Will took a step from the transport onto the shiny floor of the small docking area. It was every bit as he expected, one of the smallest hanger bays he'd seen. It had little more than enough room to house just one squadron of fighters. He looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Hey, you sure this is the right place?" Will called back into the transport.

"Absolutely, Sir. This is the exact place communication told us to land."

"Alright." Will answered, and took a few more steps into the space. "Guys, let's go, we don't want to keep the pilots from their jobs."

"Are you talking to us about those pilots that brought us here or whoever resides in this place about us?" Cyleaf asked jokingly as he too lowered himself to the floor from the transport, followed by the rest of the squadron.

The second everyone was off the ship, the transport lifted off again, to whatever destination they were headed.

So this is what it's like to feel stranded in a place with no one else. Will thought to himself. "Let's see if we can find any living souls in this place. After that, the commander of this place, assuming we find him, is going to get a hell of a complaint." Will said as he grabbed his bag from the floor and headed for the nearest exit.

Half way across, the door hissed open, and two techs ran out from behind the doors, having a hard time catching their breaths. "Sorry sir. We were..."

"No need. Just show us to our quarters and we can settle everything else later."

"Yes Sir! This way please." The techs saluted, then motioned for the pilots to follow them.

________________________________

Twelve hours before

"Lieutenant Willtconq." Commander Shazam began, "Kaph Squadron has been given a new tasking order. I presume you've read it the mission parameters?"

"Yes, Sir." Will answered.

"Anything you'd like to say or ask?"

"Yes, Sir. I was wondering what kind of enemy force we might be expected to encounter while on station."

Shazam lifted an eyebrow for a second before regaining his original emotionless face. "That, we can't be sure of. You're stationed there to defend it. That's is all we can tell you at this moment. I'm just your commanding officer, not a psychic, so I can't tell you what kind or how strong the forces you might face. It could be an entire fleet, or it could be nothing. Other squadrons have been stationed on near by systems. If you need reinforcements, they will come shortly. But it is the same to be expected from you. If they call, then your order will be to reinforce as well. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Anymore questions?"

"No, Sir."

"Good, go get ready, your transport leave at 0800 hours."

________________________________

Eleven hours before

"I'm sure you all know what this means." Will said to the rest of his squadron. "I have here the new orders for us..."

"Finally," Hellkite chipped in, "I was getting tired of all those sim runs."

"...For the next month."

"Does that mean we're going to be stationed onboard the Tiamut?"

"No. We'll be stationed at, well, a station. And it's quite a small station, smaller than the Tiamut." Will paused for a second to see if anyone else wanted to interrupt him with questions or comments, when none was given, he continued. "The mission detail is as follows: We will be stationed there for a month, or until further notice. Whichever comes first. The station is a small aquatic base, floating on the surface of Mortain. Our objective is to defend the station and Mortain at all costs while we're there.

"Mortain is a small planet, in a series with a number of other planets. Squadrons of fighters have been, or going to be, stationed on them. If the need comes, they will come to aid us, or we will go help them. Mortain is a mostly water covered planet. The little parts of land it offers are near the poles, and are inhabitable. Thus, the Vast Empire has constructed a small base that floats on the surface. There have been no known living species on the planet. But that could change at any time."

"Any questions?"

"Uhhh, yes, we will be flying Avengers like we have been, right?"

"No, we will not. Fighters are available at the station. You can hope that they're not just Tie fighters. Anything more than that, I don't know. Anything else? No? Then go get ready, the transport leaves at 0800 hours, which is an hour from now. The flight is going to take ten hours. So whatever you don't have to do here, take it with you."

_______________________________

"Why do you get to be treated like loyalty when we get bunk beds?" Dredj complained.

"Because I am royalty." Will answered with a smirk on his face.

The Squadron Commander had been given a master suit on the base, one of a few reserved for high ranking officials or important personnel. But since there was no other high ranking officer on tour, he was given the honor. Everyone else, however, was assigned to bunk beds in the barracks one floor below. It was the morning after they arrived. They all had a few hours of rest after getting off the transport, but it was clear the mere rests on rock hard bunk beds weren't enough.

"So what's it like? Being back in boot camp and all." Will asked jokingly.

"I hope it doesn't stay this way for the whole months." Cyleaf said, avoiding Will's question. "Else it's gonna get extremely boring around here."

"So you'd rather we get attacked?" Will asked, accepting the new topic. "Regardless of the enemy we might be up against?"

"Yep, better than sitting around with nothing to do."

"Well, if you want, you can start with cleaning duties." A new voice said from the doorway.

"Hello there." Will said. "You must be Commander Cherbourg."

