For several weeks now Axton and the rest of the Steel Sharks mobile suit team had been positioned on the northern edge of Lake Nasser. While Axton was glad that he wasn’t constantly fighting the Federation forces, it did seem odd to him that neither side in the war were actively interested in Egypt. The last major communication that the Zeon forces gathered here south of the Nile river was when they delivered some supplies including a few new mobile suits from their United Maintenance Plan. Axton had lucked out and been assigned one of the new suits, a Zaku II Type F2, an upgrade on the old Zaku he had been using.

So Axton had been spending his days sitting in the radio tent of their small camp. On that early New Year’s morning, Axton was pretty sure that he was the only one up. The others had partied a little too hard for New Year’s Eve, drinking the cook’s homemade moon shine. Axton had not partaken as his constitution could not handle alcohol, especially the homemade stuff. Instead he just enjoyed the festivities, including blasting music popular back in the homeland.

The young mobile suit pilot relaxed in his seat as he scanned the camp with his artificial eyes. While the mobile suits were currently not on, the massive Dobday-class land cruiser was on, prepared for a Federation ambush, which probably wouldn’t happen with the several Dopp fighters patrolling the skies.

As his attention shifted, Axton was surprised to hear chatter coming from the radio equipment. Rushing over to it, Axton hoped the machine would give him some good news, like orders from command. However, he wasn’t prepared for what the comm system was saying.

“Effective today, January 1st UC 0080, the Principality of Zeon has signed a treaty with the Earth Federation. The Principality shall dissolve and become a Republic, retaining its independence. However it will cease all military productions and turn over all remaining weapons of war. Again, we are just getting word that effective today…”

While Axton knew this was an Earth based broadcast, he didn’t think it was misinformation. Despite what the officers were saying about the war going great, Axton had spent enough time near the radio to hear snippets of how the Federation had been taking the fight all the way to Side 3. As much as he hated to admit it, this meant the war was over. Zeon lost.

But that couldn’t be it, they had all fought so hard to defeat the Federation. Axton kept remembering his brother’s funeral, in which they had nothing to bury as his body had been annihilated by a nuclear weapon. How could he face his family and say that he failed, he never got vengeance. The thought infuriated Axton.

“Lieutenant Huber,” said a voice from behind Axton, “Has this been verified? Has there been a treaty?”

Axton turned around and saw Major Sone, the current head of the Steel Sharks. Even with his comically thin mustache, Axton could see that this was no laughing matter. A year’s worth of stress was evident on his face as he stared at the Second Lieutenant.

“It seems to be true, but we still have to confirm with official sources,” replied Axton.

As they spoke, several members of the crew were getting up and going over to the radio tent to see what was going on. Axton really hoped that Major Sone would explain things, as he didn’t want to be the one to tell his brothers in arms that they lost the war.

The frequency of attacks in the African region - or lack thereof - was a subject of debate among those in the Steel Sharks, a group named for their unbreakable deathgrip upon others, once the jaws clench shut. Those who had been here longer than Axton rightly told him that the beginning of the war saw plenty of action in this area, as one fifth of Zeon's opening forces landed here, and according to the plan, was to become the main support area of the offensive. Alot of the materials seized materials by Zeon moved through here to either reach some other part of the war, or get sent back up into space. Anyone who knew anything about war could tell you about supply lines. Well, this was that, a strong link in the chain that had been attacked plenty of times in the past, and repelled by their group, among others.

Nevertheless, this was to become a non-issue at the beginning of this day, in the Universal Century Year 0080. Today, they would announce the end of the war, and as the others began to shake themselves out of their New Years stupor and start addressing the issue that had been placed in their lap, a number of them would notice Lieutenant Thompson was not among them. They remembered her there last night, drinking and eating with 'em. She might've taken the war rather seriously, perhaps the very reason she was as skilled as she was, but she'd never turn down food and drink with good times among others...for the most part. There was a subtle divide there, something in her eyes. The terror of war didn't shock her. It hadn't made her a laughing maniac or a monster, but Crea Thompson was ideal as a soldier of Zeon. She fought for her country, but didn't go at great length about it. She had killed plenty, some in this very lake, but felt little over it. When asked about the killing others, Crew had said...

"This war is a mass-slaughter in both direction. If you want to win, people have to die. I will not whine about it, and I sure as hell won't cheapen it, either. I'm gonna kill 'em until they stop fighting me and mine. That's all that matters."

