The gout of firepower reigned over her starfighter engulfing it with dazzling light. It subdued her faculty to concentrate like a merciless peasant faced with the  fancies of a malignant, sadistic king playing with her fate as if it where a mere game to pass another indulgent evening feasting on power and madness.  The cockpit shuddered in agony but it might as well have been her skin and bones aching at the despair shattering through her very being. There was just enough motor-skill remaining in her left arm, which was lacerated with stabbing pain, to push the yoke causing her craft to dive drastically low. Lacking the concentration, however, the manoeuvre petered out into an easy tailgate for her hungry pursuers.  Her engine sapped more power from her laser-wells, not that she was having any opportunity to use her weapons system. A gloved hand brushed against the vibrating console as the starfighter sustained further hits, unrelenting each thump drained the shields, peeled back her armour, leaving her a naked conclusion of mortality.  Cali’reharn was about to perish...

Around her sleek TIE-Interceptor a cloud of swarming vintage TIE's frantically whipped up a storm of laser-fire. She was not alone in this predicament, her squadron, the 153rd Rhegent’s Reign were being swamped by an unknown enemy, her pilots desperately trapped in a never ending cycle of evasive manoeuvres.  By Cali’s guesstimating , she reckoned there must have been at least two squadrons of the supposedly out-dated TIE's but with the numbers stacked against its successor the antiquated death-dealer could easily corral its sister craft with malicious zeal.

It had all developed so fast, her squadron seemingly alone in the sleepy Absit system, an easy patrol their Wing Commander had said.  Seth Qorbin, usually a man to keep to himself had laughed at such a pedestrian proposal but he knew as well as Cali that things that might have been pedestrian for one squadron had a nasty habit of going a long, twisting way off the path for Rhegent’s Reign. Cali doubted Seth or anyone else for that matter had time for laughter now. 

The rapidity of the enemies ambush had not even allowed for the Rhegent’s to form up properly from their initial scattered, trailed reconnaissance formation. Cali attempted to right her Interceptor onto a relatively less chaotic vector, but the enemy had created an endless gauntlet of gnawing, biting laser-fire and screaming TIEs. Whoever Rhegent’s Reign were up against they knew how to fly and bully their opponent. The scanner on Cali’s console struggled to keep up with the constant reconfiguration of co-ordinates and predicated sensory locale data resulting in the display being nothing more than an indistinct smudge of colour and vector lines.  Two enemy crafts peppered her rear with fire seeking to guide her more than obliterate her out of existence. The enemy were definitely controlling the situation, toying with her and her pilots’ fate, tracing the endpoint of her squadron with a deadly outline of laser-fire.  Cali pushed her ship to increasingly maddening rates of acceleration; the Interceptor’s superior speed was her only one advantage over the overwhelming horde. She led the craft into a inelegant low yo-yo her craft dropping drastically as her two attackers raced overhead. She pulled back on the yoke as her craft’s grace allowed her to swivel her position underneath their exposed hulls. All she could manage in her fatigue and panic, however, was a single linked-fire shot that in an impotent gesture limped out to empty space. A miss. 

‘I g..a..lock-on...re..es.g - ...mission to engage with intent?’  Gamma Four, Fremen Talla, a new recruit. Cali barely new the guy, but his accent had that distinct core-worlder ring to it. Rich, like most of those that hailed from that region of the galaxy. She flicked her com-channel with a sinking heart as she noticed that once again her two pursuers had regained a position to her aft.

‘Neg...t..e Yamma..our,’ Cali hated herself for what she was saying through the jammed static. Prior to their deployment, the whole squadron had been specifically briefed that under no circumstance where they to engage in any conduct that could be construed as an act of war. Their mission was reconnaissance alone, data-gathering, to scope out the system to get an idea as to why this sector had been so untouched by either the New Republic or the Dominion. 

‘Nothing hostile,’ had been her Wing Commander, Line Captain Jaden’s precise words, ‘act the dignified Imperial. We want to ingratiate ourselves with our future subjects.’

‘I repe..Yam..a..Four dispersal fire on..y. we have..’ Cali was forced to cut herself short as the closer TIE struck a bracing direct hit causing her whole craft to spin uncontrollably into a wild barrel roll. Frotz! Cali thought to herself emitting a audible whine as the g-force wreaked havoc with her internal organs. It appeared Fremen was likewise too occupied to respond, she just prayed he had heeded her call. Perhaps he had been killed. If they ever got out of this she hoped she was doing the right thing by acting the correct Imperial. If she was about to die she did not want her last action to be a provocation of war. 

Cali’s Interceptor span fast in a flurried path like an insignificant spec against the backdrop of the looming planet Absit. It had meant to be their main point of interest for gathering information on the activity within the system. At this rate it might just serve to be the squadron’s place of burial. That’s wrong, Cali thought grimly, pilots rarely get buried there was normally nothing left they could recover to lay in the ground.

Inside the craft her arms flayed in a constant three hundred and sixty degree arch, Cali managed with all her willpower to tighten her thighs around the loose yoke-stick in a desperate effort to stop her endless roll. As she squeezed with all her might she could feel the craft slow in its rotation, it was working, Cali could not believe it but the thighs she had often regarded so unfavourably whilst in the refresher unit might just safe her skin. She clenched, with every ounce of her remaining energy. She unconsciously willed everything she could manage towards her suddenly useful thighs.

