UC0084 January 31
In the asteroid field, Ulmeyer had been scouting his position for the runaway Federation pilot, with no luck. �Damn, where is that son of a bitch! I have to find him, otherwise I won�t have the honor of killing him as well as his Federation fleet�, Ulmeyer said to himself.
Near him, Kellin powered up his mobile suit as Burns did so as well. �I will kill you Ulmeyer, for what you have done to me. You are a traitor to our cause, and a rat as well� Kellin said to himself, pleased at a chance for revenge. Although he had been stripped of his legs from the waist down, he was still carrying his MMP-80 machine gun, with a fresh clip and Ulmeyer�s name on it.
Powering up his suit, Burns checked his navigation, and without a moments notice, sped off, in pursuit of the Federation fleet. �Let�s hope no one catches me, unless I�ve rushed off too fast!� Burns said, thinking he may have made a mistake.
In the distance, Ulmeyer saw a flash of thruster engines, and checking his radar, he knew it was the feddy. �Ha, too easy� Ulmeyer said to himself, sure to accomplish victory. As Ulmeyer�s suit sped toward the feddy, Kellin locked Ulmeyer in his sites. It was only a matter of time before Ulmeyer would pass by Kellin�s suit, making a perfect chance to destroy Ulmeyer. Kellin couldn�t miss the opportunity, as Ulmeyer�s suit approached, only about a mile away. Ulmeyer, not checking his radar, and instead fixated on the feddy, did not realize Kellin was near him, until he was alarmed that someone had locked him in their sights. Firing immediately after locked onto Ulmeyer, Kellin shot off his clip in short bursts of fire. Ulmeyer, stunned to be fired upon, put full power to his thrusters in an attempt to dodge the oncoming fire. By then, it was almost too late as the bullets came inches away from hitting his mobile suit. Two bullets dented the armor on his back and lower leg, but he was able to outrun them eventually.
�Who in the hell is firing at me?! Does the feddy have backup?! It can�t be!� Ulmeyer said in frustration. �It must be someone else, but who?!�. Ulmeyer took a sharp turn to the right, hoping to flank off the enemy from its point of fire. Using the asteroids as cover, he managed to hide behind one asteroid to the right of the enemy. Taking a view, he zoomed in on his monitor, to find a half-destroyed Zaku II F2. �Was it a mistake of friendly fire? But how is it damaged, if we took no casualties during the battle? There were no suits missing in action either�unless�Kellin!� Ulmeyer said to himself. �Where is that sneaky little bastard?!� Kellin said to himself, eyeing the asteroids in search of Ulmeyer. Suddenly, his alarm flickered, as he turned to his right, and saw Ulmeyer�s suit coming straight at him with a beam saber. Quickly, Kellin used his reflexes to pull out his own beam saber, just in time to block Ulmeyer�s attack. As both beam sabers clashed in a frantic struggle of strength, both men gripped their controls in a fight to the death. �You should�ve stayed dead, Kellin! Now I�ll correct you!� Ulmeyer yelled. �You stupid bastard! You betrayed me! You don�t have what it takes to be a true soldier!� Kellin shouted back.
Jettisoning back from Kellin, Ulmeyer raised his MMP-80. �That�s not true. As far as I know, I�ve been promoted. You�re all that stands in my way from ultimate victory and domination. This is good-bye Kellin, I�m finishing you off for the last time� Ulmeyer said. �Why don�t you face me in a real fight? Beam sabers only.� Kellin said. �Fine, have it your way� said Ulmeyer. Throwing his MMP-80 into space, Kellin prepared for battle, awaiting Ulmeyer to do the same. Unexpectedly, Ulmeyer emptied his MMP-80 clip into Kellin�s suit, tearing into its arms and body, rendering it helpless. �You�bastar�!!!�, screamed Kellin, as his suit exploded in its joints and then the entire body. �Sorry, Kellin. I just don�t have the time� Ulmeyer said, laughing. �Now to find that feddy. I hope he hasn�t gotten far��.
Almost half-way between the asteroid field and Federation fleet�
�I hope I lost the Zeon this time, otherwise it�s everyone�s ass on the line. I should start trying for radio contact if I�m in their perimeter�, Burns said to himself. Tuning his communications screen, he tried reaching the nearest Federation receiver, without any luck. �Dammit, how far away are they?!� he said. Remembering that he hadn�t recharged his battery to full power before, because of the interruption, he checked his power meter. �Damn, it�s half full, I should�ve waited longer. But then again, I could�ve been spotted.� he said. �Hopefully I can still make the full trip on half the energy, at least until I get in clearing distance of the fleet��.
