Idaya made yet another split second decission. "All batteries, fire at the approaching missiles", she called out. Practically it meant, the gunners would have to swap batteries again and she kept feeding targetting data to the Kel Dorian, who, despite the fact of not being a trained crewmember of a starship was doing as well as one could hope. "Shields, reinforce as much as possible. Pull power from the engines, if needed. Helm, make your best moves, so the torpedoes will take as long as possible to reacquire."

She made a quick calculation. It wasn't possible to know for certain, how many projectiles the enemy fighters were carrying, but her estimate was, the enemy had nearly depleted the missiles and torpedoes by now and once they did, they'd have far less to throw against the corvette's shields. It'd mean, they'd need to close in and they'd be far easier to hit.

"You are doing well, crew. We are still in the fight - let us keep it that way!" It was perhaps unexpected from the blue-skinned officer, who seemed almost cold, but she had said it out loud. If they survived the scenario, who knew what she'd say?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 17:34, Wed 01 Oct 2014.

"A9, that was impolite.  Reinforcing shields."  Cor says nothing else, going through the motions of shoring up their defences and angling them between hull and torpedoes.  "Are we ignoring the possibility of survivors, Commander?" she asks in passing as her fingers dance along keys like a pianist.  Cor knows, just as well as anyone on the ship, that they're in no position to go hunting for escape pods...  But she does ask, nonetheless.

"Of course." Mika says about her best moves.  Of course, if power's pulled from the engines to buffer the shields, that was going to limit what she could do.  On the other hand, they weren't going to do so good at avoiding hits, so maybe energy was better shunted to the shields.

The screens were a blare of light, the sensors a jumble of blips.  Things began happening so fast that no one person, not even Idaya or Cor could keep track of it all.  It wasn't until debrief later that the sheer number of hits scored in that five to six second period could be truly appreciated.

On the front turbolasers, Dohr and CC9 successfully hit two of the torpedoes that had overshot the corvette and were beginning to turn.  On the port turbolaser, the automated fire control hit another Y-wing, damaging but not fully knocking down it's shields.

But things didn't all go the Red Team's way.  What seemed like an endless series of explosions hit the hull.  Later analysis would show that 9 missiles had hit the rear shields, overloaded them, then smashed into the hull.  The shields aborbed most of the damage but not all of it.  However, no major systems were damaged and only the torpedoes seemed to be left in the fight.

On sensors, Cor noted one of the ship, a R-41 Starchaser, designated Blue 5 had broken off and was flying towards the six freighters which were bunched together awaiting orders.

---

Well the dice roller went from rolling all single digits which it's been doing for a few rounds and started throwing out some high numbers.  Both the forward and port turbolasers hit.  Unfortunately the Blue Team also hit the corvette.  Any more hull damage and you're likely going to start suffering system damage.


Grid Locations
Red 1 - G10

Freighter 1 - AF27
Freighter 2 - AE27
Freighter 3 - AD25
Freighter 4 - AF28
Freighter 5 - AE28 (Disabled)
Freighter 6 - AD28

Blue 1-4 (R-41 x 1 & Z-95 x 3) - H10
Blue 5 (R-41) - Y19
Blue 6-8 (Z-95 x 3) - M10
Blue 9-10 (Y-Wing x 2) - G19
Blue 11-12 (Y-Wing x 2) - G1

Torpedos (6) - C10 (overshot/moving away from Red 1)



Red Team
Red 1 - 0/200SP 157/300HP
Freighters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 - Undamaged
Freighter 5 - Disabled (Repairs complete in two rounds)

Blue Team
Blue 4 - 25% Shields, 87% Hull
Blue 7 - 4% Shields, 100% Hull
Blue 9 - 5% Shields, 95% Hull
Blue 10 - 20% Shields. 100% Hull
Blue 11 - 3% Shields, 95% Hull
All others undamaged</i>
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:19, Mon 06 Oct 2014.

"Shields! Pull power from anything but the guns to get them up again", the Chiss ordered in a calm tone. "Gunners, target the torpedoes, so we can take out as many of them as possible before they turn back at us. Helm, course aft of the torpedoes, so they take as long as possible to re-track us. If we can keep them off for a moment, they'll probably disarm soon." The situation was somewhat dire, but there was a chance yet. Idaya laid her best firing solution and transmitted it to Dohr once again, so the Kel Dorian could take his best shot at taking out the biggest threat. Once the torpedoes are out, we'll go after the bombers and anything armed with an ion cannon.

