Star Wars OPEN Star Wars: Black Sheep (Always Accepting New Players)

IC: Baniss Vermillion

Baniss spent some time in the cockpit looking for targets to send to the turrets, then started looking for threats that would be on their escape vector. He’d heard someone come in asking about a turret, he was going to answer when Holly came in and told the new guy.

At least these people shoot when I find targets, as opposed to complaining that’s all I do. Stupid Ransom.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik

 

~OOC~ Joint post between @Adalia-Durron, @darthbernael and myself. Many thanks!!


~IC~ Feral, Zephyr, Amber and Cassell
Location: Corellian YT-2000 Valkyria - En route to Amber’s last known position

Feral saw the ramp closing, saw Joy’s hesitation and prepared himself to stop her from darting back out into the heat, humidity, and danger of the compound. But she settled, and after a moment seemed to find some energy. She closed on him and, before he knew it, her lips were pressed to his. And then was gone, headed toward the cockpit.

He was still sitting there mourning the lost friends and feeling the warmth still on his lips when he looked up and saw the look on Traer’s face. That caused him to laugh. For such a loudmouth he was proving more and more to be a prude. And then a voice broke his reverie.

He looked up and saw the bluish, reptilian female at the rear hatch who had spoken to him. A chuckle formed at first as he walked over to her. ”I’m Captain Ordwgal, but I go by Feral.” he said by way of greeting.

He glanced back where Joy had gone, turned back and in a quieter voice, ”She went through a lot there, in the short time she was with us. And I promised her father and mother I’d take care of her.”

Shaking his head once more, focusing, ”Nevermind, we can talk about that later, you said you needed help with something. What can I do?”

“Ordwaggle?” Zephyr tilted her head as she mispronounced his name. “Feral sounds like you might have rabies, what were your parents thinking?”

She gestured skyward while displaying a comical look of disbelief.

“I’m Zephyr, Zephyr Trillo. That’s admirable of you to have adopted poor Joy into your custody but she is fine for now. Helping hands can be abundant but reliable help is in short supply and you look the reliable sort.” Zephyr explained. “Better than asking the grease monkey since he and Lou seem a bit amorous at the moment. I’d tell them to knock it off and get a room but they might end up in one of the guest cabins on this ship and Skipper won’t be pleased if they leave a mess.”

She then lead Feral over to the boarding ramp control panel as she continued on. ”You be more suited at recovering our lost pussycat. I’ll give you this harness and hook you to the winch. While you go down to pick her up, I’ll cover you with this ‘old reliable’.”

He chuckled, ”Well...my first name is Finnfrael. So between early commanders not being able to pronounce that and how they said I fly it stuck. I’ve answered to it since before the Clone Wars so I’m used to it.”

He looked at the harness and the large weapon she held. ”So we have a downed birdy and need a pararescue. Got it. This should be fun.” He took the blaster rifle he’d stolen from a Stormtrooper and combat slung it as he stepped in to the harness and prepared for when they reached the spot where the downed fighter was.

“I would have thought Fin or fræl would have be logical. At least it’s not from rabies...” she then chuckled. “Fun? Sure it is! I be you are the life of the party. Is that how you ended up in the camp? There are better places to have a very good time.” Zephyr remarked.

She then tilted her head away as Cassell’s voice came through her headset.

“What’s taking so long? Still here waiting to go, slow pokes.” Zephyr said in response to Cassell then looked back to Finnfrael. “We’re a few minutes out. He’ll swoop us in, deploy the ramp and we pull her out.”

---

Amber lay on the tree branch, above her the remnants of the battle continued, nearby she knew the remaining troopers were still searching but thanks to the serpent, they were taking a wide birth from her. Empty, that was what she felt. Her 'husband' was still alive, she had crashed and had no ship or way out and it was only a matter of time before the Empire found her. Then 'he'd' find her.

Then her life would be over.

She watched and listened and even 'felt' what she could but no one knew where she was, even those looking. Turning behind her she saw the fork in the tree, near where her droid now sat silently, and decided she needed to be back there beside him. Climbing was difficult as the rain had left everything wet and she slipped more than a couple times, nearly falling once, but found her way to the nearby fork. Nestling her buttocks into the joined branches she sat back leaning her body against the tree's trunk. Looking up she could now see the moon and she sighed softly before reaching around and bringing her hair forward. "Just us Squirt." she muttered to the silent droid, she could not risk him being activated, not yet. Her braid had come lose, so after undoing it fully, she used her fingers to 'brush' it out and staring at the moon she began to braid it again. It seemed crazy but to her it brought a touch of sanity to this crazy situation, a peace she had to wonder if it would be her last.

---

Cassell didn’t even dignify Zephyr’s jab with a response as he kept the Valkyria on course and dangerously low to the treetops. He was using what tricks he knew to minimise their signature on the sensors and make themselves less of target all while while going as fast as possible to reach their downed comrade. The strength of the shields were slowly diminishing as power were siphoned away to boost the output of the engines while the multifunction display showed the distance from the marker of Amber’s last recorded position.

The flight path would bring them towards the airfield where the Imperial presence was escalating. Who knows how many Imperial crafts have slipped past Flagg’s group. At least they will be on their way once the rescue is done.

“Gunners, keep your eyes open. Who knows what may come our way. Three minutes away from target.” Cassell warned.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, @Adalia-Durron, @adaml83, @Bodhran777, @darthbernael, @galactic-vagabond422, @Mistress_Renata, @Mitth_Fisto, @Rebecca_Daniels, @Sarge, @Sinrebirth, @The Real Kyp Durron, @TheAdmiral, @Vehn

 

Ic MacKenzie Hollymander
Base of Dorsal Turret - Valkyria


MacKenzie allowed a small yet sad smile. "No prison camp is designed to be pleasant." He'd not been in one but had been part of sending many to them. There were so many regrets in his life and he wondered when he'd get it right. "Major MacKenzie Hollymander." He shrugged. "They call me Holly mostly." He looked to where Zephyr was and noted a man he did not know gearing up. A frown creased his forehead because he had no idea what was going on. He called up to Traer. "I'll be nearby if you need me but it looks like you have this covered." Not waiting for an answer he made is way over to Zephyr holding on to various bulkhead pieces as the ship was shuddering a little. "What's going on Zeph?" He asked curiously looking to the new man.


Tag @Corellian_Outrider @darthbernael

 

B Flight Combo. You know what that means.

IC: Kayn & Zara
Dancing in the Dark

A thick squall embedded in the thunderstorms obscured visibility and passive sensors. Kayn went to standby on active sensors and blinked his navigation lights once then switched them off, signaling Zara to go to silent running mode. The Strikers behind them shouldn't be able to find the A-wings in the rain and dark, not unless their sensors were a whole lot better than those of standard TIE's.

After a minute of very uncomfortable blind flying, the rain thinned and visibility improved. Kayn looked around for Zara's black ship. I ought to paint that damn thing neon yellow with fluorescent pink stripes just so I can find her! There was no sign of pursuers. He hoped A Flight was holding their own over the airfield.

Switching active sensors on again, he picked up six targets ahead, the two troop haulers and their four escorts. Their airspeed was just over 600, which was consistent with the LAAT/i specs in his neural database: top speed 620. Two hundred klicks to the prison, so about twenty minutes flying time to get there. But the Strikers look like they can go better than 1500, if they leave the gunships behind they could be there in about five minutes. Good thing they're staying in formation. Two of the Strikers peeled away from their formation and turned toward the A-wings. Frackers must have picked up my sensors pinging them. At least they're not heading toward the prison.



Flying in weather was never Zara's preference-- any weather: snow, rain, sun, whatever else a world could throw at them-- but she was glad to have it when it was in their favour. More worlds need climate control, she mused as her ship went dark, hopefully disappearing alongside Kayn's in the clouds. Denon never had storms, and the Imperial climate control station made certain there was an appropriate amount of sun per year, not that those who lived on the lower levels ever got to see it. The scheduled rainfall only ever dripped down through the buildings, dangerous and full of pollution by the time it made it to her father's apartment. But at least there wasn't lightning.

Luckily, the trick seemed to have worked, and the Strikers were nowhere to be seen-- and better yet, the gunships were clear ahead... with their escorts, who now seemed very aware of the two A-wings as she turned sensors back online. "You better have a plan, Five."

"Plan to shoot them down."

Kayn reactivated his jammer to throw off the Striker's targeting sensors as a pair of the escorts charged head-on and opened fire. He jinked around the long-range fire which quickly became short-range fire. The snap-shot he fired in return missed cleanly, then the first pair of escorts was past him and he was closing fast on the gunships and the remaining Strikers. He got active locks and launched his last pair of missiles at the fighters which peeled away in evasive turns, leaving the troop carriers momentarily exposed. One of their turret gunners was alert to the threat and scored a solid hit on Rebel Rouser's forward shields. Kayn instantly fired back, his heavy blasters ripping into the fuel lines of the fat and slow LAAT/i. It caught fire, rolled over awkwardly, and fell into the jungle.

"'Plan to shoot them down,''" she muttered to herself, priming missiles then thinking better of it. Kayn was ever so useful. The Strikers closed the distance quickly, green laser blasts illuminating the sky as they missed, but it wasn't enough to distract. As they closed, Zara switched to single fire and sent a full-powered blast at one of the Strikers, catching the edge of a wing as it whipped past. She couldn't see the results but the ship remained on her sensors so it must have glanced off the shields or the wing itself. Pity.

