Cyleaf increased his speed right on Demonic's wing, "take out those A-wings are two new friends should be able to handle their counterparts easily enough." Demonic ordered to Cy as they sped towards the oncoming fighters.

Approaching their intended targets Cyleaf opened fire watching as the agile a-wing dodged the incoming lasers with ease. "You need to wait till they are closer Rookie!" Demonic chided as the Zabrak noticed the reason why. Watching his target break formation and bank off to the right Cy's mind focused solely on the chase as he throttled down and proceeded into a break turn hoping to catch onto the smaller craft's tail.

After completing the maneuver his target was no where in sight, but his Hawkbat reeled as slightly lower powered lasers battered it from behind. How and the hell am I going to lose this mynock he'll outmaneuver me every step thought Cy. Than his mind reeled back to when he met Willtconq.

Will sat behind his desk; Cyleaf was still standing at attention while he just finished up the squadron introduction. "Ok kid, you got to remember a couple things out there with my Kaph squad, one we always have each other's backs, it's not a squad so to say but a family and I am the big daddy. Two we never retreat unless ordered by somebody higher than me, and that means no man alive is left behind. Lastly number three it's your job and mine to see you make it home alive so when the time comes do what you need to do to follow that order." Will finished up, the speech made Cyleaf smile, he felt these men would take care of him the best they could.

As Cyleaf was dismissed he started to walk towards the door and Will called after him, "Hey rookie remember, we are still here because we conquered our enemies, and we shall do it once more! And more, and more, and more!" the CWO accentuated each more. Cyleaf continued towards the door and opened it to a bright light.

Cyleaf smiled knowing that these guys had bailed him out numerous times already living up to Will's promise. It was as if a bright bulb went off inside the Zabrak's head as he peered down at the battle below him. With the a-wing almost on his thrusters Cy pulled back on the throttle and pulled up hard heading into the air and gaining altitude, looking behind him through the canopy he saw his pursuer still on him.

Dialing up his inertial compensator the Zabrak inverted and rolled straitening himself and speeding towards the ground. The g-forces became almost unbearable under his full speed indenting his frame into the chair's cushion. The a-wing was in hot pursuit but probably under better conditions than the worn out Zabrak. Firing his lasers into the growing tanks below him caught their attention.

Cyleaf could feel blood starting to trickle down his nose as black spots began to appear in his vision. Though his shields were taking a small pounding from the rear they were about to take blows on the front, he self consciously could feel the shield generator whining under the strain from constantly recharging.3,2,1 he counted to himself and than pulled up hard his muscles straining under the flight suit under the force of gravity.

Watching mouth agape as the ground became closer as if from a fog something told him to ignite his repulsors, it sounded like Dodger's voice. Hitting the switch and decreasing throttle waiting for the thud to say they kicked in happened a few seconds later, bouncing his nose slightly into the air as he increased throttle and pulled with both hands as hard as Zabrakinly possible.

The Hawkbat finally responded launching into the sky, but the a-wing was not so lucky. It exploded between two tanks causing an even massive one that took out enemy troopers as well. Shaking his head trying to regain the stamina he lost in that dive maneuver, the black spots slowly faded.

Cyleaf checked the area and saw that while he was playing his game of tag Demonic and the blue rings with the help of some ground forces had made short work of the other fighters. Even now Demonic had an a-wing pinned between laser fire and after a few seconds it streaked towards the ground in a hail of fire.

The Zabrak watched as the ground forces were over powering the enemy, below him littered blackened machines of war, strewn bodies and fires. They pushed hard and some white troopers began to enter the bunker. I hope they find something good he thought as a voice came over the comms.

Than Sion whooped over the channel in sheer joy, smiling Cy couldn't help but say "Don't take too much time celebrating, six, you could get yourself killed," friendly mocking the other.

"I can't help myself," the other replied.  "I just dropped a bridge on an X-Wing!!!" "Wow," Cyleaf responded a look of astonishment would have been seen on his face cept for the helmet. Inside himself the young pilot wished he could be as good as the others in his squad, but that would take time. Sighing to himself Cy hoped he had a very large amount of that left.

 
-----------------------
FM/SCR/Cyleaf Aehait/Kaph 1-3/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

Well, I'm glad I made it through that one. Thought Atrick as they flew steadily onwards. The Lion was growing bigger as they flew closer and the lights were amazing. Red and green flew everywhere and the occasional burst of yellow and orange indicated one had found its mark. The fight was everywhere and Atrick felt the twang of fear in his gut again.

Looking ahead of him, he saw groups of fighters about to converge on each other. A squadron of Preybirds flew in from the left and two flights of TIE Interceptors flew in on the right.

This isn't going to be good. Thought Atrick as Will's voice came through the channel.

"Alright guys, get ready for another little skirmish. Those boys up ahead are going to need our help and we're going to supply it, for what little time we can. We'll be in the middle of that so let's make the most of it. We'll probably get some enemies tailing us but we don't want that. Blast straight through and try to make it to the other side. Shoot any of the Preybirds but keep heading to the planet. That should help our boys and keep the enemy from tailing us. Got it? Let's go."

Atrick got a little nervous, as he was going to be flying in his second skirmish of the day. And the prospect of a kill made him shudder. Let's do this. Thought Atrick.

He switched all power in his shields to front, then added some to his blaster cannons.

Will suddenly pulled starboard and Atrick followed, with Krius following. They were now on a direct course for the enemy, who had not yet met the TIE Interceptors flying straight at them.

Will began counting down. "5&4&3&2&1& FIRE!!!"

The Preybirds didn't see it coming and they didn't have a chance. The bolts ripped through the ranks of the squadron and turned most of the shields a crimson hue. Three of them were not as lucky and were torn to pieces as their shields failed from the massive barrage of gunfire. The party flew right under the disheveled squadron and Atrick looked at where the Preybird he destroyed had been moments before. There was nothing but a heap of junk and floating shrapnel.

"WOOOHOOO!!!" Krius screamed over the channel. Then Atrick started talking too.

"I got my first kill. I got my first kill!" Atrick became as giddy as a school girl. He had gone through weeks of training and it had paid off. He could destroy the enemy, even if it was a surprise attack. He smiled under his helmet, something he hadn't done in a while. That was great. He thought.

