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01:22, 4th May 2024 (GMT+0)

Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Posted by GM SubstituteFor group 0
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 46 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Thu 22 Jan 2015
at 05:57
  • msg #52

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Cain watched as Lt. Begay... and his Veritech became a permanent addition to the space dust of the lunar surface... the rapidly expanding cloud of debris in total silence of vacuum... heralding the end of yet Another young life...

'Damn...!', Cain muttered to no one in particular, but it was a expression of frustration and anger at how fleeting and quick life could be lost... he had little time to brood over though.

Triggering his Comm, "<TC> Contact, Contact! We are under fire. Hostiles detected, lunar surface - coordinates~", he rattled off a series of numbers to give an accurate long range solution... though he did not figure the hostiles would stay there very long at all.

"<TC> Taking Evasive maneuvers. Weapons hot. Request permission to engage!  The alien bastards got Lt. Begay... right through the pilot's compartment~... Echo 6, Kill confirmed... Orders?"

Cain put his Veritech into an erratic zig-zag series of jinks and barrel rolls... his weapons radar going active seeking target locks on the hostiles uncovering on the surface of their lunar hiding place.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:28, Thu 22 Jan 2015.
Lt.Cdr. Vance Hardy
player, 608 posts
Echo Lead
VF-1S
Thu 22 Jan 2015
at 07:26
  • msg #53

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Vance was about to order Proctor back to his orbit when the shot from the moon shattered the Veritech.  "Sonofa..."

He flipped his comm to active.  "<TC>Echo Squadron, prepare to engage!  Weapons hot...Edwards, you're first in!  Everyone else, if anything down there so much as quivers, pancake it!"  His fingers flew across the controls, dormant displays lighting up as weapons systems went from standby to active, and he rolled his fighter into an approach vector that would give him a different line of attack on the alien...whatevers...that were down on the surface.

"<TC>Keep your eyes open and check your approach vectors and fire lines...don't follow too close behind anyone else, and make sure your path isn't going to cause a collision with someone else or put them in front of your guns.  We've lost one, that's one more than I wanted to lose out here!"

Too quiet, for too long...something was bound to happen...should have known they were up to something!  The thought flashed through his mind before he had a chance to squash it, and he had to be content with chasing after it with other thoughts...that he had suspected they were up to something, even if he could never have predicted this...that there was no way to know they were down there and waiting...

But none of that would bring Proctor back...
2nd Lt. Parker Harvey
player, 40 posts
Echo Four
VF-1A
Thu 22 Jan 2015
at 07:36
  • msg #54

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

"Oh Damnit!  Damnit Damnit Damnit..." Parker exclaimed.  He was currently facing upside down when the incident happened--he saw the whole thing live via mark one eyeball.  When the explosion happened, he quickly kicked the thrusters to port  and then pulled up in a hard circle to bring him out of their immediate path to rise up.  A collision would not helpe anything here as the ships rose out of the dirt of the lunar surface.    Parker punched the throttle and then switched  modes to guardian/gerwalk mode--thinking his way through the change to make it swiftly and smoothly as he was taught.  This would allow him to react swiftly should the enemy actually fire on him.   Meanwhile, using a combination of his thinking cap and the manual controls, his veritech began to activate his missiles and attempted a lock on the closest of the ships...
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 51 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Fri 30 Jan 2015
at 21:17
  • msg #55

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

[OOC: Ok..waited long enough.. moving along...]

"<TC> Roger that LC.  Time to get some payback!"

"<TC> Echo 5, 'Pegasus', commencing attack run. 'Wing'.. stay on my '8'.  There are three confirmed targets so it's more likely there are TRIPLE that number waiting in ambush.  'Two trainees and a chimpanzee', for an officer could have spotted our entire wing doing our search pattern.  If they revealed only three it means they are not concerned about our numbers.. says to me they got backup with them.  I'm heading for the 'deck'... gonna try to flush them out. 'Wing' keep your scopes looking for hostiles.. you won't be disappointed, I'm sure! Cover my strafe-run."

Cain flipped his Veritech's head-laser unit to anti-missile 'AGIS' fire-mode then called up his personal data files to start his 'fight music'.  Though only actually playing in his cockpit it could still be heard faintly by most of the Echo wing.. just echoing off his inside cockpit into his mic.

