Log:Thyferra: We Can Fly Anything

Aurek Squadron meets the Rebels

OOC Date: June 20, 2022
Location: Above Thyferra
Participants: Spice Runners, Amallia Madine, Ulani Kalgaav, Bors Thul, Shemar Eisley, Ejnar Celchu, Tovana, Ektor, Poe Dameron

Black Leader, a T-85 X-Wing colored black and orange leads a flight team comprised of rebels and mercenary forces alike against the nefarious Sith Empire and their allies. Poe Dameron's voice announces over the encrypted rebel signal, sounding like a robot, but not unlike Poe, <<"All Callsigns, this is Black Leader.. check in and form up on my wing. Our objective is near.">>

The objective had been a topic before their departure from the ground. Several elements of heavy armor (armored tanks and personnel carriers) have been spotted outside friendly lines but, they are pushing inward. Poe's group was to wipe those out while contending with the TIE/fo Squadron terrorizing the air above the city. (Aurek Squadron).

Poe's T-85 X Wing holds its current course high above the city, its S-Foils locked in a cruise position. BB-8, the orange and white, one-of-a-kind astromech, can be seen moving his 'head', peering over the side of the snubfighter down toward the city. One might assume the droid was commenting about the view.

<"Oi Raze. Eyes up, mate. It's nearly go time,"> comes the voice of Amallia Madine over local comms. Those close enough will pick up the splash of it, but that little quip is for the benefit of R4-Z3, an R2 astromech she mistakenly purchased thinking it was an R4. Long story. Involved Jawas. Anyway, she's gotten the sit-rep. She understands the mission and, when Poe Dameron's voice lights up the secure channel, she closes in on his location in a hurry. The Banshee Bird is another T-85 X-Wing. Rigged with a few custom after-market parts about its wings and painted a sharp white with a deep orange. She tips her wing near a body of water not far from the city, the humidity of the atmosphere mixing with the speed of her aircraft. A trail of water lifts up from the glassy flat surface of that lake as she carves a line down and up and towards Black Leader.

<<"Banshee Bird has a good copy on you, Black Leader. Forming up on your wing.">>

A few moments later, Banshee Bird does just that. She arrives from beneath Black Leader, flaps lifting up and dumping speed to match. Mollie flashes Poe a little sign out the cockpit and swivels her head to catch sight of others beginning to form up around her. <<"Heard we've got quite the welcoming party, Squaddies. We're all staying frosty in this heat, I trust?">>

Anther X-wing coloured predominantly blue settles into the formation and beneath the canopy, a red-headed pilot is readying her systems. <<"Techie in Aldera Two. Copy you, Pretty Boy. Heard you might have some heat on your tail today. Again.">> Ulani adjusts the helmet on her head, making a glance over her shoulder to the R2 unit socketed in the bucket behind her. "Doing good, Rinky?"

BRRR-KKXZZZT. WHOO.

"Think of it as less distance to fall in case of catastrophic engine failure." It's a long, mechanical raspberry that follows that quip, resulting in a surrendering shrug from Ulani. "I was told a bit of gallows humour helps with the nerves. Afraid I'm not terribly good at it. Would you rather I take up singing shanties like---"

KRRRRRRRT WOOOONK.

A laugh. "Okay, okay. We'll leave that to the professionals."

<<"Buhbors forming on thee.">> An E-Wing marked silver and blue - with wingtip markings denoting it the craft of Aldera Leader - with R2-IT muttering and blatting in its socket behind the cockpit canopy and Bors staring accusingly at the throttle control set decidedly too far back from his beloved etching of 11.

<<"Aldera Squad, form up on Black Leader, we're his wing today.">>

Slipping up onto Dameron's port side wing and giving a little waggle while quietly bemoaning his plight. Not at maximum speed. Unconscionable.

"I thought I heard the only man say, Leave her J'ahnnie, leave her... It's a long hard pull, to the next payday... an it's time for us to leave her." singing to himself while flicking fingers across the controls - and glaring at the speedometer.

Having acquired permission to join in this venture, one Lt. Shemar Eisley falls into formation also flying a T-85 X-Wing though it's not his original ship he had with Black Squadron, alas. This one is marked Saber 13. <<"Saber 13 copies, Black Leader. Good to hear your voice, over.">> Shemar's voice likewise may be familiar to a few gathering here.

Right behind Shemar's cockpit, his R3 droid burbles something in binary and sounds ready for action. The Tatooine native laughs, <"I hope that wasn't a complaint or something broken before we even begin, R3!"> That would be just his luck, wouldn't it?

The bird herself is unfamiliar and only a few hours logged in her, but Lt. Eisley settles into the T-85 as if she were a long lost lover he'd missed, ready for a hot night.