Now it was time for missiles, as Kayn distracted the remaining escorts and bit into the first LAAT/i. The second was in range and her computer confirmed a target lock. Both missiles veered wildly off course, missing the transport entirely and exploding in the jungle below. Countermeasures, or a bad shot? Or bad missiles, after her problems earlier with the system. No way to say now, but she switched back to lasers just in case.

The burning wreckage of the first LAAT/i tumbled through the jungle canopy, setting fire to the trees around it.

One down, one to go...

Before Kayn could maneuver for a shot at the second one, lock-on warnings blared. He turned hard and broke the lock. He saw Zara was in a good position to kill the remaining gunship, but there was a Striker moving in behind her. In an instant he had a target lock on it, and it quickly turned away before he could shoot. The other three Strikers were all moving to attack both of the A-wings, but they weren't quite there yet.

"Zero, you're all clear for about the next two seconds, shoot the gunship!"

Two seconds. Right. Both cannons linked, Zara risked the half-second to wait for the lock. Transports were slow, but she had to make the shot count before the Strikers interrupted their run.

Her linked blast connected with the transport's engine, a gout of flame turning quickly to smoke. The transport veered, slowly losing altitude without thrusters to keep it aloft. Turret fire splashed against her shields, but it was a last-ditch effort from a doomed craft and Zara paid it no mind; now for the half-squints.

"Nice shot, Zero! Now let's weave, they're gonna be all over us in about no seconds."

B Flight had used the weave maneuver to offset superior numbers before. It was a tactic also designed to compensate for lower speed and maneuverability, which was seldom an issue for A-wings, but was becoming critical for dogfighting against the specialized atmospheric Strikers.

Kayn cut diagonally across Zara's tail, blasters blasting, and scattered the Imps behind her, then reversed his bank angle so she could return the favor. He spared an instant to scan the second LAAT/i, wanting to confirm it was down and out. FRACK! The gunship had stabilized low over the treetops, engine fire extinguished, and was continuing toward the prison camp at about half its previous speed. As the cripple and the dogfight drifted apart, the escorts peeled away from the A-wings to reform on the gunship. Obviously they were under orders to maintain close escort.

Numbers flashed through Kayn's brain: 200 klicks from starport to prison camp, maybe 150 klicks still to go, LAAT/i top speed 620, cripple going maybe half that fast, call it 300, so 150 klicks divided by 300 kph meant the transport would still need about 30 minutes to arrive at the prison. Switching frequencies to the rescue group, Kayn transmitted, "Black 13, Black 5, we are engaged with one damaged troop transport and four escorts, inbound to the camp from 150 klicks out, airspeed 300, ETA half an hour. We'll hold them as long as we can." He was tempted to suggest Taab expedite their withdrawal, but no doubt the Mandalorian was already doing everything he could.

Back on B Flight freq, he called Zara. "You're a genius, Z! The escorts won't leave the gunship alone and crippled, so as long as we linger nearby, we've got them tied down. We just have to maintain a credible threat. Cover me."

"I don't know about that," Zara muttered to herself but switched her lasers back to a lower power with faster spread. Lighting up their shields ought to distract from whatever Kayn was going to do next.



The Strikers had to give up their speed advantage due to their close escort role, but they still had their insane maneuverability. So if I grab a little altitude and swoop down toward their tails at high speed like this, I bet one element will break toward me, which will leave them in that position- The Imp flew straight into his sights at the instant he fired. The bolts caught the Striker right in the power converters and it vanished in a searing white flash. Now that's a credible threat.

Kayn pulled up and away into a victory roll that took him clear of the Imps before they could retaliate. He was grinning like a happy demon; finally, he had an edge over the Strikers. Losing is for losers.


TAG: @Rebecca_Daniels

 

IC: Arick “Boss” Flagg, Maxime "Max" Pallas, Ethan "Vet" Malek
The Aces of Able Flight
Airbase at SonTay...or what's left of it

"Oh, come ON!" Max looked around in disgust and disbelief. "We've been here for less than 15 minutes, there is no way in all the hells they launched that fast!" They would have to have been waiting in their cockpits, ready for a scramble, which made no sense. She looked around. B flight --all two of them-- were headed for the gunships, hoping to keep them from reaching the Valkyria. There were four Strikers escorting and Malek had said he'd assist.

Max was inclined to join him, but she didn’t want to abandon her wingman. She looked around. Flagg was still in the air, she couldn’t see what he was targeting. "Boss?"

Ethan opened fire in the direction of the strikers, he was confused how they were able to get them into the air so quickly. But then a thought returned to his mind. There is a traitor in the squadron, they might have already just been waiting for us. Ironically Max was one of the few people in the squadron he was absolutely sure wasn´t a traitor. "Keeping the pressure on them," he told Max via com, "will do my best to keep them divided."

"Cut the chatter Two," Flagg ordered. He wasn't sure there was a traitor within their midst, he knew his own squadron could have launched on 15 minutes notice without much effort, but that didn't mean that the Imperials could have without advanced notice. However now wasn't the time to hash that out, there would be plenty of time for recriminations after the mission. Assuming of course they weren't all just arrested and thrown in the brig when they got back. Right now though they had to make sure they could get back.

"All right, Two," he commed out again as he surveyed the wrecked airfield. "Let's gain some altitude so we can keep the remaining Striker's busy." There wasn't anything left to do to the airfield, and so no reason to maintain air superiority there. "Maybe get them to follow us up high and away from the crash site..."

Max nodded. "Copy." As she pulled over to the right, she spotted one of the Strikers which was just starting to get airborne. Too low to maneuver, and a nice fat target. Two quick blasts from the cannon and it was gone, the remains smashing back on to the field. "Smoke one," she said. That should rile up the rest of them. She hoped Digger was keeping track of all these for the report. She pulled up the nose of her ship, going to join Flagg, but in a more open position than they would usually adopt, so that there would be room for action.

Ethan destroyed another striker with his now more precise shots, the enemy numbers where dwindling but they were still quite a distance away from having secured the air again. More and more tough thoughts of Amber entered his mind, as much as he tried to concentrate on the battle in front of him the more it seemed to slip away. Was Amber okay, or would he loose yet another squadmate?

As Flagg pulled up high away from the ground, Max at his wing, he watched as most the TIE Strikers attempted to get themselves organized. Once the Black Sheep could figure out that the Imperials were up to, they could adapt their own tactics to best disrupt their plans.

"Looks like most are trying to set up a CAP," (Combat Air Patrol) "over the airfield." Flagg commented to the remainder of his flight. If that were the case they could probably be mostly ignored. The airfield was a wreck, and was never the Black Sheep's primary target anyway, the POW camp was. If the Striker aloft were content to simply orbit over the field, well that was fine with Flagg.

There were of course the handful that were escorting the gunships headed out to reinforce the camp, but those were being dealt with by Baker flight with Veteran assisting. There was also the fact that those fighters protecting the airfield would be close enough to disrupt any efforts by the Valkyria to recover Vixen, and despite their orders to protect the airfield, no fighter pilot would give up the chance to down such a juicy target. That meant he and Max had to whittle down their numbers.

"Ok Two," he commed out to his wingman as he pulled his X-Wing over onto his port wing and began a shallow dive down towards the Strikers far below them. "Stay on my wing, we're going to blow through their formation from above, one pass haul ass, don't get in a turning engagement with them, they're more maneuverable than we are." He pushed the nose of his X-Wing farther down, turning his gentle descent into a steep dive as he set his sights on the nearest Striker.

"Got it, Boss," said Max, with a grin. Nice, simple orders. If Malek would stop hovering over Diva's crash site and join them, they could do a nice amount of damage in a fair amount of time. She opened up a bit, and cast one quick look around to make sure there was nothing behind or around them threatening danger. Then she joined Flagg in his dive, opening up at a Striker which was trying to get in a formation with its wingman. She saw a flash of flame, and it was falling back towards the airfield. Flagg's went up in a very impressive fireball, and he was pulling up again, while she followed him, scanning to see if they were getting any pursuit.

Ethan saw how Max and Flagg joined his attack on the strikers. The tide was turning more and more into their favor. Now if Amber is still alive, she hopefully at least has a clear sky above. Maybe the Valkyria could pick her up. As much as he tried to focus on the battle in front of him, his thoughts drifted time and time again to his friend, silently praying she was okay.

Max peered through the mist. Was it lightening? How soon to dawn? She heard a warning chirp and pulled around, down, and rolled. The Striker swooped past her, but its turn was too tight. They were almost next to each other. Black Sheep Squadron, the mighty rams of...damn it!

In trying to get away, the ship had pulled into Flagg's sights, and she pulled up to make sure he had a clear shot. A warning chirp from Digger had her glancing at her panel. "Fuel's low, Boss," she said. "We can't stay much longer."

As the lead element of Able flight slashed through towards the Strikers circling the airfield, the Imperial vessels nosed up to meet them, pouring on the throttle as they did so in an attempt to ruin the rebels firing solutions before they could get any shots off. Flagg rolled his X-Wing over onto it's port wing in an attempt to avoid a collision with the nearest rapidly approaching Striker, the one he had been targeting just moments before. It flashed past him as he began to pull up and out of his dive.