"That would be me." Cherbourg reached out to shake Will's hands. "I am the commanding officer of this piece of metal. I am sorry for not being able to greet you last night. But whatever you need, Lieutenant Willtconq, my men will gladly provide to our best extent."

"Good. Thank you Commander. I have nothing but one favor to ask at this moment."

"I'll see what i can do when i hear it."

"I'd like the ability for my men to roam this place. Make them at home, if you know what i mean. We will be here for quite some time. I think it will do them good knowing where they are. Don't you think?"

"Agreed. If there's nothing, then I shall excuse myself. Enjoy your meals." Cherbourg said with a slight, fake smile on his face and disappeared into the hallway again.


-----------------------
-(William the Conquerer)-
Elite Squadron Commander
King of PPC
"Lives are created to be ended, just as rules are made to be broken." -- Unknown, probably me
"A dishonest man, you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're gonna do something incredibly stupid." - Captain Jack Sparrow
"Happy endings are just stories that haven't finished yet." - Jane Smith
ESC/2LT Willtconq/Kaph 1/Wing I/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [VC:S][SV][BWC][LSM]{VB}
Wm/Wm Willtconq/WM:1/Webmasters/VET/VE

*******Previously***********

Cyleaf sat at his desk in the Academy. As an Operator for the Vast Empire Naval Academy he was responsible for greeting recruits aboard the drop ship before the DI's came in to claim them. The Zabrak was no longer in active duty so to say as he still kept up with his Academy duties and drilled with the reserves one weekend a month.

Rubbing his eyes which had been sore from countless hours staring at a computer he stood up and walked over to the nearest window. Outside many recruits were rolling around on the ground doing pushups or calisthenics. Wonder what mistake brought this on? Cy thought as he grabbed his cover and headed for the door.

Strolling through the parade grounds usually brought some relief to his weary thoughts, though his body was rock hard from the training regiment he developed while in the brig his heart wasn't. Not a day passed that thoughts of his former squadron didn't interrupt his work. Sometimes while walking into the mess hall he could hear recruits talk about him. "There's Senior Chief Aehait, I heard he was one of the big four in Kaph," a Human male whispered. "Oh yeah, what's Kaph?" replied the young Zabrak. "Only the most elite squadron." The Zabrak nodded.

Today his wondering took him over to the hanger bay where they Academy kept decommissioned fighters.  His heart ached as he stared at the Interceptor, once it had almost become his grave but all he felt now was longing.




*****Two days before deployment********

Cyleaf stood in front of Lt. Willtconq's desk. Things had sure changed since he had taken a break from active duty and enlisted into the reserves. Torn between the Academy and flying with a little mix of personnel issues it had been for the best. But he couldn't stand it no more.

"Well Cy what can I do for you?" Will asked looking a little curious as to why this man was in front of him standing as rigid as a board. Stepping forward the Zabrak placed a piece of paper onto the desk and stepped back. Willtconq reached forward and picked it up, peering at briefly he looked up and stared at him as if he was string right through to him.

"Is this serious?" Will asked leaning back again and rubbing his chin. "Yes, that is if you and Kaph will have me back." "Well I am not too sure, there have been some recent changes made to the roster that you probly don't know about&" Cyleaf cut him off, "Yes I know Than has become your Executive Officer and Kal entered the reserves. Does that sum it up?"

The sheer shock on Will's face made Cyleaf chuckle inside, at least he could catch the old man off guard. "Where did you learn all this?" "Well I kinda used the Academy computer to check the squadron rosters, I know I know but I wanted to make sure that the squadron wasn't full." Will shrugged and sighed. Taking out his datapad he brought up the roster and tossed it to Cyleaf.

Peering down at the screen he noticed that there were a couple new names and some old ones. "See that spot open right under me." Cy quickly nodded, "Well seems that I need a new wingman." Will leaned forward placing his hands on the desk, "Can you handle that role or has being in the reserves made you soft?" Cyleaf slammed his hand down on Will's desk and shouted "You got your man Sir!!" His voice full of joy Will's jaw dropped, "Oops got carried away" Cy quickly added.

**** ***** ****

Cyleaf snuck over to Skylla and Than's table, he was carrying his own bowl of the beautiful breakfast and a small container. Placing it on the table and sitting beside Skylla and opposite Than. "Here put a little of this sugar on there, makes everything taste better." And with that he took a bite acting like it tasted awesome.


