| Beacon, Beacon, Who's Got The Beacon |
| Summary: | Air Wing mock battles with capture the beacon and some drag. |
| Date: | PH057 (14 June 2009) |
| Related Logs: | Beacon, Beacon, Briefing & Beacon Beacon 2 (cos the freakin' log was too huge for 1 page). |
| Players: |
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CEC Kharon, Hangar Deck, Hangar Bay 1
IC Time: Post Holocaust Day #57
OOC Time: Sun Jun 14 19:50:23 2009
There's activity here at almost every hour of the day. Impact guns can be heard with their shrieking rumble while crew call back and forth, their voices carrying just above the din of the work here. What's readily apparent is that this is the main Hangar Bay for the Vipers, the distance going back further than the other two Bays which are separated by thick, hydraulically rolled blast doors. On each side of the room, near the Fore end, six Viper tubes are ready for quick deployment of the Kharon's Viper squadron. Lining the rest of Hangar Bay One, each Mark Two and Mark Seven has its own place to be kept with a small red toolchest that holds the minimum of required equipment for quick maintenance.
Along the floor, each individual Viper bay is painted off with a single hashed yellow and black stripe. A deep red line denotes important electrical conduits and access ports just below the deck while a bright blue line follows up walls and across the floor to tell where the Tylium lines run in case of fire. Outlets along the wall for the fuel as well as corrugated rubber piping stand ready for use, fluorescent yellow firefighting gear kept in plain sight for easy access nearby.
[Wolf-7: Willem] And the relative clockwork of Rebound's pre-flight checklist begins. And it's mostly uneventful. Deck crew scurry about, having fuelled and primed the bird. He peers just once outside the cockpit around the Hangar Deck's environs, blinking unevenly as he fiddles with a series of switches, frowning a little.
[Wolf-1: Kai] Kai is one of the last to file into the hangar bay, helmet under one arm while he pops pressure seals and heads for his fighter. There must be something afoot, considering a good portion of the viper squadron is invading the place. He clambers up the ladder into his bird, tugs his helmet on, and settles in for a quick pre-flight while the raptors get geared up.
[Wolf-6: Castor] Leda is gone, there is no Castor, there is only Tinman as he enters into the cockpit. He is goes through pre-flight with typical calm and cool detachment. He takes a moment to look down at his dials before he gives a thumbs up that he is ready for flight.
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Jupes says something to Martin, then heads over to claim a viper, sliding her helmet on on the way. She tugs on her gloves, climbs the ladder up to the cockpit, and gets comfortable, awaiting her turn to tow and launch.
[Wolf-4: Martin] Smirking at what Jupiter says, Martin replies and heads to his row. Climbing up into the cockpit and securing his helmet, Dash starts the preflight checks and gives a thumbs up to the deck crew to pull away the ladder. Letting the canopy slide down into place, he takes a deep breath and finishes his checklist. Ready to go, he flashes his running lights and waits for the signal to launch.
[Wolf-3: Max] :releax, ready to rock and roll. She drums her fingers as she waits.
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Xanthus goes through his preflight check. Satisfied that his viper isn't going to become an ex-viper without external intervention, he flashes the deck crew a thumbs up.
[TAC3] "Spider" Kai says, "All right, once you're cleared to launch, form up on your team captain, and we'll head out to Periander four."
[Wolf-7: Willem] And Willem likewise now has his helmet affixed, peering out at the attending crewman. Peering around the deck again in his own nosy way, finally flicking the last required switches and verifying status. He flashes a gentle thumbs-up, and a nod as well indicating all systems are 'go,' as it were.
[Wolf-9: Mars] La la la. Mars scrambles up her ladder, pokes around at a few dials and flips through her clipboard full of preflight as she goes along. When it's all said and done, she checks and then secures her helmet on her cranium, double checks the seal and nods to the deck hand nearby. He starts to lower the canopy on Wolf-9.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Sometimes it's just going through the motions. Eddie seems to be in one of those phases, where she checks everything, almost on auto-pilot. Finally she gives the deck a green to go for the tubes, before clicking on her music. Today's choice? Something loud and angry and if it has lyrics, they're lost beneath the base line.