"Kriff." he let out as he realized he had ruined his chance on this pass, but just as he did so his forward view was filled by a looming TIE Striker dead ahead. Max had set him up perfectly with a the Striker directly in his sights. He pressed down on the firing stud getting off a snap shot of his quad linked laser cannons, blowing the offending vessel apart in a spectacular fireball.

"Fuel's low, Boss," his comm system came alive with Max's voice. "We can't stay much longer." Flagg took a moment to check on his own fuel status, they weren't bingo yet, but Max was right, it was getting close. "Just hold on a little longer..." The Valkyria should be on her way by now, and once they had Vixen secured, the Black Sheep were out of here.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Jocelyn "Joy" Sunwalker
Location: on-board the Valkyria

Before she could reply to Skipper she looked out of the forward viewport. Amidst the chaos outside she could see two figures huddled together. Her parents. They were looking at the ship. That made her eyes well again, but she bit the sob back. “I...” she started “Yes, I can do that.” Joy said simply and without waiting for any reply she headed towards the turret tubes, seeing that the dorsal was occupied she descended towards the ventral one.

Once in position she took the controls and the targeting computer came to life. Joy put on the audio headset and commed Skipper “I am in position.”

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @Corellian_Outrider @darthbernael @Sinrebirth @The Real Kyp Durron

 

GM Update

​

IC: Major Beskaryc Taab/Commander Flagg (NPC)
Battle of SonTay

"Black 13, Black 5, we are engaged with one damaged troop transport and four escorts, inbound to the camp from 150 klicks out, airspeed 300, ETA half an hour. We'll hold them as long as we can."

Taab acknowledged the signal from the Baker section leader with two clicks of his transmit button. The Devaronian pilot had enough on his hands right now to have to listen to more from Taab. That far out the issue would probably be resolved by the time the Valkyria arrived at Vixen's crashsite anyway, especially with pilots as skilled as Zara and Kayn. Even so he ordered the others in Delta and Charlie flights to go full throttle, though the latter had already done so. Taab had taken note that Black 11, the rookie pilot Kid, had broken formation before the orders had come through, while Valkyria was taking on passengers. Cadera likewise had broken off, intent on staying with his wingman rather than follow orders. That Taab would have expected on any wingpair, though Kid's sudden departure from formation was less than ideal, it wasn't that large a concern. The camp itself was a mess and Taab was already struggling to find targets to hit down there as the Valkyria lifted off and likewise had headed off in the direction of Vixen's crashsite. With their mission over the camp at an end it was time to organize their recovery of the downed pilot then.

"Ten, Eleven, this is 13." Taab called out to the pair of Y-Wings out in front of them after he thought things over for a minute. "We have Strikers inbound, slow until we can overtake and join you, then we go in together." Though the B-Wings were faster in the vacuum of space, the wishbones had a higher atmospheric top speed than the lumbering bombers and if they continued on as they were they would arrive far ahead of the B-Wings now in close escort of the Valkyria. That was no good as far as Taab was concerned, as even though Kid and Alor had proven to be excellent pilots, a pair of Y-Wings taking on four Strikers, in atmosphere, was a losing proposition. Better to take them all on together where at least the Black Sheep would have a numerical advantage. Taab waited for a moment for the pair of Y-Wings to acknowledge his order and was silently relieved when they did so. He knew Kid wanted to get out there and help Vixen, but the best way for them to do that was as a team. The fact that it also meant a better chance at killing more Imperials was icing on the cake for Taab.

As the two groups grew closer and closer Taab noticed that one of the Strikers had been downed, there were just three of them now, and the pair of A-Wings in baker flight were launching hit and run thrusts at them every so often, keeping them off balance. The Strikers adapted quickly, managing to keep the transport safe (though that seemed to be more a function of the A-Wings not actually targeting the damaged craft any longer) without losing any more of their number, but they were being exhausted by the constant hit and fade strikes form the pair of rebel fighters. That would make them prone to mistakes. As the merge got closer Taab heard another call go out over the squadron frequency.

"OK Baker, you've had your fun with them for long enough. leave the gunship to Delta and Charlie, we need your help out here." Flagg's normally monotonous voice sounded strained, the trio of X-Wings (Taab didn't know that Vet's X-Wing had gone off to join with Baker flight, they were still to far out for the low flying X-Wing to be picked up on his scanner) must have their own hands full with the Strikers over the airfield. Taab waited for a moment before chiming in. "Baker flight, we got this, go assist Able," he commed out to the A-Wings. A moment passed before they too broke broke off back towards the airfield, though it appeared the Strikers still rushing towards Delta and Charlie flights didn't notice their absence. Taab planned to use that to his advantage.

"All right Echo, hang back a bit here," he called the Valkyria by her flight call sign. "Charlie and Delta, they look to be going head to head with us..." The Strikers were still honoring the threat posed to them from behind by the now retreating Baker flight and in their own weary minds were going straight for their own objective. That was a mistake. "Let's see if we can take them out all in one pass..." he smiled to himself behind his faceplate as he put his pipper on the nearest fighter, it looked like it had been clipped already and he let loose with a long burst of fire from his wing mounter laser cannons watching it explode before switched targets to the lone smoking gunship. This he took out with a well placed single shot from his light turbo laser cannon, obliterating the already damaged vessel. Flying through the orange explosion he rapidly switched to the Iron Cross' chin mounted auto blasters, but there were no more targets to hit. As he had asked of them, Charlie and Delta flights had managed to wipe out the three fighters and the gunship in one pass and without taking any losses. Taab waggled his wings in appreciation for their efforts, with that taken care of there was just the recovery of Vixen to worry about. "Let's go get our girl."

OOC: GV, mitthy the two remaining fighters here can be taken out on a first come first served basis in your posts as we move from the camp to the crash site. Any of the Strikers not accounted for will be attributed to Quin or Cadera/Saeli.

---

Some time later as the flight homed in on Vixen's rescue beacon Flagg began to set them up for her retrieval. That was going to be problematic. Though the rebel fighters had kept the Strikers near the airbase off balance, they hadn't really whittled down their numbers much before the transport arrived, and now that she had, she was a primary target for the Imperial pilots. Especially as she had to slow to a low hover, or even put down, in order to retrieve the downed rebel pilot. The good news was that there were only a dozen of them now, and that was something Flagg was confidant the squadron could handle.

"Black Sheep, circle the wagons," Flagg commed out to the squadron as they all came together as a single fighting unit for the first time during the raid. "Stick with your flights and we daisy chain above Echo at different altitudes. Able up top, followed by Baker below and then Charlie and finally Delta down in the weeds." He set up each flight starting at their own height over the Valkyria as she settled down near the downed pilot. "As the Strikers go in for the rescue ship, the flight at the top of the column dives down on them, taking them out from above. When they dive, the group below them assumes their spot at the top of the chain, and the group below them assumes their old spot all the way down to the ground." He hoped he was being clear. "By the time the diving group has finished their attack run, each of the other flights should be in their new position, and we start again, this time with the new group at the top diving down and we all follow suit moving up as they do so. That way we keep an constant stream of fighters diving down on the Strikers." That should be clear enough, but next he sent out a quick warning. "Never give them a moments rest and don't get into a turning fight with them. As soon as your diving pass in finished, begin your ascent." Trying to engage them in a turning fight would be suicide for the wishbones and blades as the nimble Strikers outclassed even the A and X-wings down here in the atmosphere. "Hopefully they will be so busy dealing with the next group diving down on them that they won't be able to engage you as you ascend." Hopefully, though Flagg knew how often the plan lasted once shots had been fired. "Gunners on Echo, stay sharp, I doubt we can get them all." He paused as he saw the Valkyria getting into position and the Black Sheep began to circle like shriek hawks above her. "Vixen, we're coming for you."

TAG: @Rebecca_Daniels @Sarge @Anedon @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @galactic-vagabond422 @Mitth_Fisto @Corellian_Outrider @The Real Kyp Durron @adaml83 @Vehn @TheAdmiral @darthbernael @Bodhran777 @Sinrebirth

OOC: Just one update here as we're finally all together, let's try to keep it that way for awhile. Just a dozen TIE Strikers here for us to deal with. They are free use for you in your posts. Once the Amber is aboard the Valkyria feel free to make for orbit and hyperspace at your discretion. No surprises waiting for us all this time. That way we can all get back to the Intrepid in my next update and start to set things up to end this episode and start our next adventure (there will be a bit of downtime to welcome the rescued characters to the Black Sheep). Any questions you know how to reach me either via PM or ask away in the fanclub.

 

Ic Finnfrael Ordwgal, Amber Tehanis, MacKenzie Hollymander - Gratitude to @darthbernael @Adalia-Durron
On Board the Valkyria



Amber released Zephyr with genuine affection, she was like a mother figure to her and the reassurance was comforting. She turned back. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." She felt her cheeks flush as she smiled at the new man.

It had been Amber. The cherry Zephyr had been picking was Amber. MacKenzie was more than a little surprised at that revelation but more so relieved she was fine. He watched and as the man brought her aboard he noted her reaction to him. There was a strange twist in his stomach. Despite having told her they could never be the truth was she was all he wanted. This war was the barrier between them as he knew better than anyone that any day either one of them could be killed. Why start something that will never finish? She was not afraid of this man and that did strike him as unusual. She hugged Zephyr before turning back to the other man. Wasn't this the man Joy was with?

