(( for the attack on the 'eggplants' ))

  witht he fighters   launching  and  Shadow Getting them to  climb  above  the  Hermes.. the Delta #1  section was  comign in,  4 wide 6  deep   with  staggered   heights.

 The delta  two was across the way..  4  wide  and  6 deep...  the   far wings  could barely be seen, and were almost ready to  make thier  turns..

 The  Burians  were coming in over top.. the Nivarains   under...

  ..This is WC Shadow to  all   section WCs..... its  your  show now.... take your figthers up over  top of the Burians..., Flanks.. You know  what to do out there more then I can see... I trust you all to handle your people well...

..Hermes?.. we  knock down  anything that isn't a cap ship..when we pass  through that  Valley of steel, if you   have a shot   at thier hanger bay, send  some   hard ammo into them. you might get lucky.

 when  we come out the other  side.  we look for    fighters  and corvettes  and sloops that might   be home defense's 2nd string.... we keep doing that until our shuttles  drop.. then?  we protect them  with our lives..... we're gonna   be   fighting , in and out of  atmo...make sure you mark on your  leg map where the  beacons for the   beach heads are.. you'll need to land there to load up..or make your  way back  if  you  POD out

 keep your heads on a swivel... watch out  for your wingman...Good Hunting!

 The   Roussian wall  started to flash

 ..Dumbasses..... Beth.. feed  some    traveling Music into them...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKw9AYPeCz8

---> Hangar Dec

Upon entering the Black, Harry would take a moment to check over her systems to make sure that all was well with her shiny new bird before moving into formation with the rest of her flight. With her in position on Kat's portside she would listen to Shadow's instructions, pulling a face at the idea of giving her life to protect ground forces but otherwise remaining silent and waiting for Kat to make the first move as the music started playing over the intercom and her nerves slowly started fading away.

   one thing Fighter pilots had over  everyone  else( except maybe  a  reporter on some small  relay shuttle trying to  get film).

  the Sheer  might and mass of the   Delta Fleet spread out  over  100,000 miles of  space, yet it seemed like you could   hop from ship  to ship,like stepping stones...add that to  the cloud of  Angry fighters masses  above the fleet,and the Influx of  ships from Nivar and Bura,  the  sight had to be   intimidating  ...

 The   'wall' of    Roussian and Empire  Cap should, would normally have  send   some  commanders to thier   war rooms  to 'rethink this'...but the massive amount of ships, looked  thin  and weak   Compared to the juggernaut that moved towards them    The flashes  of the first hurried  salvos from the   Roussian  wall  sail  past.. some unlucky fighter   on Delta 2  side  vanished  as it 'stopped  a stray  Pulse   round.. a few scattered impacts  on the elad  vessels   didn't seem to really hurt anyone...yet... on the flanks, the   scene  was related, only  by D3  and D4  as  the  started to  curl around the    Wall tiny flashes  of  well trained  gun crews ,, and   brighter   flashes of deadly impacts.

......

 Kat  COMed   HArry...  we  will be  following the LC..Da?   when   we meet thier fighters, we  break off   as  pair to take out what  we are able.... Look  for  those who would  get on out tails... and  try to bring  down those   on any one else's tail.. then>  after  we crush the eggplants.. we have much party on the Rec Dec!

...........

Machins COMed   Billie...Alright   Ensign ?  we  don't know  each other... But   i've  been here before... stay close... only veer off if you  can take one out, or you see one  on the tail of another  of our fighters...

when the  shuttles   are sent.... we   flight   over them, or next to them... it won't take long for the eggplants to understand what is about to happen... they'll send  up hot  airballons  with  a kid  and a peashooter  to try and stop us then....

 neither of us had  decent  wingmen beofre, we're  damn lucky to be alive... lets see if  we canmake up for that!
.....

Flores COMed Shadow,One   sword Maiden?... however will you cope.... she giggled.

yeah.. I should have brought a pool pilot into the Mix, but... they'd just die..besides, if   me and You, or  if it would have been me and Kat....if we can't  cut through this  purple  pilots, then maybe it was just  our time?

 another Giggle...you don't believe that...

 of course not?.. they might have alot of people in uniform..tons of  figthers and  stacks of Cap ships....but  they don't have one damn warrior...

   Blast door s  closed on the  front of the CAp ships,  The Bow was   very think Metal, the weakest  area would be the  OBs  Blast doors..and even they were  almost as  think as the side hulls..

 Arnie   had  everything secured..  Heavy paule nests    set up  so a cross fire  could hit, both the    entrance and the    windows, he ordered all the   troops there  to hook thier life lines   to the   walls or  floor, just  in case they were breeched

 the ship shook  which an impack of heavy pulse   , somewhere at the  base of the ship.. He opened   the COMs up to hear the chatter, and  Beth  allowed a  Vid  feed  , so they could see what the bridge was  seeing...

 a wall of Capships..perhaps 50  miles high.. that  went 'off screen' in each direction...

  one of the Gunner  said,we're headed right through the Middle!!..who the fuck does that...

 Arnie smiled.... Admiral Nelson.....

Kat's instructions were simple enough; follow the LC into combat, then break off into their pairs and shoot down anything not in ESN blue whilst keeping an on anything that was in ESN blue "Roger that Kat, you lead I'll follow" Harry responded in a voice that although weary didn't hold any of her previous fatalism. The odds were bad, but this was her thing; she flew around at ridiculously high speeds shooting at things with a rotary cannon full of highly explosive ammunition...what could possibly go wrong? "...crush them; yes, party not so much...in fact I'm going take a hard pass on that" she replied as she followed Kat and the rest of B flight towards the enemy.

Billie wasn’t going to throw a fit at being Machins’ wingman, when it was told to her. If anything, she approached it much like she did everything else...she went with the flow and if he proved to be a good wingman, then she wasn’t going to complain. “All I ask is to keep communicating with me so I know what is up.” She responded, as she took the appropriate spot on Machins’ side in the formation. “I guess we treat it like football eh? Only...more...deadly,” she mused, a smirk on her lips.

<=== from hangar

Nikki had launched moved over to an empty space enroute to form up in her squadron.  there she gave 2 single test fire shots, making sure she did not hit anyone.  she then commed E flight leader Fitzsimmons  "149 'Banshee' in position"

----->>>>>> From Hanger Deck

 Lizzy flew into the black and easily found Nikki and pulled next to her wingman. " 147 Phoenix in position at Banshee's wing. Lets kick some Roussian ass." Lizzy stayed with Nikki and would shoot at anything that was an enemy in her path, staying with Nikki, and take shots at any hanger decks, and any soft spot she could fire at.

