>>15219833
Take one last swig on the carton, crush it and throw it in the disposal. Then go and talk with Nell.

As cold as it may be, we must mourn Zolomon later. For now, the war still rages on, the Siege of Solomon is still in full swing. For now, David must be Commander Lister.

>>15219833
How mobile are we? We were pritty out of it when they dragged us out of our suit. I would have thought we'd have ended up in the medbay.

>YOUR ORDERS?
I was going to suggest we talk to Nell anyways so this is convenient.
"I'll be right up. Until then give her some space."

>>15219833
I just noticed the name of the image.
Is this going to be our name, now that Ghost of Solomon is no longer in play?

Hey Apologised, I don't think you're going to get much dissenting orders right now. You may as well move forward.

>How mobile are we? We were pritty out of it when they dragged us out of our suit. I would have thought we'd have ended up in the medbay.

Nah. You can move just fine. Zero-G for a start.

>Is this going to be our name, now that Ghost of Solomon is no longer in play?

It wasn't the original plan, but then you managed to kill Gato.

>Take one last swig on the carton, crush it and throw it in the disposal. Then go and talk with Nell.

You lift yourself off and make your way up to the MA pod. The large cavernous bay is now a swarm of activity, most of it confused. There's a fair bit of metaphorical head scratching going on.

"What exactly is the problem?" You ask one of her handlers.

"She's locked herself into the Elmeth, hacked the doors, randomly launched some Bits into the combat zone then just shut down and started crying again. She's been unconversable since that time."

"'Unconversable'? Is that even a word."

"It's a perfectly cromulent word. But were kind of at a lost what to do."

"Couldn't you just cut her out of there?"

"It's not just a hatch that you can flip open and shut, it's actually quite a deep and heavily secure tunnel. We'd have to practically dismantle the entire thing to get her out."

"Practically or litarally?"

"...probably literally."

"What exactly do you think I can do in this situation anyway?" You ask at length.

"Just... try to talk her out of it okay? If that doesn't work we'll try with Jolyne when she get's back."

YOUR ORDERS?

>>15220012
Ask them to go take five or something while we talked to her. We dont need a crush of people waiting outside the MA, that's not going to help matters.
Once they're gone talk to Nell. Thank her for helping. We might have all died otherwise.

>>15220075

You drift up to the access point of the Elmeth. The techs surrounding it are currently trying to break in. The doors don't have locks per-se, but a security system is in place during combat maneouvers to prevent the Elmeth from being boarded. Usually this can be deactivated by a simple radio signal, however, Nell must have found a way to deactivate the receiver or alter the codes. The techs tell you that you can still send audio messages down to the pilots control area.
You shoo the techs away, they clearly aren't helping matters.

"Nell, are you in there?" You ask redundantly. You can hear crying inside.

>>15220012
Have everyone else clear out; no need to make a public spectacle of this.
Open a private comm channel to Nell.

"Nell, you sent me the bits, didn't you. And you were right; he WAS Death, and absolute. Until I became Death, too.
"Nell, it wasn't your fault. It wouldn't have changed that we would fight him if you had told me. If it wasn't to be here, it would have been elsewhere, maybe at Solomon, right? And if you had told me, I would have been the first one to fight him, and he would have killed me, and then Zolomon, and then everyone else on the team."

>>15220136
This works just as well >>15220139

>>15220136

"Nell, if you can hear me, I want you to know, that it wasn't your fault. If you say that there was no way of stopping that from happening, then I believe you okay. Just... come on out okay?"

She doesn't respond. You try a different tack.

"Look, you're worrying everyone out here, could you please come out?"

There is still no response. You come to the conclusion that she'll come out when she's good and ready, or possibly when Jolyne asks her.

You return to the handlers.

"She isn't reacting to me at all now. I think it might be best just to let her stay in there for as long as she want's. There's no risk of her breaking those docking clamps is there?"

There's a worrying pause.

"...we don't think so... But, we also thought her room was secure, and that she wouldn't be able to nab a space suit that fits her. Or open the bay doors."

"The clamps SHOULD be fine though Commander Lister, they were designed to be as newtype proof as possible."

Such as anything is. You mentally add.

There doesn't seem to be anything left to do here.
DO YOU WANT TO DO ANYTHING FURTHER, OR DO YOU WANT TO WAIT FOR THE REST OF THE SQUAD TO GET IN?

>>15220139
I like this. Let's go with this, then something like.

"War. This is war. It's . . . hard to remember that sometimes. We get caught up in the rush of it all. I've been fighting in this war for almost a year now. But it's felt like five. Zolomon was a good friend. A great one. But he was a soldier, first. And he knew what we were getting into. Now, now, I know that you're thinking that he didn't know. That he couldn't know, because you knew. But that's not a good way to think, Nell. You can't think like that. It will destroy you. I can't pretend to understand what this has been like for you. I wish you didn't have to go through it at all. I wish you didn't have to be here. God damn it, I wish none of us were here. We shouldn't be killing and dieing for anyone but ourselves. Our families. I entered into this thing when I was just a dumb kid. I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting my people. But the things I've seen during this war. The things I've learned, about both sides. About people. Some times I wish I'd just stayed home and kept out of it. But then I remember all of you here. You and Jolyne, and Elaine. Option and Rance. Calvin. Zolomon too. And Hovis. Ramirez . . . you didn't know him, but he was a good man. I think of them, of all of us, and I realize that I'm not here for Zeon, or my family, or even myself. I'm here for all of you. I'm here to stand next to you, and help you when you fall, and let you help me. And that's all we've got. So we can't fall down and refuse to get back up. Not when we're all here to help, and to be helped. We can't do that. We need to be strong, Nell. All of us."

