Boom!
The skies erupted in thunderous booms as the Union ships were rocked by countless explosions across their kinetic shields. The surprise attack saw more than half the Dolls wiped out in the first sweep. Caught unawares the Union soldiers were slow to react and could only watch petrified as more and more of their comrades' lives were snuffed out in balls of fire.
The attacks stemmed from the unlikeliest of sources.
A flock of Falcons: quick, silent and deadly. The birds of prey had once again taken to the air, talons sharpened and eyes fixed on their targets.
Rendered extinct by the emergence of the air-based mobile suits or more aptly Weaponized Aerial Reaction Suits (WARS), they had all but been left for civilian use.
The Rosettan navy however, saw potential where others saw failure. Since the country openly opposed the building of new mobile suits, they fortified their defenses by improving on the downed birds. First the birds were graced with new streamlined designs to further enhance their aerodynamic properties. Then the engines were upgraded to run as silently as possible so as to reduce chances of detection. The surfaces were treated to absorb radio signals as well, with their heat signatures kept well hidden by insulators. In effect, they were nigh invisible until they were in sight.
Their speed and deadly firepower earned them the name 'Avenging Angels' as they believed they would only be brought out to combat great wrongs.
These magnificent birds zipped through the battlefield targeting anything and everything at random. The pilots didn't bother with auto-locks as there was simply no time. Once they saw something, they fired and shot hell at it. If they missed, so be it.. but they hardly missed.
Rocked by the surprise attack, but still fairly intact thanks to its Kinetic shields, Warmonger groaned in the night sky. Its Captain barked orders at his crew, face red in embarrassed anger. To think these peace-loving fools got one up on him was unforgivable.
"Damage report!"
"Minimal hull damage. Systems 90% operational. We should have them running at full capacity in a few-"
"Not on us you half-wit! What's the status of the other ships and the Dolls!?"
"Conqueror and Mighty have gone down. Negaq is heavily damaged, but the rest of the fleet is at least 80% operational. More than fifty percent our Dolls have been shot down."
"Damn it!" O'Reilly banged his fist on his chair, eyes bulging out his sockets. "Where the fuck is Havard!?"
"He's unharmed Sir. Awaiting orders."
"Patch him through!"
"Right away sir... He's listening."
"Yo," Harvard's voice drawled through the intercom, nonchalant as ever. "Things are looking bad. Want me to come over and protect Warmonger?"
"No," O'Reilly refused. "I have a much simpler task for you: Swat those mosquitoes out of the sky."
"You want me to go all out?"
"You Weren't!?"
"Haha. I'm joking, I'm joking. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Harzard, Salvation, carrying out mission objectives."
"Be quick about it."
"I always am..."
***
An air vent clattered to the floor in the Warmonger's main engine room.
