(OOC: This is my space post before I reached the atmosphere. This is probably the first of two.)

As soon as the group of fighters had left the Coruscant, they were plunged knee deep into a battle that had been raging hours on end. Atrick felt small compared to the frigates and capital ships of the Empire and the rebel scum. An explosion filled his eyes with wonder, followed by emerald and ruby bolts firing everywhere. The sight was truly magnificent but Atrick remembered they had a job to do.

Will came over a secure channel and radioed his instructions.

"All right, let's get this show on the road. This is a secure channel for us so you can pretty much say anything and it won't be intercepted. Remember to use callsigns though, no names! I don't want an information breach along with this fight. Krius, take my left flank, Atrick, my right. Expect heavy resistance but remember, do not engage the enemy. If you are tailed, pull ahead and let the other two of us deal with him. ETA to the atmosphere is around ten minutes, so buckle in for a little ride. Over and out."

Atrick pushed the accelerator as far as it would go, but Will still pulled ahead. He slowed down afterwards, remembering that Krius and Atrick were flying Interceptors.

Atrick watched his radar closely, but it didn't really help him much. There were so many red and green dots, they merged to form an odd color that made Atrick feel a bit nervous about their situation. Almost regularly, a dot or two would disappear from the screen, indicating a loss for either side. He looked out his cockpit window to confirm his radar. The fight was everywhere.

Directly ahead, two Rebel frigates loomed out of the darkness of space, occasionally spewing rebel wings of X-wings or Y-wings. The odd A-wing appeared too, with other odds and ends. The three Imperial frigates, the Griffin, Lion, and Dragon, were closing in on the Rebels and were firing everything they had at each other.

Getting closer to the fight, Atrick noticed how the groups were separated, with bombers going after the frigates, hitting key hard points on the ships, and fighter ships dog-fighting in space, pulling insane moves to last at least one second longer, to destroy the enemy. Explosions filled his view as frigate parts blew up and ships were blasted into oblivion.

Will came back over the secure channel.

"Ok guys, we're flying under the belly of those frigates so watch out for turret fire. Hopefully, we probably won't encounter much else."

Atrick readied himself for the onslaught that was about to come. He looked at the frigates, growing ever larger in his view, and wished he was back on the Coruscant. What a time to graduate. Thought Atrick.
The frigate was so close now that Atrick could see the turrets swivel towards them. Then Will said the words Atrick was dreading to hear.

"Here we go."

The turrets opened up with volleys of shots that barely missed Atrick's fighter. They were shooting so fast Atrick had barely any time to react and his fighter took some hits to the shields. Atrick rerouted power to the front of his fighter to protect against the harsh shots and continued dodging. He quickly moved around one and saw it had missed him and hit Krius. Oops. He thought just as Will came over the channel a third time.

"We're doing fine so far, keep it up guys. When we pass under the turrets keep on going. It takes a while for them to turn around and by then we'll be well out of range."

They passed underneath the turrets without incident, and Atrick looked back to see the bulky turrets slowly turn toward them again. But as soon as they moved 180 degrees, the trio was well out of range, as Will had said.

"Looks like we got company, four fighters up ahead, Preybirds I think. Open fire on my mark."

Atrick moved some shield energy to his main weapons then diverted the rest of the shields to the front of his TIE Interceptor.

"3...2&1&FIRE!"

Atrick let loose a volley of fire that was accompanied by Krius and Will's missles. The two center Preybirds started lighting up and turned a darker red before they pulled down, but it was too late. Will had locked on and fired his missles, exploding the ships on impact leaving nothing but shrapnel floating in space.

After watching the carnage, Atrick realized the two other fighters were behind them now. Atrick diverted power to his aft shields then pulled down. A volley of fire went over the top of the fighter and the rest of the group. Will quickly started pounding on the enemy wingman who took evasive action and left Krius and Atrick a lone Preybird.

"Atrick I want you to try and pull behind the enemy fighter ok?" Krius said over the channel.

"What are you gonna do?"

"While he's distracted, I'm gonna get behind him and take him out got that?"

"Yea I got it."

Atrick quickly slowed his ship down, causing the Preybird to slow down as well. Krius then slipped behind it and began firing, weakening it's shields before it took evasive action. The Preybird pulled up and Krius followed. Atrick didn't see what happened next but could hear over the channel a gasp of anticipation. Then Will's voice snapped over the channel.

"I hope you guys had fun, because I had a hell of a time." Will paused, filling it with muffled laughter. "That wingman tactic was a little disheveled, but it worked obviously. Now let's regroup and head to the planet. ETA is around five minutes now."

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

  Hunter tried to ignore the blazing fight above him that Kaph and Nazgul were participating in. How did I ever get stuck in a squad that deals with these clunkers. Oh well, pilots can't be picky, and this is actually a hell of lot worse than being in one that dog fight. These Scimitars are like floating targets sometimes. Swerving to the right, Hunter brought his fighter circling around an already destroyed turret tower. Aegis 10, Aegis 11, and Aegis 12 were right behind him. "Ok, let's get rid of one of these bunkers, before even more fighters have the opportunity to take off."

  "Roger." Zharyn said, swooping low to dodge an incoming missile, which hit the tower instead, sending more debris into the air.

  "Watch it." Hunter said, more for Aegis 11 and 12 then for Zharyn and himself. With a quick glance to make sure everyone was still with him, Hunter pulled up his missile controls and target the first bunker. "Let's try to get two with this attack run." Hunter said, lining his fighter up for a clean sweep across two of the bunkers. Jinking right and left, he ignored the random laser fire that managed to hit his shields. Still at sixty percent, plenty. "Let's not waste any of these missiles, so try to target weak structural points."

  Performing a barrel role to the right, Raigen managed to ask, "And those are?"

  Grunting, Hunter didn't have time to say as the flight reached the first of the bunkers. With a loud ringing in his ears signifying a target lock, Hunter launched the first of his missiles then quickly targeted the next bunker. At such a low altitude to the bunkers, the missile collided with its target at the same time Hunter flew over the bunker. A plume of fire erupted right behind him as he fired his second missile, but this time he had to target manually, since the computers didn't have enough time to get a target lock in the few seconds it took for the Scimitar to barrel past the two bunkers. Pressing the trigger again, Hunter sent his second missile directly into the side of the bunker where a large support beam stuck out from the side of the building.