>>15220228
Go back, tell Nell thanks for the bits, and >>15220139
Then, we go and fix our MS. David needs to do something to occupy his mind, and getting ready for the fight at Solomon is as good a mind-numbing exercise as any.

>>15220229
Sounds good. (Dont know if she met Hovis at any point though.)

I think she's distressed not so much because Zolomon died, but because Lister had to awaken or else everyone would've died.

>>15220253

You float back to the Elmeth, and thank Nell for the bits. You start rambling on about fate and why you joined the war in the first place. More for your own benefit than anything else.

She's as unresponsive as ever until you turn to leave.

"Telemachanics."

"Pardon?" You turn back.

"There was a Telemechanst once in the Flanagan institute, they wanted to open up his head to see how he worked, which he was against. So he escaped. They still don't know where he is, and when they ask me, I tell them that I don't either..."

"What's a Telemechanist?" you ask.

"... he could talk to machines. He couldn't talk to people at all. Completely mute. Used a false voicebox. Liked to write computer code like you'd write poetry."

pause.

"Well, maybe not you."

"Anyway, it wasn't just that he could talk to machines, it was that he could talk to them and they would do what he said. What they never realised was that every time he did that, his brain had to twist and turn into a shape that could command machines. Escaping nearly melted his brain. He sits in a hospice now on a respirator, but every so often the computers start typing all by themselves. They think they have a ghost. I guess they're right."

You aren't 100% sure where this story is going, and her story seems to be finished. Instead of crying she now appears to have gone silent. Hopefully it means that she's going to come out shortly.

You decide to cut your losses, and return to the Hangar bay, where you decide to make youself busy by getting underfoot of Okawara trying to maintain your Nacht-Zaku.

BRB DINNER

>>15220385
So what, we became the dark presence in her mind made manifest, the Kwisatch Haderach to her Bene Gesserit Other Memory?

>>15220390
tell me something good okarawa

>>15220390
Could she be saying that David is a type of telemechanist, and that the more we use the power, the greater the chance of irreparable brain damage?

>>15220445
so this power is a last resort unles we want to melt our brain

>>15220462
That would explain the ear bleeding.

>>15220462

Maybe it's like Elaine? I remember her saying that it was getting easier and easier to ZA WALUDO the more she used it.
Maybe it's just something we have to work at.

>>15220515
Apologized confirmed for playing in his own game without his trip on, and then getting caught posting with his trip without meaning to.

FUCKING CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPTCHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Fine. I was going to do an Omake on it at the end, I might as well do it now (after tea).

>>15220515
Is this something we want to experiment with? Is it something we can afford to NOT experiment with?

Maybe enough just to get a feel for what weapons are where and their status, rather than going all out and going Unlimited Weapon Works 'Do you have enough guns, King of Skulls'.

ORDERS FOR TECH CREW:

repaint the nachtzaku into a 20m tall Zolomon Fucking Ringo.

Feddies think skeletons are freaky? FUCK THAT! ZOLOMON RINGO IS ETERNAL IN A 20 METER TALL FUCKING ROBOT.

you all know that Zolomon would smile at the thought.

And give the mobile suit a scaled pair of Ringo-custom sunglasses with a prescription of badass.

>>15220573
The side effects of doing so are enough that we shouldnt be testing it out in the middle of the Battle of Solomon.

>>15220592
Of course, it's not something we want to do in the middle of the Siege of Solomon. And there isn't much time before we get there, either. But if we're going to test this, now is probably the best time. We have Flanagan Institute personnel with us (even if they're just handlers rather than actual researchers) and we just had a massive Newtype breakthrough event.

>>15220586
We can probably do the shades, but what will we use for the afro? A giant MS-sized wig made of heathawks and missiles?

>>15220610
lets try with the nach-zaku then, move an arm or a finger, something simple

>>15220640
Not moving an arm or a finger; more on getting a status update on all of our weapons like:
HEAD VULCANS HAVE 336 ROUNDS WILL JAM ON 335
HOLDOUT BEAM GUN SALIVATES IN ANTICIPATION
BULLPUP HAS 23 ROUNDS, 1 CHAMBERED, BARREL DISTORTION WILL CAUSE SHOTS TO PULL TO THE RIGHT
BEAM RIFLE HAS 6 SHOTS, MINOVSKY PARTICLE CONTAINMENT OVERPRESSURE WILL ALLOW FOR 7

>>15220716
Oh, that reminds me: We need to tell Ookawara to check Jolyne's railgun when she returns for stress damage. When David's Newtype powers fully awoke, the gauss rifle indicated that it would warp in 159 shots.

>>15221000
That's a lot of shots man.

>facts. letthana
Fine captcha we'll keep an eye on it.

>>15221021
Better to check now, rather than have the gun fail at Solomon.

>>15220586

Let's not make the crew think we've gone utterly off the deep end, OK?

(And Apologised, that was the equivalent of DMPC'ing it with what you pulled there on >>15220515. Cut it out. We'll figure it out.)

