Log:Cutting TIEs
Cutting TIEs
OOC Date: June 6. 2018
Location: Kwain Mining Facility, Kwain
Participants: Gren Delede, Ektor-Xer Apollyon, Hazar Jast, Dawn Antilles, Jessika Pava, Sar Yavok, Nova Korell, Karas Darkwing
Kwain. Home to a huge mining facility built straight into a giant asteroid. It is a valuable enough target to contain it's own TIE garrison, as well as relatively heavy anti-air defenses built right into the facility. It's this target that will see the first use of the captured TIE fighter. The plan is simple enough, as was covered in the briefing. An experienced pilot will take Fidox 1(the TIE) into the First Order hangar, and open fire...hopefully disrupting the defences so that the remainer of the small Resistance strike force can enter what are sure to be narrow, cramped, and well-defended tunnels. The target is the central core that powers the whole place. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Snug in the cockpit of the captured TIE, arguably the Resistance's most experienced TIE pilot is clad in his form-fitting old Imperial flightsuit. And, ever since he put it on, he's been walking around like the cock of the walk. He really likes the way it shows off his svelte frame. Gren glances over his shoulder at the junior officer behind him. "This is going to be some particularly crazy flying, Antilles. I hope that you're up for it...." A pause. "If not...it's too late now."
The plan calls for the Resistance ships to form up on the edge of the system, and wait for Fidox One to call to microjump in, and fly directly into the (hopefully) suppressed hangar, and the tunnels beyond. For now, Gren and Dawn are alone, approaching the First Order facility. "Alright, Leftenant. Time to request immediate docking...our fuel is almost out. Make them believe it." A little smile crosses his face, though it is invisible behind his full black helmet. He's letting Dawn do some acting.
---
Ektor sits in the pilot's seat of the freshly repaired (set still smelling of ozone) Green 2, floating in space with the microjump coordinates dialed into the NavComp. Idly, looking over one shoulder at his newest gunner, he drawls off comms, "Not for nothing, but so you know: that seat might be a little bit haunted, yeah? You start hearing voices it's probably nothing." Idly drumming gloved hands on the bottom edge of the canopy's frame. "Yanno, it didn't occur to me until just now.. but this plan seems kinda like- not great, yeah? Eh, maybe it's just me."
---
Karas had met with all of Red Squadron to inform them of the mission and what was going to happen. With that being said and they are waiting for the call to come in, Karas sits in the cockpit of Red 1 and older model T-65c X-Wing. A smile plays along his lips, it's nice ot be back in a X-Wing he didn't care, he preferred this fighter more than others. Still he glances through his cockpit at the other members of Red Squadron. <<Alright people be ready, you've been briefed.>> he says before they are ready to launch.
---
Riding in the gunner's seat behind Ektor, Hazar Jast is on the turret and ready for anything. His hands rest loosely on the controls of his vessel as he waits for targets to appear. Turning his head to look towards Ektor, the young sergeant replies with, "Roger that, sir. I'll stop answering their questions." He scans their surroundings, then chuckles a little bit, "I've been part of worse plans. Land on Starkiller Base, be a distraction, hope you get off before it blows up."
---
In her few years in the New Republic's navy, Dawn Antilles was the ever present shadow that followed Rear Admiral Watts wherever he went; it stands to reason that in her new life in the Resistance, she would be doing the same.
But never in her entire life did she expect to be in the back end of a TIE fighter.
Clad in a black, fitted flightsuit that can't help but make her feel slightly self-conscious (less about her appearance, and more due to the fact that she is /no/ pilot or gunner), she remains at the beck and call of Glen Delede, who has elected to fly in this mission himself, bringing with him the full brunt of his experience to bear. She is not one to refuse, but that isn't to say that she isn't afraid, because she is. Her heart is in her throat and her blood pumps frenetically through her veins, rendering her almost lightheaded. Fire and lightning coruscate down her spine.
But there are benefits from Fear, if nothing else it triggers an unforgiving dump of adrenaline through her system, setting every synapse on fire, and considering how dangerous this mission is, she is going to need all of them.
/This is going to be some particularly crazy flying, Antilles./
"Yes, sir," she squeaks.
