Log:Array Consortium: Closing Accounts

Closing Accounts

Location: Sarkhai
Participants: Kryll, Zerna Gann, David Ironside, Tamrae, Tovana, Kaelyn, Mandl, Lara Dax

The intelligence cruiser -Debtor's Wail-, still lurking in its position somewhere between Jaynat and Sarkhai, has been slated for demolition. The /Serious Business/, aided by its fighter complement, will microjump to the target location and attempt to destroy the vessel and rob the Children of Kespan of a vital source of information. As Jaynat's liberation by the forces of the Atrax Guard and Gray Legion is nearly at hand, the stage is soon to be set for the push on Sarkhai itself.

The remainder of Jaynat's occupied city-complexes are in the process of falling to liberating forces, and while Complex Nine remains a bastion of the enemy, the Consortium and the /Business/ is directed outward, toward the dark space between the worlds. The ship called /Debtor's Wail/ has been closely monitored, its progress tracked as it moves away, then back, away, then back again. Always the same place, where it then commits signals elsewhere in the system. The ship is a ghost barge, always running on low power one it's settled - as it is tonight, having returned to this astronomically advantageous spot and returned to its lurking cycle

Which is where, of course, it's going be murdered.

The /Serious Business/ prepares to jump, guns hot and crew ready for battle. Though the ship is a smaller vessel than the /Business/, the /Wail/ is by definition rigged for deception, and the allied commanders agree that there's no point to screwing around - it's to show up in force, kill everything in space that doesn't have a friendly FOF code. Simple.

<< All ships, this is Captain Gann. >> The captain's voice is easy for man who's about to direct his people to kill thousands, but that's how this sort of game goes. << Wing leaders, sound off and give status: Bravado, Vendetta, Hurricane, Buster. Report. >> The last two are the new bomber group and its escorts, a squadron of old Y-wings brought to modern speed and polished. Prepared to do the heavy work, they float in space escorted by the /Business's/ pair of Hurricanes. Time to get started.

Mandl *klik* plugs the sensor-studded helmet into their console, the spider-like array of lights flickering in Simonseque sequence as synchronization occurs. Buttons are depressed, switches flicked, toggles at the ready-- Mandl's augmented-reality schematic of the battlefield slowly comes online...

<Vendetta One, all systems go. Standing by to shred some duralloy,> Sion coms, strapped into her seat in the lead Vendetta and with her fingers curling, uncurling, and drumming on the so-far unused throttle lever. The waiting is the hardest part. <Jump coordinates locked in, hyperdrive spinning up.>

Tovana checks over the sensors and targeting controls, familiarizing herself with them in preparation for the upcoming engagement. It was a bit different from what she was used to in the sims, but they would be dealing with a larger and slower moving target than she was used to as well. She makes note of the friendly ships on her sensors. "Feels a bit overkill. Wonder what the enemy will have waiting for us."

Sarna comes walking onto the bridge she is dressed in uniform with a serious look, she moves to sit down and for the moment quietly gets her station set and ready awaiting for things to begin.

<<This is Bravado One, ready and waiting.>> David drawls lazily from the X-Wing. He quickly sets the hyper to the instructed coordinates and awaits the moment where all ships blip out one by one. <<Get in, stop all moving parts from moving, get out. Easy enough.>>

Tamrae stands in the middle of engineering, looking around as she monitors her people as they go from station to station. "Engineerin' ready, boss." she transmits up to the bridge. "All power systems online. Shields online Engines at full. WEapons at full. Ready ta' go."

<< Wyvern here, ready to rock, got a special setup for this oooone!>> calls out the ever over engetic pilot/engineer/general spaz. "Heeey Hitch! We ready to go?" The beeping from her droid can be heard on the channel at this point and Kae tilts her head "Hey, ya don't have to broadcast but I get it!" She says, getting a long drawn out 'dwoooooooo...'

