Log:Saber Squadron: Knife Fight
Saber Squadron is called in to provide a screen for a ship carrying refugees off world.
OOC Date: April 21, 2022
Location: Thyferra
Participants: Ax, Bizz Bliptettjupp, Jax Greystorm as Self/GM, Karas Darkwing, Nerys Greystorm, Vega, Vhe Tenara, Saber Squadron
[ Jax Greystorm (Jax)]
Xuphra City looked looked like it had been through a fire, an earthquake, and a tornado all at the same time. War Tended to do that. Where once expensive building once stood there is now rubble, and streets were blocked off with burnt out speeders and other debris having been turned into barricades. There was a constant haze and smoke in the air as the jungles around Xucphra burned.
Troops and ground equipment bearing the markings of the Sith Empire, the New Republic, and the First Order were engaging in combat in the city. The flashes of blaster fire erupting bellow.
The sun was setting and Saber Squadron had it to it's back as it goes racing toward Xuphra CIty. Jax was was in the controls of Saber Leader as his R2 unit Exine strolls over a holographic data in front of him. The Corellian makes a slight course correction. He reaches out to tap a holocaputre of his family.
Then he turns on his com unit to the squad, "Alright, I know you guys probably paid attention during the mission briefing but one last time. The Bright Blessing is locking from Xuphra City space port. We're causing a distraction and giving it a chance to get of out of here with the Refugees. As soon as we're engaged, I'm giving them the signal. Watch out for flak shots, I can't promise that both side's won't be taking pot shots at us. Something, Something unauthorized mercenaries. I kinda turned off the channel when it got boring. "
Exine quickly identifies a number of incoming bogeys and the whine of ties can be heard in the distance. "We got incoming, may the force be with you." Jax can be heard being said.
[ Ax (A)]
~ Saber 3, freshly fueled, maintenanced, and the scorch marks from previous entanglements covered with fresh paint. Ax had his headset on, linking him through the force to the ship. Damn, he loved this bird. "Buster, see if you can point out all the AA emplacements," the Echani tells his droid before keying up his comms.
<<"Saber 3, reporting in. If it's a distraction you want, it's a distraction you'll get.">> As if to emphasize the point, Ax does a barrel roll in his fighter. "Wish I had flares or chaff, that could be a nice little flourish," he mutters to himself. Instead, he'd have to rely on the fighter's exhaust and bright yellow shields to draw attention. ~
[ Vhe Tenara (Vhe)]
"So incoming fire is boring, noted," Vhe says mostly to the droid that is perched in her fighter with her, going over last minute checks and making sure they are ready to handle the hot and heavy engagement they are likely to pull. Distractions are meant to be flashy and the wild hair of the eccentric initiate is wound up and bound away from her face with silk and beads.
She adjusts her stick controls and she opens comms in a matter of seconds after talking to herself. <"Saber four copies. We will wait on your signal and move in to create general chaos."> And be moving targets. Hopefully hard to hit and out of range of the big guns.
She waggles her wings a moment back and forth, not only to get a feel but to physically give recognition that she is ready.
[ Bizz Bliptettjupp (bizz)]
Bizz Bliptettjupp is following Saber Squadron through the atmosphere in an Eta-class shuttle with red markings designated SABER GUARD. In the clear transparisteel cockpit he can be seen bickering with his co-pilot droid. "You could prep the shuttle faster, you bumbling bucket of bolts! Stop playing that Shag Kava music so loud!"
[ Zelo Parrai (Zelo)]
Zelo Parrai is at the controls of Saber 12, a T-85 X-Wing, and already limbered up. Last time on the ground, the firefights had been fair and straightforward, until the TIE bomber at the last minute took a cheapshot at a group of innocent refugees... Now, things are looking to be more even, though there's still a reputation for the enemy ships in the back of his mind. The Nautolan shakes that off, though, as the pull of gravity in atmo promises to make things interesting in its own way.
He listens closely to Jax's recap, exchanging text comms with Befour as he does more last-minute checks and looks over status. <<"Saber 12 copies. Sounds like a big heap of 'don't get hit,' with a side of 'hit them hard.' Do we expect aerial response from the friendly, or just flak?">> Not that there's enough time for a response as the incoming enemy are being called. <<"Saber 12, ready to engage.">> Zelo's own wings dip and raise a pair of times before the S-foils open to that signature X-wing profile.