"... ... .. . . ..!"
"... Livin' easy"
"... Lovin' free"
"... ... .. . . ..Season ticket on a one way ride"


"Ok you alien assholes.. let's dance!"

Cain put his Veritech into a... rather reckless dive for the lunar surface ..jinking left then jinking right... only to corkscrew back left again in an erratic spiraling pattern that part seemed suicidal... then at about 500'ft above the lunar surface he pulled the "G" lever on his controls...

"... ... .. . . ..!"
"... Askin' nothin'"
"... Leave me be"
"... ... .. . . ..Takin' everythin' in my stride"


The Veritech's engines screamed as the legs swung forward blaring to full power, wings spread full extension as the maneuvering verniers on the useless in vacuum appendages screamed from the wider angle of applied thrust to arrest the spiral to a controlled dive as the Veritech switched to Guardian mode.. for speed and more maneuverability... perfectly suited to the rapid ground attack Cain was initiating!  Even still the Veritech was only 50'ft above the rocky surface before the it leveled out engines screaming in the silence of vacuum with no reduction in speed as the Veritech 'flat-hatted', skimming across the surface toward the enemy units.

"... ... .. . . ..!"
"... Don't need reason"
"... Don't need rhyme"
"... ... .. . . ..Ain't nothin' that I'd rather do"


Cain released the breath he had been holding pulling the risky, but daring high-G maneuver.  He felt his limbs tremble under the stress and his flight suit increased pressure in his extremities to force the blood back to his upper body and brain.

'Hell of a ride...', he smirked as the targeting computer relayed speed and distance to targets... the "thinking-cap" already locking the combat computer on target.

"... ... .. . . ..!"
"... Goin' down"
"... Party time"
"... ... .. . . ..My friends are gonna be there too"


Cain targeted a plasma/napalm missile not at the three hostiles but using the Guardian Mode's superior Air-to-ground targeting a spot on the lunar surface that would catch all three in the deadly splash and brought the Guardian's GU-11 Gunpod online; the Veritech's Arms swing up, targeting and cutting loose with three short bursts at the three targets.  The gunpod weapon barking in silence~ deadly DU rounds down range with nasty effect!  Targeting the spot on the ground was a ploy to get the enemy to commit to a move.. and confuse their warning systems as no 'target lock' was actually made on them!  Hopefully, the effect making them dodge into the covering fire of his Wingman.  The three short bursts into their general area were meant to damage them no matter where they moved .. and all of the added area saturation was to hit any other allies of theirs that might be hiding near them.  All of this.. calculated and done in a flash of a split second.. thanks to the 'thinking-cap' and the wonders of ROBOTECHNOLOGY!

"I'm on the highway to hell."
"On the highway to hell!"
"Highway to hell!"
"I'm on the highway to hell."


Cain swung the Veritech to the right panning the barrage of fire to leave a clear path to the left for the enemy to dodge the incoming fire.. hopefully right into the unexpected covering fire of his wingman on his 8 to his left.  Then Cain could come back around and strafe them again as they reacted to his wing's attack.  All the while his Veritech's Head laser was searching for and, hopefully, shooting down any incoming missile locks on Cain detected~ firing in 'AGIS' mode. Classic air combat strategy 101, with the added deadliness of modern Robotech!  In his old Global Civil War F-42 'Shadow' there would have been no way to coordinate all his weapons systems that way.

"Gods I LOVE this machine!  Suck it... ya Alien bastards! How's it feel to not be shooting at someone from surprise?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:30, Thu 19 Feb 2015.
GM Substitute
GM, 142 posts
Making sure pieces don't
slip through the cracks.
Sat 31 Jan 2015
at 04:13
  • msg #56

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

The trio of vessels moved as the sky blossomed with Veritechs...none of the three were standard alien battlepods, though the design aesthetic seemed similar enough with at least two of them.  The legs, at least, were very similar in appearance and apparent function...but instead of the globular body, there was an elongated, more angular body that had arms on either side, which ended in large weapon pods.  Another, large-bore cannon was mounted atop the body, as well.

