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Topic:  Stonewall: Echelon: Shakedown Cruise
Echelon
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Echelon
 
[VE-NAVY] Warrant Officer 2nd Class
 
Post Number:  485
Total Posts:  546
Joined:  May 2011
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  Stonewall: Echelon: Shakedown Cruise
September 27, 2012 6:27:52 PM    View the profile of Echelon 
“Are we ready to begin?” Rhycus Bandoran asked intently, facing his Chief Defense Officer, Tenen Terrus.

Mr. Terrus, a short and young man, though older than Rhycus, had a youthful presence about him. It was not necessarily his looks (though his face was childlike), but it was more of the way he acted. The man embodied a certain enthusiasm that he carried through all of his duties, not to mention the lively energy that possessed him. It did not bother Rhycus particularly, but Terrus’s personality boldly stood out from the rest of the crew’s. He wondered if Terrus was ever picked on. It would be a shame if he was, Rhycus decided. The man was more than competent enough for his duties, or so Rhycus had been told. He was about to put Terrus’s skill to the test.

“Yes sir!” Terrus briskly replied, grinning widely at his captain.

Rhycus was once a defense officer, like Mr. Terrus, and he knew he would be expecting a lot from the man. He tried to tell himself to give Terrus some slack if he did not do well, but it was hard to lower your expectations when you were once a defense officer on the Atrus, the flagship of the entire Navy. It was a prestigious position in the world of defense.

“Alright, Mr. Terrus. Today, I’ll be testing your skill at your station as well as the efficiency of our shielding. To begin the test, put our deflector and ray shields in spread formation. I’ll be timing you. Begin.”

As soon as Rhycus muttered the last words, Terrus kicked into action. Sitting at his station in the bridge of the vessel, he began to flick switches and turn dials, concentrating completely on his task. His display screens flickered with light as he brought up different windows and data streams. To the untrained officer, Terrus’s actions were indecipherable, but Rhycus understood every movement. His eyes darted back and forth, following Terrus’s performance. Rhycus noticed that Terrus was following the standard procedure for the task. There was nothing wrong with that, Rhycus decided, but he knew a few tricks to save time. Of course, those came with experience, something Terrus would gain in time.

Only a few seconds later, Terrus turned away from his console, gladly exclaiming, “Done, sir!”

Rhycus checked his datapad, eyeing the time. Eleven seconds. Rhycus nodded, thoughtfully. The time was good for the average defense officer, he decided. Sure, he could do it in eight seconds, but that was only with months of experience. For someone who had just come out of the academy, the time was decent.

“How’d I do, sir?”

“Nevermind that,” Rhycus warned, “the test is not over yet. Now, I want you to put both of the shields in six-aft formation. Begin.” Six-aft was defense jargon for sixty percent of the shields in the aft half of the ship, and forty percent in the other. It could be said six-aft or four-fore, but the former was the less confusing of the two.

Terrus, once again, jumped to the task. His hands raced about the console, tapping away madly. A few moments later, he was done.

“Good,” Rhycus approved, assessing the next task, “Now, I want the ray shields at seven-fore and the deflector shields in spread formation. Go.”

Terrus’s eyebrows wrinkled together, expressing confusion. Then, as his brain pieced Rhycus’s commands together, he attacked the orders once more.

It went like that for several more minutes, Rhycus giving harder and harder orders.

“8-starboard for deflector shields, 6-aft for ray shields...9-keel-starboard for ray shields, 3-port for deflector shields...7-amidship-2-aft-1-fore for deflector shields, ray shields disengaged and reserve power added to deflector shields...”

Most of the formations Rhycus ordered would never be used in combat, but they were necessary to test the shielding systems of the ship. If there were any problems, they would need to be sorted out then. Though, so far, everything seemed to be up to standard. They would need to be. This was no training ship, he remembered, this was the real deal.

Only two days before, he had graduated from the academy and Ship Captain Training Program, receiving command of his own ship: the CR90 Stonewall. The ship, unlike the Duty was in much better condition, and the crew was definitely more disciplined. Along with him, the rest of the bridge crew graduated, permanently being attached to his captainship. Meaning, wherever he
was stationed as a captain, they would follow. He wondered if that would be a good or bad decision in the long run.