The two persistent TIEs had split up and where taking up positions astride her screw-ball trajectory, closing their position and sealing her final destination. Cali could feel the blood pumping in her legs, her feet where growing numb with strain.  It would not be enough; she could not even get her arms to stop free-wheeling about her. They kept smacking her flight-helmet with each misguided rotation. The left TIE suddenly began to shake as if the enemy pilot was suffering from nervous laughter and the craft, like an avatar for his state was acting out his emotional gesture him with hammy emphasis. No not laughter, green laser-fire, not theirs but ours, Cali thought in her own disbelief. A stream a fire careened over the squared solar-panelling of the enemy fighter. Harassed, the enemy TIE had little choice but to break away from it’s final strike upon Cali.

The change in her predicament brought Cali to her senses; she grabbed her right arm with her left hand before it could smack her in the face again and dragged it down to her yoke nestled between her throbbing warm thighs. The Interceptor jeered and jinked in response to her harsh movements almost stalling as she thrust the yoke ever downward forcing the craft to gambol over its sideward’s momentum. 

‘Look..d lik..you cou..do.ith..and,’ Another coreworlder accent but this time it belonged to Warrant Officer First Class Firekeeper, who preferred to go by the name Rocket.

‘..anks Alp..wo,’ She paused almost overwhelmed by the beating of her heart, ‘f..rm up..on..my..wing.’

The executive officer of the Rhegent’s clicked an affirmative over the buzzing channel. Maybe, Cali prayed, she would not die just yet...

OOC:

OK Rhegent's I'm throwing us in the thick of it. We up against two squadrons of unidentified hostile TIE Fighters attached to part of unidentified ex-Imperial Task Force in the Absit system.

This consists of :
Stationed in the Absit System
Forward Outpost Foxtrot
CR-90 Corellian Corvette Annihilation
CR-90 Corellian Corvette Nova
CR-90 Corellian Corvette Justification
Escort Carrier Parasite
Zero Wing
Extreme Squadron (Tie Fighter Squadron)
Oblivion Squadron (Tie Fighter Squadron)
Lighting Squadron (Tie Fighter Squadron)
Slayer Squadron (Tie Fighter Squadron)

For now focus your combat on the two squadron of TIEs but the enemy is attempting to draw us into range of the Corvette's bigger guns.

Certain pilots have already explained how they're going to react in the fight but please heed that at this point we don't have the authorisation to take out any enemy craft. So for now you're simply  trying to survive. This will change once myself or Rocket make it known in the story.

Let's see some Imperial action Rhegent's!!!

This was the first time Maroy had actually fought a space battle outside a sim as part of a squadron. Actually, 'fought' was inaccurate, as they were under strict orders not to return fire. She knew she was one of the worst pilots in the squadron, and with this many targets shooting at her there was a good chance she'd be the first to go down. A TIE pilot and his wingman had singled her out and were busy shooting bolt after deadly bolt into her rear shields.

"Remind me again why we can't shoot them, lead?"

"Might... se... act... war."

"It may just be me, but it seems like they've declared war on us."

Cali was too busy to reply, but Maroy got the feeling she felt similar.

She divided her ship's power between shields and engines and tried to lose the two TIEs, but they hung on through every twist and turn she made. Her shields were dropping dangerously fast. If only we didn't have to keep these ships at military standards, I could seriously beef up the shields on this thing... I can't hold up much longer.

She went full throttle and then abruptly cut the engines, but the TIE pilots were smarter than that. They broke off, but unfortunately in the same direction. Metal impacted metal and the two ships spun out of control.

Frak, I'm not supposed to hurt them... Oh well. They attacked first, their problem.

She took the moment of respite to locate everybody. So far no Rhegents had gone down, but there had been a head-on collision between a hostile and Hark, leaving the former inoperative. She found her wingman, one of the transfers from Tuk'ata whose name escaped her at the moment. She started to fly over to where he was, but nearly hit Ruwe.

"Watch wh... re... go..., Four!"

"Sorry!"

She reached her wingmate, who was being closely followed by a TIE. Without forethought she rammed his pursuer, literally knocking it out of the fight. Her shields took another massive dip from the collision, leaving them at 13%, but they held.

"Need some assistance, Three?"

"Thanks for the rescue, Four. Form up on me."

She swung into formation behind the Mon Calamari and they continued their recon flight path. All of a sudden Maroy's shields went down, her engines cut off, and sparks flew from every corner of the cockpit. That impact must have done more damage than I thought it would. At least the comm still works.

"This is Four, my shields and engines are down but I should be able to repair it in a minute or two."

Her wingman replied. "I copy, Four. I'll try to keep them off you, but you better fix it fast."

She got out her hydrospanner that she always kept with her and opened the casing around the control board. Just looks like a few things got shook loose. Should have it fixed in no time. She got to work as the dogfight raged above her.