-----------------------
EFM/WO2/Cyleaf Aehait/Kaph 1-2/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)(=*SA*=)[MC1][BWC][SWC]

    C-3PX2 walked around the hallways of the outpost; without even noticing it, he was inspecting the hallways for the quality of the outpost. He wasn't noticing it because his mind was still thinking about those messages he received, from the Corporal on Etti IV. He wanted to go to Etti IV, but he knew that was not possible, at least at this time. Instead he decided that he would have to focus on the mission. They where station on this planet for a reason, to defend it at all costs. It was quiet on the station, almost too quiet. He continued to walk through the halls alone. He was thinking while he walked, about a lot more than Etti IV. Mostly he was thinking about why he did what he had done. Why would a Combat Droid join the Imperial Navy? He was built for ground combat, skilled for ground combat, yet he joined a star fighter squadron. He knew how to be an expert marksman, but instead he flies TIE Interceptors.

    He stopped in front of a door, pressed a button, and walked into the room. It was the squadron barracks; he sat down on the bunk and waited for his monthly update on the situation on Etti IV. He sat there for an hour, with no result. The corporal had never been late before. He began to look through the Holo Net, hoping to see if anything had happened. After not finding anything he got up, and he went back to walking alone through the halls. HE walked past many people in the halls. Not even noticing anything that was happening. The base was small, quiet and dark. But there was no action. In the end that's all he wanted, a good battle to break up the calm. He stopped for a second, scanned the area, and continued to walk down the halls.

(OOC: not my best post, but next time i hope to have a longer, better written post.)
 
-----------------------
Internet Cylon SITE CURRENTLY OPEN
There is nothing wrong with fear.
You need never be ashamed of it, as long as it dosen't stop you functioning.
Fear is your natural warning system; it keeps you alive so
that you can can fight. Show me a man who isn't afraid,
and I'll show you a fool who is a danger to his entire ship.
==============================================================================================
-=Kaph Squadron=- : "We have Great Faith in Each Other, It's Called Stupidity."
==============================================================================================
EFM /SCRW C-3PX2 / Kaph 8 / Phoenix Wing (Wing 1) / mSSD Atrus / DEF / VEN / VE / (=A=), [MC2]

It seemed that all he was doing on the base was roaming the halls. C-3PX2 walked from one end of the base to the other, he was patrolling the hallways. He walked into the mess hall, which was ironic because a droid has absolutely no use for a mess hall or the food in it. He walked in and sat down at one of the small tables. He pulled out a data pad, and began to look at the data on the closest systems. He looked through the trade of the area, the planet in the area, and the amount of ships that pass thought the area. He looked for anything that could be a possible security risk. He found nothing that would be a risk. He sat there for about a half hour doing nothing at all, and then he got up and left to walk the halls again.

After again walking through the hallways of the base, C-3PX2 stopped in front of a cargo bay, and entered it. He sat down on a cargo container and pulled out a combat knife. He then pulled out a sharpening stone and began to sharpen his blade. He spent time making it perfect. Then he detected something sneaking up on him, he readied hid blade, and the moment he saw it he threw the blade at it. He then got up, walked over to it. He removed the blade from what appeared to be an R-4 unit, though it was now badly damaged, and he exited the cargo bay to again roam the halls.

 
-----------------------
Internet Cylon SITE CURRENTLY OPEN
There is nothing wrong with fear.
You need never be ashamed of it, as long as it dosen't stop you functioning.
Fear is your natural warning system; it keeps you alive so
that you can can fight. Show me a man who isn't afraid,
and I'll show you a fool who is a danger to his entire ship.
==============================================================================================
-=Kaph Squadron=- : "We have Great Faith in Each Other, It's Called Stupidity."
==============================================================================================
EFM /SCRW C-3PX2 / Kaph 8 / Phoenix Wing (Wing 1) / mSSD Atrus / DEF / VEN / VE / (=A=), [MC2]

Etan sat motionlessly as the alarms went off. He watched as commander Will and the rest of the Kaph squadron lept into action.

Commander Cherbourg of the Mortain station snapped orders that the Kaph squadron move into action as Commander Will re-emphasized those same commands.

Everyone moved as a sychronized unit, boarding the loading platform and making ready for flight. Everyone except Etan.Two others had remained behind. Not being able to squeeze onto the loading platform and waiting for Etan.

Hellkite remained behind with commander Will both barking commands at Etan to ready himself for flight.

Etan calmly marked his spot in the Aviator's guide, rising to join the rest of 1st flight. Etan had planned his movements to precisely time with the departure of the rest of Kaph squadron. He knew that by the time the platform had returned flight two would be in space and that he and the rest of flight one would be shortly behind. If only Cy, Will's wingman, were present. Then they would be a sight to see.

By the time Hellkite, Etan and Will had entered the hanger bay, second flight had already left. First flight knew what it's mission was. To knock off the CR90, but first there were some fighters to deal with.

