| abstract
| - Newly patched up from his experience in the void of Space, Raxis' cheek bears a small bacta patch on it visible even with his massive helmet covering his head. White lines streak his X-wing's overhauled cockpit as he, in Ghost 3, begins cycling out of his tactical patrol. With a rush, the X-wing skids to a stop out of hyperspace, and is flanked by a patrol of five X-wings, 4 Longprobe Y-wings, and a Corellian Gunship all painted with Ranger Patrol's colors. Ghost 3, in its traditional Ghost colors, stands out from the bunch as the starfield rushes to his viewing. The civilian space station holding military supplies, located not far from the border but a distance into Imperial space over Talasea lies open, a small minefield surrounded the compound as very large containers were arrayed around the place, probably 40 in all. The place was defended by a bulk cruiser, carrying 2 squadrons of TIE fighters. There were two flights of 4 fighters on patrol at any given time, the one patrol on one side, the other constantly on the other side. With the arrival of NR forces to the far reaches of the scanners, there wasn't a whole lot to tell. Just that something had arrived not on the schedule, and needed to be investigated by a flight of four. Liza Molokai was assigned here today in the Marshal's efforts to try and prevent supply loss, and she commanded the said flight of four. With past failure hanging over her head (admittedly by her own doing), Liza is keeping a very careful eye out for any of the problems they had before, sensors kept on a full sweep and weapons at the ready. She is not about to leave anything to chance today. "Keep your eyes open.." she says to the other three pilots who are flying with her today, all pilots whom she has gotten to consider a friend. "I don't care what happens today. Everyone's going to come back home and in one piece otherwise I'll have the Marshal vape your worthless remains, got it?" Grunting, she turns her comms to a frequency that's usually more publicly used, trying to see if she can catch any communications that might be from anyone within the area. "And we have paydirt. Ranger send the coded transmission. We have a hit." Raxis says, adjusting his X-wing's S-foils. "Ranger Gunship, send coded transmission 32 now. We're painting this location. There's no way they can move all of this before we can get to it. Begin long range scans and calculations for exit. X-wings, keep those Y's covered while they get as much sensor data as possible from those containers." With that, a small number of probes launched from the recon-outfitted Y-wings and began circling the area. The Corellian Gunship, a heavily modified Corvette meant for taking and dealing punishment, moved into the center of the formation and powered on its guns. It's one of those times that she finds herself growing a bit nervous and Liza's brain grows a bit fuzzy, something she's struggling with even to this day. It takes her a moment to realize she's spacing out and she is quick to gather her wits about her. "Command, this is Beta-1. Are you picking up anything..?" Frowning, Slush looks to either side of her, picking up where her wingmen are before nodding in relief. "Let's go. I want to make sure we get a good range during our patrols. Spread out slightly but stay close enough to cover us if we need it." "So far so good. Ranger patrol this is Raptor. Keep at full stop for the moment, the more movement the more of a sensor profile we'll get. Hang in there boys," Raxis replies, charging up his weapons as his radar passively scans for incoming signatures. "Well, listen to that.." Grinning, Liza tightens up the sensor scans, trying to get an exact location of their friend from before. Yes, she recognizes Raxis' voice. Would be kind of impossible not to, to be honest. "Follow my lead. I want you all tight and on my six. We're not going to make the same mistakes twice." The three other fighters assume the formation, sliding just behind Molokai and to either side with one behind her. Looking around his cockpit, Raxis taps his helmet twice for luck and cracks his knuckles. The sensors from the Y-wings continue to encircle the outpost as Raxis and his fellow X-Wing pilots chomp at the bit. Drumming his nails, a small beep is issued over his radar display as Vee-Ten begins to twitter at him. Turning his radar to active, he has a split second to pull back on the stick. "Rangers scramble!" He calls out, engines beginning to purr to strength. Klaxons sound aboard the bulk cruiser when they get a transmission from Liza's patrol. There was no way the threat was friendly, and so the next 16 fighters were being deployed, the cruiser powering up its sheilds and weapons. The other patrol was coming about to move to engage the new force that has arrived, but whatever the case was, they had to eliminate the reocn mission to their system otherwise they ran the risk of losing this depot too. The captain of the cruiser says to Liza over the secure frequency, "Move to investigate, wipe out any rebel recon missions. They must not be allowed this information." It's not a very pretty sight to have four TIEs coming screaming towards your vector but that's exactly what