[ Karas Darkwing (Kar)]
Crusing behind the others but sticking in formation, Karas glances to Spark who is whistling at him, nodding his head, "Yeah I know." he says to his friend. He nods his head to Jax, <<Alright, well it looks like we are all one flight.>> he says into the tact comm. Shaking his head, <<We will do as we need, though this reminds me of that mission where you, me and Spark 2 was in, dealing with air and ground units.>> Which Jax may remember.
Karas flips a few switches and he makes sure that his S-Foils are in attack position. Checking his weapon systems, he smiles, <<Spark 2, thanks again for what you've done for us.>> he says over the comms and once incoming bogeys are showing on his sensors, Karas is itching to open up, but he doesn't. <<Quick thing, if you've not had to deal with ground targets, keep an eye on the sky and your sensors, you will hear the threat tone, it will be slightly different from air to air, pay attention to it.>> he offers.
[ Vega (Ve)]
<Saber 2 copies, Saber Leader.> Vega states over her comms as she readjusts a few things. Bits and bobs. "We're distracting for the moment, Roundy, so that means no shooting at random." she reminds her BB unit. There is a little warble of disappointment from the round droid, but he had rules to follow. She keeps her fellows within eye sight for the moment, hoping that nothing will go wrong.
[ Nerys Greystorm (Nerys)]
'I kinda turned off the channel when it got boring.' This, this right here, was, in a very real sense, how Nerys lived her life. The A-wing, Saber 10, kept in formation as the squadron made their way towards the starport, Nerys keeping track of the sensors, so that she might pick up some sign of incoming enemy fighters sooner rather than later.
Nerys' fighter did an abrupt 180, which, was not difficult, if one didn't mind using the VTOL engines, and her voice came across the comms, "I mark an incoming flight to our starboard, using a steep angle of entry into the atmosphere to counter the glare from the sun. Looks like they're coming in tight formation." Nerys' droid brain did some quick calculations, "I would infer that they're going to try to explode our formation before they attack."
[ Jax Greystorm (Jax)]
At Nery's observation, Jax calls out, "Heading starboard and accelerate to meet them. Let's make sure they know they don't rule the skies." Jax's fighter is rising and a quick strike against the leader causes the Daggers shields to shimmer. It's Vhe's reckless flying that does the most damage causing the Ties to scatter like a covey of birds.
Jax clicks on the com, "Bright Blessing this is Saber Leader. The Sith are engaged. Make your escape." The holographic image of the captain of the Bright Blessing appears, "Thank you, Saber Leader, keep them from the space port so we can make our escape. May the force be with you."
[ Ax (A)]
~ Ax was a very aggressive combatant, both on ground and in the air, and tonight was no exception. His little snub fighter zoomed forward with wreckless abandon, the rotary lasers unleashing a full barrage of laser fire into the enemy formation, targetting one of the middle TIE Daggers.
"I think I got at least one of the enemy's attention," Ax says with a chuckle, doing another roll just because he could. His pink sippy cup still holding strong thanks to the magnetic base, and not a drop spills. ~
[ Vhe Tenara (Vhe)]
As those of the squadron claim targets she flexes her fingers on the controls before she speaks in a relatively calm voice, <"Saber 4, going to see if I can shake them up. Be ready."> She hits the throttle and instead of strafing and taking aim, the Ysanna heads for the heart of the TIEs that are incoming to their position. She pulls hard to the right on the stick adn sends her speedy fighter spinning directly at them.
Her version of distraction works and as they scatter out of her path as if she were a runaway torpedo she lets out a cheer as she draws back, yanking on the control stick to bring her bird up and about, trying to pull a tight turn to rejoin her wingmate and offer some aid. "Clingy nerfherders. They missed us and just can't get enough." Her eyes sharpen as those in the midst of their group are already offering fire in return. But as bright beams of light sear the air before her, missing the nose of her ship and tightens her turn and readies herself to engage.