  Twisting his controls, Hunter spun his craft away from the now collapsing bunkers. The other six missiles from his wingmen had totally annihilated the two bunker/hangers. The whole attack run had taken only a matter of seconds. Men next to the hangers had been hit by a sonic boom from the star fighters, knocking them to their feet. What remained of the bunkers were two twisted heaps of smoldering metal. Flames roared on the surface of the metal from whatever it could use as fuel. Any fighters that had still been beneath the roof were now smashed to bits when the buildings collapsed in upon themselves.

  Bringing his fighter to bear on a turret that was causing considerable damage, Hunter heard Chip say, "Flight three, you are to take out the main shield generator which is protecting the inner ring. Here are the coordinates." Hunter's display came alive as a waypoint was added to his radar. Great, it just so happens it is on the other side of the complex.

    "Form up." Hunter said, turning his controls to align his fighter with the turn of the outer ring. "You heard Chip. The generator is on the other side. We're going to fly around this place, using the outer ring as a form of protection. Try not to get hit by anything." Pressing his fighter's controls, Hunter brought the engines to full speed, pushing him back into his seat slightly. Checking his payload, he saw he still had two left. Should be enough. If not, well, I can always eject, though I don't think the Empire will like losing another expensive fighter. Mind racing, Hunter examined everything he knew and brought everything he knew to bear on his task. Hunter never liked to be surprised. With a blink, he switched his eyes to see in one of their many spectrums, providing him with a heat signatures overlay to his regular vision. This should give me a bit of an edge for now. Fighter screaming through the valley created by the outer and inner wall, Hunter swerved right and left to dodge incoming fire as he approached the generator's coordinates.

 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Petty Officer 1st Class Hunter

XO/FL/PO1 Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (VC:B)

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

  "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"

  Hunter looked down at his terminal to see the second wave of information he received in the last few seconds wash over his screen. "Does that mean we join the rest of Aegis?" Raigen asked, coming along side Hunter's fighter while they both dodged turret fire.

  "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.

  Hunter shook his head. But that can't be right. We're only half way there. But sure enough, when Hunter looked down, the shield signs were completely gone.

  "I don't like this," Zharyn said.

  "We still have to follow orders," Hunter said, bringing fighter out of the outer ring and into formation with the rest of Aegis. The group followed above and behind their two escort flights. This isn't right! A voice in the back of Hunter's head screamed at him. Looking down at his terminal, Hunter examined the lay out of the center of the facility while he had the time. The last wall completely circled the cloning facility which was situated in the middle of the entire complex. On top of the inner wall the shield had been projected, protecting the area from all attacks, but even without the shield, the main facility was heavily guarded. Multiple turrets, protruding from the blocky building, could been seen from Hunter's view port if he wanted to look A few ground forces also remained around the base of the facility, hoping they too could protect it from the Empire's own army units.

  Glancing up, Hunter saw the Kaph and Nazgul flights engage the enemy A-wings and other fighters. "One hundred meters to target," Chip said as Aegis flew over the inner wall. "Pick your targets. Try to hit key structural weak points with what missiles you have left then take out the turrets with your lasers."

  As Chip finished, Hunter's cockpit seemed to come alive with lights and sirens. Disengaging them, Hunter checked to see what had happened. I wasn't hit by anything, was I? Then he saw it. The shield had come back alive. The generator had never been destroyed. "Do I have to say it?" Hunters asked into his comunit.

  "It's a trap," Shazam said over the intercom just as another whole squadron of x-wings lifted into the air from the cloning facility. The two lead flights of Nazgul and Kaph, along with the entire squadron of Aegis had been effectively trapped inside the shield. With the generator on the outside there was nothing they could do to bring it down besides hope the remaining flights of Nazgul and Kaph that remained on the other side of the shield some how were able to take out the generator. "Don't panic. We'll deal with this as best we can." Shazam said in a commanding 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."

  As Shazam finished, Hunter felt a chill down his spine. Even if they succeeded in taking out the forces in here, if the remaining flights and forces outside failed to lower the shield, the RS could keep them inside the shield until they compiled enough forces to destroy them. I sure hope those remaining flights on the other side of that shield are good enough to take down that generator. Hunter prayed, targeting the facility and mentally crossing his fingers.

(OOC This should give us something to deal with... If you aren't certain if you are on the outside of the shield or in the inside, go here and check: http://www.freewebs.com/phoenixwing/shatteringfate.htm. I'd normally sticky it, but I have to run. )
 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Petty Officer 1st Class Hunter

XO/FL/PO1 Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (VC:B)

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

  So, I actually have to concentrate on staying alive inside this cage while a squadron of X-wings and half a squadron of A-wings along with ground defenses and turrets try to kill us. Plus, even if we do stay alive, nothing guarantees our survival, unless the men outside take down that shield generator. Before he was even fifty meters to the complex and within firing range, Hunter's HUD signaled he was being target locked. Diving down, he tried to evade whatever it was trying to target him long enough for one of the Nazgul or Kaph pilots to kill it, unfortunately, due to his close proximity with the ground; he was quickly forced out of his dive. Looping back towards the wall, Hunter turned the dive into a full vertical loop, which placed him a little farther back from the rest of Aegis who had managed to make it to the facility without being target locked.

  Checking to see if he was safe, Hunter let out a curse as his HUD signified he had been locked and a missile was heading his way. With a quick look at his radar, he saw it was coming in from above and behind. Putting all shields to his back incase it caught up with him, Hunter gunned his engines and shot off toward a tower of the cloning facility. Ten. Laser fire from a turret forced him to barrel role and come in from another trajectory. Nine. Linking his laser fire, Hunter plastered the turret with fire, blowing it to bits. Eight.