Raxis and his crew are going to see, Liza in the front with the others right behind, following every single move she makes as if they were somehow programmed to move in unison with the lead pilot. Opening her comms, she speaks just before she fires upon Raxis, her voice cold, bordering on evil in tone. "You do not know when to give up, I see. I hope your friends are prepared to bury you because today you're going to die." "Oh I'll never give it up for you Liza." Raxis muses darkly as his ship boosts pasts her green blasterfire in the nick of time. Speaking over the comm with her, the chase begins as his accompanying X-wings begin to square off with her squadmates. "Burying me would be...uninteresting at best." He adds, performing a hard rolling turn to try to counteract her superior maneuverability. With some flashy flying and grit, he manages to get a bead on her port side solar fin mid-turn and opens fire. "Maybe I'm just playing hard to get?" Liza chuckles as she dives and her wingmen scatter once they're fired upon, the formation breaking until the threat has passed and they can once again safely cover each other's tail without being at risk of getting hit. "Well, you have me at a disadvantage, it seems as you know my name and I have no idea who you are outside of a sneaky Reb." Frowning once she realizes Raxis is one up on her in that regards, Liza bristles a bit, annoyed to no ends. "I do hope that you'll forgive me if I shoot you down. It's nothing personal...much." Snorting, she waits until her targeting computer sounds off and she and the rest of her flight once again open fire. "Oh we've met I assured you..." Raxis coos over the comm as he deftly dodges her shots, slamming his brakes and skidding mid-flight as she passes , he rights himself and begins chasing on her tail. "You looked so...so pretty in that uniform of yours. I've been close enough to spit on you really, but that would be ungentlemanly of me." He adds, flirting a little bit as it seems to be giving him an edge. Lining up another shot, his targeting reticule flashes green and he opens fire, raining orange blasterbolts towards her ship. Raxis gives her very little time to reply, initially as Liza's a bit too busy flying, her TIE now sent into a spin that manages to keep her well out of harm's way although it does disorientate her slightly. "Damn...You are not a gentleman. Gentlemen do not kill innocent people in acts of terrorism." She finds herself making a turn that has her gritting her teeth, the tight maneuver done as a way to try and get on Raxis' six. It isn't until she has a good shot lined up that she shoots at him, the laser fire blazing through space towards his fighter. "uh..." Raxis blurts over the comm, seemingly given a start to her comment about his killing of innocent people. Gritting his teeth for a moment as he rolls and barrels away from her blasterfire. "Innocent people? I haven't killed any innocent people, Molokai." He says, encoding his transmissions to her. "You should see the kids sleeping sweetly, human or not." He replies, twisting with her through the firefight. Eventually, he gets a clear bead on her and opens fire. Liza grits her teeth as her shields take a hit, causing her TIE to shake some as the laserfire impacts upon them. "You attack the planets of your so-called foe. You raid our depots and you kill the fathers of the children of the Empire." Grunting, she pulls hard on the stick, causing her fighter to go up into a severe climb. "You are not the saviors you try to make yourself out to be...nor are we the evil you claim we are." With a snap of her wrist, the TIE slips to the right and begins a controlled dive, one that puts her above Raxis' ship while she shoots at him. As the dogfight continues, the NR recon mission makes its way close enough to the depot to start their scan, the fighters mixing it up between the two TIE patrols and the NR. For the other 16 fighters being launched, they were still some time out from fully deploying and actually making their way into battle, the cruiser still coming about to push forward. The NR patrol is choosing not to get too close to the area as there are mines, but that will not stop anyone determined enough for long. However, right now, that was not their mission. "Then maybe you should prove it with acts other than destroying entire planets full of women and children. I understand that Alderaan was home to our rebellion, but come on? Your leaders act on a policy that's so far detached from spare the rod, spoil the child, that it's led to billions of lives." Raxis calls out over the comm, dancing away from her laserblasts. The newly conflicted pilot dives and rolls through the fray, turning back up for another banking shot at her solar fin. "We'd rather reap the fathers to ..." He pauses, losing his words. "...just prove it. This war's going to kill us all if there's no diplomacy." He grunts, opening fire. Liza's ship shakes again, this time as the lasers penetrate her shields and damage the hull, the fact that she's taken a hit causing her to draw in a hissing breath. Her wingmen come in as they try to aid Beta-1 while she recovers, her shields now down and her ship scorched. "Diplomacy...what