It was a brilliant feeling to be in full control over the 14-gun ship and its 165 crewmembers, he concurred. It was not the power which he craved, but it was the ability to see his orders being carried out and followed. Perhaps that was power, he wondered. Was he really driven for power? No, it was not power, he decided. It was control. It was the ability to help the Navy with his ideas and his prose, but to effectively do that, he needed power. He did not want power; it was only a tool.

“Done, sir!” piped the shield operator, dragging Rhycus away from his thoughts. The captain immediately looked down at the time. Nodding at the results, he brought his gaze back up to meet Terrus.

“You performed sufficiently, Terrus,” the captain told, keeping as formal as possible. “A copy of the official report will be sent to your NavyNet account. For now, you are dismissed. Good work, crewman.

Hearing that, Terrus let out a brief sigh of relief. “Thank you, captain. I try my best.”

“As I have observed. If all of the crew on this ship performed with a mindset like yours, we’d be the most powerful cruiser in the galaxy. I appreciate your drive, Terrus.”

Terrus blushed at the praise. “Well sir...like I said, I just try my best!” With that, he firmly stood up, bringing his hand up to his cap to perform a crisp salute. Rhycus gently saluted back, making eye contact with Terrus, before exiting the bridge with a series of brisk but stern footsteps. Terrus silently watched him go out. He admired the captain, but he could not place why. There were a lot of reasons, he told himself: Rhycus’s ability, his leadership, his prose. But then again, he wondered, the captain was a stern and almost emotionless man, unlike Terrus. He wondered what could have made Rhycus the way he was today. Could he have been born that way, he wondered?

Of course, Terrus could have thought long and hard about the captain, but a sudden wave of exhaustion overcame him, so he silently submitted himself into his quarters. Laying in his bunk, he congratulated himself for the day. It had been his first real test in the Navy, and he had completed it with skill. With that warm feeling of accomplishment, he slowly drifted off into sleep, ready for another day in the Navy...

OOC:
Word Count: 1,118. This is my combat system testing post of my final project for the SCTP.

Imperial Network Star Wars Image

MS/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/Warden-class light cruiser Duty/TF:TH/3Flt/VENA/VEN/VE

XNT/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/PLF Cappadocious/VENA/VEN/VE

[SoA] [NAR] [CAR] [MC2] [BWC] [HNS] [MC1] [SWC] [1NS] [LoM] [VC:B]
[=*ENG*=] {VehM} {SfrM} {HypM} {Astr} {LogS} {Shut} {Gunn} (*SCFE*)

MVP of Out of the Invisible

Echelon
ComNet Member
 
Echelon
 
[VE-NAVY] Warrant Officer 2nd Class
 
Post Number:  486
Total Posts:  546
Joined:  May 2011
Status:  Offline
  RE: Stonewall: Echelon: Shakedown Cruise
September 27, 2012 6:28:29 PM    View the profile of Echelon 
Dak Coven sat in his chair, his communications console across from him. His back was straight, his arms were rested at the correct angle, and his neck was lifted away from his shoulders. If there was one thing he learned during his tour on the Duty, it was the correct posture for a bridge officer. The Captain, Rhycus Bandoran, despised bridge officers slumping in their seats. Dak learned this quickly, after one sided discussion with the captain. Now, all of the bridge crew sat correctly, and their uniformity was aesthetic to the eye.

Currently, Coven was monitoring intersystem communication, making sure the interactions between ships were done correctly, and if there were any problems, he was there to sort them out. The Stonewall was currently in the outskirts of the Belgaroth system, in which held the newly conquered shipyards for the Vast Empire. Because it was on the edge of Vast Empire space, the system was in need of border protection. That’s where the CR90 came in. They patrolled the area and monitored communication, making sure nothing was out of place.

With his headset on, Coven tuned into another frequency in the system. Soon, the crackly static faded, and two clear voices came through.

“Trendar, this is the captain of the Gorgon,” came the first, male voice. “May I speak with your captain?”

