PHD #084: EVENT - Opening Closure
Opening Closure
Summary: The Cerberus Battlegroup gets some unexpected visitors. Quite a few of them.
Date: 21 May 2041 AE
Related Logs: None
Players:
Bell Cidra Ethan Marko NPC Pallas Temperance Tillman 
Deep Space
Post-Holocaust Day: #84
It's dark here, yo.

[Harrier-670: Tillman] Late evening as far as the ship's clock is concerned and its another CAP rotation. The battlegroup has been fairly quiet with only a few Raptors travelling back and forth between the trio of ships. The Praetorian hangs a little further away from the Cerberus and is currently running announced fire and damage control drills. CIC has been silent as well with most of the ship getting dinner around now.

[Petrel-647: Bell] Doc Bell leads his half of the two-element CAP in its long, lazy circle around the Battlegroup, flying at half throttle to improve fuel efficiency. He moves the Mark II with practiced grace, visually checking the CAG on his wing every few minutes just to ensure she's there. "Are you quite enjoying yourself, Major?" comes his voice, tinny over the comms. "We could engage in some maneuvers, if you'd like. Perhaps an inverted scissors?"

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Quiet night, quiet CAP. Pallas' wingman is down on Leonis, so he's been making do with whoever's available when he's on rotation. His Viper cruises on a steady flight path. Nothing new, nothing exciting. And nothing spoken, either - he hasn't really said one word outside of what's absolutely necessary since the CAP rotation started. Which is probably better than if he were talking the whole time.

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Okay, Fresh, everything on my board's agreeably green." Marko comments, pulling his eyes away from the notepad he's been scribbling in furiously and forcing himself to stow it in one of the leg pockets of his flight suit. "I'd say it looks nice and quiet out, but the last time we tried that, we all almost died." he comments with a wry chuckle. "So, yeah, just gonna keep my mouth shut for now."

[Harrier-651: Ethan] Ethan sits behind the controls of his Raptor, he quietly scans everything outside, at least for the moment. When Flasher speaks to him, the young Ensign can't help to laugh at the comment "Right you are, I'm already thinking about evasive maneuvers already" he shakes his head with an amused expression and looks outside, at the Vipers. His attention slowly drifts towards the controls and he examines the repairs done to the Raptor.

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Viper Toast is something of an Air Wing urban legend. Rumored of, occasionally stalking the night on an unremarkable CAP, but rarely seen. The CAG has taken one of the little fighters out tonight, however. And she's currently flying it just off Bell's six. Flying the professor's wing today, deferred to the more experience Viper jock. A low chuckle is heard over the comms.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Doc, Toast. One must keep a bit of variety in one's life. You have Flight lead. Quiet night thus far. Let us try and keep this properly dull. I shall forgo the scissors, I do think.""

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

[Harrier-304: Temperance] Temperance and Skeeter seem to be in a heated debate about the likelihood of the women left alive in the universe being ordered to have babies to continue the species - Skeeter's all for it, and Temperance is appalled. She absentmindedly rubs the gunshot scar on her right hand, and rolls her eyes at the tiny blond woman with the teeny voice. "Yer jus' sayin' that 'cause ya want an excuse ta have more sex," she remarks wryly, keeping her flight path tight and in line with everyone else. "Ain't nobody gonna approve anythin' like that."

[Petrel-647: Bell] "As you wish," Bell confirms with a slight waggle of his fighter's wings. "Slow and steady, so as to avoid disturbing the heavens. How much longer?" Doc is unusually talkative, perhaps having gone out on CAP without any reading material.

[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, "Flight, Cerberus, Flasher. Getting a DRADIS twitch at bearing two six two carom zero one four. Contact is just at the edge of detection range, too far out for a transponder fix."

[Harrier-651: Marko] Marko sighs, shaking his head a little as he instinctively starts tightening his restraint harness. "Here we go again." he comments tensely, already getting the ECM emitters set up but taking scrupulous care to make sure they're not actually radiating anything into space.

[TAC3] "XO" Tillman says, "CAP, Cerberus. Corsair confirms and is reporting bogies jumping in at the edge of its DRADIS range. Setting Condition One. Spooling FTL's."

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Knights, Doc. Move to engage. We'll be right behind you."

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra is blessedly unaware of the maternal debate going on in Knickers' Raptor. Flying without an ECO has its benefits at times. No waggling from her. Her Viper handling is text-book competent…and very little else of note thus far. She sticks in formation with Bell with relative ease, however, particularly as Marko's comm chatter hits her ears.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "So much for boredom. Doc, Toast, copy. I am with you."

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "Figures…" says Ethan with a dry tone of voice. He adjusts his own harness as well and tilts his head from side to side, releasing air pressure from his neck. The the XO is heard and he shakes his head, looking over his shoulder after that "Keep scanning them, Flasher, let's see if we can get a headcount" If possible.

[TAC3] "Spiral" Pallas says, "Doc, Spiral. Copy. Knights on me, let's move."

[Petrel-647: Bell] At the far side of their patrol route, Bell and Cidra will take longer to intercept. Accordingly, Jeremiah sets his throttle to full and comes about, streaking towards the new DRADIS contacts at maximum speed.