[Wolf-1: Kai] Harness secured, canopy brought down, and systems powered on, Kai is ready to rumble. He waits for confirmation on launch privilege, and then is first in line to be towed off to the tubes. Zoooom.
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Per-i-an-der-four. I always wanted a high-gravity vacation, Sir. Think they sell postcards or Tauron Ale?"
[TAC3] "Dash" Martin says, "Wing, Dash, enroute to starting point."
[Wolf-1: Kai] As the vipers begin rolling out of the tubes, the not-too-distant hulk of a terrestrial planet might be spotted off the starboard bow. Its atmosphere is glassy looking and grey-blue, the 'air' most likely nitrogen rich. And cold. The two raptors are already getting their sensors and DRADIS fully online, and swooping in on a trajectory toward the planet with their more violent cousins in tow.
[Wolf-4: Martin] Bursting from the launch tube, Dash keeps it simple and uses his typical exit flourish of an angled roll. Heading to the starting point where Gold team is going to rendez-vous. Using visual communication for the moment, he keeps his eyes around them on the starfield, not forgetting to make sure that Cylons aren't intending to ruin their training.
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Think the Captain would pose for a, Captain. Would you pose for a picture? Probably not. Falling in line. Huh. Might be a delay. Everything looked fine at prelaunch but there's somethign funny about this bird. I'm sorry."
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "I'm sure Medical has something for that, Jester."
[Wolf-1: Kai] Kai bursts out of the launch tubes along with the rest of his section, and forms up on the raptor assigned to his team. No fancy flying from him. Not yet, anyway.
[Wolf-3: Max] Max flies along casually, she knows a few manuevers. Following along course for the planet, she seems to be taking it easy at the moment. Why waste anything till it's important.
[TAC3] "Spider" Kai says, "No, Jester."
[Wolf-9: Mars] No frills flying. That's Mars all over. Her viper pops out of it's tube with all the grace of a tennis ball launcher launching (you guessed it) a tennis ball. When she's got a bead on Wolf-1, she slings her viper behind and to the right of it.
[Wolf-7: Willem] Blue-Team. Wil's Viper flies in tight formation following Kai's section. He turns his head about quickly in the cockpit in a quick visual scan, securing Jester's position firmly in his mind, and then keeps his focus straight ahead as he keeps it nice and level, making a beeline for the planet and maintains course, making a couple yaw adjustments to remain smooth.
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman flies in formation with his raptor, for his part he is quiet, he always is as wuiet as the grave when he is flying, why, only the dead or the Lords know, however he checks on the rest of his wing as they emerge from the Kharon. He then checks on his Raptor as he checks his now 'dead' DRADIS out of habit.
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Jester, Rebound. That's my usual plane. Don't go holding me responsible if some kind of suspicious lubricant is found on the controls. Over."
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Sorry, sir. Sorry. Looks like it's okay now."
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Out of the tubes shoots Wolf-2, carrying Fingers and her varied com comments. She forms up on Tinman, with a weather eye to the location of Gold's raptor.
[TAC3] "Dash" Martin says, "Lubricant on the flight stick? There's a joke in there somewhere."
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "Yeah, but it involves your girlfriend, Boner."
[TAC3] Mars says, "Which one?"
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Mooner brings up the rear-end, how appropo. She's at the tail end of the Gold formation, winging her bird into line as she follows her team off to the celestial body. No cute channel chatter for her, for now.
[Wolf-1: Kai] The trip down to the planet's uneventful. As Kharon's ugly mug slowly pitches away in the distance, Periander IV looms in closer. The atmosphere, as promised, is heavy and laced with thick clouds as the vipers descend into it. Wind and ice begin to batter the ships, and a rather calm, desolate landscape emerges once they breach the thermosphere and stratosphere, into the troposphere. There is life here, but it's scrubby, low-lying and barely hanging on. There are massive 'sand' dunes that probably aren't sand at all, frozen rivers and tributaries leading out to fractured islands, and craggy mountains devoid of volcanic activity. Not much place to hide, but plenty of room to fly. The gravity begins, quickly, to exert its pull upon the fighters, making them sludgier to maneuver.