/I hope you're up for it./
"I'm always up whenever you need me, sir."
/If not...it's too late now./
"I know, sir." DOES SHE EVER.
She isn't entirely unarmed as the TIE sails towards the mining facility of Kwan, carrying a communications jamming array with her and having just attached it to one of the consoles before her. Given her first task, she swallows and leans back against her seat, and takes a deep breath. Fingers lift to hail the mining facility:
"Operations control, this is Fidox-1 requesting /immediate/ docking privileges and support." Her voice carries with it a sense of panicked urgency, using her fright to her advantage. "I repeat, /immediate/ docking privileges and support. We are low on fuel and we need to report in, the brass is going to want to know what we found out there."
---
There's another X-Wing in the Squadron formation, and Jessika Pava is behind the stick. She's snug in her seat, harness strapped tight, and gloved fingers around the yolk. A Tierfon Yellow Aces helmet with its visor pulled down rests even more snug on her head. Old, familiar lights are reflected in that visor, and Jessika glances across her instrument panel. With it's s-foils currently locked in flight position, the snubfighter looks more sleek than it's iconic shape. In the astromech slot, an R3 unit is busy at work making sure the micro-jump coordinates are accurate for when Jessika needs to jump. "Listen, I know what the others told you back in the launch bay, but it's fine. I wasn't responsible for the last astromech that got fried flying with me."
A bleep replies, and Jessika scoffs. "No, it wasn't. I can't control what a TIE pilot chooses to shoot. And that was a long time ago, okay? How long have we been flying together?" Another series of bleeps and aurebesh starts scrolling across the panel. "No, no, no. And I'm warning you, if you change those micro-coordinates to a star, you're dying, too. There's no ejector seat for astromechs." There's some warbling in response. "I don't know?? Maybe mechanics didn't think it would be a good idea for an astromech to get cold feet and eject on her pilot?? Listen, STOP! Focus! We could get the call at any second."
---
Gren sighs, as Dawn's attempt at gaining them access fails. He clears his throat, and keys the radio. <<Sorry, Fidox. The kid's new, and a little shaken up. Terorrists hit our convoy. I'm transmitting coordinates now. We're the only survivor, and I'd like to get some deck under my feet, Control.>> There is a delayed pause, but finally the reply crackles over. <<Terrorists? Understood, Fidox. We're transmitting docking vectors, now.>>
Fidox 1's pilot guides the new model Eyeball toward the defended hangar bay, and can't help but add, for Dawn's benefit. "Just have to know how to talk to them, Schoolgirl. Hold on. Once we're in, I'm not wasting any time. Do feel free to spray fire wildly, if you please."
The TIE glides into the First Order hangar...it's got a small TIE garrison, a number of defensive turrets, and a larger number of mining ships parked in a well-ordered fashion. Techs scurry to and fro on the deck. "Lighting them up." Gren mashes his rudder pedal, and guns the Ion Engines, starting a fast spin. He also proceeds to press the firing stud, and starts pumping bursts of green laser fire all over the hangar. The first burst slams into a bulkhead, and the second manages to hit and ignite a fuel cell. It's bright and loud, and distracting. But no real damage is done. The same can't be said for the defensive fire aimed at their TIE. Shields flicker and take heavy damage. <<They know we're here....move in. I repeat, move in.>> He -is- drawing their fire!
---
A long-suffering, mournful squawk from Tenner answers Ektor's optimism. "You hear that, Jast? That was one of them ghosts. Ignore it." A rude beep from the astromech follows. Then, the signal comes, switches are flipped, and levers swiftly drawn. "Time to scratch that itch, gunner; fire control is live, initiating microjump. And.... boom," Ektor murmurs. The old Y-wing blinks through space, going in an instant from empty silence to chaos. Seeing a TIE/fo fighter in the process of launching, Green 2's forward laser cannons tear it apart in a fireball, before the fighter has the chance to return fire. << Is this a new longevity record for sneakiness? I think it is.>>
---
Suddenly there's action all around the Y-Wing. As Jast flies in gunner's seat on the Y-Wing Hazar takes a moment to line up a shot on the first target to cross his sensors, a turret. The first one goes awry and the kid cusses under his breath, "Darn!" That doesn't stop him from trying again, adjusting his aim and sending the First Order emplacement up in flames, "That's better. Not too bad for my first time in a Y-Wing, if I say so myself."