The third vessel showed no apparent armaments...but Bixby's sensors spiked as the enemy vessels engaged EW counter-measures.  "Dammit..." he muttered.  He probably had some data on all of them, but he'd have to go through the few seconds of clear reads he got before the jamming started.  He activated his own ECCM, hoping to pick up a few useful tidbits.

The two pods directed their response skyward, apparently unaware of Cain's approach.  At the last minute, the closer one began to turn...

Cain's missile impacted the surface just short of the trio, and with them already in motion and lacking a strong gravity to hold them in place, the shockwave shifted them all, scattering them.  The pod that had been turning toward him recovered quickly...just as one of the bursts from his gunpod danced across one of its weapon-pods.  A flash of light flared as something inside the pod detonated, and the pod was sent flying by the shockwave of its own blast.

The unarmed vessel leapt from the lunar surface, its engines flashing to full output as it made a run for it, leaving the other two behind.  The second pod began turning to try and return fire...and was knocked off balance by a veritable carpet-bombing rolling into its position from the fighters overhead.
2nd Lt. Parker Harvey
player, 42 posts
Echo Four
VF-1A
Sat 31 Jan 2015
at 05:38
  • msg #57

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Parker calmed himself and took in the battle scene.  Cain stirred the hornets nest, the others were blowing the hell out of the rest... and his ADD became an advantage here.  He easily caught movement in his vision and brought the young pilot's attention to the fast mover trying to escape.  A wicked grin crossed Parker's face.  "Oh you want to Tango?  Why yes I do thank you!"  Parker switched back to fighter mode and shot off to overtake the enemy ship that seemed unarmed.  His fighter shook with the enormous thrust that pinned him into his seat.  He was pushing the fighter to the limit to try to get that thing before it got away...

The vessel grew bigger in his view then the pilot let loose with a barrage of fire from the nose lasers and the gunpod.  The Airlessness of space was an anti-climatic silence however.  Parker liked to imagine the buzzsaw of the GU-11 anyway--he made the sounds with his mouth as he fired.  Even in a serious situation like this he was prone to screw around.  "PEW! PEW!  BRRRRRAAAAAPP!  Take that bitches!"  He muttered... then it occurred to him was not really sure if he had muted the mic on his comlink or not before that.  Oops. Probably not.

Oh well, Parker was in the zone, focused on the ship before him... intent on at least damaging it and slowing it down to take it out proper.  He smiled as he felt the rattle of the powerful gunpod weapon which could be felt through the superstructure of the plane.  Parker only hoped he could hit the thing, he had not tried to lock on to it, going for a cold line up attack trying to lead his target here.  Parker's logic was that first he needed to try a surprise attack from the 8 o'clock position he was coming at it from...
Lt.Cdr. Vance Hardy
player, 610 posts
Echo Lead
VF-1S
Sat 31 Jan 2015
at 05:59
  • msg #58

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Parker's attack may have been haphazard, but Vance's was anything but...he rolled his fighter into a maneuver that left the nose of his ship sweeping to directly intercept the flight path of the enemy craft that seemed to be trying to escape--or at least get free to maneuver.

The targeting computer locked on, leading him...and at the optimal moment, gave him a warning tone.  He hit the trigger for his gun-pod, and as Parker's fire was coming at the enemy's flank, he walked a string of fire, stitching a lethal path down the length of the craft.

Before it left his line of fire, he fired off a pair of missiles after it, the lock information translating into sweeping curves in their flight paths that put them on a collision course with the craft.

Dammit...been right here under our noses...how long?  When did they get there? he asked himself.  Even more important was the question he wouldn't even let himself ask in his own mind...

Were they the only ones in the area?
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 55 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Sat 31 Jan 2015
at 06:28
  • msg #59

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Cain noted the barrage of incoming support fire from Echo Squadron, with a smile of satisfaction.

Then something occurred to him...

This was no longer a fight, but a route... he dialed his 'fight music' down and opened a direct line to the LC.

"<TC> Echo 5 to LC. Sir... this might be an opportune time to capture some intell.  If we disable that EW bird/pod that's trying to flee rather than blow it back to space dust.. our tech boys might be able to analyze the alien encrypting and decrypting algorithms.  I'm sure that Military Intelligence would cream their shorts over that!  Just a suggestion sir?"