do terrorists like the NR know of diplomacy?" She grinds her teeth together loudly while she flies behind him, hoping to get a shot on his aft while the other TIEs attempt to keep him busy. "Alderaan knew diplomacy!" Raxis yells over the comm at Liza, yanking his flight yoke hard to avoid her blasterfire as he pushes after her menacingly. "They aided the rebellion because the Empire shut down all hopes of change under the reign on an emperor that took the power for himself. How many people died Liza? Alderaan is an asteroid belt that people visit now to cry!" He growls, opening fire on her. "When has your emperor offered a cease fire for peace?" "Oh for the...damnit!" Liza reaches out and punches a panel on her console, angered by not only the fact that some cocky pilot's managing to hit her but by his words as well. "You've been brainwashed by your people, it sounds like..the Emperor wouldn't have to attack anyone if you didn't try to attack us first. You're a fool if you think you're totally innocent and free from guilt." Snarling, Liza shoots at Raxis again, now coming around so she's going face to face with the fighter. "I'm not innocent of guilt..." Raxis snarls over the comm, pulling his ship upwards into a tight turn at the last second to avoid her blasterfire. "My hands, Liza, are so stained with the blood of the Empire that I know at this point that I'm a murderer. Perhaps I should blindly focus on following my orders without a sight as to what my government is doing with the command and I'd fit right in with your lot." Raxis calls, now being trailed by four TIE fighters. Slamming his feet into the pedals at his feet he puts himself into a slide, opening fire on Liza as she passes him. "But I have a responsibility to keep my people safe. A good people need their soldiers to know how they suffer. Have you seen the slave camps Liza? You're not an idiot girl. You know you're not shown everything." The TIE goes spinning slightly as it is hit yet again, causing Liza to wince while the lasers spark and damage her ship even more. "So you will deepen your guilt by killing me?" She grins a bit under the black helmet which hides her face, the grin bordering insane. "I see..I'll remember that when I see you in hell." Flipping her comms over to a secure frequency, Liza speaks to her ships now as well as the ship which those in command can be found, her voice tight with anger as she speaks, now. "This is Beta-1. I have taken quite a beating here. I need backup, now, Command." She pulls her ship back to where Raxis is in view and, doing the only thing she can, she takes aim and shoot while the rest of her flight goes screaming past him. "I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU!" Raxis yells at her over the comm. Lining up a shot to knock off her port solar fin, he waits till her ending vector would be away from the minefield as he shots narrowly spread past his canopy. For the first time his head is completely in the engagement and not on his own ego. Her ship, slowed, he cuts his engines to increase his turn radius and lines up the shot. "Not you, not Krieg, not Rall. We don't have to do this." He says mutedly, squeezing the trigger. "What would your emperor do to the rebels if they peacefully surrendered arms? I know the truth is different if you lay down yours." "That's what you want us to believe..." Liza mutters while she rolls away, able to get out of the line of fire although it's a fairly close call. "We'd be tried as war criminals and put to death. And you can not convince me that otherwise is true." As she speaks her wingmen pull up and around her, trying to provide some kind of protection for their leader while an attempt to raise her shields this round. "Then explain the Imperials that have come over to our side, Liza." Raxis mutters flatly over the comm as he opens fire on one of her wingmen's solar fins, hoping to disable. "Explain our conversation. Explain it all. Can you believe in the good of a government that would destroy an entire planet to kill a small number of people. Alderaan had no benefit as a military target, only to send a message." Raxis calls out, squeezing the trigger to disable one of her wingmen. "When have the Republic tried such a move? When!?" "You hit our planets, just on a smaller scale. Or do you not think that your raids results in deaths...ours and yours?" Frowning, Liza shakes her head, her eyes narrowing as she pushes the throttle fully forward, the pilot wanting to catch up with Raxis. "You're a fool." She watches worriedly as she sees one of her wingmen taken out and it sends her into a further rage, one that clutches her stomach. "Just die!" She presses on the trigger, her lasers streaking towards his ship. "Listen to yourself..." Raxis says under his breath, eyes reddening as his conscience has reached its monthly limit. Gritting as his shields are depleted and a small fire sparks the outside of his ship, he sees that everything is still okay on his readout. Beeping from Vee-Ten lets him know that his astromech is charging the shield generator. "Just...listen to yourself damnit! I know I'm hurting people. There's children on our side too. There were children on Alderaan." He adds, sighing