Will cam over the channel.

"Great job guys. Now, let's get moving to the planet and help our guys out. ETA is around three minutes."

As the Lion grew steadily closer in his cockpit, Atrick thought that this was going to be ok. Then, there were enemy fighters everywhere. The amount was amazing, considering they were only Nebulon-B frigates. Then Will came over the channel, with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"I think this is going to take longer than three minutes."

"I think so too." Krius replied.

Atrick looked again at the scene unfolding before him. They amount of enemy fighters was amazing. Preybirds and X-wings were tearing the fighters apart while bombers destroyed the frigates. And they had to fly through it.

Great. Thought Atrick.

 
-----------------------
FM/LCRW Atrick25/Nazgul-11/Phoenix Wing/[mSSD Artrus]/1VENF]/VEN/VE (=A=)
~Leading Crewman Atrick25~

Nerds stick together! (Until Football Players storm us, because then we run like the girly men we are!)

"All Vast Empire fighters, this is your commander Shazam, we have pinpointed the location of the shield generator. Nazgul flight two and Kaph flights two and three, converge on the fighters in the area. Keep them occupied while Nazgul flights one and two and Kaph flight one escort Aegis and the other bombers to the cloning facility," said Shazam, "Target information should be in your terminals now"

Jaden pulled up his targeting computer and noted that the base had been highlighted as a major objective. He followed Toki through a downward spiral while picking up speed. Jaden punched the throttle placing his fighter right in wing line with Shazam. The X-wing and the aggressor flying together looked extremely odd, along with Toki's aggressor.

Art and Tyrrax came near, but they fell comfortably out of formation, hanging six to look for stragglers from the rear. All of the other fighters came to bear on the enemy squadron that had just been marked.

"Aegis Squadron and bomber squadron, converge on the enemy base and cloning facility, drop your entire payload, but make sure you aim at the necessary places. We don't have enough time to double back and reload, and we need this facility taken out immediately before the faction spreads," said Shazam

Shazam swooped down low to the ground, Jaden and Toki following close behind him. Art and Tyrrax had managed to pick up each a mark of their own and tracked them down.

"Two and seven, stay tight in formation. We're going to come up straight under the bombers, do a complete 360 turn around and give those tailing A-wings hell. They are just ripping the engines right out of the bombers," said Shazam, his fighter doing a barrel roll and spinning up through the clouds.

"Affirmative one, on your wing," said Jaden

Toki was keeping extremely quiet. Not an attribute Jaden had noticed as of lately in the battle. Maybe she was under stress as one of her fellow friends in the third flight had been shot down and no word was heard back from her yet. Yes, thats probably what happened.

I don't even know how I got back in the air...

Jaden contemplated his own uniqueness. How, somehow had he managed to luck out this time and avoid death once more? From the previous battles he had to show only 3 metal limbs, which were all fully functional in their own ways. Below both of his knees were completely steel plated, left knee was rebuilt. His left arm...the tattoo he had on the arm had some sort of meaning, but memory loss was another factor to falling from the water tower on Veronat.

He was lucky to be alive

***

"And Now, turn around," said Shazam

The three fighters did a complete turn around, the three squadrons of bombers above them.

"Sir, I've got two flights of A-wings in the radar and one flight of x-wings. The odds are against us," said Jaden

"Alright, Nazgul leader to Kaph leader, bring up your fighters on the rear of the enemy fighters that are tailing the bomber squadrons. We're going to meet them head on."

"Thats suicide for you guys!" said Will

"I know, but it's our only chance for this to work out," said Shazam

"Alright, on our way Nazgul leader," said Will, "Kaph leader out"

Shazam's fighter picked up speed as the bombers moved out overhead. They were headed straight for the cloning facility. Hopefully by now the ground forces had taken care of all of the anti air defenses and had made their way through ground defenses. The Corellian Corvette and the fighters along with it were flying toward the other side of the planet for refuge until the planetary battle was over.

"On your lead," said Jaden

"Alright, watch the crossfire from those A-wings and boost your shields on your nost. Jaden, we're going to use your superior firepower here, so give us some creativity" said Shazam

"It'll be my pleasure," said Jaden

The fighters quickly came into view. Jaden placed the fighter in good aim with the enemy fighters, switched over to missiles, and unloaded them into the air in random places across the line. Cannon fire was immediately switched to reserve supply and cannon link, pushing more power to the engines for speed. He jumped far ahead of Shazam and Toki, letting off quick bursts of three blasts of the quad fire at random fighters in the area.

Shooting straight under the Kaph fighters Jaden could see that they had caught on and only 2 fighters had been destroyed in his attempt to take them to the ground. He pulled a high yo-yo turn and came above the Kaph fighters, hoping that they would recognize him as an ally and not as the enemy.

"Nazgul two to one, I gave you my all," said Jaden

"Nice, seven and I have have got our marks and are trailing them down. Watch over those bombers and make sure they get on the right path to drop those bombs"

"Gotcha," said Jaden

"Cowboy, you out there?" said Jaden

"Right here Jay" said Trevor, "I've taken down as much anti air defenses as I could with my entire salvo of bombs, and I'm coming back to your position."

"Alright cowboy, but steer clear of the dogfight up here. The bombers are making their first run on the cloning facility. The shield generator is down.

Wait, how is the shield generator down?

Jaden checked the navpoints across the ground and all of the pilots that were in the air or either shot down. He couldn't find any exact reasons of how it was done, but whoever had done it was a great help to the mission of the vast empire.
 
-----------------------
Jaden Khaar


CMDR/WO2 Jaden Khaar/Aegis 1-1 (Aegis 1)/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [VC:S] (SV) (CBV)

Commander of Aegis Squadron

Ground Side


"This is Gunnery Sergeant Lingo to blue rings; we have found your shot down man."

"Thanks, Sergeant," Black One replied. "You don't know how grateful we are."

The sergeant put down his comlink and looked over at Ralan Barel, the crashed defector.  Well he hadn't defected until after he crashed.  He got shot down by a crazy Imp in an unfamiliar TIE model.  The pilot had gone on a head on flight toward his X-Wing. 