<<"Aldara 06 forming up on lead.">> Came a knew voice from that of another E-Wing marked Silver and blue much like Ulani and Bors' own fighter. A new Member of Aldera Squadron. "5-Tee, charge the shields from the engines until we reach the targets... We'll need to keep it down a notch not to out pace the slower ships." Ejnar Celchu said to his new droid who occupied the socket behind his cockpit. He flipped a number of switches, checking on the sensors and looking to where the objective would thus be.

An older model of Y-Wing, a BTL-A4, decked out in pink markings and engines producing a green ion flare trailed behind the T-85 along with the other fighters. It had been a while since Tovana had gotten to fly it and she was itching to see some action. Helping out the folks at Thyferra seemed like a good excuse for it too. An R3 unit was secured in the fighter's droid slot and the fighter's ion turret was locked into a rear-facing position to potentially deal with any unwanted tails. The twi'lek listens in as other members of the squadron start to report in before chiming in herself. <<"Copy that, Black Leader. This is Pink-1 reporting in.">> She keeps her eyes peeled on the horizon ahead of them for their targets through the visor of her Void Armor.

Ektor is flying an Old Republic era Y-wing reconnaissance bomber. <<"Rogue Leader standing by, and drek,">> the words followed by a dumb chuckle. <<"Just kidding, yeah? I ain't really Rogue Leader. Come on, we gonna blow some drek up, or what?">> In addition to failing to check in, the Longprobe also is t very good at flying in formation, making constant, erratic little adjustments to its flight path. <<"Not for nothing, are we just making up squads, now? Is all the bombers Pink Squad, now?">>

<<"Eyes up, here comes the parade. Protect our bombers while they hit up the targets from our allies on the ground.">> Poe calls out, the usual intensity in his voice present thanks to their situation becoming a touch more dire. The skies clear enough to reveal the city at large with dark towers of smoke rising up from random intervals, mostly where the fighting on the ground is thickest. Those wearing flight helmets pick up on the target marks identified by ground forces as armored columns moving into the city. There are (5) five of these targets.

Additionally, a full squadron of (12) twelve TIE/fo fighters have locked on intercept course to the rag-tag team of rebels, and BB-8 conveys their signal for the rest of the team. The TIE/fo's constitute Aurek squadron, and they are bearing in quickly!

<<"Call your shots, and look out for each other! No heroes, just safeguard our bombers!">> Poe's T-85 s-foils open up and the fighter experiences sudden drag before its afterburners kick in, sending it forward fast enough to break the sound barrier. <<"HERE THEY COME!">> And the opening joust begins!

<<"Here they coo--">>

Poe's warning sparks over comms just in time as the first hail of incoming fire rips across the top of Amallia's hull. <<"REKKERS!">> Mollie hisses. A sharp and sudden bank towards the ground sees her avoid that line of fire altogether. Her rapid descent is paired with a squeeze of her thighs together in anticipation of the next, opposite bank. She rips up on the joystick between her thighs to steer herself up and into the pack of incoming hostiles. Visual readouts match her own line of sight, and she soon locks in on Aurek-2.

<<"Banshee Bird has an angle on Aurek-2. I'm taking a shot,">> she calls out. What was a lined-up shot is split a touch high due to a sudden twist and roll of the enemy TIE. Mollie swivels her head to keep her nose pointed at Aurek-2's tail.

The welcome party is right on time and are properly greeted with Ulani's S-foils opening up in a polite howdy-doo. <<"Copy, Pretty Boy. Nuggets, is that you?">> Aldera Two banks to the left, pivoting on a wing then dropping down in a controlled freefall as the barrage of cannon fire attempts -- and fails -- to rip through their formation.

A dainty little spin and the craft levels out, nose tilting up at a sharp angle and thrusters flaring to life. <<"Sights on Aurek Seven. Engaging.">> Intercepting one of the TIEs screaming across the sky, Ulani gets their attention with a double cannon hit that drops their shields below half. That's sure to stamp at least one on her dance card tonight.

"Rotter..." Really Bors? This soon? "Cursed, thrice inbred, filth and blasted for it!" BORS. Flicking to general comms, <<"Thou art a cad of the lowest order! Thou have deigned to side poorly in conflict thus!">>

The green energy darts were already behind him, the shots had come and instinct had kicked in. Rolling away from Poe and kicking his fighter into a tight loop that looked more like a back flip when thrust was cut and only maneuvering jets were active. Using drag to heave his nose over and re-engaging his main engines halfway over to chase after the lead of the TIE squadron.

<<"Copy, I am on Aurek Lead.">>

Triple heavy cannons spitting fire, the exchange between the pair becomes a dipping whirl to clear their six and Bors keeping his nose thoroughly pointed there, even though his fire trails low or to the side.

"Blast it all."

S-foils lock into attack position as the enemy TIES come streaking in to welcome the rebel fighters and bombers. Shemar twists his flight yoke to evade as he's fired upon, intent not to get his new wings shot up on his very first combat outing in the Saber E-Wing. Before that TIE can whip on past, Eisley has lined up his own targeting recticle and is firing away!