Kazack had never been good under fire. At the moment, it wasn't just being under fire that got his goat, but it was being under fire and not being able to fire back which really irked him. Two TIE Fighters were pursuing him. As he broke right to attempt to shake his pursuers he saw his squadron commander, Cali was in trouble. "Frak this, Kazack said aloud." I have a lock commander, permission to engage with intent?" He asked the commander, hoping to actually be able to fight back. "Negative, Gamma Four" the commander replied "Dispersal fire only we have--" But she broke off the rest of her sentence as she attempted to escape her pursuers. Fat chance Kazack thought grimly, the only way we are going to be able to shake these bastards is if we manage to get out of the system. Kazack shook his head and turned his attention back to his own craft. The TIE Interceptor was taking things pretty well all things considered, shields were at 75 percent and he thought that he was faring pretty well for a pilot on his first mission. He was fresh out of the Academy and straight away he got a mission like this? It was unthinkable.


As he broke left again to avoid the laser fire of another TIE Fighter he suddenly realized that he could actually die here. None of Rheagent's were down yet, but he sincearly hoped that they were able to fire back soon. He didn't know how long the entire squadron could last let alone himself. Maybe I will die, Kazack thought, a sudden worm of fear eating into his belly. Somehow he managed to calm his racing heart and push all thoughts of impending death out of his head. He pulled sharply on the control yoke as he raised higher and higer in the air. Then, when he felt the moment was right, he flattened out.


Only to be hit again by laser fire. Kazack checked his shields. They were at sixty eight percent Fremen quickly diverted some power from his weapons to his shields and broke left again. He found his way back to the fight. It appeared as though the enemy were trying to draw Rheagent's away from the place were they were fighting. But Kazack quickly pushed the thought out of his mind as he attempted a barrel roll to escape his pursuers. Not a chance Kazack thought to himself as he broke left. It wont be long now, Kazack thought to himself as he saw the rest of the squadron weaving in and out of evasive manuevers. Maybe it would, but if it does there's nothing I can do he thought to himself.

===== Absit system =====
Surprisingly, WO2 Stewart-Power didn't find himself all that perturbed by having to continuously dodge the green bolts whizzing by his view-screen at ludicrous speeds. Having his mind occupied gave Thel a surprising sense of calm. It was the type of calm he got when he was confronted by a challenge, a challenge which he was determined to overcome, mostly because that challenge was surviving.

The main challenge was not being able to fire at the enemy ships. The occasional clearing shot was acceptable, but for the most part, the Rhegent's were target practice. Although they were by no means, sitting ducks. The no-return fire simply meant that the Vast Imperial pilots had to get creative. Using the occasional shot to corral a particularly annoying foe, threatening to ram enemy's to divert their paths and cause them, hopefully, to careen out of control, drawing an enemy's fire towards his own ally. These skills were what allowed a pilot to distinguish himself apart from other, worse (and therefore usually dead), pilots. Unfortunately, tactics are all fine and dandy when thinking about them, from a safe location, but executing them in the middle of tense battle conditions was something else entirely.

Luckily, with very few other options at his disposal, Thel was able (and had to) focus on these things. The drawing enemy's fire was especially easy with the increased number of hostiles. The more targets the easier it is. Unfortunately, with the frantic and oft' unpredictable movements of his fellow pilots, there was virtually an equal chance to hit them. The tactic Thel was having the most success with, was the threatening to ram the enemy fighters. His craft's increased speed meant he could get to the enemy craft before they could get to where they wanted to be. This was a huge advantage, and he managed to save several of his fellow pilots multiple times. He also had a few close shaves, but thankfully his craft's increased maneuverability meant he could walk away to tell the tale.

Thel watched the radar as a TIE Interceptor careened over to his position, nearly colliding with another Interceptor as it did so. The Interceptor continued on its path until it rammed the hostile TIE he was trying to out-maneuver.

The voice over the comm. revealed it to be his wingman, PO1 Maroy: ""Need some assistance, Three?"

Thel calmly replied to the brash actions of his new wingman with a simple: "Thanks for the rescue, Four. Form up on me."

Realizing that they had now run out of trigger-happy hostile pilots for the moment, Thel decided their best course of action would be to resume their recon flight path until they got new orders..

"This is Four, my shields and engines are down but I should be able to repair it in a minute or two." Said Maroy, very suddenly and unexpectedly. A quick scanner check confirmed that her shields and engines were indeed down.

"I copy, Four. I'll try to keep them off you, but you better fix it fast." As Thel said this, a couple of enemy TIE's chose this as the moment they wanted to break out of their fight and fly over to the two relatively easy targets.

Well here's to hoping those new orders get here first. He said to himself.

OOC:

Word Count: 555. Not as Long as I'd like, but I wanted to get it up before the story was moved along.

Rocket was flying for his life when he heard.

'...fire, f.re...f..e...d..amnit...fire..amma...one...'

'...vengae..keko!! Keko...sith..it!'

'...egative...'

'Hark? Respo...ver?'

'..ermission...lpha One...ali...'

'She’s gone Two, Two?!'

Something in Rocket snapped he had not thought that it was possible to be back in the events of Lehon but to him it felt like it. Outnumbered outgunned not to mention that they could not fire back, you know what screw orders I am not gonna have the rest of my Squadron because the NHC doesn’t know what to do. Rocket pulls his fighter to one of the fighters that was circling around Cali and gets a target lock on and fires and doesn’t stop till he is sure that the enemy fighter that he was firing on was destroyed.