The RS pilot remembered what he had said during the charge, "You will die today "eyeball!"

The Imperial Pilot had replied a few seconds later, "no rebel scum, you will be the one dieing today."

This was right before his fighter's systems had all pretty much gone critical and he barely was able to eject before the snub fighter had exploded.  He had been hiding in the woods from Imperials when he was contacted via comlink by his Squadron C.O.:

"Black One to Saber, the whole situation is hopeless.  I had always suspected that the RS wasn't what command cracks it up to be.  We see now that the RS is the wrong side.  The rest of the Squadron is defecting along with a Corellian Corvette.  If you choose to join us, we will ask the Imps to keep an eye out for you.  If you don't, I won't hold anything against you, we won't tell the Imps."

The commander had always showed in small ways that the RS wasn't completely what it claimed to be.  Mostly in the form of little comments here and there about how the RS was doing something wrong.  Ralan had gained a high amount of respect for his squadron commander over the years.  Only now had it become apparent that he felt a higher loyalty to the commander than the RS.

"I am with you sir," replied Barel.

"I was hoping you would say that," said Black One.  "I will tell the Imperials."

He returned back to the present.  Then it hit him, he was now on the same side as the one who had shot him down!


Kaph 6's Hawkbat


Than Sion made his own realization of a more personal type.  If since my first mission we have been fighting the RS, then I haven't even begun to avenge my parents' deaths!  But they had made the battle personal, they had killed Will!!!

"All Vast Empire fighters, this is your commander Shazam, we have pinpointed the location of the shield generator. Nazgul flight two and Kaph flights two and three, converge on the fighters in the area. Keep them occupied while Nazgul flights one and two and Kaph flight one escort Aegis and the other bombers to the cloning facility," said Shazam, "Target information should be in your terminals now."

Than Sion checked the display and then re vectored his fighter toward the shield generator.  A lone A-Wing had appeared on his radar ahead of Sion.  The A-Wing had made the mistake of not noticing the Hawkbat and Sion had noting against taking advantage of that.  He accelerated his fighter and brought it behind the A-Wing.  The RS fighter tried to shake Sion, but the Imperial pilot kept on his tail pumping bolts into the A-Wing's crappy shields.  The shields quickly collapsed and the fighter exploded into a cloud of fire and debris.
But the loneness of the A-Wing was short lived, they were now everywhere, pestering the Imperial forces.  Kaph flight two and three were doing their bests to thin them out. 

All of a sudden he heard good news from Shazam over the wing frequency, "Shields appear to be down."

That was kind of fast, thought Sion.  It is kind of fishy.

"Aegis Squadron and bomber squadron, converge on the enemy base and cloning facility, drop your entire payload, but make sure you aim at the necessary places. We don't have enough time to double back and reload, and we need this facility taken out immediately before the faction spreads," said Shazam.

But only a few minutes later Shazam had a new message, "It's a trap."

Indeed it had been.  The shields had been only momentarily deactivated so that they could trap some of the Imperial craft inside the shield by reactivating it.  At least two members of Kaph had been trapped inside.  Along with almost all of the bombers.

"Don't panic. We'll deal with this as best we can." Shazam said in calm, in charge voice. "We'll finish our objective then worry about the shield. For now, continue the assault on the cloning facility. Nazgul and Kaph, we'll take care of the rest of these A-wings then deal with the X-wings, Aegis take out those turrets and the facility along with the ground forces as soon as possible. The fighters will give us enough to deal with without us being attacked from the ground as well."

Sion took out his frustration on a couple of the A-Wings charging the duo from their right flank.  He took one out right away from surprise and got on the tail of the other.  He made short work of the second, blasting it oblivion.
 
-----------------------
FM/PO1 Than Sion/Kaph 6/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)
Paintball is the only sport that you get to shoot somebody in.

**Before the Shield Generator or Assault on the Base**

"Cut the chatter!" Shazam said- gotta hear what's goin on with the rest of the universe here....  "Hold that thought."  For the next few moments, Darius and Jen could hear Shazam grunt and groan as if under heavy physical duress.  They just never get the picture... 

Earlier Shazam had carried a pursuer into the Rystos mountain range for obstacle course training- the pursuer failed.  However, his buddies seemed to take the loss hard, so Shazam wasn't all to surprised to see them latch onto his tail as he skidded down the mountain side.  Shazam's aft sensors had been blown away in an annoying incident so his rear sensors monitor had gone dead  and picking up on the type of craft had to be done manually.  Rocking to the right in his seat, he pitched his head around the metal barrier, barely able to do so because of how tightly the straps correlated about his mid-section.  Glancing through the bright, perfect-circle hole in the back of his cockpit  Shazam sighed and said- "I've got two As on my tail- if anyone wants to help out: well that'd be super." 

The TIE aggressor was already going fast enough that it felt as if it was on wheels, careening into the center of a busy intersection without any chance of stopping.  Let's use that...  Shazam pulled up harshly, the momentum carrying him up so sharply that he had to continue exhaling until the top of his arc lowered the pressure.  The plan had been to simply to pull up fast enough that the fighters just buzzed on by from novice inexperience and ignorance; still there though...  Instead of trying to finish off the Immelman with a full scale loop and come down on their tails, because more than likely they'd catch right on and ride his butt into the forest, he came back down, the two enemy fighters dropping back and creating some low grade yo-yos so they had a better angle of attack.    As the all to familiar beeping went off he chuckled to himself...Painted already?  I must be dealing with Imperials!  The TIE  snap rolled to port and Shazam lifted the yoke, break turning so that the left side of his viewport was flashing past the forest below. 

Only about ten feet above the canopy, the trees swayed as leaves, branches and critters came alive, tossing themselves into the path of the following A-wings.  Barreling to the right and break turning to starboard,  Shazam glanced back through the aft viewport to see if anything had changed.  One's missin...  That could be good or bad...  Shazam's most recent turn had brought him back down the side of the mountain, almost leveling out, the tops of the land crews glimmering in the fading sun light was becoming apparent once again.

