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Post by Whill Shaman Nyx on Apr 7, 2013 4:02:00 GMT -8
*The history is currently unknown.*
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Jago
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Post by Jago on May 3, 2013 12:54:59 GMT -8
The Ison Corridor
9 Hours Standard Travel Time from Hoth
0415 Galactic Standard Time ~ :: Standby and Account. ::
The Ison Corridor. A rather foreboding sector of space. Often seen as a defunct, dead hyperlane with relatively no use, a large section of the path was also washed over by a nebula that made flight by visual scanning nearly impossible. It tinted the space it consumed a sickly looking green, giving the impression that even the Galaxy wanted to forget about this place. Vast, empty, and woefully unloved by merchantmen and militaries alike, even veteran spacers avoided this particular trail. It was curious, then, to see the appearance of two, sleek ships parting their way through the dust and particles, their running lights highlighting the frame of the tiny fighters being the only real way to tell where they were.
At the front, slightly to the right of the secondary ship, was an X-Wing in a matte, dark grey scheme, the only contrast on the vessel being its blood red nose and the lines of crimson that flowed across its dagger-like fuselage. Emblazoned in the most proud and arrogant way possible was the crest of a fearsome dragon of legend on the right wing. It coiled threateningly around a burning and brilliant lightsaber, its wings of scarlet unfurled in terrifying glory. Five more gashes of red slashed their way through the rear of the X-Wing's strike foil, the paint far fresher than the rest of the fighter to distinguish that this was a new addition.
This was the starfighter of the new Dragon Five, Jago Pulastra: Flight Leader and Executive Officer of Dragon Squadron. Alongside him was the newest possible addition to Dragon Squadron, flying only a regular XJ9 and not the specialized model custom-built for members of the Squadron proper.
:: Reading me, Drake? :: he asked over the comms, using the term for a Dragon Squadron potential. Putting his X-Wing to half-thrust and coasting through the nebula around them, Jago took the time to begin increasing the power to his sensors and scanners, knowing their target was out here, somewhere.
He just had to find the damn thing.~ |
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Post by Adria Doran on May 4, 2013 10:40:14 GMT -8
Loud and clear, sir.
Adria Doran, the pilot of the second, standard fighter, reached up from the control stick and wrapped her fingers around the pendant she wore around her neck, its familiar weight and texture adding to the level of comfort provided by the cockpit's interior. She felt as though she had grown up in a fighter; she always felt a little unnatural standing on her own two feet. Her arrogance over her skills had diminished somewhat during the time she had spent at the Praxeum, but she still retained her confidence from her time in CorSec: she still knew that she was good, but she didn't let that show anymore. It had never won her any friends in CorSec, just followers and enemies, and she had turned her back on that life.
"You reading anything out there, Seer?"
The question was directed behind her, towards the orange R4 unit that accompanied her on every mission and exercise that required a fighter. A negative whistle was his only response.
"Yeah, me neither."
So, what've we got out here today, sir?
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Jago
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Post by Jago on May 4, 2013 12:51:07 GMT -8
~ Jago kept an eye on his sensor readouts, the Holographic HUD of the 9D projected over the actual canopy of his fighter. There, to his side, was a dot denoting Adria's fighter, but most of the rest of the electronic field was coming in blank. Nebulas tended to play hell with scanners, all of the particles being confusing to the electronics. Worst of all, actual visibility was practically nonexistent. It was almost as if operating in a voidfight: the pure dark of space where the stars did not illuminate and you only had your sensors and your wits to help you. Thankfully, Jago and Adria were not just starfighter pilots. They had a rather large advantage over their contemporaries, by virtue of their nature as Jedi.
:: We, Drake, get to participate in one of my most favorite of past times. ::
The 9D at the lead was still chugging along slowly, Jago stretching out with his feelings to sense what his eyes and ship could not perceive.
... There.
His fighter's nose edged slowly towards the right of the formation, Jago kicking his throttle up a little more while his S-Foils still closed to maintain cruising speed.
:: We're going pirate hunting. ::
The Ison Corridor was a known haven for bandits, buccaneers, and raiders, preying on any cargo ships that tried to use the small hyperlane to skirt outside the law or cut down on time off of the Corellian Trade Spine. There were always a few that operated in the area, as Jago recalled from his mercenary days. The fact that he had just received intel on an attack against a ship transporting medical supplies to Bespin near where these two Dragons were operating was only bad luck for whoever had made the hit.
Jago Pulastra had a known vendetta against such corsairs.
Figuring that this would be a perfect run to highlight how Adria handled herself in the frequently one-sided numerical odds that Dragon Squadron found itself scuffling in, he had arranged for this as a test: if Adria passed today, she would become a Dragon. A full-fledged Jedi Ace in one of the most legendary squadrons to ever fly during the New Sith Wars. It was a huge honor, but Jago had also arranged for a few surprises along the way to see how well Adria could adapt to a fluid combat environment. A Dragon's greatest weapon in battle was her mind and her allies: the ability to out-think her opponents, matched with the capability to coordinate with her teammates, had often spelled the death for nearly every pilot and crew that had ever faced the Dragons.
He dialed down his sensors, setting them into a low-power state. It made his fighter less able to pick up on things around it at long range, but also greatly reduced his electronic footprint in space: other scanners would have a harder time detecting him, making it easier to slip in closer and get a few shots off before the enemy would know what hit them.
