| MxM 12.47.37 |
| Summary: | A CAP is engaged a little further afield from the Kharon than usual during a 42 attack. The raiders fly in definite formation again, and boy do they seem to have a grudge! |
| Date: | PH220 (24 Nov 2009) |
| Related Logs: | MxM - 12.47.37 - CIC. |
| Players: |
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The Blackness of Space
IC Time: Post Holocaust Day #219
OOC Time: Tue Nov 24 12:47:37 2009
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The CAP is routine. After two days on alert, there is always a CAP up in the air, even between call outs, to watch the skies. Or rather, the space. But that's hardly as poetic, is it? By the standardized clocks, it's roughly three minutes until the next engagement should begin. And the count down continues…
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] The Viper flown by Exile carries on its scheduled path, carrying on in a lazy circle away from the carrier. Harrison himself starts working the controls with more of a purpose, apparently gearing up for the combat he expects at any moment.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] Even Thorn isn't immune to the effects of two days' worth of lost sleep; like most of the other pilots, he's only been able to catch a few catnaps here and there, and the exhaustion is starting to show. Sunken eyes stare into the empty DRADIS display as the Raptor soars through space, ringed by its Viper escort. Komnenos stifles a yawn as he triggers the comms, flicking a glance to the front, where Ciggie sits in for the disabled Ivory.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Harrison nudges his throttle forward a little bit before he tips his head to either side, relaxing the growing tension in his muscles. He eyes his own DRADIS for a moment, then allows his eyes to close for just a moment. "Maybe they won't show up this time," he whispers, just barely loud enough to be picked up by the comms. Of course, he sounds less hopeful than he probably would given any amount of real rest.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] Three contacts blip onto DRADIS, some 3-4 minutes out from scrambled alert viper range, and practically on top of the CAP. With barely time for detection, the engagement is sure to be swift and deadly for either the colonials or the cylons!
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Exile's fighter leaps forward as he pours on the tylium, working the controls to put himself onto a direct intercept course with the incoming raiders. "Son of a bitch, son of a bitch," he grumbles as he moves to engage again.
[STC] "Exile" Harrison says, "Kharon, Exile. We've got incoming bandits."
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Off in the distance, the blink of viper engines lighting up might just be spotted, as Kharon's alert fighters deploy in quick succession from its port launch tubes. Bethany "Bangbang" Wallace is leading the charge, her throttles jammed to maximum output as she streaks in to assist.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] As the Cylon Raiders appear on DRADIS, the Raptor arches away in the beginnings of a defensive maneuever. Meanwhile, Thorn brings the ship's EW suite online, sending invisible tendrils of electromagnetic jamming at their attackers' sensors. He's fully alert now, as the appearance of the Cylons sends a jolt of invigorating adrenaline into his bloodstream. "We've got one coming in on us, Ciggie," he calls out to the front as he does his work.
[STC] "Rebound" Willem says, "Kharon, Rebound. Wolf-11 is green for pre-flight, requesting clearance for launch."
[STC] Neha says, "Rebound, Kharon. Cleared."
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Swapping rounds with the Cylons turns Harrison's fighter into a pincushion once again as projectiles burn through the midsection of his fighter's hull. He squeezes off his own reply, putting rounds through the toaster's wing before peeling off to set up another attack run.
[STC] "Rebound" Willem says, "Kharon, Rebound. Copy that. Switching to Tactical-channel-three upon launch. Launching in five. Four. Three. Two. One. Launch!"
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The incoming raiders fly in a tight three man formation, which may be recognizable to some as the exact same formation that a certain pilot called Icarus had flown yesterday during one of the engagements, the engagement that claimed the life of a young pilot called Batista, no callsign. The formation is tight and deadly, two of the raiders going for Exile, and the third taking a potshot at his wing!
The only Nugget up this time around returns a serious whipping of his own, getting a lucky hit on one of those raiders who just beat the crap out of his SL. The raider blows apart, debris spinning past the colonial ships at high speed.
[Into the Wireless] Helios voice comes over comms, and he sounds a little shocked, but hen he usually does, "S-Splash one."