---
Ektor's nickname for her is catching on, and Dawn can't help but fix the man a sheepish look over her shoulder. "Sorry, sir. Performance anxiety. Gets the best of the best and all of that."
But when tasked to spray wildly, she sweats a little. "Just so you know, sir," she says, activating her communications jamming array and targeting the Order's signals now that they've been let inside the mining facility. "I'm an /extremely bad/ shot."
The indicator node spins, shifting between green and red, to denote whether she manages to do it or fail, opting to assist in increasing their fighters' chances if she succeeds. After all, it would make their lives harder, if they can't coordinate with their own defenses.
Hopefully she does /one/ of her tasks properly today. Trembling fingers reach out for the gunnery array before her, squeezing her digits around them. It has been years since she's done any shooting, not since the academy. "Oh stars, oh stars, oh stars..."
She turns and fires at the nearest vulnerable piece of the facility she manages to detect; she knows /what/ to hit, at least, given her engineering acumen. But actually managing to cause any damage is another story.
---
Jumping along with the rest of the group is Green Leader. The black Y-Wing with green accents looks cool as hell, to be honest. <<Don't crowd each other. Single formation. Spread out when you can, but don't get greedy,>> Sar instructs, sliding the throttle forward as he enters real-space once more.
<<Let's go to work,>> he says as he proceeds to set in on them. Lighting up those forward cannons, Green Leader rains fire on one of the turrets, causing it to explode into a burst of space-fire.
---
The call comes over the communications band to move in. Jessika makes her jump. Bright lines, white space, and then darkness, all in the span of a few seconds. The Incom T-65 X-Wing comes out of its microjump and Jessika immediately flips the switch that splits the s-foils and locks them into attack position. As soon as the panel reads they're locked, Jessika pushes the throttle forward to kick all four engines to maximum speed. Ahead, through the bubble of the landing bay's raised shielding, Jessika can see explosions going off. Something's either going right, or wrong. It's too early to tell. All she knows is that they're supposed open fire. Open fire she does, as the reticle on her X-Wing's instrument panel shows she's not staring straight out into space.
---
Spark beeps at Karas and when he was about to speak to his droid, the call comes in. <<Red Squadron jump and engage!>> Karas checks the coordinates and quickly pull the lever and his X-Wing jumps, <<May the Force be with Us.>> he says into the comm and once his fighter comes out, <<S-Foils in attack position. Engage and attack>> he calls and as the S-Foils open, Karas feels the familiar thrum of his X-Wing and as he sees one of the TIEs, Karas angles in and snaps off a quick succession of shots, two quickly takes out the TIE. <<Splash 1.>>
---
The call comes over the communications band to move in. Jessika makes her jump. Bright lines, white space, and then darkness, all in the span of a few seconds. The Incom T-65 X-Wing comes out of its microjump and Jessika immediately flips the switch that splits the s-foils and locks them into attack position. As soon as the panel reads they're locked, Jessika pushes the throttle forward to kick all four engines to maximum speed. Ahead, through the bubble of the landing bay's raised shielding, Jessika can see explosions going off. Something's either going right, or wrong. It's too early to tell. Racing into the hangar, Jessika opens fire at the defenses as she passes, hoping to score a few strikes so the ones flying in behind her aren't as at risk.
A TIE preparing for launch erupts in its docking clamps as super-heated tibanna gas melts through its hull and reduces it to nothing but smoldering wreckage between a pair of wings. One less eyeball to worry about as they blitz into the shaft to begin their attack run.
---
"Take a deep breath, Antilles. You've got this. Stop shooting, though. " Gren's voice is calm in the cockpit, trying to keep the young officer from getting too flustered. There aren't many TIEs left in the hangar, though a few have managed to make it airborne, and are likely to chase them into the tunnels. His finger finds the trigger again, and he walks fire up into a turret guarding the yawning mouth of their objective. It explodes, and lights the way in flame. <<Fidox 1, entering the tunnels. Tally-ho, people. Schoolgirl will keep track of everyone, and transmit directions if we get turned around.>> The stolen TIE fighter rolls into the dark, and confined tunnel system, dodging past a pair of mining ships, laden with ore. "Nice tight fit in here, isn't it? You need to work on your gunnery skills, Leftenant. Fire control is important for any bridge officer." Just chatting away, as if they're not blazing toward likely death.
