PHD #051: EVENT - Down But Not Out

Down But Not Out

Summary:	Praetorian leads a strike against the Cylons, but finds more than she bargained for.
Date:	18 April 2041 AE
Related Logs:	None

Players:

Space
Where no one can hear you scream
Post-Holocaust Day: #51

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The Praetorian's flight deck was designed to comfortably house a Raptor. Thus it is the very picture of chaos, as three sections of Vipers have been crammed nose-to-tail in the space like shoes in a bulging steel shoebox. Off to one side, the Deck whiteboard has been appropriated by the CAG and Intel's greenest Ensign, while a cluster of flight-suited pilots try to find semi-comfortable perches from which to watch the impromptu briefing.

Cidra stands by the whiteboard, suited up for flight. Only sans helmet. She stands next to said ensign, speaking with him softly in an undertone as the pilots fly about and perch. "Gather 'round, gather," she says as they settle. Her voice isn't overly barking but she knows how to project her Gemenese-accented alto when she wants attention. "We shall try to make this quick, but questions are welcome. The Ensign shall get us started." She gives the stage over to Kulko, lacing her fingers behind her back and waiting.

Laskaris stands off to one side, helmet tucked under his arm and his seal collar already around his neck as he paces in what little space there is to be found. He approaches the whiteboard at the sound of Cidra's summons; leaning against the wing of a nearby Viper, he cranes his neck towards the board, blue-gray eyes first going to Cidra and then Kulko.

Malone moves to place himself in a position where he can lean on that same Viper as Laskaris, in a position where he can see the whiteboard as good as possible.

With space at a premium, Shiv's appropriated the ladder propped up against his loaner viper, a scorched and banged-up Mark II, as his perch for the nonce. His attention rests on the dynamic duo of CAG and unknown Ensign whose voice he's no doubt heard over the radio a time or three, while he finishes off a cup of cold coffee. You takes what you can gets.

Sophronia is standing towards the back, keeping to herself for now while the debrief starts. Movement or sound gets her to look elsewhere for a moment but her attention otherwise remains where it should be, that being those who are going to be giving them the much needed details of what they will be doing.

"Thanks, Major. Hey, y'all. I know we've been itchin' to take the fight to the toasters, so listen up," Kulko begins, standing at parade rest. "The target is a communications relay on the outskirts of the system, formerly Colonial,She used to route lightspeed comms from Caprica to Virgon; now we're fairly sure the enemy has appropriated the entire network to supplement their command and control functions. We're gonna blow the damn thing to Hades and back, and show 'em we don't just roll over and give up so easy."

Not much of an artist, Kulko simply draws a circle with two lines coming out of it in the center of the whiteboard. "Here's the relay. It's too heavy to destroy with guns, so ordinarily we'd use missiles. But, it's surrounded…" as he speaks, he makes a series of dots appear in the compass directions around the circle, "by six stationary gun turrets, which I'm fair certain are gonna start shootin' once you get near. They also do point defense, so we're gonna do this the old fashioned way. Major?"

One arm folded low across his chest, the other clutching the helmet of his suit, Evan's taken up a spot not far behind Lasher for a line of sight over to the whiteboard. The allegations of itchiness at the outset garner a brief lofting of brows and a flitting of eyebeams from face to face across the cramped space before they return to the Ensign at the board.

Maybe only present to make sure the Deck whiteboard makes it back to it's proper owners in one piece, Zosime stands toward the back and also in a suit. The deckie feels a little out of place among all the pilots, but she watches the scene unfolding with characteristic curiosity, her arms folded in front of her. It's obvious she's nervous, but she tries to keep that tempered down.

Dallas Covington is perched on the edge of some kind of toolbox. A flicker of something passes across her face as Kulko mentions bringing the fight to the cylons, and as the drawing on the board progresses, she leans slightly and notes under her breath, "Kinda reminds me 'f somethin' they showed us in Sex Ed back in high school. 'Cept with less frowny faces an' angry cryin' babies."

Cidra follows Kulko's rudimentary drawing, nodding short, then turning to her pilots. "First task shall be to take out those turrets so we can get a Raptor in near that relay without getting its backside blown off. That shall fall to the small complement of Vipers we've along for this jaunt. You all flew the gods-cursed-strange field in Parnassus so you should be familiar with turrets such as this by now. Vipers shall focus on two or three of the turrets and open a lane for one of our Harriers. You don't need to clear them all, just enough for a clear in. Once that done, said Raptor shall enter with an EVA team." That said, she gives the floor to Kulko again, to explain said team.

Sluuuurp. Sitka continues drinking his coffee, blue eyes squinted a touch as Kulko's drawing progresses. That ain't no Picasso, that's for sure. His thumb rubs at his upper lip absently when Cidra takes the floor, her tactical direction mulled quietly. No questions from him. Yet.

Malone nods a little bit as he hears that part, glancing around at the other pilots present for a few moments. Then back to the front.

"Right. Then comes the fun part. The Raptor will get snug up to the relay and discharge a CMC demolitions team. Deck, you're here as suit support - Marine training is light on EVA ops." Kulko draws another terrible sketch, basically a vertical rectangle with a shaded box in the middle. "The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. The detonation will start a chain reaction which should destroy the relay." He caps the pen and taps the shaded box. "Marines plant the bomb. Everyone RTBs, we watch the fireworks and head home."

Alessandra looks up and has to smile some, recalling a conversation she had with the XO of the Cerberus just yesterday. "Yeah, let's see if this goes the way people are planning it," she half-whispers to herself; not too overly worried about if she's heard or not, she doesn't monitor the volume of her voice for that purpose but rather to keep from interrpting Kulko and the Major.

"In quick, hit hard, out fast, that is the goal of the day," Cidra says, eyes sweeping over the assembled pilots. Perhaps she heard Alessandra. Perhaps she did not. Always hard to tell with the woman when it comes to reading outward reactions. She could probably win decent money at Triad.

Dallas nods along, as Kulko takes to drawing once more, on the heels of Cidra's explanation. Green eyes scan the gathered pilots, marines, deck, and pause only briefly on her SL. Her attention returns to Kulko shortly. When he says 'fireworks', she makes a bomb exploding noise under her breath. Otherwise, the woman remains quiet. That's not going to last.

Malone looks around once more as he listens, nodding a little bit to himself now. "Always liked watching the fireworks…" he mutters under his breath.

Evandreus gives a quick degree of nod as the Raptor portion of the mission is laid out. A game of Sit Very, Very, Very Still seems to be on for the evening. Though the stakes are a little higher than scuffed paint, this time.

"Only one Raptor is tasked for the attack force," Kulko explains further, replacing the marker on the bottom of the whiteboard. "Remaining Raptors are gonna jump in formation with Praetorian. Remember that trick we pulled back in the wargames? Each Raptor should be squawking Battlestar. Idea is to trick the toasters into thinking we've got a proper fleet bouncin' around. Last thing they see is four battlestars and a frigate before things go dark. Any questions?"

No questions from Lasher; 'get in, hit hard, get out' seems to be enough for the grizzled Viper captain. There's a brief look to his own pilots before he shoves himself off the Viper, arms folding over each other as his eyes wander to the board, then his ship.

Sitka returns the look given him by his Lieutenant, though it's fairly fleeting. His attention returns to the CAG — and by proxy, the young Ensign jointly conducting the briefing — and he nods slowly. "Do we expect hostiles?" he calls up to the front, and tosses back the remainder of his coffee. "I mean, of the cylon variety. I don't imagine that out there in an EVA suit while being shot at by raiders, is the best place to be."

Alessandra has no questions and shows such by moving on, heading towards Laskaris while a soft smile hits. "Hey, sir. Want to make a bet as to just which of us will get the least frakked up?" She's joking…maybe. Hard to tell with the twinkle in her eyes and that wry, playful tone. Again, her voice is quiet, just in case the meeting's not over yet.

Get in, get out, blow things up. The best laid plans, someone said. Zosime doesn't have many questions, but then, her job is mostly just to make sure no one blows themselves up. And the Marines should know what they're doing for the most part. Hopefully, she won't be all that necessary other than in a very background sort of way.

Kulko looks to Shiv and takes a moment to think before he responds. "Apart from the turrets, no sir. Least, none of our recon flights noted any enemy presence. That said, I wouldn't go stickin' daisies in your guns, know what I mean?" The briefest flash of a grin from Kulko, who breaks the discomfort by rummaging around in his pocket for a cigarette and lighting it up. "Major Hahn is in command in the field. I'll be in CIC and on-air." Keeping tabs on his baby, and hoping it doesn't frak up too badly.

The barest hint of a smile plays on Cidra's lips at that last from Kulko. "A bit of trickery with our Swallows. If any are out there watching, we leave them on the heels of an illusion of this great battlegroup, making them think our force is stronger than it is in truth." To Sitka she replies, "The hope is to avoid a full-on engagement with the enemy." The hope. "But as the Ensign said, we shall be prepared for eventualities. As said before, in quick and out quick. That is the aim."

Stepping in to … well, rather -crowded- area, Kai's got a few things in tow: awesome helmety goodness, a few heavy bombs in a half-opened backpack - nothing to see there - and a choker that is visible at current point: black velvet with a purple stone, wrapping around her neck rather formally. Makes absolutely no sense for this sort of mission, but the woman never claimed to understand fashion. A wayward, half-checking, half-absent look up, and the group is spotted, path made towards the gathering. She'll wait, on the outskirts, to listen.

There's a small nod from the Petrels' Captain, and a slight smile when daisy-loaded guns is mentioned. "I'll try to refrain," he replies quietly. Then the zipper of his flight suit's inched up, and his empty cup slid onto a repair dolly nearby his viper's ladder. "Wing assignments, sir? Or are we playing this loose?" Snap as he pops open the hardseal on his helmet.

