| MD #43: Operation Cold Forge - No Rez for You |
| Summary: | The Air Wing attacks a priority target - the resurrection facility on Calumet. |
| Date: | Sun 21/May/2017 (OOC Date) |
| Related Logs: | None |
       |
| Over Calumet |
| SAM and triple-A all over the place. |
| Wed 06/Dec/2028 (IC Date) |
With supporting the Marines completely out of the question, and launching SAR for the same reason, the Wing is forced to continue tasking. The fleet has been busy 'plinking' Saber sites and major Skath bases for the last 24 hours. Every hour or so the Orion will shudder as a salvo fires towards the surface, effectively levelling an area ten miles across. Around them, two of the battlegroups have already departed and went off to take down the comm relay site at the edge of the system, the one that would alert the Skath's larger fleet to the attack. No word so far is The Good Word. But even if the larger Skath forces will never hear it, the fleet is going to send a personal love letter to their thoughts on the use of the Lines for clerical purposes. With the support of CSG-13, every Predator Block II is pushed up and armed. The only one sitting idle is having both engines swapped out after a SAM hit the day before.
The target, the Resurrection Hub location on Calumet, isn't even finished with construction yet but it is very near completed. The building is massive with antenna farms all over the northern half. It looks to be about half-again as large as a Pyramid stadium for the C-Bucs. The antenna farm covers several acres and looks to be capable of catching just about any dead skinjob on the planet. A recent recon pass shows the area bristling with guns, Foxfires, and Forges. Luckily, the sun is bright in the sky overhead and the ground is clear of snow. At this latitude there is no snow, only luck green vegetation and rolling hills. Far to the north they can see the auroras working their flame-like tendrils leaking green and pink in gentle rolls. With about 100 miles out from the target, the Arpay fighters begin drawing off the Skath Raiders and start launching long range missiles. High above them at 60,000 feet there are now hundreds of contrails arcing across the planet.
They need every pilot they've got, so the DCAG sucks it up, gets a brace for her ankle, and is flying a Predator. Even though her heart belongs to Raptors, she likes them. They've got zip. Warning sounds ring out about the incoming missiles and she gets her chaff ready, preparing to drop some.
With the Rez site situationed in a populated area, the Wing is forced to go in and hit it the old fashioned way. After discussion with the senior Air to Ground people, the approach route is worked out to maximize the use of terrain and minimize the AAA threat. Then it's just a matter of flying to the target and dropping the ordnance — in the weeds at high speed, through what is expected to be heavy air defenses. Niko finds himself in a Predator again on day two, and once again he's volunteered to play Wild Weasel, outfitting the ship with a jamming pod and air to ground missiles. And once again poor Skyjack has been assigned to ride in back, though the young ECO seems less rattled today, despite the known danger of the mission.
Looking up into the skies where there's the crisscross swirls of all the missiles chasing targets, Garrett could swear that he could pick out the various patterns in them, but now that he's in a Predator, the Viper jock is not very comfortable. He's used to the tight, sleek design of the Viper and it's attack frame. The Predator, while not as large as the Raptor, feels downright fat to him as he listens to the ECO behind him reading off the bearins to the target.
Things are busy indeed and every pilot needed if even Captain Bloodfeather is allowed out of Medical. Last night he lay on a medical bed in surgery to extract shrapnel from his chest. After rest and blood replacement, he's been cleared (with conditions) to join his fellows in climbing into a Predator. Vogue does his preflight checks and launches when given the green light to go. A few words are exhanged with his ECO as they head in to form up with the others in going down towards their target. Eyes are on DRADIS but the contrails are impressive as the Arpay engage the Skath Raiders.
Having figured her predator career had gone up in smoke along with the airframe she trashed, last time around, Ensign Ynyr was a bit surprised to be tapped for this mission. Maybe it's a mistake. Maybe it's a joke. Or maybe they just need the pilots that badly. Whatever the case, she's suited up and barreled out of the launch tubes along with the others, and holds formation a little more rigorously than usual at this very moment. "Resurrection facility?" she murmurs to her backseater. "If that isn't creepy as frak, I don't know what is."