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] Thorn and Ciggie's Raptor dances — well, lumbers — around an ill-placed stream of fire from an attacking Raider. The big craft angles around, staying as close as possible to its protecting Vipers, as Thorn continues to jam the remaining pair of Cylon ships.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] As the Alert Vipers scramble, Wolf-11 comes hurtling out of the Launch tube carrying one slightly unkempt and unshowered Willem Price. If only smell could travel through space, whatever that cockpit smells like right now is probably foul enough to etch chrome. A small mercy to his enemies. Engines flicker to life and grow a brilliant blue as his Viper clears the Kharon's immediate airspace to close in on the combat zone.emy.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] As the Alert Vipers scramble, Wolf-11 comes hurtling out of the Launch tube carrying one slightly unkempt and unshowered Willem Price. If only smell could travel through space, whatever that cockpit smells like right now is probably foul enough to etch chrome. A small mercy to his enemies. Engines flicker to life and grow a brilliant blue as his Viper clears the Kharon's immediate airspace to close in on the combat zone.
[Into the Wireless] Ciggie's rough, weatherbeaten growl comes over the comms shortly after that of the splashy stutterer. "Let's get this done. I need a smoke." She sounds like she's been smoking too much for the last ten years. She doesn't need a smoke. "If you need a hitch, sound off. We'll hook you and boogie back to the barn." Despite the tense situation, she sounds almost bored, like she could ask someone to pass the bar peanuts at any moment.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Bethany, unlike most of the wing, flies like she actually has some juice left in here. Maybe she's managed to get her hands on some stims, or maybe it's just running on fumes. She keeps her thrusters firewalled, lower lip jammed between her teeth as she burns tylium like it's going out of style.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Exile's fighter drops onto the tail of the Raider that attacked him earlier and he squeezes off a stream of fire that does absolutely nothing except burn a few holes in space. "Hold still, you rotten bastards," he snarls loud enough to be heard over the comms as he peels off his target to cover the nugget.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The raiders turn and split targets, breaking formation to fly in and each take a pot shot at their trailing targets. They form up just after, when both escape the wrath of the colonials. Their red 'eyes' swish back and forth, and they turn as one to come around like birds of prey, hungry for the remains of their Romulan enemies. Er, I mean. Whut.
Wolf-25, sporting the nugget known as Helios, shudders as fire rips through the body of the bird, though the cockpit is just missed. The panels light up for a moment, then cool off as the viper recompensates, and gets back to business with no visible leaks or flaming death.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] The two Raiders leave the Raptor be for the moment, preferring to concentrate on the Vipers, who are each buffeted by weapons fire. The ship circles around the melee, Ciggie watching for pilots potentially in need of SAR as Thorn continues to hammer away at the Cylon targetting sensors with his ECM.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] As one, the raiders break off of wolf-25 to engage the nearby raptor, their gentle attentions finding a less heavily armed piece of prey.
[Into the Wireless] Ciggie's attention comes off her her instrument readout a couple of seconds after the raiders turn to intercept her craft. Her voice, when it comes over comms, is slightly less sleepy. Only slightly. "… Interception of the incoming naughties would be much appreciated, children."
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] Fulfilling the faithful interception role, Wolf-11, already kicked up to full burn cruises into the fray at attack speed directly closing in on the nearer Raider harassing the Wing's Raptor charge. A keystroke on the stick as the gun safeties are switched off and Rebound's plane hurtles towards its chosen target, keeping formation with Bangbang.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Lined up on the aft end of the Raider as he is, Exile fills the area around the Cylon with all sorts of weapons fire — even though it only goes around, and doesn't actually hit the broadside of the Raider's backside. He alters his trajectory slightly, turning to come after the second enemy target — hell, maybe he can hit that one.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] Both raiders spit a torrent of KEW rounds at the CAP Raptor, but they're no match for the combination of Ciggie's flying and Thorn's EW. Both bursts harmlessly flash around the Raptor, and Thorn finds himself having to stifle a hysterical, adrenaline-fueled cackle; despite his best efforts, a choked snicker does make its way over the comms. "Have some faith, Ciggie," he directs towards the front of the Raptor with an insufferable smirk.