"Assign your Vipers as you will, Captains," Cidra says, to Sitka and Laskaris both. "Lieutenant Doe shall be piloting the EVA Raptor. I shall be back with the Swallow flight. Lieutenant Trask shall be in my backseat. He is something of an expert when it comes to Swallow deployment."

There's a quick nod to Cidra, and Lasher turns to the assembled pilots, focusing in particular on the three other Knights. "Malone, with Lucky. Click, you're with me." A pause to make sure he's understood, and then he turns on his heel and heads for his Mark Seven.

"Gods be with you, and good hunting," Kulko offers up with a crisp salute, before heading for the hatch. He's got CIC types to bother.

A hand rises with her head, ooo, oo, pick her, pick her! Kai pipes up, "S'cuse me, who's my pilot?" These things? Important to know. If she's going to detonate some bombs, she needs to get on a ship first. Right? Clearing her throat, the recently recruited Marine follows belatedly with a 'Sir?'

"Looks like you're with me, cowboy," Sitka asides to the nearby Dallas, perched upon her tool box. "Let's roll." His smile vanishes under his helmet as it's tugged on and fastened at the neck to his flight suit. Then with a brief crack of his knuckles, he clambers on up the ladder into his red and white and charred black fighter.

Evandreus's head turns, chin tipping up and then swiftly down once more when Toast gives out Raptor assignments. Then, when Kai squeaks out, he draws away from Lasher's plane, lifting his free hand, "That's me," he lets her know.

Malone nods as he hears that, not saying anything at the moment, as he starts moving for his Viper. Humming a little under his breath.

"I think we're with Lieutenant Doe in the Raptor," Zosime leans over to whisper to Kai. Of course, Evandreus gives her a visual confirmation first. "That's where I'm headed, too." Strike bombing teams need to stick together and all.

Alessandra's mood sombers and she looks at Malone, the younger pilot getting looked at with a rather sad smile. "Maybe we'll get lucky and won't have any missiles to hunt this time, huh?" One more look is given to Lasher, this being directed at his back while he leaves, but nothing is said to the SL. "Let's go get ready, Malone. Make sure everything's up and green before we have to launch."

There's a nod from Skids, "Yeehaw, Captain." That's said with a little smile, before the blonde pulls her long hair back into a tail, and sets about tucking it under her flight helmet as she climbs up into her viper, parked just behind Shiv's. She pats her viper's 'flank' twice before settling into the ship, her lips moving to an unheard song since her comms aren't yet engaged, but she also dances in her seat. It's gonna be one of those engagements.

"Yes. The EVA team shall be with Lieutenant Doe," Cidra reinterates, with a gesture toward Evandreus. He's friendly-looking. He probably won't bite. "If there are no more questions, you are dismissed. Clear eyes and steady hands out there."

"Yessir." A slow breath, an even release, and her helmet is lifted, sitted, fitted. Heading towards the man in charge of getting her there, Kai offers, "Kai, or Kaja. Whatever. So, I've got the experience, just wanting to make certain pilot preferences you know? What are your plans and when do I eject?" She's got her duty, but damned if Kulko ever came around to explain the rest to this somewhat absentminded girl. A gloved hand sticks out to her pilot, to, just for informalities. Her chatter doesn't cease yet, however. "And don't worry about my babies. They're primed, got a second just in case. Never know when you're in a bind, right? Wouldn't do to leave the backup explosive at home, that's what I always say, so are we headed out now?"

Evandreus shifts his helmet in front of his chest, holding it in both hands as someone might a basketball, about to put it on, but ambling toward the huddle where his passengers are waiting to let them get a look at him before he goes looking like every other pilot in a flight suit. "You'll be with me. I'll get the mark on DRADIS and line us right up. When I decompress us and open the hatch, you'll be able to hop right out and get to work. Don't worry, you won't get lost," he lets her know with a warm smile.

[Harrier-307: Kai] "Right-o." Hand dropping without a smidgeon of disconcertion, Kai bothers to mention, "I've been firming up my hamstrings to perfect the jump, too. Well, and practicing of course. That's always beneficial. Heading towards the ship, gung-ho and ready, her backpack is switched to the from, clamps secured to her sides. Yep, it's a reversible and rather flexible thing she's fond of. Just don't ask Kai how she's used it in the past. "Where do I sit? Is there a deckie?" And she'll settle in, wherever indicated.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Evan heads off the deck to the seal, and, meeting his backseater there, "Kai, this is Stiffy. She'll be taking care of you back there. If you've got a problem, shout to her, and she'll shout up to me, okay?" he lets them know, opening the sealed hatch and heading in, giving his boat the once-over, quickly, before heading up front. Stiffy punches him once on the shoulder as she clings in, as well, then, to their passengers, "Pick a seat, any seat. Strap in tight, Bunny likes to hop," she advises them as she straps herself in behind the DRADIS console.

[Harrier-303: Trask] Having gone through his pre-flight checks, Trask makes final adjustments to his configurations and informs Cidra, "At your leisure, Toast. The wee ones are sittin' pretty and eager to start singin'."

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Dpahne goes through the motions, checking out her craft in her overly meticulous fashion. She radios for permission to takeoff as she's taxiing into position, then checks her suit one last time before starting to throttle up and ultimately split off from the runway.

[Harrier-307: Zosime] It's a question that Zosime will leave unasked of Kai's suit. All ready to go, however nervous she is about it, the deckie climbs into the Raptor and gives a bit of an awkward wave at Stiffy, Kai and Evandreus. "That deckie would be me, actually." That certainly was an opening line if she ever heard one. "Heya." Picking a seat, she slides into it and belts herself in. "At least bunnies are cute when they hop?" If a raptor will be cute when it does the same is another question.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra has loaded in a Harrier with Trask in her backseat. The CAG shows great calm when flying with the Bootstrap. Even if she doesn't banter with him quite so fondly as Quinn. "Understood, Lieutenant. I do look forward to seeing you toy with your Swallows again. I must admit, use of them did make me nostalgic."

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Praetorian, Bunny, Raptor-307 is green for deployment and spin-up, breaking seal… now."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian, Toast. I am getting green from all our Raptor Flight. We are off and shall jump on your mark. Meet you there."

"Now hear this. Now hear this," comes over Praetorian's intercom, and the wireless. "The clock is set. Commence jump in ninety seconds." The Raptors ease into position around the frigate and come to a stop with a puff of maneuvering jets. The seconds tick down - on screens in fighters, transports, and in CIC, where Kulko stands and watches, transfixed. "Jumping in five. Four. Three. Two…"

The frigate and her escorts wink back into existence on the outskirts of the system they once called home. No bigger than a one cubit coin, Caprica sparkles in the distance, bathed in light from mighty Cyrannus. "Vipers, clear for launch," comes the report, and the hunt begins.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Evan double-checks his suit seals before strapping in, "We green back there, Stiff?" he wonders, and, getting the thumbs-up from his backseater, and tapping his way through systems once again — green, green, green, green, green, all the way down the line — he switches on transmissions to the comms.

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] Lasher exhales sharply as he sits in the cockpit of his Viper, resting on Praetorian's cramped hangar deck. He finishes running through preflight as he waits for the go order. There's a slight disorientation as Praetorian jumps, then a disembodied voice gives the launch order over the comms. Lasher quickly but carefully eases his ship off the hangar deck, touching off his afterburners as he clears the threshold.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, joining up on your five-five, six south carom for jump formation."

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Canopy down, Shiv's systems are brought to life one after the next with readouts that need to be deciphered in lieu of the Mark VII's fancy alarms and voices. He keeps half an eye on the close-packed fighters around him, waiting for the announcement that the ship's jumped, and his cue to takeoff. And.. there it is. Been a while since he's had to pull a VTOL in one of these grand old ladies, so he's erring on the side of caution as he redirects his thrusters and powers steadily off the deck.

[Harrier-303: Trask] It's neither Jugs nor Bunny, but Cidra is probably the only other Raptor pilot that Trask trusts to not get him killed. All the others? There's a niggling doubt that varies in degree based on who's chauffering. "I'm lookin' forward to the day, decades from now, when we can reminisce about all the ways we frakked-up some toasters, Toast."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Flight, Lasher. Remember, you're not in launch tubes. Careful on the way out. Wouldn't want to see someone knocked out before the bloody toasters even get the chance to shoot at us, wot?"
<FS3> Oberlin has partially disconnected.

[TAC3] (from "Lucky" Alessandra) There's a soft 'heh' which is one part controlled laughter and three parts 'I can't believe we're frakkin' doing this'. "Yeah, this will be as fun as getting a lapdance from a three hundred pound stripper, huh Lasher?"

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Gently getting his Viper off the deck, Malone looks around as soon as the ship's eased into the open space, and looks around for the right position when it's ready for the show to start.

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "Someone's been handling the heavy strippers? Please, don't tell me the detailed story…"

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Harrier 303 blinks back into formation with the Praetorian like clockwork. Between the two of them, Trask and Cidra miss few tricks. "So say we all, Bootstrap," Cidra says firmly to the Tauron in the rear of her taxi.

[TAC3] (from "Lasher" Laskaris) Lasher snorts dryly. "I can only imagine, Lucky, and I'd rather not, thanks."