Cain swung his Veritech around in Guardian Mode bearing down again upon the Battle pod with arms that he caught on a blindside spray of DU rounds in his initial strafe... bringing his targeting reticule on the damaged pod again...

"<TC> Echo 5 to LC.  Sir the pod I hit in my first run is damaged.. not sure how bad.. but.. I think I might be able to disable it and return with a POW.  Might be an opportune time to get a look at the 'face' of the enemy and let our Interrogation experts at HQ get some vital intel on the aliens themselves.  Your call boss... but I need to know before if make 'Marvin the Martian' a new permanent fixture on the moon..."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:30, Sat 31 Jan 2015.
GM Substitute
GM, 146 posts
Making sure pieces don't
slip through the cracks.
Thu 5 Feb 2015
at 07:21
  • msg #60

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Several other members of Echo Squadron apparently had similar notions to their leader. The pilot of the fleeing craft tried to evade the incoming fire...but there were no available options, really.  Every move he made put him in the path of something else.  The craft flared into a ball of fire that was extinguished quickly as the energy expended itself into space.

In the Two-Ex, Bixby's eyes lit up as an indicator flashed...he double-checked the results, and confirmed--the craft had made some kind of tight-beam burst transmission in the instant before it exploded.  He'd need time to collate all the data from the various fighters, but he was pretty sure he knew the direction of the transmission.

Moments later, the damaged pod on the lunar surface blew up...and seconds after that, the other did, as well, despite the fact that nobody had actually hit it with any of their weapon-fire.  As quickly as the conflagration had begun, it was over, with nothing left but expanding clouds of pieces of alien craft and some displaced lunar soil.
Lt.Cdr. Vance Hardy
player, 612 posts
Echo Lead
VF-1S
Thu 5 Feb 2015
at 07:48
  • msg #61

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Vance was preparing to respond when the alien ship that was making a run for it blew up.  Odd... he thought to himself.  He'd seen some of the alien battlepods take far more punishment without an explosion like that.  Maybe we hit something crucial?  He made a mental note to review all the gun cameras and any other footage from the encounter...if they had a weak spot in their design, he wanted to know about it.

"<TC>This is probably a surprise, because I'm sure it's been kept under wraps...but we've seen the face of the enemy before," he replied on the direct channel.  "Ask Lt. Moriya about it sometime...she barely survived the battle."  That had been the occasion they'd been sent out in the prototypes of the up-scaled Veritechs, with heavier armaments...untested prototypes, that had been tremendously effective, true, but they'd also suffered equipment failures at critical moments in the battle.

He still had a sour taste in his mouth, metaphorically speaking, from the whole thing.

Then the other two pods blew up, and he scowled.  That definitely wasn't some kind of critical damage caused by their weapons...something else had to have blown up the second pod.


"<TC>These guys don't take to being captured, apparently..." he said, this time on a squadron-wide broadcast.  "Anybody besides Edwards hit the first pod?  I didn't see clearly, but I don't think anyone shot the second one..."
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 58 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Sun 8 Feb 2015
at 15:13
  • msg #62

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Cain scowled as the tactical radar returns indicated the destruction of the alien battlepods{?}, "Damn cowards!"

"<TC> I don't get it, Sir?  They clearly must have seen us coming... why did they just not stop their jamming and wait for us to pass over? Why attack to draw our attention then try to flee only to suicide... unless...~"

"<TC> Hey Two-Ex, Bixby.. could you go over that last telemetry and see if there were any pulse transmissions sent to them?  Maybe self-destructing was NOT their idea...  but someone who did not want them fleeing back to base to reveal their position?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:16, Sun 08 Feb 2015.
Chief Bixby
NPC, 622 posts
Raven Lead
VEF-2X Prototype
Wed 18 Feb 2015
at 07:48
  • msg #63

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

"<TC>I'd need time to analyze the signal traffic more carefully," Bixby answered.  "There's a lot of chatter going on in the area, and certainly signals coming and going from their location...but I'd have to compare the tail end of the transmissions to what was picked up initially to see if it was just comm traffic or if there was some kind of embedded command code in the signal."

He paused, and added, "Assuming I would be able to recognize such a code if I found it, of course."