  Shadow  wathed the   ever growing wall as the Vids  popped up on  everyone's  screens.

   Shadow  joined in  ...the world needs heroes  who  leave nothing up to fate... we  will raise   our guns for justice..

Around the  other  fighters    Piltos  Joined in. perhaps  none  louder the   Foster who had  two kids of his own.

 Shadow   smiled  as   the Admiral  said   " we did not 'sert you!"...,,this is one of the reasons  he followed the man...of course..killigngbad guys  was a cap ship load of fun!

    The delta Fleet CAp ships  adjust  heights  as the bore  down  on the enemy.. some  moves  called    the  2nd  line of ships to be hit..other moves, 'stepped in the way'  of a  quickly fired   round, and  some  caused  'glancing ' impacts

 two  direct hits on the Hermes  should the ship..  Damage Control lights   when on as the impacts  happened    on the  lower  decs.

 The Vulcan   never  Moved    as the   red Lining   Cap ship  smashed into the   Roussian cap ship , just  aft of the Roussian bridge.. The   Roussian vessel   started to break  apart,  Gases  and  electric  flashing   in the bigger after section.. the  rear two   starboard  Guns  fired    down the   inside of the  Hull , blowing it  apart...

 Bodies  filled the  area as  the Roussians were sucked into space... the Vulcans . puts its  Nose   down  as it  streamed  sparks  and  smoke, she   turned  broadside to the planet   after they dropped below the  Nivarians.. and  fired  Blindly  towards the planet..sending random death to where ever  those   shells  or Pulse  rounds hit...,, crippled, and  tryign to save  thier own vessel from dying, the Vulcan   would   try to  put its  orbit closer... so thier Pulse   pounds didn't get 'thinnied  out' by  flying through Atmo, and their hard ammo could reach  the light, they assumed were cities.

 Captain   Si  had  The Hermes  slided Between  tow caps ships that had   hit them...  Shots   down the Bow  of the starboard, and the  thrusters  of the port, Caused Massive damage.. the   thrusters hit   Blew  apart seconds  after the Hermes  passed... the Bow  ship   had alot of Balck   on the bow section as power  went out, and thier Bridge was  dark... to its  credit..it  kept firing..

  Shadow watched the  screens  and  used his own eyes...There  they are... a bunch of   angry Hornets   whose nest  got kicked.... Time to  exterminate them.... Good  Hunting

  Beth?....  we need somehting.. somehting you can pipe to the   eggplants!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RFeIj-xwEM

    then it started... The   Roussians   met the tip0 of the spear...now... the arrows came....

  Shadow Punched his    Thrusters      flying straight  for the      Biggest cloud of Roussians

 Lily Breaks through...Um... LC...  we have... information...from  the Udenesde... R-3  fighters.. two seaters... um.. rear gunner....  4..weapons , 2 on each wing..faster..smaller   one ..um..seaters?...  two weapons  on each wing...assume... they have hard  amo.. Undenese    weren't sure..

 Thanks LT Lily... You all hear that?.. two seaters..  don't  come from  above on thier 8?.. stay under them   or from the   forward angle...

  Lights  flashed  all around  as weapons went off  and Fighters from  both sides  died  along  the , impossibly long...  Delta Fleet AA guns were in  operation as,  the Roussains   didn't see the  fighters  until people started to die.

  Shadow  and Flroes  looked like they were  tethered  by a  cable as the  sweaved throguh anti   aircaft fire  and  explosions... then three  Roussians, on a two seated  Vansihed in   Balls of  purple red   fire..

 Lizzy called Nikki and said," Ok wingman, lets see how these child killers like too feel the wrath of FIRE and FURY. Lets kick their asses." Lizzy was flying mad who sends ships to kill children and Lizzy was going for kill shots and staying with Nikki like glue. If they have a shot at a ship's hanger bay they will try and coordinate their attack, other than that Lizzy would stay with Nikki and fly like a madwoman and shoot as many bad guys she can, of course if she sees a ESN?APF fighter in trouble she will veer with Nikki to help them. Lizzy was being aggressive but not so much to put herself out there to get easily shot, tactical aggression using the anger that they tried to kill all those children.

Nikki smiled, on a side channel she she cued up a small playlist of just music for her and Lizzy "I got this which I think should do for kicking Roussians outta black" she had it rocking in her cockpit like a banshee wail and shared it with Fury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XNkFdpyD0s

  Kat  says  to Harry..... the   2  seaters!.. they  are  flyign above  two   fighters... that makes them hard to get at from  below..I will swing pas  the   ports   side    and   draw  that  fighter.. You   come under   the   2  seater  and  try to gut it...

 not waiting for  the  answer,  Kat Barrel rolled  Like   a  log rolling  down him  a, firing into the port  side   fighter..   Smoke  appeared  right  away,   as the Starbaord   fighter    tried to  swing up and  across  after   her..

,,,,,,

 Lizzy and   Nikki     followed thier  flight  leader into the fray..   Fitz  torched the two seater    headed towards  them   its    fighter  escorts    both broke  wide.

  Mitch's  aricraft fired a torpedo  into the  hanger  Deck  of a turning Roussian vessel, sendign  out a  Gout of   Flame into The Black as well as   bodies  and   debris.

 Torpedo  1  comign in for  another load!

 he veered off towards  The Hermes Hanger Dec

..........

 Machins   saw the  same thing  Kat had seen...They  fly  in threes.. two   fast  fighters, one  two seater...  Take out    the fighters  when you can..  take a shot  at the  2 seater  if  you have it.... DO NOT.. come in from their  6 and high!

Almost as a way to prove his point,  a Fighter from  the Athens    broken up  as  it  dribed to dive  down  on the   rear of a two seater.

  Some Roussians   rose , slowly ,  to try and meet the  Burians... thier  weapons   firing  as the  did... 2 Burian vessels  took solid  Hits,,, one   started to veer away  , but fired a broadside into the  Roussian vessels .

  it would only  take  about   10 seconds   for   Sarah's  ship   to  slip through  and  have a chance to cross the T on two vessels.

The Burian's each unleashed multiple fusillades on their targets as they passed through. Aboard the Vengeance, Captain Donaldson saw an opportunity as they got an opportunity to cross the T of 2 different vessels. Sarah saw it as well, "Take it Captain." She said to him via the link between the flag bridge and the bridge of the ship. "Already done Commodore," he said, as each of the guns fired once more and then fell silent coming to bear on a juicy targets of opportunity. As they passed each ship he gave the order to fire and the guns lashed out shooting directly down the nose of the two Roussian ships, each gun firing as rapidly as able attempting to unload the maximum possible destructive power upon their target being given a textbook ideal shot.