[Into the Wireless] Ciggie pipes up, "Your jamming prowess is the stuff of legend, Thorn."
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The duo of winged death bears down on the raptor, then splits off to buzz the small craft on either side, coming so close the proximity alarms scream. They break off then rejoin, returning to the battle in a traditional two man wing alignment, one riding the four of the other.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Bethany is pretty aggressive for a wingman. She swoops in before Willem's even picked out a target for them, and starts gunning for the nearest toaster within range. Grimacing behind her helmet, she jams the trigger with her thumb and lights up her guns as the two vipers converge.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] The Raiders are persistant, but nothing comes of their efforts; again, their shots miss the Raptor, and one of them gets torn apart by the pursuing Vipers for its trouble. Thorn eyes the single red blip remaining on DRADIS as he continues to punch sequences into his ECM console. Only one left, but there's no letting up yet.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] As Rebound and Bangbang come hurtling into the fray, Wil sticks to the plan and breaks sharply to the left, squeezing off a salvo of rounds as his Viper's cannons do the talking, peppering the enemy Raider's airframe with a burst of fire. As the smack is laid down by his wingman, he lines up a shot on the other Raider's midsection, with a hard shift of Viper's controls.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Changing targets apparently is sitting well with Harrison as his Viper streaks past the Cylon, spraying rounds liberally through its weapons banks before peeling off and coming around for another pass.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The raiders take another volley at the raptor, though the alert vips have, by this time, made it onto the scene! One of the raiders is completely obliterated by the combined fire, the other loses the portion of its wing that contains one of its weapons, but wait!
DRADIS lights up with more contacts, popping in between the dogfight and Kharon. They turn, as one, like a pack of feral dogs and flow in formation to join in the fight.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Bangbang lives up to her name, and shoots the everloving shit out of one of the raiders on Ciggie's tail. Her flying is fast, but not too stylish; she cuts in a little too close to her section lead at times, and her technique is pretty much ad libbed. But she does know how to use those guns.
[Into the Wireless] Ciggie breathes a little sigh of relief when the raiders peel off again, and engage vipers, "And just like that the faith has returned." Her tone is drier than a martini on Aerelon, voice twice as harsh.
[Into the Wireless] Helios sounds off, "F-flying's a little rough, but I'm s-showing within accept… accept… acceptable readings."
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] Rebound's apparently done buffing his nails and managed to do his job, here. After shifting course, he rapidly closes 'downward' onto the remaining Raider of the previous section and starts to fire a series of controlled bursts into the heart of the metal beast in his gun sights, promptly making it 'go away.'
[Wolf-19: BangBang] You know how little kids get more hyper, the more exhausted they are? That's Wallace. She's probably running on pure adrenaline in there, since she's not usually this obnoxious. She brings her viper about to bear on her section lead's bogey, and her guns open up again with a peal of bullets that veritably shred its underbelly. The craft isn't totalled when she's done with it, but it is dead in the water.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Exile's fighter peels off, causing his shots to go wide as his DRADIS screams about the new incoming contacts. He considers for a moment, then turns his fighter toward one of the new arrivals. In the wild melee, though, he takes a moment to spot Helios' fighter and make sure that he's still flying smooth enough before engaging again.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] In this case, Wil's not particularly hotheaded. Or rather, maybe he values the skin that holds his ass together. Not exactly -cowardly- but he takes CIC's order to heart and begins to break off after squeezing off a few supression shots.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] As space gets a little more crowded, the lumbering Raptor arcs back towards the Kharon, touching off her thrusters for maximum speed. For the moment, Thorn's given up the chatter, concentrating on jamming the remaining Raiders with a calm but wan expression.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] Helios takes a beating with the turn to head back to the Kharon, though he hangs in on the battle and toughs it out, there's a definite stutter to his flying now, too! He struggles with the controls, and admirably keeps his shit more or less together inside the cockpit. Mostly.