Zeon fought to keep Earth at bay, to keep them out of their way. It was a cause worth fighting for, and - beyond the politics of it all - it was a cause made practical. They could not operate in total autonomy while Earth looked upon them with greedy, controlling eyes. But in any case, Crea wasn't here among the others. Given the situation, there were only so many places she would be, and a perfectly rational reason why that place would be her Mobile Suit. Right now, the Gouf was stationed about waist-deep in water, crouched and ready to go, as it often did. She'd stationed it there because of the clear and obvious advantage in putting a blue humanoid mech in the middle of Africa in the only source of water around. Attempts by Feddies to act in or around the lake usually procked her arrival, a swift attack, and the removal of remnants and bodies afterwards. The Acguy was better-suited for that kind of ambush, but Crea was good at it.

Right now, inside the cockpit, she was asleep, having stepped in here to keep away from a load of drunken pilots and soldiers she didn't feel like entertaining some of the things that might show up on their minds. This wouldn't last long, as she generally started her day with a bit of scouting, once she'd received some intel from the night shift in their Dopps. As she did a stretch, she also switched on, and outside they would see the Gouf's eye shimmering to life. Next, she got on radio.

"Night crew, this is your relief call. Give me your telemetry. What's good out there?"

"We spotted some activity, directly south, but Lieutenant, listen... There's been an announcement by the Federation-"

"The Feddies are always up in arms about something. That's why we're here. Report to Major Sone, get some R&R. I'm doing my rounds."

That was a Gouf getting ready for some combat, quickly checking its armaments before it would go.

Major Sone looked very uncomfortable as he stood in front of the growing crowd in the radio tent. By now many of them had whispers of the announcement, the pleading look on their faces saying that they prayed it was just propaganda. Axton had managed to slink away from the Major, integrating himself into the crowd. The Second Lieutenant had neither the mental fortitude nor desire to break this kind of news to his brothers-in-arms.

“Yes, it’s true. Preliminary reports are stating that a treaty was signed between Zeon and the Federation,” stated Major Sone, several of his pilots cursing under their breath in response, “However, we have yet to receive any orders directly so we will follow our last command and defend this area. Thinks should get clearer as the day goes on.”

The assembled crew then made a rabble, as they asked all kinds of questions to the Major. Unfortunately Sone had none, as he was just as in the dark about it as the rest of the Steel Sharks. Knowing that he wouldn’t find any answers with the crowd, Axton left the tent and headed to the landing strip.

If his internal time was correct, the night patrol should be landing right about now. And sure enough they were, as several Dopps had just landed. While not super close to the fighter pilots, as he was a mobile suit pilot, Axton was friendly enough with the other type of pilots.

Axton walked over to one of them and began to ask, “Did you hear the news?”

“Yeah, our comms picked it up about a half hour ago,” replied the pilot, “It’s crazy right? The war actually being over? I mean were still doing a lot of fighting here on Earth.”

“Honestly I’ve heard rumors that the Federation was gaining ground up in space, but I never thought that they were that close,” pondered Axton.

“Yeah, I know,” the pilot replied, “Actually we’ve got to get going. We have some stuff to report to the Major.”

“I’ll accompany you,” offered Axton.

By the time the Dopp pilots and Axton reached the radio tent, the crowd had mostly dispersed. Only a few were remaining by the radio, waiting for more information, including Major Sone. The commanding officer didn’t even notice the arrival of his pilots, instead staring at the radio with a sullen look. The pilot then cleared his throat, getting the attention of the Major.

“Sir, we’ve made visual contact with some Federation activity just due south of here,” stated the Dopp pilot.

This snapped Major Sone out of his trance, “What kind of activity?”

“We saw a Big Tray-class land cruiser and several GM-type mobile suits,” answered the pilot.

Major Sone then turned to Axton, “Second Lieutenant Huber, assemble a small team and assess the situation. If they don’t shoot at you, maybe the war is over.”

The pilot then interjected, “Actually, Lieutenant Thompson has already departed to survey the situation.”

Major Sone swore under his breath before continuing, “I forgot to inform the day patrol about the development. Axton, get in your Zaku and find Lieutenant Thompson before anything bad happens.”

“Yes sir!” exclaimed Axton.