<FS3> <FS3> Marko rolls ECM: Success.
<FS3> Temperance rolls 5: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Temperance rolls 5: Success.

[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, "Flight, Cerberus, Flasher. Bandits! Bandits! DRADIS contact confirmed. Four, repeat, zero four Cylon craft, type unknown closing in. Now bearing two six four, carom zero one five, correction! Zero one four."

[TAC3] "Knickers" Temperance says, "Flasher, Knickers, confirm - 4 bandits, headed for us and increasing speed."

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra's Viper follows Bell's lead, and she pushes the little ship to full speed. "Oh my…" she murmurs as it jets after him. The little planes are zippier than the buses.

[TAC3] "XO" Tillman says, "CAP, Cerberus. Corsair confirms. Looks like they are on a constant bearing for the Praetorian. Push it up!"

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Fresh, hope you've got your mad piloting skills heated up." Marko calls from his position. "My gut says we're going to need it. Permission to go active on the ECM?" he asks.

[Harrier-304: Temperance] Skeeter does some ECO related things that involve magic and glitter, for sure, and then chirps at Temperance. The redhead's eyes go wide and she confirms the findings on the coms with Marko, and grits her teeth. "Either frakkin' borin' or full'a death," she mutters to herself, checking her harness for any give. "Never understand why I had ta pick th' ships wi' no weapons."

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] There's a slight lag between Pallas' transmission and actual movement toward the bearings given by Marko. At first, he's slow to accelerate. But then the bandits are called over the comms, and Spiral punches it to the adjusted coordinates. Val, his rent-a-wingman, stays tight on his six.

<FS3> <FS3> Ethan rolls Alertness: Great Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Temperance rolls Alertness: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Pallas rolls Alertness: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Cidra rolls Alertness: Failure.
<FS3> <FS3> Bell rolls Alertness: Failure.

Tillman (T) pages Temperance and Pallas: Something is odd about the formation.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "4 bandits" says Ethan to himself as he looks at how the Vipers fly away to intercept them. "I need to get myself some Viper training" says Ethan to Marko, he chuckles after that, even on this situation and adds "Those things are mighty fast." Now, focus now. "Ok, if they start throwing rocks at us, this is going to get bumpy, Flasher. Are you with me?" Now he looks up front and goes "Oh Frak me!" and punches the speed controls.

[TAC3] "Fresh" Ethan says, "Flight, Cerberus, Fresh. "I got 12 Cylon Heavy Raiders, I repeat one two Cylon Heavy Raiders flying in close formation and moving FAST.""

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Like I'm going any place?" Marko asks, not taking his eyes off the DRADIS as the Raptor suddenly increases speed rather dramatically. "Twelve? The frak?" he asks, squinting at the DRADIS console. "I'm not……The frak is going on?"

[TAC3] "Knickers" Temperance says, "CAP, Knickers - That formation look off to anyone else?"

[Harrier-670: Tillman] The formation of twelve Cylons is difficult to distinguish at first, but the gaggle quickly before a defined set of very closely-grouped delivery platforms. Their speed just seems to be climbing without any hint of holding back. Then, without warning, four of the Heavy Raiders break off and aim their cannons towards the approaching Vipers while the remainder continue their collision course with the Praetorian.

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Spiral and Val are amongst the first to approach the oncoming Cylon ships, not having had too far to divert from their original flight path. Just as they begin to approach combat range, the enemy formation breaks without warning. Pallas immediately brings his Viper downward to dodge, his voice going from curiously quiet to OHSHIT loud over the comms in a split second.

[TAC3] "Spiral" Pallas says, "CAP, Spiral. Bandit formation's different. Closing in to - break, break, break! They're splitting!"

<COMBAT> Cidra has changed stance to banzai.
<COMBAT> Bell has changed stance to cautious.
<COMBAT> Pallas has changed stance to banzai.

[Petrel-648: Cidra] It would not be quite accurate to say Cidra rabbits after Bell. Her control of the Viper is still too studied, too by the text-book, to really rabbit anywhere. But she sticks to his six well enough. Something decidedly off-comm is muttered under her breath. So much for her boring Viper CAPs.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Doc, Toast. You have got a pair of them on you. I shall engaging bandit three. I shall try and discourage him."

[Petrel-647: Bell] Bell's flight joins the fray soon after the Knights close into range. The senior Petrel cuts his throttle, taking the time to line up his crosshairs on one of the Raiders that has broken to engage the CAP. "Once more, unto the breach, dear friends, once more…" he says to himself, likewise off the comms, as he squeezes onto the firing stud.

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Shit and perdition!" Marko breathes as the Cylon formation breaks apart just enough for his DRADIS to get a clear picture. Quickly, he fires off the Raptor's powerful ECM suite and begins to angle the emitters towards the first four heavies. "Fresh, recommend we come to one four four carom two two zero, for a best ECM angles." he calls, then switches to the tactical channel.

[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, "Harrier-304, Flasher, see if you can get a vector either parallel or close to it to our course. Above or below, doesn't matter."

[TAC3] "Knickers" Temperance says, "Flight, Knickers, got two bandits targettin' m'ass, movin' ta evade."