Jago switched his commo back on.
:: Your eyes are going to be useless here: do not trust them. Switch your sensors to passive: they'll light you up like a Life Day tree if they're active. Trust The Force: feel, don't think. Use your instincts. When we make contact, we're going to complete radio silence. Hua? ::~
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Post by Adria Doran on May 4, 2013 17:54:13 GMT -8
Adria couldn't help herself. She simply could not stop the grin that overtook her.
Don't trust my eyes? You, sir, just made my day.
"You heard him, Seer. Sensors down to passive." The droid tootled an affirmative, switching off his own added sensor suite that was designed to enhance that of any fighter he was connected to at the time. He issued an inquisitive whistle, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the question. "Yes, Seer. We're going to have fun."
She opened the comm channel once more.
Hua!
There was no mistaking the joy in her tone. This was a mission, and she would take it seriously. But that did not mean that she couldn't have fun at the same time. She knew to keep the arrogance down, but just being in the cockpit again, being up where gravity had no hold, she couldn't help it.
She was free.
She opened up her throttle to keep pace with Jago's fighter, settled in, and closed her eyes, reaching out around her with her senses. There was Jago, and there, far ahead of her... Those had to be the targets.
Her grin stretched wider..
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Jago
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Post by Jago on May 5, 2013 11:06:37 GMT -8
~ Jago could only grin in his cockpit at hearing the sheer exuberance in Adria's reply. That was a feeling he knew well. The ability to move anywhere, at anytime: freedom. Total and complete freedom. To dance among the edge of the stars, and watch the turn of The Galaxy. Was there any better experience, truly? Adria was a pilot Jago could get along with, if this was the take she had on strapping into an X-Wing. It was a refreshing change of pace from the more-serious Dav who, whilst always taking the time to thrill himself with dazzling maneuvers, didn't appear to Jago to get the same kind of high he did when in the ejector seat.
The two dagger-shaped fighters flew through the cloudy vacuum, Jago letting himself slip into an almost meditative state as his hands and feet worked the controls without his mind's input. This came naturally to him: just as easy as breathing. The flight stick nosed forward a bit, gently sloping the fighter down through the nebula as the Jedi Master at the controls felt out ahead. Life Forms. Quite a few of them.
He couldn't see their ships just yet, but it was clear from the touch of The Force that Adria and Jago were sorely outnumbered. What the pirates had to use against the two Jedi was beyond the scope of Jago's perception at the moment, but he was well aware that stealth and surprise were going to be the weapons that won the day.
Wordlessly, the Jedi Ace inverted and pulled back, sending his fighter careening even lower before flipping back over and leveling out. With luck, Adria would have followed. The quick maneuver was to put them "under" where Jago had sensed the activity, knowing that most larger ships bore their guns on their dorsals, and not their bellies. If the pirates had anything decently sized, the pair of X-Wings could get a nice, unopposed shot against it.~
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Post by Adria Doran on May 5, 2013 19:15:42 GMT -8
Adria did indeed follow Jago's lead, a bit too quickly if anyone were to have been watching. She smiled slightly: she had always had exceptional foresight, and her Jedi training -- as well as the Lorrdian crystal pendant and a similar crystal placed within her lightsaber -- had only served to enhance that quality in her. As such, her maneuver matched his within a split second, as birds moving within a flock, or fish moving within a school: unified movement by some mechanism unknown.
She also recognized the point of the maneuver -- she wouldn't have made it so quickly if she had just been "following the leader" -- but she also realized there could have been a problem with it. This was designed to get underneath them, where their guns would be weakest. But what if they weren't oriented the same way as the two X-Wing pilots? This was space, there was nothing to say that the pirates weren't oriented upside down relative to the way the two Jedi were flying right now. But she trusted in Jago, and she trusted in the Force. Besides, if there were any problems, she would deal with them as they came..
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Jago
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Post by Jago on May 6, 2013 9:40:55 GMT -8
~ A dark shape began appearing above the cockpits of the fighter pilot duo, Jago's eyes trying to pierce the veil placed over them by the foreboding nebula. He didn't dare turn to his sensors to try and readout what the ship was: to do so would have brought the entirety of the enemy force down on their heads. He also doubted that the one silhouette was all there was to the pirates operating in the area: it was probably their command ship. Quick calculations in his head sorted out the distance, the relative size of the blob, related the information with a scale of reference to other scenarios he had been in before, and came up with a somewhat accurate guess that the vessel was around 200 meters in length (most likely under), and maybe ... 5 kilometers out? 4? The fact that they were this close before even being able to see the damn thing should have been a wake-up call to what operating in the Corridor would feel like for the rest of the mission.
The blob appeared to be tapered towards the front, with a somewhat smaller midsection leading towards a large stern. Jago thought that the ship's port was facing them ... Thought. It was still incredibly hard to make out, and he wasn't even sure if he was reading the angle properly. Regardless, there was their target, and the Jedi could feel the life teeming off of it, as well as flickers of emotion. Anticipation. Mostly anticipation, an anxiousness waiting for ... something. He disregarded it for now, somewhat already aware of why the crew of the vessel would be jumpy. Adria probably wouldn't, but, then again, that was the plan all along.
Now to approach this thing ...