“This is the captain of the Trendar,” came the second voice, this time, from a female zabrack. “What do you want?”

“You’re moving too slow for this lane.” Because of the high number of ships heading towards the shipyard, the ships were forced to travel in 1,000 kilometer wide lanes, to keep things orderly. Ships were not supposed to come within 200 kilometers of each other, nor were they supposed to exit the boundaries of the lane, nor were they allowed to pass each other either. There was a book full of regulations, but otherwise, the entire system would be a mess. “Please halt your ship, and let mine pass.”

“Negative. I can’t allow that to happen.”

The first voice grumbled. “Why not?”

“Following Vast Imperial law of travel lanes, passing is not prohibited.”

“But you’re going as slow as the Death Star itself! What am I supposed to do, wait another twelve hours to go five clicks?!”

“Our ship is moving as fast as possible, and the Death Star was actually quick.”

For a brief moment, there was silence on the other end. Coven could almost feel the anger growing over the line. He would have to step in soon. “If you don’t let me pass...”

“You’ll do what? Attack us?”

“Maybe.”

“With your unarmed freighter?”

“With our fighter escorts.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Now things were getting serious. Not only were they not following standard procedure, but they were using threats. Coven now had to step in.

“This is the Imperial vessel, Stonewall,” he began, his voice calm and steady, “Gorgon, you are to stand down immediately. Trendar, you are to slow your ship and make space for the Gorgon to pass.”

“What?! But that’s against the law!”

“It is, but in this situation, you intently slowed your ship even more as soon the Gorgon contacted you. If you had continued at your full, but slow, speed, this would be unnecessary.” On the other end, Coven could hear grumbling. The Trendar’s captain was not pleased. “If you do not follow through with my requests within the next fifteen minutes, we will use military force. Stonewall, out.”

And that was what he had been doing. All day. Of course, not all of it was fighting, most of it was customs, checking in with the ship, requesting information. He decided it was boring work, but it was his job.

Suddenly, a red light began to blink on his console. A bit confused, he opened up the incoming transmission. A new voice entered his headset, one speaking with authority.

“Stonewall, this is the System Defense Head Quarters,” the voice began, “Do you copy?”

“I read you loud and clear, HQ. Continue.”

“A freighter of unknown origin recently exited an in-going lane, and is travelling on its own now. We’ve tried to contact it, but it is unresponsive. You’re the closest military vessel at the moment. Hail the freighter, and stop it. If it refuses, use force to neutralize it. You’re being attached two TIE Interceptors. HQ, out.”

Immediately, Coven swivelled in his chair, yelling, “Captain! New orders to engage!”

However, the captain was not on the bridge. Instead, the Executive Officer, Elbatt Andia, hustled over. Coven looked to his communications mate. “Get the captain up here,” he demanded.

“What are the orders?” Andia asked, a tiny bit of franticness in his tone.

“A ship has exited a travelling lane, and is unresponsive. We’re to halt the ship, and use force if necessary.” As soon as he finished his sentence, a small piece of paper was printed from his console. Coven tore it off and handed it to Andia. “Here are the detailed orders.” Suddenly, the bridge doors slid open as the captain stormed in.

“Captain on the bridge!” Andia called. In unison, the bridge officers all stood up, saluting.

“At ease, at ease,” the captain issued, “what is it, Andia?”

“New orders from System HQ. An unidentified ship has left one of the travelling lanes, and is unresponsive to communications. We’ve been ordered to intercept the ship, and halt it. If it refuses, we’re to use eliminate it. Here, take this.” Andia handed Rhycus the slip of paper. The captain briefly glanced over it, neatly folding it when he was finished. “Orders, sir?”

“Mr. Andia, please alert the ship of the current mission, and prepare for battle. Mr. Tolod! Please follow the freighter. The coordinates should be in your NavComputer. Any more questions? No? Good. Get to work!”

With that, the crew kicked into action, and the once quiet bridge became storm of activity. However, Andia was left standing by the captain’s side. Confused, Rhycus asked, “Andia, why are you still here?”