Annnnyways...

Get our suit ready to go out again.

Let Nell know that if she goes out there, Lister is coming with her. We newtypes have to look after each other, y'know?

When our suit is ready, unlock the Elmeth and be ready to go with it. Restraining Nell is only going to make whatever trauma she's feeling right now feed on itself until she implodes emotionally

>>15221000

Gauss Rifle says a lot of things.

Sorry I'm late, I got challenged to a game of RUSE.

Anyway.

--OMAKE--

"... whilst obviously further study would have been beneficial, consistent failure of off-world elements to procure this for us has prevented this.
At best we have to rely on second hand anecdotes and cross referencing similar case studies. As a result I cannot in all fairness consider this as definitive.

This is also compounded by continued discussion over whether or not Subject 012 was actually a newtype or rather something different entirely. In anycase the following assumptions are considered true.

A Newtype possesses a highly increased sense of spatial awareness and perception.
And: this awareness can sometimes manifest in unique formats...

>>15221209
In the case of David Lister, this awareness extended to technology, allowing him to be aware of the exact capabilties of certain pieces of technology. It's partially confirmed that this awareness, unlike Subject 12, did not extend to all forms of machinery. However detirmining what is eligable has been an exercise in futile fumbling.
What we also know is that like Subject 12 he has a limited ability to also control the abilities of these machines. It is suspected that before the death of Capt. Z. Ringo during The Battle of Solomon these powers manifested subconciously. The Flanagan Institute should have paid more attention to reports of anecdotal evidence that David had not been using his targeting computer for almost three months before learning it even exists.
In combat, this provided him with unerring accuracy, and the ability to avoid lethal attacks similar to Dennis Young.

Certainly at this point if we could acquire this target for the Murasame Labs Admiral Jamitov it would be a great boon, but I can't help but feel that we are simply wasting agents in the colonies at this point, and we should direct our efforts more towards cyber-Newtype, MRX series and EXAM research."

Unsigned letter from the Murasame Labs to Jamitov Hymem UC: 0086

>>15221209
>Gauss Rifle says a lot of things.

>>15221209
>Gauss Rifle says a lot of things.
What, are you implying that the Gauss Rifle is lying to us?
Or is it just chatty?

>>15221264
i think is a bit like the fact core

Your suit didn't take too much damage in the combat, so it's mostly just replacing damaged joints. Apparently this is normal for you.

"I thought the Magnetic coating was supposed to prevent that from happening?"

Ookawara gives you a dirty look.

"It SHOULD, but some people actually managed to STILL stress fracture their way through a full set of joints every two weeks."

You feel mildly sheepish

"Don't feel too bad about it David, Jolyne get's through them every three days. Zol could do them every fo..." Okawara stops, realising his faux pas.
The work is silent from then on.

About five minutes later, the rest of the team return.

>>15221182
Let the crew think what they want. A giant zolomon ringo is the best psychological warfare idea ever! And we'll be providing a conduit for his super robot spirit to help us in the final boss fight

>>15221304
Tell Ookawara to check Jolyne's railgun as well for any stress warping.
If the space is clear, we should get the freighter to send over all of the Heavy Gatling ammo they have, and any spare parts we can stuff into the OH for the Solomon forces to use.
It worked out good for us at Texas Colony, maybe it'll help out at Solomon, too.

The returning suits show some limited signs of battle damage, but nobody appears to have taken anything heavy. With a bit of luck all they'll need is some limited maintenence and patchwo

>Zaku Kai has five non-fatal armour penetrations but is down to 78% reaction mass, 100% ammo expended
>Gelgoog Cannon has zero combat damage, all external joints are suffering microfractures and will shatter without replacement or repair, Rail-Gun has been expended, also claiming to be a sexy relativistic god of war. Beam Launcher on shoulder constantly recalibrating everytime she does that wierd thing and is tired of Guass Rifles lies
>Elaine's Gelgoog has stress fractures in arms from constant firing, Heavy Gatling bloodlust has been satiated, now want's a pack of crisps.
>Option's Gyan has 32 minor heat burns, 14 dents, 2 non-fatal penetrations, 1 penetration that will prove fatal if not found, recon package damaged due to explosive damage

rk and you'll be ready to take part in Solomon. Reports are still spotty from your location. But from the looks of it, combat is still taking place on the outermost defensive line, although retreating to the next one along is expected to occur shortly.

At the moment both sides still seem to be testing the strengths of their opponent.

Strauss sends you a signal from the outside.
"The battles over David. I'm taking the transport back to Pezun. You're welcome to come with, or you could head on to Solomon. Lord knows they're going to need the help, but, if you aren't up for it, we'd all understand."

YOUR ANSWER?

>>15221396
"Load us up with whatever spare parts and ammo will fit. Solomon still needs those supplies."

We're still all agreed on going to Solomon, right?

>>15221396
We're going to Solomon. Ask Strauss for the Heavy Gatling ammo and any other spare parts we can fit on the ship.
Also, let Okawara know that Option's Gyan looks a little beat up, and he should probably give it a full run down.

>>15221417
This and check that pen on the gyan.

>>15221396
i say we go with strauss
aslo, our weapons think pretty weird

>>15221427
Back to Pezun? Against the general order for all Solomon-based units (which we are one) to make best speed to Solomon for its defense?

