| Enter the Swarm 9: Sting |
| Summary: | Enough small cuts, you draw blood. The Fighting Fourteenth faces another day of Swarms. |
| Date: | 23 Feb 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | Swarm logs in general; followed by Blow Ups |
| Players: |
        |
| Space |
|---|
| Vacuum. SWARM. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #362 |
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] Another tense patrol in another far-flung sector of Rim Colonial space. Everyday, the ship prays that somehow, the last attack was the last. And everyday, so far, they've been proven wrong. And so it is today. Two enemy contacts jumping into the system. Lighting up red on the DRADIS. A pair of Raiders. The first, but likely not the last. You know the drill by now. You all know it far too well by now.
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "Moving into formation with the vipers, Flasher." Or where the Vipers will be, as soon as the raiders register on their DRADIS as they do on the further sweeping DRADIS of the raptor. Leyla's hands are steady on the controls now that Bertha's fit for duty. 304 really was not her favourite replacement.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Cerberus, Poppy. Two contacts on DRADIS, reading as enemy Raiders. Moving to intercept. Flight, this is Poppy: two-one-five karem one-three. Let's roll out the red carpet."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Poppy, Decoy. Carom two-one-five one-three, copy that. Blue, I'm on your six."
[BlackKnight-853: Khloe] Blazing off in the direction of the DRADIS contacts, Poppy's Viper nimbly changes course and kicks on its afterburners.
[Harrier-307: Marko] What had started out as a perfectly decent, if boring, CAP begins to turn into the usual fun and games as Marko's console hoots with a contact alert. "Ah hell, here we go again." he grumbles, quickly switching on his ECM emitters and bringing his systems to full power.
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, " DRADIS Contact! Flight. Cerberus, Flasher. Two Cylon Raiders at two one fiver carom one one three, speed seven, range six."
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy.. Blue.. I got 'em.. Bringing it port a couple of degrees.. Lets go to work."
[TAC3] Kaitlyn says, "Poppy, Kaitlyn. Copy that, sounds like a plan. Let's make sure they feel as welcome as possible."
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Try to keep up, Anlessa," comes Poppy's stern order. "When this is over, ask Decoy what it means to be my wingman. Over."
[BlackKnight-662: Kaitlyn] Staying in formation with Poppy, Kaitlyn lets out a bit of a sigh as she follows suit with the other Viper, eyes focused ahead. Second time out, hoepfully it goes as realatively well as the first time.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Decoy, Poppy. You've got a friend. We're on our way."
[BlackKnight-855: Devlin] Devlin shifts a few degrees to port as Roland suggests, taking up a position on the LTJG's wing as the raiders pop into view. The pair seem the more popular of the two, and the ENS shifts immediately to provide cover for his wingman as a target takes a fancy to him.
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Poppy, Decoy. Copy that, thanks. Blue's picked one up, too, let's split them up, maybe?"
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Copy that, Decoy. Anlessa, chase down the one that's on Blue. Raider 1022-Alpha. Over."
[BlackKnight-309: Roland] Blue pushes his Viper up to speed, closing the distance between them as the raiders. He lines up the first cylon, and waits for it to get in range.
<COMBAT> Triggering new turn.
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider2 with KEW - Serious wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider1 with KEW - NEAR MISS!
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider1 with KEW - Moderate wound to Left Wing.
<COMBAT> Raider2 attacks Devlin with KEW - Moderate wound to Nose (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Raider1 attacks Roland with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider2 with KEW - Moderate wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider1 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
<COMBAT> Raider-7428g has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider2 has been KO'd!
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "Man, they do a lot of talking. We never need to coordinate like that." See? ECO-wingmen are the best evah. "Moving up and high to get out of their KEW." Bertha ducks and weaves, nimble as her little trundle bug body can be.
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy…Blue.. How bad is it?"
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, " Flight, Cerberus, Flasher. New DRADIS Contact, Cylon Raider incoming at one four two carom one one six, speed six, range four and closing _fast_."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy. Not too bad. A little shaky, think the nose took a dent that's throwing my steering off. I can deal with it."
[Harrier-307: Marko] "I keep waiting for Cidra to lower the boom about all of that comm chatter. Don't those guys know everything they radiate just keeps going?" Marko replies, starting to angle his emitters to track in on the new target, preparing to scramble it's targeting computer with many, many megawatts of electronic noise. "The way these guys go on, they can probably be heard all the way back to whatever Godsforsaken rock the Cylons went to after the war."