His plama bolts look like they might have hit it but then the ships are arcing away from one another on divergent courses. The TIE's marker in his HUD didn't show any sign of damage and the pilot mutters something under his breath.

With Poe's announcement, bogies started to populate his screens, "Alright Five-Tee, let's put the power back in the engine. Shields should be a little over charged now." He flips the shields to double front and angles his nimble FreiTek superiority fighter towards the oncoming Aurek Squadron, ready for the initial cross.

Ejnar felt his heart start to beat faster and a bit of sweat beaded on his brow. Memories good and bad came flooding to him. His first engagement in about three years. Maybe more. time was lost on him for a long time. Thankfully Bors' voice over the comms brought him back in time to maneuver out of the way of a rather long and bad shot from one of the TIEs. He cycled through the targets and targeted the IFR for Aurek Six <<Aldera Six on Aurek Six">>. Turning his vessel hard to port, he angled in on the Sith Fighter and attempted a shot as his cross hairs went green... but the three linked heavy canons zipped away into the sky as it juked out of the way.

Tovana would be lying if she said she wasn't a little nervous when those TIE's showed up ahead of them. Sure, this wasn't her first battle, but dealing with top of the line TIE's instead of whatever old fighter some pirate or mercenary group had grabbed was new. She spots one of those fighters signling her out and dives down and to the side to avoid its attack. "Lil, keep an eye on that thing incase it makes another pass. I'm bringing us down to focus on that armor column." There's a beep in confirmation from her astromech unit. Tovana meanwhile focuses on the ground targets ahead and brings up her targeting computer, taking aim at one of them to send a torpedo their way. She takes a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. For now, she'd be trusting the other pilots to deal with the enemy fighters while she did bomber things.

Ektor cracks a crooked grin as the joist begins, almost lazily slipping the emerald lances of the TIE that fires on him, while remaining near enough to support the second Y-wing on approach. <<"Hey, Pinkie-">> presumably Tovana? <<"I'ma slip in low over column Hutt-sucker One, yeah? Be right back..">> The armored column is moving through narrow city streets, making Ektor's chosen course of action rather.. ill advised. The Longprobe abruptly dips and banks, looping around in line with the hovertank column's line of approach, and strafing the line of the street with a ruby cascade of cannonfire. His gunnery is either very lucky, very good, or both as the first column in annihilated in a single strafing run, with the only damage to the surrounding buildings being a few windows blown out as the Y-wing streaks past. <<"Boom, baby! First column slagged.">>

They lose the advantage because Aurek Squadron was already controlling this air space, so when they came within firing range, it was an open joust. Miraculously, rebel forces came away from it unscathed, but the same could not be achieved by Aurek squadron. While none of the enemy TIE/fos rained down from the sky, one of the ground targets went up in a spectacular explosion of purple and blue hued brilliance. The explosion is so large it can be seen from high above, and in the wake of its intense initial explosion, another column of black smoke begins to rise up like a tower. Rebel forces below comment over the comms, <<"THAT WAS ONE HELL OF A PILOT! GREAT SHOT! WE'RE SECURING THIS STREET AGAIN, OVER!">>

<<"Keep the fighters off our bombers, people!">> Poe reminds the team just now witnessing as Tovana has two training her stern while another follows Etkor's attack pattern (despite however erratically drunk it seems).

Poe avoids taking damage from a fighter and engages Aurek 12, to no success, they peel away! Aureks 8, 9, and 10 are after the bombers, and Poe has Aurek 11 and 12 chasing him.

<<"Ah yeah! Nice shooting!">> Mollie chimes over comms, watching the first of five ground pillars erupt in a plume of plasma. The call to peel the fighters off of rebel bombers is heard, and Mollie tips her chin up at Aurek-7 as it sails high and over her head, presumably on an intercept course back around. She throttles up, the engines behind her roaring as Banshee Bird accelerates. Little wisps of precipitation from the humid atmosphere pool around the modified joints of her T-85, and Mollie tips her nose up and away towards one of TIEs engaging Tovana.

<<"I'm on Aurek-10. Got a line. Taking a sho--.">> Aurek-10 suddenly breaks away, and Mollie squeezes down on the trigger too late. All four cannons fire in rapid succession, but fail to strike home. Instead, they rip up into the atmosphere before slowly fizzling out somewhere high above the clouds.

<<"Aha, well then! A job well done,">> Mollie announces, watching Aurek-10 peel away and loop around to engage. She'd sacrificed speed on that attack vector, and she knows they're about to line up a shot. <<"I've served as a proper distraction!">>

'Keep the fighters off our bombers!'