Any reason why?

>>15221417
>>15221423
>>15221425
Well, we need to tell Ookawara to check out Option's Gyan, since it looks pretty beat up, for any hidden damage that might prove fatal later. Same with Jolyne's Gelgoog, look for microfractures.

>>15221427
I think it's only natural that the Gauss Rifle has a bloated ego, we make sure to use it every mission, and never the Beam Launcher.
As for the Chaingun, we'll just say that's the Federation's doing.

>>15221396
Sweet swinging fuck. That power is a li- alright, a lot scary.

Okay, read it. Um. Pull Ookawara over, tell him quietly everything we just heard, tell him not to tell the others and not to scare the team. . . and throw a packet of crisps on top of the gatling. Don't ask, just do it.

Also, we're going to Solomon. We're Garma's boy primarily, but we're also DOZLE'S man. We will protect him. We will stop Solomon from falling. We will hold the siege until doomsday if necessary.

Solomon shall become the A Baoa Qu of the Legitimacy of Zeon.

>>offspring, eritialu

Say hi to Minerva.

>>15221452
Jolyne's joints are probably the first thing they check nowadays.

>>15221396
We're going to Solomon. If the Feds want it they'll have to fight harder than they did at Odessa. I think Zol wouldnt have liked to have seen that.

>Option's Gyan
Keep an eye on the repairs of Option's Galbaldi. Make sure they take care of that one shot of damage.

>>15221480
>Option's Galbaldi
Damn, I forgot about that. It's a Galbaldi he's piloting, not a Gyan.

>>15221396

I think we're going to develop a habit for helping fix the suits after battles. It's soothing. Really.

(Besides, at this rate we're going to be talking back to them inside of a week.)

>>Heavy Gatling bloodlust has been satiated, now want's a pack of crisps.

Heavy Gatling's name is now officially Thrud. As in Thrud the Barbarian.

>>15221466

Ookawara tell you to teach you grandmother to suck eggs. You get the meaning but now that you think about you always thought that was a wierd expression. You ask him if can shed more light on it. He tells you to stop botherng him.

In any case, he does seem to have things well in hand.

The rest of the crew are dismounting, they all seem shaken.

"Hey, David, you okay?" Jolyne asks you.

...

"I have no fucking idea."

In anycase you indicate that you think they need to head onwards to Solomon. You head up to the bridge to try and get a better idea of what the situation at Solomon is like.

The mood is sombre at the Bridge. Antia appears to have been crying. You ask what the latest intel from Solomon is. She blows her nose and gives you the latest.

"...it's been pretty up to date. The Loyalists are opening up more and more of their comms network to us the closer the Feds get to their lines. Here's the latest data..."

>>15221566
Considering that we'd be full of supplies, the OH should probably take a route that avoids contact with any Federation forces.

>>15221512
Shit. My head is all over the place today. You never realise how tired you are marking and then it hit's you all at once. Not that I'm making excuses here, it's just how it is.

---

The data is up to date, if possibly a little sanitised. Not a good idea to have ALL of your combat strength on the networks of Fair Weather allies who are punchy with nukes after all.

Essentially, the first defensive line has been typified by close range back and forth skirmishes by mobile suits. Deployment of Anti-Beam Chaff by both sides effectively nullified capital ship support. However after several hours, much of the outer defensive line (desig. Line 4) has been captured by the enemy and an orderly retreat under a literal curtain of cap-ship fire has been enacted. They are moving back to reinforce Line 3, which has more fixed emplacments and an non-orbiting meteors as cover. Overall, the debris cover is lighter, but what there is, is heavier.

Casualties have been light so far, but the Federation are really pushing their number advantage. Also, many of their suits and ships are fresh. Conversely, a lot of Zeon's ships are still battle-damaged from Side 4. Although that could just be smoke for the Loyalist factions benefit. Maybe trying to encourage them to join in.

That's the situation. What's your plan of action?

>>15221635
Is there a round-about way of bypassing the Federation force to get to Solomon?
We will likely want to avoid fighting the Feddies right now.

>>15221635
Come in from behind, hit them in the center of their back?

>>15221635
IF we're going in with full supplies, we should look for a place to drop them off first.
Either case, we should check in with whoever is in charge of the defense line and see what needs to be done.
We still have to talk to Dozel about what happened at Texas colony, but that's neither here nor there at the moment.

>>15221635

Head straight for the fighting. Follow orders of superiors. In this case, I think we help cover the retreat to Line Three.

FULL SPEED TOWARDS THE FIGHTING. COVER THE RETREAT.

Are we a capital ship? If so, we need to go, literally, straight into the fighting, and get dropped out of the Outer Haven, and then just start trashing feddies nonstop.

Fight until we're worn out, eat, sleep, rearm, then go wreck feddies again. Once we've finished withdrawing to line 3, volunteer our unit to lead raids into feddie lines.

>>15221678
That would likely be suicide. This is the main Federation Space Fleet we're talking about here, not just a garrison force.

. . . Could we fly straight through the feddies at nigh speed of light and just deploy ourselves, then cover the retreat of the Zanzibar and the retreat back to line 3?

>>15221635
Find out if there's any particular point in the Federal lines the defenders would like us to cause a distraction at. If we can get secure communications that is. If we cant lets try to either hit their flanks or strike at thier support ships in the rear.