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "Oh yes, twelve frakking big ass toasters…" says Ethan to Marko. He gets a better grip of the controls and focuses his attention on what's ahead "This is going to be interesting." adds the man and then nods "Copy that, Flasher, one four four carom two two zero" And with that said, he manipulates the controls to achieve that "Let's give them hell"

<COMBAT> Val has changed stance to banzai. (Pallas)
<COMBAT> Temperance has changed stance to evade.

<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider1 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider3 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Pallas attacks Hvyraider1 with KEW - Serious wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 attacks Temperance with KEW - Moderate wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Cidra attacks Hvyraider3 with KEW - Moderate wound to Left Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Bell attacks Hvyraider3 with KEW - Serious wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> Temperance passes.
<COMBAT> Hvyraider4 attacks Bell with KEW - Moderate wound to Weapon.
<COMBAT> Hvyraider3 attacks Bell with KEW - Critical wound to Controls (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Hvyraider1 attacks Temperance with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Ethan passes.
<COMBAT> Val attacks Hvyraider1 with KEW - Serious wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Message from Bell: Ruh roh.
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider1 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider3 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Viper-9159h has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Bell has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Heavy Raider-0672 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider1 has been KO'd!

[Harrier-304: Temperance] Temperance's dash is screaming multiple warnings at her, as two of the bandits heading this way decide she looks tasty and delicious. "Buckle up, Skeet," she calls back nervously. "They're pissed an' headed fer us, 'pparently." She yells into the comms and starts to evade, but there's nothing she can do about that first one, and they get hit pretty decently.

<COMBAT> Bell spends a luck point to keep fighting!

[Harrier-670: Tillman] The unengaged Heavy Raiders blow past the Vipers in the blink of an eye, their white-hot engines pushing full-bore. Their bearing is taking them directly for the Praetorian and there isn't anything else standing in their way now that the CAP is engaged with the immediate threats to them. But the dogfight has already started. The tag-team action from Pallas and his wingman blows the aircraft apart, the entire body of it exploding into thousands of pieces.

[TAC3] "XO" Tillman says, "CAP, Cerberus! Engaging triple-A defenses! Estimate time to impact: three minutes!"

[TAC3] "Knickers" Temperance says, "Flight, Knickers, we're hit hard. (Her voice is not calm.)"

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Knickers, Doc, you don't know what hard is."

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Dammit…get back on vector you chrome plated fraktard!" Marko snarls to his DRADIS console when one of the heavies slips out of his jamming arc. "Recalibrating, stay this bearing if at all possible." he calls to his pilot. "Shit. Got weapon hits on one of the Raptors and a bad one on a Viper, think it's Bell."

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] It's a mad dance that Spiral and Val do around their target. Old Man Pallas is not known for being the fastest or sharpest, but he can maneuver when he wants to. And it looks like Val can keep up with him just fine. They blast the first Heavy Raider to shreds in no time, after which Spiral flips his Viper around into pursuit after another target.

[TAC3] "Spiral" Pallas says, "Val, Spiral. Good kill. Let's get another one."

[Petrel-647: Bell] No sooner has Doc watched his kinetic weaponry slice into the approaching heavy raider than the return volley ricochets first off his center cannon, then severs a number of the old Viper's hydraulic lines. The pilot struggles to keep the plane under control as the stick suddenly stiffens up, slamming a gloved fist against the cockpit canopy in frustration.

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Toast, Doc, my hydraulics are damaged. Attempting emergency repair. Cover my six."

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra's KEW guns fire off in a burst. Though it's not quite as impressive a burst as the Cylon-made one she sees pounding Bell. She pulls up sharp, actually working some of the fighter's moves as she sweeps about to try and get a fix on him again.

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Doc, Toast. Understood. Dance tight. I shall cover you."

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "Frak…" can be heard coming from Ethan, he takes a deep breath and sighs heavily while looking what's going on outside. "I'll stay put, Flasher. Hit those things" Now, in addition to all the things that they have to worry about right now, those Heavy Riders that went through are going to cause trouble, a lot of it.

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Forget it, Major. This will have to be done the hard way."

<COMBAT> Val attacks Hvyraider3 with KEW - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Temperance passes.
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider3 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Pallas attacks Hvyraider3 with KEW - Light wound to Engine (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Hvyraider4 attacks Cidra with KEW - ARMOR on Left Wing stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider3 attacks Bell with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 attacks Pallas with KEW - Serious wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Ethan passes.
<COMBAT> Cidra attacks Hvyraider3 with KEW - ARMOR on Engine stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Bell attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider3 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Heavy Raider-4081i has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider3 has been KO'd!

[Harrier-670: Tillman] The Heavy Raiders from the original continue on, the distance climbing rapidly as the dive towards the Praetorian. Meanwhile the constant hammering on the third Heavy finally takes its toll and the port engine explodes, causing it to cartwheel across the starscape before it explodes in a shower of flame from the detonated tylium.

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Okay, this isn't working. Fresh, try and bring us to bearing one four six carom two one five." Marko calls, frowning as his targets neatly dance out of his suppression arcs. "Determined little buggers, aren't they?" he comments as he frantically attempts to keep his emitter arcs on the remaining fighters.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "Copy that, Flasher" says Ethan to the ECO. He moves the Raptor to match the order and continues to keep a close eye on what's going on out there "Flasher, can we do something about the Heavy Riders that went through?"