After he did that the two enemy squadrons pulled off of their targets that they were going after and broke into flights. So that’s how it’s gonna be fine than just more fun for me.

Rocket hears Cali over the comm saying, “Who gave you orders to fire back you are breaking a lawful order right now don’t you know that.”
“Well I am sorry Ma’am, but I would like to have a squadron when we get back to base.”

Rocket pulls ahead of Cali and right towards a flight of enemy fighters, and got a target lock on to the one in the middle and fires two missiles at it. He watches as the first missiles hits the fighter in the one of the wings, and watches as the second missile glides right into the cockpit of the enemy fighter.

“Let’s see how you bastards like that you want some more?”
“Pity would have liked to hear your answer well at least you know not to think that we are moving targets now.”
“Great now I am talking to myself I wonder if the comm is on knowing my luck it probably is.”

Rocket looks at his comm and sees that the channel to the squadron is open and finds that the damage is done already, and says into it “Alright listen up I am taking over command since Cali is no longer able to move I want you to take those bastards out. Regroup with your flights and let’s give these guys a run for their money.”

Well now I am disobeying orders not to mention giving an order to engage to the rest of the squadron I wonder what they are going to do to me I am sure Cali’s gonna be mad at me cause of this but I can’t really help that anyway. First thing we need to do is find out who this enemy is and why they are here I assume that its for the same reason that we are here I think.

Rocket pulls his fighter into formation with the other two in his flight and heads off towards the enemy, and notices that he has seventy percent shields.

Well that’s enough to cause a whole lotta problems for them.

OOC:

505 words, Okay there it is have fun remember only kill one fighter per post the reason I killed two is to have a better effect.

Kazack could only pay very slight attention to what was going on with the other pilots. Rocket was still protecting Cali’s fighter but it appeared it was only a matter of time until one of Rhegent’s was hit and went down. Kazack manuvered out of the way of some more green laser bolts coming from behind him. Seth, his wingman appeared to be flying very erratically. Is he on drugs or something, Kazack wondered. Given his current predicament however, he couldn’t worry too much about it. Kazack dived to avoid a burst of fire from another TIE as he scrambled to reroute more power from his weapons to his shields. He noticed Hark clearing a path between two TIE Fighters as he raced towards Cali. What’s Happening? Kazack noticed that Hark was racing towards Cali’s fighter, which appeared to be disabled. Kazack watched open-mouthed as Hark cleared away another TIE with some dispersal fire. Suddenly however, Kazack noticed another fighter moving up on Hark’s rear. The blood pounded to Kazack’s brain. “Hark, get out of there, it’s a trap“Kazack shouted. Suddenly in an explosion of fire, Hark’s  fighter erupted into a ball of flame. “No-“ Kazack shouted but was cut off when the explosion ceased, leaving only debris.


Kazack could see only red, he wasn’t sure if it was from tears, anger, or just a burning hatred for the bastards who were responsible for Hark’s death. It could have been all three. He still had the fighter’s on his tail but he was so angry that he didn’t care. He immediately performed an immelam to confront the TIE Fighters head on. He rerouted some power from engines and shields to his weapons. Then he said “Cali, Rocket, do you copy—damnit!” he screamed in frustration  as he kicked his fighter into an evasive spiral. And then slotted in neatly behind an enemy TIE fighter. And spoke over the comm. “Regent’s I don’t care what the orders are, call me trigger-happy or whatever you like, but I am not fond of dying.” And so saying he pulled the trigger. The enemy fighter dived to try and avoid the blast but one shot fried his portside stabilizers while another slammed into the rear of the cockpit. As the TIE lurched Kazack stayed on its tail. “Obviously they don’t have shield” he muttered to himself. As so saying, he fired again. This time the blast hit the opposing vessel critically and the fighter began to spin and burn. Suddenly, it exploded into a million pieces. “Yes!” Kazack said excitedly, “My first ever real kill.”


Kazack dimly registered Rocket ordering the squadron to form up on their flights, he checked his shields, they were now at seventy-two percent. “More than enough to give them hell” he said with grim satisfaction. Then, he hurried over to try to find, Seth, Arthur and the others.

Ah, the feeling of time slowing down around him finally started kicking in and by the gods it was a great feeling indeed. Minutes before he could feel his anxiety growing with each flash of green that passed him by, with each decreasing digit on his shields indicator and with each desperate request for back up and/or ROE change. Now however all those things no longer seemed important to the Onderonian pilot. No, the only thing that seemed to matter to Seth now was the fact that he felt better than any of these other fellows, that he was faster, stronger, almost... invincible.

The best thing about this indirect side effect of that pill previously ingested was that it wasn't all lies either. Granted he hadn't suddenly become invincible and obviously he was still going to die as everyone else should enough hits happen to lower and eventually bypass his shields - this Seth still knew all to well. Then again just as all that was true, so was the fact that his brain was now able to process information faster, that his slightly trembling fingers allowed his craft to appear even more agile than before, and perhaps more importantly still that his pounding heart would rush enough blood through his system so as to prevent him from blacking out or freaking out no matter what.