Diaz's time in the Predator Block Two is admittedly limited to qualifying to actually pilot one and bring it back in one piece without having spent an inordinate amount of time acquiring the love for the flying brick (so-named by other Viper pilots). She'd exchanged a handshake with a wary looking ECO before the two of them run through the preflight checklist as quickly as possible. It perhaps worries her ECO that she has sticky notes on some of the console, just for visual reference points, though her memory is quite adept, the visual cues are a welcome thing. After all, treating the Predator like it's a Viper at the wrong moment would be highly… ill advised. The predator she's driving lifts off the deck with the rest, forms up with the rest of the flight, and keeps her attention neatly divided between the console and it's built in displays and systems along with keeping an eye on the rest of the flight. She'd made the conscious choice to form up on Vogue again, and is keeping chatter to a minimum with her ECO. He obviously knows she's a 10, so this mission to blow up a rez facility makes the Ten rather squirrely, to use a term she's recently found to be rather applicable to a number of emotional states.
[Into the Wireless] Elena says, "Crone, Kiddo, I can feel you white-knuckling from here. Breathe and do your job. Breathe."
[Into the Wireless] Shay's radio spits static for a couple of seconds, then, "Crone, Kiddo. Copy that. Breathing." She demonstrates. "I am motherfrakking zen."
[Into the Wireless] Garrett says, "Kiddo, Rooster, but are you a leaf on the wind?"
[Into the Wireless] Niko says, "Flight, Scythe. Cut the chatter. Initial Point coming up."
[Into the Wireless] Shay says, "Rooster, Kiddo. I- *Shay's voice fizzles out abruptly at the call from Niko*"
The flight is streaking low over the ground, coming up on the Initial Point. Its the final turn before they begin their bombing run. Somewhere, fifty miles to the north, there's a massive structure. They can't quite make it out yet, but it won't be long. Things start happening as they cross the IP, the center of a lake, and begin a turn to the west. They crest a small ridge and immediately their threat warning recievers start kicking off. Forges. Forges everywhere. There's nothing even close to in range yet, but there's a lot of air defenses around this target. Pucker Factor Ten. Thankfully the Arpay are keeping the bastards busy up high. There's about half a dozen Forge sites that they can /see/ emitting signals, but no clue how many manual and 'quiet' gun systems they have up there. And t thirty-five miles from the target they can see the hulking mass rising from the ground, more than fifteen stories into the sky.
Pain meds are great, but they may interfer with best fying. Vogue briefly lays a hand to his aching chest and takes a slow, deep breath to relax. Mind over pain. Stay focused. A subtle wing waggle is given to Diaz to acknowledge her presance. Captain Idris Bloodfeather takes no part in the chatter coming over the coms anymore than he's worried about a Skinjob Model Ten off of his wing. He keeps an ear out for Scythe or Crone giving orders as they make their approach, wary of hostile targeting systems. "Make sure you are strapped in back there, Musketeer. Liable to be a bumpy ride." Vogue drops them in lower and lower to make their final approach, fast. DRADIS begins to light up like a Saturnalia tree with blips and warnings. Idris's ECO calls them out. Bloodfeather's eyes come to rest on the looming hulk up ahead, "Damn, it's big."
All of this is familiar, except about fifty times worse than what they ran into last time. Shay's gloved hand tightens on the flight stick, and she wills herself to breathe like Elena told her to. Her head is swimming, and a faint nausea begins to rise up in her throat as she feels a panic attack coming on. "Bad time, bad time, bad time," she whispers inside her helmet, and eases down on a rudder to roll her predator to starboard in an aggressive angle of attack. She catches sight of the fifteen story building, but it's the forge sites that are occupying her attention just now.
After the warning on the wireless, Niko focuses on the flying and trying to keep abreast of the threats as they light up. Frak, that's a lot of AAA. Then the huge structure comes into visual range, and the CAG mutters under his breath. "At least we'll have a hard time missing /that/."
"At least it's a target rich environment." Garrett murmurs to himself as he brings the brick down just a bit lower, his thumb flicking the fidget cover of the joystick up and down as he times it to a beat in his head as he grits his teeth. "Thing's are about to get soupy, hope you're ready back there." he reports to his ECO as he tightens up in the formation.