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Spiral and Val twist and turn around another Heavy Raider. This time, the kill is not quite as clean - but it's a kill. As they come off the spinning Heavy Raider's tail, another one cuts across Pallas' trajectory with a hail of fire, putting a good amount of damage on his Viper. Instruments are blinking, warnings are going off, but Spiral ignores 'em and moves to intercept yet another Cylon ship.

[TAC3] "Spiral" Pallas says, "Val, Spiral. I'm hit. Take lead on this one, I've got your back."

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra's Viper takes a glancing shot from the heavy off her wing. But the Mark II is made of reasonably stern stuff, and she's passing by that burst of fire fast enough where it doesn't even earn her ship a dent. More unremarkable canon fire is directed from her at the Cylons. She comes around for another pass, sticking with Bell's bedraggled Petrel.

[Petrel-647: Bell] Bell's shots go wide, and rather than pursue his original target, he forms up on Cidra's wing. Her selected Raider is the new lucky recipient of his KEW fire, and he clicks on the comms as he lets loose.

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Toast, Doc, assume element lead, copy? Cerberus, Doc, where are those fighters?"

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Doc, Toast, copy. I will take your lead. Hang on back there."

[TAC3] "XO" Tillman says, "Doc, Cerberus. Still scrambling. Power failure on the port launch tubes. Alert Vipers will be up just in time to see the Raiders hit the Praetorian."

[Harrier-304: Temperance] Temperance is just trying to keep her ass down, and fly straight so as not to attract the attention of any more bandits looking for action. Skeeter seems to be fistpumping behind her, suppressing first one and then another like an blond ECO machine. "They're going to ram straight into the ship," Temperance mutters to herself.

<COMBAT> Val attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - Light wound to Engine (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Pallas attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Ethan passes.
<COMBAT> Cidra attacks Hvyraider4 with KEW - NEAR MISS!
<COMBAT> Bell attacks Hvyraider4 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Temperance passes.
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Hvyraider4 attacks Cidra with KEW - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 attacks Val with KEW and MISSES!

[Harrier-670: Tillman] Just as Tillman's radio call finishes, the flak batteries all over the fleet light up. The Praetorian has slowly been trying to take refuge behind the Corsair but its going to be a close call. Even the Cerb's huge dorsal cannons are thundering away with their flak bursts. The doors on the side of the Praetorian slowly open to reveal the missile bays beneath. This is going to get into slap-fight range very quickly.

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Okay, that's a little better. Now if this one little frakker will just hold still for a second…." Marko breathes, pivoting a jammer to track on to the one heavy that slipped away a second ago. "I think the Praetorian and the Corsair have them pretty much under control." he notes, grinning savagely as his threat recievers light up with the hoots and sparklies of lots and lots of Colonial flak battery fire control systems.

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Pallas struggles to maintain control of his Viper as he maneuvers behind Val. It's not so easy to pull of those sharp banks when your ship's full of holes. Val makes a glancing hit on the target, but Spiral's shots go wide - way wide. As they circle around to get a second pass, he gets a view of the ship cannons starting to open fire on the remainder of the inbound bandits. His Viper starts to move just a little bit faster.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "I hope you are right" says Ethan as he focuses on flying the Raptor, he's got a baaaaad feeling about this. "Ok, hit them again Flasher, those two buggers are starting to become really annoying" Ethan maintains the Raptor on a specific area to aid Flasher get a clear target on the Heavy Raiders.

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra's shots fly wide as well, and she has no holes in her ship to blame it on. Focus remains on the Heavy Raiders as the Praetorian maneuvers desperately in the field behind them. Again she comes about, attempting to zero in on the front end of her Raider playmate.

[Petrel-647: Bell] Bell stays right with the CAG, shots still flying far wide of their intended mark. "Got to get you home, girl," he says to the fighter, it having carried him through Warday and beyond.

<COMBAT> Pallas attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Val attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - Moderate wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> Temperance passes.
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Hvyraider4 attacks Cidra with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 attacks Val with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Ethan passes.
<COMBAT> Cidra attacks Hvyraider4 with KEW - Light wound to Left Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Bell attacks Hvyraider4 with KEW and MISSES!

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Doc, Toast. I think I have shaken my bandit. Moving in to focus fire with Spiral and Val."

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Toast, Doc. I copy and will engage your target."

[Harrier-670: Tillman] The Praetorian's side flickers as missile batteries fire all at once. The missiles, meant to attack a massive target like a planet or a basestar make a quick acceleration once out of the tubes. As they reach out, though, the tight formation of Heavy Raiders scatters and begins some high speed maneuvering. Only two of the missiles find marks, reducing the number of inbound bandits to six with a couple of quick flashes. The entire battlegroup has nearly disappeared behind the wall of flak that's being thrown into space.

[Harrier-651: Marko] "Yeah, I hope I'm right too." Marko comments, still intent on kicking as much dust into the Cylon's eyes as he can. "How's your assembly language?" he asks with a grim chuckle. "I only know polite phrases, you know 'hello', 'good morning, afternoon, evening..' 'What time is it?' and of course, 'Please do not shoot me with your very large machine gun.'."