With his senses boosted as such Seth now found dodging enemy fire a lot easier. He wasn't afraid of going faster, making tighter turns, more sudden dives or any other similar basic maneuvers. Sure he might've appeared to be randomly just changing tactics so as to avoid getting shot some more - and that was definitely part of the reason he was doing that of course, but there was a different reason as well. With each new dodging move he'd pull off the Onderonian petty officer would also learn more about how his following opponents would react. This allowed the pilot to learn a few interesting things. Things such as the fact the opposition was definitely military, ex-military or paramilitary.

This much became apparent given how they would react exactly the same each time the pilot would use the same evading tactic - something that proved such situations had been considered and responses to them had also been set in place. Responses that one would only learn by heart if he were to continuously run simulations - something that regular pirates would never do. That they couldn't do rather, given discipline amongst their ranks was a proven impossibility given enough time. Furthermore, given the pursuing pilots skill, tenacity and perhaps also stubbornness Seth could also conclude that the Rhegent wasn't flying against mere amateurs. The implications of these findings could very well prove to be severe to the Vast Empire depending on the exact numbers of these unknowns.

[[Hark? Respo...ver?]]

Huh?

Seth chose to ignore the comm up until that point seeing how it was mostly filled with useless chatter and a lot of static. The only reason he payed attention to that particular reply in the first place was because of the tone of whoever uttered it out loud. A tone that jammed as it was still sounded as if filled with despair, anxiety and/or frustration. Curious as to what that was about Seth glanced over his scanner in search of the blip labeled G2. It... wasn't there. Usually that meant that either the fighter in questioned jumped away, started using some fancy jammers allowing it to become invisible to most scanners... or was otherwise blown into space. Since jumping away in a small vessel whilst under fire was highly unlikely and since the Interceptors they had did not posses any fancy stealth masks the conclusion wasn't really that hard to figure out.

To think i had a drink with him a couple of days ago. First the former Gamma Four and now him as well? Maybe i should stop frequenting that cantina with other pilots...

This is what the Onderonian was more or less calmly thinking after just realizing one of his flight members was downed. It was not however all he was doing though. Oh no, at the same time Seth was also changing his power output, returning it to its default setting. Granted this weakened his remaining shields but at the same time it also powered his weapons system as well. Hark's death, regrettable as it may have been did serve a purpose as far as the Onderonian pilot was concerned. It was basically the excuse he was waiting for. He had known all along that sooner or latter someone was going to screw up and die. The only real question was whether it would be one of them or one of theirs. Now that an answer to that was provided Seth knew true hell would break out, even if he would have to unleash it all by himself.

[[Alr..... over comman..... to move I wa..... bastards out. Regr..... and let’s gi..... their money.]]

What was that about money again? Eh, probably nothing important no doubt. From what Seth could tell from that message the XO was finally making a wise decision, involving them fighting back. A decision that had it been made sooner maybe Hark would've still been around to celebrate it as well. Oh well... Still, this new turn of events meant that the pilot's planned course of action would no longer be seen as disobeying orders but rather obeying them instead. Ironic how a single decision from someone above him had the power to "right" what would've otherwise no doubt been considered a mistake. Of course this would've under normal circumstances led to the obvious dilemma between "following direct orders" versus "following the brass's orders and removing the superior officer from command". Keywords here however were normal circumstances. Seeing how these weren't exactly normal circumstances and seeing how Seth already planned on doing what his XO just told him he should, well there was really no longer a dilemma to bother him.

Finally some payback...

Rocket's order may have said something about regrouping before taking out everyone else but as luck would have it Seth didn't really hear that part. Even if he had heard it chances were he would've ignored it anyway for the simple reason that he was a much better pilot by himself. Especially now, when it would've truly been a shame not to use his newly found edge to the fullest. Besides, the Onderonian's first and last thought was always about himself and as such it only made sense to actually take care of number one before all else. In this case that meant removing the annoyances behind him before all else.

For that purpose the petty officer strengthened his rear shields whilst maintaining a more or less straight flight path, thus allowing his pursuers to get right behind him and get out a couple of good shots. Had they been equipped with missiles then Seth would've never risked such a thing but seeing how that wasn't the case there was really nothing to lose.

Hark, this one's for you buddy... A little more... A bit to the right... You're done!

With that Seth flicked his engines off, pulled up and continued pulling the yoke all the while shooting blindly until less than a second later he re-flicked the engine switch back on, allowing him to accelerate once more in a 310-320 degrees vertical turn. Glancing at the scanner confirmed what he had hoped - one less enemy blip to deal with. The maneuver he just used was one of those dangerous and reckless ones he would not have otherwise risked, given the fact there was usually a risk of blacking out because of the tremendous force needed to make such a tight turn at such a high speed. That though was no longer an issue as far as the Onderonian petty officer was concerned. Indeed, the only concern Seth still had was in regards to how exactly he could get rid of his remaining pursuer before freely engaging more of those bastards. One on one shootouts were very dramatic and all but he was the kind of person to prefer suddenly appearing from a corner and shooting before giving his opponent a chance to react, or for that matter even realize what was happening if at all possible.

[[Alright just to repeat my last order you are to engage the enemy and get back into flight formations, don’t play cat and mouse just yet. Increase your comm output by ten percent and set it to a burst signal yes I know that it makes it easier for the enemy to crack the signal, but we are kind of out of options at this point in time.]]