On board the Musai-class King�
�Where in the hell is Ulmeyer?! He should be back by now. Is he anywhere on visual or radio contact?� Lieutenant Commander asked his crewmen. �No sir, we�ve tried that already� answered a crewman. �Keep trying� Pummel ordered. �Yes, sir� the crewman responded. �We�ve got to know his whereabouts, otherwise we�ll lose track of the enemy. Damn these asteroids block our radio contact, and sure as hell don�t provide any help on visual status!� Pummel said. �Perhaps we should send our last mobile suit out to find Ulmeyer. Unless, of course, Ulmeyer has been attacked or destroyed by the Federation, which would make me very nervous about advancing� he said. �In any case, I say we should keep moving and keep trying to track Ulmeyer along the asteroid field until we reach its end. He may be farther than we expected.� he said. �Yes, sir� replied a crewman.
Back in the asteroid field�
After finishing off and finally killing Kellin, Ulmeyer continued his pursuit for Burns. �Where is that feddy?! This is the second time I�ve lost him! Damn you Kellin! Damn you for slowing me down!� Ulmeyer shouted in frustration. He knew that if he didn�t kill Burns in time, that his promotions would fail. He would ultimately be charged with the failure of the operation, had he lost Burns. Aside from that, he had forgotten about Lieutenant Commander Pummel. If he didn�t report back, they�d become suspicious about him. He was so lost in his own determination to find Burns that he forgot about checking back to his home ship.
Ulmeyer used full speed to race out of the asteroid field, hoping to catch Burns. Fortunately, Burns did not have full power to his suit. If Burns conserved his energy, it would give Ulmeyer a chance to catch up to him. Of course, Ulmeyer depended on his piloting skills to catch up to Burns. �Where is that fool! Have I lost him already?! If I don�t find him soon, my plans will be a failure! I�ll kill that feddy pilot once he leads me to his fleet!!!� Ulmeyer yelled. As Ulmeyer approached the end of the asteroid field, he noticed that an object to his left appeared on radar. �What is that? Can�t be a mobile suit, it�s too big. It must be a ship, unless�� Ulmeyer thought, knowing the answer. �Pummel�� he said.
On board the Musai-class King, Pummel and his crew spot Ulmeyer on radar. �Sir, we�ve just spotted a mobile suit, about 4 miles from here� a crewman said. �It must be Ulmeyer, that feddy pilot would be ahead of us� Pummel said in assurance. �Try to establish visual and radio contact, I want him on screen� ordered Pummel. �Yes, Sir� the crewman said.
As Ulmeyer kept track of the King, while speeding at full power, his communications system informed him of an oncoming transmission. �Dammit, Pummel. I don�t have time to speak to you� Ulmeyer whispered to himself. Nevertheless, he had to answer, otherwise he would be charged with disobeying orders by his superior. Flipping the Comm. Channel, Pummel�s face appeared on his visual LCD screen. �Ulmeyer, where were you? I thought I ordered you to stay within contact. These asteroids are sensitive to our communications array.� Pummel asked. �I spotted the enemy and attempted to pursue him, as that was my mission.� Ulmeyer responded. �I envy your courage, but don�t be blunt. Where did he go?� Pummel said. �I spotted him last going directly ahead. I want to continue my�� Ulmeyer said, before being interrupted. �No, I will send the other mobile suit to take your place. You�ve done well Ulmeyer, come back to base.� Pummel ordered. �Yes, Sir� Ulmeyer said. Both men saluted each other, as the transmission ended. �That was the last thing I needed!� Ulmeyer shouted, throwing his fist against the side of his cockpit. �You won�t stand in my way Pummel, not this time. I�ll be back feddy�you can count on it!� Ulmeyer said, eyeing the stars.
Between the Federation fleets and the asteroid field�
Burns was fixated on making it back to the fleet in time. But he hadn�t checked his battery power, because of fear to not look back. It had been about half an hour since he took off out of the asteroid field, and he was positive he was close to half way between the asteroids and his fleet. He had also never checked to notice that he had lost the Zeon. Of course, he couldn�t risk thinking he did. He was very nervous as sweat flowed do his face, for all he had went through. He had escaped the Zeon twice, and hoped not to meet them a third time. Checking his battery power, he was shocked to see that it was at a fourth of its capacity. He wanted to keep moving further, but if his battery power ran to zero in the middle of his flight it would mean sure death. He did not want to be a sitting duck, waiting for the Zeon to catch up to him. He needed to be one step ahead, badly. �No! Dammit! You can�t do this to me!� Burns shouted at his mobile suit. �Should I stop here and recharge? What if they catch up to me? I have to take the chance, but there�s no cover out here�maybe I�ve lost them� Burns thought rapidly to himself. Checking his radar, and satisfying himself, he finally decided to stop and recharge. But as nervous as he was, he would not keep his eyes off what was behind him.
