in the Airspace of Hive 22
A Gaw was loitering around the airspace of the hive. Outside the obscuring cloud of metal particles, and plastered proudly onto it's side was.
"Jotunheim 00"
inside the command room, a officer was holding a data pad, swiping away as he spoke.
"The MA-05ADX Mobile Armor, Big Rang Terra or the T Type . It is 138 meters in height and 203 meters in length. " He paused, swiping again.
"It uses the core body of a supersized Mobile Armor, originally a failed Mobile Armor that has been repurposed with the Bigro platform. This allows the Big Rang to supply Mobile Pods and Mobile Suits with weapons and ammunition directly at the battlefront." He adjusted his glasses, continuing the dry recitation.
"It has been modified to equip a Minovsky Flight System, taken from the Apsaras line of Mobile armor which enables Large Craft, or anything that can fit the system, to achieve atmospheric flight using charged Minovsky particles for buoyancy. This eliminates the need for traditional wings or engines, making the design significantly lighter and allowing for armor to be installed in the areas traditionally reserved for propulsion. And the AD unit has been renamed to the A Unit or Assault Unit"
The Captain. An old grizzled man named Martin spoke up. "Who's piloting it?" He said, voice level.
"Current Engineering Lieutenant Oliver May is piloting it," The Officer spoke again.
Captain Martin slammed his fist on the console, his face grim. "May… Why must it be him again.." he muttered.
"The order is to spearhead the breakthrough that Mobile Armor!" Commander Kuspen, said he scowl, bellowed, his voice raw.
Captain Martin Prochnow looked down, his voice low."If it is our task. Then we must fulfill it. I will put my faith in that young man once more."
Kuspen nodded grimly. Straightening up and giving his officer hat a respectful tip.
Frontlines
The radio crackled with low-grade chatter.
"This is Junker 32 in the frontreporting in. All conditions normal. The enemy's not coming in," reported a young Zaku II pilot, his voice reedy with nerves.
"They will... in time," a Gouf pilot replied, his voice a gravelly monotone, a veteran's resignation.
"A... Ahead of us!" A scream cut through the net. The familiar, sickening mass of a Beta horde materialized, Destroyer-class behemoths already at a full speed charge.
"The enemy is approaching from the flanks as well!" another Zaku II confirmed from the opposite flank.
"How many?"
"A lot of them!"
"'A lot' doesn't help us!"
Jotunheim 00
Aboard the atmospheric support carrier Jotunheim 00, the Kuspen Battalion was scrambling. Boarding their Mobile Suits and Mobile Pods.
"Sir! Transmission from High Command!" An officer saluted hastily. "Kuspen Combat Battalion is to take combat position as quickly as possible!"
Commander Kuspen, ignoring the chaos outside, kept his voice cold and commanding. "The Betas are assaulting the main defense line. They will hold. But the question is how long."
He paused, the silence amplifying the weight of his next words. "However, the difference in number between them and us is expected… or atleast two hundred-to-one."
Kuspen gestured to the maps. "The Jotunheim will enter the airspace in between the recharge time and launch the Oggos into the battle. We will scatter our forces and, consequently, stabilize the situation to more agreeable terms." He said voice was unnervingly calm and unmoving.
The Captain looked out the viewscreen at the churning clouds of metal particles surrounding the island. "Crossing the cloud with this ship... then are we going to retreat!? leaving the young soldiers in the midst of the battlefield to fend for themselves?" He shook his head sorrowfully. "nay can this plane even handle that mission in the first place?" the Captain said running his wrinkly hand over the console.
Commander Kuspen fixed his hand into a tight fist. "Battle! And Battles! Battles are what makes Zeon what it is!" He chuckled, a sound devoid of mirth. "Even if they are lost… their names will be written down. Forever stamped in the annals of Zeon history."
Meanwhile, Commander kuspen's aide reported, "Sir! The Big Rang is ready! They are ready to surface at any moment to begin the assault."
"Good," kuspen grunted, heading toward the main hanger bay. He caught sight of his custom Gelgoog and the twenty Oggos stacked and ready for deployment.
"How long until contact?" he asked his assistant.
"About forty minutes, sir."
"Very good," he said, cracking his knuckles with a big grin on his face. "Let's see what this new foe is made out of."
Frontlines
The front was holding. Zaku II's and Gouf's were taking the brunt of the numerous BETA assaults. While the Zudah's flew to take out any big threats like Fort Classes and Lazer classes with their high mobility.