Finally a proper hit! Dohr was happy to see the torpedo he had been aiming at disappear from the holographic radar. Then another one next to it vanished as well. CC9 had scored a hit too. The success made the Kel Dor feel so good, he managed to surprise himself. It had clearly been too long since he had had a chance to play such games or participate in military simulations. To him, no matter which way things went in the end, the day had been a success and well worth the time. And in case, the doctor had gotten a lift off Det Akari. Things had turned somewhat too hot in there.

Before he had a chance to get carried away by the memory of the events that had taken place not so long ago, Dohr forced himself back to the reality. And in that reality, he noticed he had missed something. Idaya had practically made him the second in command, the XO or the First Officer (or whatever it was called in the Chiss Navy) by saying he should take over her position should something happen to her. In such role he would be superior to the rest of the crew and as their superior, he would have other responsibilities than simply shooting as well.

Of course the exercise was not a real situation and many of them were in roles they were very much unaccustomed to. And since the Commander was actively participating on a personal level in running the ship, there was fairly little Dohr would need to do. Or that was how he saw it. Naturally the bridge was an alien environment for him, so he couldn't really be 100% certain about what he should or should not do.

While the thoughts were running through his head, the Doc could just watch explosions of hits register as a big, bright cloud in the aft section of the corvette. He tensed his muscles and gripped the turret controls tighter as if expecting the damage to send a jolt through the cruiser as a real-life hit would have. Even without Sola's shield status announcement, Dohr understood that another hit like that would be their end. Their would only survive a little longer was if K got their shields back up right away and the gunners (mostly himself and the droid) would manage to hit the torpedoes again. The odds weren't on their side...

"K, listen to me. I know you can do it. Use anything you can. Hell, divert some power from the engines and lifesupport if nothing else works." A half a second break later: "CC9, we need to hit again. Let us show the pirates they picked the wrong target this time!"

---

OOC: Inspire confidence on Mika and CC9. Though I've no idea if it really works on droids or not. :)

Mika turns the ship into the path of the torps, but the ship was damn near standing still compared to the maneuverable torps.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:47, Tue 07 Oct 2014.

Another comm message from Blue Team crackled on the Corvette's speakers.  It was clearly Devon's voice, sounding a little smug.

"Attention corvette captain, attention corvette captain.  Your shields are down, your ship is heavily damaged and we have already destroyed the rest of your squadron.  Surrender and power down and we can finish this with no more bloodshed - your crew will live, I repeat:  your crew will live.  Terms are as follows:  You will power down all weapons, engines and targeting systems; you will not attempt to raise shields.  Freighters are free to launch escape pods - we will NOT target them, we're only here to reclaim illegally seized cargo.  You will be able to pick up those pods once we're done here.  If you keep fighting then we will kill you.  I await your response."

"Sensors, can you locate me, which one of the fighters is transmitting", Idaya asked. "If you can, send the gunners a solution. I shall answer him in the only proper manner."

Cor waits until the flaring sensors settle down - she knows from experience that trying to drive blindly through a storm is a big mistake.  Once she has solid sensor activity she starts assessing damage and rebuilding shields - until Dohr speaks.  She wonders briefly who ‘K’ is, assumes he means Kimy, and then Blue Leader’s message comes through.

It is with some surprise that Cor hears Idaya’s order.  For a moment she simply sits there, not a long moment but certainly a pause, and then she activates her comms.

”Commander, do you believe we can still win this fight?” she asks, her voice neutral but certainly curious.

"You suggest we give up, Miss Numen? Give in to the pirates and hope, they honour their promise of letting us go?" The ship had not been destroyed yet and with the torpedoes most likely about to run out of fuel, Idaya still considered them still having a chance. "Now, can you provide the targetting data or not? Taking out their leader will most likely cause some stirring on their side and give us a chance to strike back."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:59, Wed 08 Oct 2014.

”I asked you a question, Commander,” Cor responds easily, her fingers tapping away, ”I was not suggesting anything.  You have the sensors by the way,” she adds lightly, ”so no, I cannot provide targeting data.  You will need to do that.”

"Commander, I urge you to reconsider!" There was a clear ring of worry to Dohr's voice as he called out to Idaya. "We cannot know whether the one who contacted you is their leader or if he is bluffing or not. And even if he is the enemy commander, their mode of operation might have them carry on with the mission without him."

Dohr paused for a couple of seconds as he considered his next words. "Commander, it seems to me he is offering us an honorable surrender. We have already lost a great number of our crew on the two corvettes, perhaps more than one hundred people. Our ship is the only hope of survival for the civilians on board the freighters. Should we valiantly keep on  fighting and fall in this battle, who would be there to pick up their pods?"

The Kel Dor gave Idaya a slight bow. "But it is your call of course, Ma'am."