Etan made a few preflight checks as Commander Will soared of to join the fight. Hellkite was the next to follow his ramps into space. Etan used this time to reflect upon the great pilot's he was flying with and the great pilot's that came before him. He was to be no different. Etan was destined to become one of the Empire's great pilot's. With that in mind, Etan thrusted his engines soaring off the ramps looking for greater glory in the destruction of enemy fighters.

That didn't take long. It seems as though second flight had out flown the X-wings and were well on their way to the A-wings, while Hellkite had already flown past and then turned around to bear down upon the same squadron of X-wings that had Etan in their sights.

Etan immediatly made evasive manuveurs. He came out up and above the X-wings while Hellkite bore down upon them from behind them. Two immediatly bore up and towards Etan while the other two sped on with Hellkite right on their exhaust.

Etan sped on, not knowing what to do. Making a few barrel rolls, he kept the rebel scum off his back.

Hellkite signaled Etan " Etan dive down and come back around straight at me."

Not knowing what to do, Etan did as Hellkite commanded. Suddenly they were bearing down upon each other. Face to face Hellkite versus Etan. " Pull up. Pull up." Hellkite was screaming into Etan's headset seconds before they collided.

Etan pulled hard up, while Hellkite dived nearly avoiding collision.  " Now shoot them bastards." Hellkite ordered while his blasters took out an approaching X-wing.

Etan rolled towards the attacking X-wings, gaining one in his sights. Seconds later, another X-wing was snafued.

"Hellkite" Etan offered." My communication array has been....." That was the last Hellkite would hear from Etan till he got back to base. His communications were out. Hopefully he would pick up on Hellkites manuevers and co-ordinate from there.

See Kaph squadron post? Hellkite include me in your posts until further notice. Thanks man!!!!!

-----------------------
Grammer, mechanics, punctuation, spelling, diction, effectiveness in the science, and larger elements are the facts at hand. The Harbrace College Handbook edited by JOHN C. HODGES

FM/LCR/Etan Evnstar/Kaph/Flight 3/Atrus/off/VEN/VE/Aviation cetificate

(Than I take it you want me to write Will into my posts somewhat as I am his wingman or are you gonna control him?)

Snapping on his helmet the Zabrak was ready for action, cinching up the pilot's seat harness he began a reduced systems check. As he was only checking important systems the weapons, engine and shields lights winked green. Powering up this Interceptor he acknowledged his status.

"Kaph 2 good to go"

As the rest of the squad acknowledged Will opened a private channel to Cy,

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"I wouldn't have asked to come back if I wasn't Sir!"

Cyleaf let the emotion extenuate his voice.

"Let's do this then, I am counting on you."

I won't fail you, not like I did Than, Cy still hadn't forgiven himself for that crash. As the fighter launched the familiar sensation of G-forces pushing him back into his seat brought butterflies to his stomach.

"Ok guys see those X-wings out there, that's our target" Will came over the flight channel.

"Copy that flight leader" The Zabrak replied, followed by Etan's muffled roar and Hellkite's acknowledgement. That was one thing that made it hard for Cyleaf's translator chip, the helmet distorted the Wookies speech.

"2 we need to thin out these fighters before they overwhelm our greener pilots." Will again had opened a private channel. Cyleaf had an idea.

"Hey Will let's play bait and switch."

A double mic click signified that Will understood, reaching for the throttle Cyleaf increased it to full. Ok let's just get one to bite, if two so the better. Increasing his shields slightly to the front Cyleaf's fighter had taken the lead, this would hopefully catch them slightly off guard.

Engaging his lasers green tracers spewed forward peppering the front fighter's shields. Slowing and pulling up hard he hoped to set the bait, it succeeded as two fighters followed. His left hand moving over the computer console he diverted all power to his rear shields and began to rotate his fighter, if eight cannons peppered his shields he wouldn't last long.

Rocking hard he was taking hits, shields were draining fast. Come on hold together, give Will just a little more time, Cyleaf had great faith in his Commander and like everyone else would die for him.

An explosion rocked behind him as Will took out one of his followers, the second fighter's assault had instantly cut out due to realizing he was in danger. Looping around Cyleaf saw Will giving chase, if he didn't have the helmet on he'd wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Cy set his shields back to default, well what he had left of them and waited for the full charge to come back.
 
-----------------------
EFM/WO2/Cyleaf Aehait/Kaph 1-2/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=*A*=)(=*SA*=)[MC1][BWC][SWC]

"This is Kaph 7 requesting private channel with Kaph 5."

"Permission granted," replied Sion, hitting the com controls that fulfilled the request.  "What is up Seven?"  Two Flight Leader scanned for another target as he said this.

"Requesting to speak freely, sir."

"Spit it out Seven, those NR fighters are not going to get anymore docile."  Sion cursed to himself when he saw a fighter maneuver into Dredj's six to his own eleven.  He lightly hit his port ruder petal to get Six out of the mess.