Within a few minutes, several members of the Steel Sharks had made it to their mobile suits. Unlike Crea, they had not left their machines ready to go, so they had to boot them up. While Axton was doing this for his Zaku II, he looked over at the picture of his older brother he kept in his cockpit. The thought of loss of family members caused Axton to worry about what was going on with his family at Side 3. He didn’t trust the Earth Federation and knew that they were capable of anything.

As such he finished activating his Zaku II, the massive machine standing up. The Dopp pilots had said the Federation activity was due south of the makeshift base, so that’s where he was heading. From the amount of mobile suits and a land cruiser mentioned, Axton knew that even a skilled pilot like Lieutenant Thompson could be in trouble. With that in mind, Axton’s Zaku II began to walk in the direction of the Lieutenant’s Gouf.

To be clear, Crea wasn't always on day patrol. In fact, she preferred the night, since of course that was the best time to use a Gouf. Really, if the blue color was functional at all, like how Zakus would take on desert or jungle camouflage, then her use of the night and of water made the most sense. And while it wasn't designed AS a Marine Mobile Suit like the Goggs, its engines were sufficient to get it where it needed to go and operate in the water. Did so better than the Feddies ever could with their GMs, that's for sure. Of course, some weaponry didn't operate well underwater, which is why the Goggs have those tendrils arms that launch out with heavy pressure and claws, and why they fire torpedoes. Any non-Marine Mobile Suit has to make due. Fortunately, as the Gouf was originally designed as a close-quarters Suit that could simply pick up any weapon a Zaku or Dom could have, it had options.

The first option was the Heat Rod. The right arm of every Gouf contained a deployable whip-like 'rod' that could superheat under any condition - even under water - and lethally burn through a Mobile Suit's armor, when used right. It WAS A whip, but it deployed with force, like a Gogg's arm. Crea had used it to grab and pull GMs into the water before, and the electrical strike was a big help in making that happen. In a situation like that, she had gotten it around the neck, short-circuited the machine as it was pulled in, and then Option #2 was used. That was the Gouf's heat sword. It wasn't as good as a Dom's, as theirs were longer, but it was perfectly servicable, and it fit inside of a shield. Anything else - guns and the like - were less dependable if immersed in liquid. The sheer force of their Mobile Suit weapons tended to displace water quite a bit if fired down there, but there was a reason Zeon built dedicated Marine Suits.

These technical and tactical thoughts were what was going through Crea's mind, reviewing the facts of her opposition, as she went to scope out what the Federation was up to. Opposition had indeed been light in this area, which meant that they were now trying to make a push, and that could not be allowed. It's important to note, at this point, that she and Axton had chosen two very different approaches to the south of the lake. The Gouf pilot was taking full advantage of the lake, as she often did, to make the chances of spotting her nil and to reduce the chances of them finding her thermal traces. Africa was HOT, and the water was cool, soo the mitigating factors helped so long as she wasn't on the attack, and not staying in one place for too long. The Acguy was so much better at this, though. It's dual-plant of two smaller reactors left a smaller energy profile, made it great for watery ambushes. It was designed for it.

In any case, she was in the water and not at full speed to prevent any sort of cavitation that would be visible on the surface. Axton, meanwhile, was on foot, going around the edge of Lake Nassar, which was fairly large. What HE was doing to reduce detection was on him Crea didn't know he was there. Her focus was ahead, to the impossible-to-miss blip on her screen from a large vehicle, similar in nature to the energy profile of their own. As soon as it registered, she stopped, thinking 'I have to risk a look, but not dead-on. If it's what I think it is, I could be dead meat within seconds.' before moving her Mobile Suit more to the right. From there, she dropped down, hit the lake floor, and then boosted up, so that she would surface, but only for a few seconds. That was long enough, though. More than enough to see that she'd made the right decision, as she dropped down again.

Big Tray... High-powered guns, heavy armor. Not good. They want to push us out.

Big Trays were slow, but fairly powerful in their own right. Attacking one dead-on in anything was never wise, and so the best way to handle one is to take either the sides or even the back if you can. Getting around to the back of the thing would take forever, and the other important thing about Big Trays were that they were hover vehicles. They could go over the water. That was going to be a problem when they made their push. It looked like the other units were a few Mobiles Suits, maybe the standard medal GM or something close. It depended upon the importance of the mission, but still...the Big Tray was the play. They were there to protect their heavy armament in order to force her own people out or kill them outright with its cannons, which meant only one thing in Crea's mind.

The Big Tray's gotta go, the sooner the better.