"Break right, One!"  Shazam did not question as he snap rolled and jammed the yoke toward himself once again.  Solid, crimson bolts of malevolent energy rained down on the helpless green vegetation as the TIE pilot took a look at his shields and confirmed they'd risen to an expedentiary eighty percent.  Could be worse... 

"Is that you saving me again, two?  I tell you one of these days..." 

"I know it- seven's on her way..."

"Well let's make a good impression..."  Shazam dropped the throttle to fifty percent while spinning back up the mountain side, the second hidden fighter revealing itself as it hopped over the TIE and dragged itself into a desperate loop.  Deciding against following the poor sap, Shazam waited a moment more, collecting a fair score of consistent rolls before Jaden and the second A-wing finally shot past.  Kicking the throttle back up Shazam checked once more to see if the enemy pilot was tracking him so he could drop onto his butt again.  Going into a low yo-yo, the commander brought himself into firing distance of Jaden and his target.  Not good enough... Shazam barreled back to starboard to follow his previous maneuver with an immediate high- yo-yo to gain speed.  The effect was of a bubble contingency plan- set directly between his pursuer and his prey he now had a comfortable cushion for his mind to work with.  "Track that fellow down the mountain side for me, will ya, Two?" 

"Righto, One..."  Two green burst of Imperial firepower launched across the starboard side of the A-wing, inspiring it to roll  the opposite way and skiff board down the mountain side as Shazam had earlier. 

"Make sure those laces are tied tight, two...  And watch your head!"  Shazam pulled up suddenly, noting that the A-wing behind him was following this time rather than waiting for him to come back down.  Very well...  Shazam kept the throttle up, the yoke still pointed toward him as he stamped his foot on the left petal, throwing him into and awkward spin and ravaging back down the hill.  "The thing is just buckin' Unca Jera- dunno if I can control it!"  Shazam yipped in his best Tatooine moisture farmer voice as he came right down on Jaden's attack vector.  Just as he reached the two, the separate A-wing was hot on his tail for a kill shot so Shazam pulled back up before plummeting the both of them into the forest.  Spinning left to cross Shazam's path, the enemy A-wing broke right to avoid him.  Don't let the door his you on the way out... 

"Double-kill!"  The second A-wing collided with Jaden's target and the two of them, shields in opposite directions, fell apart as they mashed together momentarily then exploded in an angry display of the blast potential for two enemy fuel tanks.  "What did I miss?"  Toki queried as she brought herself along Shazam's right side and the three blew into the road battle once again.

**After becoming encased by the shield generator**

"A's dead ahead- cover your nose!"  Shazam barreled solemnly, bringing his yoke up slightly so that the fighter fish-tailed slightly as three A-wings appeared from the foliage below.  The center A-wing remained steady, picking a good target while the two that had been flanking him broke into sharp turns, looping away from their leader as he took a few pot shots.  After his fire achieved nothing, the right fighter came skidding to a halt  after it crossed his leader's path and dropped into a missile lock position with Jaden.  "Toki- engage that lagging fighter on the far left, he'll be crossing to the other side to finish the formation.  Maybe you can catch him with a quad burst..."  Shazam noted as his spiraling came to an end; inverted he pulled up on the yoke as he lowered his speed so he could begin a comfortable split-s.

Jaden seemed to understand a thing or two about the X-wings though he'd only flown them in simulators...  As his direct enemy threat began to grab a lock, Jaden tilted the fighter slightly, using the planets gravity to drag him sideways and begin a 'sliding' effect.  The A-wing, unable to side-step itself, began to follow the X-wing with it's nose until it achieved the missile lock and let loose.  The missile was tracking the right side of his craft, but by the time it reached it's target, it's time for adequate targeting had elapsed and it's angle was thrown away, forcing it to swerve and try to recover its lost target.  Shazam, pulling up and flipping right-side up was about to take this A-wing on yet another obstacle course but it exploded before he even got a chance to toy with it.  "What was that?"

"Target confusion at it's best, One," the Imperial piloting the X-wing answered as if he'd known the missile would randomly lock onto the A-wing.  Two opponents vs three isn't anything to complain about though...  Shazam pulled up into a sharp loop again as Toki let off a quad burst into the forward shield of the approaching X-wing, taking minimal shield damage herself.

"I'm reading substantial damge to that A-wing's deflectors, One.  Must have done something right..."  Shazam smiled as he realized what maneuver was beginning to occur.  As Shazam dropped onto the enemy A-wing Toki had just dominated, his allies began similar movements to bring themselves onto the rear of the remaining fighter behind Shazam.  However, since these initial angles were never very good, they went into their own set of yo-yos to get the right attack vector, or at least the one they thought to be most acceptable.  At the same time, the two A-wings were driving their craft into evasive maneuvers.  From the outside it looked like a mass of spinning, out of control, revloving, retro fighters bound to collide.  This swarm, this tangle of fighters was what Shazam gleefully appreciated and knew to be the 'rolling scissors' where everyone was attempting to pick eachother up.  Of course, the rolling scissors normally tended to last for only a few seconds becasuse the formation was useless, leaving both sides neutral as they continue to fail in the same attempts over and over. 

Breaking up this particular event was Shazam as he dove toward the hard deck.  They were all within the center ring of defense and the base was right there, covered with AA and ground turrets alike.  Beyond the building and the lush green forest directly surrounding it was the actual ring of defense that had sprouted the shield.  The shield itself could be seen as a very light tint in the sky with variations in darkness, indicating it's spherical identity.  A missile or two would meet the shield from the outside or inside and momentarilly light up an entire section of the vibrant green, almost undetectable cover. 

Shazam spun his right hand to get the kinks out then re-attached himself to the control yoke as he used the momentum to carry him back up underneath the enemy A-wing, it's exposed belly illuminated by the sun which was now beginning to dip below the hills and cliff faces.  Rather stoically, the sun seemed to be fighting off the very inevitable truth that it would soon disappear and night would be aloud to ravage the lands; a sort of signal to Shazam that things would end soon whether the RS liked it or not.  The victor of this battle was still unclear and the fact that it had remained so for this long strengthened the pilots' belief that no one would have any clue right up until the final fighter fell from the sky. 