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Another pass, another miss. Pallas is starting to get pissed off now, and he circles back for a third pass, coming in close and tight. The Praetorian be damned, he's gonna get this wily little bastard if it takes him all night. Even if he is flying kind of shaky, and the flashing warnings in his Viper are getting harder and harder to ignore.

[Petrel-647: Bell] "For all the good it will do," Jeremiah mutters under his breath, rolling right to keep with Cidra as she follows the Knights' selected target. His burst are short, clipped, controlled, rather than his earlier wild spraying.

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra does not fly particularly tight with Bell but she strive to keep her plane in some loose formation with his as she banks to engage the other heavy raider. She's a dedicated wing, if nothing else, which may come from a decade and change of flying support craft like the Raptors. She murmurs to herself as well, though whatever it is she's saying is kept off the comms.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] "I can invite them for some afternoon tea if you think that'll work" says Ethan, in any other situation, he would have found his own comment to be amusing. His focused stance comes back right away, given the fact that there are two very ugly looking Heavy Riders attacking the group. As for the others toasters? Not much they can do right at this moment.

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

[Harrier-304: Temperance] Temperance is doing just fine, sitting out here watching missiles fly every which way while Skeeter back there attempts to suppress everything that moves without a heartbeat. Sitting up straight suddenly, the tiny buzz buzzer has an idea, and starts frantically punching things in. It seems that the ECO is dummying a whole host of imaginary missiles to show up for the bandits as real contacts on DRADIS, to confuse their efforts to dodge the actual firepower.

<COMBAT> Cidra attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Val attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - Moderate wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Temperance passes.
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Pallas attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider4 attacks Val with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 attacks Temperance with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Ethan passes.
<COMBAT> Bell attacks Hvyraider4 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>

[Harrier-670: Tillman] The jamming against the inbound Raiders doesn't seem to have any effect except to cause them to jink a little more. The missile barrage continues and takes down two more Heavy Raiders while the dogfight continues out in the middle of space. Those last four inbound plunge headlong into the flak field and disappear as Corsair redoubles the vigor of its firing to protect her younger sister.

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Cerberus, Doc, time to FTL?"

[TAC3] "XO" Tillman says, "Doc, Cerberus. Two minutes to jump capability."

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Pallas is just pumping out the firepower and getting nothing in response. Val, at least, is making consistent shots on target, but to no great effect - he's hindering the bandit, sure, but not taking it out of commission. "One more time, with feeling," he mutters to himself, coming in from the bandit's three o'clock instead of tailing it.

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra remains too concentrated on trying to get a bead on the heavy to check on how the bigger ships are doing. Her guns do make contact with the hull of the enemy craft this time but they do little to singe it. Arc and around and again, sticking on the ship Pallas and Val are targeting. If nothing else, maybe the lights from their KEWs will eventually give it red-eye strain.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] Ethan keeps piloting his Raptor, while keeping an eye on the events outside. A lot of fire power flying by, pew pew would be an understatement now. "Are these two Cylons on drugs or something?" he shakes his head to that comment and takes a deep breath. Hands on the controls, the bird intact for the moment.

<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skeeter suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Pallas attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - Moderate wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Bell attacks Hvyraider4 with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Val attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - Serious wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> Temperance passes.
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider2 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Marko suppresses Hvyraider4 with ECM. <successful>
<COMBAT> Hvyraider4 attacks Val with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 attacks Temperance with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Ethan passes.
<COMBAT> Cidra attacks Hvyraider2 with KEW - Moderate wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Heavy Raider-4377e has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Hvyraider2 has been KO'd!

[Harrier-651: Marko] "No idea, Fresh." Marko replies, his previous decent humor evaporating as he watches the situation get more serious by the moment. "Oh thank the Gods." he sighs when one of the remaining heavies winks out of existence on his console. "I sure hope the flak gunner have their shit wired tonight."

[Harrier-670: Tillman] The flak cloud shrinks considerably, most like still trying to hit the four inbound Raiders…then suddenly it stops. The missile doors on the Praetorian begin closing and the sheep begins to peel away from the rest of the battlegroup with all of its engines firing. Meanwhile the last Heavy Raider remaining careens around the sky, trying to hit anything it possibly can. Apparently the last one left, the canner pilot gets aggressive.

[TAC3] "XO" Tillman says, "CAP, Cerberus. The Praetorian took a single hit to the port side. They will be jumping with us. You have ninety seconds to the jump! Combat landings as soon as you are able!"

[Harrier-651: Ethan] Ethan watches as one of those Heavy Riders go boom. "That's what I'm talking about…" exclaims the pilot almost jumping from his seat. He nods after that and adjusts his ass on the seat once again "Ok, XOs orders, let's see if this other guy goes boom, we gotta get the hell out of here."

[Petrel-647: Bell] Bell continues limping along in Cidra's wake, shots pinging harmlessly around their target. At Cerberus' order, he comes about and heads straight for the mothership, lickety split.

[TAC3] "Doc" Bell says, "Flight, Doc, all units RTB. Repeat, all units, RTB."