   Sarah and her Gunners saw  one  ships  split apeart like a hideous  flower blowing.. the   other lost most of its port  side.

  The Damaged  Roussian  puts its   nose  down, in the Universal act of  'getting out of the way".. or 'Retiring from the field"

 Lizzy followed Fitz and veered off to take the right fighter, Lizzy will take an approach to pull behind and under and unleash all weapons into the Child killers ass. Hopefully that gets the bastard, Lizzy will then find Nikki and see if she needs help with her fighter.

Muttering irritably under her breath, Harry would shut off CE-VA's feed as quickly as possible so she wouldn't be distracted from what she was supposed to be doing. As great as it was that a ship load of children hadn't been killed there was definitely a time and a place for this kind of thing and in the middle of dog fight was certainly the wrong time in her opinion.

As the fight got under way, Harry would stick to the plan and follow the LC into combat before  peeling off with Kat to go hunting for targets. Spotting a trio of aircraft; with the two light fighters protecting the vulnerable underbelly of the larger two seater, Harry would watch as Kat moved to draw the fighter's attention, with her waiting until they had taken the bait before accelerating rapidly. With her guns aimed at the two seaters underside she would calmly squeeze the trigger of her rotary cannon; stitching a line of 25mm rounds along it's belly before veering off to come in on the tails of the light fighters that had gone for Kat. Hoping to pick them off whilst they were distracted.

Nikki veered opposite Lizzy.  slightly above the plane of battle and moved down on the Roussian fighter and fired.  She pulled up and level as she fired giving her a wider arc of hitting the craft multiple times.  "Crash, Boom, Pow!" she said as marks appeared on that craft.  Each shot connecting for a scared child her wanted to kill.

  Harrys  37 MMs   hammered into the  belly of the  two seater,  it  started to break  apart then exploded..   Kat had  turned insdie the    second  fighter    and shot   the  tail off, leaving the  rest of the  aircraft    tumbling through The Black  with  smokes  and O2   tailing after.

 Kat was laughing,They must  be short on metal!.. they use too much for thier Big heads!

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

    Nikki's aircraft  shuttered   as  grey vapor started to  stream out the  port side where the  wing  met the  fuselage... It put its nose  down.. the  two seater Lizzy  fired  on  went up as   a 37MM hit the  powerplant. the top part of the rear  gunner shooting  out into space  leaving a frozen  trail of gore.

.......

 Shadow  was concerned  about the Baord on the COMs...Captain Si   do You want us...

 as you were LV!... just kill fighters, if  we need help  ,, we'll ask...

  Shadow   just said...all ready done,Ma'am..  even as he said  that,  Shadow and Flores    came in  on a wounded cap ship that was sending  shuttles towards  the   Hermes...Shadow  shot  down   a smaller fighter... while Flores  torched   a shuttle, even as the    Roussian cap ship hit is  surrender lights...

 Roussian #337?   may was  well keep your lights off.. you're all dying today... the best chance you have  his to go home!

With the two seater going up behind her like a firework on New Years day Harry would arrive in time to watch Kat torch the remaining fighter from the trio "Well I'm not complaining, the easier they go down the quicker we can get them the hell out of our space" Harry responded, already hunting out a new set of targets for them to engage "Targets sighted, 2 O'clock high, moving to engage" Harry suddenly announced sighting more of the Roussian Heavy fighters and their lightly armed escorts moving to join the growing fur ball.

 Lizzy smiled as the 2 seater blew up, she thought they got off easy. She would look for the next target, and she sees Nikki smoking," Hey Fury you ok over there, can you continue?" As Lizzy spoke she searched for new targets, fighters, shuttles, or even a Cap ship too hurt. She stayed with Nikki.

Nikki had several alarms going off she queued the fire supression and turned off unneeded warnings quickly.  "Not sure can I get a fly-by.  my port side.  trying to level up."  if she was luck she was just hit by a piece of shrapnel slicing a hydrolic line.

 Lizzy would watch the skies then reply," Already done Fury." Lizzy wll fly bye Nikki's port side to take a look at the damage. Lizzy will still look for child killers too blow up as Nikki figures out if she can fly, Lizzy will look for another single fighter in need of a wingman if Nikki has to head back.

 Da..I see them.. there a many.. we will have a long  day of killing!

  around them  other fighters  were tearing apart Roussains... The  Purple people were ill prepared  for  the Delta Fleet.

 .. we both go under the  two seater.., but..veer off, you take  port side escort, i take  starboard, then    cross over  under the   2 seater, to see who gets to kill!

The Russian Banked  away, using Pusle  rounds  as tracers  until  they tore Into the Fighter, as  it  went to veer  away,,Kat killed it  with  two, rather  close  range  37MM round,
.................

  With the Roussians  in disarray  with scattered  communications... Nikki and    Lizzy saw  two   formations of the  tri-fighters   heading   towards  the bellies of the   Burian  Task force..

 they also saw   more  fighters     coming down the line to try to help with the Massive hole in the middle of the Wall.

 on each flank, Blossoms of big  explosions were signaling the death  of  Roussian vessels that we    caught  in the  wall

..........

 A Corvette with two fighters  was heading towards   Cloud of fighters.. it was going too fast to  engage..

 ..your call , candy? Corvette  or  fighters...

 ..Corvette...  I'll get my fill of fighters   after..  Shadwi  flew   towards  the   Corvette   fired off   Pulse  rounds  into  it Bow, then Veered off,  the two Fighters  chased him.. leaving a grinning Flroes       to come   around  with ther  weapons  trained on the  Thrusters.

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

 Machins  and Billy went into the  furball   as machins    told her which  3 they would attack..You get the  Two seater.... I'll get the fighter, we'll switch next time!

 Lizzy sees the two groups of tri-fighters and says to Nikki," See those two groups of tri-fighters heading for the Burian fleet lets thin them out." Lizzy then hit all comms for fighters, This is Hermes Phoenix we have two groups of tri-fighters heading for the belly of the Burian fleet, could use a little help Nikki and I are on it."

 With that Lizzy would try to come in on the middle fighter's blind spot and then open up all weapons on the child killers.