Wordlessly, Jago reached above his head and flicked a small switch. The vacuum of space did not hear the familiar whine of hydraulics that touched Jago's ears in the cockpit as his wings parted into the visage that gave the X-Wing its name. Immediately, his targeting computer registered that the laser cannons were now active, leaving the pilot calibrating the guns to synchronize with his sensors. He set the deadly armament to fire in linked pairs, giving a decent amount of power per shot while still enabling him to fire somewhat rapidly, then told his targeting computer to have the lasers converge within 100 meters. Close range, up and personal: the nebula practically demanded it. He was confident of his abilities to stick tight on an enemy fighter jinking and juking at that range. His HHUD responded by overlaying a digital gunsight in front of him on the transparitseel of the canopy, taking into account the motion of his fighter with where his shots would go.
Next, he took the few seconds to distribute his shields to double-front for the first pass, then made a quick command through the computer to have them angle out to even coverage at the touch of a button. Almost as an afterthought, Jago upped the distortion in his Miradyne 6x-Phantom jammer: it'd play a little havoc with his own targeting systems, but it'd also delay any pilots from getting a solid lock on the XJ9D. Coupled with incredibly poor visibility, Jago knew it'd be a life saver more than a hindrance.
With his own layout complete, Jago then used landing lights on his fighter to begin signaling Adria, maintaining communication silence in favor of a more stealthy way of talking. With Blink Code, he instructed the potential Dragon to ease off to his left and swoop down from the ship that they were approaching. He, in turn, would bank right and go up, striking the vessel from two entirely different angles at the same time so that the enemy's response would have to be split. It was an older tactic, for sure, but if it wasn't broke, Jago wasn't going to fix it. Such misdirection and simple ploys had won the day for the Alliance over fifty years ago, after all.
Finally set up for their first attack run, Jago slammed his throttle down, pulled his stick back and hard to the right while pressing the pedal under his right foot, and catapulted himself away from Adria. Accelerated to attack speed, the newly instated Dragon Five set his plan into motion.
The Pirates wouldn't even see the first shots coming.~
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Post by Adria Doran on May 6, 2013 19:03:21 GMT -8
While Jago was setting up everything in his fighter to get ready for the engagement, Adria was practically mirroring his actions in her own cockpit, with two exceptions: her fighter lacked the Miradyne 6x-Phantom jammer, and she chose not to reallocate her shields to double-front. Doing so would have left her rear unguarded, and she had vaped more than a few fighters that had thought they had the element of surprise and gone double-front, only to realize that they were the ones being taken by surprise. She was not going to make the same mistake as they did, even if it meant a little less protection in the front, especially since there was no way of knowing for absolute sure if there was anything else out here. She preferred to shift everything to the front only when she was going into a head-to-head dogfight, and even then only for a short period of time.
When he broke high and right, she pushed her stick forward to the left and opened up her throttle, maneuvering into the position he had indicated for her. And when she sensed that he had reached his position and had turned to face the enemy ship, she did too. The two of them accelerated into their attack runs simultaneously, and when they got close enough to finally identify the ship for what it was -- an Interceptor IV-class frigate -- the two Jedi opened fire together, hitting the frigate in two lines along its hull before breaking off.
She was about to swing around for another pass when her danger sense flared and instinct took over. She snapped her stick to the left, performing a port-side aileron roll, just as a flurry of green laser bolts flew past her, followed by the distinctive shape of a TIE Interceptor. In the middle of the roll, she snapped her stick back towards her chest, causing her fighter to fly "down" relative to the frigate, as another stream of laser bolts just barely brushed against her rear shields on the way down.
Good thing I left those shields on.
She reached out with the Force, focusing on the battlefield around her while her body went on brief autopilot, snapping the stick back again so that she leveled out and didn't keep moving in a straight, easy-to-shoot line.
Feels like a full squadron. Six for me, six for him.
She snapped her stick back one more time, bringing her fighter back up and into the fray.
Let's do this.
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Jago
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Post by Jago on May 7, 2013 7:39:52 GMT -8
~ The small frigate (practically a corvette) shuddered as the two X-Wings made their first attack run, Jago having unleashed a pair of explosive ordnance in the form of shadow bombs to give the pirates something to fear. Deadly weapons, those: undetectable and with no targeting system other than a Force User's mind, meaning that there was no more accurate means of destruction in the entire known Galaxy. His shots and projectiles crashed in against the engines of the ship, seeking to overload the shields there as quickly as possible so as to disable the vessel from fleeing. Sadly, the deflectors held out enough where only a laser blast or two got through before Jago was too close to maintain the attack.
His foot slammed the left rudder pedal as his hand on the flight stick responded in kind, veering the sleek snubfighter off to the side of the converted bulk freighter and into the pandemonium of dogfighting. It seemed that a squadron of TIE Interceptors had taken offense to Adria and Jago greeting their mother ship, and a trio of the deadly fighters were currently barreling towards Jago's nose. He grinned.
His throttle stayed wide open, giving his fighter the speed and maneuverability to match the Ex-Imperial hardware seeking to kill him, but as the distances rapidly closed, he did not fire. Wait for it, he told himself, even as verdant lances leaped from the aggressive-looking tips of the Interceptors. His jammer, however, combined with the natural visual distortion caused by the nebula, made it possible to avoid most of the damage with only slight touches to the pedals and stick, sliding his fighter through the vacuum first to the left, then down, then to the right. Jago winced sharply as his strike craft shook violently, a splash of green covering his view for a brief moment as one of the blasters struck home. His shields absorbed the shot like it was nothing, but it was still a hit he didn't want to take. Thankfully, his forward deflectors had been bolstered, allowing them to take more punishment and still be fine when they evened out.
