Log:Array Consortium: Demolition Flight

Demolition Flight

Location: Jaynat, Sarkhai
Participants: Sion, Naldana, David Ironside

As the allied forces press their invasion, Complex Three is in the crosshairs of bombers launched by the Gray Legion. Consortium pilots are there to keep the bombers safe, and to help them destroy the city's defenses.

Simplicity is the word for the Consortium right now: hose down enemy targets with torpedoes and laser fire, obliterate everything in sight, and facilitate the gains that the Gray Legion is making against the Kespanian forces dug in within the mining domes. With Complex Five quickly crumbling against the Legion's forces, Complex Three is the next target on the Legion's hit list. Five and Three bracket the largest complex, Complex One - the heart of Kespanian power on the planet. Taking both complexes will pave the way to One, and taking One will all but guarantee victory.

Tonight the Consortium will be pulling escort duty on a wing of TIE Bombers belonging to the Legion's air wing. Built into the side of a mountain, the 'domes' of Complex Three are largely shielded within millions of tons of rock, leaving a torpedo assault on precise points of the great rock the best way to rattle loose the defensive outer structures and leave the interior open to entry by the Legion's troops. Hurtling through the thickly clouded skies, six bombers are protected by a group of Consortium ships: Sion leading the wing in Array One, seconded by David in his Bravado, along with Naldana and a newer pilot name of Denek Callin flying Hurricanes. Descending upon the planet, the great black rock that houses the target complex stands hard and angry on the far horizon.

<< Array Leader, >> calls the leader of the bomber wing, designated Conqueror, << This is Conqueror Leader. We are all green and ready for approach. >>

<<Good and ready to go.>> Naldana is in the ship, his fingers are playing over the console doing a quick check down, and then he is whistling into the cockpit, without the mic.<Hurricane 1, ready to fight and make it happen.>

David chimes in. <<Bravado, reporting in. Just tell me what and how often.>> he intones, already having opened the s-foils for his attack. <<Maybe they'll have air support this time, huh?>> he adds as if shooting stationary targets is wearing on him. Life in a paramilitary organization, hm?

Alas, ground assaults of this kind are sometimes devoid of air support - it's the unfortunate nature of the beast when the enemy is cut off before their invasion can crystallize. Like a flock of murderous birds, the two wings of ships approach the mountain - only to be met by a torrent of crimson light that hurtles from a variety of defensive emplacements. << Array, this is Conqueror, >> the lead bomber signals over comms. << Looks like there's a pretty thick layer of defense fire out there. Think you could do something about that? >>Ùªr

Naldana is quiet as he is piloting forward, his fingers reading his weapons, going live, as he watches the others waiting for the order, to start it up. His fingers are on them, as he is ready to bring it on, to fight for the honor of his crew. He has to prove himself, now he went down last time, but he refuses to this time.

<That's our cue, all right,> Sion coms. <All Arrays, we've got guns to silence. Let's get to it!>

With that, she nodes the E-Wing down, dropping at a dizzying rate to get under that flak curtain. With luck, she can pull up and take out two or three emplacements before they can adjust their aim for self-defense.

<<With you, Array Wing.>> David comms, following suit in diving into and underneath the anti-air range. When he's there, he breaks off from the formation to let the Arrays do their own thing under Sion while he does the same, alone.

While the bombers reduce their speed to low cruise, the Consortium ships dive below the level of the quad turrets - flying nap-of-the-earth over the rocky terrain. Down here, the red rain of death cannot yet fall upon the ships, giving them a momentary window of unmolested approach. The mountain grows closer with every second, however, and soon they will be in range of the blistering turrets.

There is a moment, as he starts to boot up up to full tilt, as Naldana watches it all with a little chuckle, as his teeth are bite the bottom of his lips.<So then, who is ready to do this stuff!> His voice is booms out of his voice is over the mic.<Six things ahead, and a bunch of speeders, this might be bad. Get ready.>4

There is a moment, as he starts to boot up up to full tilt, as Naldana watches it all with a little chuckle, as his teeth are bite the bottom of his lips.<So then, who is ready to do this stuff!> His voice is booms out of his voice is over the mic.<Six things ahead, that look like a speeders>

<Well, so much for this being easy,> Sion coms, keeping the E-Wing at low altitude. <Hurricanes, you heard him: We've got airspeeders ahead. See if you can scatter that formation long enough for Dave and me to knock out some of those guns!>

So saying, she goes into a targeting run on one of the emplacements, lining up for a proton torpedo launch.