"It is about your Lancer Frigate comment earlier.  Was it really necessary?"

"I don't think my comment was out of place in any way.  Nine probably picked it up and she hasn't tired to contact me about it.

"I'm not saying I am offended by it as a sexist issue but an over all issue with trivializing combat."

Sion slipped behind the A-Wing fighter in pursuit of Dredj.  The enemy pilot must have had tunnel vision at the moment since he made no attempt to evade the Interceptor behind him.  Sion switched to quad fire and let two bursts rip.  The first took down the shield and the second hit the A's starboard engine.  The ship spun out of control toward the atmosphere.  Sion didn't notice if the pilot had ejected or not.

"Thanks Five," said Dredj.

"No problem Six," said Sion.  He switched his output back to the private.  "Now, I'm not sure what they are teaching you in the Academy these days but out here, in the thick of things, we use this thing called humor to lighten our stress to a bearable level."

Than Sion knew it was over with that.  Her profile from the academy had made it clear that she would never get in an argument with her superiors.  To believe I was just like her in that sense not so long ago.  Always being so tight in combat that I came across as a hard ass.

Despite the valiant efforts of Kaph Squadron,  the battle was being pushed back closer and closer to the atmosphere.  Willtconq's voice came over the com set.  "Men, this isn't working.  We have only knocked about one flight off of each squadron.  But I have worst news than that.  The Lancer is almost in firing range of us and those fighters aren't letting us keep our distance in space.  We need to take out the Corvette first if we want any chance of surviving that frigate.  If we retreat into the atmosphere we will be able to buy ourselves some more time to do that."

"I copy that Kaph Leader," replied Than.  "Two Flight, form up on me."

Sion didn't like the idea of turning tail and running, but they had no choice.  The enemy simply out numbered them and had more fire power.  By putting distance between the fighters and their capitol ship support, they could try to even out the odds a bit before the big ships trudged their way through the atmosphere.  The reasoning doubled for taking out the corvette since it would arrive quicker than the frigate.

All things considered, I am amazed we haven't yet lost anyone. 


(OCC: Yes, Cyleaf, you control what Will does in the story.  Now for the whole squadron, the enemy nor Nazgul is getting any less docile.)
 
-----------------------
EXO/CWO Than Sion/Kaph 5/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)(=MA=)[LoM][VC:S][CBV][MC:1][SWC]{VB}

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers, unless you have a lot of cookies to throw in opposite corners to distract them.

Than Sion brought his fighter up into a immelman over the Mesjo Ocean.  The aqua marine color would have been breath taking in any other situation.  Well it still was breath taking, but with a more literal meaning for a shot down pilot.  It was a miracle that the two pilots that were down were able to limp back to base. 

"Six, I'm going to take on that X-Wing harassing Seven," informed Than.  "You split and take on another target of your choosing, but stay close."

"I copy that Five," replied Dredj as he broke starboard.

Than Sion barred down on the X, releasing a hail storm of cannon fire as he came into range.  The energy aurora around the fighter became visible with the touch of his green streaks.  Sion was coming in too fast.  He reduced throttle and brought himself into a roll.  He leveled out and turned port to get himself on the six of the X-Wing.  The enemy pivoted immediately, keeping Sion from getting a clean shot off on him.  Without warning, the X-Wing pilot banked starboard hard.  But it didn't throw Five off, he followed it flawlessly.  You don't end up in the Elite Squadron at random.

"Dredj, what's your status?" asked Sion.  "Because I need you over here."

"I helped get two more of the A-Wings along with 2 Flight, Duce Element," replied Blake.  "I'm heading your way."

The enemy fighter went into a sudden, sharp dive.  Sion grinned under his black helmet that bore the crest of Kaph Squadron.  He followed into the dive.  Sion brought the fighter into a cork screw around the enemy's flight path.  He throttled back midway and leveled off, right behind the enemy.  Got to love the spiral dive.

The enemy made a valiant effort at evading Sion further, but it was hopeless.  Two Flight Leader was in the X's elbow.  He had pounded the shields until the display showed them to be red when all of a sudden the X-Wing slid  to the right.  Damn... The X-Wing exploded as Sion rushed past it...Dredj gets the kill.  Oh well, that was exactly the point of having him here in the first place.

Sion remembered back to his first operation.  During the mission he had been shot down by an X-Wing fighter.  How things had changed since then.  He left the icy surface of Bokura V as a Crewman and now had the highest rank achievable without commission.  He went from being a recruit, fresh out of the academy, to the executive officer of the most elite squadron in the VEN.  Yes, he had come a long way since then.  Now if only I could keep a stable wingman and I would be all set.