Well hey now that actually sounded clearer than all previous messages. At first the Onderonian assumed that the opposition no longer saw it necessary to jam their comms but after hearing that second part of the XO's comment Seth realized it wasn't the case. Still, what was that about boosting the output and using burst signals and stuff? The notions weren't really foreign to the pilot and he recalled some instructors back at VENA mentioning them but that all seemed so very hazy and far away in his mind. For one thing he never really paid much attention to those boring technical lectures in the first place and he felt that he couldn't really be bothered with such a pointless task right now anyway seeing how he had nothing to communicate himself.

So long as the commander, XO and flight leader would make themselves better heard that was really all that counted. Who'd really give a flying crap about pointless "roger", "acknowledged" and other monotonous confirmations anyway? Also what was that about returning to formations and stopping all chases? For one thing organized attacks only ever tended to work against an unorganized opposition - pirates for instance. Against similar instructed forces regular tactics were bound to no longer be as effective. It was strange, yet not at all complicated - soldiers could most often beat pirates and guerrilla tactics could best harass the military. The Onderonian pilot already determined for himself that the ones he was fighting against weren't rookies and that meant in terms of proper tactics and strategies the two forces would be more or less equally matched with the only advantage the Rhegent still possessed being the better fighters. Granted that would technically be enough to guarantee victory but it would by no means be able to guarantee a flawless one, without any further casualties. It was for precisely that reason that Seth Qorbin chose to ignore that order.

He may not have been the best little soldier out there amongst the stars and the ships and the laser fire but he was definitely one with the strongest desires to survive. Not only desire but also skills to make that possible as well. He had been a smuggler long before a joining the VE and that ensured he had a different insight as far as some things were concerned. Rather than living in a world of white and black, with allies and enemies he lived in a world of gray where nothing was necessarily as it first appeared to be. Rather than blindly following orders like an ideal trooper he was by nature prone to question those orders in his head before either complying or ignoring them. Most importantly, rather than entrusting his life to another Seth would always do everything in his power to watch out for his own back first and foremost. Working in a group was one thing, but trusting that group enough to keep him safe - well the petty officer simply had not reached that point yet. Nor was it certain whether he would ever reach it...

At any rate i still have a tail that i need to remove before doing anything else.

A single look at his scanner confirmed that which Seth already knew - his second pursuer retaking his position and retrying to shoot him out of the sky. Since it was quite unlikely the previous maneuver would work a second time the petty officer had no choice but to try something else. And something else he tried as he sent his fighter into a spiral dive ever so slightly slowing down in the process until his pursuer finally managed to overshoot.

Tough break...

It was all Seth needed before doing a hard roll followed by a pull up, thus allowing him to turn from prey to predator as the thing flying before him was now the doomed TIE fighter that had annoyed him for what seemed like forever now. The enemy pilot did of course try shaking him loose but the Onderonian would have none of that. Not after everything that had happened.

Lasers linked and...

Seth paused as he struggled to get right behind his opponent, patiently waiting for that single instant when lightly squeezing the trigger would allow four bolts of overheated gas to shoot forth and turn the TIE fighter into little more than stardust. The chase lasted for a few seconds but in the end the inevitable did finally occur.

There!

One squeeze... Four laser beams concentrated on the hunted TIE's unshielded hull... No survivors as both enemy pilot and his craft exploded and became part of the vast unknown...

[[Another thing I don’t want you guys and gals using missile we need to save that card in case we get hammered hard only use it as a last ditch effort to save your life.]]

The hell? Do this, don't do that... it was fine the XO was stepping up and taking charge of the mess they were in but darn it couldn't he do it with some instructions that had a less likely chance of getting everyone killed? First he ordered everyone back into formations, which would in turn help make their tactics more predictable and their fighters better targets as well. Second he requested that everyone take time to mess around with their crafts all the while still being well under fire. In other words rather than concentrate on staying alive they were supposed to sacrifice their focus for a rather petty and hardly imperative task. Thirdly they were now requested not to make full use of their weaponry? With this Seth didn't have a problem personally as he himself always preferred dogfighting to smart and cozy warfare. He also happened to be a pretty good shot as well and that further made him prefer good old blasters, lasers and turbolasers. Still it was unlikely everyone in the squadron shared both his preferences and skills and well endangering their well-being for a worst case scenario that may or may not come was just unhealthy. Why after all bother holding back waiting for something worse to happen when they could let loose right now and avoid that supposed worst case scenario altogether?

Seth's feeling regarding just how VE apparently tried getting everyone killed aside, the pilot was now free to do whatever he wanted basically. Since he had already decided not to follow orders and re-enter formation, thus becoming an easier target as well the petty officer chose to instead do what he did best - show up behind unsuspecting fighter and bringing them down before they would cause more trouble. As good a place as any to start were the three fighters following his flight leader. It wasn't that the smuggler particularly liked the Zabrak or anything like that but rather he just didn't want to see Gamma flight made up by only two crafts. For that reason he chose the leading TIE as his target and rushed towards it using an intercept course. The fellow was just opening fire on his flight leader when Seth happened to get in range of his lasers. It only took the Onderonian pilot half a second or less to get properly positioned and when he was perfectly lined up with the TIE Seth opened fire, again sending four beams of death this time at the unaware opponent. This was the beauty of guerrilla warfare, which allowed its users to do large enough amounts of damage without too big a risk to their own safety. This was precisely why thinking and acting outside the box was always better when dealing with strict, predictable military types. This was also something Seth was a natural at...