Kae tilts her head "Gonna be just like allll the others..." More beeping "Yus, crazy, scary, lots of wild maneuvers that make you wanna puke chips!"

Young, with long white hair tied back into a ponytail, Lara steps onto the bridge with an expression that suggested she was feigning confidence. In truth, those bright blue eyes darted around cautiously, attempting to do her best to stay out of the way of the experienced bridge crew. It was perhaps the best that she, herself, could offer in this situation-- to not be where someone else needed to be. And yet, Lara strides forward, listening to the sound of the Captain speaking into the radio, the voices that respond, the other crew members that update him from their stations. One, particular, draws her to a sudden stop-- Bravado One. She knew he was out there, but hearing him on the radio sent a chill down her spine. "Captain," Lara announces herself to Adhar when she takes the last few steps up to him. "Where would you like me?"

On the command deck of the /Business/, Adhar wears armor rather than a uniform, because it's a martial situation and uniforms haven't quite been completed. The armor he wears once graced the throne room of the Empire, belonging to one of Palpatine's own guard, now painted blue and removed of cloak and helmet, he looks a bit like half a stormtrooper despite the advanced nature of the design. << Acknowledged. >> Adhar's voice is transmitted through the ship's comms to every waiting pilot. << Prepare for the jump to hyperspace. On my mark. Three...two...one. Mark. >> A nod to the crews in the pits, and Adhar moves to sit in the command chair he's had installed on the deck, gesturing for Lara to come sit by him. "Crews to their guns, and let's be ready to kill the thing its crib once we arrive." Certainly they won't be able to jump /right/ on top of the ship, but they'll be able to arrive within a few minutes away before the guns can be ready. Elsewhere in the ship, cyclopean hyperdrives work, collecting undreamt-of energy from the hypermatter annihilators deep inside its engineering section. For a moment, the ship and its attending fighters are illuminated with the light reflected off Jaynat's ruddy surface; in the next, it leaps into the brief flickering of hyperspace, to arrive in minutes halfway across the star system.

Mandl eases back in their contoured station-couch, mentally running over mnemonics and routines-- perhaps a ludicrous polygonal match-cube fit for Bith intellect or a devilish handheld logic-puzzle occupies their muscles as the starlines blur. Game-face. Game-face.

<Mark. Let's go, fighters!> Sion pulls the little magic levers, and the gun-heavy Vendetta vanishes into hyperspace, bound for glory and danger.

Tovana listens to Adhar's voice over the comms and takes a breath, bracing herself in the gunnery chair for the jump to lightspeed and mentally bracing herself for whatever might wait for them on the other side of the jump.

Right on the mark, David is ready with his hand on the lever. He doesn't immediately push it, though, first watching the Business and a couple of the other ships disappear into the far distance. Another hand sits ready to unlatch the s-foils as soon as the X-Wing comes out of hyperspace, but first there needs to be entering of the hyperspace, and with a determined look, David pushes the lever forward to enter the hyperspace.

"Hyperdrive systems engaging. Good field. Jumping in three...two...one..." Deep in the engine room, the hyperspace core powers up, glowing to brilliant life as it punches a hole in space for the Business to fall through, as Tamrae heads to the shield controls. "I want those shields up and at full power as soon as we're clear. We don't need some lucky shot taking down a system."

Kae grins a bit.. "Okie here we go Hitch!" She calls out at the count down... Kae puts her hands on the levers and then adds. "Hey, track number 1 please!" She calls out, and Hitch beeps an affirmative, before music begins playing... "Lets gooooo!" She calls out and pulls her levers shortly after the first ships start dissapearing into hyper space!

As the stars streak to white lines, Kae tilts her head curiously "You know... I think it would be more interestng to go to plaid rather than blue tunnels... maybe in a biiiig box-shaped tube!" She says and then Hitch beeps at Kae again... "Well I know ya can't do it, you'd probably have to go like super super super fast!" She then shrugs "Maybe at least purple hyperspace lines! I like purple..."