Ahead of him he watched Warmare's Interceptor take out one of the X-Wings.  Now that I have "grown up" it is my turn to look after the "children."  It is the responsibility of the veterans to teach the rookies how it is done.  If we like it or not, they are the future of the squadron.  We might as well make the best of it.

(OCC: Still five left guys.)

-----------------------
EXO/CWO Than Sion/Kaph 5/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)(=MA=)[LoM][VC:S][CBV][MC:1][SWC]{VB}

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers, unless you have a lot of cookies to throw in opposite corners to distract them.

The enemy's squadrons were now reduced to a flight each.  It was then, as if on cue, that the hammer like form of the CR90 poked out of a patch of clouds. 

"This is Kaph Leader; it seems that the plan worked.  Three Flight, keep those remaining fighters off of the rest of the squadron's back; we're going in.  One flight will take the first run, quickly followed by Two Flight's second wave.  We'll repeat this pattern until the Corvette falls into the ocean as a pillar of flames, this doesn't mean you shouldn't cover your own skins if you get in a sticky situation with a fighter.  That would come first; we can't afford to loose too many of us this early in the battle against the capital ships.  The key is to do this quickly since we will not have a lot of time before the Lancer shows up."

The key phrase is "this early."  Sion knew it wasn't only he that picked up the significance of those two words.  The chances were that not many of them would survive the Lancer's fury.  May it be that our skills help us beat the odds.

It began.  Flight one came into range of the CR90's cannons.  The guns shifted as they picked a target and began to fire.  The fighters in One Flight broke apart from their diamond formation, attacking from multiple angles on the ship.  Willtconq was the first to get a hit.  The shield turned a bluish, purple around the concussion missile's explosion.  Waves of superheated atmosphere shot out from the small ball of fire that was against the CR90's port deflector shield.  It would take much more than that.  The enemy ship took a couple more missile hits before Flight One's run was over.

"Ok 2 Flight, it is our turn," shouted Sion.  "Be quick with making a lock and watch those guns!"

Let it be that they were all listening.


Kaph 9


It was the same position in the same squadron, yet Skylla couldn't shake the feeling that she was starting over.  It beyond doubt had a lot to do with the fact that there were no familiar faces among her flight.  In Kaph's last battle, 3 Flight had been reduced to only her.  Two were killed and one turned out to be a defector bent on revenge.

She had turned to drinking after they returned to Abrae for she believed it had been her fault.  At the climax she was pretty much never sober.  That is when Than stepped in and saved her from herself.  To believe at that moment she hated him for it.  In her alcohol induced fog she saw him as the man trying to take away the one thing that numbed the pain.  She thought that he too blamed her for the deaths of her flight members and that he was trying to punish her for it by taking away the bottle. 

But when she sobered up she realized that he didn't pull here out of the Enlisted Club because he was livid about what "she had done" but because he loved her.  He was not there to hurt but help.  And I had the nerve to "bite the hand that saved me."  Yes, it was not he who hurt me but I that hurt him.  Thank God that he is an understanding and forgiving man.  Thank God that he helped bring me back from the shadows and brought me back to the right path... 


(OCC: Thanks for posting Dredj.  Aristoc, for now you are Kaph 11 in 3 Flight.)

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EXO/CWO Than Sion/Kaph 5/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)(=MA=)[LoM][VC:S][CBV][MC:1][SWC]{VB}

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers, unless you have a lot of cookies to throw in opposite corners to distract them.

Etan listened to the com. chatter, as the single base technician and two droids worked feverishly to repair his Tie. It seemed as though it had been hours since he had been grounded from his flight by a single error in movement on his part. In fact, it had only been minutes. Twenty two minutes and fifteen seconds to be exact. He knew this because he kept constant watch on the chronometer, while those bumbling idiots did virtually nothing to get him back in space.

The technician climbed out of the cockpit. Approaching Etan warily, the wookie roared. Not knowing wookie he stood outside the reach of the frustrated Etan. " I'm sorry sir, but I can't isolate the problem. All you primary flight and engine systems seem to be in working order, but your secondary systems, what we call support sys....". Etan cut him off, yelling wookie obscenities. Etan strode towards the disabled Tie. This particular wookie had worked on numerous spacecraft and was an accomplished technician himself.

He climbed into the cramped Tie fighter cockpit. Oh, how he missed his Advanced Tie fighter. Now, that was a craft to be reckoned with. On it there was plenty of room for a larger being such as himself. This was a most efficient craft, but never the less a cramped one.