Diaz gives a subtle left-right-level again wing waggle to Vogue in return, neither she nor Vogue apparently very chatty and this serves to suffice in lieu of com chatter. The first glimpse of the hulking structure that is rising toward the sky in a hulking mass that is, to Diaz's eyes, a monstrosity in the making has the Ten's hands tightening visibly on the controls and necessitating that she take a slow breath. "Easy there, Ensign," comes the unexpected voice of the ECO, Bailey, who sends more than one shrewd sidelong glance at the pilot. "Yeah," comes Diaz's reply followed by, "my apologies," as she makes the minute course correction and resumes her position precisely where she should be on Vogues wing. Dragging her attention away from the facility, and -really- trying not to think about how many .. "Focus, damn it," she exhales to herself and eyes the weapons systems and counts off the multiple Forge sites that are emitting signals and deliberately begins a mind-game of calculating how many sites her systems aren't registering and factoring in the average spread and placement of such sites for the given terrain. There, much calmer now.
[Into the Wireless] Elena says, "Flight, Crone. We're going to have to take those Forges out before we can safely blow the rez site."
Elena spends 1 luck points on Don't shoot me.
Meditation is a useful thing to calm the mind and focus. A thing Bloodfeather has had plenty of practice doing. Cool, calm. Even as his instruments are lighting up like he's never seen before. Talk about flying into the heat. He might be sweating a touch depsite his cool reserve as he selects a target, intent on his flight path and orders to go after the Forges and other hostiles before their primary target. This is it as the flying brick aka Predator's steering controls and throttle shudder against his hands, so unlike a viper. The entire craft thrums with a sonic vibration a this acceleration that makes ones teeth almost ache. Here it it comes, the land rolling up beneath them as they rip through the air at a few hundred feet above the tree tops. In silence Idris utters a prayer to his God who is not among the Lords and Ladies of Kobol.
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge1 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge3 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge5 with Jamming Pod. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge2 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge4 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Idris attacks Forge2 with Missile AP and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Garrett attacks Forge5 with Missile Ap but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire4 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Right Next To Predator-0711m - Light Stun wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Idris with HMG - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Forge2 attacks Elena with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Elena attacks Forge1 with Missile Ap and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Shay attacks Forge3 with Missile Ap - Moderate wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Ratchet suppresses Forge1 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Ratchet suppresses Forge2 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Ratchet suppresses Forge3 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Ratchet suppresses Forge4 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Ratchet suppresses Forge5 with Jamming Pod. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Idris with HMG but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Forge5 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Close To Predator-2928d - Moderate wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Predator-2928d - ARMOR on Right Wing stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Predator-2928d - ARMOR on Nose stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Predator-2928d - Moderate wound to Cockpit.
<COMBAT> Forge1 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Far From Predator-1112t - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Diaz attacks Forge1 with Missile Ap but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Niko attacks Forge4 with 20MM MINIGUN - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Foxfire3 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Far From Predator-1112t - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Forge4 attacks Niko with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Forge3 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Very Far From Predator-1112t - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Aa Battery-0012t has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Forge4 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Predator-2928d has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Shay has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Ratchet has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Shay spends a luck point to keep fighting!
As the bright flash goes off next to Garrett's Predator, the pilot lets out a sharp curse. "Frak, what was that?" he growls against his teeth as he's switching weapons to open fire with the minigun in an approximation of the spray and pray as he approaches the targeting sites.
Hearing Elena's call to attack the AAA before heading in to the target, Niko breaks formation to get some maneuver room. "Skyjack, we're going for that Forge locking us up. Work the ECM for anyone getting a lot of attention." The ECO is busy with the jamming pod, but still calls out the bearing to the target. "Roger that. Come right, course eight-six. Three miles." The kid has calmed a lot since yesterday. Making a firing pass, Scythe hoses down the Forge vehicle and zooms over, leaving it a smoking wreck. The tracers flying up to meet them went wide. So far, so good.
There are few things Crone hates more than wasting missiles. She swears and stomps her good foot, banking sharply and coming around to fire at the Forge again.