More beeping "Ooh well there is that, I can allways put a screen on..." She says as she flips her visor down and settles back into her seat.

A pair of restraints deploy and wrap around the woman as she goes through her check list. "Power packs full." An afirmative beep. "New shield gens and projectors ready?" Another beep from Hitch "Yup full and rocking." She then tilts her head "New ablaitive armor ready to go too." She then glances over her magazine.. "Two specials ready along with micro torps!" She adds and the girl puts on this kind of manic grin as she listens to the music.

Lara nods quietly, moving up to take the indicated seat beside Adhar. She doesn't interject into his orders, but she does keep a careful eye on the goings on. Her legs cross, and she settles her hands in her lap, her eyes shifting from the viewport to the various stations she can see, taking in the coordination of not only the huge ship she was on, but those that few in tandem with it.

The ships leap into realspace just behind the mark - after all, computing microjumps with capital ships is a difficult thing even with the best astrogators or droids - but the lot of you arrive in perfect formation. Far ahead, the gray shape of the smaller Carrack floats in the dark, apparently blissfully unaware of its situation.

"Shields up, plot target solutions," Adhar commands. "Comms, keep an eye on that ship - if it sends a message to anyone, I want to know about it. Helm! Plot intercept and approach at combat speed. Let's see if we can end this before anyone's the wiser." To the fighters, he toggles over to combat frequency. << All ships, this is the Captain. Approach the target and engage. >>

Mandl's fingers sweep deftly over the sensors, but the Bith is unable to clear random signals and sensor-static from the recent power-fluctuation involved in a hyperspace jump-- nothing resolves. Coolly, calmly they report: "No relevant data at this distance. Situation unclear."

<Copy, Lead. Vendettas, you heard the man. We're going in! Try for target locks, and keep your sensors going.> Sion doesn't waste time calculating vectors, instead taking the triad of strikefighters straight for the sitting cruiser.

Targeting computers ping and whistle until the lock-on tone sounds, and sensors sweep and blip. <All ships: That sitting duck is getting its morning caf! Open fire with all weapons! Take your shots and pull off for the next run once you're in range,> Sion orders. <We'll come around from a different angle. Stay out of /Business's/ firing solution!>

She opens fire from long range, scoring the hull with the Vendetta's quartet of heavy lasers. <Hit it now, before the shields come up!>

Tovana takes note of the target ship on sensors as they emerge from hyperspace, furrowing her brow. "Not even an escort?" she muses as she starts punching in targeting information for the enemy ship. "Maybe we can take this thing out before it calls for reinforcements..." She relays the firing information to the ship's gunners. <Alright, once we're in turbolaser range let's hit it hard and fast with everything we've got.>

David acknowledges the orders verbally, dipping the nose of the X-Wing towards the surveillance ship. A targeting computer emits slow beeps, speeding up until a brief moment where the beep doesn't fade, until it does. Lock. <<Target lock acquired.>> David drawls again. As though it's routine. Which it is, after several years. The pilot controls his breathing, making sure he doesn't accidentally release the torpedo early.

Kae squints as Hitch Dwooos "Yup that's a biggun." She says and then reaches over and activates the Wyverns' targetting computer. A retical appears in the ship's holo-display and Kae proceeds to start locking up the large ship... Meanwhile in the background, her tunes continue to play.

Sarna tilts her head at something that comes over her screen, "Captian, they are broadcasting! I am not sure what it is but its a wide-band signal." she scans over her station. "Most likely a discress call!" she looks back to him.

The approach of the ship and its vanguard of fighters and bombers is not what the crew of the /Debtor's Wail/ was expecting, but it's apparently prepared - its shields snap into life and its hull glows with life as the Consortium ships approach, and the first salvo from its heavy guns snap through space toward the /Serious Business/. At that range, there's no contact, but it's enough to begin painting the picture that it is not defenseless, and it is certainly ready to fight.