“I wanted to ask you a question, sir.”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, sir, you seem to be taking this situation more serious than it actually is. After all, it’s just a freighter. It probably was not aware of the lane situation.”

Rhycus raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Andia, we are at war. We are at the brink of VE space. Anything can happen.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Now, don’t you have a task?”

Andia nodded.

“Then get to it!” With that, Andia embarrassingly stomped off, leaving the captain to himself.

Now, let’s find out what we’re up against...

OOC:
Word Count: 1,107. This is one of the NPC posts.

Imperial Network Star Wars Image

MS/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/Warden-class light cruiser Duty/TF:TH/3Flt/VENA/VEN/VE

XNT/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/PLF Cappadocious/VENA/VEN/VE

[SoA] [NAR] [CAR] [MC2] [BWC] [HNS] [MC1] [SWC] [1NS] [LoM] [VC:B]
[=*ENG*=] {VehM} {SfrM} {HypM} {Astr} {LogS} {Shut} {Gunn} (*SCFE*)

MVP of Out of the Invisible

Echelon
ComNet Member
 
Echelon
 
[VE-NAVY] Warrant Officer 2nd Class
 
Post Number:  487
Total Posts:  546
Joined:  May 2011
Status:  Offline
  RE: Stonewall: Echelon: Shakedown Cruise
September 27, 2012 6:29:19 PM    View the profile of Echelon 
If one looked at Aetrian Nayus, they would have never guessed he had joined the military. The man was lightly built, with high cheekbones and deep eyes. His yellow hair sat lightly upon his head as if it was repulsed by his scalp. The man just did not look like he could have passed basic training. However, that was far from the truth. Aetrian was quick thinking and very resourceful. In addition, he was determined to accomplish any task. Because of this, he was chosen for the role of sensors officer. The sensors officers often had to think in clever ways. With a variety of different sensors at their disposal, they had to use the correct ones in unison to track an object, or to detect one. Because of this, sensors officers need to consume a wide amount of training, usually in a short period of time. Only the brighter candidates would be able to handle the course, and in result, Nayus had no problem in the academy.

As the new orders were relayed, Nayus immediately set to the task. Flipping switches and pressing buttons, Nayus quickly flipped through several different “sensing modes”, finding the best and engaging it. After a few moments, the sensor had scanned the area in the highest detail. On his console, a few red blips showed ships in the area; the one closest to the Stonewall was the freighter, he deducted.

Looking up, Nayus was surprised to see the cold stare of the captain down upon him. “Yes, sir?” he muttered.

“Mr. Nayus, please, we need more information on the ship. She’s too far out for system scanners,” he began, Nayus respectfully listening, “let’s learn the ship model, shall we?”

“Right away sir. I had just locked onto its heat signatures for to use as a support. I’ll try and get a visual in a moment.”

The competent bridge officer began his task, unconsciously biting his tongue.

“Well sir, she’s a quite far away from us, even though we’re the closest ship.”

“I assumed as such. Continue.”

“She’s very fast, actually, for a freighter. From what her radiation levels say, she must be modified.”

“Sir,” yelled another voice across the bridge, “we’re within hailing distance!”

“Alright, hail the ship,” the captain ordered, “and send her a message to halt.”

“Sir...” Nayus trailed off, startled by something on the screen. “She’s a freighter, alright, but definitely a lot of modding...by someone who know’s how to do it...it’s an Action V transport...but hold on a moment...”

“What is it?” The was a brief moment of silence, fueling the suspense.

“She’s armed! Several guns...not sure what type. Dear goodness...my computer is scanning her hull...by the Emperor!”

“Mr. Nayus?”

“This is the Orison, a ship seen in VE space a week ago. The computer says she was is fast smuggling ship hired and modified by the New Republic! There is a warrant for its demise. I’ll cross reference to make sure...but the chances of this being correct is...84 percent.”

The captain frowned. “This isn’t just a freighter we’re dealing with.” Turning on his heels, Rhycus headed back towards the center of the bridge. “Have we gotten a response back from the ship?” he asked, in a demanding tone.

“No sir, she’s ignored our request.”