A Zaku II pilot, her suit already scarred and beaten, was calling for fire support as fresh Beta horde drew closer.
"Requesting fire support on my location! 800 meters and closing! Thin out those bastards!"
"Affirmative. Rain of fire on the way." the radio replied back.
A few seconds later. A few green beams decorated the sky, but the artillery arrived nonetheless. The heavy shells smashing into the horde in a wide area, incendiary and high explosive ordnance eliminating a good chunk of the incoming horde.
Amidst the chaos, a Dom pilot's voice cut through the air. "Where should we go?" the pilot said as he stopped near the Zaku.
"On that flank there. Assist that squad, they got a Damaged MS." The Zaku pointed off into it's left. Seeing a squad of 3 with one of them missing a leg.
The Dom's head nodded before skating off to help.
"Destroyer wave incoming! I can't rocket jump!" a Zudah pilot yelled just before a Destroyer-class was about to smash into him. Caught off guard as he was cooling his Saturn Engine.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A large series of explosions intercepted the Beta. Their armored heads shattering from the large explosive warhead. This gave the pilot enough time to perform a short rocket jump. Just enough to fly over the remaining Destroyers
He spun his suit midair to see a Gouf Custom some distance away, holding a smoking Zaku Bazooka.
"You okay, soldier?" the Gouf pilot's voice was calm as the Gouf stood up from it's kneeling position.
"Y-yes, thank you, sir!" the Zudah pilot replied, landing on the ground with a thud.
"Head back to the rear, re-arm, refuel and get something to eat. Second defensive line should catch the stragglers" the Gouf pilot ordered. The Zudah pilot gave a hasty thumbs-up and ran toward the beach.
The Gouf Custom pilot then immediately rocket jumped toward the front lines, diving back into the fray. Drawing it's saber while in the air.
The chaotic static of radio chatter filled the Battle Net, a stream of situation reports. Artillery and reinforcement requests.
In the rear. The Hildolfr's have been firing nonstop, the tips of their barrels starting to glow red. While Zaku I's from behind kept feeding shells into the auto loader.
"Adjust angle. Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"This is Egba. The horde's too dense to keep hunting those Lazers. Looks like they're fully mobilizing all their forces. We're falling back."
"This is Gaia. The Horde has grown thicker. They're building up their forces for an all out assault. We're returning for resupply."
"Ramba Ral. Front line is holding for now. But i advise to fortify the second defense line even more. We won't hold for long."
Axis
Inside a command room, Veriline watched the battle and the reports flowing in. Her hands clasped behind her back, hidden by her red cape as she calmly looked on.
One of the Officers operating their battlestation out a hand onto her "Cargo has reached it's destination. Patching Silverfish through comms now."
"This is Silver Fish to Control. It's getting too shallow, this is as close as we can get safely."
"A-firm. Commence surface and deployment. Initiate phase 1 after."
"Copy. Commencing now."
Somewhere in the seas of Hive 22
"Empty the ballast tanks! Full rise!"
"Ballast tanks empty Captain! Pressure nominal. Rising in altitude. -50 Meters. -40, -20, -10, Breach!"
A Juneau Class submarine breached the surface of the water. Antenna and radar dishes deploying from the conning tower.
It then fired it's engines. The 4 tow cables on the rear snapping taut as it began to move.
A few moments pass, and a large object breached the surface of the water. It was a Bigro, it's arms slumped downwards, it's monoeye disabled. But it kept rising and rising until the giant armored skirt was revealed. It was the Big Rang Terra, it's red paint shining under the sun.
Overhead, hundreds of white smoke trails filled the sky. Dodai's. It was the third wave
The radio crackled inside the submarine, connecting and the clear voice of a young man. "May here. Initiating startup sequence."
Inside the Cockpit of the Big Rang. May sat, Flipping switches and pressing buttons. "Main reactor online. Secondary A Unit Reactor online. All sub weapons operational. I Field Radomes up and running."
The Monoeye of the Bigro activated with the iconic sound. It's arms raising up in a ready position.
The technical report didn't do justice to this wonderful machine.
The Assault Unit is a re-engineered AD unit. Now featuring a re-designed front armor layout. The two Dreadnought Armored Boosters have been kept for altitude control, but the large hole in the front has been covered up by thick armor and installing two dual 90mm ball turrets on the middle part of the front armor in between the boosters.