"Of course it is," Adhar mutters as Sarna speaks up. "See if you can unravel it, Sarna. All guns, open fire! Helm, bring us around to intercept. Let's put this bird right up in their faces."

Mandl's *tik-tik-tik-tik* yields some results-- pressing the headset to their membranes, they notify the command crew: "Shields are up. The field is weaker to port and starboard to account for sensors and power-distribution nodes. Mandl recommends broadside runs."

<One more volley, Vendettas! Hit 'em hard!> Sion opens fire as she starts her pullout, nearly leaving a coat of paint on the side of the cruiser! She'd rushed the shot in her haste, and it's another grazing hit.

Noting that they're in range, Tovana calls out the orders. <All gunners, open fire!> And they do just that and... most of them miss. Heavy batteries fail to find their target, as do the ions. The regular turbolasers find their mark though and inflict some damage on the ship's shields. Tovana hastily starts making corrections to her firing arcs and feeding that information to the gunners to correct for the next volley.

"Captain!" Sarna calls out after working on figuring out the message, "We are going to have incoming!" she looks to him, "The message is from Jelex Mercenary Starship 'Torana' Its calling for help from the Stiletto a Jelex Mercenaty Frigate. They have help nearby."

Tamrae mmphs, watching the power systems flickering back and forth from impacts. "Keep her steady boys and girls! We'll have entirely too much work to worry about if a little thing like that Carrack manages to punch through those shields!

David approaches the ship. Not too close, but definitely within damage range. He waits, thumb flicking up the cover that shields the torpedo launchers from view. The ship looms in the distance. When the time is right, David pushes the button, sending two torpedos out to the target side by side. <<Payload dropped!>> he announces, waiting briefly to see the purple-hued trail, then curving the X-Wing away. Cool guys don't look at explosions. Or fly directly at them.

Kae squints a bit as she lines up on what she thinks is a hard point on the cruiser. She waits till she's at a good, optimum range then..... << Torpedo away!>> She calls out, and pulls the trigger, a single torpedo lancing out of her fighter and zooming toward the cruiser as Kae pulls away. She keeps her shade visor down as she awaits the rather large explosion.. When it happense, Kae calls out << Booms! Many More Booms!!>> In the background, her flight music is very very much in play, and well seemingly rather loud... Of course then again, this is Kae! And just to emphasise this, Kae's happy cackling can be heard briefly over the music too.

Sarna has been able to decode that the Wail is giving off a directed distress call to a frigate whose name has not yet been heard, even as the Business closes to fire upon the Carrack's weakened sides as directed by Mandl - even though few of the guns make a purchase on the ship's shields, Tovana's gunnery solutions still strip a quarter of the enemy cruiser's deflectors. Meanwhile, David leads Kaelyn and a pair of Consortium Hurricanes in protecting a quartet of Y-wings, known as Buster Squadron, and serving as interceptors. Sion, in Vendetta Leader, is already putting her wing of four Vendettas to the task in firing upon the /Wail/, and soon will able to command their target locks to be used in loosing a volley of powerful, anti-capital concussion warheads against the target.

There are no fighters yet to be seen; there is only the /Business/, its fighters and its weaker prey, carrying out an exchange of silent laser fire in the endless dark. As it has been tradition for thousands of years.

At his seat at the command station, Adhar frowns, leaning back in his vaccuum-sealed armor. << Comms, >> he commands from the headset he wears. << See if you can do something about jamming that distress call. I want us to have killed this thing and gone before anyone shows up. >>

Mandl *tappa-tappa-tappa,* pause. "Energy fluctuations-- ephemeral. Too transitory to discern, focus scan unable to--" Mandl frowns. "... as soon as there is a chance, they disappear. Unknown vector, unknown strength. Useless kriffing machines..."

Down in engineering Tamrae monitors the power systems and the shield systems. No damage as of yet...but only a matter of time, right?