A whole lot of shit comes for him but almost nothing hits him! Whoo! Vogue gets knocked about some but the ECO's are jamming and doing a splendid job of keeping the heat off. Idris however misses his target and mutters under his breath about useless missiles that aren't nearly as good at those he's used to on his viper. "Piece of crap." He pulls the brick around, fighting the stick and the far greater air resistance and greater mass as he tuns and comes back around. His targeting is flipped to use the mini gun as he lines up for another pass.
Shay is practically shaking by the time she guns her predator into position, and flips the switch that sends her lone missile rocketing off toward her target. It drops out of the gate, motors engaging a split second later and sending it careening into the side of one of the forges. A small explosion is seen, but the damned thing is still standing - and Shay's bird takes a faceful of missile in return. She slaps a button to switch off bitching betty, squeezes her eyes shut a moment, then reopens them and steels herself. The damage isn't unrecoverable. "Ratchet, our avionics is on the fritz, anything you can do from there?" Switching to guns, she begins hammering on the AA gun with distance left to close yet.
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Diaz, Vogue. I've lagged and see multiple bogies trying to target you. I've got your six and will try to lend you cover, Over."
Seeing the initial missile veer off and do nothing at all useful only to explode in a lovely display of wasted ordinance, Diaz shares a sidelong look with her ECO Bailey then banks to bring the Predator around for a second pass. As she begins her second run she gathers all sorts of unwanted attention, hearing the whine of the targeting system as her Predator is painted. "Now it's getting interesting," she doesn't so much say these words as exhale them, eyes narrowing subtly and sweeps a look across the command console then out through the canopy to eye the rest of the flight and their relative positions, hearing Vogues words and keying the com to reply.
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Vogue, Diaz, copy that. Hearing multiple locks, maneuvering to evade, attempting to re-target initial forge, Over."
<COMBAT> Shay attacks Forge2 with 20mm Minigun and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Niko attacks Forge5 with 20MM MINIGUN - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Idris attacks Forge3 with 20MM Minigun - NEAR MISS!
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge5 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge2 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge1 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge3 with Jamming Pod. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Garrett attacks Forge5 with 20mm Minigun - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Garrett with HMG - Light wound to Nose (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Shay with HMG - Critical wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> CREW HIT! Shay - Moderate wound to Right Leg.
<COMBAT> CREW HIT! Shay - Light wound to Left Leg.
<COMBAT> Forge5 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Very Far From Predator-2220v - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Elena attacks Forge2 with Missile Ap and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire4 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Right Next To Predator-1287p - Light Stun wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Foxfire3 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Right Next To Predator-8980f - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Forge2 attacks Shay with KEW and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Diaz attacks Forge1 with Missile Ap and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Ratchet treats Predator-2928d:
<COMBAT> Forge3 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Far From Predator-8980f - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> CREW HIT! Diaz - Serious wound to Left Foot.
<COMBAT> Forge1 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Very Far From Predator-8980f - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Aa Battery-1018 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Forge5 has been KO'd!
Flak is exploding everywhere across the sky. For a planet that hasn't seen an active enemy air force in over two decades, the Skath sure weren't playing games when it came to defending this site. The ugly black bursts mar the sky badly. Missile trails get so numerous that its hard to see just which ones are launching missiles and which ones have already gone past. Tracers and gunfire arc across the sky in green and yellow firehose patterns, trying to catch the Predators as they whip across the sky.
[Into the Wireless] Shay says, "Flight, Kiddo *fzzzzt* -ssion to RTB, I've lost attitu- *fzzzzzzzt*"
[Into the Wireless] Elena says, "Kiddo, Crone. Permission granted. RTB."
Idris does his best to try and keep the heat off of Diaz but she and Shay are taking a beating! "Damn it." Bloodfeather's second attempt to hit anything misses and it annoys him. Lots of flak going off around him, jostling his craft and keeping him on his toes as best he can in a flying brick that is not very manuverable. What a chaotic mess! Gritting his teeth, Idris flips back to his last missile and comes back around for yet a third pass. He itches to tell them to RTB but they are on it.
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Diaz, Vogue. You still with me? Over."