  An X-wing dropped in front of him from the dogfight, lasers blasting at Hunter, who had put all his shields to his rear. In a split second, Hunter swerved to the right, narrowly dodging the incoming fire, but now he had both an X-wing and a missile on his tail. Seven. "Anyone able to get this fighter off me?" Hunter said, performing an Immelman to right his direction with the tower he was aiming for and gain some altitude from the ground, the danger being he wasn't exactly sure how high the shield arched above the facility; it didn't seem to lose the fighter or the missile though. Five. The maneuver had taken too much time to make it worth anything. Hunter was now only twenty meters from the tower, but X-wing opened fire again as soon as Hunter leveled out, peppering his shields with laser fire. Another turret turned to track his position at the same time, firing off shots as its targeting computers performed their task. Four.

  "I've got you covered," a Kaph pilot said, rolling out of the dogfight to fire a few shots toward the X-wing from the side. Deciding to save himself, the X-wing dropped pursuit of Hunter arched away. Three.

  "Thanks for the assist," Hunter said, finally within range of the tower. Two. The tower appeared to be a sensor array, turret outpost, and power generator for the complex. It was situated on the northern corner of the facility, but it was only connected to the building by a spindly looking joint. Targeting the joint, Hunter fired off one of his two remaining missiles, now only ten meters away. One. An explosion ripped through the connector, eliminating what support the tower had. As it collapsed from the side of the complex, Hunter diverted all laser power to his engines, giving them an extra boost of power; rocketing underneath the falling tower, which was now crumbling and in flames, Hunter unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut, praying he hadn't misjudged the distances.

  Zero. Forcing his eyes open, Hunter didn't bother with his display but wrenched his head around to see out the back window. The missile had impacted with the falling tower, causing more damage. The tower had been blown to large burning pieces, which now plummeted down upon lower parts of the base. Didn't think that would work for a minutes there. With a quick glance back at his terminal, Hunter brought his ship in line with his flight, which was now coming out of an attack run around the base.

  "Where the hell did you go?" Zharyn said, as Hunter fell in with them.

  "I was caught between a rock and a hard place," Hunter responded, pressing a few controls to divert power from both his weapons and engines to his shields. The read out jumped from zero to twenty percent in a second. Leaving the engine divert, Hunter started to recharge his lasers again. Hopefully he would be using his last missile before he needed the lasers. "What's the damage assessment on the base?" Hunter asked, leading his flight back towards the installation now that they had achieved enough distance to perform another attack run.

  Raigen provided the readout. It seemed he was reading directly from his terminal. "Two main towers destroyed, the main middle hub severely damaged, a power generator destroyed, multiple turrets eliminated, and structural integrity down to forty percent."

  "How about we get rid of that last percent, shall we? How many missiles do you guys have left." Hunter checked to make sure there were fighters in their vicinity. It seemed what parts of Kaph and Nazgul that had been trapped were still giving the RS pilots one hell of a fight.

  "I have two left," Zharyn said bringing his fighters speed down to match Hunter's level.

  "I have one. Been busy." Raigen said with a little smirk in his voice, as if proud of the fact he had less. Hunter would rather he hadn't been busy.

  "Very well, follow me and link your targeting systems to mine." Hunter decreased his altitude even more. With a lot of the facility destroyed above, if a lower area of the building was destroyed, it may collapse in upon itself much like the bunkers had previously in the mission, though on a much grander scale. Hunter always did like light shows.

  "Copy," Zharyn said, following Hunters attack approach.

  As they drew closer to the building, Hunter scanned for a weak point, checking his laser systems. With a grin, Hunter switched attack systems and squeezed the trigger, harassing the ground units in front of him. Flames whipped after him as he flew over a tank he had just destroyed. "This is Aegis six, in need of assistance." Hunter's head snapped in the direction of a smoking Scimitar, heading straight for Hunter's flight.

  "The base can wait. We're on our way six. Just hold tight." Hunter said, turning his fighter to aim toward the incoming pilot. An X-wing was hot on his tail. Can't we catch a break.

 
-----------------------
=Aegis-Squadron=
Petty Officer 1st Class Hunter

XO/FL/PO1 Hunter/Aegis 9/Pheonix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (VC:B)

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it always has a way of haunting your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

Jaden fought the urge to put the X-wing on the ground and save Shazam, but he had ejected in the hanger and would hopefully survive.  He could see blaster fire coming out of the hanger, but hopefully it was Shazam who was the one shoving the lasers down the RS soldiers' throats, and not his own.

"Nazgul two to all pilots, Nazgul one is down.  Follow my lead," said Jaden

Do we always have to loose pilots to stupid battles like this...I'm beginning to think the same question at before...

What the hell are we fighting for?

Jaden could see the A-wings and X-wings pouring out of the hangers as their comrade kept falling.  Within five minutes, half a squadron had been taken down and another whole squadron into the air.  It seemed as if the survival rate was falling every second of their lives.

"This is two....is anyone else feeling that sick thing in your gut like me?" said Jaden

"I can't even feel anything.  My body is so numb I'm running on pure adrenaline," said Trevor, "Watch your six two, you've got two bogies"

Jaden snapped back into reality.  He would have to make an attempt to stay with his fellow squadron members.  He was in the lead now, and they needed his help.

"three, some assistance please," said Jaden

"Affirmative," said Art, "I've already got missile lock, engaging now"

Jaden rolled the fighter to the right to avoid the volley of blaster fire coming from one of the A-wings.  The S-foils on the X-wing couldn't take anymore.  The aft shields had been gone and the lasers were ripping right through the S-foils.

"Damn, taking too much fire on my aft.  Going into a nose dive to try to loose this one," said Jaden, "My shields are out"

Jaden kicked the rudder pedal and cut the throttle.  As the nose of the fighter pointed towards the ground, Jaden jacked the throttle back up and made sure the stabilizers were all running up to par.  Without those, he wouldn't be able to pull up from the ground.

"Astromech unit, make sure those real stabilizers are locked down" said Jaden, and was replied with a series of beeps that came into the head monitor as, "Affirmative"

The ground was spinning as Jaden rolled the X-wing into a right barell roll, the lasers zipping past the fighter.  The A-wing was heading full throttle for his aft and now had missile lock.

"Damn!" Jaden curses through the com system, "Pulling up!

