As Shadow fired  down at the   Sundop, the   2nd  Cannon  shell broke through, setting off its  'cargo'. The LC's  dart was  Bounced around by the Blast effect...as he  shouted,where's  is that Damned new aircraft!..... its supposed to be fast.....

 ..she's around here  somewhere.. LC? Frans said as he  people moved to catch up to the   3  remaining fighters.

 The three  fighters   were shooting at the Big  Ugly as they  tried  to ram them, Plates  were  getting  dented or holed..
........................

  The   Bomber was  Past KArl now.. the Tail gunner  joined  in with the top Bubble, firing at Karl...

..................

 The Ironwood's  Fighters  were trying to jockey for position.. to get  shots off  without tagging a Hermes fighter.
.................................

 On ALL COMs  the Pilot of the Big Ugly  says,....We need 1 minute and  7 seconds to reach The Black....Screens  say the nearest figthers can reach us in 14 seconds.....

  Lyri  lowered her  barrel just a bit...Dammit!.... I can't  take a shot  with all those good guys out there..... we'd have to wait until  they get as close as the last one...

 she had to shout..Over the noise of the lazar  rounds slamming into the Big Ugly.

 Shoemaker looked at the Wall's  Two rounds  zipped  through the opening to slam against the  opposite  wall... there was a slight  dent.. an odd spell filled the  air  around it.

 The Council member in charge or Housing and such said,....This is the difference... you can see it now. Our people  would have sacrificed themselves  and rammed all your attackers, rather then worry about thier own . meager lives...

   Hack shook his head slowly

 Shade went on a Tirade   , but only Orria  seems to understand  any of it...

Roy lowered his rifle and shook his head for a moment.  "Yeah, we see the difference, alright...high-brow Nivarians must be inbred or something, and are too stupid to learn when their own hype is proven delusional," he quipped drily to Lyri.  He setled into a prone position, trying to steady his rifle as much as possible with the buffeting of the Big Ugly, and settled his sights again on the nearest Nivarian fighter, waiting for the cockpit to fill the view of his scope.  Then he'd fire again.

In reply to in the air (msg # 378):

The Ironwood fighters pivoted and leapt after the sundrops, being fresh they had both the power and ammo to chase.  LT Alwuad managed to drop one of the group closing in on the big ugly and her wingman LT Mathew raced past taking lead closing on the remaining two.

As the shuttle wheeled and dealt death and destruction lashed 6 tracer laden fingers reached out and touched a fighter. The cheers were brief as the fighter adjusted targets to the Ironwood.  They danced a deadly dance as PO Volkov tried to greet her gunners another lock. The shuttle twisted and turned doing maneuvers more suited for a fighter than a transport.  Time ran out and the shuttle darted between the corvette and the flying bomb. There was no time for words out escape.  The shuttle and it's crew blinked out of existence as the fighter rammed it.

Aboard the Ironwood the ship rocked from the concussion wave created by the exploding Sundrop. On her board the shuttles icon blinked out, "status report where's our shuttle?" Sarah snapped out.  From the navigation section LT Lafollet replied,  "gone skipper.  We didn't have a good fix in that area but either the explosion itself took out the fighter or they got rammed. They're gone." Sarah frowned her disposition becoming icy, as she got angry.  That made 5 crew members this mission.

As the last of the fighters were eliminated the Ironwood flight made a similar maneuver to shadow rolling and flipping down to face the second wave.  Each taking a different target all guns blazing.

From above the rising wave of enemy fighters the Ironwood continued to ride defensive herd on the big ugly. "Guns nothing else gets through.  We will not let our fellows die in vain.  Helm all else fails don't let them pass us." It was a huge risk, but the nivarians could not be permitted to decapitate the delta fleet in one fell swoop.

Aboard the shuttle Melia continued her work on the injured Hack and Si. Orria sat tight near shade holding on feeling frustrated at her lack of control of the situation and more than a little scared.  When shade for angry however something inside her clicked, or maybe snapped.  She's glances over then stands and faces the nivarian pulling her pistol and shooting the wretched housing council member in the chest, before sitting down.  "Quiet now.  She whistles and whirrs at Shade.

  The Small Figure walked up a bit as the  Housing  Council looked at her  in distain....

  The Flash from the   Hushed  sound of the verian Balster, tore through the soft body and robes of the man, splattering   The AG Council, and MC-1  with yellow-orange  goo.