<Launch when ready, Vendettas. I'll keep trying for that shield generator tower,> Sion calls, pointing the ship's nose at the /Debtor's Wail/. Some fine-tuning of her course gets her a good shot at the tower with full guns, while her gunner pickles off two concussion missiles at the ship!

She pulls off and circles to set up for another pass. <Energy on target! Good hits!>

David, in his X-Wing, flies around for another run, making sure never to turn the engines fully towards the cruiser so as to maintain the target lock. <<Coming in again, make room.>> he calls to the other fighters, flexing his fingers on the control stick with his thumb ready to come down. And down it comes, sending another two torpedoes at the shielded Debtor's Wail, which end up exploding on the shields, sending a ripple of energy from the point of impact.

Whatever Tovana was doing differently this time, it seemed to at least partially work. Data is transmitted to the gunners, guns fire, and this time it's the ion cannons and turbolaser batteries that strike the enemy cruiser. "Solid hits..." She mumbles while going over the controls and sensors again to prepare for the next volley. Meanwhile, she catches sight of missiles from the fighters finding their marks. <Nice shooting, everyone! Shouldn't last much longer at this rate!>

Kae stays right on David's Wing, flying quite professionally, even if, in the background, when one can hear Kae's coms there's music playing, and Kae's singing along...

After David fires his torpedos, Kae maintains her position, just staying right on his wing as she rotates her angle of attack, without changing her vector... She then calls out "Pew!" as she squeezes the trigger on her flight stick, a single torpedo blasting out of her launcher, and making a big fireball in space as the cone of 'doom' explodes on the enemy cruiser's hull..

<< Torpedo away!>> is what Kae calls, right after she pulls the trigger, and shortly before the explosion. She then makes a quick flight correct and is back to flying at a normal attitude, staying on David's wing, just in case things get worse...

Her droid beeps and dwoots... at Kae...<Master, Master! You think this is a bit to easy?> Kae then shrugs "Well it's a Carrack cruiser, they're suprised, give them a bit it'll get harder..." A pause... The droid then says... < Didn't answer my question! > Kae blinks and siiighs "Yes Hitch, I fully expect something big and nasty to come blasting in here with wrecking on the mind, and I expect a bunch of fighters with it." She says, and the droid emits a long DWOOooooooo.... "Can say that again!"

Zerna had made her way to the bridge, datapad tucked under har arm. Smiling a bit she seems to be thinking as she watches the monitors. Licking her lips a bit she then glances to Adhar, simply giving him a nod. "Sir." At that her attentions turn back to the battle at hand.

Nubri gulps, running getting stuff for... basically whaever she could expect to the medical support station. She has no idea how many people she can expect, but she does know that expecting few casualties is naive. PErhaps joining helping people in a warzone wasn't the best dea after all?

The flight of four BTL-A4s are making a run at the /Debtor's Wall/, Buster lead calls out over the comms. <<Buster actual to Buster wing, sold tone, launch torpedos!>> Buster lead hits the firing stud to launch his paired torpedos, then breaks high left, pulling up from the run and allowing his weapons to sail towards the target to do their work. Two solid hits against the shields, <<Buster actual, confirms two good hits. Preparing for another run.>> while he breaks away and picks a new vector, he watches his screens to see how the rest of his wing does with their torpedos.

Turbolasers and ion bolts flare between the two vessels as they slowly make the pass between the two; a bright green tide from the /Business's/ guns, matching the crimson from the /Wail/, and blue flashes from both ships' ion cannons snap through space against the shields. The ships pound at one, moving at speed, but it's clear that the Carrack is not going to last but a few passes if they don't do something soon. Adhar commands that the /Business/ match come round behind the smaller ship as it now attempts to get away. << Target the drives, >> he calls to the gunnery crews. << Don't let them get out of range. >>

Nodding to Zerna as she arrives at his side, Adhar looks to her. "What do you think, Ze? Too good to be true or no?"

