Operation Skyfall - Aerial Team Stand-by

[wingstrike]

Cecil walked across the Alps-Class' top deck and entered the bridge, a gust of wind blowing against his coat. Pulling the door shut behind him Harlow pulled his hair out of his face and straightened his coat.

"Let's hope we don't get a storm in the middle of this op, now wouldn't that mess this whole thing up?" he said with a twinge of sarcasm.

He reached for a pair of binoculars hanging off the wall and looked out towards Atlantis, unsurprisingly with still no signal flare in sight.
Harlow sighed, partially out of frustration of being stuck on a ship without being able to help and partially he had hoped Valen had got the job done already. Placing the binoculars back on the wall again he called the other pilots to the bridge.

[RobotNixon]

"I don't know, maybe the UE is afraid of rain or thunder" Winters said as he climbed out from underneath one of the computer stations. He got back on his feet and looked back at the computer he was working on.

"Should throw whoever thought that wiring was a good idea into a pit of acid..." he mumbled to himself as he looked at a watch he pulled from out of his pocket. He found a chair and sat down, kicking his feet up and opening his notebook.

[Usam1981]

The fighter was standing at the end of the mobile suit ramp of the Alps-class, looking overboard at the water below in deep thought. This was the first time in a while that he had actively taken part in any real combat. He knew he would be ready, but that still did not diminish his worries about this mission. His unit was one of the strongest that would be out there, and he knew he could take on anything that they threw at him.

Hearing the call for pilots to come to the bridge, The Fighter merely nods, turns, and heads for the bridge. Once inside, he leans up against the door frame.

Sarah, AKA, The Hunter, enters the bridge shortly after the fighter, ready for combat.

[Therider]

Nathan entered the bridge, getting partly seasick on the current they were sailing at. "You called?" Nathan asked, reaching for the nearest bag and throwing up into it.

[DovenWolf]

Dust had just finished up running his final diagnostic on his DINN when he got the call for the pilots. He wiped the sweat off of his brow before moving into the bridge and taking an open seat.

[kagimizu]

Briar, Will, and Devon were all suiting up and preparing for the big battle as they entered the room. Briar was visibly uneasy and somewhat distracted, something that Willis and Devon had already caught on to.

[knightwalker591]

Elijah steps in the doorway, yawning. "You thought i'd bail on the chance to kick butt?" he said to Cecil, laughing. he waved to the rest of the gathered team.

"Sorry but it kind of looks like you guys need more manpower and I got nothing better to do than kicking some U.E. ass. After all, we are the type of people for these things."

[wingstrike]

Cecil rolled his eyes at de Lucas's self-righteous entry and sighed.

"Alright let's get this started now that 'sir' has decided to grace us with his presence(!)"

Cecil walked over to a large glass-topped table in the centre of the room and pressed a button in the side. The surface lit up to display a number of images including an active radar feed and several images of Atlantis.

"This is us." He said, pointing at the centre of the radar map. "This is our target, as you are well aware Operation Skyfall is a two pronged assault. As we speak the infiltration team is currently making their way through the city to find and disable the power generator for the city. Once it's offline, which will be signalled by a flare, our mission is to engage the remaining UE mobile suits in aerial combat. If the team finishes their part before we do they will return to the carrier and launch to assist us, however don't bank on it."

Using the touch surface he put the radar to one side and showed images of all known UE mobile units.

"Sadly we have no idea what they'll send out, though I highly doubt Guntanks fly, as you all know any suit can be modified with little difficulty to become aerially capable. Do not expect them though to take it easy on us, this is their ground."

He moved on to show a diagram of the city as a whole.

"One thing you must take care of is the city itself, not only will this be a danger close-fire mission but for god's sake don't fly into a spire. Naturally the tallest structure is the central tower so there should be little chance of collision, keep combat away from the city as much as you can, we want it intact, no beam shots to the reactors for that matter. Fortunately once the team signals us we shouldn't have to worry about city defences."

The next image Cecil displayed was all the suits currently on board the carrier.

"Now then, strategy. Last head count gives us an Armoured GM, a Guncannon, a two Murasames, a Stinger, a Zaku II Kai, a GM Striker, a DINN, the Hound, the High-Tide and a GINN HMT." Cecil paused for a moment and bit his lip.

"Those who can't fly will be using Base Jabbers, now unfortunately we have less ranged mobile suits than I like and without knowing what's out there I can't give you a step by step plan. However I know that if we work as a team we can do this, but we need to work together on this one. For now try to engage units that may be lacking in your speciality, close combat fighters go for ranged targets and vice versa, any flight equipment is an obvious target. Above all do not let them separate us, we will lose our advantages if they break us up so back each other up, it'll work out for you too I promise you that. Anyone using remotes should not hold back, I guarantee you they will be of massive assistance. While we're in the subject of advantages, Dust, de Luca and Hunter. You three all have the suits most suited to this type of combat, we're relying on you to do as much damage as you can and to help out those who are less able in the air. You three will be using hit-and-run tactics, keep the enemy off balance, go for the ones least expecting it and use your aerial mobility to the best you can. Lastly watch for cross fire, I don't want use shooting our own guys down, on that note, if you can get UE to take each other out by accident then I'm not stopping you.