The jamming did not seem to work, as ground crews and turret crews seem to be coordinating, if the sheer amount of encrypted traffic in the area can be trusted as a good gauge.
---
Ektor prompts aloud of Hazar, incredulously, "Did you seriously just say 'darn'?? What are you, kriffing six? Keep shooting, kid, and let these Hutt-suckers have it hard, yeah?" He's grinning despite the profanity as the battered old warhorse charges into the fray. << I hear you, Green Leader- OH WHAT WAS THAT DREK??>> his latter outburst resulting from a burst of heavy laser fire originating from Fidox 1's turret that sends bolts of emerald death searing past the fighter's nose. A deft maneuver pulls the Y-wing out of harm's way, but that was close. <<Are you kidding me?>> he demands over the comms, as Green 2 veers through the hangar toward the mineshafts. A mining ship leaves its moorings as the Y-wing swoops past, and the two seem destined for a collision until a masterful maneuver of the light bomber threads around the craft in a tight spiral, harmlessly. Hang on, gunner!
---
<<Out of the way, Two,>> remarks Green Leader as the black Y-Wing (now complete with a gunner in the form of Nova Korell) whips around the near-collision and into one of the tunnels. "How's our six lookin', Korell?" he asks over his shoulder.
---
Once told to stop shooting, Dawn lets go /immediately/ and lets Gren take control of the weapons systems away from her. There's a quiet breath of gratitude there; giving her a weapon will only make her a liability to the rest of them.
The chastisement is taken in good stride, though. She /knows/ she's not the best when it comes to physical endeavours. "Yes, sir," she says quietly. "I'll get some simulation training in." She makes another attempt to jam communications in the facility, now that they're past the border and are diving inside the tunnels - maybe it'll help to get closer to the heart of the thing.
Keeping an eye on the radar, communications from the other X-wings filter in through her comms, and she calls up the TIE's navigation controls. The yell from Ektor has her wincing in her seat. <<Sorry, sorry, Green Two! Nice reflexes, though!>> Her voice would be recognizable, /oh god what's she doing here/?!
It's dark, but her scanners are active - digital readouts of the tunnels slowly come together in her screens. <<It's too dark, we're going to have to be careful for a little bit until. More bogeys are headed our way, though.>>
---
Moving on from the obliterated TIE wreckage, Red Two sweeps her craft through the ensuing chaos in the hangar with deft movements befitting a veteran X-Wing pilot behind the controls of a familiar craft. Just like that, she's in the tunnels, and the blazing, stark whiteness of the hangar turns into the dark, jagged texture of the mined walls of the asteroid facility.
<<Red Two is in the tunnels.>> Darkness envelopes the cockpit save for the lights flickering on the instrument panel, but Jessika doesn't fly blind. Aside from the scans provided by Case, she's also brushing another button on the panel that suddenly brightens the way with the snubfighter's forward flood lights. If Jessika were claustrophobic, she'd be feeling it right now, because this is absurd. Seeing it for real is different than hearing about it in the briefing. There's not much maneuvering room here. Not like in the void. Still, she sets a lower route than the craft in front of her, so the gunner of the TIE/sf isn't blasting at her as they race through the tunnel. "Case, get those proton torpedos ready."
---
Having rolled away from the explosion, but as he does Karas pulls back hard on the stick to loop up and around and dive into the tunnel. <<Red Squadron, follow and fly cover.>> he calls. Hearing Red 2 having entered the tunnel, Karas is following, but as the X-Wing twists and re-orients, though he didn't see how close he was and he has to break away and enter into a different tunnel, scraping the under side of his fighter and grunting and cursing. <<I'm off course, but will be to you soon 2. Watch yoru placing as you enter Red.>> Karas calls to his squadron.