As one, every single raider turns to swarm the raptor, breaking off from their other targets to engage the raptor as it also turns tail. Something about that sweet bunny booty must have piqued their interest. Some guys like boxy girls.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] The already mostly banged up Viper belonging to Harrison swaps fire with a Cylon before breaking free of the furball. He keeps a careful eye on Helios' ship as he can, and frowns when he takes in the damage that the other fighter has taken. "Damn," he mutters before breaking once again to go after the ship that pegged his wing the worst.
[Into the Wireless] Ciggie's grip tightens on the controls, and says through clenched teeth, "Must be the new perfume."
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] The initial burst fired off at the Raider harassing his wingman is unsuccessful, serving nothing more than a warning shot, really. As Wil's Viper bobs and weaves back , he cranes his head around in the cockpit sharply like some kind of enraged ferret as he takes another shot on the way to the barn.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] A lucky shot by one of the raiders lances through the tailsection of her viper, and throws her into a brief — but sickening — spin. There's nothing over the comms for those few tense seconds, though she's almost certainly repeating a litany of ohshitohshitohshits behind her helmet. Finally, her hand closes over the stick and she manages to throttle her engines in reverse, canceling out the forward momentum. And then she belts it after her section lead.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] The dance continues as Willem's shots are largely ineffective and he throws his plane into another sharp turn, heading back into Kharon's airspace and (hopefully) some semblance of safety, sticking close to his wingman like a particularly flaky form of ginger glue.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] The Raiders have again settled on the Raptor as their target. This time, though, several shots connect; two of the Cylons each land hits on Fox-4's engines, and the craft bucks under the impact. Thorn curses from the backseat, giving a quick shake of the head as he punches a new sequence into the ECM console. The Raptor continues to lumber on for the safety of its mothership, though a little slower now.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Wolf-15 streaks past the target, putting a few minor wounds into the targetted Cylon before breaking loose. Inside the damaged fighter, Harrison's face is starting to flush with the strain of keeping the ship together as it tries to shake apart around him and also the madness of trying to kill toasters.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Bangbang maneuvers in for a few potshots on Ciggie's fan club, then veers off with her section lead to give the bigger ship's guns room to take out the trash.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The vipers, with their raider compliment, streak ever closer to the Kharon and its firing solution. It's only a matter of seconds before they're within range for the guns to take the raiders off of their hands. The vessel looms, home so very near. It's the protection of the beast that the pilots will find, that is unless the guy in charge of weapons this shift gets too itchy on the trigger.
[Foxbat-7 'IVORY': Komnenos] Thorn's luck finally seems to be failing, along with his adrenaline. The last two raiders on his Raptor's tail are close enough now to get an accurate shot despite his jamming; KEW rounds stitch across the bird's wings and fuselage. The battered Raptor becomes sluggish, and Thorn's ECM and DRADIS displays begin to be choked with static as enemy fire tears up the ship's systems.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] "Oh, frak! FRAK FRAK FRAK!" Harrison must feel some sort of almost paternal responsibility for the nugget, judging by his reaction when Helios' fighter is turned into swiss cheese by the Raider. He fights against the fighter's controls, forcing it to slew around so he can try to keep the Cylon off his wing for a few more moments.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Bangbang's comms crackle, hiss, and spit for a moment as her viper's walloped by gunfire from one of the pursuing raiders. They manage to blast a few holes through her bird, ripping off hunks of hull plating and severing wiring, but she grits her teeth and powers through it.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] Wil's Viper continues to cruise through space as he makes his way back towards the barn, craning his head about the canopy to check the flight's status visually.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The fire speeds in, rounds ripping through the raptor and Helios' viper, the controls of both lighting up inside the cockpits. More rounds rip through Helios' viper, blood splashing the canopy red before something vital within the viper is tagged, and ht explodes into several pieces. One wing sheers off and spins end over end toward the escort raptor.