Trying to keep on the tail of the torpedoes and with forward gun turrets unmanned, Mika let's fire at the torps, hoping to do something other than help the ship wallow about.

07:30, Today: Mika Trake rolled 25 using 1d20+8. Firing forward guns.

"We can discuss the intricacies of command after the simulation is completed, but I prefer to go out fighting. We give up now and we've lost already. Fighting, we still have a chance."

<OOC: 13:34, Today: Idaya rolled 15 using Computer Use: Tracking the transmission to its source. - Bleh! Lousy rolls again.</Orange>

As the terms of surrender are announced by the Blue Team and Idaya's crew speak of it the battle rages on, neither side letting down their guard.  While Idaya tries to locate the source of the enemy transmission, Cor continues to try to keep the shields up.  It's a difficult battle as the ships keep hammering the corvette from three sides.  The Y-wings had now switched to ion cannons which was causing some minor system problems and hampering her work.  Fortunately R2-A9 on his own initiative had moved to the engineering station and plugged himself in, repairing systems almost as soon as they were ionised.

However the heroic effort to keep the shields up could just not keep up with the sheer volume of fire.  A concentrated blast from the rear rocked the ships.  Immediately a roar of alarms went off as the aft shield overloaded and failed.  Moments later the port shield went too.  But that was the least of their problems as the remaining torperdoes turned and flew at the corvette's bridge.

Mika had been valiantly fighting a losing battle with the helm.  Already suffering from reduced speed and maneuverability from power diversions, the ion attacks were further affecting her.  She'd comandeered a frontal turbolaser to assist the defence.  As the torpedoes turned she joined CC9 and Dohr in a scathing frontal fire that destroyed two torpedoes.  But the other four plowed in.

In a desperate move Cor threw all the shield power she could to double front.  It left the other sides open to fire from the ships but with two shield facings damaged and the torpedoes posing the greatest risk, she didn't waste time asking the commander.

The torpedoes hit with an explosion that temporarily blacked out the front view screen.  When it cleared there were alarms blaring.

"Damage report!" Idaya called as she checked her own systems.  It was not a good sign.  The hull had taken a beating and structural integrity was down to 18%.  One of the front turbolasers had been destroyed.  The port and aft shield generators were showing signs of damage.

The Chiss quickly assessed the positives in the situation though.  Yes she's lost a forward gun but she had two more pointing forward so there wasn't an exposed side.  The shields could be repaired.  It was also unlikely the Blue Team had any more projectiles as it had been at least half a minute since any missiles or torpedoes had been fired.  With their shields down it would have been a perfect time.  Furthermore, the aft gun had managed to score a hit on Blue 5, a Z-95 which had already been damaged by a previous hit, destroying it.

Finally she'd managed to pinpoint the ship the transmission had come from, partly thanks to R2-A9.  Idaya had only been able to determine the transmission had come from the port flank.  But R2-A9 had identified the distinctive sound of a Koensayr R200 ion jet engine which were used in Y-wings.  Blue Leader was either Blue 9 or Blue 10, the Y-wing pair even now peppering the corvette's port side with ion fire.

Over the comms came a new sound.  Rather than Blue Team Leader with more demands it was various voices at once on the convoy frequency.

"Under attack!"
"By the force they're shooting!"
"We're hit, taking dam. . ."
"Three is down, damn they got six too."

Temporarily flicking to a long range scan, Idaya saw Blue 2, a lone R-41 was flying through the freighter convoy.  Already two freighters were no longer showing up though scan showed them present.  The R-41 was disabling the freighter convoy.

---

Despite sound strategies from Idaya, Mika and Cor and some great shooting, several torpedoes hit.  Of course it was half the amount it could have been.  Red 1 has taken significant damage but is still functioning.  One forward gun is destroyed but you still have two left facing front and one on every other facing.  Two of the shields are down but can be repaired (R2-A9 has moved to engineering already).  The fighters are swarming you but none have fired any other missiles so are likely reduced to guns alone.

A little over 15km distant, the freighter convoy is being disable by a lone R-41 Starchaser.


