| Farewell and Adieu - And We Bade Him Goodbye |
| Summary: | The Operation Yamamoto crew arrives at the jump back into Junction, only to find their cover in need of rescue. |
| Date: | 2658.160 |
| Related Logs: | Farewell and Adieu - Briefing, For We've Received Orders, Like Little Tin Turtles, And There We Lay Doggo, A Place Where Repairs Should Be Done, Half Blocking the Sky |
| Players: |
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Almost back to the jump to Junction, the Meriwether Lewis and the team aboard her are racing down the home stretch of their return to Confederation space. With the beginning of a Confederation movement into Nexus once more, there's even a degree of fleet support. Unfortunately, this is coming in the form of the light carrier TCS Origin, currently scurrying away from the battle as fast as its engines can carry it, with a Fralthi cruiser in persuit. The Origin's fighters remain locked in a vicious, swirling melee around the jump point to junction.
« Meriwether Lewis to flight wing » Nucefora's face greets the space force pilots one more time. By now, he's starting to show the signs of a week's worth of constant stress, his face looking a little haggard and graced with a five o'clock shadow. « Looks like our cover is going to need some help. Get after that Fralthi, before it tears the Origin to pieces »
« Copy that, Commander. Let's hope the good guys win the fight at the jump, or this is going to get interesting. » Cole replies with a little nod, eyes lingering on the swirling fighter melee by the jump point before turning his attention back to the running engagement they're headed into… the Origin scrambling away from a Fralthi as fast as its engines can carry it.
Kanani points her speedy Stiletto towards the fight, trying to get a feel for how things are going for the good guys at the moment. Right now, of course, things aren't looking so great, seeing as a Yorktown carrier doesn't really have the weapons to take on a Fralthi. «Well, this certainly looks like it'll be interesting.» She states rather dryly, as she continues to head towards the fight.
With each passing minute bringing them closer to Junction, Kell feels somewhat jubilant and in good spirits, thinking that they might just get through finishing what was thought to be a near-impossible mission alive. However, when the red begins to blip up on his sensors, outnumbering the blue ones by a good margin, a sinking feeling develops in the pit of his stomach.
«Jeez, looks like a going away party being hosted by the Kilrathi… we'll give it to them good though.» Pushing away any doubt and fear, Razor kicks his Stiletto into full throttle as he rockets towards the hostiles, diving right into the furball. It seems like a few Kilrathi has noticed the incoming Stiletto as they peeled off the Origin's fighters and begin angling in on the Lieutenant, who in turns goes into a quick head-on pass before breaking right, then going into a steep climb.
"Eesh." Alec isn't sure how many torpedoes the enemy are still packing; but just one can spell goodnight nurse for the operation. «Breaking formation, here we go,» he transmits. «Let's take advantage of their hospitality.» Time to tango… and even though they'll always have Palan, he isn't about to let this be the last waltz.
A single torpedo strikes the Origin, tearing a long gash in its armor… though failing to penetrate to cause signifigant damage to the structure of the ship beneath. As laser fire tears apart the Kilrathi bombers, the Kilrathi fighters finally get into the action… swinging around to attack the terran bombers in return, after a pair of explosions blossom along the side of their home.
« Looks like we've got company, Beagle. Keep your eyes sharp. No point in getting killed this close to the finish line » Cole reports. Not that he's taking his own advice any, his bomber swinging around for another run in its usual lazy circle… trusting to his broadsword's thick hide to save him from the firepower he's expecting to find poured his way.
Kanani grins ever so slightly as her missile helps rip apart one of the bombers, and then seeing the Broadswords getting chased by the Dralthi she moves in to try and clear some of them out. Once she gets a lock, she calls out. «Fox two.» And a missile leaps from its rack as she pulls the trigger.
«'Don't die.' Huh! Roger that, Voodoo,» Alec transmits back, his voice a little irritated from his ineffective torpedo shot. Unlike his CO, Beagle's second run involves a little more manouvering, striking a balance between maintaining torpedo lock and some erratic flying. Looking like he's about to make the worst landing in spaceflight history, he goes for the mouth of the Fralthi.