[Petrel-647: Covington] There's a fraction of a second of pause before Skids is following her flight lead's moves, giving a tap to the thrusters to get the party started. Her MK II follows in the white with red stripes footsteps of the Petrel Captain, easing off the deck. She gives a couple of extra meters of leeway to her wing.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Shiv maneuvers his fighter up and out of the Praetorian's cramped pod at a steep angle, banking to port as he rolls away from the capital ship and re-engaging his forward thrusters. Easily spotting the raptor formation up ahead, he swoops into loose formation with the bigger birds, letting Covington slot in on his wing.

[BlackKnight-308: Alessandra] There's no more joking from Alessandra who is busy trying to make sure this all goes smoothly, trying to jockey for position so she can get the hell out of this ship while being super careful not to bump into anyone. She follows whomever's lead when it comes time to getting together with the others, regrouping once it's safe.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] And 307 on 303, in the same formation in which they departed. In the moments after the jump, however, Evan lets his Raptor drift further afield of Toast's, inching in a slow arc down along the z-axis so as to clear the airspace a little for the ECMwork from the other Raptors.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian, Toast. Raptor Flight has completed jump successfully. Swallow Force, maintain formation and make ready. Bunny, follow the Vipers and prepare to take your team in fast and sharp once you've got a clear path. Viper Flight, get him a lane through those turrets promptly. You know the drill. Good hunting."

[Harrier-307: Kai] Always good that someone is ensuring this goes smoothly. Kai's position? Well, she's not so much a 'smooth maker' in any regard. And maybe ships want to, you know, not be so close to Envandreus' load-bearing space-fixture, given the heavy explosives on board. But don't worry, pilot: at least Kai would likely die in a pretty, pretty sunset blaze, should anything happen.

A cluster of DRADIS contacts are all that occupy the immediate vicinity, and the small Viper flight and their precious cargo head off to intercept. Praetorian hangs motionless in space, as do her Raptor pickets. In CIC, Kulko looks about for an ashtray and finds none. He slips surreptitiously behind a console and ashes on the carpet, eyes never leaving the DRADIS readout. The ensign claims a headset and keys into the tactical channel.

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Toast, Lasher copies. And good hunting t' you."

[Petrel-647: Covington] Skids forms up much tighter once the vertical launch is complete. She maintains a tight formation with her fellow Petrel.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Toast, Praetorian. Mission area reads clear of hostile vessels."

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "You got it, Toast. How do you want to handle this, Lasher? The uh, portside route, through south carom five zero looks good to me. We should be able to take out those three turrets in a vee, without much trouble."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "No arguments, Shiv."

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] At the word from the CAG, Evan accelerates through the aft-leaning arc of the parabola and comes out the other side of it in a graceful glide ahead of the rest of the Raptor pack, heading on after the Vipers.

[Harrier-307: Zosime] It's certainly a nerve-wracking for Zosime to know that their ship is loaded with lots of explosives. Hit in the wrong way and they may be little space-bits with Colonial coloring. Jumping and getting out into space, however, is actually kind of beautiful. The deckhand keeps her hands clasped in her lap and her eyes fixed on the windshield for the short time it will be calm and quiet.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Estimate you'll be in hostile gun range in sixty, six zero sectons."

<FS3> <FS3> Daphne rolls Alertness: Great Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Trask rolls Alertness: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Sitka rolls Alertness: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Evandreus rolls 5: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Laskaris rolls Alertness: Good Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Malone rolls Alertness: Good Success.

You paged Laskaris, Malone, and Daphne with 'Two of those turrets aren't packing KEW. They've been upgraded with missiles.'

You paged Sitka with 'Alarms start going off in your cockpit. You're being painted by Active DRADIS for a missile lock.'

[BlackKnight-308: Alessandra] 308 slips into place, Allie listening for instruction from anyone in the position to do so. She is watching the DRADIS and the view directly outside of her fighter, keeping an eye on everyone and everything she's able to.

You paged Daphne with 'One of those turrets is painting Ducky's fighter trying to get a missile lock.'

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Daphne falls into line, assuming the usual position behind Lasher that she's done enough times in the past. You never forget your first wingmate! *choke* The pilot peers at her DRADIS and widens her eyes a bit, then peers about the cockpit as she proceeds headlong into what she is probably going to describe in her journal tonight as 'A really bad idea, in retrospect'.

<FS3> <FS3> Covington rolls Alertness: Bad Failure.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "-it, shit, Toast, this is Shiv. I've got a missile lock on me- *sounds of an alarm going off in his cockpit* I repeat, I have a missile lock on me. I'm not sure which turret.."

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] The Vipers tear along through space on a vector towards the turrets. As the nimble little ships close on their prey, Laskaris looks from DRADIS to the view of the turrets themselves through his cockpit. Even as Shiv gives his alert, Lasher notices something on the turrets themselves that gives him pause. Well, looks like the first wrinkle of the day.

[TAC3] "Click" Daphne says, "Lucky, Click. Be advised. There's a lock on your signature."

[TAC3] (from "Lucky" Alessandra) There's a squeak and a sigh from Lucky. "Frakkers."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Flight, Lasher. Missle locks coming from the turrets; looks like two of them have launchers mounted. They'll be our first target. Fangs out."

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Flight, Bootstrap. I'll see a out dampening their spirits a bit."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Shiv, Toast. Copy. Watch your backsides. Prepare for evasive maneuvers as you deem necessary. Get those missiles down and those turrets out of commission ASAP."

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Moving 650 along next to Alessandra's Viper, Malone looks around for a few moments, pausing a bit at the comm chatter. Looking around for a few moments, he looks over towards the turrets. Nodding a bit as he hears Lasher's words. "Looked like it…" he mutters as he looks over in the direction of the turrets, then down to his systems.

Soon those missile locks are coming from actual missiles, the trail of propellant visible in the distance almost as shooting stars. Then they start to get larger, and they're visible for what they are. The remainder of the turrets hang motionless in space, surrounding what used to be a marvelous example of Colonial engineering.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Weapons going hot. I'll see if I can give this one the slip. Be ready to cover me, Skids."

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "Knew something was wrong about a few of those turrets…"

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Shiv, Skids. I got your ass. Rock and roll."

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Evan casually slips a backing coefficient into his trajectory, flight-suited fingers moving with remarkable agility over oversized keys, the Raptor slowing progressively and lowering the port side of its aft in readiness to evade if something should come hurling itself at it. "Lines are open and cleared for suites, Stiff."

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] The first missle salvo comes roaring in, and Lasher's Mark Seven sets into a frenzied spin as he continues to bear down on the turrets. He doesn't seem to be the target, though, and the silver dagger-like craft continues straight on towards the offending turrets. His eyes narrowed, Lasher levels his nose at the first missle turret and opens fire.

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "All right, Click, let's turn this thing into paper clips."

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Surging forward, Daphne keeps her eyes anywhere but the DRADIS, for now. She's peering about the cockpit, trying to keep a mental check on where everyone is, including where those damned missiles are. Once she sees the reports of impact against the two unlucky vipers, her eyes narrow and she hits the burners, shooting ahead towards one of the turrets with Lasher. Rather than simply fly behind, this time she's almost even with him. Clearly she wants payback and, in a rare display, is breaking formation to get at it.

[TAC3] "Click" Daphne says, "Payback, sir."

As the Viper flight closes into range, the remainder of the turrets acquire the nearest Viper as targets and open fire. Curiously, the two missile-armed turrets fail to spew more fiery rocket death at the Colonial forces. Meanwhile, in CIC, Kulko mutters under his breath, awash in that special sort of helplessness one can only feel on the bridge of a carrier.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] There's a florid Sagittarian curse not spoken over the comms as Shiv floors the tylium and lights all three engines in a mad dash to try to evade that missile lock. Unfortunately, all his fancy flying gets him, is an inch or two shaved off of total destruction, as the missile slams into his ship's wing and carves a messy scorchtrail through the metal. Alarms start going off in his cockpit, and he barrel rolls to starboard in an attempt to dodge any further salvos.
You paged Kai with 'Nope. You are a passenger.'

[BlackKnight-308: Alessandra] BlackKnight-308 is hit and hit hard, breaking apart in pieces of metal and sparks, leaving Allie in the seat which manages to just get jettisoned free from it before the real fireworks begin. Wow. This is a first for Allie. It's kind of scary, here. Hopefully she won't take a missile to the body. That'd hurt.

[TAC3] (from "Skids" Covington) The distillation of all things slow and southern sounds off over comms, "Shiv, Skids. How you sittin', cookie?" Wait till the entire wing gets nicknames…
You paged Kai with '+combat/join #588/passenger/yourship'

[TAC3] (from "Lucky" Alessandra) Lucky's worried voice rings over the comms. "Flight…this is Lucky. I…I'm kind of doing the moonwalk here. Someone save my ass, please?"

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Holding it together, Skids, for the time being. My targeting sensors are fritzing, though. I'm going to see if I can.. jury rig something here.."

You paged Cidra with 'You can drop your Battlestar squawk and go for your pilot, thereby alerting the Cylons to the fakeness of our battlegroup. Or, you can trust Evandreus to get her on the way in/home.'

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Seeing a Viper blown apart is no fun experience. When it's the one you're on the wing of, doubly so. Malone growls a little bit as he sees 208 blown apart, and switches to a more offensive style now, moving heading for the offending turret as fast as he can. Relaxing a bit as he hears Lucky's voice over the comms.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra rarely curses. And she does not now. But she does let out a low hiss as she sees Lucky's Viper blown to smithereens. There's a certain helplessness to her position as well. She breaks the battlestar squawk formation of the Raptors that're hanging back, the illusion will break. She sighs heavy and gets on the comm.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Sparrows, Praetorian. Hold formation - can't blow our cover until the relay is down."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Lucky, Toast. Hang in there. We are coming for you. Bunny, get on Lucky's signal and proceed with SAR. You've still some time before your lane's open. Hope things aren't getting too crowded in there."