Sitting down his elbow hit a breaker located just below and to the right of his right elbow while he tried to make room for his large furry body. Immediately, instruments came to life. Secondary systems came on-line. The technician watched in amazement as though the wookie was a master technician. Etan bellowed towards the technician " You dumb--- it was only a breaker disengaged..." with many expletives in between, as he closed the hatch ready for battle. The droids quickly backed away from the enlivened Tie fighter as Etan fired the engines ready to make his way back to his flight. The technician ran towards the controls for the hanger bay doors, giving Etan the thumbs up for launch as they slowly opened.

Donning his head gear, to get up to speed with the rest of his squadron, as he soared through the atmosphere, Etan accidentally hit the breaker with his elbow again. Secondary systems went offline. He was flying blind with no instruments again. Reaching over with his left hand, he flipped the switch. Communications, instruments and all secondary systems were back on-line. He had to remember that this cockpit was much smaller than he was used to and to not do that in the middle of a combat situation.

With everything in mind he soared towards the upper atmosphere to rejoin his squadron. This time would be different. He had made his first kill with the help of his flying partner Hellkite. Univeral translators automatically engaged, Etan called to Hellkite trying to locate his position.

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Grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling, diction, effectiveness in the science, and larger elements are the facts at hand. The Harbrace College Handbook edited by JOHN C. HODGES

FM/LCR/Etan Evnstar/Kaph/Flight 3/Atrus/off/VEN/VE/Aviation certificate

Than Sion gripped the handles of his flight yoke tightly.  He shouldn't be so nervous going up against the CR90, especially when it would be followed up by the Lancer.  But for some reason he was; probably not for himself but the others.  Some of them were not yet very experienced in the art of fighter combat.  But he couldn't let these emotions get the better of him; he would die if he did.

He pressed down the thumb with the green button under it as soon as he heard the soothing sound of the missile lock confirmation beep.  He pivoted left, just missing one of the turret's mark.  He didn't stay around to see where his birdie ended up.  He immediately pulled is fighter up in to an Immelman.  In the 5 seconds flat that it took to initiate the maneuver, the battle had progressed greatly.  Most of one of the missiles energy had made it through a week point on the shield, slaging the turret on the highest point of the Corvette.  At least one other of the turrets had been taken out and the shields had received a tremendous amount of damage, especially the aft deflector shield.  Having that in mind, Sion dove on the CR90 in a barrel roll to avoid the enemy's fire.  He ended his spinning and oriented himself toward the Corvette's engine block slightly before his flight path intersected with the tail end of the CR90's.  He quickly got a lock on the heat signature and let two of the mighty projectiles rip.  He then got his ass out of their before the enemy gunners could lock onto him and commit an act of retroactive retaliation.  The birdies smacked the shield hard, so hard in fact that it couldn't handle it.

"Kaph 5 to Kaph 1, I opened the back door for you."

"Thanks five," replied Will.  "Now let's finish it, 1 Flight, before they get the gerbil to run on the wheel hooked up to the generator again."

"How is 3 Flight doing with fighter cover?" asked Sion out of curiosity.

"We're doing just fine with out you boys' help," stated Skylla.  "The A-Wings are no more and the X-Wings are down to a single element.  It is all a matter of a mop up operation now."

Than was glad to hear that Skylla was back into the game for this mission.  He had feared that she hadn't gotten over last mission's incident.  Thank God she is strong.

"For this part of the battle maybe, but not for the next," said Will, interrupting Five's train of thought.  It isn't over until the fat lady sings.

If one were to observe the battle from a decent distance away, one would see that it took only three points of light from the clutches to pull the plug on the CR90 Corellian Corvette.  Gravity didn't give the Imperials the pleasure of seeing the ship break in half as it would in the void.  It crashed into the ocean on its starboard side shooting water a hundred feet into the air. 

It happened not a moment too soon, for its bad tempered sister had finally made it to the show.  She was not alone.  In the Lancer's wake followed a fresh squadron of X-Wings and two assault landing craft.

"There is going to be a hell of a battle ahead, sir," remarked Sion to Will.

"No," replied Will. "Because hell isn't this bad..."


(OCC: Thank you Hellkite for posting.  As you can see I am trying to wrap this story up quickly.  The forces mentioned in this story are the last of them.  I would like for us to flash create about 3 NPCs to die at the hands of the Lancer.  No need to post a profile or anything; you shouldn't be thinking that hard about it to write one.  I just need form us all to write about them.)

 
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EXO/CWO Than Sion/Kaph 5/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=A=)(=*SA*=)(=MA=)[LoM][VC:S][CBV][MC:1][SWC]{VB}

--Temporary SC of Kaph

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers, unless you have a lot of cookies to throw in opposite corners to distract them.

Enzadi's gripped tightened on the control yoke as he flew in his temporary Echo flight. His eyes darted about the sky as Echo Squadron continued to descend in formation. He chuckled a bit.