<Voodoo, Beagle, I'll swing by to help you guys in a sec. One last bomber remaining and I'm hot on its tail, its gonna eat a missile up the tailpipe.» Razor says as he flicks his weapons over to the Heat Seeker and launches a missile once the tone is solid, should be an easily shot since the Grikath is lumbering along slowly, focused on torpedoing the Origin.
Confederation marksmanship seems to be superior today, as two further torpedoes slam into the Kilrathi cruiser and tear it apart… while laser fire shreds the last Kilrathi bomber, wrecking it even before Draygo's heat seeking missile slams into what's left to disintegrate it entirely. The Confederation fighters don't seem to be the only ones getting reinforcements, however, as a pair of Grikath break away from the melee by the jump in an attempt to make a run through the escorts for a shot at the carrier.
« Nice shooting, Beagle! » Cole tells his wingman after the pair of torpedoes rip through the Kilrathi warship's hull. « Look lively, though, we've got two more incoming » Cole's bomber swings to avoid the Dralthi still maneuvering behind him, toggling over to his missiles to attack his opposite number in the Kilrathi bomber formation instead.
«There it goes, by the numbers,» Alec comments smugly, watching the Fralthi list out of control. «I set 'em up, you knock 'em down. Fox three,» he adds, jerking back the flightstick, intent on joining the dogfight. His eyes narrow, spotting a target as he dodges incoming fire - trying to judge the right moment to launch.
Kanani first nods in satisfaction, as her missile slams nicely into the Dralthi. And then she grumbles as the fighter is still among the living. "Damn it. Die already." She mutters quietly. Stupid cats and their nine lives. As the two extra bombers escape the destruction of the cruiser, one of the fires off a missile at her, so she starts to juke and jive trying to avoid getting hit.
The combined fire ensures that the Confed Capital Ships are safe and Razor peels off to engage the fighters, flicking back to Mass Driver cannons for the lighter Dralthis. However, before he can bore in on the hostile escort, his lock warning is yelling at him, letting him know that a Friend or Foe missile is seeking him out, apparently the hostile reinforcements has fired on in his direction.
The Kilrathi bombers proceed straight through the Confederation fighters, their progress unimpeded by the ineffective weapons fire directed over their way. The two craft move in to begin their runs, even as the Escorts fighters split away from the Confederation bombers, looking to keep the entire set of Confed craft tied up.
« Damnit! Get on those bombers » Cole grumbles into his helmet, his broadsword turning around to maneuver for a second shot on the Grikath. « Origin isn't going to be able to keep dodging torpedoes forever »
"Hell with this shit," Alec growls, already frustrated now that he's joined the dogfight in a bomber. "Screw you, cat, I want to go home." «On it, lead. Fox three!» he spits into his mike, as he spots the bombers making a run on the capital ships and launches another missile at an offending Grikath. Heat seekers scream past his fighter, but it seems that unlike its' pilot, Broadsword 2 is ice cold…
«Copy that, Voodoo. Going after them. » Kanani states as she switches to her last missile, and tries to knock out one of the bombers with it. Once she has a lock, she pulls the trigger, and the missile races off to meet up with the Grikath.
«Got a Dralthi on my six, lighting me up with a Heat Seeker, going evasive!» Razor calls out as his lock warning chimes loudly again, causing him to fire off a brief burst of Mass Driver fire at one of the Kilrathi before breaking hard left as the hostile missile comes screaming in at his six'o'clock.
The Kilrathi seem to get the better of the new exchange, their craft surviving another round of hits, and a heat-seeking missile shredding Alec's broadsword for the effort. Both torpedoes, however, are intercepted by laser fire from the Origin and Lewis, before the gunners begin to train their weapons on the offending bombers themselves.
« Damnit! Beagle, you alive in there? » Cole calls out, having not missed the missile tracking into his wingman's fighter. Even as he asks, he continues on with his grim business… keeping the Kilrathi bombers in his sights.