[ Bizz Bliptettjupp (bizz)]
Bizz keeps his stubby hands on the flight sticks. "The FORCE is with me," he says to himself, lining up a shot on Dagger 12. BRAP-BRAP-BRAP go the three laser cannons that are mounted on the tri-winged structure of his shuttle. One of them skims the shields of Dagger 12. <<"I hit it! Praise be to the FORCE!>>" Then the Eta-class shuttle rattles as fire hits his own shields. "<<They're all over me! Get the shields back up you blathering blatherskite!">> His R5 unit makes sounds in binary and twists its scomp link, rerouting shield power.
[ Zelo Parrai (Zelo)]
The TIEs diving in from high atmo lead to the first clash of this aerial engagement. Laser cannons blat out plasma from all angles, up at the TIEs and down as well to the flagless Saber Squadron. <<"Copy that, Saber 12 engaging.">> Saber 12 follows up a successful strike from Saber Guard, but the angle - and maybe some of the more-noticeable G's of atmo maneuvering - leads his cannons wide. A returned shot comes from one of the TIE's not staggered and scrambling from Vhe's charge, and a twin pair of blasts level Saber 12's shields while also marking the otherwise pristine hull with the first signs of damage.
<"Kr-"> Tweeee-wrooo, comes the interrupting whistled binary behind him. A glance to the readout for interpretation isn't needed. <"I know we got hit, I'm not trying to do so. I'll try to get a little clear, but I need you to get those shields up immediately!"> TIEs are definitely living up to their reputation, and the Nautolan's glowing faintly blue inside that H-visor'd helm of his.
<<"Saber 12, took a couple hits. Shields are out completely and minor hull damage. I'm going to the defensive until we can get those sorted out...">>
[ Karas Darkwing (Kar)]
With the information provided to them, and seeing the incoming fighters come up on his scopes, the ETA-2c does an 180 as well and it rolls as power is poured into it's engines giving the Interceptor more speed to engage with the incoming TIE Daggers. Karas never did like head to heads so as his Interceptor streaks forward, he rolls the fighter wing over wing in a roll, and he quickly pulls the trigger, sending angry red energy bolts streaking at the TIE and watching as a couple of his shots hit.
The ETA-2c suddenly dives and rolls away as incoming fire starts streaking in towards it. Jinking left and right to escape the shots coming in at them, Karas isn't some rookie, they were coming at an ACE and he was going to shows this Kriffing Sith how much of a Big Deal he is.
[ Vega (Ve)]
Vega's not really a violent person, but she has no problem firing at the tie fighters. She does tend to get violent though when people WRECK HER SHIP! "Dang it!" she hisses as she takes the hit from the other fighter. "Roundy, get on it!" she calls to the bb-unit as she tries to right herself to get another shot in.
[ Nerys Greystorm (Nerys)]
Clearly, as the squadron moved into action to engage the incoming daggers, Nerys showed her true colours. She was here to do the heavy looking on, because, as she wheeled the stubby fighter around, her cannon fire hit nothing but air, as the daggers were simply too maneuverable for her ship to compensate. But when had that ever stopped the woman? Saber 10 banked hard and came around again.
[ Jax Greystorm (Jax)]
Jax continues to trade fire with the other formation leader. The jedi whittling down the Tie Dagger slowly, "Good work guys, Keep an eye on those shields and your frames. Gremlin's going to have to do some work for sure. If things get itch get out. We're just distracting our playmates."
As on cue, the Captain of the Bright Blessing appears, "Saber Leader, we're almost to the orbit. We've started calculating hyperspace coordinates."
Jax lets out a breath relaxing. "Saber Guard pull back. They're almost out of orbit. Alright Saber's lets give them a bit more and then get out of here."
[ Ax (A)]
~ Zipping and zooming, Saber 3 moves like a demon on the wind. Lasers light up the sky, taking down one TIE Dagger before the snub fighter is banking and rolling to get lined up on another. Jax called for a distraction, well Ax is flying as hard and fast and with as many flourishes as he can muster. ~
[ Vhe Tenara (Vhe)]
Vhe is in the mix of things, heavily amidst the action as she does her bost to twist and manuver her way out of the line of fire. She seems to be of some interest to the TIES and that is exactly what she wanted but thankfully they have yet to actually get a hit on her. As Jax' voice comes over the comms and they are ordered to pull further back but keep engaged she reorients herself just in time to see Ax engage with one of the damaged TIES that is in the tangled mess around her.
She is lining up her shot, taking a moment - a moment too long as one of the other foes buzzes her and sends her diving out of the way, her shot more of a warning than an actual hit for the intended. "Kriff...its getting spicy out here."