Letting off a quad burst into the belly of the fighter, minor shielding blinked out and the A-wing inverted and fell into a spiral dive, Shazam began to chase the fighter after making a delicate turn into a loop that plummeted the both of them toward the planet's grand visage.  The RS fighter pulled back on the throttle but rose up too late to surprise Shazam as the Imperial pilot dropped his own throttle back and fired in rapid progression toward the hind-end of the fighter.  Not giving up on his attempt to overthrow the Imperial so easily, he plummeted into yet another spiral dive, this one not to force Shazam to overshoot, but bury himself into the ground as the A-wing leveled out at the last second.  Not wanting to overshoot by pulling up to soon and flying over the enemy fighter, or crash and burn, Shazam snap rolled and continued a sharp, downward descent but in a kind of loop fashion.  Thus, when the A-wing finally did pull up, Shazam came in swinging as if he'd been attached by an invisible rope and they'd just gone through a particularly sharp turn. Now we cut this crap out... Shazam smiled as he switched to missiles and prepared for the final blow to the A-wing's hull when the beeping in his ear returned with an incessant volley of peircing reminders that he was... Being painted? Shazam abandoned his lock and switched back to cannons while he reverted some power to his engine and shields.  With no time to take a look through the aft viewport, Shazam took his opportunity to shoot the rear-mounted cannon.  If the proximity was close enough the fighter would be have to abandon it's pursuit! No joy... The missile warning turned into the missile launch hum as Shazam lurched the fighter into a split-s, the inversion coming so quickly that he had to double-check that he was doing what he wanted to be doing. 

The ground, approaching at roughly fourteen hundred kilometers per hour, disappeared as Shazam pressed the stick forward to reveal the base at close range. Oh crap... The entrance to the main center lay dead ahead as the road came to an end and the AA guns swivelled to identify him.  That's three missile locks too many... Shazam snap rolled out of his s-turns and hopped over the entrance to the base, the missile that had been tailing him earlier not getting enough space to get a good angle smashed into the building.  The front entrance was a remarkable piece of work with an ornate transparisteel lobby folding out from a thick pair of entrance lock and key systems.  Two gates consisted of the entrance before actually getting into the lobby- but it was pretty much shattered now... Shazam suppressed a whoop as he realized he was still being pursued by three missiles. 

He began to rise in the hopes he could spring back down and lose a few missiles through a dive maneuver but he was rudely awakened as a pair of X-wings began blasting down on his position with rapid fire from their four cannons.  "It's getting tight around here!"  The natural tendency of the TIE class starfighters to darken the viewport when an explosion occurred obscured his vision as he dived back down toward the top of the base which was heavily armed with Anti-Air as well.  Before he knew what he'd done, the viewport was back to normal but his cockpit remained dark as walls enclosed around him. What the...  Oh man... He caught a quick glimpse of a docked squadron of X-wings and another of A-wings as he dropped into the hanger bay at roughly a thousand kph.  if the hanger hadn't extended into yet another ornate facility to house guest and perhaps the clones during lunch, he'd have been screwed. 

Shazam brought his TIE so close to the ground he could see himself in the reflection of the waxed duracreet.  Ahead, where a normal white wall should have been was a circular entrance about twenty-five feet tall and across.  The three missiles were still on his tail and catching up fast now that he couldn't maneuver.  Using the space he had, Shazam leaned his fighter to the left, rising up off the ground slightly so he could make a mini-s turn and swing himself back toward the circular exit.  In doing so, Shazam carried the three missiles, each beginning to wind down on their power supplies, toward the X-wing fighters.  Almost clipping the wall, Shazam rounded off his turn just in time to feel the remorseful shake from two consecutive explosions detonating against the hull of an RS fighter.  The first missile had collided and the explosion set off the second, but the third had enough time to compensate and continued on it's merry way as Shazam plunged through the gap in the wall. 

As the Imperial pilot entered this room his jaw nearly dropped as he got a first hand look at the bunking facilities for such a base.  Although this couldn't have been the actual cloning facility portion of the base, it certainly housed them.  Standing up on columns of fifty and creating a mass circle around the room, this was the center of the base.  At the very top was a transparent barrier. Perfect Shazam drove his ship upward with just enough room, his fighter already going too fast to be constrained by walls.  The glass cover just ahead felt so good- so right. I must have gone underground quite a little ways- I don't remember there being a tower in the middle of the base...  Then again, we'll see in a minute... Giving it a good blast he lost his smile as he realized the glass wasn't shattering as he'd expected- but he couldn't just stop and turn around!  The velocity was too great to make a turn in such a confined space!  The missile hum was so loud that Shazam gave his indicator a quick look and saw the number winding down to ten meters for missile impact.  Not sure of what he was thinking, Shazam remembered back to the battle above Cepany where he'd tried to chase down Warren Dimmias in Japheth's personal TIE Defender.  Just as his missile was about to reach him he pulled a spectacular and infuriating stunt.  Ejecting from his craft, he launched himself practically into the RS hanger bay and to safety, leaving the craft in his pursuers path as the missile as the missile that had been following him was about to ignite it. 

He hated to learn from the enemy but... What can ya do... Shazam pulled up hard on the stick, the G's blacking him out as he was suddenly bearing right into the wall.  Pulling up and out on the ejection handle Shazam felt his body pushed into the back of his seat stronger than he could ever remember experiencing before.  Lightning quick, the opening of the aggressor shot off as rocket fuel disintegrated the bolts and other hard points, allowing his ejection seat to burst through the narrow exit.  He'd brought his craft in a slight arc so the momentum of his turn didn't carry him into the wall but into the center of the room, straight down toward that shiny duracreet.  As he was propelled toward the center of the planet he felt eleven times his weight and the inability to control anything- utter helplessness.  Then the seat began to slow with the help of some reverse thrusters along the backside of the seat, only enough that he could actually see again- but things were still going far to fast.  Not sure what good it would do, Shazam felt his fingers crawl against the parachute handle.  Finding a good grip, he pulled back on the faded red hanger and felt the chair push in yet another direction.  It was as if he'd hit an air bump and he was now on a slide.  The ejection seat was now righting itself and the parachute inflated as it met a wall of air pressure, stopping the descent with a painful grunt.  The momentum that had been bringing him toward a wall again swung him the opposite direction as it came to a halt, thanks to the parachute.  All this did was give Shazam his first real look at what his fighter had done after he'd escaped it.