He turned to Nathan and the Fighter.

"Nathan you have a Stinger, Shining Grips, Mobile Trace and the emotion energy system, that's a recipe for a lot of fireworks. Shoot the bastards down, cut them in half, I don't care as long as you do it. Fighter, your reputation speaks for itself so I won't have to explain this to you, take them out."

Cecil then looked at Winters.

"Genosene, you and me have the heavy hitters, make every shot count. Remember that we're open from all sides when aiming so don't spend for ever targeting. If need be try gun-kata style."

Growing more confident in the plan he moved the last point of discussion.

"Hunter, de Luca, Briar, Dust and Natas will launch first. Once they're off the pads the Fighter, Nathan, Genosene, Winters, Willis and myself will take off. We will approach the area in an arrowhead formation, Hunter and de Luca will take point in fighter mode, followed by my Armoured GM in the next row, then the Guncannon, High-Tide and Stinger behind me, followed by the Zaku II Kai, GM Striker and the GINN HM Type. Finally the last row, the ends of the arrowhead, will be the DINN and the Hound. This was we are best prepared for head-on assaults and our flank is covered. Suits in rows 2-4 will be covered by my machine. Willis if need be as you and I have underwater beam tech we may have to provide suppression fire at the water from above, on no account does anyone get wet. If your flight gear is shot down we can send more Jabbers from here and if you somehow land in the water a squad mate will pull you clear ASAP."

He looked up from the screen at the team.

"I have one request for all of you, we have all decided to step forwards and take a chance to rid the world of the UE and accept the responsibilities. But every one of us will survive this mission, even if that means I have to send my machine down under to pull you out from the grips of some UE son of a bitch you will live through this. Is that understood?"

[Therider]

Nathan stepped forward. "Cecil, what would we encounter pilot-wise? We're not expecting real aces, are we?" Grabbing his bag again, he threw up, then continued, "The U.E. have a strong force, but are we to be worried about mercenary help?"

[wingstrike]

"I can't say for sure Nathan."

Harlow handed him a bottle of water.

"We've not known the UE to go for mercenaries, I hardly expect that to change now. Skill is another matter, as we've never been able to capture a pilot alive we only know what we've observed on their tactics. Fortunately we do have some things working for us, UE teams are organised into simple command hierarchies. Grunts typically have some skills but are un-coordinated, hence a commander to keep them in line. If you ask me the grunt's best advantage is numbers, commanders though have been seen as being much tougher. Do not underestimate them, there will be less of them but they make up for it in strength."

Cecil stopped and reviewed the files for a moment.

"Don't be surprised to see special units like water types of heavy weapons, UE armies seem to be split into foot soldiers, commanders and special forces. This is a bit of a curveball for us, it means the best advice I can give is to expect the unexpected."

[RobotNixon]

Winters had chuckled at Cecil's suggestion for him, "Gun-kata? Been ages since I last heard someone bring that up. Should make things more interesting" he said as he looked up from his notebook, wrote down one last thing and closed it, sitting upright.

"Crystal clear on the not dying part. I'll be extra careful not to die, I promise" he said smiling.

[Usam1981]

The fighter simply nods to Cecil's coments

"I will do my best. Though I am not used to working with a team much, I will do my best to work with everyone as much as I can."

The fighter leaned back against the wall.

The hunter nods, and cracks her knuckles.

"Me and my unit are ready to destroy some units. You can count on me."

[knightwalker591]

Elijah lets out a sigh as he leans back in a chair, looking up at the ceiling drinking a cup of warm coffee in a mug. "I wonder if it was the right or smart thing I've done by agreeing to join them" he thought to himself, placing his feet on the table.

[wingstrike]

"Hinesman you better learn fast, we're relying on you to keep the enemie disorientated, we can't afford to slip up now."

He paused for a moment, thinking.

"But I'm sure you'll get the hang on teamwork, it's not too hard to pick up on." He said with a slight smile. "Also."

In one fluid motion Cecil grabbed de Lucas's feet and shoved them off the surface of the table.

"I'll ask you to keep your dirt-trodden boots off the expensive tech thank you."

[RobotNixon]

"Spoiler alert: these things are actually dirt cheap. I've made more advanced stuff with an LED, PCB, a microprocessor and some tin foil" Winters remarked. "Just an FYI", he finished as he flipped through his notebook casually.

"Too bad we won't be able to turn the defenses against the UE. Unless the ground team actually does, which would make for quite the sight. Do you think the irony would be lost on the UE?" Winters asked to no one in particular.