[TAC3] Kaitlyn says, "Poppy, Anlessa. Copy that, moving to tag it now."
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] And so it begins. The combines fire of Poppy and the plucky ensign on her wing blow one of the Raiders away before it can scratch the pilots of the Fleet. But that's only the beginning. The rest of the swarm is arriving now, dozens upon dozens of new contacts lighting up the DRADIS. Same old song, different day, playing for time as the Fleet spins for its life.
[BlackKnight-309: Roland] Blue sends rounds into the raider infront of him watching it pass him heading for one of other ships in the flight. He kicks his Viper into a sharp turn, trying to keep guns on his target.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Good work. Keep it up. If these are the same Raiders they're slow and stupid, so go for cockpits and engines. Cover the Raptors and cover your wingmen."
[BlackKnight-662: Kaitlyn] With the one raider down and out, Kait fires her engines, turning to comply with orders - sights aimed at the raider that had been looking to tag Blue previously. "Alright, let's make this one as quick…"
[BlackKnight-855: Devlin] Devlin takes a hard short across the nose as he tries to chase that raider away from Roland and out of range. He succeeds in that much, though his own shot goes wide, and he narrowly recovers control and dodges as the raider on his own tail is blown to bits. There are, of course, always more to follow, and he swoops back into position, engaging the next one to find Roland tasty-looking.
[TAC3] Hydra says, "Flight, Cerberus. We're spooling. We'll get you an ETA on jump-out as soon as we can." That is…not as accurate an estimation as usual. "Elpis spooling slow again. They're sweating over there to get her spinning. Hang tight and steer clear of our flak.""
[BlackKnight-853: Khloe] Blasting through her target, with the aid of her Ensign wingman, Khloe is quick to speed off in the direction of the Raptor flight, where Bertha has gotten the attention of bad guys.
[Harrier-307: Leyla] Well, maybe that's the next angle we should investigate for how these things are tracking us. It's too bad Vipers can't be kitted out with FTL drives, like the Raiders are." Yes, two completely separate trains of thought. That's just how Leyla rolls.
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider1 with KEW - Light wound to Engine.
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider1 with KEW - Moderate wound to Left Wing.
<COMBAT> Raider1 attacks Leyla with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider3 attacks Roland with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider3 with KEW - Light wound to Right Wing.
<COMBAT> Raider4 attacks Khloe with KEW - Light wound to Left Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider1 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider3 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider1 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
<COMBAT> Raider-1022a has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider1 has been KO'd!
[TAC3] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "Angels on our shoulders, Flight. Thank you."
[TAC3] Kaitlyn says, "Poppy, Anlessa. Holdin' up over there?"
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, " Cerberus, Flasher, we need another Raptor out here for suppression duty, stat!"
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] Those jumps are getting slower with the passing days. The Elpis' knocked-together ship is feeling it more than most, but the strain is starting to show across the Fleet. Longer lag between FTL spools. Planes being put in the air that just came - or were just forced - off the repair lines. The Raiders are no match for the Fleet, but each day they do it a little more damage. Cut, after cut, after cut. You eventually reach 1,000.
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Okay, we've just hit the saturation point for this gear. I'm gonna be doing good to blind three or four of them as it is. Anymore show up, we're in deep and serious fish pickle, Sweet Pea." Marko reports as he frantically begins going through ECM suites.
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy…Blue.. Nice shooting.. What your six.. its getting crowded up here. Stay on your target."
[Harrier-307: Marko] "It's possible, if the Cylons have snoopers out there, they'd damn sure be picking all of this up. And, just to be fair, all the ECM we're blasting out make more noise than comms chatter." he says, frowning when one of his targets evades his efforts. "Not that I'll admit that publicly." he smirks, then swears. "Oh frak me sideways with a saw….." he begins, then frantically begins calling out contact reports with speed and range estimates. (That was meant to go before what I just emitted)
[BlackKnight-853: Khloe] "I'm going to start putting deckies in EVA suits and throwing them out the airlock at the Elpis if they don't frakking fix their FTL!" Khloe's bird rocks as she takes some fire to her wing, causing her to roll in response. "Frak you!" Once the Raider chasing Bertha is destroyed, the Captain veers off to chase after the Raider that's acquired a taste for Ensign.