 Shade  buzzed a couple times  as she mentioned, 'quiet', and gave her a thumbs up

 Shoemaker, seemed a bit laid back, of Shoemaker. His grin was  a big, he chewed his   gum a little slower...you know? At the Academy they had Tactics and such.... I had a bit of  trouble with all that, so just went into bootcamp...but there was some  big time  Admiral..someting like that.. said,..." you don't win wars by dying for your country... you win them , by mnaking the other bastard, die for his..."...So?... you folks... killign yorself like this?... makes our job easier...... How many  people you figure  were attacking  down there...

 THe HC shrugs,..Military had the numbers.... but an estimate  was between 10,000, to 13,000...not counting the  prisoners you sent  down....and not counting the pilots.. and Armor crews?

 ..ok?... so lets  say out of   all that... 3000 survived?.. You just made our Job alot easier....

 Juil broke in,..i urged you to watch the Vids of the Hillites  and the Hyrians and of Aster... you saw what happened to the Black moon.. and  what happened to Niavrain  regulars on My moon..... you either didn't  watch...or did not learn....  Bura...is a paradise now!... the  Blue and Red Moons of Paradise are free.....Did creds mean that much to you?

 There were only three council members left..The HC... The Council for SEC... and the Council merchant affairs... The  SEC Council ( the only female left) said,..you?  are nothing.. you turned your back on your own Race....

 There was a dazzling smile,...my Race.. that exiled those who stood up against the corrupt ?... who sends the starving   throngs to thier  death..with the tiny hope, that you will elevate them...here is something you can ponder.... If I am to rule here.. I will rule from My Moon..... and all your Creds will be used to aid the rebuilding of  the planet, so they may live as equals, as we have on the moon...They will be lead... there will be laws...but no more will the fat get fatter of the lives of those they keep lean!....and? High Council... you should hope  that your families  die in the shelling... because they will be tried  by the New Council. once I install it.

  The  Cavat, hand her rifle to Lyri,...try this...... there is a dial.. the   thinned the beam, the further it  travels, and the more intense the damage.. the  wider the beam.. the shorter the  range..the weaker the damage..

 Lyri  Shrugged  and took the  weapon and   dial up to the thinnest  beams.... she  amed at  the nearest fighter  and fired... the   beam zipped out, hit the sundrop  leaving a burning hole  in the  nose...wow!..this is no sniper weapon..but it is  good...

In reply to in the Air (msg # 391):

Yes Sir, coming up on your formation now. The Ship is faster than Hammers but not as fast as the Darts. The Bee's capabilities were presented in the brief. I can arrange to present another Rundown on the any time you wish Sir. Zarina commed, grimacing at the head start Shadow had over the rest of the Flight and his  expectation that they be right beside him as he sped away.

Roy flashed a grin as he heard Shoemaker's words.  "A General, Shoemaker...George Patton.  One of the most celebrated commanders of the 20th Century.  He was Army, though, so I can see why you'd forget his rank."  He kept watch on the plane, edging closer, shaking his head minutely at the obdurate council members, and nodding slightly at Juil's words.  She got the lesson...even before I taught it," he told himself.

He was still watching the plane when Lyri tested the Cavet's rifle.  After she stated her opinion, he spoke up...  "I can't believe you didn't shoot the cockpit, Chief...you going soft on us?"  There was a low chuckle in his voice.

   Lyri frowned,its the Nivrian sight.. those  big old eyes of thiers need a wider mark?

 She nestled the  Gun closer..Teh Cavet stood to watch... and she  fired.. again the  bean flashed out...about as long as a yardstick..   This time it hit  right under the seal of the cockpit...( about 10:00 from the pilot's POV)

 ..Dammit!

  what do you plan to do with us..Admiral? her voiced  cracked, as she tried to seem demanding.

  ..well?..MC-1   is going to Go along with  The SGT Major  and Shadow...

 The High Council is going to be executed for false representation of peace talks, and attempted  assassination of ESN/APF dignitaries ...

 ...but you...NC-37  are going  back to the Gamma  Quad  with  the delta Fleet... to deliver  a Message... You  both might feel..TX-5 , got off easy.

 ..you cannot try us for that... you , yourself.. have spouted news of 'total war'...

 Hack Nodded  as his eyes shifted to the door, now and again...aye... and you have the right of it. I will never fault you, for playing that game..... but?... you cannot  fault me, for  punishing those who fail...

  the  sky was getting thinner... the  blue  turning ....ever so slowly..black.