The fighter stopped on a dime as Jaden cut the throttle and pushed it to full again.  The A-wing couldn't react fast enough and pelted into the ground with a small "poof"

"Close one," said Jaden
 
-----------------------
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

Only on the last mission, Sion might have been the one trapped under that shield.  During that mission he had been moved to flight two and had become Kaph 6.  As soon as we take care of these fighters, we can bring down that shield, thought Sion.  X-Wings had begun to join the fray of A-Wings, making the battle even more complicated.  I really hate X-Wings.

"This is Kaph Leader, it has recently been reported that Phoenix Leader has been shot down but is still alive.  We need to get those shields down as soon as possible so ground troops can come in to rescue them!  We need to get rid of some of these damn fighters first!"

Than Sion checked one of the sets of LED's, he had four missiles left.  If he saved them, he might have the ability to do a lot of damage to that shield generator if not destroy it.  Though, again, there was still the problem with the enemy fighters. 

"This is Kaph 5 to Kaph 6, I think I have a good angle on a formation of A-Wings, cover me."

"Copy that Kaph Leader," replied Sion as he brought the Hawkbat into position.

There was a flight of them in a triangle formation, Sion and Kal were at about their four O'clock.

"Ok Kaph Six," said Demonic, "I don't think they notice us in particular.  Let's trying to pull out and back so we can sneak onto their six.

"Copy that."

As dictated, the two Hawkbats pulled out from their target and swung back.  The green pilots in the A's didn't see it coming until it was too late.  Kal and Sion immediately took out two of the fighter and they split up to take out the other two.  They kept tight on the A-Wings' tails until they got through the shields and caused their fuel tanks to explode. 

"Nice work Six," said Demonic.

"Thanks Kaph Leader," replied Sion.

Than Sion glanced at the radar only to dive down in alarm.  An X-Wing had come in to attack Sion's flank.  Sion's quick thinking caused the attack to fail, fire going over him.  The X-Wing came around, but this time Sion was ready.  Firing at  the X before it could make a full turn.  The X-Wing retreated, but Sion wasn't about to let him go.  The pilot was stupid enough to fall for the same trick he had failed to pull, Sion getting a good hit on the X-Wing.  The X-Wing pulled out of the firing lane but ended up in another one because Sion had gotten onto his tail.  Than Sion just kept on blasting away at another green pilot until the shields went dark red and then disappeared.  It took only one hit after that for the X to go up in flames.

"Wow, you're not very nice," said Demonic in a mock voice of scolding. 

"He started it," said Sion in a mock wine.

The shield generator came into view.  Sion was tempted blow the generator to pieces, but his orders were to thin out the fighters first and that is what he was going to do.

"Sith spawn, there are a lot of fighters out here," said Skylla.

Sion saw one of the blue rings blast another X-Wing to pieces.

Demonic must have seen it too,  "I just remembered something.  They found that Crashed X-Wing pilot out in the woods."

"I heard about that," said Sion.

"Well, there is a rumor that he has been telling a story, the pilot that shot him down was a crazy Imperial that went head on with him."

The silence told Demonic that Sion got the picture so he started laughing.

"Guess you might have not killed him after all," said Demonic.



-----------------------
FM/CPO Than Sion/Kaph 6/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)
Than Sion, destroyer of all things cute and fluffy!!!

Atrick couldn't keep his eyes off the immense space battle in front of him. It was so breathtaking and yet, it was terrifying. Knowing that at any second you could die, didn't make a pilot like Atrick feel too good.

Will came over the channel again.

"Alright guys, same formation going in. Krius take the left, Atrick on the right. This will be a lot tougher than before, but it's pretty simple. We fly straight to the planet, no questions asked. If enemy fighters tail you, just speed ahead and try not to get shot. The chances of surviving an explosion in space are next to zero."

Atrick could've sworn he heard a slight chuckle after the last remark, but he had no time. They were already zooming into the battle.

A ship exploded on his right, followed by one being shot right in front of them. The scrap piles that remained just floated, a grave reminder that war was not a game.

Will started talking rapidly a few seconds later.

"Enemy blockade ahead! They don't want anyone else to get to the planet I guess. We'll have to blast our way through and dodge that frigate fire. Aim for the first two Preybirds there. I'll follow your cannon fire with a couple more missles and that should give us enough room to get through. After that, make a beeline for the planet. They should be preoccupied with the other TIE wing that is already trying to take them out. If you make it past this, you're not a greeny anymore. Let's go." Atrick smiled as Will could be heard over the channel laughing at the greeny joke. He could imagine Krius smirking in his cockpit, with his smug face. Then, Atrick stopped laughing.

Ahead, two flights of Preybirds were engaging a flight of TIE Interceptors and things didn't look good form the Imperial side. The Preybirds had them outnumbered two to one and behind the fighting, several ships were watching the battle, as if it was a show.

Coming closer to the battle, Atrick switched all shield power to front, and prepared his trigger finger.

Opening fire on the leftmost stationary ship, it turned deep red in seconds and started flying like mad. Krius had already brought the others shield down and Will had fired the missles. One must have been a dummy, and flew straight past Krius' Preybird and the other one detonated on impact with Atrick's. He smiled as the metal started flaming and exploding.

He kept flying with Krius and Will still with him in formation, and dodged around the space junk. Will and Krius opened cannon fire on the other Preybird and made up for the dummy missle. The 'Bird was down in seconds.

Throwing his throttle back to full, Atrick saw the planet looming ahead. They soon entered the atmosphere with no more resistance encountered from the Rebel fleet. Will was quiet as the bumping and rocking stopped and they sped on, looking for enemy resistance from the air.

About 10 minutes later they had reached the first signs of fighting. Big craters pocked the landscape and Atrick could see piles of smoldering metal in the craters.

Up ahead, there seemed to be a skirmish going on. Atrick recognized the insignia for Nazgul on some of the TIE fighters, but waited for Will to let him go. But Will said something totally unexpected by Atrick.

"They're trapped!"

 
-----------------------
NazgulSquadron

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!)

Why does Darth Vader want cookies?