[TAC3] Hydra says, "Flasher, Cerberus. Copy. Flight control will redirect Raptor from carom seven-niner to back you up. Hang tight."
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "If I'm an angel, we're all frakked. Spread the love, Sweetiepea; they're starting to multiply. Anlessa, Poppy. You've got one on you. I'll chase yours, you chase mine. They're slow, go for the engines. Confirm and engage."
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "We're always in a deep and serious fish pickle, Flasher. Especially when command doesn't see fit to give us any backup out here. I mean, frak, I know we're good, but we're not that good." Still, Leyla continues to move and weave, trying to stay clear of the Viper combat playing on around her, while also avoiding becoming debris by hitting the fleet's enemy suppression barrage.
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, " Cerberus, Flasher, many thanks, Cerberus. We're gonna need it."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy. Thanks, man. You've got a couple on you, I'm going to spin off and engage Raider 3680 heading 4-3-5 carom 6-2. Over."
<COMBAT> Triggering new turn.
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider3 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider4 with KEW - Moderate wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> Raider6 attacks Roland with KEW - Moderate wound to Left Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Raider4 attacks Khloe with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider5 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider7 attacks Devlin with KEW - Moderate wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Raider5 attacks Kaitlyn with KEW - Light wound to Left Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Raider3 attacks Roland with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider3 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider7 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider3 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
<COMBAT> Blackknight-309 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Roland has been KO'd!
Roland spends a Luck point to keep fighting!
<COMBAT> Mouse has joined the combat as a pilot in Raptor-0020P on team 2. (Hydra)
<COMBAT> Launiere has joined the combat as a passenger in Raptor-0020P on team 2. (Hydra)
[TAC3] Hydra says, "Flasher, Mouse. Inbound. You and Sweetie need some cover?" As the Harrier Raptor pilot is moving in to do just that. "We've got you.""
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, " Mouse, Flasher, thank the Gods. Request you come to approximate heading one two one, carom at least one four one, but you can use your judgement."
[BlackKnight-309: Roland] Blue feels his Viper shake, as cylon round puncture his wing. He winces, trying to keep on course, and on target. He grits his teeth, and clicks the mic.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Flight, Poppy. Our help Raptor needs help. Cover your wingman, but try to help the Raptors as best as you can."
[BlackKnight-855: Devlin] This time it's a body shot that rocks Devlin's viper, but after another quick, wobbly spin he pulls it back into line once again and takes back up on Roland's wing, aiming to help the raptors as they come under attack.
[Harrier-307: Marko] "It's about time Fortune did something other than grimace at us." Marko sighs with relief. "Okay now, my little Toasters, let's see what you think of suite number twenty one." he says, starting to dial in his gear. "You know the funny part, Sweet Pea? I _hate_ fish pickle! Nastiest stuff in the worlds."
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy.. Blue.. I think they're serious. I've about lost a wing. Whats your status?"
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] Mouse is one of the quiet ones, so she doesn't reply to Marko verbally right away, but she moves her Raptor right into position where he indicates. Apparently trusting the ECO's judgment, fellow LTJG or no. She positions her Raptor to synch with his ECM as easily as possible, albeit that's still a careful dance to work in the swarm.
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "That would be pretty nearly impossible. I've read all the mythologies. The Gods hate all humans, except when humans are kissing their feet. And I don't see any godly feet around here." Moving and weaving, Leyla moves in to double up with Mouse, to give the raptors maximum penetration.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Anlessa, Poppy. You've picked up two. Evade, evade, evade. I'm on your six. Blue, Poppy. Stop complaining, Decoy has it worse than you. Help your wingman shake his six and help the Raptors."
[BlackKnight-662: Kaitlyn] "Frak!" The rattle of her Viper is light, but enough to inform her she's been hit. Doesn't seem bad, though, not enough no deter her from as quick a turn back, eyes still set on the same raider she had in her sights before. Hopefully, damn things all look the same.
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy. Hanging in there. No fires so far, gonna see if I can help take the heat off Sweet Pea while I'm still flying."