Without looking away from her target, Ulani flicks a switch to her side to bring up targetting screen. A flick of blue eyes surveys the green and red indicators on the grid with a worried frown. <<"Copy, Black Leader. Intercepting.">>

Aldera Two breaks from her dance with Aurek Seven -- ditched at the prom, how terrible -- and streaks through the air at breakneck speeds towards where two TIEs have locked in on Pink. One is already do-si-do'ing with their new partner Mollie, so in swoops Ulani to offer the other her arm. <<"Aurek Nine.">> The shots miss their mark, but it's enough to gain a follower now on Ulani's tail. <<"Pink, you are cleared for your run.">>

Shields reporting a strike.

More dance partners had come up and a crossfire was his to enjoy, following visuals for the craft targeting bombers and frowning -most- savagely, <<"Aldera Lead taking fire, we have some going after our big guns. Breaking off lead and engaging.">> breaking hard while more blasts graze across his shields making them flare in atmosphere.

"It, work on shields, would thee?" twisting his yolk and spiraling towards the Aureks that -DARE- assault the bombers, <<"Black Leader, follow me - we can plow the road for the bombers and maybe take care of our wretched pursuers in following, aye?">>

Tri-Cannon array belching out a steady RENCKRENCKRENCKRENCKRENCKRENCKRENCK! that sees the offending TIE's shields battered thus!

<<"Tion, have your six. Call out if thoue needst.">>

TIEs are swarming their bombers and they can't have that. Shemar brings his X-wing around to aid Tovana who has two of them firing upon her but others get to them before he can close so Saber 13 hits his flaps drops back suddenly and lines up a shot on the one that's trying to nail Ektor. Bors also hits that one right before Eisley can but since that one's pilot doesn't take the hint to peel off and evade, Saber 13 fires all four cannons right up his engines and blows him away!

<<"Splash one! Thanks, Bors. You softened him up for me Buhbors! Good to be fly'n with you again, over.">>

Debris evaded, Eisley throttles up and twists to realign, watching out for other TIEs with aims on their bombing runs.

Ejnar has a good view of the battle field, his helmeted head glancing around like someone who's had a good amount of experience using both instrument and visual dog fighting. It's the TIE on his aft that grabs his attention first. He angles hard out of the way, kicking the engines forwards as far as he can but not before making sure the shields double back. He avoided the green canon fire with a sleek barrel roll.

His E-Wing soared, the glow his his engines roaring above the ongoing battle on the ground. He punched the air break and turned around almost moving backwards as he did so. Then punching the engine again ran after his previous opponent. The Son of Tycho Celchu lined up his shot, the radical went green, and he squeezed the trigger. Two heavy canons smashed into the TIE/fo shields, crippling them to nothing before splashing hard against the hull. Smoke and sparks went everywhere. The fighter started to peel away. <<"Think Aurek Six is out of the fight...."> he announces over comms, a bit of a smirk coming to his lips. "Damn I love this Fighter." 5T Whistled at him.

Tovana watches Ektor's Y-Wing break off ahead of her's to make a strafing run on one of the armored columns, lighting up a column of armor and wiping it out. <<"Nice shot!">> Tovana calls out over comms. Not a moment later though she could hear a frantic beeping from her R3 unit, alerting her to a pair of TIE's lining up behind her. "Oh, good. He's back. And brought a friend," Tovana grumbles. She spins her fighter into a roll and one of the trailing TIE's shots go wild while the other scores a glancing blow along the side of her Y-Wing. She could feel the impact against her Y-Wing, but luckily the shields hold. Y-Wings were no pushovers in that department at least! The rebel fighters seemed to be on top of things though and Tovana catches sight of several of them taking shots at the fighters that were tailing her and Ektor.

<<"Thanks for the assist there!">> she calls out over comms, then resumes focusing on the ground targets ahead. She had her target locked and angles her fighter toward the ground, firing off one of her bomber's proton torpedoes at the advancing column. The resulting explosion reduces the armor column to a smoking wreck as Tovana pulls back up and flies on past. <<"Yeehaw!">> she calls out excitedly over comms, then clears her throat. <<"I mean, uh, target eliminated!">> Then, to her droid, "Lil, see about keeping those shields up." The astromech unit whirrs affirmatively and works on rerouting power to restore what shield strength was lost to that glancing blow.

Ektor loops back up after his first pass, once again anticipating the maneuver of the TIE on his tail, and evading the cannonade. <<"Bring the boom, Pinkie,">> he cackles as Tovana lets loose with a locked torpedo. <<"Hey, Buh-Bors! I'm good, just taking my new pal out for a lil stroll down main street. Seeing the sights, meeting the locals.. blowing up the tourists, yeah? Speaking of which..">> When a pilot gets lucky and pulls off a reckless move, most are grateful and don't push their luck.