Shay limps her bird up and out of its strafing run, seeing as she can't hit the broad side of a barn with her guns at the moment, anyway. The predator trails smoke as she fights with sluggish flight controls and tries to maintain level flight.
As his nose is chewed up with HMG rounds, Garrett continues to press the attack, making his pass just after Niko makes his, the pair of them taking down one of the Forges as he flicks the selector switch to his second missile to start to line up a shot on the Forge. "Frak that frakker in paticular." he mutters to himslef.
Niko gets a visual on one of the Forge sites as it launches a missile, so it's hard over on the stick and full throttle. He brings the Predator around and turns onto the new target. A SAM streaks past his ship and explodes far astern, buffeting them but without serious damage. "Doing good work back there. Keep it up!" he calls to his ECO, who is head-down over the hooded ECM panel.
The impact of the first missile to hit their Predator has Diaz hissing out a sound of surprise and pain as the heat and force of the impact, while mitigated by the Predator's body armor, is not quite near enough to negate the damage entirely. Part of the 'bathtub' that she and Bailey are seated in buckles slightly near her left foot, pinning it in place. She gives an instinctive jerk of her left leg, trying to pull it free and this time indulges in a few adopted words of colorful profanity and ceases, immediately, the effort to extract her foot. As it is, she can only afford to allow a fraction of her attention on this as she is fighting the kick of air from the first explosion and it's spray of shrapnel, managing to avoid the drifting cloud. The Second explosion forces another course correction to avoid the next debris cloud and she shares a terse conversation with Bailey as they agree that Missiles are absolutely not the way to go, changing up weapons systems on the fly. Literally.
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Vogue, Diaz, still with you," her tone of voice level but carries the distinct tone of someone breathing through acute pain. "Foots stuck, however, will require some assistance dismounting when we RTB. Making a third pass, switching to minigun, over."
<COMBAT> Niko attacks Foxfire2 with Missile Ap - NEAR MISS!
<COMBAT> Idris attacks Forge3 with Missile AP - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Garrett attacks Forge1 with Missile Ap - Serious wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Elena uses a Bomb Racks!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Right Next To Aa Battery-3800h - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-3800h - ARMOR on Controls stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-3800h - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-3800h - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-3800h - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge3 with Jamming Pod. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge1 with Jamming Pod. <unsuccessful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge2 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Foxfire4 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Pretty Close To Predator-2220v - Light Stun wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Forge3 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Close To Predator-8980f - Light wound to Body.
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Predator-8980f - ARMOR on Engine stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Diaz attacks Forge2 with 20MM Minigun - Moderate wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Foxfire3 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Close To Predator-2220v - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Niko with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Idris with HMG - ARMOR on Nose stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Forge2 attacks Idris with KEW but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Forge1 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Far From Predator-0711m - Moderate wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Diaz has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Aa Battery-3800h has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Forge1 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Diaz spends a luck point to keep fighting!
[Into the Wireless] Elena says, "Diaz, Crone. Sitrep?"
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Crone, Diaz," comes the reply a half beat later and it's accompanied by the sound of lots of alarms and other noises that sound distinctly unhappy, "still in the fight. Minor damage to the hull," which might be understating it a bit, "and air frame, controls a bit sluggish but responsive, Over."
[Into the Wireless] Garrett says, "Crone, Rooster, I'm doing great too, so you know."
After his second missile hits, Garrett breaks contact for a moment as he tries to streak skywards, just as a missile explods next to Predator, shaking it slightly before he flicks the selector back to the guns to start to come back down, preparing to light up one of the foxfires on this pass.
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Flight, Vogue. Switching to bomb racks. I know we need to save some for the resurrection facility but we are taking some serious damage here, Over."
Diaz silences some of the alarms or just keys the volume significantly lower and she is obliged to quip to her ECO, "There are no break down lanes in the sky," as she is banking, again, coming around with the rest of the wing to keep trying to hit the targets that are lit up on the display. Bailey, for his part, makes good use of the fire extinguisher before the sparks and sizzles can do more than cough up some smoke that, thankfully, their suits and helmets keep them from having to actually deal with. The look Bailey aims at the Ten is probably best not described, apparently not an immediate fan of the Ten's need to utter the appropriate quote at the most applicable situation. She exhales a breath, reminds herself not to try to move her left foot, and narrows her focus down again as she sites on the same forge site yet again. Third time maybe is the charm.
