's the greater coward, the man who submits to fate or the one who strikes against it?

They're both fools, but one at least has a chance.

>>13195204
>After you destroyed the conventional shipyard in Jaburo back in June

We attacked Jaburo the first time in September 0079. You've been saying a few times now that we attacked it in June. Any reason?

>>13195228
"David, you weren't at the defense of Side 3."
"Yes I was."
"Then you weren't at the siege of California."
"Yes I was."
"No, you couldn't have been. They were both happening at the same time."
"I . . . I-"
"So were you at the defense of side 3?"
"I guess so."
"Then you weren't at California."
"If you say so."

I think our only bet is to try for a decisive enough victory to give the federation pause so that we can negotiate a favorable peace treaty that leaves us truly independent as opposed to what Zeon gets at the end of the OYW in canon.

... Maybe we should stay right where we are and see if we can't organize a breakthrough and capture of Luna II despite our inferior forces to provide ourselves with an important federation base as a bargaining chip. I mean we know Char can't die.

>>13194984
...I don't know what Garma's planning, but I think I like it.

>>13195267
I KILLED FIDDY GUNDAMS!

>>13195295
>I mean we know Char can't die.
Oh, the temptation...

>>13195295
Except, we've been saying that for OVER A YEAR NOW.

Jaburo was supposed to be that victory, it wasn't.

It's not going to happen. There's nothing a mouse can do to a lion...

Except, removing a thorn from it's paw. Suppose, just suppose, the Red Comet dies. Suppose he dies because of us. Zeon's morale would be devastated, surrender could be achieved faster, without a costly "Last Stand Meat Grinder"

We could save lives.

I'm just saying...It's something that could be done.

>>13195295
>I mean we know Char can't die.
>Several advanced Gundam class Mobile Suits
That might strain his plot armor too much.Or run through his ammo very quickly.

>>13195378
Well there's always the emotionally satisfying plan of offering the Federation Gihren's head on a platter, blaming all the war crimes on him, and suing for peace that way.

Of course unlike Char he'd see it coming.

>Maybe we should stay right where we are and see if we can't organize a breakthrough and capture of Luna II despite our inferior forces
I'll be blunt: this is INCREDIBLY retarded. Like FULL RETARD levels of retarded.
>I mean we know Char can't die.
As a matter of fact we don't. We know we probably won't but, at this stage, just about anyone can probably die. I mean, hell, we're probably at the point were we could probably kill Amuro. Apologized already said his plot armor was running thinner as time progressed.

>>13195436
Especially when several gundams spot a single red mobile suit in the middle of a space battle.

>>13195436
>We know we probably won't
That should read "We know he probably won't".

Derp.

fa/tg/entlemen of Lister,

I propose we choose neither failures.

There will be a death, or perhaps a capture, but someone must be offered to the mantle of peace. We are honorable. We have proven that through our actions, we do not butcher civilians or destroy large chunks of Earth on a whim. Yet we are surrounded by those who are not honorable. I say, we fix this.

>>13195497
So you're saying we should go around killing our own forces? I hope desperately that I'm misunderstanding you because if I am not then you have said quite possibly the stupidest thing in this thread so far, and there have been a few contenders.

>Especially when several gundams spot a single red mobile suit in the middle of a space battle.

.... and once again, nobody remembers Johnny Ridden.

>>13195526
Who?

>>13195436
>We know we probably won't but, at this stage, just about anyone can probably die. I mean, hell, we're probably at the point were we could probably kill Amuro.
Actually...would that be the propaganda victory we need, or at least, on the way to one?
Killing the Federation's 'White Devil', their undefeated Gundam, and gutting the White Base.
Sure, it won't be enough on it's own, but it might help.
And I must confess, I will take much pleasure and satisfaction in seeing Amuro Ray die.

>>13195526
Damn you got me there.Especially since I just read the latest chapter of Return of Johnny Ridden yesterday.Now I feel like whacking my own head.

>>13195526
>RememberRidden.jpeg

I do.

Which reminds me: have we met him yet? That would be nice.

>>13195497
I refuse to come anywhere even close to considering what you're implying seriously.

>>13195518
No, not our forces, thought they're doomed to die just as horribly if this war continues. You're worried about honor? It won't matter if we're all dead and the Federation wipes us from existence. No one will bother to remember a brave Zeon soldier when there's nothing of Zeon left.

We have been betrayed, undercut, and distracted fighting our own side at every turn. They lost this war Zeon. Not us. Not the soldiers, we did EVERYTHING we could have possibly done. We were betrayed. Zeon's death is covered with the marks of their greed and egoism. They are the true enemy. They are the ones who threw us into an impossible war.

I'm tired of fighting for another day, only to know that we're fighting for such monsters. Zeon will fall, but it will not die. It needs only be purged of the rot, purified by righteous fire, cast in the forge anew.

We are doomed. No doubt. But I will not die so a madmen can live and go on to butcher more innocents.