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Stiff calls up to Evan: "We've got two launchers looking at us funny, Bunny," she notes, "Sending you up the extrapolated incoming coordinates." "Hell and— right," Bunny answers, taking the coordinates into his equation and readying a hard evade north.

[Petrel-647: Covington] The other Petrel in the mix today follows after her wing, but hangs in the pewpews while her wing pulls a little out of the fight to make some mods. She's within easy re-joining range, once Shiv is ready to roll back in, as she's perched just on the very edge of guns range.

[Harrier-307: Kai] "Wait!" A pause, and a flabberghasted continuance: "-You- are BUNNY?" Evandreus?? Kai should have known. "I mean, yeah, you look all cute and stuff, but 'bunny'? Why on all that is have you-" And her mouth drops wide open as her gaze actually lifts from her package to the space and tactical maneuvers now being performed.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, I hear you."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] Kai's reaction to learning Evandreus' callsign is enough to make Zosime grin, despite all the action that's happening outside. She doesn't get a chance to add in her own quip, she's too busy clinging on to whatever is handy while they start to duck and weave to stay out of fire.

<FS3> <FS3> Malone rolls Alertness: Success.

You paged Malone with 'ZOMG MISSILE POINTING AT YOU'

<FS3> <FS3> Trask rolls Ecm: Failure.

[Harrier-303: Trask] "What the-?" Trask frowns when he notices the jamming frequency had no effect on one of his intended targets. Sneering a little, he makes some adjustments and heads back in for Round 3.

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] Lasher starts with alarm as one of the green Viper indicators blinks off his screen, but he doesn't have time for anything but a quick reassurance as he executes his pass; Cylon KEW fire flashes all around his fighter as he opens up on the turret. His ship is nicked, shaking slightly under a glancing blow, but he manages to score a substantial hit for his trouble. Lasher's fighter arcs around in a loop, thrusters firing as he violently yanks his ship around, evading th torrent of fire that's heading his way.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Shiv actually has to unstrap his harness for a moment in order to reach the portable toolkit no longer gathering dust under his seat. His head jerks back to the fight occasionally while he rustles and clanks about inside it, pulls out a pair of wire clippers, and shakily gets to work in re-routing some of the wiring behind a control panel. He slaps the thing closed when finished, shoves the box under his seat, and wriggles back into his harness before lighting his 'burners and streaking in to re-join the attack. Time's a'wastin'.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Evan is a little distracted by the incoming to worry what Kai thinks of his callsign, and as he goes so far as to yank back on the emergency nav lever and try to get out of its way, "Frack shit HOLD ON," he hollers to the people in his cab as the boat gets clipped from the underside of the fore port corner and knocked hard to starboard.

<FS3> <FS3> Evandreus rolls 5: Good Success.

You paged Evandreus with 'Stiffy is able to determine the targets of Turrets 5 and 6.'

<FS3> <FS3> Covington rolls Alertness/reactive: Bad Failure.

The two missile-armed turrets discharge another volley of projectiles, while the remainder spray bullets seemingly randomly around them. Looking almost like miniature basestars, the gun platforms somehow manage to avoid striking the comm relay.

In CIC, Kulko has taken to leaning on the plotting table, still staring nervously as things start to go awry. Colonel Ionis, sleeves rolled to the elbows, comes up alongside him and places an ashtray on the table's edge. Under his breath, he addresses the Ensign. "You keep mussing up the floor, and the Old Man will see you clean it with a toothbrush."

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Getting his shots fired off, and then rolling out of the way of the incoming shots Malone is about to aim for the same target again, but seems to notice something. "Oh no you don't…" he mutters, as he starts moving away from the target, trying to get out of the way of whatever might be coming in. When he's a bit out, he starts turning and twisting, doing what he can to avoid any incoming things now.

You paged Covington with 'There's an alarm going off in your cockpit, but you're so damned focused you just don't notice.'

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Daphne keeps pace with Lasher, eyes all about the cockpit as before. It lets her spot the hail of gunfire heading her way. At the speed she's moving at, actually maneuvering is somewhat tricky business. She manages a slight course alteration that keeps her control while sending her out of harms way. Her shots are delivered to the turret, trating pieces of armor off of the thing, and then she whips around, ready for another pass.

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Keepin' your seat warm, Shiv. See about a cool drink after the welcome wagon's been blowed."

[Petrel-647: Covington] Petrel 647, carrying the chatty, but sometimes incomprehensible Skids, swings around to take a little tour of the outer edge of the field of engagement before she pulls up into a snug little formation with Shiv. She pulls just a little wide, concentrating.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Harrier-307 pulls out of its tumble with a shuddering, lurching motion as the controls have taken a hit. "C'mon, c'mon," he mutters. The DRADIS, however, seems to be unaffected, and Stiffy calls out over comms, "Splash, Stiffy, Turret 5 on you. Skids, Stiffy, Turret 6 on you. Watch it out there."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra does not look back at Trask, but his sneering talk is easy enough to ready. "Steady on, Bootstrap. You'll muss them next time round." She sounds nothing but confident. But, again, she has an excellent Triad face.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Flight, I'm not reading a lock from either of those missiles any longer. You all might want to watch your asses."

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "The big five is going for me, Shiv. Working on getting it confused a bit now…"

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. Status? Are you able to recover Lucky?"

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, got some control damage here, but I can make it. Lucky, Bunny, if you can hear me, I'm coming for you."

[Harrier-303: Trask] "I'm more concerned about 'technical errors' surfacing," Trask notes, which is a valid concern. Sure, he can do some on-the-fly repairs, but that diverts time from jamming and other ECM goodness. Case in point, he gets the one rogue signal to behave, only to have have another cut-out. Without further words, he's again recalibrating.

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] For a moment, it looks like Lasher might actually be getting a hang of this evading thing. Two of the turrets have him in a crossfire, though, and as he evades a burst from one, it puts him directly in the firing path of another. His ship is thrown violently as Cylon fire stitches across his fuselage; his controls go dead for a moment, his consoles flickering, but after a tense couple of seconds Laskaris has control once again. Fuming, he turns his ship end over end, the sleek fighter continuing to sketch evasive patterns in space as he turns to attack once more.

Kulko ashes into the proffered glass and looks sheepishly to the XO. "Thanks, sir. This is…" he glances up to the overhead DRADIS, then back down to Ionis. "It's just tough, y'know? Feel like it's my fault." At his words, Lasher's Viper drops off the readout, and the ensign makes a fist. Ionis rests his hand on the younger man's shoulder a moment. "It doesn't get any easier, son. Not unless you stop caring."

The missile-armed turrets fall silent yet again, but the drumbeat of constant gunfire is ever-present. At least, it would be, if sound carried through vacuum.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] "Everyone check your seals one last time. We're depressurizing in five, four," Evan calls back to everyone in his back seat as he works to get systems greened again, "Stiffy, keep feeding me updates on her position. I don't think she can hear me, hopefully she'll see me." At the end of the countdown, he unlocks the hatch controls and begins to depressurize the cabin, letting it get below thirty percent before the hatch begins to open.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Gunfire, Shiv is a little more accustomed to evading. When the turret he strafes close to starts spitting rounds at him, he maneuvers his injured fighter into a rolling scissors, and all but a few tracers slide harmlessly off into space. Finally lining up his shot on one of the missile-toting turrets, he closes his hand over the stick, depresses the trigger, and fires.

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Daphne's craft rides through the storm, keeping pace with her wingmate as the guns come for him. She's eyeing them warily, trying to strike a balance between watching the target and watching them. SHe pulls the trigger, tearing a few more pieces out of the well-hardened target. The exhale when she watches Lasher's craft get nearly town apart is actually broadcast.

[TAC3] "Click" Daphne says, "Lasher, Click. If you die on me, I am going to -kill- you. Uh, sir."

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Lasher, you still in one piece over there?"

<FS3> <FS3> Trask rolls Ecm: Good Success.

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] What to do when a missile goes after you, and you've been zigging and zagging for a long while? In Malone's case, the answer is… to roll. He manages to roll out of the way of the incoming missile, while avoiding the bullets from another of the turrets as well. Frowning a bit as he switches to a little more offensive stance again, going for the target he was heading for before the missile interrupted it. Must be his special day today, or something.

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "I'm hit, but she's stayin' together. Click, I didn't know you cared."

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "She's probably been betting with someone, Lasher."

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Cover me, Skids. I'm going in for one of those fat boys."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra might be able to jury-rig on a basic level if forced to, but most things indepth and technical are quite beyond her. She just flies these big buses. Nonetheless, she's smart enough to trust that Trask has his hands full back there. "Keep an eye on it. To technical errors, I leave the proper engineer." She keeps an eye on the starfield outside. Letting out another sharp hiss as the missiles quite nearly blow by Lasher. "These turrets do bite."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Might've known. All right, Click, stay with me, let's get this bugger."

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Shiv, Skids. Wilco."

[BlackKnight-308: Alessandra] Does Luck notice the incoming resce? No, she's too busy spinning in space, her eyes currenly closed. This is not pleasant, being outside of what is your safe little box. Gods, she'd kiss a Cylon to be somewhere safer than 'out here' right now.

[Harrier-303: Trask] Trask, on the other hand, has a strong reputation for being able to perform in-depth repairs both in the bay and in-flight, as befits a former knuckledragger who is a licensed electical and aerospace engineer. "Yeah, well, right now, that'd be me."

<FS3> <FS3> Evandreus rolls Raptors: Success.

You paged Evandreus with 'Hooray! You don't break anything as you scoop her up.'