---
In the turret of Green One, Nova Korell is having trouble keeping up with the twirls and dips of the Y-Wing. And no, she doesn't include the pilot in that latter category.
Trying to get an idea of the positions of her friends and foes alike in this snaking labyrinth, she ends up blasting part of the tunnel as the fighter noses down and up dramatically to clear that near-collision. She can't even tell who did the near-colliding! "All I can tell you is that some TIEs are back there. The tunnels are generating so much interference that sensors aren't giving me much of a picture!"
---
Fidox One whips around a blind corner, and laser fire barks out from the darkness. The nimble TIE spins on its axis to evade the incoming laser bursts, and Gren let's loose with a little whoop. He's enjoying himself. A glance down at his console to mark the location, and he frowns..."Ah. Leftenant. Please check your map again." <<Ignore the last navigation instructions. Transmitting updated directions. You've got turrets coming up, so stay sharp.>> The darkness is pervasive, save for mining rigs lit up, here and there. It's a crowded and dangerous place. The trio of First Order TIEs chasing the formation, and ripping indiscriminate fire up the tunnel doesn't make it any less dangerous, to be sure.
---
Ektor is mercifully silent on comms, only his gunner can hear the response to Dawn's apology. A few profanities sprinkled into a wordless yell of frustration, but then it's back to the business of trying not to crash the craft into one of the planes of rock surrounding them on all sides. He sounds pretty normal (for Ektor) by the time Gren transmits and he reports, <<Green Two, I hear you boss. In the shaft, deflectors at full.>> He adds, aloud, "The only friendly TIE is in front of us, so keep scratching them trigger fingers, yeah?" The light bomber whispers through the rocky corridor smoothly, avoiding rocks and enemy turrets alike, but for once Ektor is not gleefully returning fire with the forward cannons.
---
She seems to get a grip on her sanity at the sound of that yell in the cockpit, Dawn's head turning over her shoulder to look at the rear admiral as another TIE goes down in the dark. It seems to galvanize her, snaps her brain back into place, and she turns back to her communications array, fingers flying over the controls.
"C'mon, work work work work work..." she whispers, the module spinning on its axis until it goes still, and the indicator lights go green. "YES!" The signal goes out, jamming the enemy's communications line the closer they get to the facility's heart. "See if you can coordinate blind," she murmurs, before turning her attention back to her navigation computers - her scanner's data compilation is almost complete...
...and that, too, goes green. She whips her head back around again towards Gren. <<We're clear here, but we're going to have to bank a hard right in around five hundred feet - there's clearer tunnels there, but I think we'll get to our objective faster if we cut through here.>> She transmits it to Gren and the rest of the attack corps, with a red line showing them the route. <<It's going to be pretty cramped until we get to the core, which is either a good thing or a bad thing - if they want to get at us, they'll most likely go through these tunnels.>> She marks them on her screen. <<Suggest we blow up some of the local sights while we pass to obstruct them and give us some breathing room.>>
---
<<Copy that, Imp 1,>> Sar says, gripping the yoke and keeping it 'between the lines' so to speak. He looks over his shoulder at Nova and says, "Just, y'know...shoot 'em when you can. Try not to hit anybody we like." He pauses. "So Ektor's fair game."
---
Still trailing behind the TIE/sf and Green Leader's Y-Wing, Jessika maintains her lower flight vector so the gunners of both craft can maintain a clear sight towards the pursuant craft chasing them down the tunnels. The updated navigation route guides her movements, and Jessika's eyes dance rapidly between the panel before her and the view out of her cockpit.
---
Having tried to find a route and not using his astromech, his results are coming up blank. It's not his fault he's been so used to not having his astromech that he's doing things on his own and flying which, he closes the S-Foils. Feeling that his friend and pilot needing a reality check, Spark plots a course which would take Karas through a narrow awning on the left, Karas shakes his head "I'm sorry buddy." he gets a quick tweedle. Licking his lips and seeing that narrow space and without hesitation the X-Wing banks and burst through flying above Red 2.
---
Still trying to find out what's behind Green One, Nova finally gets a good hit off the cosmic deck, and the sensor screen lights up with contacts. "We've got three doses of unpleasant company back there!" she calls forward, opening fire as they clear another turn.
