Editing KSGU:Volume 7 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 10===

The coastline of Sydney was 4000km in length, but there was only one proper harbor. That place was a military port set up to accommodate the movement of the goods into Torrington base, and there were no coastline embankments or any wharfs other than that particular stretch of long coastline, and the area extended beyond the coast was the rock formation created by the waves and the wind pressing. The coast had become an empty wasteland, and the only ones moving to and fro the coast were the fish trawlers. The trading ships and so however were used to ignoring the port on this coastline, and would use the other existing ports. Naturally, the SOSUS system that was basically the radar network on the sea would not reach beyond the wide new coastline, but set around the military port.

The current time was 1408, and three mobile suits landed on the coast, approximately 30km away Torrington base was. The AMX-109 “Capule” used their cornice arms to puncture the weird lava-like object, let the hand manipulators with 5 claws stab into the crust, let its ball-shaped body look upwards, and let its chest armor open from right to left.

The 8 missile launchers hidden inside were exposed, and light grey smoke trails covered its large body as the swarm of missiles fired out in unison, rising diagonally. Another “Capule” fired its missiles as well. A RMS-192M “Zaku Mariner” raised its Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) weapon on its hand and fired. 18 smoke trails drew an arc and charged right at Torrington base.

The sounds of the missiles flying over crossed the skies above the base’s fences and bombarded the combined industrial facilities at the south. The low round cylindrical tanks at the back were blown apart, and the flames and black smoke that rose were scattered with the cloudy skies in the backdrop. At that moment, a tremor shook the base, and the wind pressure and shockwave caused the war memorial beside the factory facilities and collapse. However, this was merely the start of the chaos befalling Torrington Base. The first wave of missiles ignited all over the base, and 2 warheads that came a beat later exploded above the base, releasing 16,000 little grapeshots down like a torrent instantly.

Each grapeshot was not really powerful, but they were scattered across 6 football fields worth of land, and were enough to case panic throughout the entire Torrington Base. The glass windows of the headquarters were shattered without exception, and the ceilings of the barracks were wrecked; the exploded road surfaces slammed upon the heads of the soldiers who were unable to escape in time. The base had anti-air missiles measures, but with the radars jammed by the Minovsky particles, they were completely useless. The base had no way to fight back other than seeing the missiles being fired and deploy men to shoot them down. it had been 2 minutes since the raid started, and the garrison mobile suits were given the issue to sortie.

“Why’s the enemy coming to attack such a rural base!?”

“All because that ship brought the enemy here!”

The pilot of the “GM II” looked at the large body of the “Ra Cailum”, lying in the temporary port, and let loose these words with a look of disgust. This line however actually revealed the true thoughts of all the stationed troops who were suddenly attacked. A RGM-79R “GM II” squad crossed by the door of the hangar, shot down by a direct hit, and was preparing to sortie. As the model number indicated, this was a product with minimal modifications from the machines in the One Year War, but it was still the main fighting force of the guards at Torrington Base. While the “GM II” were equipped with either beam rifles or hyper bazookas, the MSA-003 “Nemo”, a mobile suit developed at the beginning of the 2nd generation , moved through the “GM IIs” and left the hangar as it lit its thrusters at where the missiles were coming from. A second wave of MLRS came swarming in, seemingly making up for the space left behind by the group of giants that jumped away, but the ones in charge of intercepting them was the “Guncannon DT”.

Torrington Base had been using “GM IIs” up till this point, and the upgrades to change their main forces to “GM IIIs” had been stalled; to it, the “Guncannon DTs” were important pieces to make up for the “GM IIs” lack of firepower. This was an experimental machine that ceased production after a few prototypes were produced, but the optical sensors for an artillery fight had good specifications, and were effective as movable cannons to assist in the base’s anti-air defenses. Once the garrison was launched, the three “Guncannon DT” on standby locked onto the missiles before they exploded. The support arms reached out from their backpacks, and they transformed into a cannon-firing mode to steady themselves as the two beam cannons on the shoulders aimed at the rockets firing over. The 4.7 Megawatt Mega Particles cannon boasted tremendous rapid-fire capabilities, and a rocket was shot down into an orange fireball. However, the second intercepting beam did not fire as another trail of fire was sniped at the “Guncannon DTs”, causing all three machines to be in chaos.