>>15221678
Ehhhh, I think that'd be pushing our plot armor a bit thin. Better idea would be to come in behind one of the flanks and break the line into two. Then we could isolate the broken off part and obliterate it. And that's if we could get behind them without them knowing too far in advance.

>>15221667

Yes. Although it means traversing through nominally Loyalist territory. Given the circumstances, any chances of a hostile encounter should be marginal.

>>15221698
>strike at thier support ships in the rear
You mean, if they have fuel tankers and ammo freighters?
Considering a fleet of this size, assaulting a space fortress, they would need to either stretch their supply lines or keep their supply ships with them.
Since their fleet has the numbers to keep Solomon's defenders bottled up, they may have pulled defenders from the supply ships to aid in the attack.

It bears looking into, at least.

>>15221706
Ehhhh, I dunno, we did just kinda kick the teeth in of a spec ops team from the loyalists....
But then again, no one wants to lose to the Feddies....

>>15221706
Does the data show how the Federation fleet is arrayed? If there's any weak spot that we might be able to exploit because we're behind the fleet rather than in front of it?

>>15221716
I like where this train of thought is going.

We make our entrance by blowing the everloving fuck out of their supplies which would even ALLOW the to make Solomon a siege.

OH
AND IF WE SEE ANY GIANT FUCKING MIRRORS ON OUR WAY IN WE SHOULD TOTALLY FUCKING BREAK THOSE FUCKING THINGS

BECAUSE FUCK GIANT MIRRORS

ALTERNATIVELY WE SHOULD POINT THEM AT THE DAMN FEDS

BECAUSE FUCK FEDS

>>15221716
Seconding looking into the supply line. Though it's kind of a long shot. If Solomon is bottled in, they won't know what the Federation's supply line looks like.

>>15221740
Yeah, but that was another of Gihren's crazy-ass plans, the kind that the rest of the Loyalists are getting tired of.
They might let us through so that we can damage the Feddies.

>>15221747
Are we even behind the fleet? I think a rough map is in order. Nothing fancy like a tac map, just a couple lines and dots so we can wrap our heads around where we are.

>>15221779
I thought the debris field we were traveling through was going to end up with us coming out of the debris right into the side or rear of the Federation fleet.

Do we have enough data to get confirmation on where we'd come out, Apologised?

Guys, consider that this is for all intents and purposes, still a siege. Even if it's occurring in 3 dimensions, nothing changes the essentials of a siege.
The Federation fleet is in enemy territory. It's supply lines have to go from Luna 2/Earth to Side 4 to Solomon. If we can disrupt the supplies from Side 4 to Solomon, we can starve the Federation fleet of spare parts, ammunition, food, and fuel.
If the Federation can't get resupplied, then they won't be able to keep up the siege.
We don't need to destroy the Federation Fleet directly, just make it so that they can't do anything.

Does anyone see anything wrong with this logic?

>>15221747

Data about their rear end is sketchy, but if there WAS a supply train or supply fleet tending the Federation forces, it sure as hell wouldn't be in the front lines would it. That said, the Feds are no fools, even from this angle, what little recon sats remain show they've arrayed a fairly comprehensive patrolling sphere. In order to make sure of hitting at their rear you'd have to take a detour to the Orbital zones, maybe bounce of the atmosphere and come in from the direction of Side 4.

That's assuming that Side 4 doesn't have a garrison that could spot you, and who are awake.

Certainly though, as you mentioned, it does bear thinking about.

>>15221779
>>15221805

Side. You'll be coming out right in the middle of their lines, the fact that they had a Torjan horse combat squadron operating here must mean that they expect possible flank attacks via the debris field.

Come to think of it there's a good chance they might be sending reinforcments along this vector right now.

>>15221880
Yeah, we're not right next to Dozle, and thusly Shit Can Happen.

I'm scared he's gonna die if we're not right next to him >.>

The longer this siege takes, the more time Amuro has to get to space. And kill us all.

>>15221886
Yeah I think we need a rough map.

>>15221886
Considering just how comprehensive Revil's strategies has been, we should probably get out of the debris field to avoid any other Assault Carrier patrols.

I don't like it much, but we need to get these supplies to Solomon. Let's go through Loyalist-controlled space to drop off all of this stuff to Solomon.

>>15221880
How long until they run out of supplies? A week? Two? A month?
Conversely, how long can Solomon hold out? How long can we keep up the raids before we run out of supplies? Or our luck runs out and we run into a sizable opponent?
The Federation still outnumber us, and even if we don't fully believe the info we have, our fleet is still pretty bashed up from Side 4.
Not saying that it's a bad idea, I just think that we need to consider our options, which are in no particular order:
Attack supply lines.
Blow through a flank and cause a distraction for our forces to get entrenched in Line 3
Cut around through Loyalist space and get orders.

>>15221889

Amuro's not getting back up to space anything soon for the rest of the war. Confirmed via an omake.

>>15221880
It's only called a siege in name. It's more akin to a concerted push against a numerically inferior opponent that has ground advantage. The actual battle took less than a day (due to the solar system)

>>15221920
Another vote for going through Loyalist lines,
ASSUMING we did get the supplies, correct Apologised?

apologised we need more of your input if we are to accomplish anything else this episode.