The internal space of the front half of the Assault Unit has been used up to house a secondary Bigro Reactor and a AI pod right below it to control the various weapon systems and support systems of the Mobile Armor. The AI pod is from the salvaged software of multiple TSF combined together. The front half was also used to house the Minovsky Accumulator to be used by the Minovsky Craft System which was installed in the underside which was recessed into the hull for relatively good protection, it also serves as a buffer for the recharge time of the I-Field Generators. It also housed side pointing vernier units for more quick turns of the Assault unit.
This however reduced the servicing capacity of the Assault Unit, carrying less supplies and ammunition for the Oggo's, but it still retained the capability.
The two booster units on the upper back of the Assault Unit have been removed and re-located to the rear besides the Oggo landing pad, they have been doubled up with two thruster units on each side mounted on rotating gimbals to allow for reverse thrust and mildly enhanced maneuverability.
Onto the armaments. The Bigro unit on top was relatively unmodified with the exception of the arm units. The fingers have been switched to small Megaparticle Guns. And a small flame thrower embedded in the central arm unit. With two tanks for the igniting fuel located right behind the armored neck unit.
Two of the Beam Diffusion Missile pods nearest of the Dreadnought Thruster units, have been removed and have been swapped out with Radome Style I-Field Generators. This design makes them less power hungry than a, All Around Type of generator. But can only generate an I-Field in front of them. They're mounted on repurposed Zaku II arms to allow them to pivot in a considerable degree of freedom.
Extra turrets were mounted directly into the side of the skirt armor. 4 Turrets from M61A5 Tanks in total. Two on the spine of the Assault Unit, modified with a single 220mm long barrel artillery cannon for long range artillery attacks. And the remaining 2 mounted directly on the sides of the skirt pointed forwards. Equipped with the standard dual 155mm cannons.
Right below the 220mm cannons, two dual 90mm Machinegun ball turrets are mounted on each side for close to medium range combat.
The 3 Tube Anti-Ship Missile launchers remain mostly untouched. But being modified into a 6 tube.
As May finished the final checks. He grabbed the controls in his reach. Gripping tightly as the boosters rumbled to life.
WOOSH!
The Dreadnought boosters ignited, lifting the rest of the A Unit out of the water. And a dark orange glow emenated from underneath the Unit and it began to gain altitude. Hovering a dozen meters above the water.
As it began to move past the submarine. The water craft opened the blast doors of it's Vertical launch system. Launching it's ballistic missiles armed with AL Warheads to thicken the fog encompassing the island.
Japan High Command
Japanese and UN officials and high ranking military members watched the battle from sattelite images. Observing closely for any information they can get.
"Uhh sir. You better take a look at this." one of the operators said. Some sweat beading down his forehead.
"Put it up." Yuuko said calmly while the operator did as he was told.
A moment later the a zoomed in image of a red pixelated blob appeared on one of the main screens.
"Correcting resolution." The operator said. The pixelated mess clearing up to form an image of the Big Rang.
Everyone's eyes nearly bugged out at the sight of the massive Mobile Armor. Most of them speechless and frozen in place.
"That is one fat mass of metal." One of the officers whispered under his breath.
Yuuko though. Was glaring at it with a calculating intensity, she adjusted her glasses and spoke. "Misa. Get me a size calculation based on the images."
Misa, who was incapacitated by the sight. Snapped out of her stupor to clumsily salute. "H-Hai Sensei!"
Yuuko turned to the operator and spoke in a demanding voice. "Operator! Get me status on that drone."
The operator hurriedly did their work on the keyboard, pulling up a close image of the coast. "Footage is up Doctor!"
Meanwhile
A UMV (Unmanned Marine Vehicle) was slowly surfacing on the beach near the island, where the Zeon troops were holed up in.
The UMV which looked a lot like a Manta Ray, slowly moved closer as it's back opened up to launch small winged drones.
Some the drones flew high and to the frontlines while some stayed behind to observe the Zeon forward base that had been set up.
The tiny craft flew and observed the battlefield below, they weren't hit by lazers as they were too preoccupied of dealing with heavy artillery fire. Which let them watch and gather information uninhibited… that is.
BOOOM!
Another pink fireball exploded in the distance, creating a massive red hot crater.
Then, a moment later,the drones fell out of the sky.
"What's happening!?" Yuuko demanded, her tone raised.
"I don't know. Even the UMV is down." The operator said as he stared at the screen only displaying white noise.