He cursed. “Mr. Andia?”

“Yes?”

Tapping his foot, he said with distaste, “I’ve received word that this is not just a freighter, but that is is a smuggling ship hired by the New Republic. She’s armed and modified for speed.”

Andia only stared at the captain. He blinked and snapped out of his dazement. “What should we do about it?”

“We must call for back up, immediately. Mr. Coven! Send word to-”

“Sir...sir...sir!” Mr. Coven squealed. “My communications...I’ve lost them. No, wait. They’re just malfunctioning.”

“What is happening, Mr. Coven?”

“I don’t know. I’ve completely lost any wireless frequency.”

Rhycus knew only one thing could cause that: jamming. If the Orison was jamming them, then they could not call for backup. If they could not call for backup, then they would have to fight the ship, and if they had to fight the ship, Rhycus knew he needed to know the armament.

“Mr. Nayus, do you have any armament details?” Rhycus calmly asked.

“Not precise ones,” the sensors officer began, “but I do know that the ship has twenty guns. Now, whether they be quads or turboes, I don’t know.”

Rhycus knew in a situation like this, he needed to prepare for the worst case scenario. In this case, it was that all of those guns were turbolasers. By his luck, he figured, they would all be turbolasers.

“How’s her speed? Can we escape her?”

“Not by what I’m seeing,” Nayus continued, a slight tremble in his voice, “she’s moving a little more than our top speed.”

Rhycus bit his lip as he tried to keep his frustration to himself. A captain who showed his emotions in front of his crew could frighten them. That was not what they needed at this time. With the Orison outgunning them, and having greater speed, he knew the Stonewall would not be able to last long. Some captains would be eager to take on a ship bigger than there’s, overestimating their abilities. A good captain knew their ship’s abilities, and which battles to pick. Rhycus was that kind of captain. However, he had no choice with this battle. Or so he thought. Closing his eyes, he thought tremendously of an alternative option. Could the Stonewall flee towards the system, hoping to reach other ships in time? No, he concluded. They were too far out.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, his eyes flicked open, revealing Executive Officer Andia in front of him.

“Is everything alright, sir?” he asked, caringly.

“No. Everything is not alright, Mr. Andia. You may not know this, but the Orison is jamming us, and the Orison outguns us, AND, the Orison is faster than us.”

“We’re being jammed?!”

“Did you learn anything in the academy, Mr. Andia?” Rhycus stopped himself from going any further. He knew it was not Mr. Andia’s fault, and he should not have taken his anger out on the man.

Before he could apologize, a bridge officer yelled, “Incoming fire!”

Despite wishes, the inevitable battle had begun.

OOC:
Word Count: 1,070. This is one of the heavy interaction posts.

Imperial Network Star Wars Image

MS/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/Warden-class light cruiser Duty/TF:TH/3Flt/VENA/VEN/VE

XNT/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/PLF Cappadocious/VENA/VEN/VE

[SoA] [NAR] [CAR] [MC2] [BWC] [HNS] [MC1] [SWC] [1NS] [LoM] [VC:B]
[=*ENG*=] {VehM} {SfrM} {HypM} {Astr} {LogS} {Shut} {Gunn} (*SCFE*)

MVP of Out of the Invisible

Echelon
ComNet Member
 
Echelon
 
[VE-NAVY] Warrant Officer 2nd Class
 
Post Number:  488
Total Posts:  546
Joined:  May 2011
Status:  Offline
  RE: Stonewall: Echelon: Shakedown Cruise
September 27, 2012 6:29:56 PM    View the profile of Echelon 
“Shields up!” Rhycus yelled, sparing no time for the incoming enemy fire.

Tenen Terrus, the defense officer, had been drilled on the task over and over and over again, but now it was time to use it. He wasted no time. As if an imaginary power had been put into him, his hands raced around his control station, faster than ever before. Terrus had always been worried about stalling in a moment like this, so he was surprised to find himself doing so well. In almost no time, the deflector shields had been brought up, and the powerful blasts dissipated against the hull.