[TAC3] Kaitlyn says, "Poppy, Anlessa. Copy that, must have pissed them off to bad, taking evasive actions…"
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "You know what we need to do, Flasher? We need to figure out a way to expand the FTL warp field, so we can get a few more, if we jump right out from between them." Like she did with Flasher during the raptorball, and with Skeeter during the first, or was it second raider swarm.
[Harrier-307: Marko] "You got my vote. Careful, now, Sweet Pea, we've got one right on our ass…" Marko replies. It's difficult to focus on a complex task when someone's trying to kill you.
<COMBAT> Triggering new turn.
<COMBAT> Raider6 attacks Kaitlyn with KEW - Moderate wound to Weapon.
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider6 with KEW - Moderate wound to Engine.
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider4 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider3 with KEW - Serious wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Raider5 attacks Mouse with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Mouse passes.
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider3 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider4 with KEW - Moderate wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> CREW HIT! Raider4 - Moderate wound to Left Hand.
<COMBAT> Raider3 attacks Devlin with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider7 attacks Kaitlyn with KEW - Moderate wound to Tail (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Raider4 attacks Leyla with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider3 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider7 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
<COMBAT> Raider-3680 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider3 has been KO'd!
[TAC3] Hydra says, "Flight, Cerberus. Elpis reports three minutes to jump." That's…longer than one would like to hear, given the way the storm is pressing on all sides of the Fleet."
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "I'm always careful. It's why I'm still alive. Even with all the animal byproducts I eat." Bertha manages to duck and weave away from an incoming Raider, Leyla fighting to keep the raptor in sync with Mouse's.
[TAC3] Kaitlyn says, "Poppy, Anlessa. Starting to get hammered, going to continue evasive actions. Here's hoping they just got a few lucky hits in."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy. Nice shooting! Can't seem to quite get this frakker to die, gonna give it another pass."
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Copy, Anlessa. Keep shaking. Decoy, Blue, this is Poppy… think we could get some help for the fresh meat? Her KEW looks frakked and she's probably losing hydraulics."
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Nice move, Sweet Pea." Marko says, tightening his restraints a little with one hand while the other continues frantically flapping switches and stabbing at buttons to keep cycling through the ECM suites in an effort to keep shoveling as much sand as possible into the Cylons' beady red eyes. He works the gear just how he was taught, letting the computer do the heavy lifting as much as possible and relying on his training and instincts for the rest.
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] Mouse, meanwhile, has managed to slip her Raptor so she's flying in careful symmetry with Leyla. She's not so flashy a flyer as Sweet Pea, which is evident just now watching them operate side-by-side, but she's giving it her all, her ECO pounding the jammers as they make the effort to hold out just a little longer. Three minutes seems like a very long time.
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy.. Blue.. Stay on him. Watch to starboard."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy, copy that. I'll stick on this one, you go help out the newb?"
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Copy that Decoy."
[BlackKnight-309: Roland] Blue veers off, to line up one of the Raiders chasing Kaitlyn. He mutters to himself, trying to targer the cylon, "Come on you fracker…"
<COMBAT> Triggering new turn.
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider7 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider7 with KEW - Moderate wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Raider5 attacks Mouse with KEW - Critical wound to Left Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider4 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider7 attacks Kaitlyn with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider6 attacks Kaitlyn with KEW - Moderate wound to Tail (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Raider4 attacks Leyla with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Mouse passes.
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider4 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Launiere suppresses Raider7 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider6 with KEW - Moderate wound to Controls.
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
<COMBAT> Blackknight-662 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raptor-0020p has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Mouse has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Launiere has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn spends a luck point to keep fighting!
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Oh frak, Mouse just ate it!" Marko reports, watching the Raptor's transponder signal disappear from the DRADIS screen for a moment.
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, " Mouse, Flasher, say your status, repeat, say your status, over?"
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "Don't say that. Boots will be pissed." Leyla, usually not the one on the comms, does key it up this time. But, Flasher beats her too it. Typical, just like a man to get there first.
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] Three minutes tick down to two as the Fighting Fourteenth continues its dance with the swarm. An increasingly violent dance, as those hash-marked Raiders loose their guns on the Fleet's defenders. The ones dogging Mouse and Kaitlyn light them up like so many Colonial Day decorative displays. The hits Mouse's Raptor takes are particularly punishing, the bus spurting with fire as its controls are hit and spinning out of control.