Now he was in range, and the second his targeting computer whistled that his guns could be used, Jago was replying. The fighters were approaching in a triangular formation: smart, so as best to divide their fire into even coverage, but Jago knew well enough to exploit it by either keeping towards the center (the approaching craft would run into one another if they angled too far inwards), or by gliding towards the edges where only two of the craft could be. Unfortunately, it set them up to be blasted into oblivion. Jago obliged them.
His foot pressed hard on the left pedal, tilting his stick gently to the right as he flew and squeezing the trigger in short, controlled bursts. His X-Wing slid left but began to roll around an invisible central axis, the rudder still dragging the fighter to its side as the touch on the flight stick changed the craft's orientation. The Interceptor on the left bought it first, two bolts of crimson piercing the cockpit, striking the Twin Ion Engine in the rear of the fighter, and annihilating it entirely. Jago continued his roll, now upside down in relation to the fighter formation, firing once more. The 'Squint' on top had its right solar panel ripped from the fuselage, sending the tiny space ship into an uncontrollable spin. Finally, the XJ9D started to come back down from its barrel roll, eliciting a small curse from its pilot.
The last TIE, smart enough to realize what was going on, had banked sharply to his left, Jago's lasers just barely scratching the rear of one of the solar panels: the quadanium armor still held, but that alone was an interesting enough fact: these fighters weren't shielded, like they would be nowadays in an official military.
All too easy.
The Interceptor bugged out, leaving Jago to not complete the roll but instead go into a hard turn while facing away from the TIE. It'd put some distance between them, for sure, but it was a step most fighter pilots forgot about their attacks: properly disengaging. Failing to do so could be a death knell, and Jago was not about to get vaped by some sloppy corsair, that was for sure. He pressed the button he had set up earlier to even out his shields, grimacing at the fact that his coverage was down below 80%: that one blast had been a little stronger than the senior pilot would have thought. Were the pirates using amped-up weaponry?
Regardless, Dragon Five's craft whipped around quickly, zeroing in on its prey that tried to run. The Interceptor was being smart, going into a tight turn to try and use its incredible agility and small size to make it an incredibly difficult target to hit. Most likely calling for back-up if Jago fell into the trap and tried to slip in behind it, which would cause another Squint to catch his tail and blow him to pieces.
Wrong move.
Rather than follow into the 2D motion, which was practically a death sentence, Jago defeated it by initiating a 3D maneuver: climbing up above the position of the Squint, then inverting and diving upon it. Its buddy had to have already responded to a call for aid, however, as lights of brilliant green shot past Jago's field of view while diving. On instinct, he turned hard to his right, aborting the pounce on his escaped victim and pushing towards the Interceptor now gunning for him. By turning towards an enemy approaching him, there would be little time to react or fire accurately, thus forcing an overshoot. He'd have to deal with both of the fighters separately, now.~
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Post by Adria Doran on May 11, 2013 12:33:24 GMT -8
While she was coming back up out of her downward loop, her danger sense flared up, and she pushed her stick down hard without a second thought. A quartet of green laser bolts flew past the top of her cockpit as she leveled her fighter out into a straight flight path.
Well, kriff.
She put her X-Wing into a sudden downward spiral, then off to the left, then forward again, all relative to the frigate, keeping her fighter spinning to avoid impact, but she could still feel them there. The Squints were right behind her, elatedly following her fighter, and they were keeping a constant stream of laserfire flowing as they kept up with her every move. The small fighters were much more agile than she was; there was no conceivable way she could turn and lose them, not this far away from her fellow Jedi pilot. It was time for a daring maneuver.
"Seer, we're gonna have to do an Overshoot. Confirm?"
Upon the droid's affirmative whistle, she leveled out her fighter once more, letting the Squints get a solid bead on her, then pulled back her throttle slightly, just enough to let them get a bit closer... Then pulled it all the way back, bringing her thrust down to 0%; at the same time, Seer activated the forward thrusters and switched the main engines into reverse, and she pushed the throttle back up halfway, essentially bringing her X-Wing to a very fast halt. The remaining engine power cycled into bolstering her rear shields, and as soon as she felt her opponent's sudden alarm, she cycled back the throttle and closed her eyes.
There and there.
In the split second she had until the Squints shot past her, she could see in her mind exactly where they were going to be. She didn't have time to smile, didn't have time to think, didn't have time to do anything but orient her fighter towards where the foremost Squint would be, and push the firing stud. The lasers left her cannons at the same moment the Squints shot past her, and the two different vectors converged. Her fire tore through the first Interceptor, leaving a sudden pile of debris in the path of the second one. When she opened her eyes, both fighters were gone, and she pushed the throttle back up to 100%.
This was the most dangerous part of her maneuver: the time required to get back up to full speed. Her shields had taken some hits; they were down around 75%, but the fact that she had cycled power from her engines had helped take the last hit before the Overshoot maneuver. She could feel that there were more TIEs out there, but just a single hit from a linked pair had been enough to tear that Squint's cockpit to shreds. She cycled her laser's powers down in order to boost her engine's acceleration, and soon she was off flying full-speed again, cycling the power back into the lasers once she had hit a proper dogfighting speed.
Who's next?