Feral smiled as he removed the winch belt. He wasn't sure what had happened when their eyes had met but he couldn't deny that, in that moment, he'd felt a deep connection to her. "The name's Finnfrael Ordwgal, but I go by Feral." he said quietly as their eyes met again.

Amber scowled. "Feral? That makes you sound wild, and.." She looked down and shrugged slightly, "I don't think you're wild, are you?"

He grinned, brushing a strand of the longer hair that having been in the camp had caused, "Not wild, but it seems easier for most to say than my name so it stuck. That and I tend to be unpredictable to most in my flying so I guess it comes from that too."

She lowered her gaze almost shyly. "I ....don't like it...." She looked up at him again, "Is there something else I can call you? Frael?"

He smiled, a light blush almost indistinguishable under his darker skin tone, "Yes, Frael, you can call me that. That sounds good. And you're Amber, yes? I hope I remember that right from when you said it."

She nodded quickly. "Amber Tehanis, or Vixen...although some have other names I don't like to think about for me cause I do...well I'm not.....I have a repu..." She stopped as she realised she was babbling and sounded like a silly school girl.

"I'll use either of those, whichever you'd prefer. I don't care what others might have decided to call you." he said, hoping he didn't sound cliché or too interested for someone who had just met her.

"What ever you want..." She was almost lost in his eyes.

"Vixen?" MacKenzie stepped forward. "Are you ok?" He asked as he approached.

Amber was startled back to reality and spun. "Fox? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, now." She glanced behind her, "Frael here saved me, the Hangar Queen finally gave up on me and I had to go down!"

He understood what she meant about her ship and part of him wanted to hug her in relief. "Your ship failed on you? Well I am really glad you got out before it hit." He looked over her shoulder before extending his hand to the man. "Major MacKenzie Hollymander or Holly." He felt like he was introducing himself to competition but was he in competition? He suddenly felt like he was and the prize stood between them.

It took Feral mere moments to see that there was something deep between Amber and this Major. Which meant that the situation he found himself in was a potential minefield. He had to be careful, especially as the man outranked him. Meeting the man's gaze, he straightened into the approximation of attention, "Captain Finnfrael Ordwgal, callsign Feral, sir."

Amber watched her new friend react to Fox, and saw the military reaction. She'd never really paid that sort of thing much attention, he was Fox to her, not a Major. She stepped back as the two men shook hands and in a heart beat a wave of confusion washed over her as she glanced between them. Then as quickly as it had come, she pushed it away, Fox had rejected her, told her that he didn't want her, said the timing was wrong. She needed to move forward with her life, she needed to try to let him go, let her heart find someone else again. Swallowing hard she put on a smile as she turned to Frael, "So you're a pilot? Are you looking for a new Squadron? We're the Black Sheep and I know we have room and...." She was babbling again but she wanted to know more about him and having him close would help that. Moving forward with her life as her only choice, it was the only way her heart would ever find someone else to love, and maybe stop loving as well. "Well, its just a thought." She shrugged before biting bottom lip, it would stop her talking.

MacKenzie stepped back slightly as Amber turned from him. When he'd told her the time was wrong it never occurred to him that she'd just find someone else. Why didn't he think a beautiful young woman would find someone else if he said no? He'd made a mistake. He now saw he'd made not only a big but a huge mistake. Was it too late to fix it? He turned away and returned to the turret ladder where he held it thinking. What did he want? He didn't even know anymore but behind him he knew he was possibly losing something and someone very important. Around him the ship shuddered and moved as they made their escape.

Not right now.

They were in battle and the timing was indeed wrong but as he stood he made a crucial decision. The timing was wrong right now but it wasn't always going to be that way. Maybe not now but tomorrow when this mission was done the timing would be right. Hazarding a glance back to see her talking animatedly to him he now knew he was now in a competition. One he suddenly wanted to win.

Feral smiled at Amber’s questions, ”Yes, I’m a pilot, since I was a kid if I was put behind the controls of a ship I could fly it.” He thought about getting back into the saddle again and how that had been one of the things keeping him going in the camp. ”If they’ll have me, I’ll certainly join. Not even sure my old squadron exists after Hoth.”

He tried to put the thought, the energy he’d felt when the Major had been there out of his mind. He could tell the other man felt a certain way about Amber and that he’d somehow become the man’s competition. He wasn’t trying to take anyone away from anyone else but he also couldn’t deny how he felt about Amber, especially as his eyes met hers again.



Tag @Bardan_Jusik @Corellian_Outrider

 

IC: Aden Corso
Onboard the Valkyrie

Throughout the dust off and rescue mission, Aden had stood back and let the rebels do their thing, silently gauging the others, particularly the others who weren’t prisoners a mere hours beforehand. In his head, he was trying to make mental notes of ranks, reactions, relationships, and ultimately who he needed to talk to about what was next. He was pretty well familiar with who he had bunked with, for those who had made it anyway. If not for the crowded passenger hold, he would have started going around to find everyone for a role call, but there would no doubt be time for that once they reached their destination, preferably off-world. For now, however, he was going to make sure he didn’t end back up in a holding cell out of suspicion as soon as his feet touched a cruiser deck.

After a bit of observing, he overheard the mention of a major onboard, and picked his way over until he saw the two men talking to the woman that had just been picked up. Aden immediately sensed something of what was going on but paid it no mind personally. Instead, he paused and waited for a break in the tension. When the woman finally turned to address one of the men, Aden made his way to the other. Sure, it probably wasn’t the best timing for this guy, but Aden needed to get his situation squared away.

Walking up, Aden stopped beside the man and leaned his way a bit, as if he had simply been passing by.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but did I hear you were a major on this boat?” He looked at the man, nicknamed Fox, judging by the previous conversation. “I don’t suppose you could tell me where we’re headed now, or if there’s a need for an extra pilot, would you?”

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @The Real Kyp Durron others in the general area

 

IC: Jocelyn "Joy" Sunwalker
Location: on-board the Valkyria

There was still no enemy to be shot with the ventral turret. That would probably change when they flew towards space. First they had to save Amber first, some things never changed as it seemed. She bet that Vixen was the sweetheart of the quartermaster for losing her craft.

Well, her own track record was not exemplary either…

That amused her for a moment, a good diversion. Once Valkyria was in position Joy saw that it was Feral who was chosen to save Amber. She was not sure how she felt about him. There was that kiss, but what did it mean for her?

Anais would have had the laugh of her life seeing the “impulsive” side of her. She knew how the rest of her former squadron called her - Ice Queen, hence her callsign. But it was rather accurate, unlike her current one, no emotion, all about following protocol (despite the occasional rebellious tendencies, for which Thrawn had chosen her) a proper Imperial Officer.

Something caught her attention, she might be imagining things, but they way Feral and Amber looked at each other. It was pretty hard to tell from here and she was not in the mood for such things. But she kept it in mind, something to follow up on…

But if there was anything… she and Feral would need to have a talk…

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @darthbernael @Adalia-Durron @Corellian_Outrider @Sinrebirth @The Real Kyp Durron

 

Ic MacKenzie Hollymander
Valkyria - Dorsal Turret ladder.


He was lost in thought when a voice broke into his minds machinations. He looked up. "I'm sorry?" He questioned having thought he'd not heard. His mind caught up with him. "Yes I am. Major Hollymander but they call me Holly." He explained starting to feel like he was repeating his name over. "We're heading back to our base ship The Intrepid. I can't really say much more till you've been cleared." He gave a slight shrug. "Procedures. I can tell you that there will probably be a bit of drama when we do get back as we are currently 'off mission.' " It seemed to the best way to describe what they were doing without too much detail. He smiled. "The Black Sheep can always used good pilots." It was more of a statement. "That's if after you know more about us you still want to throw you lots in with us?"



Tag @Bodhran777 @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Maxime "Max" Pallas
SonTay...still

Flagg's orders were...interesting, but taking advantage of the team. Protecting the Valkyria was essential. Of course the whole escape had gone to shavit because of the Diva. It occurred to Max that leaving Tehanis behind would actually be a smart thing to do. Given her dramatics and her explosive temper, she'd probably do a lot more damage to the Empire by falling into their hands than she ever had in a cockpit. Wishful thinking.

Max sighed, lined up a Striker in her sights which was trying to swoop in on one of the Y-wings, and dove, taking a shot. It shied away, and her shot clipped the back end. There was a flare of flame, but no explosion, and she pulled into position in the chain as green flared on her shields and the ship shook. "Shavit!" she swore, rolling and banking hard. An explosion, and a ball of flame shot past her while a warning alarm started going off. Frantically, she scanned the control panel as she fought to keep the small craft steady. <<Digger!>>

Her eyes widened at his response, and she looked out the side of her canopy. As he had explained, a chunk of debris from the pursuing Striker had sheared off the cannon on her upper right foil, along with part of the wing. No fuel leak, but she would have to shut down the cannons until they could be sure that there was no leaking tibanna gas. There were some sparks that were rather worrying.

She could hear Skipper's rich, lightly accented baritone. “This is Echo. Cargo recovered. Commencing outbound procedures.”

<<It's about damn time,>> she muttered to herself. With a last, anxious look at her wing, she retracted her foils from attack position, and wondered how much more room was left aboard the Valkyria.