They learned a little bit more about the aliens each time they encountered them...but it was times like this that reminded him just how much they really didn't know...they didn't even have enough comm traffic captured to allow linguists to try and analyze it for translation.

What they did have often sounded plenty hostile, however...
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 59 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Thu 19 Feb 2015
at 01:26
  • msg #64

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

In reply to Chief Bixby (msg # 63):

"<TC> QX Chief.  I'm plotting their course based on the heading and direction of the EW Bird..'Pod' as it was fleeting.  Echo 5 to Echo Lead. Sir, Permission to begin a search pattern in the direction the enemy was fleeing based on their previous course and heading?  Maybe I'll get lucky and see if they were fleeing toward a HQ or rally point for more enemies that I can flush out?  Be a shame to head back... only for them to send out another three man crew in a different location and we're back to square one."
GM Substitute
GM, 147 posts
Making sure pieces don't
slip through the cracks.
Thu 19 Feb 2015
at 05:43
  • msg #65

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

A quick look at the projected course shows...pretty much nothing, for several million miles.  However, the interference from the outbound mission has vanished...the signal seems to be coming in clear and strong, with a lot of questions about why the expected interference suddenly vanished.  Word filters through from the sensor operators to the comm officers, though...it appears to have been enemy-related.

Bixby had immediate concerns.  "<TC>Echo Lead, can you get a squad to run a tight grid search of the surrounding area?  If that's just some kind of scout party, I want to verify it...make sure they didn't send out a suicide squad to draw us off or trick us into thinking the area was clear..."
2nd Lt. Hanako Moriya
player, 599 posts
Echo TWO (promotions~)
VF-1A
Thu 19 Feb 2015
at 06:28
  • msg #66

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

With everything else happening too fast for Hanako to make any meaningful contribution, she'd been berating herself for being too slow to act.  She had maintained formation and not interfered with the flight paths of her comrades, but she also hadn't done anything more than maintain visuals on the strange crafts that exploded before they could kill and/or capture them.  Not wanting to be useless again, she hit the private comms to Vance and said, "<TC>Sir, I can lead the scouting party."  She hadn't expended any ammunition, and her craft was still in pristine shape (as much as any of their crafts were at this point), so she hoped that she could live up to her role as XO properly this time.
Lt.Cdr. Vance Hardy
player, 614 posts
Echo Lead
VF-1S
Thu 19 Feb 2015
at 08:57
  • msg #67

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Vance scowled at the information coming at him.  It didn't make sense...but, then again, the whole strategy, such as it was, that the aliens used didn't make much sense to him.  Probably because they're ALIENS, smart guy...

He sighed, and nodded to himself.  "<TC>Echo Two and Echo Five, run a scouting sweep out, the direction they were running...do NOT go beyond the Ranger's sensor range, if someone's lurking out there I don't want you to get blindsided where nobody can give us a heads up.  Get out there, see if you see anything...and if not, come back.  They may have been trying to rendezvous with someone...or they may have been making a run for somewhere further out in our system.  We haven't been paying much attention to anything beyond Mars' orbit, lately..."

They should probably do something about that...although it was arguable about whether or not they already were, considering the destination of the mission under LCDR Ritter's command.

"The rest of Echo Squadron, form up on me and we'll start the Chief's sweep of the surface.  While we're doing that, Chief, see if you can get someone down here to salvage anything from the alien craft wreckage...there's not much left, but considering how little we know, every little bit counts for something."
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 60 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Thu 19 Feb 2015
at 14:22
  • msg #68

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Cain smirked, 'Alone at last...'

Cain's Veritech shifted forms as he pulled the "F" lever on his controls returning to Fighter mode and subsequently returned to the sweeping formation barrel-rolling smoothly into formation with 2nd Lt Hanoko's wing~ slightly forward of the wing's most rearward Veritech.