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Jago
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Post by Jago on May 12, 2013 9:40:20 GMT -8
~ Whatever element of surprise the two Yavinites had in the beginning was gone now. Though the Squints were piloted only by Pirates, they still were not a stupid enemy and had been the victors of several engagements before. Suffering the loss of four fighters filled the remainders with anger and determination to blast the two X-Wings into oblivion, especially now that their frigate was finally awakening from its stupor. The day just become that much harder.
After shooting by the TIE Interceptor that had chosen to take him on, Jago was forced to snap-roll his fighter to the right as a large laser blast shot directly in front of his nose. The Frigate's turbolasers, while slow and inaccurate against such small, mobile targets like starfighters, would still vape either X-Wing with one shot, not to mention most of those pirate vessels were filled to the brim with concussion missiles. It was perhaps not a huge threat to the nimble XJs of Dragon Squadron, but still something that had to be considered. The Frigate would have to be destroyed ... But not yet. Jago needed it alive, for reasons hidden from Adria.
Instead, he focused his mind on the fight at hand, his passive sensors still picking up the whirlwind of activity in the local area. He refrained from putting them to active: the more he could remain hard to accurately detect, the better. His eyes took in the HHUD readouts even as his mind stretched out to the life around him. There was Adria, fresh off of two victories and hungry for more. There was her next challenger. Or, rather, challengers: Two Interceptors approaching on angles, one from her 8 o'clock low, the other barreling in from 3 o'clock high. They held their fire, though: they were waiting to coordinate their shots, it seemed, for maximum effect, and they had chosen different vectors to account for any escape moves the Dragon potential could make: If she dove or banked to the left, the TIE above her was on the pursuit. Vice versa if she climbed or swung to the right. Clever, Jago mused.
But he wasn't about to let the newest Dragon not reach graduation.
:: Drake, you've picked up two on your tail, :: he warned her, :: Turn to face them. ::
It was a common tactic that when you couldn't run to defend yourself, the only response was to instead attack. It was just a matter of turn rate and speed: Turn too hard or too fast, and an overshoot became possible. Too little or too slow, and the maneuver wouldn't be completed in time to be effective. Jago tried to reach Adria to support her and maybe nab one of the fighters, but was delayed by the scream of Bee-Wan and the flash of a red light in the cockpit.
" Missile lock!?" he exclaimed in surprise as the klaxon in his fighter matched his intensity. He had been focused on Adria's situation to the point where he had ignored the two fighters he had been dealing with. However, with the particle dust of the nebula and the slight stealth systems he had active, he had assumed he had a few seconds to spare to survey their status. His impressions had been shattered, and a new piece of knowledge had been gained: the TIEs were packing warheads, and seemed to have slightly upgraded targeting computers. Both were deadly additions to an already murderous starfighter.
A quick look at his sensor readouts showed that the pair of fighters Jago had left alone were now on his tail, and all too eager to put their adversary into a coffin. The Jedi responded by stripping power from his guns and dumping all the reserve energy into his four thrusters, blasting the X-Wing off with such force that not even the inertial compensator could stop him from being pressed back into the seat. He sought to put as much distance between him and the TIEs as possible, just as the blaring alarm changed to a steadily-paced beep, growing faster and louder by the second.
The missiles had been fired.
Jago accounted for this, letting his fighter drift into a left turn, making sure not to pull too sharply on the stick: he wanted the concussion warheads to follow him, not track him enough to gauge his future position and plug him. The small salvo of four missiles responded, arcing through space in a curve in-line with the X-Wing. Jago kept his throttle wide open, continuing the slow turn at high speed, the Interceptors being foolish enough to follow their ordnance to confirm the kill rather than try and box him in in conjunction with the explosive payload. The Jedi Pilot let out a silent thanks to Wodin, Sky God Of War, for this fact, finally completing his bank to put himself headed straight at the Frigate.
The warship spied the fighter approaching in a straight line and let out a turbolaser blast, Jago's sensors catching the energy spike and allowing him to slip his fighter under the large bolt. He had a window of a few seconds before the gun could fire again, and used that chance to spear right at the Frigate while decelerating a touch. The warning tone in his cockpit increased in tempo and pitch even as Jago lined his nose up right against the turbolaser battery on the port side of the pirate ship.
He reached inside the magazine of his X-Wing's torpedo bay, feeling an explosive charge just waiting to be unleashed in a combustion of fusion, fire, and fear. His mind's hand held the weight of the shadow bomb: it's smooth, bullet-shaped surface, the tremendous power of the payload within. His very soul grasped the weapon and pushed it, jettisoning it out of the launcher under his fuselage into the vacuum of space, where no friction could impede it's path.
The missiles drew closer. The bomb raced towards the Frigate, even as it began its charge cycle to power its gun. And Jago, in between it all, felt at peace.
There was a certain type of Jedi that drew upon the chaos of conflict in space, where there was no restrictions or limitations. A Jedi that could center himself in the midst of laser fire and the blossoming of explosives. A Jedi that could understand the detachment of death from in the cockpit, and only felt truly alive when hurtling through flames in a piece of metal, with only his wits to truly keep him alive.
The Jedi Ace. Jago Pulastra, Jedi Master of Yavin IV, was one such individual.