[TAC3] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "Flight, Sweet Pea, we're going after Mouse, try not to make us come back to get one of you too."
[BlackKnight-662: Kaitlyn] "Frak!" is shouted again as Kaitlyn's viper takes another hard hit. Only a bit of creative piloting keeps it from being enough to send her out of teh fight, but the Viper looks worse for ware, no doubt. "Crap, I don't know how much more this thing can take…"
[TAC3] (from Hydra) (Mouse) "Flight…oh gods, oh gods…I'm hit…I can't…I'm losing…" From Mouse's comm, though whatever she was trying to say it drowned out by the sound of something exploding inside the Raptor. And then screaming. Her wireless, in a bit of horrible irony, is one of the few things left working in her bird as flames overwhelm the cockpit, her cries piercing horrificly across the Fleet on an open channel as flames overwhelm her cockpit and her bird spins out of control.
[BlackKnight-853: Khloe] Barreling through the Viper KEW and Raider munitions, Khloe can't seem to peel one of the Raiders harassing her wingmate. "Frak!" And then when one of the Raptors takes a heavy beating and spins out of control, Khloe's quick to hop on the wireless.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Mouse, sing out! Mouse! Frak! Cerberus, we lost Mouse. Gods help me I will get out and push Elpis if I have to."
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Sweet Pea….punch it." Marko says, all trace of amusement having long drained from his voice as he quickly works the board as Bertha scoots towards Mouse's last known position.
[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, "Mouse, Flasher,vent your atmo, repeat, vent your atmo now! Remember your training, Mouse. We're on the way."
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] There's no response from Mouse's Raptor. The bus's spinning gets less violent and it finally just drifts, battered and broken, amidst the fray of darting Raider and Colonial ships and firing KEW. Whatever it's venting, it doesn't look like it's doing it intentionally. The screaming has stopped over the comm.
[BlackKnight-855: Devlin] Devlin curses as he misses his shot and then again as Mouse's raptor takes a brutal hit, listening in shocked silence to the screaming over the comms. When it goes silent he remains that way for another minute or two.
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy," the ensign says, subdued, quiet, "You've picked up a tail. I'm on him. If you can get mine, I'd appreciate it."
[Harrier-307: Leyla] Sweet Pea might be many things. Not all of them good. But when it comes to SAR operations, she's like a dog on a bone. Even if she has to bring back a raptor possibly turned coffin, that's precisely what she plans to be doing. Bertha is off on the hunt for Mouse's raptor.
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy.. Blue.. Copy that.. Break right.. I'll get him on the next pass as he turns.."
[TAC3] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "Flight, Sweet Pea, you're going to need to redirect some ECM traffic over here, we're about to go and grab Harrier-309. They're drifting."
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Anlessa, sing out, you look like you're smoking pretty heavily from your engines." Her voice sounds edgy and forced. "Try to disengage and RTB if you can't hold it together. Don't be a hero.""
<FS3> Leyla rolls Raptors: Great Success.
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Got the cables ready to deploy as soon as we're there." Marko reports, stabbing the transmit key on his ECM gear as he waits to try and retrieve Mouse's critically damaged Raptor. "What can you see over there?" he asks, sounding worried. "I can't train to PiRCs with the ECM gear going, it doesn't like it."
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "She's dead in the water." Leyla's not going to make any more assessments than that until she gets into position. Once she is, she triggers the cables, timing them just so, multitasking as she starts speeding off towards the Cerberus, and also tracking the lead on the downed Harrier and sending the cables in to retrieve it, "Damage is bad, pull her in as close as we can get."
<COMBAT> Triggering new turn.
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider4 with KEW - Moderate wound to Body.
<COMBAT> CREW HIT! Raider4 - Moderate wound to Abdomen.
<COMBAT> Raider4 attacks Devlin with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider7 with KEW - Moderate wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Raider7 attacks Kaitlyn with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider5 attacks Leyla with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider5 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider6 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider6 attacks Roland with KEW - Light wound to Right Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider7 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
<COMBAT> Raider4 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider-8866s has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Raider7 has been KO'd!
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] Big Bertha isn't the only Raptor pulling SAR duty. All across the Fleet, from the elites of the Areion to the harried sector around the Elpis the Full Colors are defending, and on and on, many planes are not being taken back to Cerberus under their own power. The seconds tick down, maddeningly elongated, as if time were sickly warped in the Swarm. But tick down they do. Finally.