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman says to his teammates, "Mind the slugishness, this gravity is going to muck up our response times if we aren't ready for it." Strangely, Tinman has flown in atmo before, chasing pirates, granted it wasn't on any planet he could land on, though, he has flown in atmo. He takes a moment to eyeball the Gold Team Raptor.
[TAC3] "Dash" Martin says, "what girlfriend, Fingers? Gods…this shit is rough…"
[Wolf-4: Martin] Scowling beneath his helmet at the banter about his love life, Martin 'Dash' Black maneuvers his Viper through the sludgy atomosphere of the planet. Disliking it immediately compared to the free void of space, the one benefit of atmo is possible cover that doesn't involve using another ship as a shield. Shaking his head, he continues to focus on his flying, playing rear guard to the Raptor as they float in.
[Wolf-7: Willem] The tellatle rattling of atmospheric entry grabs ahold of Wolf-7, the plane's heat shield doing its job as Rebound rolls his bird gently to follow Spider's section. There's a bit of a noticable delay in the maneuvering as he forces the controls a little more to compensate for the atmospheric pressure and gravitational resistance of the alien world's environs.
[Wolf-1: Kai] OOC: Ok, everyone do a +combat/join #862/pilot/<name of your ship goes here> for me. :)
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Fingers is in the same boat as Dash. The ass drag has her flying with both hands on the stick. Mellow harshed, man.
[Wolf-3: Max] Max continues to sing to herself, adjusting her controls now and then as she flies.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] You know what happens when you go into a mission with you mind millions of FTL jumps away? Eddie. That's what happens. When her ship hits atmo, she wasn't physically prepared for the sudden strong pull. The stick literally gets yanked out of her one fisted grip, and her bird starts to tank. Hard. Eddie's nose-diving like a lesbian at an all-you-can-eat muff buffet.
[Wolf-9: Mars] If one could see into Mars' cockpit, they'd see her grimacing as her viper hit those upper regions of the planet's atmosphere. Still, she keeps her flying level. Sort of. The viper does bob a bit, but she manages to keep it in relatively the same position on Wolf-1's wing, flying in formation with it.
[TAC3] Mars says, "What a pleasant planet."
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "Good for the manual dexterity."
[Into the Wireless] Jupiter says, "Good for the manual dexterity."
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Yeah, why doesn't he ever take us anywhere -nice-?"
[TAC3] (from "Mooner" Eddie) ..Frakfrakfrakfrakfrak…
[TAC3] "Songbird" Max says, "I think it's rather pleasent, a nice cheery day,"
[TAC3] Mars says, "Yea, okay."
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman says to Eddie over the coms, "Hey, I warned you so get on your stick." He then takes a moment to adjust as his ship doesn't buckle in atmospheric flight mostly out of experience. He calls back to his Raptor, "You know our first target so find it." He then checks his flight instruments. He calls out over the coms again in his detached calm tones when he is in the cockpit, "The rest of you be careful."
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Rebound, I think I found that lube you told me not to find or blame you for. If I open this jar, am I going to regret life itself?"
[Wolf-8: Eddie] :finally gets a grip, literally and figuratively, and muscles her Viper out of the dive.
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "Right! I'm awake. I'm awake. Nothing to see here."
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, ""Hey, I warned you so get on your stick." He then takes a moment to adjust as his ship doesn't buckle in atmospheric flight mostly out of experience. He calls back to his Raptor, "You know our first target so find it." He then checks his flight instruments. He calls out over the coms again in his detached calm tones when he is in the cockpit, "The rest of you be careful.""
[Wolf-7: Willem] Well, he's not having the most pleasant of a day with the controls, but Rebound's holding up well enough. He fortunately anticipated the turbulence. One advantage of the pure joy that is garrison duty is a passing familiarity with Atmospheric ops. Although Tauron was never quite like -this-. He pulls up on the throttle to keep pace, telegraphing his movements so Jester can follow along easily.
[Wolf-1: Kai] As the group descends upon the planned site for the 'game', the raptors peel off to their respective bases, tailed hopefully by their viper counterparts. Spider burns low and fast to the ground, maybe showing off a little, or maybe he just likes seeing the terrain rush by him at blinding speed.