[Harrier-304: Temperance] Temperance reaches back with one hand to give Skeeter a lame and distracted high five, but the ECO is too busy pouting her little lips at her console to return to props. Her genius plan doesn't seem to have worked as well as she had hoped. "Get ready ta head back," Temperance calls back, her voice sympathetic. Her genius plans often don't go the way she wants, either. "Can ya try an' do somethin' 'bout that ship tryin' ta get all friendly wi' Fresh's ship?" She eyes the last bandit suspiciously, and heads back for the hangar.

[Harrier-651: Marko] The young ECO's about to secure his jamming gear for the approach back to the Cerb when he spots the remaining Raider increasing his speed, peeling away from the battlegroup and heading straight for them. "Fresh, incoming! Break! Break! Break!" Marko shouts, flicking out bundles of chaff and flares along with focusing the ECM generators at the enemy ship.

[Petrel-648: Cidra] Cidra does not need to be told twice. She puts guns her little Mark II full speed toward home on Bell's word, flitting around and heading back lickety-split. Homeward bound.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] Ethan opens his eyes wide open at the incoming Heavy Rider and gets ready to evade "The hell you are…!!" With that said, he turns the controls of the Raptor to get it out of harms way. "We are off, Flasher…let's go home"

[TAC3] "Toast" Cidra says, "Doc, Toast. Acknowledged. I am right behind you, returning to base."

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Boom goes that resilient little bastard. Pallas exults unseen in his cockpit, even though it wasn't his kill, and brings himself about to line up with the remaining bandit. As he moves in for the kill, Tillman's voice and then Bell's crackle over the comms. "Frak," he mutters. He wavers, willpower waning… and punches it back to base.

[Harrier-670: Tillman] With the flight turning and running for base, the last Heavy Raider simply levels out and holds course for a few moments before it disappears in a flash of light - jumping Gods know where. The Praetorian continues it's maneuvering away from the battlegroup while the main guns on the other ships reset to ready themselves for the jump.

<FS3> <FS3> Bell rolls Vipers - 25: Good Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Cidra rolls Vipers: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Ethan rolls Raptors: Bad Failure.
<FS3> <FS3> Pallas rolls Vipers -15: Success.
<FS3> <FS3> Temperance rolls Raptors -5: Terrible Failure.
<FS3> <FS3> Bell rolls Vipers-25: Success.

Hangar Deck - Port - Midship - Battlestar Cerberus
Post-Holocaust Day: #84
The single largest rooms on the Cerberus are the hangar decks. Each flight pod consists of two stacked landing bays with adjoined decks and hangars, which along with computer-assisted landings results in a faster Viper recovery rate. Mirror images of each other, these two huge areas are located on the flight pods. The inboard sides of the deck, closest to the ship's main hull, are lined with parking and maintenance bays for Vipers and Raptors based aboard the battlestar. The outboard side of the deck contains the launch tubes used by the Vipers for standard deployment. Huge blast doors seal the deck into four sections, each one containing an elevator that leads up to the flight deck directly overhead. The fore-most section contains an elevator system that leads towards Aerospace Fabrication.

[Harrier-651: Ethan] Wanting to catch up with the rest of the CAP, Ethan speeds up…perhaps too much? "Ok, we are getting there, we are getting there…." Moments to be remembered are those in which you realize that you are about to screw up, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. "Oh Frak me sideways…" Now is when he starts to adjusts the Raptor for a better landing but…no, no such luck. "CAGs gonna be pissed. Flasher, hold onto something mate" And not 5 seconds after he said that, the Raptor hits the deck, and hard…hard enough to break the front 'leg', letting the cockpit area hit the floor…sparks everywhere, smoke, a lot of crap and…more skid marks, or the Deck crew is going to love this guy.

[BlackKnight-855: Pallas] Spiral grits his teeth and comes in for the combat landing hard and fast. Ninety seconds is not a lot of time for all the Vipers and Raptors to land. He comes in hot, bounces once - twice - and then the right gear collapses. Pallas' Viper rolls and continues onward, skidding with the sickening shriek of metal on metal… until it stops. There's no space for the hatch to open, so he has to be extracted from the cockpit.

"Nice landing, Fresh." Marko comments acidly, shaking his head and checking the ECO station after his head smashed into the keypad. "That was…you know….almost on the ship." he snerks as he assesses the damage his helmet did. "Chief's gonna _love_ you."

Cidra touches her Mark II down on the flight deck with a minimum of fuss. Well, that was an underwhelming outing for Viper Toast. But her ship returned largely unscathed, so it appears she did actually qualify for the Vipers properly. Off comes her helmet once she's properly out and she takes a few deep breaths, wiping an arm across her sweaty forehead.

"Almost…" says Ethan with a dry tone of voice, he is wanting to kick his own ass right now. The man takes a deep breath and crosses his arms over his chest. He walks towards the Raptor and kneels down to check the front "Really sorry babygirl, I guess…" he shakes his head and pats the glass of the cockpit "Brand me as dangerous to fly with, Flasher…" says the man, he's certainly not happy with himself. He now looks at Temperance's Raptor and presses his lips together.