Sparks fly from Ciggie's console, and it literally catches fire inside the foxbat, sparking with the smell of hot burning copper and plastic. The pilot keeps her hands on the controls, but the raptor veers in an attempt to avoid the incoming debris. Proximity alarms chatter, the craft is impacted hard, rattling it down to the gimble. Thank the gods for seat restraints being engaged. Ciggie stays in her seat, though the rough cry from her lips means something ain't right. She hangs onto the stick, and brings it in hard for a landing on the deck. Someone is going to be pounding out those divets for a while. Her put down is hard, but not nearly as messy as Fingers' the other day.
The raiders pull back a little to reform, putting them smack in the range and sights of the Kharon's guns, and giving the other ships just a little time to escape their fire. One would almost think they're coordinating a revised attack strategy, if one weren't advancing with haste in the opposite direction.
[Into the Wireless] Helios just has time to stutter out, "G-Gods be with—" before his viper is ushered into bits, and he to Elysium.
[Wolf-19: BangBang] Bangbang doesn't stop, doesn't slow down. She keeps her forward thrusters maxxed out, afterburners leaving a bright blue wake behind her as she follows that RTB order to the letter.
[Wolf-15 'EXILE': Harrison] Bloody vengeance seems to be the order of the day for Harrison as he barrels directly for the raider that killed Helios. His cannons speak over and over again, and he yells at the top of his lungs as the rounds punch in to the target. He throttles up the Viper to race past, turning toward the Kharon before he works on bringing the ship in for a landing.
[Nem's Ride: Nemesis] The combined fire of the vipers damages the last two raiders heavily, KEWs making quite the impression, and slowing their progress on the heels of the colonials. Just as the vipers clear the line of fire, the Kharon opens up, lighting up the black of space.
The raiders spin out of control, hammered with heavy fire, and explode into space dust to join their fallen brethren. The hornets nest is once again stilled, but previous experience says another wave can't be far behind. The getting, as they say, is good.
[Wolf-11 'REBOUND': Willem] Speaking of luck about running out — As Rebound lingers behind making one last pass to provide covering fire for the departing ships, he ends up in something of a deadly joust with the remaining pair of Raiders. It's a good hit he lines up, too, riddling the delicate insides of one Raider with a blat of cannon fire. Unfortunately, this resulted in one little, minute slip that left him open and the now-late Raider's companion didn't take too kindly to the death the other one was dealt. Shots are fired and and a Wil's Viper cockpit sparks, and he shudders, wounded. Teeth are grit, probably swearing too as switches on the comms, leaning with what force he can bear onto the stick as he brings his Viper hurtling towards the Kharon's hangar.
CEC Kharon, Hangar Deck, Hangar Bay 1
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-11 'REBOUND': Willem] Wolf-11 is one of the last birds to limp home. And limp, it does. Well, no, actually it comes slamming down onto the deck with a sickening thunk, skidding and leaving a trail of sparks against the metal. There's some smoke coming from the cockpit too. Whatever hit the Viper did a number on the internals and it looks like he's slumped forward against the canopy. Somebody betta call a DOCTORRRRR.
Having already skidded in for a rough landing, clambered out of her dented viper, and tugged her helmet off, Bangbang is crumpled in a heap beside the craft with her arms wrapped around her knees. Crying. Most of the deck crew leave her to her own devices, far too busy trying to get wounded birds in some kind of semi-working order for the next round of attacks. She barely even seems to register that her section lead.. isn't moving.
Foxbat-4 is the first ship to put down; the battered Raptor creaks as it settles onto the deck. The hatch opens, allowing the smoke-filled cabin to ventilate; still, Thorn can't help but cough a bit as he runs through his postflight checklist.
Wolf-15, once again blown to hell, makes an ungainly landing in more or less one piece. The Viper settles onto its landing gear like a decrepit old man settles into his La-Z-Boy, groaning and moaning until everything stops moving. A few moments later, the canopy pops open and Exile himself takes a few steps down the ladder before tossing his helmet aside to clatter somewhere on the deck. "Son of a bitch," he mutters as he stomps toward the ready room, wiping the excess moisture from under his eyes.