The shadow bomb unleashed its destructive fury against the shields of the warship, weakening them. Jago pumped power into his guns to have them bark rapidly, whittling away at the defensive barrier, finally slamming his throttle down to full power and pulling back on the stick. The missile alert had achieved a drum roll as the X-Wing climbed over the pirate vessel, the concussion missiles behind it unable to match the tight turning radius of an XJ9D utilizing its maneuvering thrusters on the wingtips. They bowled into the weakened shields, dropping them in the local area so that one of the deadly darts impacted the barrel of the turbolaser, turning it into molten slag from heat and kinetic energy.
Without even turning back to look or check, Jago inverted over the dorsal of the Interceptor IV-class Frigate and swept down its starboard side, looping the ship entirely to get back into the fight.~
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Post by Adria Doran on May 20, 2013 18:58:17 GMT -8
She could feel the TIEs coming at her, could see them in her mind's eye, even as Jago opened the comm to warn her.
:: Roger that. ::
She pushed her stick forward slightly, beginning to drop her fighter downwards, and held it until she felt the TIEs behind her begin to adjust accordingly, then pulled the stick back sharply to turn her X-Wing upwards... and keep on turning, pulling back the throttle to ease the engines down halfway through the turn, then leveling out when she was facing the oncoming fighters, now located at her 11 o'clock high and 2 o'clock low. They were close; the one at her 2 o'clock was a bit farther away, but the shot was too perfect to pass up on her 11. She tweaked her control stick to the left and opened her throttle to full again, as she pressed her thumb against the firing stud and let fly with a flurry of linked-pair laserfire aimed at the Squint's cockpit.
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L???? ?o R??
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Affiliation: The Way of Lapay
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Post by L???? ?o R?? on Nov 11, 2013 8:41:40 GMT -8
In the fore-facing cockpit of The Darkness, seated comfortably in his pilot's chair, Lapay no Ken mused thoughtfully amid the familiar beeps and hums. The ship had slid gently into space from the hangars. Its handling indicated no memory of five years of disuse; instead, like an old friend coming to greet you for the first time in so long, the time apart had slipped away like so much nothingness. In this familiar seat, Ken thought about his former master.
In the end, he had not had time to learn the teachings. He knew the Sith Code, as it had been drilled into him by Lord Cronal. And what had Ryu had to offer, besides a new name? Merely an interpretation of the Code! He had pointed out that Ken was misguided, slightly. That's all. So what was important? Freedom. We know that. Freedom is the goal of every Sith worth his salt. How do you get freed? You take the shackles off of yourself.
That's what power does for you. Enables you to take your shackles off.
Shackles...
"...this ship would really improve if I could imprison people in it. All that cargo space is pretty worthless, but maybe if I install some jail cells, it would brighten the place up..."
Why would you want to imprison people, Ken? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
But then again, to be able to capture people alive does prove that you are more powerful than they are.
It also doesn't waste their lives. Who knows? They could become useful in the future, either as bargaining chips or as slaves to your will.
There's no question about it, then. Ken's mind is made up.
He pulls up a quick search for known prison colonies within the ship's computer and sorts the results by proximity, and from there the destination is clear. A simple jog down the Corellian Trade Spine and then detouring off in the Rimma Trade Route, both easy-to-navigate hyperlanes, and he'll be right at Kiffex-- the location of the prison colonies for the entire Kiffu Sector. Once there, he should be able to talk his way into getting specs on the types of detainment cells that exist.
Most excellent. Without hesitation, Ken enters the coordinates and follows the navicomputer's orientation instructions. Once the preparations are complete, he pulls on the lever and sends The Darkness into the jump to hyperspace.
Ever since forming this plan of action, the sinister smile of absolute glee has not left his mouth.
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Krzesimir Viggo
The First Order
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Affiliation: First Order
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Post by Krzesimir Viggo on Jul 3, 2014 14:07:18 GMT -8
Pawn arrived in a well worn bulk freighter, carrying mostly paint, oddly enough. A quick broadcast pulled most of the pirates in the system to his freighter, where they took up escort positions, hesitantly, as most were competitors. However none were bitter rivals so they formed up with out to much cajoling. They then escorted Pawn's Bishop to a small station where the leaders met with Pawn and he reviewed the contracts each had signed with him and laying out how the near future looked to him. It wasn't the usual take over, as he was content to let them run their shows as they saw fit, so long as the objectives handed down were accomplished neatly. And best of all, as far as they were concerned he didn't want a share of their profits. The overall structure was rather feudal, with some being given larger tracts of space to "patrol" according to the resources of the group in question. Somehow or another he did it without slighting anyone, or provoking a fight between his newest vassals. The first objective, was to secure the system. This was done in four hours, as most of the remaining pirates were wiling to join up or move n rather than fight this new confederation of pirates. One group tried to fight, and they fought with skill, but they were outnumbered and the fresh recruits absorbed most of the damage, further solidifying the Grey Court. The second objective, was to paint a symbol somewhere on each craft available to signify it's owner was a member of the Grey Court. The symbol was a simple holo-chess piece, of the painter's choice placed near the individual group's insignia, preferably of similar size to the group insignia.
The Grey court was a motley force to be sure, with only two capital-class ships, and both mere corvettes by size. But most ships were capable of hyperspace travel, so their reach wasn't to hampered. The GC's nobles attended court, with Pawn taking the seat of power, and considered how to approach the days to come. Ideas were and the seeds of plans were discussed and rehashed. A few sparks were made, but things moved with surprising speed and congeniality considering the group of beings in question.