[Petrel-647: Covington] There are things like finesse in flying, which one is trained to do as a show pilot, and things like finesse in targeting, which is of slightly lesser importance. Still, since the onset of 'shoot it or you die', Skids' abilities in this area have definitely improved. As she forms up to accompany Shiv on another pass, she spots a turret that looks like it's about to get frisky with or near her wingmate. Unacceptable.

<FS3> <FS3> Trask rolls Ecm: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Evandreus rolls 5: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Laskaris rolls Alertness: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Covington rolls Alertness/reactive: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Sitka rolls Alertness: Good Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Malone rolls Alertness: Success.

While Kulko and Ionis have their tender moment around the plotting table, Commander Laughlin has just about had it. He steps down from the upper tier of CIC, where he's been hovering and watching over the ECO's shoulder, and snatches up a headset for himself, keying up the comms with steely resolve.

"Flight lead, Praetorian actual," comes the gravelly voice over the tac channel. "Let's get this done and get out of here. Stop spraying and focus your fire on that last turret."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian Actual, Toast. Copy. Viper Flight, you heard the man. Focus fire."

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Flight, Bootstrap. We have some party crashers. Two raiders."

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Uh.. Flight, I'm reading two contacts, maybe.. frak, fifty clicks away, like Bootstrap says."

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Daphne manages to land some fierce hits on her target. Between her gunfire and Lasher's, the turret's blown to pieces. And then it's her turn. The one time she forgets to look around her cockpit like a madwoman is the one time she needed to. Bullets streak hard into the nose section, severing control lines to most of the rest of the ship. It doesn't explode, it doesn't fireball, but the pilot doesn't eject yet, either. Perhaps she's dead, or perhaps…

[TAC3] "Click" Daphne says, "Lasher… I'm dead. Stick's dead. I have throttle, but I can't control… Gods damn it! Elevators are frakked too."

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] Ah, rookies. They don't even know when to bail.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Toast, need a few of us to pull out and engage? They could be scouts or something, for all we know."

A spectator might be able to pick out the flashes of FTL as two Cylons wink out of FTL in the distance.

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Bootstrap, Lasher. I see them. Two marks at zero-two-seven carom nine-three. Range, fifty klicks confirmed. — Click, eject, dammit. SAR will pick you up."

[Petrel-649: Sitka] As another turret gains a lock on him and starts rapid-firing bullets full bore at his limping fighter, Shiv jukes hard to starboard, then rolls back in sharply to port. A salvo of gunfire is lanced off at one of the missile turrets, rounds clipping the structure but not quite managing to take it down. Then, nose up, he doubles back to regroup with his wingman.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] It would really help a whole bunch if Lucky had her eyes open. With the cabin depressurized, and her comms evidently out, there's no way for her to tell the difference between floating in space out in space and floating in space inside the Raptor as Evan rolls the Raptor easily about the floating pilot, scooping her in until she collides with the ceiling of the cab, thankfully gently. Hopefully that's enough to wake her up and get her to hold onto something.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "So, we have got company. Shiv, Toast. Concur. Two Vipers to intercept as best Viper Flight is able. Others, stay on those turrets for now. Let us get this done."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "This crate won't bloody last long against Raiders, state it's in… I'll stay on the turrets, Shiv."

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Copy, sir. Moving to intercept. Skids, loose formation, let's see if we can get the jump on them."
You paged Cidra and Trask with 'Would entail flying very slowly over to her and picking her up. And getting closer to the relay, which means Trask will have to be rolling to maintain the illusion.'

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Malone's Viper gets hit in his hunt for the turret, and spins a little, although it's not bad. Recovering quickly, he moves for the same turret once more, frowning a little bit as he hears the sounds, turning his head to see the incoming Raiders. Then focusing back on the turret for now.

[BlackKnight-662: Daphne] At Lasher's suggestion, Daphne finally thinks to eject at all. She inhales, pulls the lever, and shoots out of the craft. At least she's mentally prepared for it.

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "With you on that turret, Lasher. We'll have it down soon."

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Shiv, Skids. Bringin' it around ta kick the shit. I got my big stick if you got yours."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Toast, Lasher. Requesting SAR for Click. Copy that, Splash. Coming in hot."

[Harrier-307: Alessandra] Without coms and very little to occupy herself with here, Allie begins to sing to herself. It's one of those songs mothers on Picon sing to their babies to lull them to sleep. She opens her eyes when she feels herself getting bumped, it startling her to the point of about wetting herself. "Bwaaaahhhhh…." She grabs for something to hold onto.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, I've got Lucky. Can head for Click next."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. You may not have time. If we've got bandits inbound you'll need to get in fast as you can. I'll go in for Click. Remainder of Swallow Flight can do without me until I return to formation."

[Petrel-647: Covington] Skids pulls a port turn pretty hard, juking out of formation just because she can. There's no necessity for swift maneuvers, though it's good practice. She follow Shiv's lead, kicking in the throttle to keep pace with him, though she pulls wider, leaving the formation loose for this particular mission venture.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] And Cidra's on her way to do so even as she's sending that out over the comm. Her Raptor breaks formation slowly, so the other (NPC) Raptors hanging back with the Praetorian will not be surprised, but once she's out she picks up speed fast. And keeps her hands light on the stick, employing as many twists and turns as a Raptor can muster as she flies in toward Daphne. The ensign ejected in a combat zone, after all. It's hairy territory to bust into.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, aye, sir. Resuming scramble to EVA deployment point."

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] The turret under Lasher's fire goes up, but so does his wingman as another of the turrets guns down the hapless Daphne. Lasher curses floridly, a taut expression on his face as his wounded bird thrashes through another set of pell-mell maneuvers. His thrusters turning the craft around, he pours on the afterburners as he zooms in on another target.

[Harrier-303: Trask] Bootstrap is used to flying in the worst combat zones of Sagittaron. Perhaps this is why he carries on his duties with utter aplomb, even as the CAG makes their Raptor twist and turn.

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Splash, Lasher. Still with me back there, are you?"

<FS3> <FS3> Cidra rolls Raptors: Good Success.

You paged Cidra and Daphne with 'The extraction is smooth as a baby's ass, and comes with complimentary ginger ale in a little plastic cup.'

[TAC3] (from "Splash" Malone) It takes a little while, but soon after, Malone's voice can be heard. "Still in one piece, or at least I think so… These turrets are starting to piss me off a bit, you know."

[TAC3] "Click" Daphne's breath is heavy over the comm, the ensign looking out over the hotzone as she hangs in space, "Gods." The laugher is nervous and probably a facade for 'ohmygodsohmygodsohmygods'.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Viper Flight, Toast. Fighters focused on turrets, concentrate your fire on one of them. We should only need one more taken out to clear an opening. Click, I'll get you. Hold on."

<FS3> <FS3> Malone rolls Alertness: Good Success.

<FS3> <FS3> Trask rolls Ecm: Success.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra's last assignment on Picon involved instruction in SAR work. Among other things. She knows her business. She slips through the fire around her without a scratch and reels Daphne in smooth as anything.

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Flight, Bootstrap. The Raiders are spooling FTL."
<COMBAT> Daphne has joined the combat as a passenger in Harrier-303 on team 1.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Engines at full burn, Shiv rolls into a fast unloaded extension as the pair of Mark II fighters streak away from the communications relay and its sentinel turrets.

The final missile turret falls silent yet again, mechanisms clicking and whirring inside as it attempts to spool more ammunition into its launch bay. The raiders break at first towards the Snow Petrels tasked with the intercept - and then abruptly veer off. A second later, they wink out of existence - gone into the ether of space to who-knows-where, and the intercept team is left looking at nothing.

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Toast, Lasher, wilco. Splash, let's nail this frakkin' thing to the wall."

[Petrel-647: Covington] And so it is, that the white and red planes zoom through the blackness toward flying bandits, ready with a welcome most harsh in nature, and srsly KEW shaped.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Toast, we're at roughly five seconds to intercept. Still just the two contacts on DRADIS, that I can see."

[Harrier-303: Trask] As Daphne is pulled aboard, Trask idly greets, "Ensign. How nice of you to join us."

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Evan brings his boat around once Lucky's sort of situated, only to find himself staring down a missile blast from Turret 6. He's about to shout out over comms fdor someone to cover him when he realizes that the only person still able to… is. "Oh my frakking gods," are not words of comfort to anyone in his backseat, and Stiff is sweating bullets and swearing like a madwoman as Evan jerks the boat upward to take the blast to the wing instead of the fore of the vessel. Reflex, almost. Huge fireball nearly rips the wing of the baot straight off, tossing the bus to the side.

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Nobody likes getting punched in the face, right? And when Malone takes a hit from one of the turrets, he growls a bit, after managing to get his Viper back in control. Shaking his head a bit forcefully, as if to clear it, he moves back for the missile turret, trying to ignore the messed up cockpit around him for now.

[Harrier-303: Daphne] Daphne crawls into the ship, looking more shocked than scared. The scared comes later. "Thanks. Am I f-fashionably late?" She sits down and looks herself over.

[TAC3] (from "Shiv" Sitka) ..belay that, Toast. Enemy contacts are gone. Shit. I've got a feeling the real party's on its way. Permission to rejoin Lasher?