[Into the Wireless] Ciggie gruffs over comms, "Deck is secure. All birds aboard that are coming aboard." The last is said through clenched teeth, "Kharon, Medical to the Hangar Bay, please." She said please. Means she's hurt. Has to be. Ciggie does not say please, and Ciggie certainly doesn't say please over comms. How'd that word get into her vocabulary?
[Intercom] Neha says, "Attention: Medical, report to the Hangar Bay, immediately. I say again: Medical, report to the Hangar Bay, immediately."
Sapho looks up as the fighters start their landings, trying hard to ignore the fact that one isn't coming home, it something she caught wind of as people were listening to the communications during the fighting. Her face is stony but there's a storm in her eyes, a welling ire she somehow manages to keep under control.
[Intercom] Praxis says, "Now hear this: engaging the FTL drives in three, two one. Jump …. Jump complete. Set Condition Two and reset the clock. Forty two minutes until next projected encounter. Rotate shift."
Thorn, for his part, manages to walk away from this one with little more than a case of shot nerves and exhaustion. The adrenaline is gone by now, and bags are collecting under his eyes, but he notes with some relief that he's otherwise intact. As he looks around from his seat, though, he realizes not everyone got off so easily. He looks at Willem's wrecked fighter, aghast, before stiffly rising from his seat to poke his head in the cockpit and check on the craft's pilot.
Roubani can still walk, and so walk straight back out of Sickbay he did, after last night. His arm is still tightly bandaged under the T-shirt sleeve and he remains up on the walkway near the exit, watching the most recent 42 Minute Party come in. As medics are called out, his eyes stay on Willem's Viper.
Wallace is still curled up in an inconsolable, completely oblivious ball by her viper, sobbing uncontrollably. So much for all her bravado over the comms. One of the orange jumpsuited technicians attempts to get near her, and she lashes out at him with her booted feet, savagely kicking him in the shins then scrambling after when he tries to back away. It takes her a while to finally notice her SL's viper, and notice that he isn't climbing out. "Shit," she wheezes, struggling to her feet. "Shitshitshitshit.. REBOUND." She bulldozes her way through a few deck crew, and bolts for his ladder.
Ciggie exits the raptor under her own power, just behind Komnenos, once the fire in their cockpit is suppressed by a handy dandy foam dispenser. She coughs harshly, rattling her lungs, and grunts, "That is not what I meant by a smoke." She makes it a couple more steps, then drops to the wing of the raptor and clutches her left wrist in her right hand, pale and sweaty. Parts of her flight suit up the arms is melted, and there's a charred scent wafting from her and the bird itself. Toasty. "Who has an aspirin? I think my wrist is broken." She manages to be dry, despite the pain. That is until she coughs again, and doubles over to do so.
It would appear that Willem is still somewhat conscious. Fortunately the deck crew is there to provide such little services as canopy-popping for pilots who have other things on their mind. Like getting shot to shit. Canopy is popped by a couple emergency-ready deck crew on standby to reveal a grimacing Rebound, who gives Bangbang a sort of dull blink behind his helmet, along with gritted teeth. He raises a hand to do, well, something. It's a sort of nebulous gesture.
Sapho notices Roubani and she moves over to him, her cool facade breaking once she's standing beside him. "Poet." The simple greeting is intoned quietly, perhaps so much so that her voice might go unheard. Once done, she returns to watching, not saying anything for now.
The call for Medical to report to the Hangar Bay is responded to by Corporal Jacobs, probably the fastest runner at Sick Bay currently. He's hauling major rear and has a MARPAT colored satchel thrown over his shoulder. "Move away from the injured!" He commands as he runs towards the freshly de-fired Raptor, probably to make it easier for him to get to them and for him to identify who's hurt the worst.
"Down goes another," Roubani intones under his breath, eyes staying on the recovery deck rather than turning to Sapho beside him. "In a war of attrition, the winner becomes the one who is willing to pay the most."