[TAC3] Hydra says, "Flight, Cerberus. Elpis is spooled and ready to jump. Clear for RTB."
[Harrier-307: Marko] With the Cylon forces now thinned down appreciably in this sector, Marko's more easily able to dish out his ECM, splitting his emitters and tasking each to train on one target. That done, he starts to reel in the cable as carefully as he can given the need for haste. "Okay, we're good, now let's get this sucker sat down." he reports, preparing himself what what's bound to be a fun ride back to the ship.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "You heard them, Flight. RTB. Shoot anything that gets in your way. Cerberus, this is Poppy. Sweet Pea looks like she's towing Mouse. Have medical and deck on standby."
[BlackKnight-662: Kaitlyn] Thankfully, another shot misses Kaitlyn, the Ensign letting out a sigh of relief. "Tch. Can't back off now. Not that it sounds like it matters, thank teh Gods." Engines flaring, she sheels her Viper around in a tight curcve, starting back towards the ship in an effort to make it back to the ship before she's shot out into space. But she doesn't intend to go without one more KEW volly.
[TAC3] "Cerberus. Copy, Poppy. Medics en route to port hangar."
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Anlessa, if you think you can, give some help to Blue; looks like he's got a chaser. Otherwise just put your bird down safe."
[TAC3] Kaitlyn says, "Poppy, Anlessa. Copy that, I'll make a quick pass on the way out, I think I can manage it."
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "Sweetiepea, Poppy. I'm after the bugger on your six. You get your ass back to the barn."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Flight, Decoy. I've got an eye on Blue's chaser, see if I can take him out as we RTB. Over."
[TAC3] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "We're going, Poppy. You just better be right behind me."
[BlackKnight-309: Roland] Blue banks away from the explosin as another cylon goes down. He's not in time to avoid fire from its brethren, as more rounds find a home in his Viper.
[TAC3] "Poppy" Khloe says, "You know I can't resist Bertha, Sweetiepea."
[TAC3] "Blue" Roland says, " Decoy..Blue. Turning in to him… Finish him off for me."
[TAC3] "Decoy" Devlin says, "Blue, Decoy. I'll do what I can, bro. See you on the deck."
[Harrier-307: Leyla] Bertha is indeed headed for home, her sister ship tucked in as close as the tow cables allow, without risking damage to the already broken raptor with engine exhaust, "You'd better be in there, Mouse. And you, Henry." A shake of her head, "We should have given him his callsign."
<COMBAT> Triggering new turn.
<COMBAT> Roland attacks Raider6 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider6 attacks Roland with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Raider5 attacks Leyla with KEW - Critical wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Khloe attacks Raider5 with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Devlin attacks Raider6 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Leyla passes.
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider5 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Raider6 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Kaitlyn attacks Raider6 with KEW - Light wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Hydra has started a new turn. Pose and choose your action.
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Maybe we should start calling him 'Target' or 'Sitting Duck'." Marko grunts, frowning as Bertha books it to the barn. And, that quickly, the would-be rescuers find themselves neck deep in the aforementioned fish pickle when an opportunistic Raider puts a full burst of KEW into the Raptor.
[Tucana's Caddy-608: Hydra] And the Fighting Fourteenth returns to the barn once again. Rather more battered than they were when they launched. Some broken perhaps beyond repair. Not quite 1,000 cuts today. But a few more than yesterday, and tomorrow promises more of the same, unless by some miracle the prayers for the end of the Swarm are answered.
Don't count on it.
[Harrier-307: Leyla] "We're coming in hot, Flasher, don't know if we'll be able to make it onto that flight elevator." Raotors are not usually known for doing combat landing, but one might very well be necessary, if Leyla can't manage to control the sudden looseness of the controls following that punishing hit.
<FS3> Leyla rolls Raptors: Good Success.
[Harrier-307: Marko] "Anything we can all live through will do, Sweet Pea." Marko replies over the cacophony of caution and warning alarms, bracing himself for the sure-to-be-impressive landing to come.
[BlackKnight-309: Roland] Blue turns back towards home, glancing back as the Raider banks away. "I'll see you tomorrow you frackin toaster.." He shakes his head, and moves into formation to land.