>>13195639
Yyyyyep, you're crazy.

>>13195670
And you're meta. I don't call you on it though.

>>13195683
Instead of pontificating, why don't you outline a plan and name some targets?

>>13195639
Ok. What exactly are you saying? Because I don't really understand what you're suggesting.

So, except for a few outliers, we're agreed that, like it or not, we need to go and assist Char, right?

Next week we'll need to find out from apologised whether the Zeon regulars can handle Fed breakout fleet, or if we really are fucked.

>>13195683
IF zeon is to be remade, you would need some political backing like Char revealing himself and forming a faction that allies with Revil. Though Garma has done nothing that warrants a betrayal

It's simple. Help Char. Doom Garma.

It's all according to plan.

>>13195846
Well our other option is help Garma doom Zeon.

Attack procedures. We're going to need to refine things based on what worked today and what didnt. We're going to have to make multiple sorties against the Federation fleet in orbit to kill down their numbers of capital ships and carriers.

Equipment first though: Calvin needs a better ranged weapon so that he can stay the hell at range. Getting in close will get the poor guy killed, he's not really one for a straight up fight. I was going to ask that he get a reverse engineered version of that GM Railgun we picked up at Odessa but making sure Bernie had a shield was more pressing. (A shield might save him from wrist Vulcan fire) The Zudah had some kind of new anti-ship gun or something of the like, find out if we have one or can borrow it from another ship.

On Val Varo attack runs Elaine, Jolyne and Calvin should break off and cover the rest of the group as they make close attack runs on the ship. Hovis can do his thing but but we should be more careful to keep him out of the heaviest action. We can switch up who goes with each group on different runs so that everyone gets some more experience. Zol will obviously stay with the close attack group each run.

>>13195846
>>13195874
Eh. Helping Char doesn't necessarily ensure Garma's death. If he's smart and retreats back to space if/when the opportunity presents itself instead of trying to make a last stand where he is now, he stands a reasonable chance I'd say.

>>13195901
We're pretty banged up. Hovis is keeping the Varo together by sheer force of manly I'd wager, he can't support doing what we just did multiple times. We very badly need to refit and repair before charge back in.

well, there's the potential for a what a twist final ending, but I'm holding my theory on THAT one in till the end.

The end of this thing is rapidly approaching, and, unless we Un-fuck ourselves, and soon, we're gonna suffer. Here's what I'm thinking. And I'm trying to approach this from what we'd know.

1) That jackass Can't be in a good place politically, since we did link the attempted nuclear attack on van braun to him. We may have a good shot at ending this civil war here and now, and getting a portion of our forces back, and lord knows, we'll need them.

2) They've got enough forces in space to challenge us even without factoring in what's on it's way in from earth. We'll ignore the whole "lol, what, watch the major federal controlled launch zones? why?" thing for now. I'm talking about just what was at luna 2- which could have, apparently, broken through the blockade fleet without help.

3)We've still got a sizable chunk of forces tied up on earth, but no way to get them topside without them being torn to shreds right now. And we can't be in two places at once, so either they, or Char's space fleet, are on their "own".

4)If, and it's apparently a much bigger if than I had initially anticipated, IF we can somehow knock down Revil's fleet, or force it back in space, then lock up luna 2 (AGAIN) AND get enough forces topside to give us fleet that's apparently not stretched to paper-thinness across the board, we've got a shot at getting at least a decent negotiated cease-fire. but that fleet has to go, and luna 2 has to be tied up.

... gentlemen, I'm kind of at a loss here. our tech advantage isn't what it used to be, and while we've got superior experience, they're closing the gap. and the fact that our GHQ is full of chimps doesn't help matters.

maybe, if garma pulls a damned miracle out of his ass, and we somehow defeat the combined plot armor of Revil and the White base, we've got a chance. maybe.

>>13195934
We have to get Char though, anything that can fight. If the Varo breaks, we'll use any fast ships we can get. If Zol takes bad damage and has to drop, we'll take his place on the runs.

>>13195901
Do we want to stick with the idea of preceding our attack runs with AB chaff missiles?
It'll make killing ships harder, since we won't be able to use beam weapons, but it does help to negate the advantage that the Federation has with beam spam.

Perhaps have 2 attack teams, each riding an MA. One is the ballistic team, and does what we did this last time around to keep the escorts occupied. The other is a beam heavy team that goes in at an elliptic arc to get an angle on the ships where the MS beam weapons can get a shot on the capital ships.

>>13195964
The every beam weapon the feddies have will shoot at the beam team. They won't stand a chance. Better to stay in the chaff, it's the only reason we can survive these assaults.

>>13195977
Well, we could use the beam team as a decoy, then. Remote-controlled or just empty suits.
Any weapon not firing on the assault team is one less thing to worry about.

>>13195996
Like I said, it would be beams shooting them which already aren't shooting at us. Besides, whe waste good pilots on steering a decoy to distract shots that wouldn't otherwise be fired, used up shots? Hardly worth the extra damage and initial advantage of having them focusing on the task.