Anyway DeepSix could've stuck around and preyed on Arthur's other followers but he instead decided to make a run for it instead. Hit and run, never hit and stay - that was the key to victory. For that precise reason the pilot knew he would now have to search some other easy targets to take out. Less enemies meant less stress for everyone and at the same time also a better chance of survival. It was one thing to fight when twice outnumbered and it was another thing to fight an almost equal force. It wasn't only about tactics but morale as well.

Whom should be next i wonder...

“Crack…This is Deliverance come in Rhegent's Reign…current situation over?”

“What the hell is going on now wait the Deliverance is our ship the Wing Commander is here, how the hell am I supposed to explain this.”

“This is Warrant Officer First Class Rocketman, Deliverance I copy you over.”
“Roger the Wing Commander needs a situation report ASAP?”
“Roger well uhh…the shit has hit the fan so to speak we are engaging unkown hostiles the Squadron Commander is…not flight capable over. We have already lost a pilot over.”

After hearing a voice over the comm Line Captain Jaden went on the comm and said, “Just what the hell is going on out there.”
“Can I say that I am not really sure myself Sir. I am just trying to get the rest of my squadron out of this with no more deaths I request that we pull out of here we don’t have the firepower to take out those corvettes Sir.”

After a pause Jaden says over the comm, “Right we will have the rest of the Wing provide cover while you get back to the ship I have already taken precautions to get Cali.”
“Roger that Sir Rocketman out.”

Rocket switches his comm channel to the Squadron channel and says, “Alright the big guns are here I we have the order to get back on the ship those are you order now get to it. Alpha flight is gonna pull cover until Cali is back inside the ship is that clear.”

After hearing reply from most of everyone Rocket pulls his fighter into position to cover the tractor beam that had started to pull her toward the Deliverance.

Finally an order that I can actually follow and not have to change, I just hope Jaden can understand the situation that happened here. I mean I really didn’t have a choice not to change those orders. I wonder how much trouble I am going to be in.

Rocket switches back to the Deliverance and says, “Another thing the order to engage the enemy was my call sir I accept full responsibilities for the actions of my squadron sir.”

“Noted and it will be brought up in the debriefing just get your squadron back on board so we can get out of here.”
“Roger that sir will do.”

Due to the entrance of the Deliverance the enemy squadrons had pulled back to the corvettes to try to regroup themselves, so that they can figure out the situation that had just happened. Rocket didn’t really mind that the enemy had pulled back it just made it easier for Rhegent's Reign to pull back and get inside of the Deliverance without any more problems and the like.

Once Cali was back on the Deliverance Rocket looked at his radar screen to figure out how many more of Rhegent's Reign was still not on the ship after seeing that everyone had made it on except for the KIA Rocket said into the comm to the Deliverance, “All pilots accounted for sir returning to the ship sir.”

Rocket hears that they copy and starts the procedure to dock.

OOC:

523 words-Okay there are a lot of fighters out there now manly the rest of the Wing, now get back to the ship.

Maroy adjusted her comm to burst mode according to what she could make out of Rocket's garbled recommendation and noticeably relaxed when the static abruptly cut off. For good measure, she switched off her secondary weapon displays to prevent any accidental firings. Her XO's point about the enemy's behavior made sense, now that she thought of it. It takes a ton of skill,  training, and luck to even survive an engagement in a standard TIE, much less become a veteran. The only reason the Rhegents are doing well is because our fighters are superior, not our pilots. If our ships were evenly matched, we'd probably have lost a lot more than just Hark.

Now that transmissions were clearer, she found out that Cali was disabled and overwhelmed. Well, can't let our Squadron leader die off as well. She contacted her wingman and together they flew off to defend their leader. As they approached, a large vessel appeared on their radar. Maroy transferred power from her engines to her sensors and the blip changed to a friendly green. Its IFF claimed it was the Deliverance. After a moment Rocket contacted the squadron again.

“Alright, the big guns are here, we have the order to get back on the ship, those are your orders now get to it. Alpha flight is gonna pull cover until Cali is back inside the ship is that clear.”

Maroy was feeling decidedly better now that a cruiser was watching her back. Apparently the enemy had three capital ships of some kind, and they'd been about to bring them in when the Deliverance showed up. Not only was the Deliverance intimidating, it also brought several squadrons which launched almost immediately to engage the hostile fighters.

"Rhegent Four acknowledges. Now assuming escort pattern."

She stuck with her Mon Calamari wingman, following his maneuvers as they fended off any enemy TIE who got to close to Cali's fighter. One TIE landed a lucky shot, which unfortunately also gave it a higher threat rating. Maroy chased after it, using the interceptor's superior speed to its full advantage. The TIE couldn't hope to outrun her, so he tried to outmaneuver her. He took a sharp turn, which caused Maroy to overshoot and end up right in his sights.

"So, this is what they mean by 'the hunter becomes the hunted'."