The shots go wide, but not by much, the fusillade of ion fire lighting up an entire patch of tunnel in strobing blue.
---
"Nice work...adjusting course." Fidox One shoots down a side tunnel, just as Dawn's new route suggested. And, furthermore...her suggestion about incoming First Order ships ends up being right on the money. From up ahead, a pair of TIEs appears, and streaks toward the Resistance fliers, shooting green bolts of plasma. Gren is able to react quicky, and squeezes off a burst of return fire at the lead TIE. It punches through its shields, and wings a solar panel, but does not take it down. <<2 eyeballs, head-on!>> It's a near collision, but the captured TIE jukes to port, comes within a few inches of slamming into a rock formation, but manages to avoid damage. The pair of enemy starfighters shoot past, head on for the trailing snubfighters, still blasting away. A big bunch of rubble is knocked loose by Delede's second burst, and Green Leader is going to have a bit of a close call.
<<Green, drop some munitions, see if you can't cave in the tunnels behind us. We're getting close, now.>>
---
Ektor mutters through tight focus and narrowed eyes, "It's almost as if.. they didn't WANT us to fly in here at speed and blow up their reactor or something. Rude, yeah?" A half dozen minor adjustments are made every second, which is hardly an ideal firing platform for his gunner. "Hard turn... now," he warns Hazar as they bank hard to navigate the twisting flight path. << I hear you, Lead. Setting fire control to ordnance, and a.. one second timer to detonation.>> Under his breath, he adds, "Sure hope that's enough, yeah?" A token blast of the cannons at the oncoming fighters, but his prime focus is on the ordnance. Flying at the rear of the formation, Green 2 sets the bombs at speed, and continues his headlong rush. With the proton bombs placed at his back and a low cackle, he reports, <<Bombs away.>>
---
Sar Yavok was fiddling with his targetting computer when he noticed the duo of TIEs and chunk of asteroid flying toward his ship. "Krif! Hold on, Korell!" he barks, loosing a burst of laser fire, jerking the yoke back and to the side, and sending the Y-Wing into a tight inversion, its belly scraping slightly against the roof of the tunnel. "I thought Delede was supposed to be good at flying TIEs," he grumbles to himself. <<Ordinance away,>> Sar says, turning the fire selector on the yoke and pressing in on the nub. A few moments later and a bomb is fired behind the flight group, joining up with Ektor's.
---
Case bleeps a sudden, insistent warning. "Wha--?" The mining shaft wall above her snubfighter explodes in a shower of debris as an X-Wing comes barreling through it, sending a hail of excess rock falling right for her fighter. Only her R3 unit's warning gives Jessika the reflexive edge she needs to avoid the chunks that might have smashed her wings and crippled her fighter, and she does so by twisting the X-Wing up on it's side so the debris falls past. She's got to quickly correct that and dip even lower, which almost scrapes her wings and cannons across a rocky outcropping because Lieutenant Darkwing's dangerous maneuver jostles her out of position. Cursing in her mind and gritting her teeth tightly, Jessika tries to make the best of the situation.
It doesn't get much better. The warning about two TIEs streaking down the tunnel head on comes with the announcement that Green Two is dropping a bomb. Both Y-Wings do, actually. Shedding speed sharply so that she doesn't smash into Red Leader when she performs her next maneuver, Jessika banks up to avoid another low outcropping and brings her crosshairs across one of the TIEs in the process. A squeeze of her trigger nearly severs one of its wing panels, but it miraculously holds on. Smoothing out her angle, Jessika proceeds down the mining shaft and hopes that the ordinance lying in wait doesn't catch her ass on fire thanks to the necessary reduction in speed.
---
Nova swallows back something that tastes vaguely of acid as the Y-Wing does a flip-flop faster than her insides can keep up! It's a couple seconds before she can speak again. "If you see something on the floorboard up there, could you save it? I'm sure it's my stomach..."
Something flashes behind her, and she aims quickly, snapping off a double shot that wreaths a damaged TIE in lightning. The stricken Firster fighter smashes into the tunnel and bursts into a cloud of glowing splinters. "Woo! Scratch one! Our tail's a little clearer now!" she crows. Finally, she's managed to accomplish something back here!