Just in case.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik, @Anedon, @galactic-vagabond422, @Rebecca_Daniels, @Sarge, @Corellian_Outrider, @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Akiva Lurrel 'Wolf'
Battle of SonTay - Evac

Punching it as the order came over saw her craft steadily gain on Taab and the others until she finally had to throttle it back ever so slightly. Benefits of having a booster capsule, still put a feral grin on her face to think she could surprise even someone that knew B-wings if she had to.

"Ten, Eleven, this is 13." Taab called out to the pair of Y-Wings out in front of them after he thought things over for a minute. "We have Strikers inbound, slow until we can overtake and join you, then we go in together." It was sound reasoning, the bomber groups were not exactly up to full wing status that a normal squadron would have, it made better sense for the bombers and heavy hitting craft to all stay closer together.

Rechecking her scopes she noted that there were just three Strikers now, and the pair of A-Wings in baker flight were launching hit and run thrusts at them every so often. Playing with their food, unfortunately the Strikers were quick on the uptake, managing to keep the transport safe it looked like. Although perhaps that was part of B-flights plan, a way to anchor the fighters in place so that they couldn't devolve into a true dogfight where the enemy craft might actually have the upper S-foil in the fight.

"OK Baker, you've had your fun with them for long enough. leave the gunship to Delta and Charlie, we need your help out here." Flagg's normally monotonous voice sounded strained. Taab waited for a moment before chiming in. "Baker flight, we got this, go assist Able," he commed out to the A-Wings. A moment passed before they too broke broke off back towards the airfield.

"All right Echo, hang back a bit here," he called the Valkyria by her flight call sign. "Charlie and Delta, they look to be going head to head with us..." The Strikers were still honoring the threat posed to them from behind by the now retreating Baker flight and in their own weary minds were going straight for their own objective. That was a mistake. "Let's see if we can take them out all in one pass..." Akiva double clicked her mic as Taab let loose with a long burst of fire from his wing mounter laser cannons marking his point in the cluster. Shifting her focus she went wide from his point and chose her target. With feral grin she eyed the green light as she squezzed the trigger, her heavy weapons emplacement firing a shot which the fighter spun out from, reacting already to Taabs assault. Dipping her mono-wing down and over as it went up and over her chin emplacements chewing a neat line through the sky as her shots went early and through before the craft in a nose dive exploded upon the ground a second later. Solid kill. Switching her tactical view back out she noted her scopes were clear for the moment. The others must have taken out the rest of the fighters.

Pulling back into formation she saw Taab waggled his wings in appreciation for their efforts, with that taken care of there was just the recovery of Vixen to worry about. "Let's go get our girl." Taab stated over the comes. To which Akiva replied with another double click of her mic.


"Black Sheep, circle the wagons," Flagg commed out to the squadron as they all came together as a single fighting unit for the first time during the raid. "Stick with your flights and we daisy chain above Echo at different altitudes. Able up top, followed by Baker below and then Charlie and finally Delta down in the weeds." He set up each flight starting at their own height over the Valkyria as she settled down near the downed pilot. "As the Strikers go in for the rescue ship, the flight at the top of the column dives down on them, taking them out from above. When they dive, the group below them assumes their spot at the top of the chain, and the group below them assumes their old spot all the way down to the ground." He hoped he was being clear. "By the time the diving group has finished their attack run, each of the other flights should be in their new position, and we start again, this time with the new group at the top diving down and we all follow suit moving up as they do so. That way we keep an constant stream of fighters diving down on the Strikers." Seemed simple enough, but next he sent out a quick warning. "Never give them a moments rest and don't get into a turning fight with them. As soon as your diving pass in finished, begin your ascent." Simple enough, although she bet she could do a few surprises with her flying wing. "Hopefully they will be so busy dealing with the next group diving down on them that they won't be able to engage you as you ascend." This plan sounded like a thin grasp at insanity or experience, Akiva would hope this was tactic Flag had experience with and knew would help them while they were stuck in atmo where gravity was actually an issue. "Gunners on Echo, stay sharp, I doubt we can get them all." Getting ready she heard the last words on the channel and roller her eyes. "Vixen, we're coming for you."

Taking her place with Delta on the bottom of the deck was, by and large the suicide position. It put the bombers in the most vulnerable spots. . .as bait. Shifting all her power to her shields and propulsion. If all went to plan she would be able to bob and weave her way to the top of the deck, recharge her weapons a bit, and do a quick run down before doing the whole bloody thing again. She was hopeful some of the TIE Strikers would be left by the time she was able to do a dive attack run.

TAG: @Rebecca_Daniels @Sarge @Anedon @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @galactic-vagabond422 @BardanJusik, @Corellian_Outrider @The Real Kyp Durron @adaml83 @Vehn @TheAdmiral @darthbernael @Bodhran777 @Sinrebirth

 

Combo with @Rebecca_Daniels again. We ought to patent these things.

IC: Kayn & Zara
The Dynamic Duo Dices With Death

"OK Baker, you've had your fun with them for long enough. leave the gunship to Delta and Charlie, we need your help out here."

"Always nice to be needed, Boss, on our way."

Kayn aborted his last attack run on the gunship and escorts, reversing direction with an Immelmann turn and pivoting his blasters aft to fire one last shot at their tails as he headed back to the airfield. It was a very low percentage shot, but he wanted to keep the Imps looking behind them while Taab closed in from ahead with his heavies.

"Let's get a move on, Zero, we gotta be the cavalry coming over the hill for Able."

"Copy," Zara replied, matching the maneuvre. It was past time to get out of here, and if they could pick up Amber the Sheep might be escaping this one intact. More than intact, if they had recovered the lost pilots and whoever else was at the camp. The stray thought was cut short by some distant fire illuminating her shields-- too far to damage, and they had to get into position.

"Following orders this time?"

"I always follow orders! Sometimes I get creative in how I interpret the details, that's all."

Kayn hesitated over his active sensors and jammer. He could shut them down, sneak up on the Strikers and shoot one or two before they knew he was there. But A Flight was badly outnumbered, and some of the Sheep might get shot down while he was maneuvering into position for easy kills. If he kept sensors pinging and jammers jamming, the Imps would know he was coming and be distracted from the X-wings. He focused the sensors to penetrate the rain and storm clouds, double-checked the Strikers' targeting sensors, and tweaked his jammer to match their frequency.

"We're going in hot. You know the drill. If you've got any missiles left, now would be a good time."

Rebel Rouser's magazines were empty, but Kayn locked onto the first target he picked up anyway, trying to divert the Striker from an X-wing.

"Don't trust the firing system," Zara muttered. The light on the console flickered in and out with absolutely no sense of measure; something must be loose. It would be just her luck to blow herself up just as a rescue mission was completing. She could see the mission debrief: Yes sir, we completed the unauthorised mission without any squadron losses, the Twi'lek doesn't count because she did that to herself. But it didn't take missiles to distract the Strikers, which was really what they were there to do. The targeting system lit up, bouncing between a pair of Strikers at the edge of range, and she hummed her satisfaction as one shied away from the sensor mark, trying to evade a lock that wouldn't come. At this distance, they weren't in any danger, but she wanted them running scared.

Kayn checked his shield status. They had recovered slightly as B Flight returned to the airfield, but they weren't going to last in a prolonged head-to-head pounding match. That's not my style anyway.

The nearest element of Strikers pivoted hard in their usual insanely maneuverable style, turning toward Kayn. They opened fire at long range and he skidded left to stay clear of the green plasma. The offset might make his target's next move more predictable; most of these Strikers seemed to be in the habit of taking evasive action with a combined pull-up and swerve to either the left or right. So if I shoot from the left, he's more likely to dodge up and right, which should put him right about there. The A-wing's blasters ripped into the Striker's wing structure at the moment the atmospheric fighter was pulling maximum G's. Kayn hissed in triumph as the Imp disintegrated in mid-air.

Another Striker down, almost faster than she could track, definitely faster than she could have fired. How much of that speed was the cybernetics? Far less, she suspected, than it was sheer skill. Zara herself was a moment too late in squeezing the trigger, watching lasers pass through the void a Striker had just vacated. Frustrating, perhaps, but it didn't matter: this was a distraction, after all.

"Any sign of Echo?" She didn't say it, but they were cutting this part of the rescue a bit close, and there was only so long before the Strikers hit at their weak spot: the slow-moving bombers, and the Valkyria with its rescued cargo.

Kayn expanded his mental focus to long-range sensors; half a dozen friendly transponder signals were drawing near. "There they are, descending on Vixen's position now." He switched transmitter frequency to squadron wide. "All Sheep, this is Five, some of these Striker pilots are predictable. When they take evasive action they like to pull up hard and simultaneously swerve either left or right. Force them to go one way or the other and you can predict where they'll be when you shoot."

Flagg was back on comms, ordering the flights into holding patterns above Valkyria. Kayn shook his head in disgust; he didn't want to be tied down in a close escort role, which was exactly why B Flight had held the advantage over the gunships and their escorts. But Skipper and his passengers needed constant cover, and Kayn couldn't think of a better plan, so he led the A-wings up to the level below A Flight. To make things more difficult for any Strikers trying to sneak up, B Flight circled in the opposite direction from A Flight, and at a higher airspeed than the X-wings could maintain.