    Shadow   was Pulling up on the   fighters  and said....alright Striker... test time... the  fighter on the Far right is yours.... Kase!.. Waggles.. she has......4 seconds to down that thing... if hit gets to five second.. y i expect one of you to torch them!

 meanwhile  The  Ironwood  fighters  sought revenge...  they Pounced on the  other  two... chewing them up.. one of them was being hit  by a Golden Lazar..but it was Gone... now... everyone watched the  'new kid' try to bring down a fighter, that  was 8 seconds from the Big Ugly...

Roy tsk'd as Lyri's shot perforated the fighter in a relatively harmless spot.  "You want me to take the shot, Chief?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the fighter could, at any moment, hit either one of them, and was mere seconds from hitting their craft.

In reply to in the air... (msg # 400):

Looking at her battle screen and locating the position of the Sundrop, Shadow indicated, it was twenty five degrees off her current position. Roger Wilco. Turning both her BB and its mini gun in that direction she accelerated forward bringing the target into the guns twenty two degree arc of fire and distance. Squeezing off a six round burst slightly ahead of the Sundrop. HEAP rounds streamed forward and the Fighter flew right into them. Four of the six rounds exploded tearing chunks out of the thinly designed fighter. Less than half a second later two larger flashes fragmented the fighter, from either a power cell or explosives packed aboard to add to its destructiveness. Glancing at her clock three seconds had passed. Smiling Zarina patted her BB's consul pleased at the Prototype's effectiveness.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:30, Sat 05 Aug 2017.

  ..sure... there's only one left... see if you can do any better....

 Lyri hands the   Niavrian weapon over, showing him the  dial.

 beth  sat on the  other side of the Hull..she was doing something on her  Vid Board,..Dammit!... the fighter got me again....., she looks at  Shade,..and Orria is on level 3?


 Shade Nods  his  head and Gives a Thumbs up..as beth tried  to  beat the level again.

...........................

  There is a Flash and a   some shrapnel   flew  outwards , towards them...Ahhh..well.... no bad  guys left..... she shrugged.

..............

 Shadow  nodded  grimly in his fighter,..alright.... not bad.... next time..... we'll see if you can mix it up a bit better....

 Captain Nilsson?  how you doing  down there... You need a hand?  Howe and his  flight  was  already on their  way down to help...

     The Admiral  smiled a bit  proudly, if not tiredly...he pend  ALL COMs...Thank you all... Make sure the Morningstar is  safe..... Ironwood.. what is your Damage....SToly and Nura...get the   Duces home...now!...

 After he  closes out the COMs he asks   Melia  How Si is doing.

 Hack Looks at Orria,Well Done Ambassador's Aide.... we need people in the ESN who can  stay calm under fire.....

 Shade  held out his  arms  and shook his head sadly.

There was a grunt over the comms as Karl rolled the Morningstar below the bomber, still going away.  He still had to evade the tailgunner, but at least the topside guns had no line of fire on him.  "This last bomber is tenacious...pretty chewed up, but still putting up some fight.  I'm not sure if I did enough damage to keep him away from the Big Ugly...but I'm in rough shape.  I can fly home...but there's no way I'm catching him... "  He shifted his course into a climb, again...gradually, to keep the damage indicators from flashing red at him (most of them were showing steady yellow, even in steady flight.)

"Never been this chewed up before..." he muttered, as he watched the displays for an indicator the he was venting atmo, as he climbed higher.

      Hack Listened to  Karl,..right... you done  enough...   SHadow can send  folks down  to help finish the thing off..and escort you back to the Hermes....

  Aye, Sir  Howe  already broke off  to  dive down... they'll stay with him..

 Alright  then.. everyone   gather round the Big Ugly.. lets make sure  everyone gets home tonight.... It  Independence Day For Nivar Moons and those  poor bastards  that were slaves to their own people

............

 Howe's  people were empting their Guns into the Bomber..part out of frustration..part for  vengeance ... This Bomber exploded.... flares of  Burning Crates   acred out     below... and..a few seconds  later the last Bomber  Joined the others...in the ever grown forest fire...

   Hey Captain?.... need some one to walk you home? Howe  says...

Karl's grin was almost audible, a chuckle in his voice as he answered, "Don't joke about walking home...a few more hits and I would have had to..."  The Morningstar flew erratically, the computer problems impairing far mire than the fire control, but Karl put the plane's jose to the sky and kept climbing.