over the comm as he banks and rolls to avoid Liza. Pulling another tight turn, he takes her on a vector that will lead her away from the minefield and lines another shot on her solar fin. "Your wingman will live." He adds, squeezing the trigger. Liza sighs as she grits her teeth. "At least we know why we do what we do.." she utters to her foe while she takes another shot, this one causing her ship to be jostled severely. "We do it for the glory of the Empire. Why do you do what you do?" She looks about and makes sure that she's in direct line of fire before pulling her trigger. She's hurting bad, her ship just shy of becoming disabled, or worse, but she's a Molokai and, like her father, she does not give up unless she's given the order to leave the battle. "I will sleep with a clear conscious tonight. Sounds like you can't say the same. Shame." Not responding for a long time as her blasters score towards his ship, Raxis deftly lifts his starboard wings to evade the blasterfire and turns downwards through the plane of combat and prepares to attack her port solar fin from beneath. Having already loosened it, he hopes he can disable her with his next shot. "I'll sleep." Raxis says softly "...and hope I've done the right thing." Lizas ship is fairly well blown to hell and, as the shrapnel penetrates the cockpit some of it hits the Sarian, causing her to scream in pain. There's very little training that can prepare one for -that-, after all, and she can't begin to keep herself quiet as her flesh is torn. Hand pressing to her wound, Liza manages to keep herself conscious although she's fairly unable to fly anymore, both because of her injury and the condition of her ship. "Ranger Patrol what's your status?" Raxis calls out over the comm as he primes his shield recharge and presses the button. "Work with me Vee-Ten." He calls out, reopening the comm to Liza. "I wasn't trying to kill you. You were trying to kill me" He says to her as he maneuvers back towards his squadron, hoping that her wingmen will assist in covering her. "Are you alive?" There's no response from Liza, no way to tell if she's alive or not. And, with how much she hurts and how much she is embarrassed, she really wishes she wasn't. With a grunt, she turns on her distress beacon although it's questionable if that even works. All she can do is wait and hope her wingmen get a recovery party to her, and fast. "Ranger Patrol to Raptor. We've got our catalogue and probes scuttled. We're timing for linked jump in 30." The Corellian Gunship calls out over the New Republic frequencies as the Y-Wings and X-wings fall into a defensive jumping pattern. "Countdown initiated." Watching from the field as he regroups, within a few moment he's the last New Republic pilot on the field as he prepares his coordinates. "Lovely.." Liza mutters groggily, her hand still pressed to her wound. "I'm never going to live this down." A soft chuckle sounds from her as she looks about, her gaze growing a bit hazy. "Remind me to speak to the Marshal...no, make that the Emperor. I...I need a raise." The lame joke gets her to groan, then. "I need to not tell jokes." The Bulk Cruiser was starting now to come into range of the patrol, the additional fighters reaching the field and ready for combat, but they had already lost the two TIE fighters, and the rebels had just jumped away. Though there wasn't anything really left to do but to watch and secure the perimeter, they all knew the rebels would be back. Comm traffic was being sent to evacuate as much as they could from the depot, but it probably would be an effort that would be useless in the end. Reinforcements were needed to call back all that was valuable here, but the ammunition and military supply dump was too much for the NR to pass up on. Recovery teams were on their way for the downed craft, hoping to find the pilots alive, but without an environment in their cockpit, survival rates were low. "Kark..." Raxis spits to himself as the TIE he'd intended to merely disabled ruptures in a small fusion explosion, core breached. A swarm of TIE fighters were coming his way, and his ship was a little battered and worse for wear. Cycling the 30 second countdown, he closes his S-foils and begins towards the hyperspace point on autopilot. The Sarian's head begins to bob slightly and she finds herself struggling to stay awake, Liza unwilling to let herself be taken out for good like this. "Sithspit.." she cusses to herself. This is not how her father's legacy is supposed to end. She's supposed to live. "Just one more....one m-more.." Reaching the hyperspace point for the ten second countdown, Raxis taps his helmet twice for luck to avoid a misjump and takes a deep breath as the TIEs near closer. For a moment, he feels a pang of regret for his warfare, and for all of the lives lost in the conflict as the terror of war begins to strike home. Knowing his enemy, he watches his radar for a core explosion on Molokai's craft until the familiar lurch of hyperspace sends him away. Thankful that he didn't see one, he closes his eyes and rests back into his shock couch for the ride home, and what would soon be a follow up assault.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)