Yuuko sighed, adjusting her glasses. "It's a shame, but we still gathered a lot, any bit of information is worth it's weight in diamonds."
Hive 22 Forward Base
Multiple tents have been set up in the core of the landing area, where a lot of the infantry has gathered and makeshift defenses have been erected such as sandbag pillboxes and dug in tanks.
Inside one of the tents, tacticians rambled on as they held maps and blueprints of the potential structure of the Hive.
While they were setting up, a screen lit up on the tent, showing Jean's straight face.
"Soldiers." She began. "I am relying on your expertise to coordinate and lead this invasion. We must take this place swiftly and efficiently, but most of all. Kill as much of those alien bastards as possible. Sieg Zeon!" Jean cheered as she pumped her fist.
"Sieg Zeon!" The Officers replicated the gesture, their resolve burning brighter with the speech.
Just then…
The Big Rang has entered the Battlefield.
The massive Mobile Armor broke through the shroud of metal particles, it's pink monoeye glowing menacingly.
As it moved closer to the beach, water evaporated and turned to steam under it as it approached slowly in a very intimidating matter.
All of the Zeon forces situated in the beach immediately turned their heads, even the Mobile Suits.
"The fuck is that!?"
"A Mobile Armor!? Is that the Big Rang?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh yeah, you died in the first invasion. I'll explain later if we survive."
The lead Hildolfr used an external camera to look at the approaching MA. "We'll I'll be damned." Sonnen whispered. "That's one big piece of armor."
Infantry and Mobile Suits alike scrambled to make way for the massive contraption of death and destruction as it met the solid sand of the beach.
The booster units on the massive armored dress burned brighter, increasing it's speed to the walking speed of a Zaku.
While both the infantry and the MS tilted their heads up in awe at the Big Rang, the radio sent out a transmission.
"All combat units in the Staging Area, form up behind the Big Rang to support. We're initiating the second assault to hit the Monument"
The moment the message went through, they all snapped out of their awed stupor and began to line up and march behind the Big Rang.
About two hundred mobile suits were following in tow, the Big Rang leading the charge to the barely holding Frontline.
"The Cavalry has arrived ladies and gentlemen!" One of the lead Gouf's yelled, raising their Heat Sword.
The Mobile Suits that were laying down fire turned around as they heard the shout through comms.
They saw the gigantic Big Rang towering over them as it advanced.
As they stared in awe, one Zaku raised it's Machinegun and fired it into the air. "SIEEEEEG ZEOOOON!" The cheer echoed through the battle network. And a wave of cheers rang out. Their spirits reignited.
Location: Axis
"Soldier! Hurry up, bring that box over here," a Zeon Sergeant barked at a new recruit.
"Yes, sir!" Shirogane Takeru, posing as a Zeon soldier, placed the box where the sergeant pointed.
"Alright, ten-minute break, but be back before the ten minutes are up," the Sergeant said as the other soldiers broke away, some smoking, others chatting.
"Alright, time to slip by," Takeru thought, moving purposefully toward a hanger.
Inside, he saw multiple Zakus and Doms.
To the side of the Mobile Suit hanger stood a blue Gouf Custom, currently missing its Minigun.
"Alright, let's steal that one," he decided, heading toward the Gouf.
Meanwhile, in a sterile command room...
"Commander, we've successfully managed a breakthrough with the Slave Wraiths Unit and the Federation suits they have. We have managed to make use of the HADES system on the Pale Rider, Iron Cavalry," a scientist reported, making the Commander smile.
"Thank you for your research, Doctor," I said while smiling.
"Of course, Commander," the scientist replied, bowing before leaving.
Jean entered the room as the scientist left. "Commander, we have established multiple factories to streamline Mobile Suit production. We have three Zaku factories and one Gouf factory, and we are almost done with a Dom factory. With this, we won't have to rely on you summoning Mobile Suits or Mobile Armor." Her tone was professional and precise.
"Good. Make sure we also have ammo and Mobile Suit weapon factories. We need to have better logistics, as I can't keep summoning ammo and parts for our Mobile Suits," i said.
"It will be done," Jean said before she left the room.
Then i looked out the window, a smirk curving my lips.
"It's all coming together. After Hive 22 falls, Operation Zabi is a go."
I then turned my head, looking at the scientist standing silently beside me.
"Make sure it's ready by that time… Mr. Mark."
"It will be done my liege."
To be continued