"<TC> Acknowledged, Echo Lead. On it. XO, Ma'am... you want lead or tail-chaser on me?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Thu 19 Feb 2015.
2nd Lt. Hanako Moriya
player, 600 posts
Echo TWO (promotions~)
VF-1A
Thu 19 Feb 2015
at 21:44
  • msg #69

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Reprioritizing her power systems to be primarily on the sensors and communications instead of weapons and thrusters, just in case something happens and she ends up with limited power to play with, Hanako replied to Vance with a simple acknowledgement of, "<TC>Sir!" before pulling away from the flight group and heading out on the scouting mission, keeping Vance's orders well in mind.  The last thing she wanted is to raise the casualty count for their side, especially if that casualty happens to be herself.

Because that's bad.

"<TC> Form on my wing, Echo Five," she said, indicating she was going to take the lead, "and stay close.  Let me know the second you find anything suspicious."

Just because space looked and felt empty didn't mean it was - they'd learned that the hard way in previous encounters.
2nd Lt. Parker Harvey
player, 44 posts
Echo Four
VF-1A
Fri 20 Feb 2015
at 02:46
  • msg #70

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

"Echo Four forming up sir."  Parker said as he did an unnecessary barrel roll to get himself back into formation.  Grinning widely he looked down to the surface.  "Echo Lead, do you want me to go dirt side for a little dumpster diving salvage down there while we're here?"  It was of course a double secret bucket list item of his to get to walk on the surface of the moon--even it it was just his mecha doing it for him.  Thanks to the thinking caps, it cold feel like that it was him... and if he happened to carve his name in the surface of the moon by walking a certain path... well that was just a coincidence...  totally.
Lt.Cdr. Vance Hardy
player, 615 posts
Echo Lead
VF-1S
Fri 20 Feb 2015
at 07:57
  • msg #71

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Under different circumstances, Vance would have chuckled...but he'd just lost a pilot and a plane.  His sense of humor was standing somewhere in the distance, respectfully quiet.  "<TC>Let's finish the Chief's surface sweep and make sure that there aren't any other nasty surprises waiting for us.  Once we know it's safe to land on our own Moon again, then we'll see about salvaging bits and pieces."

He tried, but even he could hear the brusque edge in his tone.  Pilots could be replaced...but the technology to make the engines for the Veritechs had been on the SDF-1.  Planes were harder to come by...

And he REALLY didn't like losing anyone under his command.
2nd Lt. Cain Edwards
player, 61 posts
Echo Five
VF-1A
Fri 20 Feb 2015
at 15:00
  • msg #72

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

In reply to 2nd Lt. Hanako Moriya (msg # 69):

Cain's Veritech banked away from the wing group of Veritechs Lt. Hanoko had been leading and eased in on her close starbard wingman position matching her speed.

"<TC> Right with you ma'am, on your starbard wing.  I'll keep my scopes hot and my eyes peeled..."

Cain however was not so much interested in finding the enemy as being ready when they found them... he prioritized his power allocation to weapons and thruster, leaving Sensors as a tertiary and communications as a miscellaneous allocation. Figuring the LT would be focused scaning in their forward search area... Cain set his sensor array to aft and flank scans looking for ambushers if they presented themselves.

Classic space combat doctrine said its very hard to hide in a volume of space when your emitting drive energy or transmitting.. you show up like a beacon!  But Cain was not so certain the aliens followed that same 'accepted doctrine' he wanted to be prepared for the highly-unlikely as well; considering UN Spacy was still scratching their heads over the alien tech.

Cain made sure his Veritech's head laser was still set to AGIS fire mode to auto track and target any sensor locked incoming ordinance launched at them~ hopefully.

It was a bitter taste in his mouth that the enemy denied them the retaliatory act of killing them in return for the killing of Lt. Begay by suiciding.

No, Cain still had  11 more missile in his stores and he was damned if he was going to return with any of them if there was enemy to make pay for that unprovoked killing.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Fri 20 Feb 2015.
GM Substitute
GM, 148 posts
Making sure pieces don't
slip through the cracks.
Sat 21 Feb 2015
at 05:47
  • msg #73

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

As the Veritechs fan out over the lunar surface, Bixby starts sending active pulses down, trying to get a ping off any concealed electronics or hardware.  The closest thing that Echo Squadron can locate, however, is some old wreckage from the dawn of Earth's so-called Space Race...the metal framework gives a return, but it is lifeless and cold.  There's more residual energy coming off the remains of the alien vessels than off the newly located bits and pieces of human history.