Finally his second missile is a hit! But it didn't quite take down the Forge! Bloodfeather muttesr under his breath and as he has three pairs of bomb racks, he speaks over the coms and switches his payload to see if they can cut some of this heat down. "That'll leave me two racks left for the resurrection facility. With all of us, it should be plenty." Rationalizing to himself? Maybe. His ECO in the back keeps tabs on the DRADIS and keeps calling out status to keep Idris appraised while the pilot focuses on coming around low for another run. Vogue has to be careful of flak, missiles, and not running into his fellow brick flying pilots! Messy and a lot of smoke is making visibility sour.
Niko locks up a Foxfire site for his AGM and presses the trigger, launching the missile. Then he breaks off, jinking as tracers whip past his Pred and several small explosions burst nearby. He's too busy flying to wonder what that was, and in the meantime his missile flies just wide, exploding against a building beyond the AA gun site.
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Diaz, Vogue. What's your status? Do you need to RTB? Over."
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Vogue, Diaz. We're still in this. One more hit might force the RTB, but not yet, Over."
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Diaz, Vogue Copies. Over."
<COMBAT> Niko attacks Forge3 with 20mm Minigun - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Idris uses a Bomb Racks!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Right Next To Aa Battery-2550m - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Aa Battery-2550m - NEAR MISS!
<COMBAT> Garrett attacks Foxfire4 with 20mm Minigun - Critical wound to Weapon.
<COMBAT> Foxfire4 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Very Far From Predator-0711m - Light Stun wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Elena attacks Foxfire2 with 20mm Minigun - Critical wound to Body.
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 fires fullauto!
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG - Moderate wound to Right Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG - Light wound to Right Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG but MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire1 attacks Niko with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire3 uses a Handgrenade Flash!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Pretty Close To Predator-1112t - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Forge3 uses a MISSILE AA!
<COMBAT> EXPLOSION! Close To Predator-1112t - Light wound to Body (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Predator-1112t - ARMOR on Tail stops the attack!
<COMBAT> SHRAPNEL! Predator-1112t - ARMOR on Tail stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge2 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Skyjack suppresses Forge3 with Jamming Pod. <successful>
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 fires fullauto!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG - ARMOR on Body stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 attacks Elena with HMG - ARMOR on Controls stops the attack!
<COMBAT> Forge2 attacks Diaz with KEW - Serious wound to Right Wing (Reduced by Armor).
<COMBAT> Diaz attacks Forge2 with 20MM Minigun and MISSES!
<COMBAT> Diaz has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Aa Battery-2480p has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Forge3 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Aa Battery-2270j has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Foxfire2 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Aa Battery-4715r has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Foxfire4 has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Predator-2220v has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Niko has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Skyjack has been KO'd!
<COMBAT> Niko spends a luck point to keep fighting!
<COMBAT> Diaz spends a luck point to keep fighting!
Having fired his one missile, Niko is back on the guns as he turns the ship back toward a big red diamond marked 'FORGE' on his threat display. The buzzsaw of slugs chews up the AAA vehicle as he flashes past, but his egress takes him right into a hail of bullets from a supporting Foxfire. Heavy slugs chew into the Pred's right wing and fuselage, and Scythe has to struggle with the controls as the aircraft threatens to roll over and nose down. "Frak!" Managing to right the ship, he pulls back on the stick to miss the utility wires ahead. "Frak, frak, frak."
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Flight, Diaz. Permission to RTB," a brief pause as more - noisy - alarms are going off and in the background there's additional comments being made by Diaz's ECO that are a mix of damage reports and swear words. "We take another hit like that and we're walking back to base, over."
[Into the Wireless] Elena says, "Flight, Crone. Scythe and I will take out the remaining Foxfires. Everyone else, bomb the frak out of that facility. Diaz, RTB. Don't walk."