Grid Locations
Red 1 - A10

Freighter 1 - AH27
Freighter 2 - AG27
Freighter 3 - AF27 (Disabled)
Freighter 4 - AH28
Freighter 5 - AG28
Freighter 6 - AF28 (Disabled)

Blue 1 (R-41)- B11
Blue 2 (R-41) - AF31
Blue 3-8 (Z-95 x5) - E10

Blue 9-10 (Y-Wing x 2) - A19
Blue 11-12 (Y-Wing x 2) - A1


Red Team
Red 1 - 0/200SP 53/300HP Port & Aft shields damaged, front turbolaser x1 destroyed
Freighters 1, 2, 4 - Undamaged
Freighters 3, 5, 6 - Disabled


Blue Team
Blue 1 - Undamaged
Blue 2 - Undamaged
Blue 3 - Undamaged
Blue 4 - 25% Shields, 87% Hull
Blue 5- Destroyed
Blue 6 - Undamaged
Blue 7 - 4% Shields, 100% Hull
Blue 8 - Undamaged
Blue 9 - 5% Shields, 95% Hull
Blue 10 - 20% Shields. 100% Hull
Blue 11 - 3% Shields, 95% Hull
Blue 12 - Undamaged

"Holy son of a motherless haggis.  The wee devils are shooting me convoy.  Damn it lassie, where's our protection?  We can't hold out long against these wee buggers.  Me bonny ships have no weapons!

"Gunners, target the enemy units Nine and Ten. Take them out!" The Chiss did not seem to lose her cool - the enemy, despite their calls for surrender, were firing on both the corvette and the freighters, which was not a promising sign. There was still some fight left in the shot-up corvette and she was going to give the enemy whatever was necessary. "Give me every bit of shields you can. Helm, bring us closer to the freighters. Once the priority targets are destroyed, swap to the second group", Idaya told them, marking the two other Y-wings as secondary targets. "And keep the reports coming in!"

"Freighters, this is One Actual. We are coming to your aid once we have swatted some of these flies off ourselves."

OOC: Sending targetting data to Dohr again.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:59, Fri 10 Oct 2014.

He could only hope Idaya's choice was the right one and his would've been wrong. Dozens if not hundreds of lives depended on it. "Aye aye, Ma'am! Targeting Blue 10." Now or never was the moment when Dohr really needed to hit his mark. The bogeys were probably totally out of torpedoes and taking the corvette out with their peashooters would take a lot longer. Perhaps they really did still have a chance. But with the enemy disabling the freighters with their ion cannons was not good. Not good at all if they hit the life support, by accident or on purpose.

"On it." Mika says as she changes the ship's heading towards the freighters.  With the reroutes, power's at a minimum and the usually sluggish ship is even more so.  Once the commands are set, she takes control of a forward turret and fires again.

10:37, Today: Mika Trake rolled 12 using 1d20+8. Firing forward guns.

"Yes, Commander," Cor states in her almost aggravating calm, tapping out the sequence needed to recharge the shields once more.  She doesn't raise her concerns any more; Idaya has heard and disregarded them, as well as those of Dohr, so Cor leaves it alone for the moment.

Red 1 turns and moves towards the freighters while the Blue Team continues to pour fire into the beleagured corvette.  Taking advantage of the ship's weakness, they Y-wings regroup and pour ion cannon fire into the undefended port side while the Z-95's do the same at the rear.  The corvette turbolasers fire and score two hits on the Y-wings before power is lost thanks to ship ionisation.  R2-A9 is quick to restore systems but it is too late.  The Blue Team shows no mercy and increases it's rate of fire, quickly reducing hull integrity.  Bridge systems begin to fail before all the screens go blank and the main viewport reads:

Red 1 has been destroyed.  Simulation terminated.

The lights come on and the door at the back open, letting fresh air into the room which had become close and sweaty with the intense action.  The simulation instructor arrives and leads the team to their debriefing room.


OOC: Bad luck guys.  I don't really know if the teams were unbalanced (there are no real rules to follow, it's all guesswork on my part) or the Blue Team just did better.  Anything you want to discuss as red team, please do so here, else move to the 'Shore Leave - Take 2' thread
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:26, Sun 12 Oct 2014.

"Well, that was interesting," Cor says lightly, her hologram shutting off seconds after the simulation is terminated.  "I shall forward the Red Team feed through to our collective Commander," she adds, finding it unnecessary to specify she means Devon, "and we will organise a debriefing time.  In the meanwhile I believe I shall have a shower.  Thank you for your time."

There was no second guessing decissions, she had made. Idaya made a quick assesment about the tactical situation and found it very likely to be very much in the favour of the fighters, due to the fact, they had plenty of anti-capital ship ordnance to use. But they had lost and there was no excuse for that - she felt, she had done as much as the scenario parameters allowed her to and it would be left to the others to decide whether she had been succesful or not, and whether the scenario had been overtly difficult.

"Thank you, everyone, for your fine performance. I know, not all of you are so familiar with capital ships, but you did well regardless." It was said in a cool, but yet praising manner.

Mika tries to lock down her console like one would when quitting ones station.  But with the simulation over, the console had locked itself.  She stands up and wipes her hands.  "Well, that was fun.  Maybe we should follow it up with a stun baton message."

Mika moves on over and heads for the briefing room.