Act 6.1b - Flight Simulator Sim (Blue Team)
BLUE TEAM - Devon, Kyvarr, Fiarr, Sheila & Flash
After the various Talons and potential recruits enjoyed their downtime in a variety of different ways and managed various amounts of sleep, they were all driven to the training centre once again. This time they were driven to a wing of the facility given over entirely to flight simulators. There were numerous levels assigned to this with various rooms. There were flight simulators that could be programmed to respond like hundreds of different craft. Participants could fly a centuries-old Aurek Tactical Starfighter or a brand new Razor Class Starfighter. There was even the possibility to fly Imperial TIE fighters but few groups took this opportunity except for fun as capturing viable TIE fighters was a difficult proposition, keeping them even harder.
The first room the Talons were led into was what was called a ‘squadron room’. This consisted of 12 individual starfighter simulator wired into a central control centre manned by an instructor. Each starfighter was individually enclosed and could be programmed to handle and contain armament of any of the vast array of ships. From here the controller could set up numerous challenges for the pilots. Anything from space debris, to hostile waves of fighters to various system failures on a ship.
Each Talon was placed in their own simulator and run through a variety of programs. Firstly there was some basic flight control tests – flying through obstacle courses, followed by navigating asteroid fields. Then the simulations moved on to combat. Initially one on one battles where the fighters were pitted against enemies of increasing difficulty. Then the simulation was repeated with one on two scenarios, then one on three and one on four. Next the simulations involved Talons in wing pairs facing off against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Then the wing pairs became flights of two wing pairs. Finally the flights became a squadron of twelve, with simulated ships making up the numbers. The squadrons faced off against squadrons of enemy fighters, capital ships, even ground bombing targets. While the simulations revolved around numerous fighters, Devon seemed to favour the Z-95 Headhunter the most, though ships like the R-41 Starchaser, Y-wing and Cloakshape fighters made regular appearances.
As they broke for lunch the group were exhausted and perspiring from so long in the simulator. The scores showed that Flash was the clear leader which came as no surprise. The Duros seemed to become one with his starfighter pulling off incredible stunts and feats of agility. Even when attacked by multiple enemies he held his own well. It was hard to imagine anyone coming close to beating his score. Devon and Sheila both showed significant skill, both their scores vying for second place. Fiarr also performed very well. The surprise was Kyvarr, the Cathar who had never flown a vehicle that rose above a few hundred feet showed suprising skill in the simulator. Though she scored lower than the others Devon could tell it would only take some basic training in starfighter operation to bring the Cathar up to a significant skill ability. That and training her to think in three dimensions where gravity and atmosphere were not an option.
After a welcome break for lunch, the Talons were ushered into the ‘command bridge’ room. This room was set up more like the bridge of a capital ship. There were pilot and co-pilot stations , a tactical station with multiple chairs for control of weapons, shields and tractor beams. Another section was dedicated to sensors, communications and astrogation, another to maintenance and power distribution. In the centre of the simulation was a raised chair for the vessel’s commander to sit in and command the ship. The commander’s chair had arms with pop-up vid screens which allowed the commander to bring up any station or stations they wished as well as overall tactical updates of their ship.
A number of simulations were played out. The Bridge varied from being that of a corvette, to a cruiser and even a frigate. While the simulator could simulate even larger ships, Devon apparently wanted to limit it to the smaller capital ships. The missions themselves consisted on everything from convoy defence to attacks against space stations and even a fleet action against an Imperial Star Destroyer. For variety the group engaged in two historic battles – the first aboard a Hammerhead Class cruiser in the Battle of Rakata Prime, the battle that ended the Jedi Civil War with the destruction of the Star Forge. The second was a recreation of the Battle of Coruscant where Supreme Chancellor Palatine was kidnapped by Seperatist forces. The group flew a Carrack Class Cruiser amongst the turmoil of a battlefield containing thousands of craft.
This time was Idaya’s turn to shine. While she’d scored in the lower half of the group in starfighters, her natural confidence and background in capital ships become obvious here. It became apparent that the Chiss was comfortable with most stations on the bridge as well as command. Mika was the only one who also seemed perfectly comfortable on a capital ship bridge. The others proved capable at various stations but not so much as Idaya and Mika. Flash found he rated fairly poorly. Agile and nimble moves were of little use in a capital ship that turned like a drunken bantha in heavy gravity. While frustrated, he had nothing on poor Heigren. The Zeltron proved at inept on a capital ship bridge as he did in a starfighter. His skillset was really not suited to either. On the bridge he was comfortable working comms, but all other systems he struggled. Given he hadn’t even seen a starship or capital ship before a few weeks ago it was not suprising.
The team took another quick rest break before meeting again in the briefing hall. An instructor stepped forward and addressed the group. ”Your commander has requested a final exercise to test your skills. For this you will be separated into two teams and you will receive separate briefings.”
Devon stood and quickly led Fiarr, Kyvarr, Sheila and Flash from the room and shut the door, leaving behind Idaya, Mika, CC9, R2-A9, Dohr and a holographic version of Cor. Heigren was led out a different door by himself.
The team was met by another instructor and led to a 'squadron room'. The instructor moved to the lecturn.
"For this mission you are designated Blue Team. You have a full squadron of starfighters at your command consisting of. . ." he consults a datapad, ". . .six Z-95 Headhunters, two R-41 Starchasers and four BTL-A4 Y-wing's. I have no reports on individual assignments or command structure. I imagine your commander will let you know about that." He gestures towards Devon.
He pulls up a star chart and points to a system. "Your target is a freighter convoy heading for Sirius IV. Defensive contingent is unknown but presumably heavy. This convoy is carrying medical supplies that was recently stolen from one of your company stockpiles. Your have been tasked with getting them back and bringing the criminals to justice. Two (simulated) Lambda-class shuttles will be assigned to your squadron. Their job will be to board and capture the freighters once you disable them."
"Be aware. The convoy is heading for Sirius IV which is under Imperial blockade at present. Our interception point is outside the normal sensor range of the Imps but any excessive energy signals could be detected. This includes active scans, overuse of the comm and weapons fire. Be quick and be efficient. The Imps will likely vape anyone in the area without asking questions."
"If you have any questions about the sim ask them now. Else suit up once your commander assigns you your roles. Simulation starts in fifteen minutes."
Okay Blue team (Devon, Kyvarr, Fiarr, Sheila & Flash). You have a convoy to capture. I imagine Devon will be assigning roles soon but if you have a preference, be sure to let him know
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:35, Mon 01 Sept 2014.