Sidestepping the heat seeker in time and watching it streak off into dark oblivion, Razor banks his fighter around and now dives in on one of the Grikath bombers that is angling for what has been his home for the past week or so. Doing what he can to keep the Lewis alive, he flicks over to Heat Seeker and gets a bead on the Kilrathi bomber, launching his missile despite taking fire from behind.
Kanani sighs slightly as the missile she fired didn't throw nearly big enough punch to knock out the bomber, so she switches to her guns, and opens fire with the fighters mass drivers. A missile comes flying in towards her, but she manages to spook it, and she doesn't worry to much about any other fighters trying to shoot her down right now, either.
The tearing screech of metal as part of Broadsword 2 is literally ripped away by the force of an explosion causes the pilot to nearly bite through his tongue. Growling with frustrated anger, he wrestles with the flight stick, desperately trying to angle his Broadsword towards the Meriwether Lewis. «I'm alright, Voodoo,» McGrath transmits. «Lost a wing. Need to land, it's like I'm flying a brick. I'm sorry. Get that bastard for me,» he finishes.
Luckily for Alec, the Kilrathi seem happy enough to leave his trashed broadsword alone… concentrating instead on the craft that are still in the fight. Concentrated fire tears apart one of the Kilrathi bombers, but the other manages to hold together… coming in for yet another pass on the Confederation light carrier.
Finally forced to break away by weapons fire snapping at the rear of his craft, Cole turns back in towards one of the escorts. If he has to break away from the bombers, he might as well express his displeasure with mass driver slugs.
Kanani grimaces as her gunfire just bounces off the armor of the bomber, and she instead switches her target to something less sturdy. As she turns her fighter towards one of the Dralthi she calls out. «Finish that annoying cat off, would ya, Razor?» She chuckles slightly, as she opens fire on her new target.
The missile that Razor fired intercepts the Grikath perfectly, having lead the target and smacks into the nose of the bomber, causing a night explosion. But instead of the bomber breaking apart, it has a bloody nose and is flying very sluggishly. Switching to Mass Driver Cannons, he dives in close and aims for the kill, looking to pop the cat in the cockpit, «Already on it, freaking bomber pilot has nine lives apparently, gonna make sure it doesn't live.»
«Requesting landing clearance, Meriwether Lewis!» It's a tricky landing procedure; docking onto the side of a ship that is moving, firing AND under fire. Add in the lack of a wing, and you have a real challenge. It's something of a minor miracle that Alec manages to dock at all - and he wastes no time in starting to scramble out of his fighter and get on board, lest a lucky shot from a bomber just happen to shoot his fighter off the hull.
The last Kilrathi bomber falls to a storm of laser fire lashing out from the batteries on the Origin and the Lewis. In fact, the only thing to miss it is Draygo. One of the battered Dralthi is torn apart as well by Kanani's guns, a second one accepting a line of hits from Voodoo's fighter but holding together. Fortunately for Alec, the torpedo aimed at the Lewis flies wide.
« Nice job on those bombers. You get down alright, Beagle? » Voodoo asks as his bomber swings around once more, doing his best to keep up with the Dralthi engaging him. No small task, given the difference in maneuverability between the two craft.
Taking too long to find the perfect shot, by the time Razor fired his cannons, the combined might of the two Capital Ships had chewed it up, spat it out, then blew it up so the Stiletto's shots basically hit nothing. "Fuck me… god damn bomber." Gritting his teeth, he swings his fighter around and is apparently too annoyed to bother with too much evasion as he pops a missile off at the Dralthi that is gunning for him.
«I'm down,» Alec replies, waiting for his turret crew to bundle out of the fighter and into the relative saety of the Lewis. «Give 'em hell, Voodoo. See you in Junction.»
Kanani grins some as her guns rip through the Dralthi, and she quickly turns her fighter in the direction of the Dralthi that's still firing its guns at her, as she figures it's time to show the cat just who's better.
One more head-on pass brings the unequal Broadsword-Dralthi fight to a conclusion, as a line of mass driver slugs walk into the Dralthi's cockpit, reducing its pilot to a fine red mist. « Gotcha, bastard » Cole grumbles into his comms, before he swings his bomber around again, looking to chew up the Dralthi attacking Kanani this time. After all, why stop at on Dralthi swatted?