The bridge rumbled lightly, and all the chatter ceased to stop. Everyone looked around, some fearful, some enjoying the danger, others having no opinion at all. As the shaking ended, the silence continued, until Rhycus Bandoran yelled, “Libnor! Return fire at your discretion! Mr. Tolod, bring the ship’s starboard side to face the Orison. We need as many guns to bear on her as possible!”

“Sir,” Andia protested, “what are we going to do?!” Rhycus closed his eyes, and brought his hand up to his temple, trying to shut out the mayhem of the bridge. His mind raced around, trying to come up with a solution. It ended up with nothing. “Sir,” Andia continued, “A CR90 and two TIE fighters cannot stand up against this tran-”

Rhycus suddenly opened his eyes, interrupting his first officer. “What did you say?”

“Sir...our ship and two TIE fighters-”

“That’s it! Our fighters! They can escape the jamming range of the ship, and call for back up!”

For a moment, Andia’s face lit up with excitement, but it quickly faded away. “But sir, how will we contact the TIEs? Our communications with them are being jammed as well.”

Rhycus’s eyebrows creased, his expression of displeasure. “We can only hope that they’ll figure it out on their own. At some time, they’ll try to contact us, and they realize they’re being jammed. But till then, we’ll have to hold out on our own.”

Andia gulped. The situation was bleak.

=====

David Caster loved mechanics, and everything about them. He loved to fix things, he loved to take things apart, and he loved to make his own machines. Naturally, he was drawn to vehicles, and by default, he was drawn to piloting. The Vast Empire was the perfect place for David. He could be a part time pilot, while also being a part time mechanic. Soon, the Vast Empire was on the list of things he loved.

Combat, however, did not appeal to him at all. He hated death, and he hated killing. It was not something he took pride in. Though, he would never admit that he was afraid to die, he was. He saw his squadron mates being ripped to shreds by enemy fire, and he saw them do the same to the enemy. Would he be exempt from the lethality of war? he wondered. All he wanted to do was become a transport pilot, and become a mechanic. That was all, but because the Navy needed people for the Starfighter Corps, he had to fight for two years before he could receive a non-combat job. It was two years that he would hate.

Currently, David sat in his TIE fighter cockpit, lightly following the massive CR90 in front of him. He and another pilot had been assigned to the ship to help it stop a rogue freighter. He hated missions like this. They usually were long and boring, and the starfighters would do nothing at all. However, he did not know how wrong he was.

Suddenly, out his window, several fiery red blasts shot out of the darkness of space, smashing into the Stonewall. His face lit up with surprise, before gunning the throttle, and pulling up. It was an instinctive move of his, to pull away from the danger. It was also a cowardice move, he told himself.

“Aurek-2, to Stonewall, do you copy?” he radioed. He waited for a response, but there was only a quiet static background. “Aurek-2, to Stonewall. Do you copy?” Still, no response. Was there something wrong with his communications? he wondered. Perhaps their communications were damaged. He decided he would contact Aurek-1, to see if he had the same problem.

“Aurek-1?” A long pause rose from his headset. “Aurek-1? Can you hear me?” Only the disheartening noise of silence entered his cockpit. Fearing it was something on his end, he flipped through his onboard computer to running a debugging program on his communications system. As the debugger went through its checked, he levelled out his starfighter with the Stonewall. The ship below him fired off a quick round of turbolaser blasts that shot off into the distance. Ways away, he could make out a very faint object. It became brighter as the Stonewall’s blasts neared it before blending into the darkness of space.

A beep from his computer told that his communications system was working just fine. He grunted, frustrated. What was the matter, then? Why could no one hear him? he wondered.

Then, it hit him. He remembered a lecture during the academy about jamming, and the signs of it. He could not remembered the exact signs, but he knew that jamming could very well be the answer to all of this. Then, another thought struck him. What if the Orison was jamming the Stonewall because it did not want it to call for backup. That was the point of jamming, was it not? Like piecing together a puzzle, he soon realized what was happening. The Stonewall needed help, it could not take on this freighter alone, but with the jamming, it could not call for help. What was it to do?! he thought.

