Act 6.1b - Flight Simulator Sim (Red Team)
RED TEAM - Idaya, Mika, Dohr, Cor, B2-CC9, R2-A9
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. Once they left the room consisted of Idaya, Mika, CC9, R2-A9, Dohr and a holographic version of Cor. Heigren was led out a different door by himself.
The instructor walked over to Idaya. ”Your commander informed me that you will have command of this group, designated Red Team. The rest of your team will be yours to assign as you see fit. But first I will give you the briefing.”
He returned to the lecturn and pointed at a star chart. ”Sirius IV is a small non-aligned world on the borders of Imperial space. In recent years Imperial forces have advanced into this system. The world contains a significant defensive system and bombardment has proved ineffective. In response the Empire has a small fleet in orbit consisting of two star destroyers and other smaller ships to keep the planet under siege. What they can’t win through military means they’ll gain through a stranglehold.
You are in command of Red Flight, a small flight of three CR90 corvettes of the Sirius Self-Defence Force. Your mission is to defend a convoy of six bulk freighters carrying needed medical supplies to Sirius IV. They are to deliver these supplies to a small asteroid on the outskirts of the system where local forces will transfer the cargo to smaller vessels."
The star chart converts into a system-level chart. ”Obviously you can’t come in on the main hyperspace lanes, the Imperials have those shut down with an Interdictor. Your team will come in through this asteroid cluster that shields you from sensors and allows you to reach your rendezvous undetected but requires you to travel at sublight speeds for several hours.”
“Be aware your threat is twofold. The supplies you carry are being transported for humanitarian needs but they would fetch a hefty price so pirate attacks are a risk. The second and greater risk is the Empire itself. Should they detect you and send a force it is unlikely you could defeat them. Risk of Imperial detection increases with the use of active radar, excessive comm chatter or weapons fire.”
The view switches to one of the bridge rooms. ”You and your crew will fly one of the capital ships. You have full authority to assign your team as you wish, any unassigned systems can be simulated.” He points to Idaya, “Your ship Red 1 is flight lead, the other two corvettes will be simulated but will follow your commands. The six freighters will be simulated and controlled by civilian pilots. The freighters are unarmed and lightly shielded. Being civilian crew they may panic or be slower to follow orders then the military crew of the corvette.”
“Please ask any questions you might have and assign your crew. Simulation begins in ten minutes.”
OOC: Well Idaya, you've got command of 3 x CR90 Corellian Corvettes which I thought were fairly similar to your Chiss Corvette Idaya commanded. You have a mission and a crew. You'll have standard Corvettes (as per the RCRB) and you can assign your crew to whatever positions you deem fit. The rest of the positions will be taken by the computer.
Time to sort out your team and for any team member to ask questions.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:37, Sat 27 Sept 2014.