In my opinion. Going into the meat grinder of Soloman is a mistake. The feddies will win. They have the manpower, they have the supplies. We are low on everything. The only thing we can do at Soloman is a hell of a last stand and maybe break the feddie fleet, give em a Pyrrhic victory.

We are a scalpel, we are a finely tuned murder tool, and thus we need to be used for what suits our roles. Sure we can go into Soloman, go boots on the ground, achieve a 50 to 1 kdr against the feddies. But it wont win the war and it wont help in the long run.

We need to hit their rear, we need to endanger the federation fleet, go hit and run, smack their convoys, hit their garrison at side 4 "maybe"

We are a finely honed scalpel and we need to be used as such. Throwing us into a meatgrinder defense against a numerically superior enemy that has clear lines of supplies is a recipe for failure.

>>15221988

What do you need? You've taken on as many supplies as you can, mostly to replenish your own stores, but you also take a hefty supply of ammo. That said, it's not the same as a proper supply transport.

At the moment we have two votes for going to Solomon through Loyalist Zeon lines, calls to strike at their rear seem to have petered off.

>>15222031
1 vote for attacking their flank on the way to linking up with the main defenders.

>>15222028
The only real way to win that fight is to take control of the solar system before they use it and use it against the Fed fleet and doing so is meta as hell, what we need to do is save Dozle from dying, which can be acheived without too much meta.

>>15222031
I vote for rear attack on their supplies/flanking. I agree with >>15222028

>>15222031
1 Vote to make a stealthy as fuck recon of the enemy force before attacking anywhere, with the amount of chaff an mynovsky particle in the area it should be possible to do so.

>>15222061

It won't be meta when the Death Star makes it's grand debut. Plus, if we are causing havoc in the rear where the thing is most likely being assembled.....

>>15222078
Agree


We should be stealthy as fuck, gather intel on the rear area and

ATTACK
ATTACK
ATTACK

Make the feddie rear area bloom like a herpes infection. This will make them rotate troops from the front line to rear area protection, and then the frontline will suffer.

So I vote for action from the back section, as long as we recon that shit first

>>15222031
>What do you need?

To know if this map is somewhat close to what you're trying to describe the situation as because there isnt a real clear picture.

>>15222096
>>15222064
>>15222078

3 Votes for an agressive force recon mission to the rear of the federal lines. Are we all in agreement?

>>15222130
no objection here

>>15222031
I'm >>15221938 . Seeing how we don't have enough supplies to be useful, changing my vote to what >>15222078 said.

>>15222130
Looks like its FEAR time!

You know...first encounter assault recon... thats the joke. Because... yeah

>>15222130
Sure, as long as we do something.

>>15222158

Kill yourself.

>>15222130

Make it four. With a bit of luck, we may find ourselves a good target of opportunity or two.

>>15222101

Does this help at all?

>>15222209
It helps a little.
Agreeing with everyone else to do some recon of the Federation rear and to do some opportunistic raiding if feasible.

>>15222209
Immensely, thanks.
So I think we're in accordance about the recon mission, so let's get to it. Ask Ookawara how long it will take to make most of the suits up to speed.

>>15222209
Solomon and Pezun are practically right next to each other in that pic. You wouldnt even know they were in opposing Lagrange points.

Alright, so we know that Revil is expecting Zeon to try a flanking maneuver. He knows that other Zeon forces are behind his fleet and to its sides, so he will have ordered the supply escorts to be on their guard. We know he's put up a strong patrol net in the Feddy fleet's rear to prevent the kind of attack we're planning.
What tricks might he have written down in his Revil books?

I'm thinking that some of the supply ships might just be decoys, to get Zeon to waste resources.

>>15222297
Well at the moment it would seem like hes having ace units hang back while less experienced onse tackle the defense lines. In theory it would allow him to keep the aces fairly rested and ready for any twists we throw at him.
Set up to have 4 waves of MS, balls and fighters with each tackling one of the defense lines. The first 2 or 3 groups have time to rest and repair in time for the final assault on the fortress themselves.

>>15222130
Look, I know we are a special forces unit, and that we recently got a bit beat up, but is it too much to ask to do some standard line duty? Zeon's aces need to hold the line for once, rather than letting the 2-week redshirts do it.

>>15222297
I see your point, but if we stray too far along that line of reasoning, we will go mad and do nothing. Action is better than inaction at this junction.

Anyway, so, you outline your plan. Basically in a battle the size of the one your facing, you can't see the Nachtmaren being able to cause all that much effective damage even on the front line.

However, if you can find a way around the rear of the enemy formation, and attack the enemies supply lines, then you might just be able to turn the tide. The hard part will be making it around the enemies frontline without being spotted.
Just killing enemies isn't going to be enough, you have to inflict damage direct to the fleets support elements. Key targets are supply transports and any other logistical asset being used to keep the fleet operational.

There's a brief pause as you go over this.

"...shit, I keep expecting Zol to ask this question. Does Logistical target apply to civilian structures?" Option asks eventually.

"Don't be stupid. Of course it doesn't."

>>15222372
You continue to outline the plan of action. You'll be trying to avoid heavy combat if possible, but if you encounter another high ranking target such as another Trojan Horse, any Gundam class Mobile Suits or confirmed high ranking command ships, then you'll engage those, depending on context. The idea is to hit and fade, and to use the Outer Heaven's higher speed to evade being cornered or any sternchases.