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Shiv, Toast. Permission granted. Double-time. My bet's on a scouting party. I don't think we've long to get this done."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] From her seat, Zosime's reaction is much like Alessandra's. Cling to something steady and pray to the Gods that they'll make it out of this alive. However, that doesn't seem to do the Raptor any good as the large fireball rips through the wing and knocks them all to the side. Rocking and shaking, the deckhand barely bites back a scream. Instead, the noise comes out as a whimper. This is not good, this is not good.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Toast, Praetorian. You can say that again - we're going to start spooling, let's get that package delivered."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra smiles as she hears Daphne's voice. Not that she turns around to actual display this expression. The fact that her face is able to display more than an iota of emotion is lost to Trask and the ensign this time. "Click. Welcome aboard. We are most glad to have you. Make yourself comfortable."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Shiv, Lasher. Just need to get one last turret and the Raptors should have enough of a hole. I'm going for this final missle turret."

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, we're hit bad here. We can't take another hit like that."

[Harrier-307: Kai] turmoil, chaos and (even if not within serious space) combat. But the fact that they've been hit, and she's watching other ships be discommissioned and pilots picked up and and and. "LAUNCH ME WHEN READY BUNNY CUZ I'M A DANGEROUS PIPE." She's -shouting-. Probably not the wisest, but Kai's damn well ready to explode something other than her shipmates.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Copy that, Lasher. I've got an attack vector on it."

[Harrier-307: Alessandra] "At…least I'm not hurt," Lucky intones shakily. Of course this time she won't be able to bring a Viper home with her so it's being chalked up as a failure of a different flavor, something to beat herself up over later undoubtedly.

[Petrel-647: Covington] Fifty percent of the time Skids has moved to engage bandits, they've jumped out. Coincidence? Perhaps they've heard about her karoake habit. She follows her flight lead, pulling back into a tight formation on approach to re-join the turret gunplay.

[Harrier-303: Trask] "Woman's prerogative," Bootstrap tells Click. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to buckle-up, that'd be swell. No sense in savin' your ass just to risk it potentially going splat against this here hull."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian, Toast. Copy. I have Click in and am headed back to join you. Bunny, hang in there. You are almost through. Are you in shape to complete EVA mission? Timing will be tight as a drum. We've likely got Cylon company inbound."

[Harrier-307: Kai] "GODS DAMMIT AM I READY TO LAUNCH YET??" She's been silent the whole time, Kai quite experienced in turmoil, chaos and (even if not within serious space) combat. But the fact that they've been hit, and she's watching other ships be discommissioned and pilots picked up and and and. "LAUNCH ME WHEN READY BUNNY CUZ I'M A DANGEROUS PIPE." She's -shouting-. Probably not the wisest, but Kai's damn well ready to explode something other than her shipmates.

TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "If nothing else shoots at us, Toast. We'll be limping, though. We could try jumping our EVA team over to your boat, but that might just take more time than us limping it."

[Harrier-303: Daphne] Daphne reachers for a harness and straps herself in. "Surely you're not insinuating that the CAG is anything but superhuman and able to fly through Hades and back without a scratch, sir." The smile on her face is slight, and it's polluted by the tension she's trying to choke back.

[TAC3] (from "Shiv" Sitka) Shiv's radio crackles, then comes to life, "Toast, this is Shiv. I think we're clear. I repeat, the last missile tower's down."

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "And that was some hot shit shooting, Lasher."

Shipside, Kulko pumps his fist in the air as the second turret winks off the DRADIS display, then stabs out his smoldering cigarette butt. "Frak yeah," he lets out with unabashed relief. He looks to Laughlin, whose face is as stoic as ever, arms folded. Ionis just grins.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Viper Flight, well done. Clear away from those turrets ASAP. Form up back with Praetorian. Bunny, you've got a hole. In swift. Let's finish this."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Bet your arse, Shiv. Copy that, Toast, don't have to tell me twice."

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, I hear you. Going in."

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] There must have been something the Viper didn't want to do, because when Malone was about to fire, the ship didn't want him to, evidently. And so, instead of being able to fire at the turret, one of the turrets hits the Viper, which decides it doesn't want to be in existance anymore. And right after the pilot's managed to get himself safely out if it, it turns into lots of small pieces.

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "Hit again… Ejecting…"

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Shiv's rounds come out of practically nowhere, and pepper the last 'standing' missile turret with enough rounds to begin its slow disintegration. Covington lends him a hand, and Lasher finishes the job with a bang. The Petrels' Captain isn't sitting around and waiting for the explosion; he fires his dorsal thrusters and corkscrews away the instant the CAG gives the word.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Toast, we've got another pilot who needs a bus."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra detours in her own course back to Praetorian, however. Malone apparently also needs a taxi.

[Harrier-303: Trask] "No, Ensign," Bootstrap states, tone somewhat dry, "but gravity still has some pull inside of here when, say, Toast needs to maneuver butter-side up to pick-up more hitchhikers." Like right now.

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] Lasher's fighter is, for the moment, neglected by the Cylon turrets. The more fools they, as the captain's Mark VII heels over abruptly and bears in on the last turret; Lasher waits several moments to line up his shot before squeezing the trigger. Ducking around a salvo of Cylon fire, Lasher sends a burst dead center into the thing. The combined fire from Lasher and the other remaining Vipers shreds the missle turret into scrap. Taking Cidra's orders to heart, he immediately flips his ship and touches off his burners, looking to get out of range of the remaining turrets and back to the safe haven of the Praetorian.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Shiv, Toast. Copy. Trying to get his position. I'll pick him up."

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Stiffy just bashes both fists on her console as it's been rendered all but useless, and shoots a glare at the screaming marine, then an accompanying one to the deckie. "Keep your frakking jarhead gagged," she mutters, bitter, while Evan limps the boat closer to the mark.

[Petrel-647: Covington] A quick adjustment, firing of thrusters, and a hard bank has Skids hot on the heels of her flight lead. Some pilots might find the way she sticks so close a little uncomfortable, as it's riding the edge of safety. Petrels. At least no one's inverted.

[Harrier-303: Trask] Splash made quite the splash, and the ECO pinpoints the ripples. "Got a lock on 'im, Major. Plotting a course."

[Harrier-307: Kai] Hands on harness releases, Kai's ready. -Really- ready. Pupils dilated, and even though her adrenaline is racing, she is not going through any sort of high adrenaline dump. She's used to this. Used to readiness. Used to bombs and explodies and all that rests in between. Ready to unleash and destroy, as she was born to do. "Ready DeckLady? steady as is, steady as it comes…" She's talking, sort of pumping up, sort of just releasing and steadying and all in between. "Maybe you stay here." It's for Zosime. "Stay here. Ejection to ship is easy, stasis good. You should stay here. Unless you can follow command from an underling, because I know my bombs and I know nothing of you and I cannot pre-," and the words continue on, quieter due to Stiffy's protestations.

[Harrier-307: Alessandra] With things seeming to calm down Allie's able to do so herself, the condition of the Raptor which picked her up noted and filed away lest she starts to fret over this new development. Deciding that taking it all in in silence is the best course of action. Yup.

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Splash, Bootstrap. Do you copy?"

[Harrier-303: Cidra] "Hold on tight," Cidra says, which is all the moment of warning Daphne and Trask get before she swings her big bird around again. Doors open and she makes all effort to get Malone reeled in as swiftly as possible.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] 307 spins woefully with half her thrusters trashed, but Evan compensates as best he can, fingers rampaging over controls as he fixes and counterfixes his corkscrew course, the boat's drunken looping not reflecting a lick of the effort he's putting in to get the open hatch somewhere in the proximity of the vent. It's not a standard EVA deployment position. Far from it. Askew, slanted, and with half the boat still sparking and smoking in space: "This is as close as we're getting. Get out there," he calls back to his team.

[TAC3] "Splash" Malone says, "Bootstrap, Splash. Copy. The stars look bright today, don't they?"

As the damaged Raptor comes to a stop in the curiously named 'safe zone,' the target is visible a few meters away. Little has been changed on the station - it's as if the Cylons simply dropped a few turrets around and left. Colonial markings are still intact, and at the midpoint of the hourglass-shaped station is the exhaust port. It looks /almost/ like it was described, though nothing like Kulko's drawing. Only one difference - the port, supposedly a direct line to the reactor core, is covered by a grating across its entire two meter surface.

[Harrier-303: Daphne] "Gravity. Harsh mistress." remarks Daphne with a nod. She's strapped in securely, but she holds onto the harness anyway. Hell is other people's flying.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] It's all those formation flying drills to blame. Shiv doesn't seem to mind the close quarters, and maintains his 'patrol' pattern not far from the Praetorian. His eyes switch between his windscreen, and the raptor maneuvering in close to the comms station, and DRADIS.
You paged Zosime with 'Plus, did she /really/ just tell you to stay in the boat? Are you gonna take that from a rookie?'
Zosime (Z) pages: While she won't have anything like a blow torch, she should have a screwdriver.

[Harrier-307: Kai] Harnesses unleashed, Baby Mamma with her Explosive Drama carefully picks towards the exit of the ship. "Awesome. -Space drill-. Like I didn't prepare for -that- you frakking frakkers." A laugh, soft and almost caressing. Even Kai's fingertips briefly, intimately stroke the sides of the aircraft she's in, first time and all.

[Harrier-307: Kai] ooc: Coughs. Didn't mean to release early

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. Steady hands out there. Remember, we'll not be landing back on the Praetorian with the Vipers when it's time to exit. When you're through, get your team out of there swift and signal us you're ready to jump."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] With a helpless wave of her hand at Stiffy and then at Kai, Zosime can only helplessly reply, "She's not mine." Then, the blonde haired woman gives Kai another look as if she's crazy. While this isn't exactly her idea of a great time, this is what she's here to do and just sitting in a Raptor cooling her heels - though sorely tempting - isn't an option she's going to take. "I've got my orders, Private. You need someone to make sure you don't get blown up. Think of this like a Bombing Buddy system." Steeling herself for the deployment, the deckhand unbuckles and moves toward the door. Frowning, she looks at where they're going to have to go in. "We're gonna need to get through that."