The MS-09F “Dom Tropen”, hidden at the rocks near the base, arrived earlier than the landing squad on the coast, and used this chance to wreck havoc as it started moving into the base from the east. The MS-09G “Dwadge” in the north moved in from the north. Both machines had hovers on their legs and charged into the base like an avalanche. The “Dom Tropen” let the Raketen rocket on its shoulder fire, which let an explosion trail of smoke near the feet of a “Guncannon DT”, and drew the beamsaber on its back as it continued to attack. The “Guncannon DT” tried to readjust its bearings, but it was already too late as the beam saber sliced off the head with the optical sensor and sliced through the cockpit at the back.

The “Guncannon DT” collapsed as its arms laid weakly, and the MLRS came swarming in from another direction at the “Ra Cailum”. Right before the small explosions occurred, the 3 main cannons located on the upper deck turned around and fired right at the missiles. The firepower of the main cannons far exceeded the mobile suits’ portable weapons, and the fire would probably affect the bases in its path, but there were no other effective anti-air measures in this situation. The “Ra Cailum” fired the thick beams that could be seen even in the day as it started to leave the ground. The CIWS weapons located all over the ship let out fires, intending to shoot down the “Dwadge” moving quickly through the blind spots of the buildings, but this however caused a fatal damage to the “Ra Cailum” as it was too focused on the enemy machines invading the base.

A transport carrier flying in at low height dropped off a new mobile suit, the AMX-101K “Galluss K”, which crushed the ground as it landed, and started an assault from the west side of the base. The hyper-bazooka on its right hand fired together with the beam cannon on its left shoulder, and the mega-particles that were fired at sublight speed hit the “Ra Cailum” directly. The gantry crane of the temporary dock was melted, and the beam that shot through the ship from the rear portside blew the armor together with the bazooka shot, causing the engine department of the “Ra Cailum” to take tremendous damage. Thick smoke emerged out of the thruster nozzles, and the ship was rocked by an intense tremor as all unfastened items dropped onto the floor. The cranes dangling from the ceiling of the mobile suit deck swayed, and even the “Jestas” that were ready to launch could only sway their large bodies.

“A direct hit?”

“We need them to stop the cannon strikes! We can’t launch like this!”

Squad leader Solton had already arrived onto the catapult deck, but the CIWS machine guns were firing in his launch path, and he could only shout out. Nigel looked past the back of the commander’s machine and used the all-view monitor to lock in on the enemy machines rampaging through the base. He saw two Dom-type machines skillfully dodging the fires raining down from all directions and firing back with their rockets once they had the chance—

“They’re using such old machines…”

He did not feel that the enemy was looking down on them. Once he realized that the enemy was going to attack even with such mobile suits, he gulped, his saliva full of bitterness.

This fear too struck the defense unit that was advanced to the coast. They continued to jump, and once they witnessed the strange rock formation melt due to the high heat, they realized that the enemy had already launched another squad to attack the base.

“Hozumi’s “DT” is down! The enemies here are just bait!”

“Get the “Ra Cailum” people to deal with them. They have such high-specs mobile suits after all.”

This line from the leader became the immunity required for the defense unit to continue on. The unnatural rocks were each as tall as a mobile suit, and the visibility in the area was rather bad. The leader split the squad into two teams, used the tactic of moving and cover each other, and drove his rouge-colored “Nemo” approximately 1km forward. The 5 mobile suits that formed team A stopped in their tracks as they got into a formation to cover, and the leader gave the signal for B team to move forward. The B team moved through the same path while moving through the weird rocks, but before the A team could move forward, a wire-like object flew in from a blind spot, causing the “Nemo” leader suit to lost its footing and fall.