She looks up and around, attempting to place her squad mates and enemies.
[ Zelo Parrai (Zelo)]
Zelo's making evasive maneuvers, working to shake the TIE off his back while trying not to get shot with the shields down. There's frantic tweets and whistles from behind him and a moment later, the shield readout begins to swell with fresh information. <"Great work, Befour, keep it up!"> A rather spicy BLAT from behind him gets an incredulous look at the readout. <"I know you're working on it, I'm just offering encouragement!"> Another whistle. <"That's not encouraging. You just... Do your thing, I'll do mine?">
'BLAAT'
Meanwhile, the X-Wing is dodging and weaving, making full use of every axis as the Nautolan pilot tries to swim it through the air like he did in the blue ocean as a child. The aqueous evasion is certainly not something for which the pursuing TIE can counter, and the fired shots go far and wide when the X-Wing springs almost straight vertical after a downward spiral. If this works... Maybe he can get a good angle sto start firing again. Briefly, he sees Saber 4 as he springs up past it, and a smile cracks cobalt lips as Saber 12 drops over and starts to dive again. <<"Saber 12, shields are on the up, engaging in full again. Will keep tying them up until we disengage.">> And hopefully better than that pun.
[ Karas Darkwing (Kar)]
Saber 7 is able to bank and loop around to give chase back on Dagger 12. The -2c is fast and is able to keep up with the Daggers and without a target lock, Karas snaps off a shot which only glances D12 but is able to knock out the shields. At that time though another of the Daggers is able to catch Saber 7 off guard. Karas grunts, "Spark, get out shields back up, I will get the Slemo for that." he growls and breaks off and begins to jink here and there, but the damage is already done and his shields are gone. Still he isn't done yet.
[ Vega (Ve)]
"I already had to rebuild one ship...not doing another one!" Vega shouts in the cockpit as she's trying to make sure Saber 2 doesn't get any worse. Thankfully the little round droid with her is partial to the ship and is trying his hardest to make sure things get put back together...so Vega doesn't have a meltdown and throw herself out of the ship.
[ Nerys Greystorm (Nerys)]
This was the endgame now, in its way. as Nerys wheeled around, her lasers discharging as she cleared one of the daggers that had been hounding the flight and been mounded in return. "Splash one." Pilots said things like that, didn't they? She was almost sure they did. Well, they did now, as Nerys took her life into her own hands, flying directly at one of the daggers, opening fire once again, and only just missing. She didn't mind. Saving the Bright Blessing was the goal.
[ Jax Greystorm (Jax)]
Jax blew up the Saber leader and was flying through a fire ball as Exine called him insane for the millionth time. There's static on his com as the Captain of the Bright Blessing appears, "Saber Squadron, we're out of orbit and have New Republic ships around us as we move to hyper jump. Thank you for the distraction. May the Force be with you." Jax responds, "Safe journey, and may the force be with you." That's when Jax switches channel to the squad, "We're bugging out mission successfully. I'll buy some rounds on Tatooine." Then pulling back on the stick the Jedi fighter goes to run towards the orbit. It's a tailing Dagger that strips his shields and causes minor hull damage. Exine screaming at Jax. It would take Saber Squadron hitting orbit before the Tie Daggers harrying them would break off.
[ Nerys Greystorm (Nerys)]
Was the Bright Blessing away? That Bright Blessing was away. That was the priority. What was not the priority, was making it home in one piece. So spake the TIE dagger that opened fire on Nerys' A-wing, the strafing of its laser cannons knocking out the stubby ship's engines. Nerys was no ace pilot, but she was a capable enough tactician to know that what mattered now, was making it down to the ground without turning into a fireball herself, as the ship, having lost its forward momentum, tumbled away from the squadron as they regrouped for escape.
"I'll see you all the long way 'round'."
When the ship whistled out of the sky and made impact with the ground, it was likely only the tensile strength in Nerys' decidedly inhuman body that kept her from dying on impact. They just didn't build them like her anymore. A momentary flash of light, a loss of consciousness, before her system rebooted itself, figuratively and possible literally.
Now to get herself out of the wreckage and make it back to safe territory.
"Jax was so wrong," came her inner monologue, "this is just like Corellia."