Ektor open hand slaps his luck, banks and dives a second time, and screams in low over the third armored column, nose cannons making ruin of the street and every war machine upon it. <<"That one's from downtown Pazarot, Hutt-suckers!">> the mad pirate crows.

<<"Good work, rebel fighters! Keep at it!">>

Poe breaks off to help Bors, who has a few on his tail. Four cannons fire:

WAP, WAP, WAP, WAP!!

Two hit the Aurek Squadron Leader, pulling them off the Alderaanian flown E-Wing to evade Poe more focused than before.

Meanwhile, on the ground, all hell is breaking loose for Sith Empire forces as two more columns meet their end in spectacular fashion. Tovana earns a comment from one of the Commanders on the ground, <<"HELLUVA SHOT, PINK-ONE! THANKS FOR THE ASSIST!">>

The second explosion from the Tionese pirate creates another tall tower of destruction as the fighter zips by in a thunderous roar, the sound barrier breaking.

Two targets remain on the ground, and the rebel squadron has effectively pulled all fighters off their bombers, but they're going to feel that strain now.

<<"Look out for each other, and call out if you need help!">> Poe yells over the comms, his voice still robotic but distinctly his.

<<"We're hot now!">> Mollie yells into comms, feeling that heat come scorching across her cockpit from two different fighters. If you meet Mollie Madine at a bar at some point in the future, she'll tell you it was all skill that evaded that first incoming attack. It was, of course, dumb luck. A bad angle and attack vector. Too much speed and not the right line. That second one was a bit of fancy piloting, but she'll embellish that one too. A hard roll and a pull up sees her nose angling towards the ground. She lets out a long gasp of air and rolls and pulls in the opposite direction, re-righting her orientation out of harm's way.

<<"I see you, little womp rat,">> she murmurs, looking up and over her shoulder at Aurek-2 -- the one that got away. An ambient beeping of her targeting system heralds a near lock, but instead of firing photons she squeezes the trigger of the main cannons. One of four hits. Again, she'll tell you the hit was catastrophic.

Scuttled the karker.

<"Slippery little shaaaaaaaaaavit.">

Now they're all the veritable belles of the ball: Ulani herself with two potential suitors. Oh, to be the popular girl. <<"Sorry, I'm spoken for.">> A twist jukes the impending fire of both TIEs, putting Ulani in a perfect position to return the favour back to Aurek Seven again. "Didn't forget about you," she says more quietly to herself than projecting that one. Another hit kisses Seven's shields and nearly knocks them completely down. "Just turn tail like your friend did, hey?"

Rinky, luckily, hasn't had much to do save for monitoring the power levels and helpfully announcing how many fighters are currently trying to kill them. Statistics that Ulani is aware of but dutifully trying to ignore. "Yes, Rinky. Thank you."

<<"Copy, Nugget. Good shooting!">> giving a wing waggle before he is re-angling, to point and streak from Poe's bow to aft, searching for the ones targeting Black Leader, dialing his speed and inertial dampener on the way. <<"Pink, watch out for tails coming up upset by our most vehement discourse with their fellows!">>

Sighting up a shot and flicking his thumb over a power setting to maximum for his cannons, "Go'n tell that long tongue liar, go'n tell that midnight rider. Tell the reaver, the pirate, the TIE Fighter... Tell 'em the Father's gonna cut 'em down... Tell 'em the Father's gonna cut 'em down."

Inverting mid-way past and opening a chaotic saw of crimson fire that forces a mild, but necessary, slew to one side to get clear and bearing witness to a particular bit of Diplomatic Gestures from Lord Thul on the way past.

There's the smell of something smokey and Shemar tries not to let himself get distracted and give into the temptation to look over his shoulder, <"R3, whatever that is, please fix it."> Because the pilot's a little busy here. Juking to keep from getting his ass shot up, Shemar is focused on having not one but two TIEs trying to get a lock on him but he's able to shake them and keep them from even getting close shots. Meanwhile R3 tries not to draw attention to his failure to top up the shields and keeps trying, having better success after a moment.

Breaking his attackers loose enough for Shemar to come around, the T-85 X-Wing, Saber 13, lines up one of the TIEs that had been firing upon him as it races away. The former Black Squadron pilot fires upon it the instant he has tone but the lock doesn't hold and the TIE eludes him in turn, peeling off.

Eisley takes a second to check the status markers and their locations for the rest of his flight to see who's got what on them and instead of peeling after that TIE, Shem focuses on keeping their bombers clear to do their thing.

<"Shield still isn't up to full, R3. Almost got it, buddy."> Behind him his R3 beeps and whistles, and keeps working to regain full power. <<"Thanks. Good to be back at it, over.">> Even if that blasted callsign keeps following him!

Ejnar noticed the TIE bearing down on him before the enemy open fired with his green lances, allowing enough time for the Alderaanian noble to juke his nimble craft away. He had his eyes on his Squadmates who seems to be holding their own, but he was also watching the smoking tail of Aurek Six. They weren't leaving the battlefield. "Alright, Stubborn."