Meanwhile, a ripple starts in the fabric of spacetime behind the two ships...

<One more pass...> Sion grates out, pulling the heavy fighter around for another shot. Or preferably more. But no, only one for her. How do you miss something /that big/?

Her gunner has better luck with the torpedoes.

They had the enemy Carrack against the ropes. That much was readily apparent. <All gunners be prepared for potential new hostiles inbound. Let's finish this quick.> Tovana transmits targeting data and the ship's guns open fire on the enemy Carrack again. As the enemy ship's shields fall blue lightning crackles over the Carrack and explosions riddle the hull as the ions and batteries find their mark. "Come on..." she quietly urges, looking to their bombers in the hopes that they find their marks.

"Reroute power from the other shields, even them out!" Tamrae barks, moving over as the ship shudders slightly from the minor impacts.

"....too good...." At that Zerna takes a step forward, watching the monitors. Pursing her lips she looks to data pad, tapping on it rapidly. "Captain, we're about to be stuck between a rock and hard place...quick and in a hurry. We have ships incoming sir." With that she looks over to Adhar. "If they're capitals, we might end up firing between two warships at once. We have to make choice of what's our priority."

Kae tilts her head "Like waaay too easy." She mutters to her self. As the Carracks' shields go down she smiles "Okie guys, lets take it to em." She mutters..

She lines up for her next pass behind David and as David unloads a pair of torpedos, Kae cuts loose with her own, landing another bright flash and explosion as her one projectile lands home...

Kae pulls up hard, rolls the fighter and looks over her shoulder toward the cruiser... << Detecting multiple hull breaches folks!>> in the background of course is Kae's music playing away as loud as ever.

Kae's droid beeps at her repeatedly <So if y'all take this thing out, it means we can jump out and no more fight right?> Kae blinks "Yup in theory! We'll get to see a nice explosion at least < Explosions are overrated>.

Kae blinks, then flails "They're pretty!" Hitch responds < Overrated> "Preeeeeeettttyyyy!" This argument can go on a while really.

When the shields fizzle out, David smirks. He moves his fighter to the back of the cruiser, high above it. With a sweet somersault/u-turn, he gets right where he wants to be, tearing through the spine of the Carrack from the engines with the laser barrage from the X-Wings, explosions scoring the uniform gray the Empire loved so much.

Buster leader gets caught with his engines hanging in the breeze, taking a couple hits before adjusting to a new vector and coming back around. <<Buster actual, coming about for another pass. Solid tone, torpedos away!>> this time he rolls over and drops down through the engagement circle as he tries to break any hostile locks. He cycles another load of torpedos into the tubes, and goes evasive, watching for another solid attack vector on the ship.

Nubri blinks, starting to order the crews in the station around. It feels.... weird, to suddenly be giving orders. She barely was in Med School. And hunting bounties. But oone knows that

Indeed, no one knows what Nubri was before her medical career - and no one knows what's coming into realspace, just that it's imminent, and likely angry.

But here it comes.

The /Debtor's Wail/ is a shell, now, burning in space; its hull perforated from turbolaser barrages and proton warheads, hyperdrive and weapons ionized and escape impossible, the crew does the only thing it can. Escape pods begin to fly from the impending wreck like ticks from a dying bantha, ovoid launches that depart and begin to head off in multiple directions. "Captain, they're abandoning ship," calls Sarna from her station, and Adhar stands up hard.

<< Target the shuttles, >> he commands the gunnery station. << Get tractor locks and haul them in. I want -- >>

He heard Zerna's words, and he looks to her as she speaks; but as they prepare for victory, the blocky, violent shape of a heavily modified Nebulon-B frigate appears, its hull encased in heavy armor and its weapons far and away removed from what it rolled of the yards with decades ago, spewing death from dozens of turbolasers and a brace of torpedoes from its forward belt. Though only the heavy guns make contact, the rain of searing crimson light batters the Strike cruiser's shields, causing the /Business's/ deflector envelope to light up like the fireworks of a winter festival. The bridge is filled with klaxons, reporting heavy, immediate reduction of ship's defenses, and leaving Adhar looking back to his own chair and its inbuilt sensor display.