Nikki managed to get level and a real short punch from two fire suppression nozzles for a gun mount killed the exhaust.  Moving as fast as she was it flew back to the exhaust smoke.  a clear test fire ensured her guns were good she booked it to the side of Lizzy "149, Banshee still up and kicking.  Now I want some Roussians butt to be cooked" she had a close enough to 147 and could she Lizzy and gave a thumbs up and gestured to the trio on the left.  she soooo wanted to chew a Roussians ass.  'I think the Kamikazi scissors" a maneuver she called to Lizzy
This message was last edited by the player at 19:11, Sat 02 Jan 2021.

“Roger that,” Billie said with a smirk, tuning out all the background noise going on. With a smirk, she broke off from Machins, moving into at more favorable position, avoiding the 6 o’clock. She accelerated quickly, firing her hard rounds at the underside of the two seater.

”Roger that” Harry replied as she threw her fighter into a tight turn that would bring her guns in line with the heavy fighter’s belly. After firing a sharp burst of 37mm rounds into its exposed underbelly, in a place that would kill the rear gunner if not the entire aircraft, Harry would gracefully flip her fighter around and fall upon the escort with her once again firing her cannon. Her crosshairs firmly aligned upon the fighters canopy.

In reply to burains (msg # 18):

Sarah watched the severely wounded ship attempt to disengage, "Task Force two, make sure that damaged Roussian doesn't go anywhere I'm not looking to recover ships here. I'm looking to send a message." She watched as Exquisite Blood, Chill Grip, and Sharp Tail split off bearing down on the heavily damaged vessel continuing to punish it ripping it apart.

Task Force One continued to burn hard towards the planet and armor plates started to glow slightly as the ships scraped the upper layers of Roussa's stratosphere. As the began to devastate the surface of the planet not bothering to prioritize any specific targets but simply raining hell fire on every settlement that crossed into each guns zone of fire.

Sarah continued to watch the fleet command nets as well as her own battle net. "LT Mayhew, we need fighter coverage at our bellies." She called out, hearing his already done come in reply and then seeing a few flights split off to provide some extra coverage.

 Sam sent out the orders to send fighters to under the Burian fleet, and getting defenses ready. Sam monitored the fight, and tracked damage to all Burian vessels and tracked what the Roussian fleet was doing. If Sam gets any surrender lights she tells the entire Burian fleet they will not be taken, destroy all enemy vessels, they want to try and kill kids they will pay the price, Sam was pissed and she would do everything she could to hurt the Roussians as much as she could.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:17, Sun 03 Jan 2021.

  Shadow   ran away  from the two fighters that were trying to pepper him, they came  Close to  Hitting a  wing or two , But he managed  to   tweak or swerve, ,,,just,,,    Enough.

 Even  as   Flores  ripped the two seater  apart,  Shadow    Dove    done, rolled out of it  to    Come up  tearing    a Fighter to shreds...

 The other   one vanished in a Ball of flame,  as Brivet and Chatty Smith Zipped By...sorry for the cherry pick, LC..just on our  way  to those at 4:00 high..

 Shadow chuckled a Brivet   as  Flores  formed Up and then    Moved to the next enemy group.

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

   Lizzy and  Nikki approached    the nearest of the   3 aircraft formation..... far to the  starboard were Burian fighters  screaming down on the other  Three.. weapons  Blazing    as the two  seater Vanished    and the   escorts peeled off, followed  by  the  Burians..


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

 harry's   two seater ,, cracked  open with a flash,, it  was then , harry saw, the   Two seaters  had   two..bombs  of  rockets  in the belly..

 Kat   disposed  of    one of the escorts...   Harry  chewed  up the  second   as he   weaved  and Dove stright  down...

 ..........................

 Machins     damnced  with the  fighters... flaming One, they other turned to try and run away...

 Billie  torched the   2 seater,, its  Payload goign up like  fireworks...

 Machins  simply said.. leave the runner.. there is a mess inside the Ball, they could use a few  more Hermites there... .. he rolled out  and took a diving  slope  towards  the mass of  fighters   dancing, firing and dying...

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

 As  crippled ships  , and the Burian Cap ship  began to unload on  Roussa..Beth's  COMs  came through....

 All Cap Ships!... check you  Tact  screens... Red  dots  are major  cities.... ornage  dots  a military... Yellow   dots  are secondary.. enjoy!

Billie didn't have time to admire her handiwork, receiving her next set of instructions. "Let's go light it up." She said with a glint in her eyes as she moved into a standard combat spread, taking the lower position and allowing Machins that vantage point.

”Holy crap! LC they’re not heavy fighters, they’re bombers and they’re carrying a fucking payload!” Harry shouted as she watched her target split open like an egg to reveal what were either bombs or rockets before it exploded. With her cannon chewing up the light fighter she would follow it into it’s dive, aligning her crosshairs just ahead of it before squeezing the trigger in order to finish it off.

 Lizzy smiled and sent to Nikki," Ok lets both hit the two seater then each take an escort fighter lets come from their blind spot." Lizzy would fly with Nikki and when they both had a shot Lizzy opened up full guns on the 2 seater then then quickly went to the right escort and went to get a good shot on it hopefully as the two seater is destroyed by her and Nikki.

Nikki laughed a bit and went with Lizzy after putting a new song on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rinh0p_JcS8

"Nothing like having fighting music"

 Some of  The  roussian  two seaters  started to reach the  forwards ships of the Fleet.. doors  opened in their  bomb bays , the  two  bomb-things   drooped with  small thrusters     burning bright..

 Two   were Direct hit  on the  Athena's   port  side, near the  Hanger   Dec,, a few other  ships , that didn't have   Roussians  boarding them were starting to get Hit.

  Shadow  Got the word  and   Said into COMs  across the Fleet,Knockdown   the  2  seaters.. they have  some  kind of buzz bombs..

  Harry   finished off  the  damaged  fighter  , Kat  COMed,..do not  do that!... there are plenty to kill we can finish wounded one later.... come.. we   go  for the  2 seaters!

 Shadow  and Flores    started  to     turn on the    Fighters  nearest the  'tip of the spear..all  8 hsips.. 4  from delta 1  and  4  from delta 2 were  all smokign from hits  taken from the Roussian Cap ships  and   the  fighter-bombers.

 The downside  for the Roussians,,, the rest of Delta  1 and delta  two was pouring over    top of the      8  ships  that  Broke  the wall... and they weren't  stoppign until the reached the Planet.

 armed with  beth and  LillY's  target scans... the rain started to come for  Roussa

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

 in retrospect, attacking from  under the 2 seaters, was not only the standard, it was also  most effective to destroy the  aircraft, if they still had thier   ordinance.