Ejnar turns hard and comes back to line up behind Six, but the pilot is a bit more cautious given the condition of their craft. His scarlet bolts zip past the TIE and flicker into the sky. 5T gives a slightly disappointing beep. Lord Celchu looks to the text scrolling across the screen. "That's just not nice, 5T... come on now."

Tovana couldn't help but grin a bit at the banter from the other Y-Wing pilot. And another column of armor goes up in flames as Ektor makes another strafing run. "<<"Thinning their numbers down here!>>" Tovana pulls back hard on her fighter's controls, pulling the Y-Wing into a loop to bring it around toward the remaining columns. Just two left now, should be easy enough to mop up right? With that thought in her mind, Tovana takes aim at one of the remaining two columns and lets loose a wild proton torpedo into the target. The torpedo manages to find its mark and another column of fire erupts where there was once an advancing column of armor. <<"Just one more to go, all your's uh... Rogue?">> She pulls her fighter up to gain a bit of altitude and scans her surroundings, looking to get a feel for how the fighters were holding up against the enemy TIE's. Still seemed to be no shortage of TIE's in the sky, but at least their own fighters were still in the fight too!

Wild laughter comes from the Longprobe as Pink 1 catches the bad idea but and makes it work. <<"Thatta girl! Rekk, yeah!">> Ektor cackles. He'd been about to switch to torpedoes now that the bombers were clear of all TIEs, but what the hell? The whim strikes, and he dives again, screaming between buildings, and lining up a run on the last column. This time, the pirate cuts his dive too deep, and noses up too high, the laser cannons searing the air harmlessly over the armor and sizzling off at the horizon. <<"Last column is still live. Say, can one of you shoot at me a little? I do better when I'm getting shot at. And don't call me Rogue, Pinkie: I work for a living.">> First of all, Ektor, you made the Rogue joke first. Secondly, you're a pirate, that's the opposite of working for a living.

Poe is taking one hell of a beating. Three Aureks, including their leader, have begun to follow and fire at him. Despite an erratic flight pattern, Black Leader is picked apart. His shields go, then there's hull damage. Sparks fly within the control cabin of the snubfighter, and Poe's temper skyrockets as BB-8 says the obvious, and Poe's left to say, "YEAH, YEAH.. I SEE EM!"

Bors taking the Leader off his tail is a momentary relief, but Poe does not allow the fighter to come away from him unscathed, and he shatters their shields and returns the favor of heavy hull damage. Aurek Leader pulls off from Bors and the fight in an effort to limp home.

Another ground column goes up as Pink One strafes overhead, dropping an unguided bomb that obliterates the armor from above in a spectacular explosion. Xer's bomb follows, but unfortunately the payload was slightly off, resulting in the sudden destruction of a small, unimportant bridge. The column is still intact and now well aware that they're next on the menu.

Much of Aurek Squadron is still in the air, but there are several damaged in some fashion. Aurek Leader is trying to flee, their hull smoking; Aurek 2 has low shields, Aurek 6 is attempting to follow Aurek Leader's example and flee, their hull smoking; and Aurek 7 has low shields.

The rest of the squadron (aside from Aurek 8, who has been DEstroyed), is at operational capacity.

A loud, angry-sounding hiss from R4-Z3 heralds an incoming hail of TIE canon fire and, for a moment, Amallia Madine is quiet. It's a mercy, really. These little moments that her jaw isn't flapping. Her pupils widen and her nostrils flare, hands and legs and body moving independently and driven purely by instinct. It all happens so fast. A hard roll that sees that incoming fire rip down towards the ground and then a hard pitch up to evade the second. For little moments like this, it's like the Banshee Bird is just a part of her. Another limb. They are one organism moving together for the sake of survival.

<"Kark off!"> Mollie yells. It was good while it lasted. She lines up a sporadic shot at Aurek-7, that killer instinct causing her teeth to clench as if she'd gotten the thing between her jaws. She squeezes the trigger.

A line of canon fire rips through their escape vector. Shields pop. Hull sparks. Chance, it seems, is on her side. One of the wings is severed and the TIE enters a death roll towards the ground.

<<"Banshee Bird splash A-7. I spot two on escape vectors -- we letting them live to fight another day?">>

The dance can't last forever. Eventually, one of those shots is going to hit and indeed it does. Aldera Two spins and dives but it isn't enough to shake Aurek Seven who is especially upset about being dumped on their first date. Both cannons hit heavy against the shield; the kinetic energy alone peltined her down with a rapid ratta-tat-tat.

Rinky... well. Rinky isn't impressed. "I know, I know! Divert the power to the shields Get them back up! You can yell at me later!" Red lights are flickering in the cockpit but alarms aren't going off just yet. But they certainly are inside her own head. <<"I think the hornets are angry.">> Okay, battlefield humour is /not/ her strong suit, but she's trying not to panic while dodging fire and trying to return it in kind.