Raigen's fuel level was dropping rapidly. His power levels started to fade in and out. He could only conclude that he had been hit by a shrapnel from the x-wing's explosion or shot by a turret. He was trying to focus on the fuel problem but he couldn't concentrate with the rest of the warnning lights and signals.

"Hunter. I'm out of luck. You'll have to fight this one without me. I gotta leak in my fuselage and gotta pull out."

"What do you mean pull out?" asked Hunter.

"I'm not going to make it much longer. I gotta make it back to the ship or I'll run out!"

"Yeah, I got that! But how are you going to get out of these shields? How much in your emergency reserve?" he asked.

"Not enough. I'll fire off this last missile but they better get those shields down or..."

"Hang in there 11."

The bomber shook as the last of fuel trickled out. Raigen quickly switched to his emergency supply and set a course for the main base where Aegis was staging an attack.I hope they get those shields down. he thought as he and aegis 6 pulled in with the rest of the squadron.

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

Raigen had broken formation and climbed to the top of the shield and fired off a shot to see if it was still up. It was and he was down to a quarter of his emergency fuel was already burned up. Raigen only had a few minutes. He cut down power to shields and concentrated on avoiding fire. The bomber bucked as it struggled to retrieve the last of the fuel. That was when Raigen saw it. A bird...floating. Just floating in the air without moving. Raigen thought for a second before a burst of light fired from the place where the bird was floating. It was a top mounted cloaking turret on the roof of the base. Raigen's scimitar finally ran out of fuel as he dived his scimitar down toward the turret's position. His final missile was armed and ready. Raigen worked his manual targeting computer to the position of the turret. He obviously couldn't target a cloaked object so he targeted the base and set an impact position relative the structure so the missile was sure to hit the turret. 1...2...3... Fire! The turret lit up as Raigen blazed through the Explosion. It was over for Raigen as he tried to initiate the escape pod function of his Scimitar. It was to no avail. The function must have been taken out with the TAP in the hanger or shot out while trying to take out that x-wing. "I'VE GOT NO EJECT! I'm going down aegis. I repeat Aegis 11..........."
Raigen was knocked out as the scimitar shot past the rest of aegis squadron and into a patch of trees. The wings of the bomber were caught between two trees as the cockpit/escape pod finally got knocked loose. As the pod was knocked loose, the ejection burners kicked in and the pod jettisoned into the ground. The pod dug into the ground as the egines and wings exploded behind him.

"Aegis 11! AEGIS 11! Raigen?.....he's gone!" hunter said over he com.
 
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Supreme White Knight of the Reply
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FM/SCRW Raigen/Aegis 1/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (VC:B)

"This is Kaph leader, moving to assist." Willtconq said.

Than Sion said the first thing that impulsively came to mind, "Sir, you're alive!!!"

Sion was filled with emotions; everyone had believed that Will was dead.  Now here he was, saving Kaph rear end again.  Sion held back tears of joy. 

"Well, I am happy that someone had missed me," said Willtconq.

"Sir, we all thought you were, well, we thought you were dead," said Kal.  "Hell, I have even taken temporary control of the squadron."

"I will explain later, first we must take out those A-Wings!" ordered Will.

The A-Wings had come around for another attack, but the Kaph trio was ready for them.  The Kaph pilots fired at the A-Wings, causing them to scatter again.  The Imperial pilots split up, Kal and Sion against one, will against the other.  Sion pulled out away from his target, as Demonic chased him.  Sion brought his fighter closer to the ground, waiting for Demonic to bring the fighter by him.  When the time came, Sion brought the fighter back up and assaulted the A-Wings flank, taking out its deflector shield.  Demonic slammed a few good shots into one of its engines, the fighter destabilized.  Than Sion finished it off, turning it into a cloud of fire and debris. 

"We bagged our A, Kaph leader," said Demonic.

"Good job men, got mine too," said Will.  "Not too bad for a dead man."

"Thanks Kaph pilots," this was the soldiers that had called for help earlier.  Everyone had forgotten about him after the trap and the return of Will.


**Ground Side**


Ralan Barel didn't know what had gotten into him when he had volunteered to help the Storm Troopers on their mission.  It was kind of awkward having a single man in an orange, Rebel Alliance style flight suit among the white armored Imperials.  But here he was, running around with an E-11 he picked off the ground and with his flight helmet still on.

The Storm Trooper had been looking for RS soldiers when they had been ordered to converge on the city.  The outer defenses had been destroyed and the battle front had been moved up deeper into the city.  They made it to the outskirts of town when they came under fire.  It had been an ambush.  RS light tanks on each side, blasting away at the pined down soldiers with repeaters. 

"This Sergeant Lingo, we need assistance.  We have been pined down by RS tanks and need help!"

"This is Kaph six, coming to assist."

The voice triggered something in Barel's mind, that is the pilot that shot me down!!!

The TIE made one run on one side of he troops; making short work of the lightly armored tanks with the TIE's laser cannons.  He came back to finish off the others that had made an attempt to retreat.

Amazingly, the troopers had only taken three casualties out of the whole platoon.  They moved out again as soon as the enemy had been destroyed.  Onward to take the city from the RS!





 
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FM/CPO Than Sion/Kaph 6/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)
Than Sion, destroyer of all things cute and fluffy!!!

Shazam double-checked the room to see if he was in any way able to be surprised- after a thorough examination he concluded that it was clean and he would be alowed to expose himself to a simple shot to the back.  The man he'd kept concious was sent away after Shazam had taken his weapon, ID card and com, although it was a pretty low-grade version.  The console ahead of him looked like everything he'd ever seen in a capitol ship- buttons.  Why did I let him go?  His boots making a soft thud on the ground, Shazam reached the console and looked for anything that he could understand.  On the left hand console there was a series of keys with the center tagged with a 'Tyu 1' or 'Tyu 7'.  Shaking his head then rolling his neck after realizing how tight he was, Shazam checked the center and right console.  The right set of controls was comforting to see after the total inability to comprehend simple commands on the other two consoles.  A center dial controlled the frequency of the com channel and a seperate mic dangled at the side; one of the guards must have been holding it...