The nobility consisted of two Dukes, a female quarren, as cold as hoth's frozen core, proud owner of The Flying Krakana, an ancient hull that had been upgraded through the years, originally a stock Derriphan-class battleship. It was still slow, and lightly shielded, but it's armor remained thick and mostly unscathed, and it could pack a surprising punch. The second Duke, an unlikely figure indeed, a male Yapi, a clever and devious owner of the Torvid, a Vigil-class Corvett with minor modifications. Each duke also had several fighter class ships at their disposal. Five counts were in residence, each having at least four support-class vessels at their command (mostly post assimilation of other groups), and the rest, nine beings of various species, were barons, in command of a handful of light-freighters and/or fighters in relatively small but tight-nit groups.
In total the forces of the Grey Court collectively currently amounted to two corvette analogues, twenty-six support analogues, and over fifty assorted fighters. A small but tough and lean fighting force. Discipline wasn't high on the group's list of priorities, but they each new how to cover a crewman's back, even if they didn't always trust them. Pawn offered some advice, mostly pertinent intel, about several of the plans brought to the table, and adjustments were made accordingly, before requesting a list needed parts and supplies, to be sent as soon as acquired. This list took about an hour to finalize as the definition of need, was difficult to pin down across the board, though eventually the vague term "battle-ready" was adopted. Pawn looked the list over and suggested that the needed supplies should arrive within two local weeks. He suggested that until then, the group should occupy themselves with joint war games to allow them to grow accustomed to the fighting styles of each noble.
Pawn left soon after, quite pleased with the progress made today, though he didn't allow his expression to show it. This was just another little strong point, from which he could call a few resources at a latter date. His ship, a simple bulk freighter for now, left the same way it had come into system, and was lost to the twisting tunnels of light called hyperspace only six hours after it had arrived.
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Krzesimir Viggo
The First Order
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Affiliation: First Order
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Post by Krzesimir Viggo on Jul 13, 2014 17:13:45 GMT -8
The Grey Court planned several objective based games, and they generated some surprising results. Objectives that had appeared easy proved very difficult, while others were completed with surprising ease as each noble and his or her crew brought their special talents to bear against their competition in a mostly friendly contest of skill. The next set of games proved the adaptability of the nobility as they organized objectives that would give boons to one side, while penalizing the other, without removing any tools from the toolbox, and seeing how well each group adapted. Every group got to participate in objectives where they received the boon only as many times as they participated in objectives where they received the penalty.
One Baron in particular showed himself to be well equipped to deal with the unexpected. An Iktotchi called Sanjeev Riit, he commanded only a modified VCX-350, Pramod, and two Manta-class assault starfighters. The addition of two sustained Ion cannon turrets to the Pramod's forward corners and three additional dual heavy laser cannons, as well as refitting the original armament to be a full turret, coupled with the all Iktotchi crew, made for a frightening opponent in any situation. The only thing he lacked was a missile or torpedo system, but ordnance for those were expensive so he didn't mind the lack. He couldn't effectively engage capitol-class ships, but then he didn't need to. He could out run them, and fend off their fighter escorts with ease. When put on the offensive, he'd use a dangerous tactic that involved the fighters detaching from his hull just before leaving hyperspace, so that they exited hyperspace in pursuit of his "wounded" vessel, and brought the unsuspecting local authorities to his aid, often leaving themselves vulnerable to his surprise assault as they chased the fighters off. This worked well on small security worlds where only a few ships patrolled the system, as the sudden demise of one of their ships was usually enough to bring the officials to the negotiation table. For his skill and daftness, he was awarded command of the first collaborative raid on a substantially populated system. The exact target hadn't been selected yet, and he would get a say in that choice, equal to that of the two dukes.
Until that time, scheduled to be shortly after the arrival of the new parts, the group worked together to gather and train enough recruits to fill the gaps in their usually short handed crews. Most of these were young and raw, but a few skilled hands were convinced of the benefits of signing on too. The supply ship arrived right on schedule, and with the crews up to manufacturer recommendations for each vessel, plus a handful to be left behind as home guards on the station, should anyone else get any bright ideas. Each vessel began making the necessary repairs and refits, The Flying Krakana received an almost complete overhaul, the crew working feverishly to finish work quickly. It would not be participating in the collaborative raid, due to the extensiveness of the much needed repairs and upgrades. A list of viable targets was made and reviewed, with each system receiving a recon visit from the groups lighter ships, to provide as much information as possible to the raid planners.
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Krzesimir Viggo
The First Order
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Post by Krzesimir Viggo on Sept 29, 2014 15:54:36 GMT -8
The Grey Court thrived in the relatively lawless regions of local space, consistently avoiding the local patrols usually with speed and occasionally with the help of a good informant. In it's own way the court helped to stabilize the region, by driving off competition and generally being much more precise and organized than their counter parts. This minimized collateral damages, which often made it easier to turn an officials head with a bribe or side deal. The group was now a very permanent addition to this region of space and they often did as much to keep snoops out as they did to work the system. Many of the lower vassals had worked their way into various security organizations, especially the few guarding a planet or system, as customs enforcers, with some of the confiscated contraband lining their own pockets. In this way the court received several new vessels, and a substantial amount of raw and processed goods, mostly weapons and spice. Some criminal big wig was really into spice, and kept trying to expand into the court's region of influence, with very little success. The free, or at least low cost, goods added up to a hefty profit margin for the Grey Court and it's many members.