Temperance and Skeeter come screaming into the bay, with no way to control where they're headed or who's in their way. Hopefully any loose deck crew manage to dive out of the way in time, because they hit the deck and instead of bouncing, they immediately start to roll, ripping up the right wing in the process. Sparks are flying everywhere as the ship slowly looses speed as it drags across the floor, and finally skids to a stop. And just sits in silence for a moment. Thankfully, it landed in the vicinity of a flight elevator, and with a few deckies moving it this way and that with the fancy equipment, it's positioned correctly and begins to lower down, giving everyone below a great cautionary tale for How Not to Land Your Plane.

"Ah, ….shit happens during these combat landings, Fresh." Marko adds reassuringly. "You should've seen what Bunny did to his Raptor on Warday….how he lived through that, I have no idea…" he adds. "Don't beat yourself up about it." he adds, unstrapping and patting his pilot on the shoulder. "Cheif Atreus will do that with far more skill and precision than you or I can muster." he snickers and is about to start a post flight when he spots what's left of Temperance's ship coming down on the elevator. "Frak me!" he calls, switching to the active comms.

[TAC3] "Flasher" Marko says, "Flight control, Flasher, we need medics to the Port hangar bay, STAT. Raptor down, repeat, Raptor down."

[Intercom] Flight control comes over the loudspeakers: "Medical to Port Hangar Bay on the double. Medical, Port Hangar.

Tillman appears at the overlook and watches from that perch as the aircraft are returned to the hangar deck. He cringes at seeing the various amounts of damage and slowly makes his way towards the ladder down.

"My gods…" Cidra strides away from her Viper with barely-restrained alarm as she sees the Raptors come skidding in. Temperance's with more more fire than is wise. Not to mention poor Pallas and his Viper. Hard landings, those. "Follow the Deck hands lead with extraction and keep out of the medics way once they arrive!" she calls. Tillman's entry is not immediately noted, attention on the various banged up birds and flight crew within them.

Pallas' rolled-over Viper gets hosed down for a while before any attempt at extraction is made. But he gets pulled out eventually - and surprisingly, he's still conscious. Somewhat. Arms around the shoulders of two knuckledraggers who hold him up, he looks more like his usual drunken off-duty self than anything else, his head lolling about limply. They pull him off to the side and get his helmet off - there's blood running down his face, but doesn't look to be anything critical.

Ethan takes off his helmet and that's when the pain hits him, it's very sharp, very painful and on the same spot that it has been hurting for this past days "Nngh…" lets the man go from his lips, he presses them together and shakes his head. His attention moves to the CAG, right after he started making his way towards Temperance's Raptor. Her comments make him look around to see if he's not stopping anyone from doing his job and then gets closer to the Raptor. Temperance is a Squadron mate after all, he wants to know how she is. If anything noticeable, the sharp pain in his back is preventing him from walking correctly.

The XO doesn't say anything at first, just watching the controlled chaos on the deck with the damaged birds returning. He just stops by Cidra and looks on with her. Some may notice that the man has taken to wearing a sidearm - though with all the chaos its probably a detail unnoticed. He sighs heavily, letting the professionals do their work.

Marko runs a quick post-flight, even though it's apparent to anyone who bothers to look that he's itching to rush to see if Temperance is okay. But shutting this gear down properly is his responsibility, and Temperance and Skeeter are the medics' and deck crew's. Nothing hammers home professionalism like having the world end.

Deck crew and some misc med folk come running out, and those who aren't busy with Pallas' Viper turn their attention to the damaged Raptor. Cooled down, hatch door popped open, the first one brought out is Skeeter, completely unconscious. She's breathing, but there's a pretty nasty gash on her forehead that's going to smart in the morning. By the time she's loaded on a stretcher and out of the way, Temperance is being dragged out and assessed. She's awake, if that counts for something. She winces when they rotate her shoulder, and though it's not readily apparent given her hair color, they eventually discover that she's cracked her head when they rolled, and is bleeding from her scalp. She spots the concerned looks, though, and weakly gives everyone the thumbs up sign.

Cidra catches that thumbs up from Temperance. It relieves her a little, but only just. The unconscious ECO makes her wince, and murmur something soft beneath her breath in a language that definitely isn't Colonial Standard. Aloud she says, "Fresh, Flasher. When you get out of here I want you checked by Sickbay as well. That touchdown was rough." It is only as her head turns that she notices Tillman properly. Straightening hastily, she gets off a salute. "Major."

Tillman just shakes his head to the salute. "Ease it, Cid. I'm not here to chew." He keeps his eyes on the pilots as they are extracted from the craft. Arms cross, the man somewhere between grim and angry. "That's the second time in a few days that the Cylons jumped in on us in a coordinated attack, Cid. They're getting more effective." He glances to her. "How'd it go out there?"

Ethan was holding his breath but that thumbs up from Temperance, finally lets him do so. He nods to himself and closes his eyes, but he opens them to look at the ECO that is knocked out. Medics know their stuff, the do, they'll fix both of them. Cidra's voice calls for his attention and he looks at her, and now is when he notices the XO standing there. He offers a firm nod and says "Yes, Major…" it doesn't come out as loud as it should since another dose of sharp pain hits his back, he makes a face but turns around to slowly move towards Flasher "Knickers gave the thumbs up, she's awake. Skeeter is still out, doctors are taking them to sickbay." This said in case he didn't catch sight of that.