With a bit of luck a few successful raids and you'll actually begin to seriously draw enemy forces away from Solomon to escort the logistical train.

The plan's outline looks good, and all of the unit agree to it.

"Look, this... this hasn't been a good day. But I don't have time to do anything but hit the ground running. This was is coming to a close, and I want to finish this before I lose another friend. One day, some time from now, I'm going to have time to say goodbye properly to the friends I've lost. But I wont be able to do that unless I finish this fight. We stop them at Solomon and this war is over, we can go to the table and we call it a night. So gentlemen, one way or another, we are putting an end to this war."

"For Zolomon!" Rance cries

"For Zolomon!" the rest chorus.

TO BE CONTINUED.

>>15222341
But there is no point man.. Its not the type of fight we are for. You don't have, like marine force recon hold a battle line against enemy divisions.

Plus it would be useless to get into the siege. I mean there would be no point. We would get used up, we couldn't use our skills to the fullest and any victory really wouldn't matter because ANOTHER WAVE APPROACHES. Our enemy would have complete control of space and can resupply and reinforce at their leisure.

>>15222379
For Zolomon!

>>15222379
Zoloman....

So, I was thinking. any supply convoys we intercept, we try to capture the freighters. We raid them of anything we can use, destroy things that we can, take their fuel, and leave just enough He3 that they can limp the rest of the way to the fleet. The fleet will then be saddled with freighters that have nothing, not enough fuel to return to Side 4, and crewmembers that aren't soldiers that they'll have to feed from their own stores.

Would this be better than simply sinking the enemy freighters we encounter? Or should we not chance it and just sink them?

>>15222490
An interesting idea, as it would also lend credence to the threat in the rear. I think it depends if we have people to board ships or not, as leaving that up to anybody would be dangerous, if not disastrous.

--OMAKE--

That night you dreamt. Of a place that lies between the borders of time and space, a vast abyssal gulf. But that place was not empty, within it lived rank upon rank of monstrous opponents, insectoid creatures the size of battleships, their chitchinous mandibles twitch silently in the void of space. Mechanoid von-neuman machines long since turned to madness after a thousand iterations, sentient polycarbon polyps, 7-dimensional predators, horned creatures who take to war in crude metal parodies of a man created through perverted science, and behind them in the dark forbidding shadows lie even greater foes, implacable and near incomprehensible, great and old, gods from the outer who answer to names that no man may know, and driven mad with the fury at being locked away for all eternity.

But the abominations are not alone.

>>15222517
Within that place exist those men who would fight and win against those impossible odds. Betwixt cataclysmic vista's stretches the impossibly huge arm of a giant humanoid machine, beams of grean light the width of the moon stretch out from it's forhead and engulf whole species leaving naught but ruin. To the left a woman the height of jupiter clutches a quantum singularity to her breast and in her shadow fights with reckless abandon a machine powered by unshakable faith in it's victory strikes with a weapon that drills a gouge in the belly of the God of Nucleonic Fusion sending spiraling protogalaxies spilling forth like blood from it's wound. The god of clay sings the song that ends and begins all things and the beast with a single horn howls in rage as it consumes god.

In the middle of the maelstrom of battle a shining star is found, that shining star clarfies into a figure.
The figure is a knight, it's armour is respendant, it carries a beam lance in one hand and shield in the other. It zigs and zags through a spray of acid issued forth from winged ant the size of a small moon. Each globule of acid the size of large asteroids. The figure closes, and swings it's lance, but now it is an axe of light, easily hundreds upon hundreds of miles long and wide, in a flash the creatures is split lengthways and the tiny spark of light continues on it's way. Afore it lies the god of the foul sign, a shifting symbol of manifest madness.
The Knight raises his now lance again, and hurls it at God. And god dies.
And then in a thousand voices that speak as one, the voice of a thousand men call out to you.

"We'll be waiting for you... Nachtmaren 1"

You wake up in a cold sweat. Jolyne's reassuring warmth shifts over to the side, unwoken by your movement.

>>15222510
I was thinking of using our mobile suits to simply tear open the cargo holds, scoop out their supplies, and puncturing their fuel tanks to leak out their helium. No need to board, since we're not that concerned with actually taking their supplies, only denying the fleet their use.

>>15222533
Ah, well that's an option as well.
>>15222520
wut

--OMAKE 2--

Dozle hadn't quite gotten to the point where he was yelling "WORK YOU DOGS!" but it was rapidly approaching that point.
Work on the MA-08 Big Zol had been rapidly accellerated, much more rapidly than to be frank it should have been. Outside of sci-fi shows and video-games, having a prototypes first shakedown action be ACTUAL combat is almost universally a bad idea.

Fucking Nachtmaren, making us have to add "almost" to that.

Engineers in Solomon were in short supply. The last touches on the Big Zol had to be finalised, power checks on the MAN-05 had to be performed, and Quarter-Control newtype emulation interfaces had to be programmed. Although luckily Ginias himself was doing that himself.
There were concerns about letting Ginias out in combat in a Mobile Armour it was safe to say. But it was also a fact that he was probably the only person who COULD operate a Gromlin without being a newtype.

That had garnered some heated discussion, especially considering that one of the last reinforcements from Grenada to reach Solomon before the Federation began their blockade was a Newtype experimental weapons team from the Flanagan Institute. However they had managed to successfully argue the case for Lalah Sune to remain within the strange Tri-Corned hat they had called the "Elmeth".