When in doubt, go manual, was the old saying about electronics. David wondered if he could call for backup manually. Then, a third idea struck him. He would have to fly out of the jamming zone, where he could contact System HQ, and alert them on the situation.

It was a genius plan, he realized. With no time to lose, he engaged the throttle to full strength, and pulled the ship around, heading towards the faint sun in the distance. He did not know it at the time, but the fate of the Stonewall rested on his shoulders.

OOC:
Word Count: 1,077. This is one of the NPC posts.

Imperial Network Star Wars Image

MS/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/Warden-class light cruiser Duty/TF:TH/3Flt/VENA/VEN/VE

XNT/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/PLF Cappadocious/VENA/VEN/VE

[SoA] [NAR] [CAR] [MC2] [BWC] [HNS] [MC1] [SWC] [1NS] [LoM] [VC:B]
[=*ENG*=] {VehM} {SfrM} {HypM} {Astr} {LogS} {Shut} {Gunn} (*SCFE*)

MVP of Out of the Invisible

Echelon
ComNet Member
 
Echelon
 
[VE-NAVY] Warrant Officer 2nd Class
 
Post Number:  489
Total Posts:  546
Joined:  May 2011
Status:  Offline
  RE: Stonewall: Echelon: Shakedown Cruise
September 27, 2012 6:31:27 PM    View the profile of Echelon 
“Sir!” Mr. Nayus exclaimed, “One of our TIEs is fleeing the scene!”

“Brilliant!” Rhycus cheered.

“But...that fighter just deserted us.”

“No, no, Mr. Nayus. That fighter is going to call for backup.” Hearing that sentence, Nayus’s face lit up, finally understanding. “Do not be so cheerful, though. We may be defeated by the time back up arrives. Speaking of that, how are out shields holding up, Mr. Terrus?”

“At seventy percent, sir, but there dropping with every hit. The Orision has had some powerful shots sir. As she gets closer, he shots become more and more accurate, so we could lose our shields at a higher rate.”

“Attack, report, Libnor?” Rhycus ordered.

Soon, the distinctive voice of the Mon Calamari Chief Offensive Officer was heard. “Our attacks are accurate at sixty percent sir, but we’re gaining accuracy. Her shields are tough though.”

“Still not good enough. Nayus, how far away is the Orison?”

“A few kilometers,” he replied.

“Tolod! Bring us closer to her! We need to inflict some powerful shots on her! Libnor, hold your fire and intensify firepower for maximum effect.”

For a brief second, there was little chatter amongst the bridge. For that moment, Rhycus had a chance to think about anything he wanted to. Anything. Instead of the mission, his mind brought him back to his parents, on Byss, and how the New Republic murdered them during the Battle of Byss. It was a sad memory, but it reminded him of why he had joined the Vast Empire: to fight the lawless evils of the New Republic.

His thoughts were interrupted by the a violent shudder of the bridge. He stumped a bit before regaining his balance against a wall.

“Sir!” Terrus cried, “Shields at fifty percent, and a small electrical fire in gun port thirteen.”

“Get that fire out, and evacuate all of the gun crew!” Rhycus demanded. He cringed at the thought of a gunner trapped in his cockpit with a superheated fire raging around him. War was not pretty, he noted, it had never been. “Are we close enough now, Libnor, for that volley fire?”

“Almost sir, just a few more secon-”

The lights of the bridge began to flicker as another blast smashed into the Stonewall. Rhycus silently cursed. He hoped that TIE Fighter would be able to get to backup quickly.

“Dammit! Release it now!”

“But sir-”

“Do it!” The ship’s turbolasers, which had charged up an intensified charge, all released at once. If the Stonewall had been a little bit closer, the shots would have been more effective, but they were very effective for what they were worth. Each blast rocketed towards the Orison, impacting against the hull. One particular shot passed through the shields, amplifying against the pressurized cabin underneath. The explosion blasted metal and debris in all directions, leaving a gaping hole on the otherwise untouched ship.

“Sir! The Orison has a hull breach!” Libnor blurted out.

“Any place important?” Rhycus queried.

“No sir, just the fuselage.”

“Dammit. Shields?”