Kanani rolls her eyes, as her guns bounce off the armor of the Dralthi this time. Things just never go the way you plan. She twists her Stiletto around again, trying to aim another shot at the cat and maybe even finish it off, if she's really lucky.
Another Heat Seeker wasted as Razor's shot goes wide on the rather elusive Dralthi, either the Kilrathi has Kell's number or he's just off tonight, this close to home. Gritting his teeth, obviously frustrated, Razor swaps back to Mass Driver cannons and goes head on with the Dralthi, pumping out rounds of Mass Driver pellets into the enemy.
« You know, Tsunami… you'd think between the two of us, this Kitty would figure out it's time to go home… » Cole jokes as his guns tear the wingtips from the Kilrathi fighter. « But, I guess not » he adds with a little grin, even as his broadsword swings around for another lumbering pass.
The first pass between Razor and his opponent goes in the Confed Pilot's favor as he comes out unscathed while the Dralthi's canopy spiderwebs from the hit as well as some chunks next to the cockpit is blown away. Swinging around, they go at each other yet again, like a couple of jousters.
«You know how cats are. Never around when you're looking for them, and they never want to leave, when you want them gone.» Kanani remarks with a chuckle, as she once again sets up another shot at the Drathli, this time rushing straight in and trying to blow up the cockpit.
Bracketed by fire from two Confederation fighters, one of the remaining Dralthi finally blows apart… but not before tearing a few chunks away from the Stiletto that had engaged it. The last Kilrathi fighter turns in at the remaining Confederation bomber, racing in towards it as fast as afterburners can carry it.
« Right, this one's all you » Cole comments, watching as the Dralthi closes, hand sitting on the flight stick, waiting to turn away at the last moment. « I'm gonna be over here trying not to die »
Kanani slides her slightly beat up Stiletto next to Kell's fighter. «Alright, lets finish this joker off, and get headed back home, why don't we?" She says with a chuckle, as she opens fire on the last of the kitties.
The second pass is more or less a draw, perhaps slightly in favor for Razor as his fighter gets hit in the nose section that was already damaged while the return from is a bit more damaging, but not by much. For some reason, the Dralthi had decided not to go head to head anymore, going after the slower 'Sword which gives Razor a clear and easy shot on the Dralthi.
Apparently true to his word, Cole doesn't even fire as the Dralthi comes on… instead, just snap-rolling out of the way of that last attack, before the shots from his escorts tear it to pieces. « Nice shooting, you two » Cole compliments the pair, before swinging back for the Lewis. « Looks like the Origin is safe. Let's go home »
Kanani grins and does a barrel roll, before it turns in the direction of the Lewis as well. «Nice shooting guys, and yeah, heading home does sound good to me.» Is her response over the comm, as she starts checking her fighters readouts to make sure the damage her ship took isn't any worse than it seems.
With the last Dralthi removed from local space, Razor waggles his wingtips at his wingmen and rolls to the side, slowly banking his Siletto back towards the Lewis, «Finally. Let's get back home so we can get to the Majestic.» He looks through the status of his Stiletto, some damage here and there but still serviceable to fight and fly.
« Yeah, I'm looking forward to sleeping somewhere that isn't a sardine can » Cole agrees with a little grin, bringing his Broadsword back around. Apparently even Cole is feeling up to indulging in a little recklessness. He offers the Origin a demonstration of a sharp eight-point roll as he passes closer than a carrier commander would probably like to see, before moving in for his landing on the Lewis.
Kanani chuckles at Cole's comment and at his airshow type manuever. She declines from any more wreckless flying today though, as she sets her fighter down on one of the fighter racks on the Lewis. «This is Tsunami. Signing off for now.» She calls out before she starts to power down her fighter's systems and gets ready to get back in the corvette.
Flying back towards the Lewis at cruising speed, Razor lines up for docking as well as he decreases his speed and waits his turn. Once it is his turn, he lines up with the fighter rack and slides right in before stopping, the latches fastening on to his fighter. «Razor landed, signing off.»