Anti beam equipped team goes in first and the second team comes in as it's beginning to clear?

>>13195901
We ran out of panzerfausts pretty fast. Maybe we should see about getting any and all Dom bel Neichts (prolly spelled that wrong) that were built into battle, acting as mobile resupply carriers, much like Zaku Tanks back on Earth. They get ammo from the ships and ferry it to forces in need, since they have so much space. This means that our guys don't need to come abck to ships to rearm as much.

Can rick dom fill the anti ship role instead of zudah? They got more armor anyway

>>13196049
A rotation could work, but once the chaff clears we're up shit creak. So many ships, so many beams.

In MS Igloo ep 3 there is an experimental MA equipped for resupply. Is that ready yet or not?
http://www.mahq.net/mecha/gundam/msigloo-a0079/ma-05ad.htm

>>13196049
What if we attempted a short, but highly intensive, attack pattern.
AB-chaff missiles go in followed by assault team, who tear shit up.
Behind them is a beam team, advancing just as AB-chaff dissipates to the point where beam weapons are useful again.
Behind them comes another flight of AB-chaff and another assault team.
The first assault team RTB's a minute before the beam team arrives at their location.
The beam team then RTB's as well, when the second wave of AB-chaff missiles gets through.
The second assault team fucks up as much of the Federation's shit as they can, then run away.

This entire pattern can probably only be done once or twice at most, but I think it would give us the most bang for the buck.

>>13196097
Remember that GM spraybeams are fairly short ranged weapons and our own team has far more beam weapons than most units. David, Jolyne and Elaine could rack up some impressive kill totals with their beam rifles.

>>13196126
It would really help if we had more Gundam shields.
How many beam shots can they take before melting, anyway?

Char better pray that every Ace and team that Zeon has left shows up, this is not looking good.

>Poor Garma

>>13196049
>Anti beam equipped team goes in first
And alone. They become the focus of every weapon. The Feddies have a lot of mundane, projectile-based weapons to shoot with.

>>13196153
You think? If everybody shows up this could rapidly become a face character massacre, something we can't afford.

In that same spirit, but different sense, do you think we could split up? Nothing huge, most of Nachtmaren sticks with Char and the other aces and kills ships, while maybe one or two head down to Earth to back Garma up.

I relaize we probably can;t turn the tide of California, but a distraction here or there, make the feddies think Nachtmaren is pulling a fast ne, drag Garma back to space if he decides to be stupid stubborn.

Just a suggestion.

Lister must be going through a particularly bad case of voices in his head...

What about using the anit-beam chaff assault as a distraction and a MA as a secondary flanking force. I mean they're designed with the idea of having the mobility of a MS and firepower closer to ship scale.

MS team with conventional weapons engages screening fighters and MS squads (hopefully with our success in this tactic having been transmitted throughout the federation fleet) while a high speed MA makes a run on any ships from a different angle not covered by the chaff (is there a direction from which the ships have fewer weapons they could bring against the MA tasked with taking them out?)

Then both fall back and seek out a new target, perhaps shuffling up who is playing distraction and who is the legitimate assault between targets.

>>13196418
So pretty much the same idea as from here >>13195964 with the added point of making the two teams switch between roles.

Whelp, time to start thinking about withdrawing towards Axis, live to fight another time~

I mean, short of a colony laser we aren't stopping that many ships from taking Zeon. And where would we get a colony laser? Ha. Ha. Ha.

>>13199712
>And where would we get a colony laser? Ha. Ha. Ha.
While I like the idea, we don't have any in-character knowledge of that secret super-weapon.

Why don't we split up?

Jol can lead damn well, zol is a fucking monster, lister is lister and hovis is a terror in space.

I say hovis, lister, and hobes go to the fleat. We also take the two from the death wasp with us. We should keep OH too for best overall

Zol, jol, elane, and bernie go to california with any forces being pulled from this line.

That sounds good right?

>>13205851

This guy might have a point.

>>13205851
actually, send OH down to cali. In a big space battle it probably wouldn't get much use like it did in this one however it could do amazing things to the naval forces. On top of that getting a ride will be easy for us as Garma's request made it sound more personal and Char's was more of an open call

What happened to our giant sonar beacon net? How did we not know they were coming?

>>13205902
that was hawaii, nevermind I'm dumb

>>13205851
I've got some concerns, since we're going up against such a huge Federation space fleet, led by Revil, and that likely has multiple aces in experimental gundams.

>>13206073
Well the way I see it we're damned either way, We can probably get a victory in california but against a force like that I don't think we have a chance. So just send the biggest hitters, aim for an acceptable ammout of losses and a nice organized withdraw while weakening the push. On the cali side I'm sure that those 4 can hold the line. Now the federation will have to continue fighting two fronts. Sure they gain ground on both but it's better then letting one fold and watch as all the forces swing for the other.