[Into the Wireless] Garrett says, "Flight, Rooster copies, switching to bombs."
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Flight, Diaz. Copy. RTB."
[Into the Wireless] Diaz says, "Flight, Diaz. Break that building down to the ground for me. Good Luck. Over."
This said, and to the accompanying - literal - side of relief from Bailey, who will probably NEVER get into a Predator again with Diaz, the two of them work together to bring the Raptor around to a reciprocal heading and being the careful and not entirely level flying pattern back to the barn.
Idris does his best to take out the Forge that is trying to kill Diaz. It nearly succeeds in doing so as he sees her take another hit - but his bombs strike and obliterate that son of a bitch so it can't fire upon her any more. Bloodfeather's Predator has been hit minorly again, starting to make the already sluggish controls more difficult. His chest aches something awful. Slow, deep, full breathes and a purposeful clearing of his mind for a few precious seconds regain his smooth unruffled focus. His dark eyes track on Diaz as she makes her exfil even as Vogue brings his craft around for Download Facility. A flare of his nostrels and a new course is laid in for his bombing run.
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Crone, Vogue Copies. Safe return, Diaz. Over."
Though his Predator is pretty dinged up, Garrett is still in the fight as he's already turning on hearing the orders to start the bomb run as he moves to line up and starts to flip the switches to arm his racks. "Keep us lined up, we'll drop them right in center court."
[Into the Wireless] Niko says, "Crone, Scythe copies."
<FS3> Idris rolls Gunnery: Failure.
<FS3> Garrett rolls Gunnery: Great Success.
<FS3> Elena rolls Gunnery: Good Success.
<FS3> Niko rolls Gunnery: Good Success.
<FS3> Idris rolls Gunnery: Great Success.
<FS3> Garrett rolls Gunnery: Great Success.
<FS3> Elena rolls Gunnery: Failure.
<FS3> Niko rolls Gunnery: Good Success.
Garrett spends 1 luck points on Because It's That Important.
<FS3> Garrett rolls Gunnery: Good Success.
<FS3> Niko rolls Gunnery: Great Success.
The tracers have begun to die down except in particular areas. There are Skath walkers on the ground looking mighty pissed and firing their LMG arms into the air, but it's useless at the speeds the Predators are moving. One by one the strike aircraft fly in and deliver bomb loads across the building, hitting it from different angles. But the longer they spend that low to the ground, the more they begin to realize they are being watched. Where there aren't any Skath there are people on the ground waving their arms. Some are jumping up and down, looking like they are cheering. The more of a pounding the facility takes, the more people seem to have come outside their homes to watch. The antenna farm is fairly isolated but the equipment is more sensitive and most of it goes down pretty easily. The concrete bunker used for most of the controls doesn't survive a direct hit of two five hundred pound bombs and there's nothing left but a crater there. However, with most of it done the CAG has two remaining bombs and shoves it down the throat of the crumbling structure of the Resurrection Hub. The last two bombs crash through the roof without detonating. They dig through two floors before exploding at the center. The primary supporting structure gives away and the whole thing begins a slow implosion in on itself like a controlled demolition. Even as the Predator pilots exit the target zone to the south, flying at low altitude they can see people for miles in every direction with their fists to the sky towards the passing aircraft. These people were beaten but they haven't been defeated.
[Into the Wireless] Elena says, "Boom. All right, team, let's go home."
With the Predator growing lighter with each load, Garrett seems to know exactly where to drop his bombs on each pass, though he overcompensates slightly on the antenna farm and gives a little grunt of frustration as the pilot fights with the stick for a moment. "She's getting a little sluggish, time to head back to Orion." he reminds himself as he switches off the arming systems to link up with the formation, giving the Skath below a Tauran salute with the middle finger as he falls into formation.
His first bomb didn't do much but the last payload pays off! Idris Bloodfeather is tired and wounded but he keeps flying and eyes the people and the walkers below on his final pass. Once they are done, he starts to gain some altitude and dips a wing to 'wave' back to the people coming out into the streets before he falls back into formation with his fellow pilots to return to the Orion.
[Into the Wireless] Idris says, "Flight, Vogue. Good job, and excellent bombing, Rooster."