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Sorry Jester. Rebound. Didn't catch that. Some kind of interference, I think you're talking with your mouth full?"
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Jester is keeping up with his wing just fine until Spider offers an able-bodied distraction, causing him to monkey-see, monkey-do; The other speed junkie just can't contain himself. It's not as though this is a real military engagement and his CO just did it! Perfect excuse, there! He comes in nice and low, himself.
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "I /said/ I didn't know you were gay."
[TAC3] "Spider" Kai says, "All right, everyone find your home base, and then we'll start. It'll be marked by a beacon which will show up on your distress frequencies. Make sure you've got your weapons set to training, and no ramming each other. You do, you're out."
[TAC3] Mars eyerolls, which… can't really be heard over this channel. But she also mutters.
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, "Captain, Jester's mouth is moving, you may want to look into that."
[Wolf-3: Max] Max rolls her viper, as she heads for the starting area, she continues sing softly as she flies. She listens to all the radio chatter, but keeps quiet for the most part.
[Wolf-9: Mars] After a few seconds delay, Mar's viper flies on after Spider's and Jester's. She doesn't go nearly as low or as fast as those two, either. Feh.
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Copy that, sir. Low. Fast. And Clean. No further comment."
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Jester to Spider. That's a copy. Streaming in on your mark. You know I'm kidding, Rebound."
[Wolf-4: Hale] Rabbit keeps flying within formation. Sticking close over to Eddie's Viper, mainly so as to keep an eye on his wingman- and ensign project. And remarkably the Lieutenant has been close mouthed, content to listen to all of the other pilot's chatter for the time being. Well that is for now. Soon enough the big Leonisian's voice will chime out evenly enough.
[Wolf-7: Willem] And like that, Wil punches the throttle. He's not necessarily a reckless flyer, by any stretch, but he's not really a reckless person. Still, he's the type that derives pure joy from flying and throws himself into the pure existential joy of speed, thrust, acceleration and burn as the scenery blurs slightly, closing in on the base's position at a rapid clip.
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, "Spider. Rabbit, copy that sir. Alright ladies and gents, Lets keep her clean.."
[Wolf-1: Kai] The starting areas are difficult to spot by sight, but with the beacons' pinging, not too tricky to hone in on. Gold's base is buried in the midst of rolling 'sand' dunes littered with an outcropping of tangled, scrubby trees. Blue's is nestled in a valley formed by a frozen tributary, reachable only through a narrow and somewhat treacherous pass. Both present different, and not trivial challenges to reach them.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Eddie's cheeks are flushed, maybe from the embarrassment she caused herself by nearly tanking into the landscaping. Focus. Check. Breathe. Check. Remembering to pee before zipping up her flight suit and launching? Negatory. She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, checking her weapons.
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "Mooner copies. Weapons in training. No bumper cars."
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman's Viper stays fairly calm, perhaps a slight buck here and there but he is looking at his sanddunes as he scopes his beacon. He doesn't make any kind of expression as he flies, why would he, he simply breathes and watches the horizon as he keeps his formation.
[TAC3] "Spider" Kai says, "All right, weapons free and good hunting."
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "Copy."
[Into the Wireless] Jupiter says, "Copy."
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, "Copy that Captain. Look forward to it. Alright Gold- Lets get her ready.."
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Blue Team's raptor is basically a living lesson in assumptions and why they make a fool out of, you know. It should be preparing to go towards the other team's base, but it's not. It should most certainly not be landing in front of its own beacon, but it is. The crew should not be loading its own beacon into the raptor, but that is exactly what they're doing. And then they lift off and start to fly away with it!
[Wolf-1: Kai] Kai swings around and punches his thrusters, hammering his viper out of the little valley housing their beacon — their beacon currently in the process of being stolen — and veering off to prowl amongst the ravine's shadows for interlopers. In short, he's guarding their base.