[Harrier-303: Trask] As Malone is reeled into Harrier-303, the ECO answers the question. "The second one to the left, especially. Buckle-up. We're soon enough to follow it straight on 'til morning."

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] Lasher settles into a patrol pattern out of the line of fire, loosely circling the Praetorian. With none of the others having a ship to their name, he falls into formation with the Petrels, his damaged craft's sleek lines and silver-gray paint scheme contrasting with the older red-and-white ships. "And now, we wait," he muses quietly to himself.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny. Steady, aye. While they're out there Stiff's going to see what our chances of actually being able to pull off a jump in this condition are."

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Lasher, Skids. Welcome to the formation. We should fix y'all up with some red stripes, sugar."

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "I'd settle for a bleedin' patch job, Skids."

[BlackKnight-650: Malone] Nodding a bit as he hears Trask's words, Malone makes his way over to buckle up as instructed. Looking a bit battered and dazed, as he gets himself properly buckled up. "Thanks for the lift…" And going quiet after that.

[Harrier-307: Kai] "If you don't know what I'm doing, just follow my orders." She's not kidding, and she's not caring about rank right now. Kai's focused, voice toneless, passion utterly leaving the lass. Mission-ready, she is. "I'm ready. You?" This to her mother, Zosime. Thighs are already coordinating, muscles bunching and suit commencing around said body. Prepared for a leap into space. Once Zosime admits… well, all will be as is.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] "Let us get out of here, then," Cidra says once Malone's aboard. Coming about and speeding back to form up with the Praetorian.

[Harrier-303: Trask] Bootstrap being Bootstrap tells Toast, "Major. I'm game for some EVA repairs should Bunny be in need." Who knows how extensive the damage is?

[Harrier-303: Trask] Bootstrap being Bootstrap, he tells Toast, "Major. I'm game for some EVA repairs should Bunny be in need." Who knows how extensive the damage is?

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Toast, Lasher. How're my hitchhikers doing?"

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. Bootstrap's volunteered for EVA repairs on your ship. Do you deem this necessary or are you able to make do on your own until completion of op?"

[TAC3] (from "Bunny" Evandreus) .. Toast, Bunny, Stiff's giving me the green on a jump home. Just one jump, though, we probably won't be able to spin up another.

[Harrier-307: Zosime] While she's not an officer, Zosime will agree to staying out of the way of getting blown up. "Agreed." Eyeing the gap between Raptor and grill they need to get through, the blonde woman already starts to rummage through her own bag of goodies that she brought along. Trust a deckie to never go anywhere without tools. In an abandoned place, it's always good to be prepared for whatever may come their way. Grabbing a screwdriver, she straightens again and quickly closes her bag, hoisting it over her shoulder. "Ready." Trying to pretend she's more ready for this than she actually is, she takes a deep breath and then, she makes the jump for it.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. Copy. Long as you can get out of there. I'm not keen on sending anyone out into the black we don't have to. Bootstrap, your skills can wait until we're home."

<FS3> <FS3> Zosime rolls Athletic: Good Success.

<FS3> <FS3> Kai rolls Athletic: Success.

You paged Zosime and Kai with 'Kai makes the jump and grabs some kind of nearby protrusion, but it's not pretty. Zosime lands catlike on her feet.'

[TAC3] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "That's what knuckledraggers are for, Toast. I'm still in the throes of my fling with Engineering."

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Patchin' works too, I reckon. Ain't as stylish, but sometimes ya gotta go substance first."

[Harrier-307: Kai] Legs tighten even further, and with a only a mild diversion Kai is plumeting through space. See? Wouldn't a pink suit look awesome in this setting? Like Pepto Bismol to the rescue. When she lands on the object of Her Desire, there would be a decided 'thud' and 'clankclankclank' - were sound possible - as she scrambles to take hold. Secured, though she do be, and once so? The zipper is unlashed. "Frakking … I PRACTICED, YOU FRAKKER. Decker, you golden?" Can she hear her? Kai hasn't been paying attention to things like comsystems and the like. She might be speaking just to herself.

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra resumes her course straight back to form up with Praetorian now.
You paged Zosime and Kai with '+com tac3=ZOMG CYLONS'

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Preatorian, Toast. I've got Splash. All our people accounted for. Forming up in previous position with Swallow Force."

In CIC, Kulko has taken to pacing back and forth. "We're takin' too frakkin' long," he mutters, flicking his lighter open and closed, and drawing looks of consternation from Praetorian's bridge crew. At Cidra's transmission, he keys up the comm.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Six vipers enter, three vipers leave. Well, hopefully. Assuming those two raiders don't return with a few buddies and crash this party for once and for all. Slightly nervous, Shiv's silent over the comms, most of his concentration going into checking and rechecking his readouts to ensure they don't have company.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Toast, Praetorian. Get everyone spooled up and keep 'em that way. I've got a bad feelin' about this."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] Whoosh, out into open space and Zosime attempts to not look downward or upward or sideways or any other way that opens up into a big vast nothingness. All she focuses on is the landing and somehow she lands right where she was aiming for. Glancing over, she notices Kai having a bit of a trouble and holds out a hand to help. She doesn't, in fact, hear the woman's questions, but she answers her in any event.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Seconded on the bad feeling, Praetorian. Still no contacts showing up for me, though."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] "You okay, Private?" Zosime asks. "Come on, we need to get through this and get out of here. It's already too creepy."

[Harrier-303: Trask] Without even needing to be told, Trask is already starting to spool. Good ECOs show that kind of initiative.

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] Laskaris isn't nearly as skilled a precision flyer as the two Petrels, but he does an admirable job of keeping in line with Sitka and Covington, his damage notwithstanding. One eye stays on DRADIS as the three Vipers circle the frigate. Lasher frowns uneasily.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian, Toast. Copy. Raptor Flight, spool up engines and get jump coordinates fixed for return. We need to be ready go exit swift ourselves."

[TAC3] Kai sings over the com, quietly, almost comforting. "Lieutenant Lunair, give the booze to the crew." Yep. Sing song. "Long live this rope you tied."

[Harrier-307: Kai] Absentmindedly. Clunkclunkclunk. Kai's heading towards the Portal of Gated Doom.

[TAC3] Kai says, ""No no no, woman. Eye on your target, mine on mine.""

[Harrier-307: Kai] She's made it, has Kai, and whether or not Zosime bothered to get her screwdriver out? Kai's withdrawing Bomb Numero Uno. It's a tac-bomb, something that can only promise destruction in the awesome way. As if destruction isn't awesome in and of itself. -Clink- it goes, sticking to the outside hull, a line, thin and slender, leading to Kai's belly. A few finger wriggles make beeps and boops and flashies and the like, until an unscrambable screen populates with red symbols. Her own concoction. "Get the grate." And order. She's got a screwdriver too, but Kai is ever aware of her surroundings and the people and items within. Another bomb is brought out, similar to the first, but with tiny little spikes that semi-protrude - capabilities far, far more clever. Settings begin with this one as well. Focus is pure.

[Harrier-303: Trask] "Coordinates plotted, Major. Ready to jump on your mark." In the meanwhile, the El-tee ECO will keep monitoring the DRADIS display.

[Petrel-647: Covington] Skids doesn't pay a lot of attention to DRADIS, trusting more in her eyes, and hands to judge distances, and correct for new events. These particular Petrels have flown together for about 4 years, so it's no surprise they're able to react so quickly to the maneuvers of the other. The cruise is tenuously uneventful, with that possibility for serious incoming at any moment. That could explain a certain lack of verbosity on the part of one Dallas Covington.

<FS3> <FS3> Zosime rolls Repair: Success.

You paged Zosime with 'Hooray! You can pry off the grate.'

[Harrier-303: Cidra] Cidra slots back into position a little ways off the Praetorian's eleven o'clock and waits. Engines humming, Vipers near enough to land with reasonable ease at a moment's notice when the job is full and done. Almost home. Almost.

[Harrier-307: Zosime] While the PO bristles at the command from a private, there's just too much going on at the moment to say anything about it. Instead, she just turns around. Since she prepared herself to go before she even jumped, Zosime moves to the grate quickly and starts to undo the screws, one at a time. It's a good screw driver and makes quick work of the grate. Taking things apart is part of her specialty, after all. 'Course, she normally puts them back together once she's done. With a hard yank, the grate comes free. Pulling it to the side and away from them, she gestures for Kai. "Come on, Private, we're through."

A flash appears in the distance - Raiders? No, too big. And visible to the naked eye, the hulking form of a Cylon basestar appears on the far side of the comm relay. Then another. Over a hundred clicks out, the Cylons seem to be playing it safe, not willing to risk their capital ship after the defeat handed to them days earlier. Instead, space ripples at a distance as each ship disgorges Raiders from their ubiquitous hangars.

"DRADIS contact… no, two! No two DOZEN!" shouts Praetorian's ECO, her voice practically shrill with surprise. "Cylon basestars, bearing three one six carom zero eight. They're launching Raiders."

Laughlin wastes no time in issuing his orders. "Ensign, get those birds ashore /yesterday./" Kulko is on the comm immediately.

[TAC3] (from "Skids" Covington) Finally, the silence from the blonde Petrel can continue no longer. Skids asks, "Shiv, you member that time we went out for a victory dance at that shitty little hole in the wall an' Spanner dumped his drink in that cowboy's lap? This reminds me a—" And then the DRADIS lights up. "that. Hey, looks like it might end th' same way, too."