---
The tunnel behind the Resistance formation explodes in a mass of fire, and rubble. Sar and Ektor's bombs are very useful, and block off the pursuing trio, and cause the charging lone wolf to crash into what is now a dead end of pain.
Fidox One is the first starfigher into the core of the mining facility, and it takes a large barrage of fire from the numerous defensive turrets in place. A laser blasts punches into the starboard solar panel, and shakes the TIE, causing Gren's strafing run on the glowing reactor to go very awry. <<Piss. Lead is damaged. Fire at will on that bloody reactor core, and then RTB. Fidox One is outbound.>> The nimble, but heavily damaged TIE streaks for the exit tunnel that has been designated by Dawn's typical good work.
---
Ektor is grinning fiercely as the tunnel collapses at their backs and the line of fighters emerges into the comparatively large cavern surrounding the reactor core. << I hear you, Green two coming in hot and going out cool.>> The Y-wing's cannons waste no energy with the line of bolts walking up the lower length of the reactor, while the ion gunner joins in the fun as the Y-wing banks at speed toward the escape route. "I told you this was gonna be fun, yeah??" He crows to Hazar.
---
"Good shootin', Nova. Now, fire on that reactor," Sar remarks to his gunner, before sending a burst of fire toward the aforementioned target. Green Leader is now pointing toward the exit, but Nova's got plenty of time to take her shots.
---
A FEW MINUTES AGO...
The TIE is careening straight for the cavern wall. The good news is Dawn doesn't scream. The bad news is that the sharp blast of pain that hits her poor heart is too much for her, and for a few moments, she drops limply on her chair, head rolled back in a momentary faint.
A pity, that. Had she been able to keep from doing so, she would've witnessed the expert maneuvering of the rear admiral away from danger, saving both their lives from being ended in a roaring fireball, their ashes left forgotten in the heart of enemy turf.
NOW...
She jolts awake when the first shot of red gunnery fire hits the side of the TIE, and leaves it smoking. Alarms and the garish wash of red light in front of her clamor and rattle through her addled senses. She gives her head a hard shake, and grinds her teeth together in an effort to steady her mind and nerves. She doesn't look up, but the smell of ozone and acrid smoke fills her nostrils, and by the bright flashes of light in her periphery she already knows that they're surrounded.
"Sir, we can get out this way!" she exclaims, sending the escape route to Gren's screen. And with that last punch of speed, she braces herself against her seat.
---
Nova doesn't need the directive, already swinging her emplacement around to begin peppering the reactor with searing blue destruction. The last few shots go wide, but by then most of the damage is done, judging by the blue lightning playing over the terminals. "I think Dawn just got us a road map to 'out'," she says hastily. "Let's not be here when this thing goes!"
---
Having come through that gap that he didn't see but Spark did, put him above the other X-Wing. Still not slowing and pushing ahead as Red 2 had to adjust, Karas steady hands allow him to control the X-Wing like it's an extension of himself. Now slowing, and keeping the S-Foils closed, Karas comes around and as the HUD goes green with the lock, Karas fingers presses the trigger as he sends needles of red darts towards the reactor scoring multiple hits, but his next salvo misses, <<Scored hits, but it's not done, someone finish it off!>> he calls into his comm as Spark works on a route for them to get ready to head out.
---
The maneuver to stop her from smashing into Red Leader leaves her at the back of the pack, but it also leaves her with a unique opportunity. The craft ahead of her strafe the reactor with a hail of fire, but it's still not enough to send it into a critical state. "Case, I need those torpedos!" The R3 unit has been prepping them for launch, and an affirmative bleep signals to Jess they're ready. Adjusting the selector on her yolk, Jessika's thumb flicks the red safety housing to expose the button beneath. A smashing of that button spits two torpedos from her fighter. When they're away, Red Two banks her fighter towards the exit. Anti-aircraft turrets spray her shields, leaving them down, but her fighter is otherwise unscathed.