The search out away from the Moon doesn't prove any more rewarding.  The vast nothingness of space seems to be empty of anything they didn't already know was there.

If the enemy was trying to run for a rendezvous ship of some sort, they obviously weren't planning to meet up anywhere near the Moon.  Projecting the course outward doesn't encounter anything this side of the Asteroid Belt...the orbits of the asteroids are random enough that, with the exception of larger bodies like Ceres, specific orbits hadn't been plotted, so the Belt was just a region on the charts, with a few known orbits marked but notations that plenty of unmarked objects could be in the same area.
2nd Lt. Parker Harvey
player, 45 posts
Echo Four
VF-1A
Sat 21 Feb 2015
at 07:05
  • msg #74

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

Boring...  Parker thought to himself as he flew in formation for the search.  He may have waggled his veritech a bit in frustration--he really wanted to get down tot ehsurface.  Being this close and not being able to go there was a major tease... much like a certain lieutenant Parker was trying to date and had only made out with him... that he could remember.  The drunken night they had was still a black out blur.

Parker may have also done a few "surface checks" to scan with mark one eyeball...  just in case by inverting mid flight, but he was a good little pilot and stayed in his position relative to his squad leader.  With all the screwing around Parker did, he was actually doing his job.  He kept his veritech at the ready with the systems set to high scan power and to keep the engines and maneuvering thrusters set high to respond at a moments notice should some baddie show up to try to ruin their day.  Dodge first then hit back--a sayign his academy hand to hand instructor had said to him before.  For some reason that stuck with him, though hand to hand was going to be mecha to hand should they ever encounter the enemy--they were supposedly giants after all!  The awesome thing about a veritech was that it was capable of rapidly reallocating discretionary system power at a moment's notice should one need to pour on extra speed, activate the weapons, or try to focus the scanners to a better resolution, it was all possible with a thought.

Parker saw they were at the end of the scanner sweep and couldn't help but let out a little cheer of his own.  He couldn't hit the transmit button on his mic fast enough.  "ECHO lead... Echo 4 standing by for operation uh... Lunar Pickers..."
Chief Bixby
NPC, 623 posts
Raven Lead
VEF-2X Prototype
Wed 17 Jun 2015
at 08:31
  • msg #75

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

The frustration in his voice was audible as Bixby called out, "<TC>All clear.  Looks like whatever they were doing down there, they were the only ones doing it."

He closed off the simultaneous sensor feeds from the planes in Echo Squadron and started the onboard computer chewing on the fragmentary bits and pieces, looking for any indicators of what the outbound signal was.  If they'd managed to pick up enough of it, some of the linguistics computers might be able to boil it down to information they could actually understand...

The thought of actually hearing what the aliens were broadcasting to each other gave him a little bit of a shiver of anticipation...but, for now, it was all hypothetical.

"<TC>Vance, if your squadron can recover any alien wreckage...maybe there's enough intact computer systems for us to run some analysis on...it's not much, but when you don't know anything at all about your enemy, every little bit you can learn is a major revelation."  He settled back and watched the screen...something in the display made him feel like they might actually have something, there...
Lt.Cdr. Vance Hardy
player, 618 posts
Echo Lead
VF-1S
Wed 17 Jun 2015
at 08:51
  • msg #76

Re: Episode Eight--Shockwaves...

"<TC>Roger that, Chief.  We'll round up what we can and meet you back at the Ranger.  Keep an eye on our back door, if you wouldn't mind...I'd hate to have someone bounce down here to find out what all the ruckus was and find us with our arms full of what's left of their buddies..."

Actually, that might be kinda satisfying...but only if we know they're coming...

He banked his plane into a descent course.  "<TC>Echo Squadron, let's see what's left to take back for the Chief to play with.  Echo Six..."  He paused, caught himself for a moment as he realized he'd just called out their lost plane.  "Scratch that...Echo Seven, Echo Eight, set up an air cap over our position, just to make sure we're coming out clean.  The rest of us can fan out and get whatever we can find.  You have a size limit on what you want us to bring, Chief?  How small is too small to bother with?"

Unspoken, but implied in the question was another question...how much time do you want us to spend scouring the moondust for bits and pieces of alien mecha?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:43, Thu 18 June 2015.
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