  Shadow   came in Hard   at the Nose  of a tri-fighter formation  with  Flores    torching the  2  seater  as the reacted to  Shadow... Shadow's   Aircraft  had been hit many time , but thus  far, nothing Telling.


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

 Nikki and Lizzy   came  in   one  another  set of    tri-fighters ..  another  group  had  sent its  weapons  into the belly of  The Burian  Flagship

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

 Billie  and Machins   were above The hermes  Now  as the  fight began to sink further to the    battering Rams of the  assault... The roussians   were overwhelmed.. Delta Fleet ships, Burians. and Nivairan    streaming past the    8  that broke the Wall...like WW I  troopers   who dover on Barbed wired  so thier  mates   could step on them  and    charge the  enemy

 Alright Ensign?... look for the two seaters, Knock them down first

 Lizzy sees and hears everything going on and says, "Ignore the fighter escorts lets hit those fucking two seaters hard and fast Nikki. Fire and Fury !!!!!" Lizzy was flying her ass off, dodging fighters, and heading for the nearest two seater and she will come in from the bottom with Nikki at her side hopefully and shoot down as many as they can, covering each other as they go.

”I don’t like leaving loose ends, nor do I want anyone getting killed by a fighter I didn’t finish off” Harry responded as she moved back into formation with Kat and went in search of more of the two seater bombers that were moving to attack the cap ships at the fleets head.

"If the pissants pop up, take them out.  but I agree the 2 seaters first." as she fired into the one fighter in front of her.  she flew in tandem with Lizzy

   The Hermes  couldn't quite  cross the  T of the  Roussian who was unloading troops  as fast as thier  smaller  shuttles  could  end them.

   The Hermes starboard  Guns  fried, hitting   the  Roussian  Port  Stern,  Plates  flew  and Debris .

   The Roussian Cap ships  were in a very bad way now... over 80 ships  strong and set a  wall that would  scare normal folks... failed to  hinder the delta Fleet..  the  8 ships  that  hit the Wall first, where stopped  for now, as  well as a  few others  who had been hit   , but  now  the  Fleet   poured through the  Breech in the wall..  hammering  Roussians   as  the  pushed over the  8  that  punched the hole..

 The Roussian  Flanks  were get   pounded  as  delta  3 and Delta   4  , curled  around the ends..The defenders   were loosing ships.. some hit surrender lights  and   tried to   dive  out of the action, only to  be  chased  and Pounded to box  wood   by  Delta  vessels.

 The Burians reached  the planet and started to   shell, even as the   rest of the Fleet was   Catching Up, the Nivarians    were headed   downward, and  Hammer  the  southern Hemisphere.

  The Hyrians were coming with the  delta Fleet's  transportbases... the roussians were now  trapped   between the  fleet that was  starting to shell their   planet, and the Hungry Hyrians  who wanted to tear up the Roussians.

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

    coming  , en Masse were  4   two seaters  and   8  fighters...  the   two seated   configured in a  way for the rear guns  to   cover    themselves , except  for  where the fighters

 Hugo Kruass and  Steele  charged  down and took out  one fighters , but had to vver  off when  the rear  gunners stitched  up Higo..

 Steeler here... a formation of   Two seaters  and Fighters  bearing on on the   Hermes...6:00 high...

 Machins  said.....Hermes 6 , Ensign..lets go.....

Billie nodded. "I've got your back!" she responded as she followed Machins, making it a point to look around while also checking her screens for any enemies.

 Lizzy looks and sees them, she then says," Ok Fury lets go get these fucking bastards, concentrate on the two seaters from below get their payload." Lizzy would head for the group 6 o'clock high with Nikki and any other fighters coming to help defend the Hermes, where Izzy and Haley where and everyone else she cared about.

Spotting the large formation of bombers moving into position Harry would gracefully turn her fighter and begin her attack run, calling the sighting to Kat as she did so, with her aiming for the port most bombers fully intending to gut it with a burst of cannon fire before moving on to the next one in line.

   Machins  and  Billie  Dove into the fray... Machins  chewed up  a fighter, that lost a  wing  and    spun out  downward.. Machins   kept on course towards the  2 Seaters..

 Billie  had  an open shot  at the lead  twoseater  and  took out the   Canopy  and the Nose, removing the   aircraft from the board in a flash of fire.

....
 Lizzy and  Nikki came in from another side.   Lizzy   hit   a Fighter     , shattering it.. while Nikki  took out  another  2  seater,

....

 From  under the formation Kat says,I will take escort..you torch the egg carier..    the lower   escort  fighter   was  hit and  jerked upwards  before   fire  broke out in the cockpit, then blew up...

 Harry  fired  at the two seater . the last one of this   formation, it tried to send off its  payload, but  that only gave Harry a clear shot at the payload,  and the  aircraft  musroomed  into a Big ball of fire, and was gone.

...........

 Shadow  Called over ALL COMs...All Wing  Commanders.. Portect your  Vessel if you  are at the wall... if  your  Cap ship is   heading  to, or already  at the Planet, cover them  from any  two seater attacks.... Keep knocking them down!

   Two  , Two seaters without   escort headed  towards the Hera, who was    a few miles  behind  The hermes.. she looked in a Bad  way..., but Fired her Broad  sides  as she slowly spun around  like a malfunctioning  compass...

  Shadow didn't  even say a word to Flores, when he  broke to the right she Broke  to the Left ,,, firing on the   two seaters with  delfection shot  for the side..using the Pusle  weapons as tracers  before  Killing the Aircraft  with 37 MM fire.

 frans COMed in..we're goign to have aloty of beat up aircraft, and we didn't reach the damn planet yet!

Shadow frowned as he looked at the  Command Console, his  sadness at the lights that were blacked out... and the increasing  numbers  of yellow   and  red lights..

 When the dec is clear. we'll send back the worst  first...  anythign that can fly is  goign into atmo..i promise you that.

Pulling back hard on the controls, Harry would send her Mantis into a loop that would pull it and more importantly her away from the growing fireball that had appeared as a result of her hitting the ordinance lurking within the belly of the bomber above her. With the enemy now well and truly torn to shreds Harry would fall back into formation as Shadow spoke of sending home the wounded birds and that the rest of them would be entering atmo for the next stage of the campaign ”ok but until then let’s find some more Roussians to butcher” Harry said, already searching the Black and her scanners for more targets for her to hunt down and kill.

 Lizzy would look for her next target, as they went to take out the two seaters. Lizzy got a fighter and would look for any two seaters left if none near her, she would stay on Nikki's wing and go after fighters or any shuttles and smaller ships she sees close to her or threatening any nearby ships. " Nice shot Fury lets find more abd guys to kill, the child killers need to all die, the Empire needs to die."  Lizzy was flying her ass, still using the controlled rage and her powerful emotions, but still staying in control and killing as many bad guys her and Nikki could get.