[Wolf-4: Hale] Rabbit keeps his place as soon as they come over towards the Gold beacon and quickly whips himself around. It seems the Lieutenant will be keeping patrol over Gold team's own headquarters. A glance to see who might come a looking for their fine little beacon, he is punching up his thrusters to bring himself a little more into that cloud cover is provided, though keeping an eye to see what might come in. Yup consider base guarded.
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Fingers is off like a shot, headed through the glory that is the atmosphere. Her flying is fairly conservative so far, but she puts the hammer down. Speeeeeed.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Eddie knows how to gun her bird, so she's off like a shot, looking for a beacon that's been sucked up into the Raptor? Nope. She's gunning for a specific target.
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman is moving with Eddie, it would seem like taking out the most dangerous target first is the best strategy and so he also aims at a specific target.
[Wolf-9: Mars] Mars neither guns her bird, nor does any flashy moves. What she does do is fly in precision formation with Kai, guarding their base.
[Wolf-7: Willem] No DRADIS. No DRADIS. This…Well, there are reasons for these exercises, and Willem's not about to be bitching about that one little thing. Maybe a slew of others but not that. Scanning with a few rapid turns of his head, he closes towards Gold Base with a punch of the thruster and a slight roll which probably requires a lot more effort than it would in the vaccuum of space. A turn of his head to give a quick glance for Jester and he returns his gaze to the general vicinity of the Gold beacon. Which, of course, would contain Eddie and Hale.
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] It's huntin' season, and Gold's team is out for some blood. It isn't long before Fingers hits the vicinity of the ravine. Dadum. Dadum. Daduuum. She spots a little somethin' somethin' and her viper maneuvers into the area with to hands on the stick.
[Wolf-7: Willem] Correction. Not Hale. He's going straight for the target. Rebound, that is. The -real- target, not some pansy blockers.
[Wolf-4: Hale] And as one could almost hear the music playing as the Blue team members come a hunting for his wee Raptor, Rabbit punches it coming all in from above, reigning simulated death-or so that's the plan. No one comes into his house. Who's house? Hale's house.
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Hot on his wingmate's tail and then a bit in front of it, Jester's lit his afterburners and has gone straight for the biggest target on the board. No subtlety here.
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "Heeeeeeeere kitty kitty kitty…"
[Wolf-7: Willem] Well, that was..anticlimactic. Bob, Weave, Wil's got a shred of situational awareness at least which keeps up evasive maneuvers without breaking away from his section, or the target. A sudden roll to port and a throttle burst keeps him out of Rabbit's line of fire for -now- but it does have a sad side-effect. His bogus rounds go wide and miss the Gold Team's Raptor by a decent enough margin.
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] While everyone is busy shooting each other, Blue Team's raptor, which has been scanning the landscape of the planet ever since it left the hangar, flies to what must simply be the worst place on this entire godless planet: Nice, roaring, nearly arctic rapids. Poised over a wide, trecherous stream of angry and freezing waters, the Raptor opens the hatch and dumps the beacon out! It hits the water with a splash and rushes helplessly down the stream. It's going to be hell getting that thing out now.
[Wolf-4: Hale] A grimace as it seems Rabbit is coming in hot, the simulated streams of fire doing nothing but alerting to the hunters in his neck of the woods, that there is indeed one lone shepherd to protect the sheep. If anything it might shake Willem off, but then said defender is moving for Jester's arse. PLan? Blow it out of the water.
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Fingers' heavy handed maneuvering is still on on task. She avoids two shots of the mock weapons as she closes in on her target, her finger hovering on the fire button. Got a newspaper for ya, Spider.
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "Somebody's showing me some love and affection."
[Into the Wireless] Jupiter says, "Somebody's showing me some love and affection."
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "That was…stupid. Oh, -nice- one, Jester."
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, " Alright gents, I'm going t' ask you nicely, lay off my bird there."
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman breaks off to fire at Raptor Blue, why, because he realizes that he needs to stay on target. his face is expressionless, almost like that of a dead man as he pilots the Viper. He speaks over the coms as he says…
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Jester flies alongside his wingmate, peppering the other team's raptor with imaginary death. Between him and Rebound, someone's shots are bound to land, and they finally do.
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Tsk, Tsk, Rabbit. You didn't say the magic word."