Bethany paces agitatedly at the base of Willem's ladder, occasionally barking indiscretions to the 'lazy knuckledraggers' as they work to haul his canopy open. "Over here!" she bellows at the arriving medical team threading through the busy 'bay. "He's movin', but he don't look good.."
Ciggie remains seated on the side of her viper, silent tears of pain leaking from her eyes as they water. She says nothing, her eyes on Rebound as he's helped out of his viper. The hell if she's going to pipe up until she's sure he's more or less mobile. The rough raptor pilot clenches her teeth, then gets to her feet. She can walk on her own. "I'll meet you in Medical," she growls to the incoming team, before she heads off for the hatch. She might even make it, too!
A sallow faced Thorn does a circle around the Raptor, staring at the myriad holes poked in the hull courtesy of Cylon KEWs. He's not as bad off as Ciggie, but he gives off that same slightly roasted smell as the Raptor pilot does. With Ciggie off to medical, Thorn handles the postflight without complaint, barking orders to the deck gang to get the damaged Fox-7 into repairs with all the other torn-up birds.
"How long are we going to be hunted like dogs," Sapho muses (no pun intended), more to herself than to the pilot she stands by. Each call for a medic causes her to wince, a further cracking of her professional air, the normally-controlled woman slowly startiing to lose her grip on her feelings.
Further examination reveals Wil's other arm applied to his leg, which bears a nasty gash in the flightsuit and not surprisingly nasty gash-action beneath. He starts to struggle with his helmet until the deck PO rips it off him. Looks like the cockpit took some ugly damage. "Huh. Bangs. Shit. We made it." He grunts, dimly looking off in the direction of the other arrived birds. He's not going anywhere for the time being on his own power, plaintively waiting to be fished out. "Can't kill us." He grins weakly, but it fades almost immediately either due to the pain, or maybe some other realization(Inset meta-statement about somebody buying it here).
"We have been since the beginning. Before that, even," Roubani mutters to Sapho. "Perhaps we're asking the wrong questions. I don't know."
Absalom seems to have had this round of flying off as he walks out onto the hangar bay, freshly showered and shaved. He yawns widely, and then starts to walk towards the various damaged fighters laying about, looking at names for anyone familiar.
Jacobs is a madman when it comes to this sort of thing, working mostly on instinct. "Don't pull him out!" He shouts to the deck crew near Wil's Viper. He leaps up onto the wing and moves to the cockpit. Finally, some orderlies and other nurses show up and Jacobs makes motion for them to check out any of the other injured and to get him a litter. "Hey…Where does it hurt?" He asks Willem with concern lacing his velvet-smooth voice.
Bethany breathes a shudder of relief as she hears Willem speak, and dutifully backs off to let the medical crew through. "Damn straight," she calls up to him, flashing a tired grin. "We were hot shit out there today. Don't bleed too much, ok? You're ginger enough as it is, Rebound."
"Uh huh. Good….flying, Beth." There's a slow shift of Wil's expression from Ensign Wallace to Corporal Jacobs as he shoots the man a half-grimace, half-grin. It settles on a grimace and a wince as he grunts "Here. Sorry doc." He points down towards his injured leg with one hand.
With the damaged Raptor finally hauled off for repairs, Thorn starts walking across the hangar deck as he directs a steady stream of muttering at his feet. Finally, his head comes up and he looks around the hangar bay, from Wil's Viper over to where Roubani and Sapho are standing. Blue eyes linger on Poet for a moment, before flicking elsewhere. A restless hand begins tapping at something in one of the ECO's pockets.
Sapho sighs. "We lost Helios," she mentions as casually as she can; it might come across as cold, perhaps even uncaring but there's a reason for her being like she is now, that being because she doesn't dare let on just how broken hearted she is.
Roubani remains still, staying out of the way and watching. Thorn's eyes are met, though his own communicate little, then they flicker back to Willem. Then, out of nowhere, his brows start to draw and he lifts his good hand, rubbing his jaw. It's about then that Sapho speaks, half-dragging his mind out of wherever it suddenly went. "Yes, I heard. If you have a coin, I would leave it to Charon in the chapel for him."