On board the Musai-class King�
About an hour had passed since Ulmeyer�s return, as the ship had left the asteroid field way behind their tracks. �I have a bad feeling that we�ve lost our enemy, but we must keep trying.� Pummel said. �A mobile suit could not have traveled this far without a supply source. He must at least be slowing down by now� he said. �I would like our Zaku II to return now. We will wait until both Zakus are re-supplied, then send both out to find the target. He will be easy to eliminate once his power supply runs out.� He said. �Yes, Sir� a crewman responded. Suddenly, an object appeared on the ship�s radar. �Sir! What appears to be a mobile suit has just appeared on our radar, Sir!� said a crewman. �Can you make it out?!� Pummel asked in excitement. �No, Sir, it�s not close enough� said the crewman. �It must be our target then! Send both our Zakus to intercept the target! Be sure to follow it!� Pummel said standing. �It�s in stable position, Sir. It�s not moving� the crewman said. �What? Then either capture or destroy him! Finding their fleet is not as important if he knows our whereabouts!� Pummel yelled to the crewman. This was his chance, and the only shot at winning.
In the ships docking bay, to where Ulmeyer had recently been called to, housed his Zaku II F2, re-supplied for combat. �Finally, my chance at victory. If I can kill that feddy pilot, or let him lead me to the fleet, I can destroy the Federation myself.� Ulmeyer thought to himself. Jumping into his cockpit, and placing his helmet on his head, he never felt more ready for combat. �This is my chance, and I won�t blow it� he said. Taking off without a moment to lose, Ulmeyer sped fast to find the federation pilot. Tracking it on radar, he noticed that the other Zaku II F2 was heading for the same direction. �What?! Dammit! Pummel had to send Stykes too!� Ulmeyer said. Sending a transmission to the other pilot, Ulmeyer intended to give him orders on engaging the enemy, since he was at higher rank. �Petty Officer Stykes, here. What is it Lieutenant?� the pilot said. �Stykes, I want you to flank the enemy at the right, I�ll cover for you while I engage the enemy directly ahead� Ulmeyer ordered. �Yes, Sir� Stykes responded.
On Burns� radar, he hadn�t seen the approaching mobile suits, until they were about 8 miles from him. Without power to his mobile suit, his radar was inoperable, but he could see their thrusters approaching in the distance. �No! They�ve spotted me!� Burns shouted as he quickly powered up his mobile suit. �I hope I have enough energy left to make it back, otherwise I�m screwed!� he said. Restoring power to his mobile suit, he put full power to his thrusters as he checked his radar, surprised to find a ship as well as two mobile suits. �Damn! They�ve found me! I�ve got to lose them!� he said. Burns was too slow to act as the two Zakus came full speed ahead. Shooting to the right, a Zaku was coming in fast upon the right side of Burns. Burns knew he had to fight.
�Stykes, I want you to lead off the enemy and distract him, while I make a counter-attack. Understood?� Ulmeyer asked. �Yes, Sir� Stykes responded. Both pilots unexpectedly slowed down as the escaping enemy mobile suit came to a hault. �So, he wants to fight, eh?� Ulmeyer whispered to himself. As Stykes came up to the right of Burns, he was greeted by gunfire. Burns fired his 90mm machine gun at full auto toward Stykes. Struggling to dodge the oncoming fire, Stykes broke hard to his right, only to be caught on his left shoulder. �Damn! I�m hit!� Stykes screamed. Feeling surprised to not hear an explosion, Stykes realized his shoulder had only been chipped of armor plating. Inches closer would have meant sure death. Not realizing what was happening, Stykes forgot about Ulmeyer. Ulmeyer was approaching Burns from behind, as Stykes sped forward to get out of the way. Burns sped after Stykes, as Ulmeyer was in targeting range of Burns. �Die feddy!!!� Ulmeyer yelled in a ghastly grin. Ulmeyer fired his MMP-80 and wouldn�t let go of the trigger. As Burns and Stykes raced ahead, dodging Ulmeyer�s oncoming fire, a single bullet hit Stykes in his Zaku�s back, making his thruster pack inoperable on the left engine. As Stykes slowed down, the fire from Ulmeyer�s machine gun ripped through his suit�s legs and chest in a quick, upward motion. �LIEUTENANT!!!�� Stykes screamed before his suit spontaneously exploded. Ulmeyer, did not care to realize what had happened, feeling no remorse for his actions. Instead he became frustrated with not killing Burns, as the explosion was left behind in the race. The burning passion in the eyes of Ulmeyer had shown he was beginning to lose it