"Zero, keep your speed up, we'll want all the energy we can muster when it's our turn to pounce."

Judging by the way the Strikers were circling like wolf sharks scenting blood in the water, B Flight's turn would come sooner than later.


TAG: @Anedon @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @galactic-vagabond422 @Mitth_Fisto @Corellian_Outrider @The Real Kyp Durron @adaml83 @Vehn @TheAdmiral @darthbernael @Bodhran777 @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Ethan Malek
Leaving the Battle

“This is Echo. Cargo recovered. Commencing outbound procedures.” At these words Ethan allowed himself a sigh of relief. The last few minutes of the battle his worry about Amber had only grown with every second, especially with parts of the squadron beginning to evacuate, he had been torn between following them, and his orders or staying to look for Amber. He had been ready to defy his superiors for her, would have even given her his ship if it came to it but now it seems it wouldn't be necessary after all which was a relief for the old man. This is not the day any of us die after all it seems. He thought to himself as he brought his ship closer to the Valkyria and prepared to finally leave this world behind. With his most pressing worries silenced for a moment the old ones returned. Once again the Empire had been surprisingly prepared all things considered, and now with the rescued prisoners the danger of a spy infiltrating's their ranks had only grown. He needed to dig deeper into this once they where back at the Intrepid. And once again you make step two before step one, this battle isn't over yet. There have been better pilots then you who died before they allowed themselves to relax too early.

Tag: Anyone

 

IC: PO3 Lughdyt
The Waiting is the Hardest Part

The Intrepid's hangar bay was uncomfortably quiet. And still empty.

Lughdyt was waist deep in the N-1 project, routing power lines from the core to the engines. Between himself and a few other techs, they had made a lot of progress on the Naboo fighter. Too much progress, really. They should have been interrupted an hour ago. When the Black Sheep were due back.

He critically eyed his work and decided to add one more clamp to secure the mid-point of the power line. If it came loose and chafed, that could short out the entire wiring harness and ruin some pilot's plans for the whole day.

Somewhere across the hangar, somebody dropped a hydrospanner. It rattled and clashed loudly and harshly against the deckplates. A young tech called out half-heartedly, "Gravity check!" Nobody laughed at the customary joke.

A chime rang over the PA. Time for shift change. No one left. A couple of people entered the hangar and joined the techs who were trying to pass the time cleaning tools, drinking caf, or playing cards. All of them had distracted looks on their faces. Even the droids seemed at a loss.

Lughdyt checked his chrono. Stupid, y' just heard the chime, y' know damn well what time it is.

People shuffled their feet, trying not to look out too often through the open hangar doors, wondering what the delay was. The atmosphere was brittle with tension. Everyone had heard rumors of ambushes and security leaks. No one dared mention the run of bad luck (?) that was plaguing the squadron, or the possibility that none of them were coming back. Not even the least superstitious among them would jinx their chances by bringing up that subject.

Where were their Sheep?


TAG: Everybody. Nobody. Where are they?

 

GM Update
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IC: Major Beskaryc Taab/Commander Flagg (NPC)
Wrapping up the Battle of SonTay

Fighters swirled through the dense air of SonTay over the hovering Valkyria as she picked up their downed pilot. It was a maelstrom of madness as TIE Strikers dove down upon the nearly defenseless vessel in wave after wave only being forced to wave off their attacks as they in turn were preyed upon from above first by X-Wings, then later A-Wings and Wishbones and then finally B-Wings before the dance began again. One wave, two, then a third time the fighters of various makes went through their deadly dance above the motionless Valkyria. Not many Strikers were destroyed, but the constant cover over the vessel meant the Strikers all broke off before being able to accomplish much during their own aborted attacks on the freighter. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Flagg, and probably seemed like even longer to those aboard the Valkyria, they had the downed pilot secured and made for a rapid ascent to orbit.

"Break for space!" Flagg ordered the rest of the squadron, who all followed the freighter as she shot up towards the upper atmosphere. The sudden departure surprised the TIE Strikers who seemed content now to let them go. That worried Flagg who suddenly wondered if there was another surprise in store for them once they broke orbit. After all the Skulls had made a habit of ambushing the Black Sheep just as they were about to make their escape, however there were no calls of incoming TIE Defenders this time, in fact space above the planet was totally clear of all traffic save the Black Sheep now. Any civilian vessels had long since left the area once the raid had begun, and it seemed there were no military flights close enough to bar the rebel's departure. "All wings report in," Flagg commed out, satisfied as each flight leader indicated that all planes (save Vixen's of course) were accounted for and ready to make their way back to the Intrepid. "OK Black Sheep," Flagg said as he readied the hyperspace control lever on his X-Wing. "Let's go home..."

---

OOC: Song requested by Vehn

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Arriving home...

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The swirl of hyperspace flashed back to normalized starscape as the Black Sheep reverted to normal space at the rendezvous point with the carrier. "All wings repor..." Flagg started as his sensor scope began to populate with nearby contacts. Before he could finish though a bright blast of red laser fire whipped past his X-Wings nose. Almost immediately his comm system came to life. "Black Sheep," it was the voice of the CAG. "Stand down and deactivate your weapons and shields. You will land single ship at a time..." His words were backed up as his X-Wing came to a firing position behind Flagg, his own six covered by another X-Wing. Looking off to his port and then starboard sides Flagg could see the squadron was surrounded by the A-Wings of Viper squadron. He waggled his own craft's wings in response. "Roger that," he commed back to the CAG and for everyone else to hear as well. "We will comply." They knew when they left that this was an unauthorized mission, that they could be arrested. Now the consequences of their actions would come home to roost.

One by one, led first by the Valkryria followed by Delta flight and then through Charlie, Baker and Able Flagg's fighter was the last of the Black Sheep to put down in the portside outboard flight pod. Setting his craft down he could see the others were all still in their own cockpits and the boarding ramp of the Valkyria had still not been lowered. Around the planes a group of marine shad been arrayed, their weapons pointed inwards at the craft as Captain Husk strode onto the deck and gave the order for the pilots to disembark. As one the pilot's of the Black Sheep squadron popped their canopies, and the ramp of the Valkyria lowered. The marines tensed, as did captain Husk, but the others of the flight deck, the deck crew themselves as well as pilots from Intruder and Star Raider Squadron who began to filter in behind the Intrepid's captain beamed with pride at the sight of the returning Black Sheep. That pride turned to thunderous applause as the rescued POWs began to stream down the Valkyria's boarding ramp. The marines looked now the Captain Husk, unsure of what to do.

At that moment the CAG, still in his flight gear, also entered the port side flight deck. He had put his own plane down on the starboard side and had rushed here to take charge of the Black Sheep's return. Seeing the hesitant marines and looking to Captain Husk he gave the order. "Arrest the Black sheep," he snarled to the obvious displeasure of the other pilots and deck crew. The marines still hesitated, looking to the ship's commanding officer who began to silently nod. It was clear he was pleased with the results of their unauthorized mission and was now conflicted on what to do. "Sir, we agreed that..." the CAG began as now Commander Wallings arrived on the flight deck.

"Captain, the Black Sheep were operating under my orders," Wallings began causing everyone in the bay to react with surprise, including Flagg. He had never received such orders. "Your orders?" Husk asked as his eyes narrowed. "Yes, my orders," she produced a datapad and handed it to the Captain. He perused the contents before showing them to the CAG. They were signed and authenticated orders for the Black Sheep to bomb the SonTay POW complex to facilitate the rescue of prisoners housed there. The pair of officers exchanged a glance, they knew these orders had been backdated after the fact, but they couldn't prove it. For whatever reason Wallings was protecting the Black Sheep and covering for them and there was nothing they could do about it.

"Very well then, Black Sheep you are on stand down until you can be debriefed," he turned to Lieutenant Felix. "Let's process these escapees and get them either back to their families or reassigned to new units..." He then turned to Commander Wallings. "And you and I need to have a conversation about operating through the chain of command." The pair left the flight deck, a furious CAG in tow as everyone else errupted in cheers and celebration.

---

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IC: Lieutenant Stilts/Commandant VonLuger/Agent Blut
Remains of the Sontay Prisoner of War complex, Sontay

The dust swirled around him as Lieutenant Stilts sighed loudly to himself, trying to get a sense of his surrounding through the blindfold he had been forced to wear since his recapture. He knew he was in the back of a hover truck, one appropriated from the airfield after much of the Imperials own transportation had been destroyed in the raid. Before he had been blindfolded he had taken note of the four rather alert seeming stormtroopers guarding him and so he saw no chance for immediate escape, though another attempt was clearly already on his mind. He would have to wait for the right time though...

The hover truck stopped and he was grabbed securely around his shoulders and forced to stand up before being ushered forward off the back of the truck, the strong hands of the stormtroopers ensuring he didn't fall and injure himself. Well he thought to himself, at least they were looking after his well being. That was a good sign. After he had been loaded aboard the truck following his recapture and then blindfolded he had feared the worst.

One of the troopers grabbed him by the head now and roughly removed the blindfold, and the brightness of the noon day sun immediately assaulted his eyes which had grown accustomed to the dark. Still, by squinting he could make out what remained of the camp. It wasn't much. The walls around the camp had been completely shattered, and not a single guard tower remained standing. Over in the Imperial portion of the camp several columns of smoke still rose into the cloudless sky. This was no longer a prison camp, it was a warzone. So why had he been brought back here?