The “Zaku Mariner” pulled the magnetic harken from its left arm sleeve and appeared from behind the rocks as it raised its missile launcher and fired at the “Nemo”, which took a direct hit and exploded into flames. The “GM II” beside it frantically raised the beam rifles and fired back. Though the mega particle shot pierced through the rock, the “Zaku Mariner” continued to use its magnetic harken as it quickly moved, and another beam that shot in from another direction hit that “GM II” directly. As the “GM II” was engulfed in light and slammed into the rock, the “Zee Zulu” wielding a beam machine gun in its left hand darted out from the smoke, and leapt at the gunner “GM II” wielding a hyper bazooka. It kept low, dodged the bazooka shot, charged at the enemy, swung its claws down to sever the head of the “GM II”, before leaping into the air.

Everything happened in an instant, and B team could not create covering fire in time. Another explosion rose from the other “Nemo”, and the B team leader immediately ordered the team to scatter. Since they were ambushed, them gathering together would be the fastest way to their own demise. There was no mistake in the team leader’s judgment, but in other words, that action was also within the enemy’s prediction.

The cornice arm with many joints swung down, and the tip of the claws were stabbed into the chest of the “Nemo”. The “Capule” dug out the moveable frame together with the armor, tossed aside the first enemy unit, and let the beam eye on its head fire. The goggle-shaped main camera was shot through, and the other “Capule” saw the crushed rocks and the falling “GM II” in the corner of its sights as it fired the mega particle cannon on its abdomen. The seawater loaded in the dual-layered armor could be used in the cooling system, which allowed the amphibious machines to use a power generator that had a higher power output than an ordinary machine. The mega particles that was released caused the rocks to evaporate, create new explosions, and an array of beams, including the defense team’s, was crossing through the place.

Kirks, who was in the cockpit of the “Zaku I”, did not see this light as he was on the “Garencieres”, closing in on Torrington Base from the Southeast direction. It poked its upper body from the opened upper deck hatch and raised its sniper rifle to aim. The machine’s optical sensor had already caught sight of the “Ra Cailum” that was currently the size of a fingernail. The white frame of the “Ra Cailum” was giving off smoke in the aft and a sitting deck in the west side of the base, an that was the only object on the precision scope Kirks pulled to his sights.

“Good boy. Don’t move there…”

He muttered as he aimed, and at that moment, the ship in the scope let out a flash, and a thick beam of mega particles grazed by the “Garencieres”. It seemed that the enemy had already spotted the location of the sniper. One shot would be enough to blow the cover. But it was impossible for the enemy to detect them under the presence of Minovsky Particles. In contrast, Kirks had an outstanding optical equipment produced by the Khanom Company. The ship that was hit by the scattered particles continued to shake, and Kirks could not handle the shaking even if he zeroed his scope, but he still managed to catch sight of the “Ra Cailum” in his cross hair. He adjusted the beam output by checking the distance, angle and atmospheric conditions, and the moment the crosshair moved across the target, his finger on the trigger exerted some force.

The sniper rifle took in the power output from the sub-generator the unit was carrying on its back, and the beam came out from its nozzle. Kirks did not think too much into the explosion of light within the scope as he adjusted the angle by millimeters before firing again. There was a second explosion on the bow of the “Ra Cailum”, and once he spotted the smoke coming out from the two main cannons, Kirks felt the sensation he had forgotten for a long time surge through his body. ''I’m not dead yet. My machine and I are still alive!'' Kirks exclaimed in his heart as he was so pumped up he pushed the scope in front of him aside, “We’re going, Kandle!” and spoke up into the wireless communicator within the helment.

The hatch above the ship opened, and Kirks’ “Zaku I” leapt through it and jumped down to the surface, followed by Kandle’s “Zaku Cannon”. Both machines ignored the “Garencieres” flying over their heads as they landed in the debris of the colony in the wasteland. They then stepped on the steel bars buried in the sand as they glided into the debris.