[Harrier-307: Kai] No, they aren't through. Through that hatch a second bomb is thrown, a sort of digital thing in Kai's hands…. and after a period of time a button is hit, causing… something. "Good. Yessir." Respectful now. "T-minus at jump, on your command." Zosime is now in control.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Toast, Praetorian. DRADIS contacts, two basestars. Get your birds home."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian, Toast. Copy. Viper Flight, RTB. Back to Praetorian fast as you can. Bunny, we all need to get out of here. Status?"

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Frak me." A pause. "Skids, don't you know those bloody places are pilot traps?" Like this place is about to be when those Raiders get here. "RTB, copy."

[TAC3] (from "Shiv" Sitka) Shiv's probably about to reply to Covington, when the group's DRADIS simultaneously pings with contacts. "Uh, Toast.. you want us to leave the raptor out here undefended?"

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Why you think we went, Lasher? We ain't nothin' if not up for a scuffle. An' also fond of real cheap drinks."

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, still need to get the ducklings back on board. They're en route right now. Stiff, get us spun up. Toast, we'll limp off for jump as soon as we're green."

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Sitka's viper begins its slow roll toward the Praetorian, but there's a sense the pilot's dragging his feet about it a little. Getting pulverised isn't high on his list of priorities for today, but neither, apparently, is leaving the raptor behind.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Toast, Shiv. Raptor's ready to jump faster than you can get to it. Concentrate on getting yourselves down safe. This isn't as easy as a battlestar. Bunny, Toast. Copy. As soon as you can, jump."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] Waiting a few moments to make sure the bombs are through the hatch, Zosime nods and then quickly backpedals. This is not a place they should be when those things go off. "Let's get the frak back to the bird. On my count." Let's not stand on too much ceremony, here. Swinging around, she makes for the edge of the ledge and glances over at Kai to make sure she's on the same page. She's not going to jump without her Bomb Buddy. "Jump in three! Three, two, one!" And, leap!

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Acknowledged, Toast."
Lunair has submitted a new event: Arr, here be Cylons

[TAC3] "Lasher" Laskaris says, "Woman after my own heart." Another pause. "Well, I'm not lookin' to get my nose bloodied by this pack of hooligans. Hitting the deck."

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Swallow flight, Praetorian. Set jump clock for ninety seconds. You need to jump simultaneously or they'll figure us out."

<FS3> <FS3> Evandreus rolls Raptors: Good Success.
You paged Zosime, Evandreus, and Kai with 'You can thank him later.'

<FS3> <FS3> Zosime rolls Athletic: Success.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Praetorian, Copy. Swallow Flight, deploy and jump in ninety flat."

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Shiv, Skids. Stuck like glue, cookie. You want bing or bang?"

On DRADIS, in the sky - wherever you look, Raiders are flying. "75 clicks and closing," comes the report from Praetorian's ECO, who seems to have calmed somewhat.

[TAC3] "Shiv" Sitka says, "Bang, Skids, you know it. Get your ass in there, I'm right behind you."

<FS3> <FS3> Laskaris rolls Vipers-20: Terrible Failure.

<FS3> <FS3> Sitka rolls Vipers-10: Failure.

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Copy that. Pays ta be polite. Seeya in there, Shiv."

<FS3> <FS3> Kai rolls Athletic: Success.

You paged Laskaris with 'Yeah, you just ripped both wings off. But you're fine. So is the fuselage, if they want to weld more shit onto it.'

You paged Sitka with 'Good on you! You snap off the landing gear and put a nasty gouge in the floor, not to mention the Viper's fuselage. Good thing you didn't total it.'

You paged Covington with 'Way to not crash your Viper.'

From afar, Sitka (Shiv) fistpumps.

[Petrel-647: Covington] Though it's not quite that you might call a fantastical approach, Covington's landing is serviceable. Serviceable, not pretty. There isn't a deficiency in her technique, but she does come down a little hard, as always. Maybe she just wants to be sure she knows where the 'ground' is. That can be a tricky thing in space.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] "C'mon, c'mon… just a little closer," and Evan actually draws the boat a little further afield from the station, just a half-foot or so, nudging on the line to get the two ducklings floating the faster his direction before heading back the other direction to scoop them. "Closing up! Get those lines inside after you!" Evan shouts back, "Stiff, what's our ETJ? Buckle in, everyone, we're going."

[Harrier-307: Alessandra] Lucky straps in hurriedly, double checking the buckles not once but three times. "Gods, protect us," she prays under her breath at every single tug of the straps. Too bad she didn't think to pray for that earlier. Perhaps everyone would still be in their own ships and stuff if she had.

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "Toast, Bunny, we've got our full number, plus one, and are coming around two eighteen carom eight to clear proimity. We are green to jump."

[Harrier-307: Zosime] The jump back into the Raptor is certainly less graceful than the trip out. Possibly that's because now Zosime is just focused on getting inside and is jumpy from having just planted explosives close to their own feet. Whatever the cause, she bounces against the side of the door. Not too hard, but enough to jostle her. As soon as her feet are on the ground, she makes for her chair, strapping in and pulling her lines as she goes.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Bunny, Toast. Thank all gods. Get out of there. We'll meet you home."

[Harrier-307: Kai] Kai's inside and but swift, thanks to Evandreus' maneuvers, the remote in her hand tucking into her front pouch upon landing. Scrambling, much as she did on the hull outside, Kai's strapping in PRONTO. P-R-O-N-T-O. "Detonation in 0-four-hundred at max. -GO-."

[TAC3] "Bunny" Evandreus says, "And we're clear of proimity in three… two… JUMP!"

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Toast, Praetorian. Swallow flight is green for jump in five, four, three…"

[BlackKnight-309: Laskaris] His ship's shredded. Thrusters damaged. He's pressed for time, and trying to land on a deck a fraction of the size he's used to. If it were only three of these things, Lasher probably would have been fine. But the current set of circumstances prove a little too much for the embattled Viper captain; correcting his course at the last second as he bears in on the deck, he's caught unawares when an entire bank of thrusters simply gives out. His ship bucks; Lasher's stomach flies into his throat as his fighter heaves itself into the deck. The wings bend under the stress of the impact and are promptly torn away. His fuselage screams across the deck, sparks flying in its wake until it finally comes to a stop just short of the deck's opposite threshold.

[Petrel-649: Sitka] Shiv's approach sure looks good. Nice, clean glideslope, never mind the partially disintegrated right wing… that suddenly and jarringly changes his aerodynamics once he leaves the vacuum of space, and comes in for his landing. They say combat landings are rough, but the way he hits the deck makes it pretty damn clear he destroyed his landing gear. The viper lurches to its injured side, barely misses colliding with Lasher's, skims the deck again with a noisy GRIIIIIND as paint and metal's scraped off, then finally comes to a halt half askew, roughly on target. See? He did get one thing right.

[Harrier-307: Evandreus] Evan does not wait to get anywhere near the Praetorian, but twinkles out of light just off of the station.

[TAC3] (from "Skids" Covington) Well in the wake of the successive, er, let's call them landings, Skids says, kinda dryly over comms, "Deck's gonna be busier'n a cat coverin' crap on a shiny marble floor." There's a brief pause before she asks, "Y'all ok in there?"

[TAC3] (from "Shiv" Sitka) Shiv's radio crackles to life a few moments later, "Alive and kicking. Praetorian, all vipers in and accounted for."

And just in time, too - the Raiders close past the station and hurtle past the space formerly occupied by Evandreus.

[TAC3] Kulko says, "Shiv, Praetorian. Copy. Damage control teams enroute. Now hear this, now hear this, all hands brace for jump."

[TAC3] (from "Lasher" Laskaris) There's a long silence from Lasher's ship, but eventually the man's accented voice sounds over the com, clearly shaken but uninjured — and more than a little perturbed. "Don't mind me, Skids."

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "I hear you, Praetorian. Raptor Flight. Toast. Deploy and jump home."

<FS3> <FS3> Kai rolls Demolitions: Success.

[TAC3] "Skids" Covington says, "Two a y'all's tougher'n a two cubit steak. Must be a gift of age."

[Harrier-303: Cidra] One by one, like tiny star points, the remaining Raptors flare and wink out of this Cylon-packed corner of space. Including Cidra's. All points home.

[TAC3] (from "Lasher" Laskaris) The sound from Lasher's comms is half a growl, half a slightly manic laugh. "Bugger all, I'm… not that frakkin' old."

The EVA Raptor is gone. The Vipers are aboard. The faux Battlestar has gone home - and just in time, too, as the Raiders close to visual range. Kinetic weapons fire starts to rake across Praetorian's hull, and her dorsal point defense guns open up in response, claiming dozens of cybernetic 'lives' in the process.

"Time to go home, kid," urges the XO, noting Laughlin's rising apprehension - though how anyone can tell what the Old Man is thinking is beyond Kulko.

"No!" replies Cerberus' JRTAC with uncharacteristic insubordination. "Wait for the detonation! Ain't gonna lose all them ships for nothin." Ionis looks back to his CO, who gives a single nod. They wait.

Long seconds go by, the guns echo in staccato choruses, the ship shudders with impacts. "Missiles inbound," warns the DRADIS tech. "Brace for impact."

Then a small(ish) explosion goes off at the narrowest point of the Relay's hourglass, followed a moment later by one that, if there were any Vipers left to observe, would be downright spectacular. "Detonation!" announces the crewman, eliciting a cheer from most of those assembled. Ionis is quick to order the jump, and Praetorian too winks out of existence not a moment too soon, Cylon missiles streaking past her former position.

Laughlin walks over to Kulko, towering a good four inches over the young man, and looks the ensign dead in the eye. "Send for a Raptor," he orders, "so Mister Kulko can get the hell off my ship."