Laser bolts... The ship had collided with one of the highest housing units and practically disintegrated as it erupted into a fireball and overtook seven other nearby compartments.  Shazam almost smiled but got a good glimpse at the falling debris and began to understand he was in the center of a massive enemy barracks and in no better a situation than before.  Half the fuselage as well as bits and pieces of the shattered radiation paneling was about to free-fall on top of him so Shazam began to grab for things, suddenly forgetful of ejection seat training. There's a lever! The parachute unhooked with a quick clap and the seat was now plummeting faster than the debris on top of him. Another lever!! Instead he found a soft control stick in his right hand and then another in his left.  Pulling the trigger in the right hand he felt himself sway to the left as the starboard thrusters came alive. Repulsor-lifts...  Man- this is some drop... The duracreet was a good ten feet away when both repulsors kicked in and he began his bounce toward the underside of the housing units.  The seat lowered in speed and clipped the wall slightly as Shazam began to float down a corridor, the remains of his craft crashing to the ground behind him.

Shazam didn't move for a while after that as sirens went off and the sound of feet scattering could be heard in nearby routes.  The chair hovered, slowly rumbling forward as Shazam thought to himself- That was....  AWESOME!
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

CMDR/LtC Shazam/Nazgul 1-1/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/1VENF/VEN (=A=) (=*SA*=) (=*MA*=) (=*FOCE*=) [LoM] [LSM] [VC:S] [DSM]

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training

**Prior to the shield going down**

Cyleaf was having some fun, since those turrets and fighters were down he and Demonic had begun to chew up the RS ground forces with laser fire. Circling around again the com unit came alive.

"All Vast Empire fighters, this is your commander Shazam, we have pinpointed the location of the shield generator. Nazgul flight two and Kaph flights two and three, converge on the fighters in the area. Keep them occupied while Nazgul flights one and Kaph flight one escort Aegis and the other bombers to the cloning facility," said Shazam, "Target information should be in your terminals now"

Cyleaf looked at the computer screen as the information flashed, turning the Hawkbat until he was in the right heading and increased it to full. "Good luck 3, see you on the inside" came Demonic as he split off to go towards his assigned mission. It would only take a few minutes till he was rendezvousing with Nazgul and Aegis.

Another Hawkbat appeared in front of Cy as they about reached the other squads. "Ok 3 stick with me and it'll be a piece of cake" came Scout, as the Zabrak came up onto his right side. Both fighters flew through where the shield was and only just in time as it came back to life again almost on top of them.

Amazed wouldn't be quite the word as Cy saw the fighters coming out to engage the Imperial forces, not to mention the defenses that had roared to life littering the sky with red streaks of death. Seeing the bombers dead ahead and Nazgul's Interceptors in front leading the way both Kaph fighters increased speed to catch up.

"Sir, I've got two flights of A-wings in the radar and one flight of x-wings. The odds are against us," said Jaden

"Alright, Nazgul leader to Kaph leader, bring up your fighters on the rear of the enemy fighters that are tailing the bomber squadrons. We're going to meet them head on." Didn't Shazam remember Will was dead? Cy thought to himself at hearing those word, the battle had been hectic and memories could easily get confused, but Demonic was leading Kaph in Will's absence, looking though the transperisteel he saw the fighter's harrowing the bombers.

Taking one of those agile a-wings in his targets while Scout took another the two fighters began to shoot lasers trying to get their attention. Watching the shields intercept their shots Cy saw an x-wing zoom past underneath him, looking behind him he saw it yo-yo and come above, he cringed waiting for the fire from behind but it never came.

The x-wing flew above him towards the fighters; it had cannibalized its friends, just like the blue rings. Both Scout and Cy flew through where the shield was and only just in time as it came back to life again almost on top of them.

"It's a trap" yelled Shazam over the com unit.

Cyleaf began to panic, as more x-wings poured from the target facility. Watching the fighters roar into greet the Imperials, one x-wing broke off and headed towards a bomber.

Watching Cy immediately increased throttle and veered towards the attacker. "I've got you covered" he said firing his linked cannons into its shield effectively discouraging it from pursing its target. "Thanks for the assist" came the grateful pilot's reply, following the x-wing the Zabrak pelted it with hails of fire sending it down to the duracrete where it belonged.Wow finally a pilot worse than me, they must be scrapping for bodies now Cy thought rejoining the dog fight.


-----------------------
FM/SCR/Cyleaf Aehait/Kaph 1-3/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

Raigen's mind switched from bomber pilot to fighter pilot. He took a position behind Hunter and to his left. Aegis 12 fell in right behind him. Raigen couldn't see Zharn but was sure he was around somewhere. Trapped inside a shield with x and a wings. He thought it was exciting. This was the stuff you join the Navy for. Raigen had said he only had 1 missile left, but after stripping the scimitar of the unnecessary pats such as the cockpit's climate control and unneeded sensors, he had a little space left. While the techs that prepared his bombers were taking a break. Raigen installed a nice targeted rocket launcher. Another thing to get scolded over later. He wanted to try it out but couldn't get a lock on the xwing aegis was chasing. His TAP wasn't working...no...it wasn't there. He had knocked it off accidentally during preflight. Raigen pulled himself together and pulled up next to Hunter.

"Aegis 9. I've only got one missile. You all go ahead and I'll help out Troesel." He called over the com link.

"No way. You're staying with us Raigen." called Hunter

"Trust me. It doesn't make sense for all of us to go. The rest of you can take out the base. I'll take care of Aegis 6!"

"Very well, but be careful and hurry up."

Raigen broke formation and blasted ahead of the group. The four rockets were aligned vertically along the side of the bomber. They were the size of a rifle and in the shape of a missile. Raigen turned on his manual targeting screen and tried to lock onto the x-wing. The incom fighters were faster and better armed and Raigen struggled to keep up. "I've got you aegis 6. Hold in there!"