Kirks had already known that this field of debris was used by Federation units as a training ground. It was 600m in height and less than 200m long in length and wide. If one were to include this information and the distance of approximately 30km to the base in the estimations, this section of what used to be a space colony could become the perfect sniping location. Kirks inspected the condition of the “Zaku I”, got into sniping position, “I’ll leave all incoming enemies to you.” And notified Kandle’s machine.

“My machine here is a tortoise with a heavy bag here. I’m doomed if some nimble new enemy suit comes running in here.”

(Roger that. I won’t allow any machine to approach.)

The “Zaku Cannon” slid down to a position lower than Kirks’ machine and chose a position to spot, and used its hand manipulators to pull the strap of the big gun on its backpack. (Just focus on your job, commander.) Upon hearing these words from the other unit, Kirks surmised by saying, “Don’t die before you can see your kid’s face.”, and shook off everything other than sniping from his mind. He first activated the auxiliary equipment on its right knee, and once the “Zaku I”, which was stabilized, got into a sniping position, he aimed the muzzle of the sniper rifle into the gaps between the materials. He could spot Torrington Base, lying in a midst of black smoke, through the crosshair of the precision scope.

After the main cannons on the bow were taken care of, the “Ra Cailum” was left with only the main cannon on the aft of the upper deck. If the ship did not leave the ground, the main cannons at the bottom would be useless. Once the main cannons were nullified, the enemy would have no firepower, either from the ship or the base, to snipe them down. Kirks would first have to shoot down the last main cannon to cover the “Garencieres” flying straight at the base. He moved his reticule slightly and began his first assignment. The sub-generator of the “Zaku I” rumbled, and the sniper rifle that was as long as the height of an enemy unit let out a beam.

The beam that could be spotted from the “Garencieres” was absorbed directly by the “Ra Cailum”, and the aft immediately showed an explosion, indicating a direct hit.  Zinnerman saw the light of explosion from the other side of the moving clouds. There was a “Geara Zulu” dragged out with the hangar from the aft of the ship, and when viewed from the machine’s cockpit, the colony debris Kirks was hiding in looked like a skyscraper in the middle of the desert.

“That commander sure is skilled.”

Kwani, seated on the linear seat, smiled as he said, but there was no need for anybody else to mention it. Kirks was able to skillfully pilot a mobile suit dated 20 years back and still hit the enemy’s cannons.  Zinnerman moved his body that was fastened down on the cramped assistant seat as he looked at the colony debris that was gradually moving away from him, ''don’t expose yourself too much,'' and muttered in his heart before he turned his face. His hand touched the collared shirt he was wearing as he spotted the “Ra Cailum” that was gradually becoming bigger in front of him. Once he stared upon the ship that was still protected by its numerous CIWS guns despite the loss of the main cannon, Kwani’s voice rang in his ears, “Sure fits you here.”

Zinnerman saw the teasing stare from Kwani through the helmet, and felt the fear that had risen within him melt away. Even without anyone say it, he himself understood that the combination of his bearded face and a Federation officer uniform was something even he would laugh at. At the same time, he recalled the look Besson, in the Ivan unit, made, “Don’t get shot down. I won’t be happy about dying like this when I’m dressed up in this state.” and quipped back. “Roger that!” Kwani however answered with enthusiasm.

“I’m going. Don’t bite your tongue there.”

A voice rang, and the restrains on the hangar were released as the two “Geara Zulus” were dropped. Kwani did not see the “Garencieres” off as he let the free-falling machine adjust itself and fired at the ground with his beam machine gun. The beam pellets were absorbed by the “Ra Cailum”, and the anti-air fire that was several times heavier than what was dealt came flying at the air. Zinnerman checked that the Ivan unit that descended was safe, exerted strength in his abdomen, and heard the sounds of machine guns that grazed by.

''The Federation reinforcements will immediately come in from the air. If we’re flanked by the new mobile suits squadron of the “Ra Cailum”, the remnant army will definitely not last long. Got to hurry—Zinnerman muttered in his fearful heart, and forced his fear behind and stared at the incoming “Ra Cailum”. The ship that was firing its numerous anti-air guns was like a hedgehog created by the fires.