He fired at an almost impossible rate, wearing out her shields despite her attempts to shake him. She almost gave up when a fire broke out on the TIE. The pilot had overheated the damaged weapons, causing a fire which quickly spread to the engines. The TIE exploded spectacularly, but Maroy felt some empathy for the deceased pilot. If I had to go down, I'd really hate to do it that way.

Cali's fighter was pulled in fairly quick, and was soon followed by an order for all Rhegent's Reign pilots to board the Deliverance. I hope I don't have to go through another Intelligence interview, I'll had enough of those over our past few assignments.

OOC:

506 words

Kazack was still dodging the green laserfire of the TIE's when a sudden burst of static came over the comm. He immediatly went to burst transmission to hear what was happening.

"-- guns are here" Rocket was saying over the comm, "Alpha Flight is going to pull cover until Cali is back on the ship, the rest of you get back to the ship" Rocket said. Kazack took some power from shields to weapons and sensors. The new blip on the radar turned green and identified itself as the Deliverance. "Fitting name," Kazack said to himself as he turned back towards the ship. Only one of the TIE fighters was following him. Kazack tried as sharper turn as his body could manage and blasted at the TIE. There was no time for the pilot to eject as it slumped away and exploded. Kazack then turned all power to engines and headed towards the Deliverance.

Kazack swiftly landed his vessel on the flight deck of the Deliverance and hopped out of his TIE Interceptor and quickly surveyed the survivors of the battle, his flight leader Arthur, looked grim and withdrawn, while Seth, Kazack's own wingman looked as though the he was still having an adrenilene rush. As for Kazack, he quickly left the flight deck, barely glancing at the other members of the squadron and headed towards his temporary bunkroom.


Kazack immediatly got changed out of his combat pilot uniform and into his duty uniform. He knew he probably wouldn't need it until the debriefing but he didn't care. At least im out of that blasted flight suit, Kazack thought as he sat there. Kazack decided to write a letter to his family, which he would post when they got back too base. The letter read like this


Dear Mum and Dad
It has been quite busy here over the last couple of days, in fact I just got back from my first mission! I am writing to you, just like I promised and things are looking good. I cant go into too much detail about the mission obviously, you know, censorship and all, but I can tell you that the rumors were correct, the VE was planning to expand into some neighbouring systems. Unfortunatley, our recon flight went wrong. But I will tell you all about that when I get home on leaved for the first time. Say hello to Mary for me, and remember, no matter how far I go away, I will always be here.

Missing you terribly

Fremen

There, that should do, Kazack thought as he quickly scanned the letter, he almost laughed at the irony of the fact that almost everyone in the galaxy he knew except his parents called his Kazack. He even referred to himself as Kazack in his thoughts. He quickly saved the letter and sat on his bunk.

But after this was done, Kazack sat in quiet contemplation, reflecting on the events which had led him too this moment. He could still see all too clearly, the Absit system going from a sleepy backwater system into a warzone. Then he wondered about the origins of their assailants. "They were obviously military or ex-military" he said to himself. "After all" he reasoned, "were else would they have learned to fly like that," Kazack's thoughts then drifted too Hark, he had barely known him, but when he had met him he had seemed like a nice guy. He probably wasnt as affected as much as those who knew him well, but Kazack vowed that he would help the squadron hunt down and destroy those who had dared to cross the Vast Empire.

Quote:OOC Word Count 608 words

===== Deliverance Briefing Room =====

Anyone looking into the briefing room being used by the pilots of Rhegent's Reign, would have seen a fairly large Mon Calamari in a Vast Imperial flight suit, sitting beside a female green Twi'lek in a similar flight suit. The two were sitting silently, staring ahead in a room which in mere minutes (after the actual debriefing was called) would be filled with pilots. So far, besides the few maintenance personnel, there were no other people in the room. Stewart-Power had gone straight to the briefing room, knowing there was no comfort for him in his room, and that the briefing room would be mostly, if not completely alone. If there were people there, Thel was still in an amicable mood enough to enjoy their company, if not actually to have a conversation. When he had arrived it was only the maintenance personnel, which consisted of a young human engineer and a small posse of droids. Maroy wasn't far out behind him, as she entered the room as Thel had chosen a spot to sit down. She quietly entered the room and sat next to him. She seemed a little tense with worry for something, but the Warrant Officer had decided silence was the best course of action.

Plus, he did want to think things over, just not in the complete seclusion offered by his room. He did have a few things to ponder after-all; the transfer from Tuk'ata to Rhegent's Reign, his positional demotion from Flight Leader of Delta Flight to Alpha 3, and the ambush they had just managed to avoid. By Thel's best guess, not being in a command position, high command simply wished to put all its best fighters in one squadron. To be killed off all together, apparently. Thel thought sourly to himself. After he thought about it, he realized he was being rather harsh on the Naval High Command, who he supposed were trying to do their best with dwindling resources. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that dying in that ambush (after the real dog fighting began of course) wouldn't have been such a bad way to die. It had honour, dying for something greater then yourself, even if it was due to a mistake from the brass. What else could a pilot ask for, as for as ways to die went? Thel would rather die honourably fighting for something futile, then die without honour, even for something very important. Though, if Thel could help it, he would rather have both.

OOC:

Word Count: Only 427 words. I would make it longer, I just wanted to get this post up (Its been sitting around on my computer for ever...). Also wanted to establish my location.