The screen went green and Raigen fired the first rocket. The rocket dropped from the bomber and free fell toward the ground, but only after a second of falling were the propulsion system of the rocket activated. The missile gained speed and collided with the shields of the x-wing. Raigen new what would happen. The xwing pilot would divert power to rear shields. Raigen manually targeted again. This time he chose a specific location. Then another. Suddenly, two rockets began their run but his time they went sideways and began to fly on either side of the xwing.Raigen armed the button marked TOT or Take out Target. Te rockets flew straight into the side shields of the x wing. It was smoking but not down. Raigen had no choice. He fired his last rocket straight at the xwing. BINGO. Raigen had to pull an upward corkscrew to avoid the explosion. Apparently the ship had a full stash of missiles which exploded with the last rocket.

"You're clear now 6. Lets meet up with Hunter and the rest of the squadron."

"Aegis 11! Check your fuel level!" called Aegis 6.

"Why?" Asked Raigen.

"Because you're leaking fuel!"

-----------------------
FM/SCRW Raigen/Aegis 1/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (VC:B)

Cyleaf and Scout were the only Kaph pilots inside the shield, flight one had taken two losses this battle, Will and Dodger. Though these two only made up a small part of the Phoenix wing inside the shield they gave their all.

Cyleaf broke right firing lasers at an oncoming x-wing sending it right into Scout's path. "Missile lock" Kaph 4 said before letting it go. The x-wing exploded in the air, a direct hit to the fuselage. The hawkbat's controls lit up, another missile lock on the Zabrak.

"Hey Scout see that Turbo laser turret, think you can draw its fire for me while I ram this tailgating missile down its throat?"  "Sounds fine to me" Scout replied. Increasing his speed and decreasing altitude Cy directed his Hawkbat towards his target while Scout increased altitude and started to pelt the turret.

Looking behind his canopy he saw the missile follow his movement coming in hot behind him. Decreasing power from his weapons he fed that extra bit into his engines trying to squeeze out more juice. The ground seemed a blur as he whipped over troops with shoulder mounted launchers and anti-aircraft vehicles. those are going to have to go next he thought hoping this worked.

The turret was launching red beams up towards Scout and other fighters that dared to get close, for luck he guessed it hadn't seen the Hawkbat screaming at it. "Almost there" he said over the coms as it began to loom over him, pulling up slightly over the wall in front of him so that the missile would follow he started to count to himself.1..2...3 on that third count he flipped the Hawkbat on the side while streaking towards it.

The tower seeing the new threat began to orient on him, that would have meant certain death a few seconds sooner but it was too late, almost scrapping the fighter's underbelly Cy pulled off course enough that the missile didn't. It slammed into the tower showering debris everywhere. "Excellent" Cy said, turning his hawkbat back towards the ground forces.

"How about we mop up some troopers 3" "sounds good to me 4, I'll follow your lead" both hawkbats swooped over the troops like granite slugs, mowing down lines and damaging vehicles. "You got a fighter on your tail 3" came Scout, "When I say pull up" he added.

Looking behind him Cy saw it was true, green bolts lanced past him missing by inches; an a-wing was hot on him. "Now!" Cy pulled up hard increasing throttle as Scout launched another missile taking out the fighter's shields. But it was still in hot pursuit. Out of nowhere and x-wing blasted the a wing to bits, it was the same pilot from the earlier maneuver.

"Thanks x or the help" the Zabrak called over the radio, to be greeted by a double click of acknowledgement. Feeling good about himself and trying to push the fatigue back another heart wrenching event happened.

"Nazgul two to all pilots, Nazgul one is down.  Follow my lead," said Jaden, "What!" Cy said not knowing if the comunit picked it up or not. First Will, now Shazam he couldn't believe it, seasoned pilots were starting to fall. All the strength he seemed to have before was being sapped away like a leech.

But all that would have to wait for later, he had a job to do.

 
-----------------------
FM/SCR/Cyleaf Aehait/Kaph 1-3/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)

The ejection seat was well padded but a little torn up, areas of the well woven fabric torn to reveal other, thicker layers meant to protect against harsh weather and blazing fires.  Although he'd experienced no real injury from the accident, Shazam had to admit he was a little  shaken up.  Well- messed up.  First off, he'd floated down a hallway for about five minutes without really taking into account that he had situated himself into the center of an enemy military instillation loaded with fully trained clone troopers.  Second, and his favorite lapse in mental function, was the fact that he hadn't once thought of drawing his blaster pistol, stationed on his right side in a compartment of the seat.  By the time he'd realized exactly how deranged he had become he was almost off of his seat and walking into a random room.  Stopping himself mid-step, he began to think... 

I came in through the hanger bay and went into circular barracks- but that was atleast fifty levels...  How many from the outside- ten?  The hanger must have been deeper than I cared to look at.  Wow- fifty stories below ground and I have no idea where I am...  So, drawing the DL-44 Heavy blaster pistol from its assigned position, he hefted the gun to about shoulder height and gave a glance down the barrel.  It'd been months since he'd really studied his emergency equipment, something he mentally noted over and over again would be the death of him, so the gun felt cold and unwieldy in his hands rather than at home in his warm embrace.  Shazam wasn't much on weapons, save a Fighter, but it didn't mean he wasn't keen on making good practice in his own techniques.  Shazam checked for the safety on the weapon, keying off any notion of martial arts exercises in the hall right then and replacing them with the disruptive, rudementary style of the pistol.  Loud and awkward, his father had called such a weapon once- it was then he'd taken a special interest in...

"Hands up- drop the weapon and slowly turn..."  A voice barked from behind him with a careful, well-trained perception of the pilot and his abilities.  He wouldn't be able to take him out by anything other than a blessing...