He didn't have much time to think on that before one of the troopers pushed him from behind, urging him to walk forward, towards the Imperial portion of the camp. He tried to look around more, to get a lay of the land, but was hit hard on the back of the head for his efforts. "OK, OK. Forward and nothing else." he managed as he rubbed his neck. Clearly these stormtroopers were in no mood to accommodate his curiosity. Still, he was able to steal a few glances to his left and right, and his ears still worked just fine. All around the camp was the noise of construction, shouting and hammering, sawing and grunting. None of it seemed to be done by machines, and Stilts thought he recognized a few voices, other POWs. From what he could gather they had been formed into work parties and were being forced to rebuild the camp. Well, wouldn't that be typical, to be forced to build your own prison? He sighed as he saw where he was being taken to, an awning hanging off the side of an Imperial Juggernaught. Agent Blut and the Commandant stood there waiting for him, the former with a malicious glimmer in his eye and the latter behind a small portable desk. It was the commandant who greeted him.

"Ah Lieutenant Stilts, welcome back. I heard you gave our scout troopers quite the show, worthy of a major holodrama I am sure." The Commandant's tone was pleasant, but strained. "As you can see we are putting your people to work rebuilding the camp, you will be assigned a work party shortly." The loathsome man beside the commandant snarled at that. "He should be in isolation after what he did, or better yet..."

The commandant simply laughed at that. "What isolation? They bombed our holding cells, our interrogation rooms. There is no where to put them." He turned back to Stilts. "As you can see, your efforts were largely unsuccessful, though of course major damage was done to the camp, one hundred of those recaptured are being put to work rebuilding the prison."

Stilts mulled on that for a moment before figuring he was already in about as much trouble as he could be right now, so no sense holding back. "How many got out?" He asked, drawing a rueful look from Blut before the commandant answered. "No more than a handful, perhaps 50." His look suddenly changed as he mentioned the number of escapees. He seemed almost sorrowful. "Most on that freighter that landed in the middle of the camp. Many of the others were recaptured shortly after they left, you however were the last." Stilts smiled at that, at least he had been on the run the longest. "Really, though, how did you think you ever had a chance?" Blut asked now in a condescending tone. "Tunnels and forged travel papers? Did you really think your efforts would escape my notice? I had your escape committee infiltrated before you moved your first shovel full of dirt." The Commandant looked at Blut in surprise at that, as the latter's confidence shown through.

"Wait, you said 100 were recaptured, and fifty got out...what about the other fifty?" Stilts asked warily as he began running the numbers in his head. The camp held about 200 Prisoners of War, yet the commandant's numbers accounted for just three quarters of that. The question forced a long awkward pause as Blut and the Commandant exchanged glances. Finally it was the commandant who answered as he wrung his hands together. "50 were... shot while trying to escape."

Stilt's eyes went wide. He knew some had been killed during the chaos of the escape attempt, but 50? He didn't believe it. He looked from the commandant to Blut and then back to the commandant again as understanding dawned on his face. The fifty hadn't been shot trying to escape, they had been executed. "...including Major Hammond." That only confirmed Stilt's suspicions, though he had no time for accusations as the sound of an approaching LAAT/I filled the camp, the sight of which brought an even crueler smile to Blut's face. "Ah, excellent, now we can finish the job."

The gunship set down right next to the impromptu camp headquarters. Before it had even come to a halt another quartet of stormtroopers jumped down from the troop bay, along with an additional pair of ISB agents, both women. "You are under arrest," one of them said, producing a pair of binders and walking towards the Commandant. VonLuger's eyes grew wide as he nodded in apparent resignation before looking to Agent Blut whose triumphant smile was on display for all to see. He had won, he had the camp and now the rest of these prisoners would be tortured and killed.

"On what charges?" Was all the commandant could say as he allowed himself to be manacled. "Because you are a rebel spy. Our forensic analysis of the camp's computers, show you have been passing along information to the rebels commandant, or should I say; Agent Fritz?" Both Stilts and Blut's eyes grew wide in surprise. The Commandant had been working for the rebels all along? Blut recovered quickly, nodding to himself. It all made sense now, why he was so soft on the prisoners. He should have seen it sooner. The commandant for his part sighed heavily. "I only passed along identification and numbers, to assuage the prisoner's families, so that they might find peace..." He began but stopped. He knew his life was over.

"And now, you." The other woman said producing another pair of binders and taking a step towards Agent Blut. "You too are under arrest." Blut's smile dropped as his face was frozen in confusion. "You...you must be joking," he stammered though the female agents didn't appear to have any sense of humor.

"Our forensic analysis of your files tells us your camp spies knew of the tunnels and escape plans of the prisoner for some time, and yet you did nothing?" Blut could only stammer again in reply, but he knew his plot had been exposed. When the admin building had been destroyed, all of Blut's surviving files had come under review by the ISB as they investigated what had happened here. Now Blut would pay the price for his ambitions. Still he gave one last feeble attempt, trying to formulate some excuse about gathering intelligence but it was a waste of time. "That was an unsanctioned operation, one that might not have been discovered had the rebels not bombed the camp when they did and exposed your actions." The ISB agent placed the binders on Blut's wrists restraining him. Blut began to shake, "But I am a loyal..." was the last Stilts heard before the pair were loaded into the running gunship followed by the arresting agents and their troopers. It sat there idling for a moment before another Imperial officer remerged, escorted by a rotund the Imperial Army sergeant, a guard Stilts knew, who had somehow survived the raid.

​

"I am Comandant Klinker, a survivor of the attack by the Black Sheep on Naboo, and I will rebuild this camp after their attack here." He began before the rotund mudtrooper bumped into him causing him to stumble as the gunship lifted off. The new camp commandant raised a fist at sergeant before looking again to Stilts. "Get him to a work party!" The sergeant quickly escorted Stilts away from the camp HQ, where they soon ran into Colonel Ganho, the camp's senior ranking POW.

"That the new commandant?" Ganho asked with a thoughtful look on his face. Stilts only managed a nod in reply, wondering what Ganho was thinking. It was clear the elder man had something in mind. "You know, since they have us rebuilding their camp for them, it only makes sense we make some alterations for ourselves..." he finally said as a knowing smile formed on Stilts' face. The pair then looked to the sergeant who was still just within earshot.

"I hear nothing!"

End Episode 106/107​

---

Start Episode 108: The Array

​

IC: Major Beskaryc Taab/Commander Flagg (NPC)
Several days later, flight deck (port side outboard), Rebel carrier Intrepid

With the pilots and deck crew of the Black Sheep assembled before him Commander Flagg took stock of the situation. Normally it was too loud on the flight deck for this sort of thing, but the squadron was on stand down after their latest exploit. Awaiting a replacement X-Wing for Vixen's lost bird, as well as assessing the new additions to the squadron, flight rosters had been handed out for the newcomers, and from what he had heard, not all were happy with their assignments. Most of the rescued POWs, including Flight Officer Deco, had been sent back to their old units, though a few had just wanted to go home. Three of the former prisoners had been reassigned to the Black Sheep however. Captain Ordwgal at his own request, the newly promoted Flight Officer Corso because the Alliance didn't know where else to send him and Corporal Lin because no other unit would have him. They now too stood more or less at attention in formation before Commander Flagg and the CAG. Of course their addition was nearly balanced out by the loss of Lieutenant Cadera and his gunner Corproal Saeli who had been transferred as a pair out to Gold squadron. Getting everyone reorganized, especially among the rumors of additional reinforcements for the squadron, had taken up most of Flagg's time. After all they were actually well below their newly authorized strength (another reason they were on stand down) of 20 aircraft.

Flagg suppressed the urge to shake his head in disbelief. Though from inception the Black Sheep had had exceeded the limit, most rebel squadrons were comprised of 12 craft, and that was right where the Black Sheep currently stood. One YT-2000 freighter, three X-Wings, two A-Wings, and then three Y-Wings (Cadera and Saeli had left their craft behind with the squadron when they had been reassigned, that bomber would now belong to Lou and Vehn) to go along with three B-Wings. It was already a formidable force, and would be even more so when brought up to full strength. To accomplish that four X-Wings, two A-wings and one Y-Wing and B-Wing each were scheduled to be delivered to the Intrepid for the Black Sheep. It was a considerable outlay of resources, especially for the cash strapped Alliance, and the fact that it was all being lavished upon the Black Sheep squadron, even at the expense of other squadrons in greater need, spoke to the level of acceptance of the Black Sheep program by the high command.

Of course all that had just added to an ever increasing workload for the squadron's commander, as was today's event though that was one he was more than happy to undertake. The acknowledgement of Capatin Wystari's heroics during the rescue of the POWs form Sontay with official recognition by the Rebel Alliance command in the form of the Silver Life-Saving Medal with Combat “V” for Valor. It was the first of any such honor awarded to any squadron member (though several had medals from previous assignments in their service jackets) and was yet another sign that the squadron was finally being accepted not only among some of their peers, but by the brass as well. He motioned now for the Valkyria's skipper to come forward as he himself held up a datapad and began to read aloud for those assembled...