"Soon I'll be a Kaph," he thought. "Soon."

Echo Leader sent out a squadron wide message. "This is Echo Leader. We will begin making our attack vector shortly. Except for you, Eleven." That was Enzadi. The dwindling numbers of the VEN had led to not every squadron being full, or even have a full numbers worth of pilots. Echo Squadron was no exception. "Echo Eleven, you will be linking up with Kaph Five. He needs a wingman." Kaph Five's, a pilot named Than Sion, wingman had been shot down, and apparently he noticed the unevenness of Echo Squadron, so he contacted Echo Leader requesting a wingman. He must have been surprised to hear that, by fate, his squadron had been escorting a new kaph pilot. After this somber announcement, Echo Leader's tone changed from that of a briefing superior to a boisterous uncle once more. "Let's give it up for Kaph...Six!" he shouted over the squadron com, to the rest of Echo Squadron cheering for Enzadi. He smiled.

"Thank you, Echo Leader. It's been great flying with you guys."

Enzadi chuckled again at what had transpired. In his mind, he saw himself entering to the Squadron at rest, getting to know everyone at ease. Joking with his wingman. Bonding with the element, that was the term they used at the Academy But now, here was thrust into battle in a fairly foreign craft, having someone he didn't know have to cover his tail.

"Life is strange," Enzadi thought. He was interrupted once more by Echo Leader.

"Alright, Kaph Six. Take point. We'll escort you until you meet up with your wingman."

"Copy that, Echo Leader."

He flew into the point position, Echo Ten covering him.  He tuned the Aggressor's communication into the Kaph specific channel. He cleared his throat, planning his words carefully.

"Kaph Five, this is Kaph Six. What's your current position?"

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FM/SCR Enzadi Malko/Kaph 6/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=*A*=)[SoA]

Watching the enemy ship crach into the ocean gave dredj an overexcited feeling. He could hardly contain his happineess that for a second he let go of the controls, *bad idea*. He quickly grabbed them and smiled. WOW, that was  a stupid idea. He looked around and saw the second enemy ship, The Lancer. He had been waiting for this ship to arrive. He turned his ship towards tthe lancer and shot straight at it. He flew to Thans 3 and they wen in fast hard.

This was going to be a really good battle.
 
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EFM/LCR dredj/Kaph 9/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/ (=A=)


We go in fast, silent and hard and our enemies get caught with their pants down. Hail Kaph Elite Squadron, Flight 2. Hoorah!

Enzadi gripped the Aggressor's yoke a little bit tighter.

"Cover him," the Strangler thought. "That's fine with me."

Enzadi's eyes scanned the scan, to his instrument panel, back to the firmament that lay outside, to his wingman, to the instrument panel, which indicated the approach of an X-Wing bandit on his and Than's tail. He could Split-S into an Immelman, but Than would be dead by then. Which meant court-martial for him, and most likely a dishonorable discharge.

His mother's words rang in his head. "I hope my only son will one day do something with his life." Mother. Uma.

"I will not let you down," he thought. Thinking fast, he reached for the yoke which controlled the back turret of the Aggressor. He manipulated it until his hand seemed used to it.It was a little weird, and he had to improvise for lack of training at the Academy. He sighed. He was glad to be off of Abrae. He shook himself, not letting his mind wander. The controls of the turret were reversed, and Enzadi had to both manipulate the turret and navigate the hybrid bomber.

"What are you up to, Kaph Six?" Than asked over the com. There was a bit of wariness in his voice.

"He must be troubled by my lack of maneuvers," Enzadi thought. He glanced to his intrument panel, and the rear radar installed in the craft marked enemy cannon fire heading for him. He made his move. He pulled into a Barrel Roll, and let loose a fury of cannon fire from the rear turret.

"What the hell are you doing, Six?" Than roared at him.

"Hold on, Kaph Five!" he yelled back. Yet having to defend his thinking didn't break his concentration. With moderate accuracy, the rear turret fire struck the bandit's cockpit before he could reconfigure his shields to deflect rear fire. Enzadi couldn't see, but the cockpit glass shattered, and the pilot was killed. As the X-Wing fell, Enzadi righted himself from the roll, yet he continued to send salvo after salvo of cannon fire at the bandit until he couldn't anymore.

"That was a nice trick, Kaph Six," Than said after he righted himself.

"For my next one, watch as I pull a Super Star Destroyer out of my ass," the Strangler replied, smiling a bit. Than laughed.

"We might actually work, him and I," Enzadi thought, looking to the renewed offensive of X-Wings.



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FM/SCRW Enzadi Malko/Kaph 6/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE(=*A*=)[SoA]