<<"Techie, drop your nose and max thrust.">> Bors's voice coming over comms, screaming towards the trio of fighters that is her, formerly, private dance party. Flipping onto one wing, noise aimed high and riding the gravity pull that his flight path forces without wing resistance pushing 'down' to keep him aloft.

RENCKRENCKRENCKRENCKRENCKRENCKRENCK

Cannon fire wobbling to the TIE's port and starboard and sinking from dorsal to ventral force its maneuvering (already erratic from having to evade Ulani) into the stream of fire that deforms one solar array and a stabilizer shaft that twists and then sheers off. The cannon fire chewing further into the ball of the fuselage and the engines of the screamer go up and Aldera Leader rockets past, looking at the descending wreckage with a distinctively foul tempered frown.

Shoot at Ulani, will they.

<<"Break starboard and see if you can get your tail to try for me.">>

Indeed, Eisley doesn't have to wait long before a TIE is arcing in to try and take shots at Tovani's bomber. Saber 13 throttles up, pouring on speed to try and get a better angle on the TIE before it cuts past and back out of his range. It's not the best alignment and he's only got a couple of seconds to take the shot or loose it...

Dark skin reflecting the glare of light as he rotates his craft, Shemar tries for tone and gets it - firing away! It's close, pretty close but the TIE jukes and is too wiley to pin down, slipping away. <"Kriff!"> But hey, at least he got it off of Tovana, at least for the moment.

R-3 behind him manages to bring Saber 13's shields back up after having taken another hit. So far, so good, no real damage but this furball is keeping the astromech busy working to keep it so! Shemar says, <"Good job. Keep at it and we'll get through this."> He's already twisting his helmet around trying to keep an eye on everything going on around him. Eisley's HUD isn't the only thing he's keeping tabs on as he flies.

IT had been some years since Ejnar Celchu had gotten a kill, and while an Ace from his previous military years, he was not one in his new squadron. He opted to chase after the group of damaged fighters attempting to flee. If not to destroy them, then at least send the message that they too would be merciless in their resolve. He could tell Six was scared as their heightened sense of fight of flight was helping them creep away from his scarlet fire. He also had to contend with the live fighters still gunning for them, but he was alert and able to avoid their fire.

Tovana hears that beeping from her R3 unit again, alerting her that one of the TIE's has decided to take aim at her. As she starts to maneuver out of the way, she notices the shot going wide and lighting up the air next to her. <<"These guys aren't very good at hitting Y-Wings.">> Tovana notes over comms. Checking on the situation on the ground, Tovana notices the remaining column still standing. Eager to get this last target dealt with so they can help mop up the fighters, Tovana turns her Y-Wing back around and takes aim at the remaining column, going in low to the ground. The torpedo launches, but too low, hits the ground way too early and strikes a checkpoint ahead of the column. Tovana winces and meekly pulls up away from the ground targets. "And that's why you use the targeting lock with those..." she quietly scolds herself, letting out a sigh. This last target was seemingly proving a bit trickier to hit.

Ektor grimaces in his cockpit when he sees his fellow Wishbone pilot's last bold bomb fall astray, but his voice is as light a d irreverent as ever when he cracks over the comms, <<"I got this last one, Pinkie, break off and go high, yeah?">> Flipping fire control to the cannons, he angles the bomber's nose down steep, evading a blast from a TIE. "Thanks, pal, just what I needed to steady the nerves, yeah?" A crooked grin. <<"I'm going in hot and hard, yeah?">> The Longprobe's nacelles flare bright orange, emitting a peaceful whisper utterly at odds with the roar of air, the broken sound barrier, and the fiery devastation inflicted on the line of heavy tanks by the burning line his nose cannons draw up the street. <<"Hutt-sucker column five is all tuckered out, yeah?">>

Aurek Squadron experiences a few losses to include their fleeing leader. Aurek 6 manages to get away, leaving Aureks 3-5, and 8-12. All of Aurek is starting to break off, their objective a failure when the last column is destroyed by direct fire from a strafing Y-wing. Towers of smoke cloud the skies as the two squadrons continue to trade shots, but the Sith Empire group is losing 'ground' pulling off.

<<"Good hits on all targets. Be advised, we have lost contact with Checkpoint Cresh, but recon teams are moving into position to help reinforce that location. Black Leader, your team's mission is complete.. start to pull back!">>

<<"This is Black Leader, roger. We'll get our parting shots and return to friendly lines, over.">>

Mollie's eyes briefly lid at the mention of losing contact with checkpoint Cresh. A soft sound escapes her throat as she turns her nose towards one of the fleeing TIEs and squeezes the trigger. Their shields bubble but don't pop, but Mollie is only taking parting shots. She peels away and orients herself back towards friendly lines.