Nikki replied "No one gets to hurt those kids anymore with out payback" She followed  "Let's let them know what we think of Empire scum

In reply to Billie Morrisson (msg # 35):

Sarah watched the board light up, "LT Robinson, transmit to all ships. Prioritize targets in order of Red, Orange, Yellow, if you don't have any in your sector hit anything that moves."

She says watching as hard ammo rounds the size of a small car rained down on the planet. If anything the Burian guns seemed to fire faster on the planets targets than they had against the Roussian naval vessels. The energy and hard ammo weapons reaching out like the fingers of the gods smiting their foes.

  The  fighters   were thinnignout, either gettign shot  down  or heading for the planet for the 'next meeting'

  the roussian    ships  at either end of the broken wall were trying to scatter,, but  two ships   would bracket them, regardless of surrender lights.

 hundreds of Enemy fighters were  streakign down through the Atmo as well as  shuttles , as Roussians  abandoned  ship...most  of the shuttles  were blow  up before they reached Atmo.

  5 Roussian cap ships   that sat with   flashing lights and  hardly any damage.. had some  ships of Delta 3  send  boarding  teams across and found only wounded  in dead /

   Admiral Hennings was informed and he told the ships  to  clean out any roussians. and those ships would be prize  vessels.

 meanwhile.. shells    rained  down on Roussa...

 .....................

  Shadow to Hermes... we  don't have much action right now..if we are goign into atmo, we need to  get our   belts  refreshed.. and patch up some of the fighters.

 Captain Morris  answered in his clipped British tone,..we have a bit of a mess about?.. should be a few minutes before  we invite  you in..stay sharp...

 Alright Boys and Girls?  you heard the Man... take  stock of your  damage and  what  ammo you'll use..   we'll be goign    into Atmo  next.... make sure  you see where  the beach ehad beacons   set up, incase you have to Pod Out...

"How are you holding up, Machins?" Billie asked as she checked her own status. She didn't think she took any damage nor were there any indicators on that spoke otherwise.

With her orders to protect the Hermes preventing her from pursuing any of the enemy aircraft that were currently fleeing to the planet’s surface, Harry would give a derisive snort over the comment about checking for the beachhead, knowing that the chances of survival behind enemy lines were extremely slim, and that was assuming she didn’t simply explode. She would however check the status of her fighter, noting that other than needing a fresh belt of 37mm ammunition that she was all set to go.

  Machins  chuckled,..good..better then i was last time out... You have to  worry, sometimes   about a wingman.. are they scared...are the headcases, will they listen, or will they leave to  hanging while they chase kills?...

 I bet 20% of the  Pilots in the ESN who die, are because thier  wingmen left  them to die

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

  Opening up a COM  as the   Hermes wing   began to circle the ship,..Shadow here... Captain Si?..  portside , just below the  Bridge, , plates  as missing, a bit of smoke drifting out?.. You  have folks on that?

  No, LC, thank you  I'll send word to damage Control...

 Any News on the Fleet. Captain?

 We did not lose  any ships, but  6  retired from the field... One had to blow its hanger dec. they are Limping back  to where the  Burians stopped the Roussian chase... Even battered, they can for a   decent defense together..

 what about the Eggplants?

 At last count?... we accounted for almost all.... 5 escaped towards  the  outter planets.... and we captured  at least six  now.. others are being  cleaned out by boarding parties..going to be alot of scrap to share with the allies after this.

Bura 2 was on a mission, hunting down Roussian ships. Captain JA-DE aboard the Retribution had them operating like a wolfpack cutting off the still fighting Roussian ships off then swarming them, or running down those attempting to escape and pounding them into scrap metal.

At the edge of Roussa's atmosphere the Bura 1 task group continued it's punishment of the planet. Gunners prioritizing the critical infrastructure when able, otherwise hitting anything that looked like a residence, village, town, farms. Anything that looked to be developed and not a naturally occurring feature, and even some of those were being targeted. Sarah had been right the Burian navy was clearly taking a scorched earth approach to this battle.

 Sam watched her screens as the battle unfolded, the Roussians where getting decimated. Sam kept Coms with Bura 2, sending retribution to those bastards. Sam just went to work, you fuck with our kids and you die.

 Sam sent primary big targets to the gunners, Sam would try and listen in on what the Roussians where doing to fight off the attack, and as always look for a way to hurt the Roussians.

 Sam was normally a sweet woman but she was out for vengeance.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:37, Tue 05 Jan 2021.

 Lizzy checked her fighter status and it was green across the board, half her hard ammo was gone but that was the only problem she had with her fighter.

 Her and Nikki took positions protecting the Hermes as she wondered how Izzy and everyone was doing on the hanger deck. She also would inspect the Hermes and looked at the space junk.

 Lizzy would also watch the explosions on the surface saying die you child killers.

  Captain  O'Reilly 'ere... LC.. yer  ta bring the    fighters back.. lead load, we'll patch up what we  can.. Admiral say's  you'll be leavin' again in about   2 hours....

 ..Already Done, Captain... alright... head to  #2  and  #3 bays... i want your best fersh and  new  Powercells...we've only been out about an Hour, but  we may as well top off  so the  crews  can recharge the ones we have  in now....get somehting to eat and drink..the next food you'll have will be Beach head  QM  food..or  eating Roussian goodies    when we pick through the ruins..

>>>>>> fighters to hanger  dec...

Nikki checked her craft "I'm good, had exhaust flume earlier.  Nothing left but the nick he gave me.  to bad he can't gloat about that...since he's floating about the bits of his craft now"
She lined up with Lizzy close enough to give a thumbs up.

With Shadow recalling them all in order to rearm and repair, Harry would patiently maintain her place in the formation until it was her turn to come in to land. At which point she would bring her fighter in to land within its berth and then power down so she could get ready for her next combat mission.

——>Hangar Dec

 Lizzy gave Nikki a thumbs up back and then heard the LC and said to Nikki," Ok lets head back get your bird fixed and both of us topped off." Lizzy would take formation and Let Nikki go first she was damaged Lizzy didnt think she had any damage but she would look after she landed. Once it was her turn she would her for the hanger deck to land.

--->>>> To Hanger Dec

Nikki followed in.  she swtched off the music for now.  "I hope they got ham and cheese"

===> to hangar

  The ships were  pounding the planet More target lights  lit up with  orders to hit them first, than fire as they will .