Shazam continued to survey the rest of the board, scanning the com channel's with the dial until he found the Nazgul frequency- Phoenix wing's had temporarilly slipped from his mind.  Leaning in close to the mic and giving an experimental 'hello' he nearly jumped when Trevor chirped- "He's alive!" 

"Copy that, Nine- how we doin up there?"  Shazam's left hand was fiddling with an information center built into the lowest portion of the console.  The screen displayed a bar between every article and the time it was released.  A holo drifted in the upper-right hand corner as Jen replied-

"We've been told that the RS forces have given up outside the atmosphere- they're jumpin to the other side of the planet for a retreat."

"I suppose that's a good thing..."  Shazam found the article at the top of the list detailing a specific retreat formation and vector; he studied it as Jen continued-

"The Coruscant is open to fire on the base but they don't want to destroy the fighters underneath the shield.  We're trying to take out the generator but it's got heavy armor and a few turrets at it's disposal.  We're doing our best, One."  Shazam nodded as something came to mind.  He hadn't the time to actually observe the inards of the ring, but technically- that's where the shield was coming from.  Perhaps the could free themselves...

"Five- get on the line with some of the people within the shield here- ask them to look for the shield outputs.  The generator forces the energy to something else before the shield is actually created- find that something else.  I'm guessing it'll be along the inside of the ring and projecting just beyond it."  What have we here?  An order to retreat from Roelk himself?  And it appears the explosion was the death of the two other High Council members...  So he finally decided to take control...  Shazam side-stepped to the left and kicked one of the fallen men onto his stomach to see what his belt all contained.  The commander took a knee and began investigating as Jen came back over the com-

"We've got two confirmed reports of ducts along the periphery- they're going to see if the cannons have any effect on them!"  Shazam lifted and eyebrow and opened up a pouch to find another com unit as well as what looked like a datacard.  Deciding there was nothing useful on it because the man was only a security type, Shazam hopped over to the console once again.  Findin the port right underneath the monitor, Shazam plugged the gey into the input and scrolled through the various check-ins the man had made.  Clockin in and out a lot I see...  Erase...  Dumping all the files, Shazam reverted back to the articles he'd been reading before and began copying.  While he hadn't seen co-ords he'd found plenty to suggest they  were somewhere nearby.  Titles like "fall-back position JVac2" would identify rendevous points that the VEN could use to end the conflict once and for all.  It was imperative he passed this information onto the higher ups. 

"The outputs appear to have a sheild themselves- nothing strong though- they're going to try missiles."  Shazam nodded once again and read through the retreat breifing once more.  RS Ground Forces resume battle?  The commander scoffed at Rothow's boldness at suggesting the ground forces stay and die so that they could buy time for his armadda to escape.  This must have been Rothow's favorite reason for getting clones- they did not question.  Fight to the death for a man who has obviously betrayed the organization?  Sure!  Unfortunetly, this meant the base would not be occupied by VE ground forces without a bloddy and costly fight- one they might not win if they encountered the massive number of clones stored up in the main barracks.  They would have to destroy the base...

"The shield is turnin colors!  We scored a hit on one of the funnels!  They're going after another one- I dunno if it'll be necessary though.  Looks like it's meant to run on all of the projecters..."  Jen sounded about as happy as he could remember so Shazam just smiled like a moron. 

"Tell the folks up in the big ships to fire when everyone is cleared- don't worry about me.  If they need to fire because the RS starts to scatter- tell 'em ta do it..."  Shazam wasn't a selfless person necessarilly, but he believed in letting the greater-good be done.  If he wasn't out by the time the star destroyer decided to attack, it probably meant he was being shot-up by clones and would be dead anyhow.  Besides- he was one man- Phoenix Wing Commander only gives you so many perks.  Then they pull the ground out from underneath you...

"Get out of there then, One..." 

"Copy that, Five-"  Shazam clicked off the terminal as he retrieved the data card and slung the riot gun the guard had been carrying over his shoulder.  Shazam wasn't a fan of the weapon, but he'd rather have it in case the DL-44 decided to quit on him.  Staring beyond the console was a road map of teh complex.  The background was a solid, clean white that contrasted with the walls slightly and made the map look even easier to use.  Noting that the clone barracks was not where he intended to go, Shazam looked for a route that would take him away from the slightly suicidal gang of clones but allow him to escape.  What's this?  Port?  Sounds like a hanger...  Shazam traced the route with his eyes and picked up the com he'd had all along, telling the remote which com's to keep tabs on and what to leave open at all times.  Time to fly...

---

"Captain- prepare my shuttle and request escorts to the far end of the atmosphere.  We're leaving..."  Rothow moved with the urgency or a killer- precise but not too quick, just enough time to make the hit.  That could have been a clue as to the activity he'd just concluded or a sign of times to come, but either way- no one wanted to make trouble. 

The clone captain gave a low bow as Rothow passed him and entered the personal hanger bay.  Roelk and Vieag's personal transports flanked his Lamda in the center.  The two had been less worried about attacks and liked to think about diplomacy and science for the most part, neglecting the obvious need to survive...  Rothow couldn't believe what he'd just done, but he was happy about it.  He continued to tell himself that the day would come eventually where only one man would be able to stand...  Rothow no longer had any explosives on him, but the silent thermal detonater he'd just used on his companions was a powerful one and had no doubt done the job.  Ever since his betrayel of the Empire, he'd become more nervous, more cause and a whole heck of a crazier.  Some men slept with a gun under thier pillow- Rothow carried explosives at all times.

"We're scrambling fighters to obscure your escape vector, sir- is there anything else I can get you?"  The clone didn't look Rothow in the eye out of military training, but one may have argued that a simple look would have fried him had he known better.