Shoving the throttle forward as far as it will go, Jessika mutters under her breath in the fervant wish that her craft will obey her and go faster than it's capable of going. "Come on, come on.." She can't see the torpedos smash into the reactor, but she can see the bright flash of light that follows, because it plays out on the walls around her and ahead of her as the facility's power source goes critical. "Ignore repairing the shields and feed power from the weapons into the engines!" She's late to the party of leaving, and she wants all the juice she can muster to make it out.
From deep within the facility, i's catastrophic end starts. Leaking light through the gaping hole in the reactor, it reaches a point where it's too bright to look at. Then it denotates. A shockwave ripples out from that epicenter and decimates the asteroid around the reactor, then rips straight through the struts. Shifting weighs begin to shake the facility apart from the inside out, not to mention the giant fireball of energy that ripples through it to ensure its utter obliteration.
---
Jessika's final shots certainly did the job. As the Resistance fighters, with a damaged TIE in the lead, begin to exit the exploding mining base. It's all very dramatic to be certain, and a lot of poor First Order types have lost their lives in the destruction. <<Nice work, everyone. Return home via exfil route Beta Five. Beta Five.>> Gren looks over his shoulder, manuevering the sparking TIE away from the carnage. "That was nice work, Leftenant. I'm afraid I might be a litle more rusty than I thought in a TIE, though." Behind the mask, he's smiling though. That was a blast from the past.
---
The young, green-eyed Antilles remains at the back of the TIE, breathing raggedly through her pilot's mask. Somewhere within the cage of her bones, her heart hammers so quickly that it threatens to stage a jailbreak, and leave her corpse behind. Electricity thrums against her fingertips, and the heady cocktail of fear and adrenaline twists her from the inside out. Still, the look of her is delirious, and almost giddy - and maybe there's some truth to what she has heard all along, that one never feels more alive unless they're about to die.
Dawn tilts her head over her shoulder towards her commanding officer and as if sensing the smile, she grins from underneath her mask; it is unseen, but easily felt, those eyes are downright incandescent in exhilaration. "You saved both our lives, sir," she tells him. "I'll take your rusty over anyone's best, any day."
---
"How's the view back there, kid?" Ektor laughs to Hazar as they speed through the tunnels to escape the detonation consuming the asteroid. <<Arright, Red Two! Bringing the boom, yeah?>> Aloud, he instructs the R2, "You heard the man, Tenner: Beta Five." Letting out breath in a rush, he reports, <<Course laid in, Green Two good to go.>>
---
"Lookin' good!" Hazar replies to Ektor with a laugh of his own as he watches the destruction behind him between glances around to make sure that nothing's creeping up on them. "Just like any First Order base should, full of flaming death."
---
Red Leader is already pushing his X-Wing, though keeping up with the fighters of his squadron and Red 2. Seeing the explosion, he smiles. <<Those element of Red Squadron who is flying cover meet us at the exfil and get home. Good job everyone.>> he seys into his comms. The X-wing is already pushing at max speed, S-Foils closed as it tears out of the mining facility, <<Good shot Red 2.>> he comms back to his XO. It was an impressive shot and as he presses himself into the seat, Spark tweedles as they exit out of the mining facility.
---
Closing the s-foils of her snubfighter, Jessika feels herself edged into her seat that much harder. "Case, lock Beta Five into the navicomputer." The astromech's acknowledgment doesn't distract her. Ahead, the end of their exit tunnel looms, and Jessika stows the urge to be ecstatic because she knows she's not in the clear yet. It's not until the walls of the mining shaft vanish around her to reveal the cold vacuum of space that she feels some of her tension bleed away. She's the last craft out. Maneuvering to her exit vector as the X-Wing cuts through the darkness of the void, Jessika can't hear or see the facility destabilizing. As soon as a second acknowledgment is beeped at her, Jessika sends her vessel to lightspeed. A finalized flick of her thumb closes the red safety housing, and only once the milky-blue sheath of hyperspace is funneling around her craft does she allow herself a tentative exhale associated with thinking she's safe.
---
<<Green Leader, still running hot and true,>> comes Nova's voice over the com net. <<Think the driver's having trouble with his mic. But we're out and clear. This sure was one for the scrapbook!>>
---
<<Yanno, I think I like Green Leader better, this way,>> Ektor muses, in return. Chuckling off coms, the Tionese pilot initiates the hyperspace jump.