   A  Missionary Vessel  was approaching.. It was painted  white  with symbols   for  many Earth Gods, and Gods of the APF and Empire.

  on one side was a SSN   destroyer, also painted white, and a demonic  Cruiser painted white... They flashed    white lights   for parley.

    The   Ships  who broke the wall were  just now catching  up  the  other ship, so they  could get in line for their own  shelling. other ships  were  fanning out and holding station.. they  would not...it seems..orbit.. they would   hammer the area   with in thier firing zone..which...covered alot of over lapping areas!

 Sam saw the vessels on her screens and sent word to Sarah, " Commodore we have three vessels approaching the Fleet, a Missionary Vessel, a SSN Destroyer and a Demonic Cruiser all painted white and all are flashing white lights for parley Ma'am" Sam made sure the Burian fleet knew of the vessels and she sent word to Beth and the Board about the three vessels as well.

"Send a message to them, let them know they've entered an active combat zone, and either they state their intentions or be labeled as hostile. Let the rest of the fleet know to prepare to engage at my order." She said watching her screen sending tactical orders to maneuver the Burian ships into position that would allow them to effectively fight.

Then Admiral Hack contacted the Holy Joes. She watched, as the Burian fleet shifted into an intercept course. "Belay that Sam, open a channel." She says,

"Holy Joes this is Commodore McKeon, commander of the Burian Navy, we fail to recognize your authority. Your vessels are interfering with Burian Naval activity, you will deviate from your current course and move to depart the system immediately. Any other actions will be treated as hostile, and should you fail to move and continue to attempt to block us we'll simply remove the blockage."

She watches her screens as a number of gun emplacements shift targeting from the planet towards the interlopers. Targeting gun emplacements on the Holy Joe vessels as well as their engines.

 Sam was so good she had almost sent the message when Sarah told her to hold those orders and Sam opened a Comm channel to the three white ships.

 Sam sent all the messages, and scanned the vessels just to make sure not another Empire trick. She watched the ships carefully and waited for her scans to come back.

  The Demon'holy joe',  answered   The ALL COMs,..if you kill us!..you will not be any differant than my people!

 ..and, knowing   what i told you...if you continue on?  You will cause us to act, as if you are like your people...Nothing is to be gained by you gettign in the way....when this war is over,  this incident will be a tiny part of the  narritive, and only your intelligence will be taken into account...don't bother me again..My people ahev thier orders... Wait  until you get permission.... turn around and go home..or continue and Die.. its  all the same to me...

 The Last Fleet order is.....no ships come into the area that is not  ESN or APF... any that do    get one warning, then die  if they do not  heave to, or  trun about..

Sarah triggered the still hot com connection. "I'll make this abundantly clear. You have exactly 30 seconds to divert towards the edge of the system should you choose not to divert or to stand and fight you and your followers will earn a one way express ticket to meet whatever gods you believe in.... 27. 26. 25" She left the mic on. "Tactical you may engage on my mark..."

Any gunners or tactical techs would note the Burian's guns had stopped firing on the planet... We'll the ones that could target the Holy Joes had, emplacements had turned and locked into position. If they wanted to play chicken Sarah had no problem obliging them.

 The  White ships   continued on... certain that  thier  gods  would  protect them, in the mission of mercy.

Tact said...they aren't even pretending to stop...

She watched the timer, she wasn't one to break her word. The bridge seemed tense as the timer counted down 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. "So be it, Fire at will." She said coldly over the open comm. The order sent, across the Burian 1 Fleet once temporarily quiet guns re-engaged firing rapidly and at point blank range, a destructive storm of kinetic energy as pulse and hard ammo cannons lashed out. Ripping into the Holy Joes. She was a great many things, but a liar was not one of them.

  The White  ships   at  first took the  rounds  reasonably well,  but then  tried  to   trun away from the   weapons. The Ships  were Blown apart,, No pods ..  Nothing   but  debris and  bodies, and parts of Bodies..

  before  any of the  rest of The World Could react, Hack  Had  beth  Flood the  waves  with His All COM...

 ..we have  just had a lesson in violating  a combat zone, and   failure to heed  warnings...

 He  looked  sternly at the  Vid Screen.....perhaps  the 'Holy Joes' were  for real, and wanted  to help...or? perhaps they were comign in to try and  rescue   Empire folks trapped  on  Roussa.. we will never know, because they failed to follow  orders...

 Through the years, I have seen helpless transports, people, children.. and a  a pair of Med Tech ships destroyed. No one complained  , by the ESN and APF... there damn well better   not be  complaints about this!... We ehard once... voices calling out    to  whomever their gods were, right before  Demons  blew a ship to bits.....I learned at that moment... what you have  all learned now... no matter  which god, or gods you follow? None of them are  able  to save you from Pulse cannons  or a Hard ammo round from a Cap ship... anyone seeking to help the Roussa, may do so when we are done, and  there is a colonial government set up...keep what has happened, in mind, shoudl you think to interfere  with this punishment we are  enacting..

 nodding to beth  to give him a Line  to Sarah,..Sorry  Commodore , But  i felt it  better to have  any  anger  directed   at me , rather then the   fledging  Burian Navy....  we'll never know   what was on that ship, but  it didn't seem right.. Carry on...

(( after  2nd jump off started))

  Shadow    waited  as the    fighters  and   Shuttle s formed up.. the   Cap ships  still pounded the surface...

  All WCs.. this is if  folks.. portect your shuttles.. knock  down   figthers.. if you see two seters,  don't  let the climb out of Atmo.....no surrender   lights are to be acknowldged .. this is.. as a  old friend used to say..'to the bone'

   Shadow watched the Clock on his   console ... waiting for the last  rounds  to be fired...

 The   the word  was Given..... Shuttles and Fighters.. GO!

 hearing the Admiral, The Hermes   aircraft Dove  down.. observant pilots    could see the  white  hot Pulse Rounds, and the  noses  of   hard ammo glowing  read  as they flew past on the last  salvos...

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

 In the shuttles, once  more the   bumps and  shutters  of the Atmo pounding the  craft.. most folks looked    easy, checking weapons, adjusted  Helmets  and  grabbing  a pair of grenades from the  crates...the  whirl and clank of  the   Bubbles  guns   could be heard as they seared  for enemies

 Shade sat with   dark red eyes  and   he  held his   SMG   and started  at the Dec.