<< Damn it all, >> he mutters, then barks, << Bring us around! All guns, target the enemy frigate and destroy it. Fighters, finish off that damned spy ship! We'll have to get out of here if we can! >>

Mandl sends screenshots and summaries to the gunners, and across the bridge-- a full complement of turbolasers, ten torpedo tubes, point-defense lasers. "Armed and armored, but not impregnable. We must target her weapons-systems."

<Space is suddenly getting crowded around here, /Business/. We'll have to try and shoot from long distance!> Sion coms, opening fire.

The lack of results is less due to accuracy issues (no matter how much the galaxy's POS underpinnings might mandate otherwise) and more because the devastated /Wail/ has so much damage that it's hard to hit anything that /isn't/ on fire, blown to uselessness, or otherwise already out of commission. The shots strike home and have no effect. The gunner's missiles are similarly wasted.

Tovana spots the newly arrived frigate on sensors. "Now that's new..." She works the sensors and targeting controls to focus on the enemy frigate. <Alright gunners, you know the drill! Let's hit this one with everything!> Tovana calls out over comms. And to her surprise... they follow her orders exactly! Ions, turbolasers, and turbolaser batteries fire out from the Serious Business and the frigate's shields flash as they all find their mark.

When the new orders come in along with the Nebulon-B, David smirks. All in due time. <<Go for the engines on that Neb!>> he calls. <<It's the only part the hull can't cover.>> he adds by way of explanation. <<And I'll be along in a minute.>> His next run is another for the Debtor's Wail, similar to his last one but from the other side. It's fine, it's not like any of their systems are online anymore.

Kae blinks at the frigate, she blinks again, and another blink, and she starts bringing the Wyvern around "Hey, Hitch, Angle the deflectors, We're gonna try and get under that frigate's shields and take out its sensors." She says to the little droid..

The droid habitually beeps in acknowledgement, angles the shields, then realizes what Kae's doing as she's turning toward the frigate and speeding up? Yup Kae's firewalling the throttle.... And for once she's quiet..

Even over the coms one can hear her droid give off a tell tale, BB/R2 scream just before Kae is about to contact the frigate's shields, then well, the fighter glances off, zipping off in another wild direction as Kae is trying to fight the thing back for controll... HEr droid is mean time calling out tons of curses and other things in binary, happily reminding Kae just how bad an idea she was having.

"Heeey! It was a great idea! I just didn't execute it right!!!"

Zerna seems to be intently watching the monitors, pursing her lips. Looking to her data pad, a hips is popped to the side as she taps a booted foot. "Hm." She looks up and then back over to Adhar. "Pretty sure that David's right, Captain." At that she then turns her data pad to him as she steps closer to him, showing him some simulations. "However....it's also probably going to turn and track us with the fore arc to maximize it's torpedo fire. We need them to get to work on the engines."

Sarna is paying close attention to the comms listening and watching for anything, when she looks up. "Captian! They are they are launching fighters and directing targeting against out modular attachment points!"

With the new ship coming into play, the spy ship is less of a problem and more of a bonus to be claimed. <<Buster wing, come around on that Neb. We need to slow that down so we can get the /Business/ out of this sector.>> he brings his Y-wing around, and starts processing his lock on the new ship from its aft. Staring into the engines, he waits for his system to give him a good tone. "Come on, come on. Give me a lock." <<Get ready for rapid exfil when called by the boss. Do your damage and plan for safe escape vectors.>>

Given a far stronger opponent, the Business's guns have a much better set of targets - and her crews, directed by Tovana's gunnery solutions, are busy making them pay the price for showing up. But as the Business and the slab-hulled frigate trade fountains of lethal color and batter at each other's shields, a proper naval slug match in proper effect, the sleek, angular eagles of the trademark Kespanian Preybirds emerge from the enemy ship's starboard hangar. Like all the rest, these ships are heavily upgunned and just as heavily plated, their launchers replaced with torpedo launchers and their heavy lasers doubled. Slower, but ridiculously powerful. And now they prepare to descend upon the ship.