David rogers the report by Naldana, already adjusting targeting parameters to focus on the towers. <<Nobody said it was going to be easy. Just time-consuming. I'm on them like stink on a Talz.>> He's already lining up a run on the nearest tower before long.

They aren't airspeeders, but landspeeders - big barge-like craft, mining carriers with thickly armored hides. Their beds have been rigged with racks of rockets, which they now spew in clouds toward the approaching fighters. No good, that, as whistling death comes hurtling like blasting locusts their way from the cold and windswept earth.

With a quick bank of his wing, and then he is diving towards them as he is opening fire with his lasers, at a carrier with a whoop of pleasure.<Got one of em, let's let lose the war of trouble.> Naldana's is having the time of his life, and then he is zooming around in a quick bank.

<Whoa! Red-glaring rain incoming!> Sion yelps, quickly snap-rolling up and over what looks like a curtain of red streaks that flash by right where she was. <Watch out for those things!>

But she hasn't taken her eyes off the target, and the sound of the tone brings a smile to her lips. She pulls the trigger and sends a torpedo streaking away!

The resulting explosion is impressive, and it's immediately followed by secondary explosions as power capacitors cook off. <Array Leader to all ships, scratch one gun tower! Going after the others!>

David smirks. Just like the simulations. And by simulations, I mean the last few times the other side had nothing in the way of air support. David rolls the X-Wing handily out of the way of the incoming rockets, warned in time by Sion's alarmed call. His ship fires off a barrage of fiery red laser bolts, wiping another tower off the map shortly after.

The salvoes of rockets, however thick, prove no threat to the fighters as they move toward the mountain, taking out a pair of turrets in bursts of flame and shrapnel. The turrets ignore the fighters for the moment, however, pouring fire in the direction of the bombers. << Array, this is Conqueror, >> calls the lead bomber pilot over comms, << We're in trouble here! We have rockets coming up from the surface and we are getting penned up for the guns to take down! >>

<Going in hot.> Naldana's voice is comes over the coms, as he is starts to open fire at the one that was hit, with a wicked chuckle. He is finshing that job, his hands on the controls, to do another roll trying to get his next target lined up.

David picks up the plea for help from the bombers, acknowledging. <<Bravado here. I'm on my way.>> he comms, but not before lighting up the tower ahead of him, shredding a section of it to cut power to the business end. Immediately after the turrets sink into inactivity, David turns his X-Wing around to fight off the speeders.

<Acknowledged, Conqueror. There are a lot of these things; we're working as fast as we can. Trust me, it's no more fun down here than it is up there!> Sion snaps the nose of the E-Wing around and centers her crosshairs on another tower. She takes a deep breath and pulls the trigger...

Three bolts of crimson annihilation lance into the perfect spot: The main generator on the weapons tower. The resulting bonfire lights up much of the night in that area. <Scratch another one, Conqueror! Is that flak curtain getting moths yet?>

With towers falling left and right, and the rocket artillery still failing to make a purchase, the Consortium is carrying the day - but the laser curtain is still blazing. << Negative, >> calls Conqueror, << These damn rockets have taken out two of our bombers! We need your help to save the rest, we need to turn back. >>

<Let's get these guys out of here.> Naldana is holds back for a moment, asking the world if we are going to getinto the universe.<Now then, let's get outta here, and come on back for more war another day.>

<If that's your decision, get turned around!> Sion replies. <We'll make sure they don't get you while you're pulling out!>

The Array Consortium certainly has a thing for impossible, thankless missions, she reflects as she Immelmanns and rockets back toward the new formation of rocket barges. Lining up on one of them, she pulls the trigger and erases it from existence with a satisfying boom. <That rocket fire getting any less intense up there?>

David shakes his head, turning the ship on the rocket-bearing speeders and letting loose in their path, throwing up geographical debris along with one speeder. Why retreat now, with the objective within reach? He peers up, watching the TIE Bombers pass. There's a certain irony in the X-Wing pilot flying to save a couple of TIEs, and it isn't lost on him.

Speeders go up in flames left and right as the Consortium fighters lay down heavy fire to take out a number of the Kespanian rocket barges. The shower of flames and shrapnel seems enough - though another cloud of rockets goes up, they go wide as their crews panic to try and pull away. The bombers are able to wheel away, even as the city's guns still burn air with their lances, upward and out through the cloud canopy.

<< Force be with you, Array, >> calls Conqueror Leader over the circuit. << Follow us up, and we'll be back to hit 'em again. >> And that, at least, is true; though the bombers are routed this time, those defense turrets can't be rebuilt overnight. The siege is still going strong.