Marko completes his post-flight and hauls himself tiredly out of the Raptor. "Aye, sir." he replies as he fumbles with his helmet seal until it unlatches. He's definitely bruised, a nice palm-sized goose egg starting to grow on his forehead. "Good for Knickers, not so much for Skeeter" he sighs wearily at Ethan's news. "But more to the point, are _you_ okay?" he asks, one eyebrow quirking up as he peers at his pilot. If he noticed Tillman, he doesn't respond immediately, too intent on Ethan for the moment.

"Lieutenants Bell and Ellinon took notable damage to their ships in our encounter with the Heavy Raiders but all made it back," Cidra replies. If very much the worse for wear, in some cases. "Medical is attending to our casualties now. How is the Praetorian?"

Temperance is eventually ushered out of the bay, and Skeeter is wheeled out. A med intern rushes over to update the CAG - Skeeter fine, knocked out from blow to forehead, expected to recover. No permanent damage to either air wing crew, will update as needed. And with that, the cadre of medical personnel take off, leaving the deck crew behind to put the ships back together again.

The senior Major grunts with the quick report. "Praetorian let-off a point blank missile salvo into the flak field. Exploded three of the Heavies. Incoming debris caused some superficial damage. The fourth one crashed midships into a supply deck. They're putting down the boarding as we speak. They jumped to a different location and will be joining us as soon as they are safe." He leans against the wall nearby and turns his attention back to the CAG. "They knew where we were. Twice. I want Raptor pickets established at the edge of the Corsair's DRADIS range. Think you can expand the CAP at all?"

Pallas, free of his helmet and flightsuit loosened off a bit, is now sitting with his back against a bulkhead. Most of the blood's been wiped away from his face and the source hastily bandaged. But his every movement brings a wince of pain, so there's obviously damage elsewhere on him as well, yet unseen. One of the Deck crew who was working on getting his Viper cleared away brings him a beat-up and dented flask ("This was in your cockpit," spoken quietly) which he looks at for a long moment before putting away unopened.

Ethan looks at Marko and nods without saying anything at first. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and says "I'll be alright, I just revived the wound from the last crash and it's bugging me a bit" Now he looks at the ECO and asks "You? You hit your head pretty hard back there" Now the young pilot looks over to where Tillman and Cidra are, but doesn't stay like that for long, he looks at Marko again and says "We should hit sickbay before the CAG kicks our asses"

"We are still missing pilots down on Leonis, Major. We are thin in people as well as birds to put in the air." But Cidra adds, "Ask of us what you need. We shall defend this ship as best we are able." She turns briefly away to speak to the medic. A nod, and murmur as they depart, "Thank all gods…" A look is flitted to Pallas. But she leaves him to his own devices. For now.

"I don't think we've seen the end of this. Machines don't do 'coincidences' by any stretch. I know we've got people down on Leonis but that can't be helped. We've gotta deal with the here and now. Work on it, Cid. Also, we're greenlit for a medevac tomorrow. Wounded will be coming in. I'll need a crew that is willing to risk a landing there." Cid would know better than Tillman what the risks down there are so when he says it, it's with the intention of her filling the slot.

"This? It's nothing….just a headache in the making." Marko replies, shrugging off his own injury. "You, on the other hand, just got out of the hospital after _how_ long? We need all the Raptor drivers we've got." he says, voice almost maternally scolding. "Go on, shoo! Skedaddle….or I'll help the CAG and the Chief in the kicking your ass department." he says firmly but warmly. Again, nothing like the end of the world to teach a shy man how to connect to people. "I'll be right behind you."

"Work on it. Aye," Cidra replies simply. To the last, she nods. "I have Raptors a plenty who are eager to get our people back from Leonis. I do wish we could take them all in one run, and the Vipers too. But if that is not possible we shall hold ourselves ready until all can be put back in the nest."

Stillness and silence. If only Pallas would stay like this for a while, it would probably make a lot of peoples' lives easier. He looks like he's drifting off for a bit - then he comes to again. Laboriously, he pulls himself back up to his feet and starts to limp-wince slowly out of the hangar deck, moving at a crawling pace. But when people approach and ask if he needs help, he tells them to go to hell.

Tillman shakes his head. "If the Cylons are tracking us, we can't risk the op just yet. We need to make sure we're secure before we jump back there. Besides, I don't want to risk too many Raptors before we have more firm intelligence. I've asked Kulko to prepare a short report for us that the crew will pick up." The XO stands off the wall. "I also need them to deliver orders for me. Its imperative that these written orders are not intercepted." By the gravity in his tone, he means 'under any circumstances'.

"I'll live…" says the man again, shaking off Marko's comment "You should get yourself checked as well, CAGs orders…" with that said, he looks over at the officers as well. I he knew what they were talking about, he would jump at the chance to fly a Raptor to Leonis to get people out. But then again, he already mentioned his wishes so, it's all good. "I'll see if I can get a hold of one of those beds in sickbay, not too comfortable really but they are good for the back" And now, he starts making his way to his destination…slowly, but surely.

"We shall see it done, Major," Cidra promises, firmly on that score. Another salute, and then she's off. To take stock of her various new broken things.

"I'll be right along." Marko replies with a nod and a subversive chuckle. "See if you can score us some of those little wafer cookie thingies." he adds. "Vanilla or Berry…not chocolate…those things are horrible."

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