Breaking the flow of things, a coded transmission designates a rather large luxury liner to be the next target, with a rather odd stipulation for their employer. It was to be emptied, with all compartments opened to the void of space. It was to be emptied shortly before arrival in the Corellian system, before being sent on it's way again. Hitting the liner would take them outside of their zone of Influence, so this would be a high risk operation, but the contracts required it be taken. The nobility gathered to discuss how to bring the desired goal into reality with the least risk for the GC. The simple solution was to put several highly skilled members onto the liner, and then simply have them introduce a virus into the system to vent all compartments simultaneously, before sending the ship to an out of the way system to be picked clean by the crews of the GC, who would then program the rest of the journey into the ship's navi-comp and then leave it to finish it's journey alone.
Once the plan was decided on, and crews selected to do the job, individuals were assigned roles and given the necessary tools to complete their role, before being sent off to their point of boarding. The remaining crews worked hard to minimize the effects of having so many people disappear within their region of influence. Both would have difficult jobs, and several allowances were already planned to ease the work load on those staying behind, but things could get nasty fast if everyone wasn't playing at the top of their game for this one.
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Krzesimir Viggo
The First Order
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Affiliation: First Order
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Post by Krzesimir Viggo on Oct 29, 2014 12:05:05 GMT -8
The Grey Court received yet another surprise from their benefactor. Their work had apparently impressed him a great deal, as he sent details for various parts of the Grey Court to spend about a month at various resorts and gambling dins on his own dime. Those who'd been tasked with staying home went on leave first, in several staggered waves, and then the rest in the same staggered waves. While this was happening the court began considering doing such things with some frequency. Most of the nobles had already selected their own distinct holo-chess piece to represent them and their sub-organization, many now decided to begin leaving their designated piece floating or otherwise depicted on their targets, especially those that were designated to be examples.
All of the ships now being used by the Grey Court were running at peak performance, thanks to several new mechanics and technicians sent to the GC by Pawn, as part of his thanks and congratulations for a job very well done. Some of the uglies were scrapped so that better vessels could be made; some of these rivaled even mainline fighters in performance. This was unusual edge being provided to the group, which was now equipped more like a para-military organization than the rag-tag pirates they had been. Still their co-ordination and skill were still very nearly at their previous levels, though they were slowly improving both across the board. The court began wondering what they should do next, as they were very nearly the masters of the black market within the region as it stood. They considered expanding their operations, moving into public eye by taking defacto control of the region, simply removing the civil authorities and keeping things in a state of semi-controlled anarchy, building up their forces, and even a few thoughts on how to diminish the hutt clans one of the biggest competitors in the neighboring regions. No real plans were set into motion though, as the group took time to enjoy a relaxed pace after the extensive hard work they'd put forth to bring everything together.
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Krzesimir Viggo
The First Order
Posts: 360
Affiliation: First Order
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Post by Krzesimir Viggo on Nov 30, 2014 18:53:45 GMT -8
The arrival of a Victory-II class vessel in the Hoth system, sent a jolt through the court, even that one ship would pose a considerable threat to the motley court. And if it forced the burden of defense upon the court they would be put in to great disadvantage. The dukes met and considered the options available to them, reviewing all available data on the vessel. They concluded the ship was unlikely to be the cause of any significant threat to the court. It's controller's interests lay elsewhere, and was probably just looking for a back water world to conduct less than legal business. They were moderately annoyed that they didn't have the means to muscle a margin of profit from whatever business was being conducted in the Hoth system, but there wasn't much they could do about it, so the decided to task someone with conducting a more in depth recon of the ship, perhaps even intercept any transmissions it might be sending. Lots were cast, and the duke that won responsibility for the task, selected a ship and crew kitted out for this more clandestine form of piracy, and sent them their objective: gather as much intel on the court's new neighbor for the duration of it's visit. They were in route within three hours of the first news of the new arrival.
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Krzesimir Viggo
The First Order
Posts: 360
Affiliation: First Order
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Krzesimir Viggo on Jun 5, 2015 18:39:21 GMT -8
The Gray Court was given an new task, this one was designed to test their efficiency in taking small targets. A single being was designated, one Vee H'rel, currently located on Mandalore, with plans to visit Coruscant in the near future. Pawn suggested that the contract be fulfilled at the destination, after the target's associates had parted ways. That seemed like a very good idea indeed, but the hardest part would be getting into and out of Coruscanti space, not a task to be undertaken by known pirate vessels. Still, it would have to be done by a ship that bore the GC mark, as per contract... That stumped the Court for a time, until someone noted that the contract only specified that the GC symbol be of equal size to the personal mark, and located near that same mark, so a tiny mark, placed where no one would bother looking, would suffice, though a full hull paint scheme would be more gutsy and far more rewarding. That settled the matter, a ship, being operated by a legitimate shuttle company, would be "borrowed" and painted in a full hull scheme of a the same piece that had been left aboard the group's first target, the luxury liner. It would then return to it's normal route, which included a stop at Coruscant and a relatively quick turnaround, leaving the day after arrival as it usually did. At it's next stop, the cargo would be transfered to another GC ship, where it would be brought back to Ison as directly as possible, as per the directive.
Teams were organized and the capture team headed to Coruscant to set up shop, literally, while the extraction team set to painting their new ship.
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