It’s been… well, a few weeks, actually. It seemed like forever since Darian last walked the halls of Cappadocius Station, but in reality it hadn’t been too long since he graduated from the refresher course he had to take when he finally returned to the Vast Empire. Returned from the affair on Bakura, that is. He wasn’t down here for basic training, though. He was down here to practice a skill he should have. He had a revelation after the Battle above Abrae two days before. Had that battle gone awry, it might have become the Battle on Abrae. I would’ve needed to be good at atmospheric combat. I might even have had to know how to attack ground targets, had the worst come to pass. I need to do this.

So, somehow, he managed to arrange a trench run. He would fly an Interceptor through “The Trench” on Abrae, avoiding dying while at the same time bombing and strafing various practice targets scattered throughout without actually being afforded the convenience of a ship actually suited to bombing.
And there he was, sitting in his fighter, waiting to be cleared for takeoff. He had already run all preflight checks, and was simply awaiting the order to go. He had also reviewed all possible targets before coming to the station, and as soon as those targets that had been selected for him were placed, he would proceed.
“Senior Crewman Darian Rogue,” a voice said over the comm. “You are cleared to take off and start your trench run. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Darian said through the comm, proceeding to apply thrust. He maneuvered his way into the canyon and stopped at somewhere midway to the bottom on the y-axis. Better to be closer to the top, should there be any problems.

“Senior Crewman,” said a voice on the comm. “Your first target is an XX-10 Turbolaser Tower. It will be firing infrared light beams at you, so turn on your targeting computer so you can see them. Your score will be reduced for each hit you take. The tower is protecting what will be your next target: an open air skiff, but more on that later. Take out that tower.”
Hmm, Darian thought. Let’s see. He turned on his targeting computer, and flew quickly but carefully in the direction of the target. Then he saw it. It almost looks like a real turbolaser tower, but I know better. Darian found it unlikely that the VE would sacrifice a perfectly good XX-10 for these purposes. Then again, most simulations are virtual. Who knows? Darian was distracted from those thoughts, however, as, indeed, the “turbolaser” tower was “firing” upon him. On his targeting computer he saw the beams of light come towards him, and he quickly reacted to get out of the line of fire. Not quick enough, he got hit by the first barrage, but he was able to continue dodging the rest of the tower’s barrage. I may be at a disadvantage when it comes to bombing, seeing as how I’m not in a bomber, but at least Interceptors are easily maneuverable. Now, for the moment of truth.

By Darian’s knowledge of physics, the fact that he was moving means he had momentum, and therefore so did anything in his hold… such as, say, a bomb. This means that he could not drop a bomb when he was directly overhead the tower, as the bomb would still have momentum and would overshoot it by far. At the same time, it was difficult to determine exactly when before the tower was the best point to fire. Not every day I have to do math in my head for this job. Let’s see… if this fighter masses… and I’m going… Let’s see, vertical and horizontal components… Darian continued to think in this way, much more quickly than he ever did in physics class. The best point to drop the bomb would be right about… here. He pressed the button that released a bomb twice, and immediately realized his mistake. Damn, I forgot to account for the wind. Nevertheless, one of his bombs still struck in the part of the tower where the turbolaser cannons would be. That’s really all that’s necessary. If the cannons are taken out, whether or not the people handling them are, the tower isn’t a threat.

“Alright,” said the voice over the comm. “Your next target is the skiff I told you about earlier. It’s a Personnel Skiff Model IV and was transporting NR forces to their secret base around here when it hit the sides of the Trench and crashed. There were no survivors, but the NR doesn’t yet know about its loss, as that tower you destroyed hadn’t yet communicated the fact. Destroy all trace.”
Using similar principles of physics as before, Darian could calculate exactly where to fire, but this time he had much less margin for error, as the target was not a tall thing that could be hit in quite a few places. It was a tiny speck comparatively, and Darian needed to be careful. Now, I hope I’ll just remember to account for the wind. I’m just lucky TIEs have velocity wind meters. Of course, I’m sure a bomber would have systems that do all these calculations FOR you, but I haven’t been afforded that luxury, which is good because those systems could very well fail at any time. Darian made the necessary calculations and fired at what he thought was the correct time. The bomb missed; just barely, but it still did miss. Frak. He pulled hard on the yoke to turn himself upside down, and went backwards a-ways. Only after he was sufficiently far away did he right himself and speed back towards the skiff. This time, his strike was much more successful. The explosion that followed was a true spectacle; a bright flash of light, a low crash of sound, and the utter obliteration of what was once a fake open-air skiff’s remains.

The mission continued to have Darian eliminate a New Republic tank that had set out to find the skiff that hadn’t reported back to base yet. Using similar tactics as before, he made quick wind of it.
Then came the interesting part.

“Alright, Crewman,” said the mission overseer. “Your next target is a whole lot of New Republic infantry dug into the sides of the cliff on the way to their base. They are the initial guards. Take them out by strafing.”
Finally something easy, Darian thought. Indeed, strafing in an Interceptor would be a lot easier than bombing; just aim and shoot, that’s all he needed to do.

Turns out it wasn’t so simple when in a very narrow canyon as he was; he had to make sure he didn’t fly backwards into the cliff and kill himself, but he managed. He unleashed a destructive volley of quad-linked blaster fire on the infantry; they didn’t even know what hit them.
Then came the real test.

“Ok, Crewman. Your final target is so difficult when you’re not in a bomber, that we’re counting it as extra credit. Should you succeed, points will be added as normal, but none will be deducted if you should fail. Take out the bunker ahead. Gotta get an explosion inside, turn on your targeting computer so you can see the blasts from the anti-aircraft cannons.”

Oh goody, ballistic angles. Let’s see. After turning on his targeting computer, Darian surveyed the range of the defense of the anti-aircraft cannons. Surely I should stay outside that range. I have to focus on aiming, can’t be dodging blasts. Stay outside he did, and he began formulating his plan. Given this wind speed, I better stay right about here, and I need to aim at about -40 degrees from the x-axis. The propulsion combined with the wind should bring this where I want to… I hope. All set up, he fired his volley at the view window of the bunker, and succeed he did not, for just at the last moment, the wind dropped; so too did Darian’s torpedoes, as they fell the ground a few meters away from the bunker, totally harmless to those inside.

Drat. I need more practice. I hope I have enough points. Then he headed home.

OOC:

IT’S FINALLY COMPLETE!!!!
WC: 1,384.
AAR: Darian takes out target after target to learn bombing and strafing techniques. He does not succeed in destroying the bunker at the end, but other than that does fairly well. Note that this takes place just after the Battle of Abrae but before DR's promotion to PO2, hence why he's still a Senior Crewman in-post.