So, Ginias had been allotted as the pilot of his own Mobile Armour, along with testing out his Newtype emulation software. The Quarter-Control system wasn't called that by chance, whilst it was true it could emulate a newtypes ability to remotely control bits via a fibre-optic system, it's range and effectiveness was considered at best a quarter that of a newtype.

This still however left the question as to who would be piloting the second, unmodified Gromlin...

>>15222520
>>15222517
>mfw David's soul will fight alongside all mecha show protagonists

>>15222614
either us, nel or jolyne gonna drive the gromlin
dont know why but i dont like the idea

What traps a Gromlin? (checks gundam wiki)
>>The MAN-05 Gromlin is a heavy mobile armor intended mainly for anti-ship combat. Its leg serves as a movable thruster attached to its underside which gives it great chance of maneuverability and it can change into cruising mode for a higher mobility. The Gromlin weaponry are two movable mega particle cannons, and dozens of anti-air beam cannons. The Gromlin also has the ability to use its leg and sensor head as wired attack terminals with this much firepower it can easily sink a warship. In its cruising mode, the leg serves as the Gromlin's main vernier is locked at the rear of the machine, giving it immense thrust. If the Gromlin was ever completed the Principality of Zeon would have won the One Year War.

>> If the Gromlin was ever completed the Principality of Zeon would have won the One Year War.

Oh shit.

>>15222593
>wut
It's either references to shit I'm disappointed in myself for not getting or metaphor.

>>15222614
>mon visage quand
We have the gromlin? 2 of them even? I feel the feddies pain over here.

>>15222668
so its a awesomely broken mobile armor, but i still don't like the idea of being in one, dont kow why

>>15222668
Well, we only have two, and one is using a Newtype-simulator, so I don't know how well this will go.
Also, the Feds still have the Solar System, which will be pretty deadly.
But yeah, this is gonna be some fight.

>>15222668
It will, undoubtedly, be nowhere near the impact it should have due to rushed construction and/or other factors.

>>15222668
>> If the Gromlin was ever completed the Principality of Zeon would have won the One Year War.

To be fair, this get's bandied about a LOT. I mean, the Gelgoog, Big Zam and the UMP plan ALL have been ascribed with that capability. It remains to be seen however if you really can tech your way out of a massive manufacturing disadvantage in war however.

>>15222614
So... what do the two gromlins combine into the Big Zam/Zol ? Or ar there 3 MA's + the Elmeths sitting a Solomon?

>>15222693
With some luck we'll prevent the Solar system activation... we can always hope I guess.

>>15222699
still its a warship of one man crew

>>15222688

It WOULD be awesomely broken, if it had newtypes to pilot it, and there wasn't AB-Chaff floating about everywhere.

>>15222703

>do the two gromlins combine into the Big Zam/Zol ?

...does anybody else now hear the GaoGaiGar theme? Is that just me?

>>15222708
i knew there was a catch

>>15222714
I. NEED. A. DRAWFAG. NOW

>>15222731

Two Gromlins, a Big Zam/Zol and an Elmeth, combine to form... what?

A perfect Zeong?

>>15222739
...perfect grand zeong?

>>15222708
Oh yeah, that stuff that we've been throwing around nonstop... yeah.

>>15222739
absolute zeong maybe?

>>15222739
Titan Maximum.

Hey guys. Our mechanised infantry is getting closer to reality.

>>>/m/6564184

>>15222939
And to be sure it end up on suptg. Pic related.

>>15222520
>Jolyne's reassuring warmth shifts over to the side, unwoken by your movement.

Shit yeah, motherfucker. David be tappin' dat ass.

>>15223069

...

Even in death, Zolomon's pranks produce results...

You glorious bastard

>>15223142
What pranks?

Oh man I almost missed this thread entirely! Curse my first-archive-checking ways! Which brings to mind why no one has archived this thread yet?

>>15223322
Was probably referring to the incident in Hawaii.

>>15222520
>>15222517

....okay ending idea here.

David dies and gives Zol the bro hug that's been waiting for a while. And as he gets ready for his first post-mortem battle, a cacophony of voices ring out behind him.

"Commander, when we said we'd follow you to the end, we MEANT the end." "Did you think a little thing like the afterlife would keep us apart, sir?"

And then all the Nachtmaren appears behind them, ready for battle. Including Hovis. Especially Hovis.

BEST END?

>>15224370
>Hovis cant take part in crazy post death Newtype antics
;_;

>>15224450
>implying that the Skull King won't get all of his team back if he fucking wanted to

>>15224480
Hovis! Hey Hovis!
Want to come with us and battle monsters for eternity?
No. That's called Hell David.
Nyoro~n

>>15222520
>>15222517

Diebuster, Evangelion Unit 01, Gurren Lagann... That's some company to be compared to.

I wonder if Zol will be there waiting for him?

>>15224802
Yes, but Zol will be the main character then.

>>15224873
There is no main character in GARhalla. Only a fellowship of bros united by their badassitude.

>>15222703
>So... what do the two gromlins combine into the Big Zam/Zol ?

No, but the Gromlin II does use 2 Gromlins as weapon pods.

This must be what GARhalla looks like.

>>15229371
No I see the Freedom. Not manly enough