"Let our slicers know that all information about what has transpired here today as well as the memory banks of all the computers here need to be wiped.  Pick up a hard disk of the main computer and make sure it gets to the battle group before we jump..."  Rothow checked the pistol at his hip and twirled his ankle to get a feel for the weapons strapped to his legs.  Back to the Might, then.  I'll have to take the enemy by surprise now- attack in full force if I want to do any damage or hope to survive.  We dreamed of an empire- but now it is mine to control.  To create...  Rothow mashed his teeth realizing that they'd lost a significant pair of members not to mention battle assets and the very center of their operation- the cloning facility.  It would be ravaged soon enough or perhaps destroyed entirelly- either way it was coming to an end.  The reports he'd received from above were saying a lot of the same thing- Can't handle the fire-power of the ISD- we're pulling out.  So the Hapan Battle Dragon group would pull away to repair and replenish shielding as the group that was supposed to be guarding the planet for escaping craft dropped in to assist.  This resulted in both forces taking a severe beating and dropping themselves to about fourty-five percent hull.  Why the ISD wasn't chasing them now surprised Rothow- it had alwasy been his experience to kick them while they were down- finish it in one brutal stroke.  This tactic was unnacceptable to Rothow and he would let the VE know about in the coming weeks...  The captain sent out his final question-

"Will that be all, Sir?"  Rothow eyed him up and down as he began to proceed to the shuttle.

"Get me a new coat- my old one's missing..."

---

Shazam took what he thought to be the shortest route, although it would be the most travelled.  Cutting directly across the lane that split the base in half, Shazam would cut off ten minutes easilly.  Of course, he risked becoming exposed and killed on site for his obvious Imperial markings, but he figured he'd chance it.  The Imperial insigna on his chest was somewhat modified because of his position as Pheonix Wing commander- it could easilly be mistaken for the firey icon of the RS.  Also, many of the men and women were wearing dark uniforms- some black and others blue so he wouldn't stick out like a soar thumb.  When he'd been taken to the security head quarter's his helmet was taken and placed in a canister within the wall- he'd forgotten to pick it up.  What good it would do him at this point he could never know... 

Keeping a swift pace, the Commander began to see more and more people- none paying him much attention despite their anxious dispositions.  Entire groups of clone reinforcements would throw themselves past him in an attempt to get themselves through the now conjecsted hallways.  Up ahead was the main intersection where it appeared a high level clearence was being opened.  A small man in brown tech clothes began to skid his way as Shazam heard for the second time that day- "Freeze!"

The imperial dropped to a knee as he fired backward into the RS soldier.  Fortunetly it appeared not everyone in the base carried weapons and a lot of the conjestion would help to keep him an anonymous source of the heavy blaster pistol fire. 

"I think I see him!"  Shazam was still low so he couldn't tell just who'd said it, but his ears told him the voice was coming from the right.  They'd be on him in  moment.  Picking up the rifle of the man he'd just dropped, a terrified young woman screamed as she tried to get through the dense crowd of pannicked people.  Shazam thought the scene totally ironic considering most research suggested people stayed relativelly calm in emergencies despite the holo-vids:and yet the military bases can't handle it.  Shazam pushed his was through the crowd at his diminished altitude, using the gun to persuade people out of his way.  He felt some brave fellow shove him from behind and nearly force him into a face-plant.  Instead, Shazam let the blade of his arm fall flat against the ground as the momentum carried him past it.  The roll ended with him doubling back and shooting two bolts into the chest of the man.  This wasn't a clone, but the new volley of blaster fire sent the crowd out twice as fast, thinning his defense considerably.  He could see the clone troopers on the outside of the lanes getting in much easier now and making their way for him.

"Hold it there!"  Shazam rolled to the left and grabbed hold of the squat man he'd seen earlier.  Shazam had lost himself in all the twisting and turning and he'd need a guide if he intended to escape through the same area.

"Please!  Just take it!"  The man, though small, appeared to be rather fit and had a beaten mug for a face.  Shazam chuckled and pulled the small man into the curvature of one of the doors, keeping him and his new friend out of sight for a moment longer. 

"Yea- right.  I just need to know how to get to port 2A..."  Shazam wasn't looking as the small man lifted himself and hefted his two heavy legs into Shazam's chest.  Falling back into the center of the floor where he could be clearly seen by the RS troopers, Shazam rolled back to the little man who jumped on top of him and raised his fist for a killer punch.  The little man froze as Shazam re-connected with his blaster and held it firmly underneath his chin.  Tossing him back to the cleft in the wall Shazam querried frantically-  "Tell me now or my trigger finger gets happy..."

"Take a right and go until you see a black door- it's two after that on the left."  Shazam was about to say something about being little but still being helpful when four blaster bolts rang out and troopers converged on the area.  The little man took advantage of the situation and rushed Shazam.  The pilot was too quick though and stepped back to grab at him.  Feeling the body go limp, Shazam realized he was still being shot at right in the open.  The body fell into his open arms as he dragged the little man back for cover.  The enemy was clearly right there and there was no where to hid so blasting them right in a row wasn't a problem- it was just keeping his own cover behind the dead body that was difficult.  However, that many troops in one area would easilly overtake him in the next second or two.  Feeling around the corpse in his hands, Shazam found something interesting- a thermal detonater?  The pilot hadn't been paying much attention to what the little man had been up to before he'd gotten into the fight with him.  He had a coat slung over his shoulder along with a pack that looked like it belonged to a satchel charge but was holding something else in the meantime. 

Shazam dropped the heavy blaster at his side to grip the thermal detonater and switch it on.  Enjoy the fireworks...  Tossing it beyond the body and watching it skid down the hallway, Shazam came to his senses and picked up the blaster as well as the small man for cover.  Sprinting down the hall he was nearly taken off of his feet after the thermal detonater sent off it's wave of sheer destructive force.  The reign of blaster fire that had erupted when he stood and began to run faded aprupbtly and the hallway cleared.  Deciding that the body was indeed dead weight, Shazam grabbed the satchel pack, presuming it to be filled with other explosives.  These could be useful...

The black door passed by quickly as the smoke continued to waft in his hallway.  The troops were coming to and appeared through the smog.  Shazam let off a couple burst to keep them from getting ideas as he reached the second door on the left.  Really it was a double door and it had two seperate key card accessed, but using the security ID he'd obtained earlier, the red LED switched to the green and the doors seperated.  Just beyond his glorious escape from the RS barracks, his own craft and the security head quarters he'd found himself looking at the last thing he'd figured he'd see. 