***Command Room***

"What next?"  Roelk querried from his comfortable chair in the corner of the room.  Dark and forbidding, the atmosphere had turned vile as Rothow's plan to trap the heavilly modified corvette inside the base's sheild failed with innumeral death throws.  Not only did the men at the shield generator fail to entrap the craft within the boundaries set by the innermost, and undoubtably visible ring surrounding the base, but they'd locked its escorts in without it.  This would probably be blamed on overcompensation for the time it takes to warm-up and activate the shield generator, but it was really more than that.  Or was it?  A few fighters making it in may have been acceptable, but now there was nothing for them to protect- they had no worry of thier precious corvette being decimated by Anti-Air cannons.  Instead, breaking up each RS squadron, the Imperial forces were scattering any form of resistance the rebel group had conceived.  When the ratios would have suggested a three to one advantage in favor of the RS, the VEN had manipulated the forces so adequetely that it had dropped to a one vs one battle- each pilot on their own.  Since the overhead battle had become so haphazard and unpredictable, the technical staff that was supposed to be warning their pilots of enemy pursuers were failing to even locate their allied pilots, leaving those intending to harm them unmolested.  This threw things into a more firey fray.  Veiag was pannicking again though and Rothow appeared to be totally intemperate, throwing caution and rational thought to the wind.  Roelk was another story though- he'd reviewed the course of his actions in various perspectives and hadn't found an acceptable option thus far.  Thus- he was lost.  He wasn't sure if he should look at himself as the thwarted hero or the dumbfounded loser.  Right or wrong, he'd made a mistake somewhere along the line and people were going to pay for it.  All the things he'd promised about increasing the popularity of the sector to drive them out of starvation...  He could never promise any of those things- perhaps promote false hope...

"We need to cut our losses and re-locate."  Rothow massaged his forehead with his finger tips before giving his scalp a brutal rub, his palm plowing through his sorted military hair.  His frustration was as palpable as hit utter rage- he'd become blood thirsty before, but this was borderline insanity. 

"And how do you propose we go about doing that?" Roelk answered absent-mindedly, no longer caring if he was provoking the genuine anger building up in his counter-part.  "I'm presuming your wanting to continue our little organization after our inevitable defeat here?"  Rothow clenched his fist and gave the senator a look.

"We can still get out of here," Vieag said, huddled up in his own corner of the room across the holo map from Roelk.  "We've all got our secured planets outside of the system we can go to- I'm willing to put this to rest.  If we sell our equipment from..."

"No!"  Rothow slammed his fist against the steel frame and began to stride toward the door, his tan commander's coat draped across the armchair he'd occupied for so many hours.

"Where are you going?" Vieag sat up quickly- fear in his eyes.  Even though he had nothing but contempt for the Imperial commander, he felt far more exposed when he was not near.  His incisive ridicule of his fellow High Council member may have been an act the entire time...

"The Might is in orbit somewhere- I intend to rendeveouz with it and discipline our armadda into something more proficient than this..." 

"So you're leaving?"  Roelk questioned but didn't get up, continuing to watch the battle as Rothow clicked the release on the door and walked out.  Vieag was stunned and looked as if he was fighting to say something, anything... 

"What now?"  The question lingered on after Vieag had issued it.  Roelk had a lot to think about now- even if he survived all of this, what had he to look forward to.  His wife would no doubt hear about his attempt on his own step-daughters life and the dismantling of the RS, or atleast the High Council.  It looked as if Rothow still had a personal vendetta to fulfill- it would have to be allowed...

"The order is retreat- sound it and move out..."  Vieag nodded, neither of them unsure of what the order really meant.  Maybe this was Roelks way of saying surrender- they wouldn't make it out of the atmosphere but atleast the higher ups could sort some things out before the VEN made their final move. 

After a moment of silence, Vieag said something just for the yearnig to fill the empty void.  "Look- Rothow left his coat..."  As Vieag began to reach for it there was a bright light and a strong heat against Roelk's chest...

***Near-by holding center***

"What was that!"  One of the three guards withdrew his blaster and headed toward the door.  The off-white room rocked slightly as a compartment a block or so away detonated and men began to swarm.  The entrance to the room had two consecutive doors- a hallway between each just wide enough to allow for the opening of both at the same time.  They were a much heavier metal and required specific key cards to become activated.  He was in the detention center...  A half ring of consoles headed up the room to meet any new-comers and create an ID for them so their passage in the center could be recorded.  Behind this was an even thicker door than the previous two and had a quad-set of locks, each to a corner of the door.  Inmate housing? Shazam made an educated guess as he looked on the intense scene before him.

"I think that was the Command Room!" Another man continued as Shazam thought to himself- Now where was I just before that old-man pulled a riot-gun on me?  Ah yes- I'd taken a special interest in the martial arts.  Any of them...  Taking the shock factor into the game, the pilot stood and strode to the man behind the console.  His legs hadn't been binded just yet, but the pair around his wrist would not encumber him any more than if he had no arms at all.  Planting his right foot, he followed through with his left, landing a side thrust kick into the spine of the control manager.  Hope they can fix that...  This only anounced his presence to the other two, but he'd managed to keep up the tempo, not stopping just because the kick had followed through well.  Planting the left foot now, Shazam straightened out, rising up all the while and bringing his right leg around.  Pivoting, and not spinning, Shazam snapped the blade of his right foot into the adam's apple of his second opponet, getting a good bit of pressure from the other side to tell him that he'd landed it.  Gasping for air and falling to the ground, Shazam decided not to worry about him for a little while more.  Reverting back to that 'loud and awkward' arsenal, he was pleased to find his enemy to the right having trouble dislodging his pistol from it's holster.  Casually, noting that they'd had no time to get him processed, he located his DL-44 and lifted it to shoulder length as he'd done minutes before. 

"I'll need your ID now and some directions..."

(Alright guys- this is it.  Shazam is going to get into a seperate hanger bay and get out of there just as the Coruscant calls in saying that the forces nearest to the planet have jumped out and those that they were engaging have been destroyed.  I can get detailed about how they do it and such, but I'll do it in my next post.  Anywho, the explosion that Rothow left in the Command Center for his two companions basically made a lamp for the Coruscant to look at.  Not only would our fire fight allow it to focus it's weapons on the base, but this helps by thermo-navigation.  Anyways- the base is going to get bombarded.  This story ends on Sunday- get what you need to get in- done.)
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*

CMDR/LtC Shazam/Nazgul 1-1/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/1VENF/VEN (=A=) (=*SA*=) (=*MA*=) (=*FOCE*=) [LoM] [LSM] [VC:S] [DSM]

NazgulSquadron

Commander of Nazgul Squadron, Phoenix Wing and Training