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Whatever. One of us hit it, Rebound. Hey, Rabbit! I'll give you the bird if you give us yours!"
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, "You are all talking instead of flying…the cylons won't make that mistake."
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale chuckles "How about-Now."
[Wolf-1: Kai] As everyone decides they want a piece of the squadron leader, Kai is quite possibly smiling into his helmet. Not like anyone can prove that, of course. He yanks the stick into a hard pitchback to avoid the hail of fire from Castor, his own guns failing to put a mark in his target this go 'round. Pouring on the tylium, he strafes in for a second pass on Fingers while Mars backs him up.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Eddie isn't exactly at the top of her class when it comes to gunnery, so she's taking her time in lining up Kai in her sights. Inside her cockpit, the angry music rages on.
[Wolf-9: Mars] Grimacing as she misses with her first volley, Mars maintains her position on Spider's wing. A hot shot she is not: she likes order. She also likes firing off her mock weapons. PEW PEW PEW.
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] With Blue's beacon off on a wild water adventure of some sort, there's nothing left for the raptor crew to do but fly towards Gold team's beacon, which is exactly what it does.
[TAC3] Mars says, "I'd just like to take a moment and say that I don't like this game. And also you're flying like a cow in a tornado, Fingers."
[TAC3] "Spider" Kai says, "Nice shooting, Mars. Stay on her, and keep an eye out for that raptor."
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Hey! Watch the imaginary finish!"
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Playing with the stick is harder in these conditions, and Fingers' shot misses the squadron leader. She eats imaginary damage from another pilot, and her console lights up, letting her know there's someone else knocking at the door.
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "Just taking a cue from your mother, Mars."
[Into the Wireless] Jupiter says, "Just taking a cue from your mother, Mars."
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "No one wants to hear about your happy endings, Jester."
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] It would take just one more shot to finish off the other team's raptor, but with Hale all up in his grille, it's just not happening. Shots sail wide and shatter against the wasteland below, as long as you're willing to imagine it. He's too slow, and takes a few virtual hits in the process.
[Wolf-1: Kai] Spider's shots slip wide from their mark again as he burns in for a close pass on Fingers. Though to be fair, he's got two of them on his tail and the weaving and dodging is requiring a fair bit of concentration. Neither of his pursuers manage to clip him, but it's probably only a matter of time. Pour on the hateorade, baby.
[Wolf-4: Hale] A laugh hidden in Rabbit's Helmet, as his hits score big, hopefully that'll teach them to go after his wounded little friend. Thrusters are still Hot as he is coming back in for another run and gun down on the two viper pilots. His hope to draw one-if not both off his Raptor- and so that is what he will be going for.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Eddie goes to strafe Kai with her KEW, but the Raptor of the Blue team manages to get a lock on her and jam her systems. Spider doesn't even get clipped by her carefully aimed shot. Now she's getting pissed. Not that it takes much.
[Wolf-1: Kai] Blue team's raptor is zipping in toward Gold's base now, a little late to the party after its sekrit mission. Gold's is getting hammered on its way to Blue's clubhouse.
[Wolf-7: Willem] My. This is unproductive. While not taking any hits, Willem's not scoring any, either. Nobody can hear you curse with the transmit button off, thankfully, He sticks close to his wingman trying to crisscross the enemy team's Raptor with mock-fire. Unfortunately it's just not happening. He brings his bird hard around into an aggressive, more severe angle of attack to just punch it one more time.
[TAC3] Mars says, "My mother is dead. Guess it sucks to be you."
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, "All of our mothers are dead, are you here to pout or to shoot?"
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Who said that was happy? Oh, by the way Rabbit. I hate you. Love, Rebound."
[Wolf-9: Mars] This time, Mars' guns manage to score a laser hit on their target. A grim sort of smile creeps onto the pilot's face, never to be seen by anyone. She maintains her target, following after and unleashes another volley.
[TAC3] Mars says, "I appreciate your opinion. But, perhaps you'd like to discuss how big your balls are some other time, Tinman."
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "That'd be a real short discussion."
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, " Now now-Nobody start crying- I'm looking at you Rebound."