"Senior Crewman Raigan- what're you doing here?"  Shazam lowered his blaster to his side and sat stunned as he got a good look at the damage the young man had caused.  Three bodies lay on the floor along with a blazing speeder.  Three other speeders occupied the room and two small freighters took up the center of the room.

"Kind of had a rough landing- yourself Commander Shazam?"  Raigen was at a station, probably getting in contact with the squadron above.

"Something similar..."  Shazam looked from Raigen to the freighters.  "I don't suppose you'd care to join me?"  Raigen gave him a look of slight disbelief, unsure of whether or not his commander was joking.

"In one of those things?  We'll be sitting ducks!  There aren't any cannons or shields on those!"  Raigen dared not ignore the commander despite mentioning the desperate option. 

"You have another plan?"

"Formulating one sir- once I get in contact with some help we should be able to get a safe ride out of here."

"Oh really?" Shazam rolled his left wrist and then took the blaster from his right hand to free it up so it could pick up the com link.  "Five- you still there?"

"You've gotta get out of there!  The shields are down and we've exited the zone- the Coruscant is going to fire!"  Shazam gave the comlink an amused look then shrugged to Raigen who appeared as if he would faint.

"Right- lets get goin- you wanna fly?  Of course you wanna fly..."

The freighter wasn't anymore than twice the length of a TIE fighter, probably used to carry equipment around the base.  Never the less, it was capable of flying and that would do just fine for now. 

"I don't suppose you could find a place to mount a gun and start shooting..." Shazam querried as he identified his ignition set and kicken on the drive unit.  The ship hummed to life as Raigen began to sort through Shazam's things. 

"You've got a blaster rifle here, sir.  I don't know if that'll do us any good...  And it looks like a hard drive or something- what did you need this for?"  Shazam drew himself from the controls momentarilly to see the rectangular device about the width of the helmets the usually used.

"Don't lose that..."  Shazam checked his straps before spinning the craft and kicking the thrusters to full.  "Use my comlink to get in touch with some people- it'll take to long to find the channel in this thing...  If it has a com unit..."  The controls were loose but didn't carry the ship far when he guided the nose up.  They rose steadilly despite the massive push from the back. 

"Some help!  Anyone!"  Raigen was glancing out the right of the viewport as some remnant fighters ended a circle and began to head their way. 

"You strapped in?" Shazam querried as he ran his fingers up the control panel  in the center of the ship.  Let's see if we can get goin any faster...  The commander clicked up on one of the switched and felt the ship rock slightly.  "What was that?"

Raigen was strapping in but he glanced back to see black figures floating away from the ship.  "I think we've been hit!  There's chunks comin off the back end!"

"And yet we're going faster- that was the storage unit.  I opened it up to lose some weight..."  Shazam didn't finish the sentence as burst of cannon fire sputtered past the upper left hand side of the viewport.  Shazam didn't actually know if the ship was capable of it, but he kicked the right pedal and felt the ship roll onto its side then finally invert and then come back to it's right-side up form. 

"Some barrel-roll!"  Shazam gave Raigen a look and he shut up.  "Anyone out there?"  The ship rocked once again, but this time the blac chunks were pieces of the decorative rims encasing the ship. 

"Now we've been hit..."  Shazam wasn't sure where he was going- just away from the base.  So the dark red skies with black tops looked totally open to him- we've gotta go somewhere...

"Look!  One of ours!"  Shazam glanced out his left-hand side of the viewport to get a glimse of two aggressors splitting, then reforming on the two X-wings following behind.  If they got a linked burst on the freighter it would be over. 

"Who is that?  They're Nazguls..."  Shazam muttered it but Raigen transferred it over the com.  Finally getting an answewr, Jen said-

"Whoa- thought we lost you guys there.  I sent three and four to assist, One.  Have you cleared the site?"  That's Art and Tyrrax...  They'll be able to handle it...  Then Shazam was struggling to keep control of the craft as a bright light encased the ship and crimson fire rained from the skies.  The ISD had fired.  Feeling the current in the wind pick up and the explosive burst of heat and energy coming from behind him, Shazam dared not look back.  He'd seen what it looked like when an ISD opened up on some base- they were known to devestate planets.  He couldn't imagine the damage that had just been incurred in three seconds...  The violent tumult continued for several more seconds as Shazam felt the controls become violent, randomely re-selecting directions and altering the course of the frigate.  The damage to the ship had ceased to exist though and Shazam could worry about a single problem now... 

"Wow..."  The cannons from the heavens ceased their fire and Raigen was staring out the side viewport.  "It looks like we lost most of 'em...  Wow..."  Shazam hefted teh controls up and down a couple times to see if the lateral controls or stabilizers were still working.  "Whoa- we've got a rogue one- still comin at us!"

"What?"  Why is he still after us?  Where's Art and Tyrrax?  "Crap...  Rear stabalizers are out- controls are sluggish...  What's our altitude?  I think the computer has had it...  The single burst from the remaining X-wing had brought Shazam to finally think "it's been fun- but now it's gotta come to an end."

"Take that you rotten basterd!" Art's voice roared over the com in a fashion Shazam had never heard before.  The man was normally so controlled, so quiet- this was an outburst of pure venom.  "You're clear, One."  Shazam couldn't see or tell what had been going on back there, but he was getting the impression that they'd had a missile on it's way and Art had saved the day.

"Wait- I only see one fighter..."  Raigen seemed confused.  Sorry you had to go like that Tyrrax, Shazam conceded, realizing the blast had killed a truly great pilot out of chance.  Shazam had said before that people died to easilly in the Navy, but then one would argue freak accidents happened everywhere.  Shazam didn't call these freak accidents though- they were just bad news. 

"There's a rendevous point about five miles ahead, One- proceed and we will debrief..."  Raigen gave Art a good amount of thanks as Shazam found the outpost a little ways up.  Still at a distance Raigen querried once again-

"So what is this?"  Shazam gave it a glance and sorted through his memory.  The small man outside the mainframe room...  Mainframe room?  How did he know that?  He'd memorized the map better than he'd thought.  But if he was in the mainframe room and that was a hard disk...

"Riches and glory..."

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*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