“Fifty percent and hol-” Terrus stopped, a dull rumbling could be heard in the distance. “Thirty percent! And the generator does not have much to work with, sir. Those shots you used drained the reactor quite a bit!”

“How much longer can we last?” Andia added in.

“Not long. We’re inflicting some damage on the enemy, but not as much as they’re inflicting on us,” the captain replied, thoughtfully.

“How much longer till backup arr-”

“Shields and twenty percent, and the generator has exhausted itself on power. We’ll only be able to last on what we have!”

“Libnor, hold your fire, and Mrs. Rudemo, please see if you can get us any extra power for our shields.”

“Fifteen percent! And a hull breach on level four, stern. Sealing it off now.”

Rhycus, once again, brought his hand to his head, closing his eyes. Everything was happening to fast. The shields were dropping quickly, they were out of extra power, and they were being hit left and right. With all that was going on, it was hard to assess the situation and think. Of course, there was nothing he could do. There was no plan he could conjure up. There was nothing that could save them. He just accepted the situation for what it was, and remained calm.

“Ten percent!”

“What do you want us to do, captain!”

“Another hull breach!”

Rhycus repressed the situation even further, almost ignoring all the noise in the bridge. It was useless. The situation was hopeless, and they were only buying time for their inevitable demise. However, there was one exclamation that Rhycus bolted up right to.

“Sir! Backup has arrived! Four more CR90s, and a Strike-class cruiser!” Nayus almost screamed out.

The TIE pilot did it!

Out the viewport, Rhycus could see several ships advance on their position at full speed. The massive Strike-class cruiser was flanked by four other CR90s, forming a giant wall. The bridge rejoiced as the reinforcements began to open fire on the Orison. With every green and red blast, the bridge crew became more and more excited. The enemy ship quickly turned about, fleeing away at full speed, but it was too late. The suppressive fire from the reinforcements had caused irreparable damage on the ship’s engines, and it was left sitting there, much like the Stonewall had been. As the crew cheered, Rhycus merely stood and watched the seen. He was happy to be alive, but as usual, he refused to show emotion.

“Alright, alright, quiet down,” said a voice, this time, not coming from the captain. Instead, it was Andia. “We’re still a ship of the Vast Empire, here, let’s be formal. This is no time to celebrate, no matter how happy you are that you’re alive. We have people that are wounded, and they are our priority at the moment. Mr. Coven, give the reinforcement ship’s our thanks. Mr. Tolod, get us back to the ship yard for repairs. Mrs. Rudemo, see if you can get our reactor back to optimum capacity. The rest of you, take post-battle measures. Good work today. Now, get to work.”

After his speech, Andia looked over at Rhycus, who silently smiled, nodding at his Executive Officer. It was a fine speech he made, the captain decided. He had only known Andia for a few months, and in that time, Andia had tripled in maturity and formality. Though a bit difficult at times, he was a good First Officer, Rhycus noted. He would make a great Captain someday.

With that, Rhycus silently and discreetly exited the bridge. He knew Andia would do a fine job handleing the post-battle procedure. Meanwhile, he was going to write the official report of the battle, something that needed to be done every time there was an engagement. It was dull work, but Rhycus did not mind it too much. After all, he was a ship captain now.

It was his dream, and he was living it.

OOC:
Word Count: 1,177. This is one of the heavy interaction posts.

That concludes my SCTP! It took me awhile, but I plowed through the last three posts today! I hope they're sufficient!

Is it me, or do most of my word counts have a lot of "sevens" in them?

Imperial Network Star Wars Image

MS/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/Warden-class light cruiser Duty/TF:TH/3Flt/VENA/VEN/VE

XNT/WO2 Rhycus 'Echelon' Bandoran/PLF Cappadocious/VENA/VEN/VE

[SoA] [NAR] [CAR] [MC2] [BWC] [HNS] [MC1] [SWC] [1NS] [LoM] [VC:B]
[=*ENG*=] {VehM} {SfrM} {HypM} {Astr} {LogS} {Shut} {Gunn} (*SCFE*)

MVP of Out of the Invisible

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