<<"Banshee Bird disengaging. On our way home, HQ. Good shooting and good kills. Body bags.">>

A glance is given down towards the city that this skirmish has taken place over. R4-Z3 gives a slow warble of appreciation, thankful to be out of the blitz.

<"Yeah yeah. Regular freeloader, aren't you? Didn't even have to lift a pinky.">

<"VwoooOOooooo...">

<<"Copy, Aldera Leader. Thank you!">> Ulani banks starboard as directed, catching the blip of Aurek Seven disappearing from her radar. She will have to mull over that later. Over tea and perhaps some of those hard-crusted, crumbly ganju nut biscuits that Nestra makes. Oh, yes. That would be quite a treat after this. For now, she has to focus on luring her tails into Bor's crosshairs.

Rinky gets the shields back up to full much to Ulani's relief. And seeing Aurek squadron begin their retreat, she joins their motely crew of do-gooders in pursuit. Opening fire to make sure they continue to fly off rather than wheeling back to make another pass.

All her cannons hit at once; shattering Aurek Twelve's shields and then shattering Aurek Twelve itself. Craft and pilot incinerate in a mid-air explosion then plummet towards Thyferra's surface.

Aldera Two is very, very quiet.

It's team work, lining up their parting shots as the TIEs attempt to break off. Ulani nails one, and then when Bors damages one, Shemar is right there to try and cross fire and nail that one too before it can escape - but it's Ejnar who fires third and blows that TIE fighter into blooming debris.

<<"Great shots! Saber 13 is RTB, over.">> Eisley watches Tovani, Xer and then Pretty Boy work together to get another one. <"A few less TIEs to serve the Sith. Worth while efforts, R3."> Shemar glances back, <"Hey, we need to come up with a real name for you, buddy."> Something to think about as he brings his X-wing back around to return with the rest of his flight. No, not a bad day at all for the impromptu squadron. <<"Pleasure to fly with you all again. Keep frosty!">>

Ejnar understood that the Sith projected the idea of them being a dominating unforgiving force. With the fighters he was chasing out of range now, having pushed all their auxiliary power into escaping, he turned in towards what was left of the now retreating force. He watched Ulani, and then another of their rag tag group hit Aurek Nine to the point shields were barely holding.

"5T, take some power from the shields and dump into into the cannons." Ejnar said to his Astromech. The droid responded with a whir and did as was told. Coming from above the enemy, the Alderaanian Lord lined up his crosshairs until it went green. Then he fired. All three of his heavy Canons ripped into the vessel. The first stripped away what was left of the shields before the last two slagged the eyeball before it vaporized in a rather intense and bright explosion. Ejnar had to hold up a hand to shield his eyes as he pulled away and upwards. <<"Aldera Six... Splash Aurek Nine...">>

He Still had it after all. <<"returning to formation...">>

Banking to come in on Aldera 2's wing, Bors's craft slows to match speed, turning his head within the canopy to look into Ulani's craft - giving her a little wave before jerking his thumb towards 'home'.

<<"Aldera Squadron, that's the game. Note your tallies and get the hence to our rally points.">> flicking to combined-squadron channels, <<"Black Leader - always a pleasure, aye?">> ship heaving over and making for their exit vector.

Tovana starts to pull away to pick a new target at Ektor's suggestion and breathes out a sigh of relief when she sees Ektor's Y-Wing deliver a strafing run on the remaining ground targets, lighting them up with a pair of shots. <<"Nice shooting! That's all of them!">> She checks on the status of the TIE that had been picking a fight with her in time to see it get lit up by Ulani, obliterating the fighter. With that one out of the way, Tovana veers off after the other TIE that had decided to pick a fight with a Y-Wing. Lining up behind it, she fires off a shot from her Y-Wing's nose cannon, just -narrowly- missing the offending fighter. <<"Pfft... consider that a warning shot!">> With the TIE's retreating now, Tovana would pull off as well. <<"Nice work everyone, been a pleasure flying with you all!">> she'd call out to the rest of the squadron over comms as they head back.

Ektor wheels his light bomber around in a slow arc to join the other Y-wing in hastening the retreat of their former tormentors. Alas, TIEs are faster (though in all other ways inferior) to the old Longprobe, and the most he can do is slap the shields some at long range. <<"Arright, Boom Squad falling in. Or was we Pink Squad? I wasn't really listening, yeah?">>

As the squadron pulled away, Aurek squadron was left leaderless and limping. Only half of the squadron returned to base, and their objective to protect the armored columns going into the city failed utterly thanks to the ace piloting of two daring bomber pilots.

The rebels were not without their own wounds, but no one in the Rebel squadron was shot down. With armored columns destroyed, only one checkpoint gone, and no fighters lost.. that goes down as a tick-mark under the Wins.