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, "Aw, Mars, was that a proposition, cause I'm a man who is spoken for."
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "Yeah, by your /mom/…oh wait. We decided those jokes were moot."
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "Your right hand doesn't count, Tins."
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "I believe you have to take a number and get in line, Rabbit. Oh. By the way. Sorry I broke your baby."
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "But at least it respects him in the morning."
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Again with Rabbit on Jester's tail. Jester jinks a bit, and though he's not actually (or figuratively) hit, Hale's attacks are easily /the/ reason why Jester's hypothetical munitions theoretically strike nothing but air.
[TAC3] "Fingers" Jupiter says, "I don't know about that, Mooner."
[Wolf-1: Kai] Blue team's raptor rolls and weaves like a slightly less agile— okay, whole hell of a lot less agile viper. It's just managed to breach the treeline now, honing in on the other team's beacon. Gold's raptor, meanwhile, gets 'tagged' as damage fills up its boxes. There's a quick comm message from its pilot, as it turns around to return to the staging point.
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] Fingers lights up twice more as two folks score hits on her, though none of them are too serious. She pulls a hard maneuver and rides low to the deck keeping on Kai's ass like woah. Hard maneuvers or not, Fingers is on the top gun currently on the field. The banter continues even as Gold's raptor RTBs to reset.
[Wolf-4: Hale] Keeps a good handle on staying on Xanthus's ass. Don't worry he'll buy you dinner later-mate. For now though it seems the only thing he is willing to give is a sparkly necklace of simulated KEW. Just what ever princess needs for the ball. A glance to his Dradis, but still the Rabbit remains doggedly on Jester.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Eddie drops her bird lower, the com chatter actually helping her continue to overthink things. This time, the ECM isn't a successful deterrent, and her training lasers eat up Kai's bird.
[Wolf-7: Willem] Oh, does persistence ever pay off. While Jester's taking the heat, Willem hits hard on the stick as his bird swoops around at a severe angle as he busts open a can of virtual ass whoopin' on the poor Gold Team's Raptor. And yes, its virtual ass is whooped. Nobody can see his shit-eating grin now as he pulls hard on the controls and aggressively brings his Viper around in a 180, fixing his guns on..Hale. Oh Wabbit, Wabbit….
[Wolf-1: Kai] Pounded by not one, but two pilots intent on smacking him around like a pinata at a birthday party, Spider's balls to the wall, all-out firing solution.. well, isn't. Much of a solution. He chops the throttle and falls back, dropping away again into the thick shadows cast by the rocky valley. If they want a chase, they'll get one. Away from his beacon.
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Ooh. Nice hit! Thanks for playing, gold team! Please accept this consolation prize of kiss our asses!"
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman is not letting off of Raptor Blue, especially since the Gold Team Raptor is now out, it would appear that mutual desctruction is the only way to win now and so Tinman sets off with another volley towards the Raptor, all of his other shots have found a home in the Raptor, were this not a simulation bits of Colonial steel would be sleeing inside of their new home, instead the pilot has to settle for practice laser hits.
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, "Jester, better whatch what you ask for.."
[Wolf-9: Mars] Sure, Mars flies a little like a freight train. But her steady method is scoring her hits on Jupiter's bird. She doesn't change the formula mid-stream.
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, "Jester, the grown ups are flying, go play at the kids table."
[Wolf-5: Xanthus] Shots-that-never-were streak past. Jester's gunning for Tinman, his primary target having already been dealt with by his wingman and himself. It's a little trickier out here with gravity and all. For just a second, the craft shakes a bit, but he regains control and manages a glancing shot.
[TAC3] "Jester" Xanthus says, "Wait. There are grownups in this squadron? I demand an explanation! Hey Tinman. Pew pew!"
[Wolf-4: Hale] Rabbit gives a glance as his display blinks up on some form of bloody damage and so rabbit quickly rolls out taking his time to at least lead Willem off, and bring about hopefully a damned fine attack on the bugger. Loose him or strand him in the clouds than rake the bird as it comes to find and meet him. Or so seems to be Wolf-4's idea. Lets see if it works.