"Thanks for batting clean-up, Howe...who knew they made those bombers that tough?"  He glanced at his weapons readouts...full loads of frag and incendiary rounds for the howitzer, but he'd loaded heavy on the HE, expecting to use that most.  Everything else was between five and twenty percent left...and even with rotating barrels, both the cannon and minigun were dangerously hot from continuously firing.

The plane would DEFINITELY need an overhaul before the next mission...

Roy was just settling in behind the sights when his would-be target went up in flames...he grunted, partly dissatisfied at not trying out the new weaoin, and partly relieved that they were clear of pursuit.  "Guess we have wait for the next hot extraction for me to show you up," he joked to Lyri, handing the rifle back to her before taking his own and climbing back to his feet.  He strode back to his seat, flashing a mocking grin at MC-1.

"I'll make sure I bring a broom and mop bucket..." he said to the Roussian.  "We'll be able to clean what's left of you--after Shadow's finished showing you the error of your delusions--off the deck before the blood dries..." he explained, almost cheerfully.

"We'll take GOOD care of you..."

   They was a  release of  her  tightly wound nerves...maybe  we can take it with us, next time  we clear a ship....  she sat  back with her head lolling against cool metal of the  cargo bay wall.....you know , Admiral... there is a damn good bet we didn't have  enough ammo to  stop those waves... and we sure didn't have enough  to kill them all...

 Hack smiled , just a bit,ahhh... Master Chief... we had  The Hermes  fighters... the Mornig Star and the Ironwood... twp tranports full of  troopers.. 50 naragrans and at least half the Colonist were  trained....but.. the game changer  was the   fighters... we were certain they had some left..didn't know how many...I don't know  how many  pilots  we lost... i know alot of troopers  were carried out of there.

  Roy   talked to MC-1.

  well....we have  2... too many Roussians for certain

Roy glanced over at Beth, and chuckled.  "That won't last long..." he said, with a wink.  If Shadow didn't kill the Roussian, he was quite sure Hack had some questions, and the foundry had a very final way of getting answers.  Either way, Roy didn't see the Roussian lasting long.

Henry sat dejected beside Mila. Is this what they had become? Callous, vicious murderers? Combat was one thing but this...

 She leans against Henry acting a bit down too, and nervous as well. She licks Henry's hand and whines.

In reply to Big Ugly (msg # 396):

The Ironwood flight exacted their revenge on two fighters, torching both of them.  LT Alwaud came out of the head to head trailing a bit smoke from the lazer, but pulled out of her dive and drove towards space at a slower pace. LT Mayhew came out better but his fighter had it's own share of pits and pock marks from the encounter.

"Admiral we've taken a few lumps but should have our hull sealed shortly. We lost our shuttle, PO Volkov took out one of the fighters headed for us but paid the toll. We are good enough to break atmo, but we'll need some work to get back to 100%." Sarah explains over the comms to Admiral Hack. As the corvette pulled free of the atmo the crew scrambled with repairs, the med techs treated wounds, and the tactical team started pulling gun cam data for analysis. The two fighters returned, though the shuttle bay was left conspicuously empty. LC Harrington slipped off the bridge, and down to the hanger working with the flight crew to fill the gap left by PO Volkov while Sarah picked up many of his tasks from her command chair.

In reply to Big Ugly (msg # 396):

Melia breathed a sigh of relief once the threat had mostly past, she continued her treatment of Hack and Si. She made no attempt hide any contempt and anger she felt towards the Nivarian Council members.

Orria seemed to relax a little, when the threat had past. It finally seemed to occur to her what all had transpired, as the adrenaline of the situation wore off. She looked at the pistol, and the Nivarian she'd killed. This was different, she gently clipped the pistol back in the holster, but made an effort not to touch it or even put her hand near it. Like it was poison. She looked at Shade and said quietly, "Orria did bad thing..." Perhaps and hopefully learning a sharp and painful lesson of war... self control.

---Hanger Deck--->

  Like a Ponderous  Beast, the    Might of the delta Fleet slowly turned  45 degrees to port,  Marking the  Alpha quad as their Next destination. COMs  were sent  out ahead to notify  Admiral  Sevente of their   approach.

  It took well over 12 Hours  for   the whole of the fleet to pass over Nivar, leaving her  with the  ESN/APF Task force, to watch over the  new edition.

 The Verians  sent  Cap ship ( The Grid)  to help the task force  seek out  Empire ships  ships  smuggling and such.


 Everest is supposed to add a patrol as well...