Adhar shakes his head, giving additional orders across the way. << We've done our job, >> he calls over the link. "All fighters, depart back to Jaynat. We'll cover you. >> Then more orders: << Pound that thing and get its attention! Navigation, prepare for the jump back to base! >>

A fighting withdrawal. After all, we've already won. >>

Mandl starts shutting down combat-essential systems, hopefully restoring power necessary to hyperjump-- but their eyes linger on the floating escape pods and the signals there, absently.

<Wise choice. We didn't bring enough crackers for those overgunned parrots. Vendettas, use the prearranged jump coordinates! We're gone! Gunners, keep the tail clear!> Sion alters course for a quick run out, staying between the /Business/ and the incoming fighters. That should give them something to think about, especially considering those Preybirds' last encounter with the Consortium's bruiser of a strikefighter.

Coordinates are called up, hastily rechecked, and the squadron moves to exit, stage left... once the /Business/ is out.

Kae's shot at again!!! She's nicked laser fire and she peers as her shields flare slightly. "Oooh, wow, they held! I soo like the fact I upgraded this thing to a heavier frame with bigger shields!" She calls out cheerfully. She notices folks jumping out and of course the order and Kae waggles her arms briefly before taking up the controls. "Time to go Hitch." She says and the droid is now beeping cheerful exhuberance!

<< Okie dokie folks, jumping out now!>>Kae inputs the jump out coordinates and as soon as her hyperdrive que's her she tugs the hyperdrive levers and the fighter jumps out...

Zerna seems to be focused but then she looks up. "We need to just move on about our day and call it a victory in our mission." Looking over to Adhar she nods. "Let's get this puppy started, hm?" Licking her lips she then looks back to her readings.

<<Buster actual to buster wing, all flights bug out, head for home.>> Buster leader calls over the comms, telling his team to bug out. He waits a few more seconds though, and is rewarded with a solid tone. "Firing." he hits the firing stud for his torpedos, and adjusts slightly for a bonus, launching his bombs at extreme range before banking out and spooling up his hyperdrive and hauling once his nav computer is set. He doesn't even look back towards the ship and if his torpedos or bombs hit, parting shots, never going to be a kill. But would have been a hell of a bullseye.

Sarna is quiet for a few moment and then there is a bit of a giggle that comes for the chiss woman, the captian will know that giggle the woman has done something and she seems all to happy about it. "Captian it seems they were going to torpedo us." she used the words seem, she grins brightly at Adhar then goes back to her comms watching her station as she does a little wiggle dance in her seat its a slight one, only someone watching her would really notice the happy dance.

A few ships get their parting licks as they pass, particuarly Buster Leader, but the Business keeps the angry frigate at bay while the strike craft all get to safety. The escape pods are left to dangle, reclaimed by their comrades - and while this is unfortunate, the mission wasn't prisoners but the destruction of the /Wail/.

<< All right, >> Adhar commands once the last fighter makes the jump, << Vendettas, jump with me. Navigation, engage hyperdrive, get us out of here! >>

Passing once more, the ships trade a final volley of turbolaser fire before the /Business/ moves at full speed, braving the frigate's torpedo tubes as it speeds away. But there is no volley, and Sarna tells the story why - and he gives the smiling Chiss a wink with his good eye as she does her little chairbop. "Good work, Subofficer," he tells her through the link. "Good work."

Deep inside the ship, massive machines twist space around the vessel, and suddenly there is no /Serious Business/, just a momentary blur and rapidly-dispersing afterimage. Mission accomplished. Well done.