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman doesn't make much of an expression as his landing gear is hit, then again, his expression never changes in the cockpit, however he keeps gunning for Raptor Blue, however he breaks he says with the level of a controlled killer over the com.
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, " Rebound. Rabbit. You're such a charmer."
[Wolf-2: Jupiter] The console in Fingers' viper flashes, indicating 'yo dead, mon'. She flips the viper in a barrel roll, and hits the thrusters to RTB as fast as possible for a happy little reset. There are no words on the comms, but certainly grumblings in the cockpit.
[Wolf-7: Willem] Why let up on a good thing? Wil's not ready to abandon his Section just yet, even as he starts dogging Hale as Rabbit closes in on Jester, he comes in gradually on Rabbit's Seven, letting a burst of tracer rounds tear into the LT.'s 'engine'. He assumes a more cautious angle now, turning to port again and entering a sort of spiralling dance with his combatant.
[TAC3] "Tinman" Castor says, "Shut your mouth boy, you keep jawing and see what happens."
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Why thank you, Lieutenant. I haven't heard -that- in a while."
[Wolf-1: Kai] Blue's raptor is in position now, after nicely dodging Castor's best efforts to put it out of its misery. It swoops in to the capture point, bay doors opening as an EVA-suited ECO clambers to the edge and prepares to make the grab. Gold's raptor, meanwhile, is just now swooping out to make its second attempt at a capture.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] Third time is not a charm. Eddie's shots never meet her target and Kai starts to skate away from the beacon at full tilt. Her orders were to pursue the big man, so that's what she's doing, laying into her throttle to give Spider chase.
[Wolf-1: Kai] Spider, meanwhile, still has the pedal to the metal and is blowing through the ravine at full speed. When he spots Mooner still in hot pursuit, he shoves the stick and pulls his fighter into a hard pitchback— effectively doubling back on her with the help (ha!) of a handful of Gs. His guns light up as he breaks low on the merge.
[Wolf-9: Mars] There's no crowing over the com. That's not Mars. She continues to grin in her cockpit, though. Switching targets, she swings after Kai and Eddie, bearing down on the latter like a runaway train.
[TAC3] "Rabbit" Hale says, "I love tango'ing with you Rebound, I really-and truly do. You like that little spin there?"
[Wolf-1: Kai] Poor ECO. Looks like he drew the short straw, in this game. Blue's hapless pair manage to load up the beacon and slam the hatch shut while their craft is fired on by a dogged Tinman. Gold's raptor, meanwhile, is back in the game and presenting a big fat target as it hunts Blue's beacon.
[Wolf-4: Hale] Rabbit keeps jawing along with his dance partner for now, as he erraticlly bobs and weaves, of course the problem with this is, his shot was none too aimed. Plus, He doesn't get hit- Minus, he doesn't his shite either. Oh well-back to the drawing board.
[Wolf-8: Eddie] The Squad Leader has a few years of experience on her, that's for sure. Eddie's KEW lasers fill empty space where Kai's Viper /used/ to be. His sudden manuevering has her cussing over the line, and careening fast in low terrain with nothing left to follow now. She's about to bank around and pull back into the fight, when somthing has her doing a double take. The frozen terrain is doing a fine job of matching up with the skyline, and she missed that outcropping with her first visual assessment. She catches it on the second and is able to veer away, but not before clipping the tip of her wing smartly.
[Wolf-6: Castor] Tinman breaks his target, and he sets himself on a course after Xanthus, aparently, he is not happy with Jester at all considering the course he is setting, it is an evading course and yet, the sudden switch seems very un-Tinman like, it almost looks like the pilot is willing to litterally ram his viper into the other pilots ship. Uh-oh, Jester wanted attention and now he has it.
[TAC3] "Rebound" Willem says, "Really, if you want to shake your ass like that all night I've got 10 cubits under the seat, Rabbit. I want the change, though."
[TAC3] "Mooner" Eddie says, "FRAK ME. Mooner here, I have damage for real, copy? I've lost my left stabilizer."
[TAC3] "Spider" Kai says, "Mooner, looks like you caught a wing there. You still- copy that. Can you bring her down?"
For more (oh, suspense!!) go to: Beacon Beacon 2.