"The Alliance High Command takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Life-Saving Medal with Combat “V” for Valor to Captain Cassel "Skipper" Wystari, Black Sheep Squadron, Alliance Carrier Intrepid, for heroism while participating in flight as Commander of a YT series freighter, in the face of known hostile forces. On multiple occasions, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, he skillfully and expeditiously effected the rescue of valuable Alliance crewmen from their downed starfighters. While under direct enemy fire, he has both landed and hovered his ship in order to retrieve pilots and prisoners from Imperial imprisonment or death, putting himself at tremendous personal risk in order to fulfill the motto of the Search And Rescue Service, "That Others May Live." The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Wystari reflect great credit upon himself, the Republic Starfighter Corps, and the Alliance to Restore the Republic."

He looked up from the datapad and gave a rare smile as the medal was pinned to Wystari's uniform to the applause of everyone on the deck "Congratulations Captain Wystari." He shook the man's hand before he resumed his place in formation. "Black Sheep, we're still on stand down as we await replacement pilots and planes. Captian Ordwgal and Flight Officer Corso your droids are on their way and will arrive when we get reinforced. Until then, everyone relax, I'm sure we'll be back in the thick of things soon enough." He looked out over the assembled Black Sheep and the other squadrons looking on.

"Squadron," he looked out to them all still standing more or less at attention. "Dismissed!"

At once the cohesive formation broke up into its constituent parts as some pilots came to congratulate Skipper personally. Flagg meanwhile was approached by the CAG who immediately laid into him. "Don't let this go to you or your pilot's heads," he intoned angrily. "Medals, getting reinforced above strength when other squadrons on this boat are well below." He shook his head. "You're all a bunch of rejects, an experiment doomed to fail." He spun on his heels cognizant that the menacing form of Major Taab was moving in slowly behind him. The CAG was a pain in the shebs, but he was a good pilot, and his sense of situational awareness was finely tuned. Had he stayed a moment longer it was possible the Mandalorian would have killed him.

"What was that about?" The helmeted XO of the squadron asked his CO. "Just what you'ed expect of a CAG who would rather see us all behind bars than in the cockpit." Taab grunted, his way of laughing. He shook his head before. "I still don't like the new pilots being added to Echo flight, better to assign them to a new flight and round them out with Able. That way you can concentrate on leading the squadron and not your flight..." Flagg held up a hand stopping his XO's objection. It was an ongoing argument they had ever since the news of the enlarged squadron had broken.

"Its all academic until we actually get the planes and other pilots we were promised." His demeanor was calm and dispassionate as usual. "We may end up folding them into Charlie and Delta as close escorts if your replacement bombers don't show up." Taab cocked his head to the side at that. He hadn't considered the effect of adding an X-Wing to his own flight could have. Probably more trouble than they were worth, though a fighter in their mix of bombers would prove most disruptive to any TIEs on their six as well. "Until then, the three new pilots will be assigned to X-Wings, if we get those, and assigned to Echo flight as close escort for Valkyria." Taab nodded, though he still wasn't convinced. At least they provided for a powerful reserve force if required...

"Heads up!" A shout came from across the flight deck as a bolo ball came sailing though the air and bounced off of Taab's helmet. It ricocheted right back into the hands of Harley, who had thrown it in the first place. Taab sighed, no matter what he did the woman seemed totally uncontrollable. She tossed the bolo ball again (and just where had that materialized from anyway?), this time at the nearby bulkhead as she had apparently thought better of pushing her luck with Taab. Once again it bounced right back to her. She seemed to have a flair for the game of limmie, though Taab himself could never understand his own people's fascination with the beautiful game. "Hey who is up for a game?"

TAG: @Rebecca_Daniels @Sarge @Anedon @Mistress_Renata @Adalia-Durron @galactic-vagabond422 @Mitth_Fisto @Corellian_Outrider @The Real Kyp Durron @adaml83 @Vehn @TheAdmiral @darthbernael @Sinrebirth @Bodhran777

OOC: Many thanks to Sarge for coming up with the idea of the medal ceremony (as well as writing out the actual commendation). Feel free to write up bits for the reunion with the fleet or start up a pick up game of limmie here on the flight deck. The squadron is on stand down at the moment but of course I'll have a mission here for us sooner rather than later. Still this is a good time for character development and getting to know all the new squadron members. The roster and flight assignments aren't etched in stone at this time, though (spoiler alert) we won't be flying much in this next mission so they don't really matter either. Still a overhaul of the roster was long overdue. I'll be adding some NPCs to fill in the blanks there, and there may be a surprise or two in store when we finally do get our new fighters delivered. Until then, any questions or concerns can of course be PMed to me or directed at me in the fanclub.

 

IC: Kayn "Flying High" Balzroth
Above the Storm

At long last, Valkyria was ascending from the Sontay jungle. The Sheep formed a protective shell around the rescuer and soared upward, into the overhanging stormclouds. Kayn couldn't criticize the Striker pilots for not following them; their wide airfoils would make them more vulnerable to thunderstorm turbulence than the rebels' heavier starfighters.

Eventually, the murky cloud cover faded to wisps that whipped away behind the canopy and then the squadron was on top of the cloud deck. A full moon shone down; the cumulonimbus clouds that were black and forbidding beneath were all shining silver light above, deep canyons and towering mountain peaks of mist that rivaled the most impressive mountain ranges on any planetary surface. Kayn's eyes drank in the beautiful sight. Every cloudscape was different and ephemeral, and he rarely failed to take a moment to appreciate the unique opportunity to revel in a glorious moment that would never be repeated.




He powered down his overheated shields and weapons. His neural connection to Rebel Rouser sent the soft sensation of air flowing smoothly over the sleek hull of the A-wing. It was the first time he had had a chance to feel atmospheric flight since he'd launched from Hoth. The A-wing slid through the air even more gracefully than his old X-wing had. It was glorious.



Glancing over his shoulder, he easily spotted a dark silhouette nearby, the outline of a black A-wing standing out from the heavenly glow of the cloud-castle battlements and ramparts beneath. And that was the most beautiful sight of all.




TAG: @Rebecca_Daniels and the whole flock

 

IC: Alec Fenton, Jeen Talgana (combo with @Adalia-Durron)
Hangar


No ship.

Jeen was stunned, she was back, she was fine, but no ship. He had nothing to repair, nothing to go over and find solutions too, nothing to even put his tool kit beside. Having greeted her and made sure she was ok, from a respectful distance as she seemed a little off, he was now at a loss at what to do.

Alec slowly walked over the Jeen, Ethan had been very careful or very lucky in the last battle and had brought back his ship with basically no damage at all. Nonetheless the young Correllian had asked R7 to give him a report on its status, just to be sure. But he wasn't expecting to find much, so he strolled over to Jeen to see if he could help him out. "Hey, everything okay?" then he saw it. "Where is Amber's ship?" Had she been killed?

Jeen turned to face his friend. "Gone!" He was a little bewildered.

Alec swallowed hard and he looked to the ground. "Sorry to hear, Amber, she was a good soldier." She had been nice to to him and placed her trust in him. And yet...

Jeen shook his head vehemently, "Oh, no, she came back! She's fine, little shaken up I think, she had this funny look in her eyes, but she's back....with NO SHIP!" He slowly began to turn in the space where an X Wing should have been. "I don't even have a place to put my tool kit!"

"Oh glad to hear that," Alec said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Do you know what went wrong with the ship?" They had repaired it before the battle, he could only pray they hadn't made a mistake.

Jeen turned to him again and raised an eyebrow, "You think I know? Kriff she was the Hangar Queen, the chances were very high her bleeding wings fell off!"

"I guess," Alec said and tried his best to produce a small smile. "So guess she needs a new ship then. Do you think its once more a wreck we have to fix before its usable?"

Jeen chuckled. "I don't think anything is coming back, not even her helmet. Her droid did, and he's currently charging up so no doubt when he's ready he will tell me what happened and how bad it was." He shrugged, "not blaming myself, I know I did the best.....no I know we did the best we could. That thing was cursed, destined to fail."

"Have you heard about the mission though? Whole thing might have been worth it," Alec asked, getting a bit more excited. "They could break some imperial prisoners free." He was glad that this time he could feel pride in his contribution to the cause. They had saved lives.

Jeen nodded, "yeah, but I think even the Lead was surprised when Wallings said it was her mission. Pretty sure it wasn't." He'd lowered his voice as he glanced around. "Then again, the CAG was pretty keen to have them all arrested."

"I think Wallings wants to take the credit for it," Alec mused lowering his voice. "And what good would arresting those guys do? They are a suicide squad anyway."

Jeen scowled. "Bite your tongue! I don't know about you, but I would prefer they came back from every mission."

"I do too, certainly not happy about any new of casualties," Alec assured him, but he decided to be more careful from now on with what Ethan had told him. "Not all of the prisoners where freed..." he then said quietly. "The losses of this conflict keep growing everywhere."

"Freedom has a price, sometimes it's a painful one. We have hope, hope builds rebellions." He shrugged, "Heard that somewhere."

"Its written on the back of cornflake boxes," Alec said with a grin. "But you are right, its about giving people hope. We can´t fight the empire just with a few capital ships and volunteers. Its important to win the people." Which is why what happened at that wedding will haunt us for eternity.

"Rebellions are built on hope."

"Well then I guess we can at least hope the ship they find for Amber won't be completely broken," Alec added. "But given we have some time now, want to do something fun?"

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