In reply to poof (msg # 72):

"We appreciate it Admiral, however we would prefer to stand with the Delta fleet as co-equals. We all understand the consequences of our actions, and the Burian people who've accepted me an outsider as their fleet commander openly understand the blood price that may be asked of us for standing in defiance and in our defense of our people against interlopers. We may be small but we are strong and we are growing stronger every day. We say let them come we're ready for them." She replied, it wasn't a rebuke perhaps a strongly worded and passionate response from an ally that saw itself as more than a support element, one that wanted the Black and all comers to view it as formidable on it's own, and perhaps unstoppable with with allies.

--- Second Jump Off----

While the pilots took their break the Burian Navy did it's work returning to the atmosphere and doing it's level best to reduce every building on the surface to rubble. Then it was time to jump off, Burian troopers aboard their own shuttles and fighters took to the skies ready to fight agian.

  COMs  come through,..LT Morrow here to all attacking vessels...beware of all the shuttles .. our pilots  report them  exploding more  massive then they should... me advised. knock down shuttles  first..

 Sam coordinates the second attack, sending their assault shuttles and fighters out to take Roussa and make them pay for attacking their children. Sam sends out to the Burian Fleet shoot down the shuttles first they seem to be bombs. Sam will look for any way to hurt the Roussians and end this battle quickly.

  the    fighters  and  shuttles  broke free of the  top cover,  , as they had to break  and  stop  the new  waves  coming for the troops.

  On the Hermes, in the tight  quarters of the   Gun gun, The Gun captains  sweated along  with the crew.. the Auto AAs  as  well as those   manned  by people were starting  to  send    rounds  down  range.. the  Senior Gun Captain  said..Set pulse   round  to disperse at   5 miles... we'll knock some   down, maybe nick some up..but  we  can't  fire  any normal rounds   , incase we miss  and they hit planet side..... there were already some flashes, big and small from the   AA guns  firing   at thier max  range....


  the  two  Pool pilots    wheeled   about    to  hunt  down shuttles    and see if they could stop a few.

 across the   fleet,  some   fighter wings had  been kept   for   defesne.. others, like the Hermes , only had pool  pilots.

Sarah listened into the comm traffick, Sam make sure our defensive screen is giving those shuttles and any two seaters absolute top priority at this time. If we can spare a flight send it over towards the delta fleet to assist them. " For the most part the Capital Ships were done with their part minus controlling space and preventing the demons or their allies from attacking while the troopers were on planet. In some places damaged sections were undergoing rapid repairs hoping to bring them back up to operations at least marginally if not better. Still the ship was on lock down and alert. A kamikaze enemy fighter could do a lot of damage as could a suicide shuttle if it came down to it.

    Fighters and   shuttles  were    vanishing in  fire balls.. The Two Pool pilots   were flying together, a bit  shaky for sure..but they  knew that they  Hand to   Knock down  the shuttles..., Both aircraft   had  taken Damaged, but hey?.. they  can't crash land?...

     a flight  of Burians  were on thier  way, but  intercepted  a formation of  fighters that had  two   two seaters...

 Roles  watched  the      aircraft gettign closer.....This   what it was like  before the harvested    intervened?

   Hack nodded   his eyes  darting  back  and forth.. only  the  human Manned AA guts  were firing now.. the  auto guns knew better..Aye... Not  as many.. but  those   shuttles  are loaded...

 Roles shakes his head,I would really , rather not  get blown up again.

 I could get to my Hammer IV in the Balck hanger, but it will be all over  before  i even launched...

 he   Hit His COMs, Every One Prepare  for...

  Bale  Yelled,what the  9 hells  is  going on!

    a wave of Balck fighters,  came  over the Hermes  and Hera.. Hidden  by the massive side of the  ships..  heavy Pulse  and thier  newly acquired  hard  Ammo   that  Admiral Hack insisted  on the  Hyrians  add to thier  newest aircraft..

  Admiral hack... Admiral  Hirg says.. ' to the 9 hells  with waiting  for fun'  the  Hyrians  tore into the  Roussians  who  had  no idea  there could be so many  fighters  still in the Black!

 Flashes of yellow and red  as   attackers   died, barely 900 yards  from the  Hermes  and Hera....

  Morris  watched    from where he  stood near the Middle heavy Pulse gun..well.... I guess we do not have a rear guard  any longer!


 The Hyrians transport bases   were passing  over the  ESN areas  and Joining the  Undenese on the other side of the  planet.

 Hennings  Jogged    over to Roles and hack , he was laughing,..so?...there's no damn way we're  reigning in the Hyrians when  they hit the dirt...

 Nivarians in the  couth?.. Bruians   in between  us and them  on one side... Roussa  is goign to have a very bad  day.

 Admiral  Hirg?  Thank you.... but who's watching our  backs?

 ..Your are welcome my friend.... and we have  4  ESN Cap ships from  Everest behind us... general  Stone  wanted to help.... so..we made him  watch the  back dor..while my people get to play..

  Hennings   looked at Role s and   Hack, giving them a   surprised face...

 Tell your people to have  fun... look for   doors  with ESN colors on..should have kids  and  civies.. we'll get them  together  after the    fight, and decide  whether they stay, or  get shipped out to colonies.

 ..you are to nice. But  we will try and honor this... See you on planet at beach head place..

In reply to Sarah McKeon (msg # 78):

 Sam nodded to Sarah, " Already done Ma'am." Sam sent all available fighters for Fleet defense and take down the shuttles and fighters. Sam sent a flight of fighters towards the Hermes but they hit a group of two seaters.

 Sam watched then screen as it looked bad for the Hermes again, then Sam was them seconds before they started shooting, the Hyrians showed up. Their black fighters tearing threw the Roussians with their new hard ammo guns. Sam sent all info to Sarah on her console.

  All COMs.. This  is LT Morrow of the  ESN 351  Hermes.. The Admiral is  goign down to the  surface.... Admiral Hennings  will have operational control up here, Captain Si  Fleet  Control.... There has been an elevator shaft  found.. we think it may lead to the Bunker of   the leadership... all other  troopers  are advised to search for  more  such  elevators,  The one found  was in the center of  , what looked to be , an office building.. ground operations   are stopped at the moment  with  Drop ship  troopers setting up perimeters , to corral  the enemy... we have collection points  of   Civies   set up  behind the  QM  areas... they will remain there, until after the  invasion... any further  questions, direct to   us  for Admiral Hennings  who will either answer , or have   Admiral Hack's response... Morrow , out...

Sarah received the message.

"LT Robinson please see that our troopers are aware of LT Morrow's message. Also I intend to go down to the surface to move with our troops. This invasion is personal. Let Mac know I'll be down presently and be joining his forward element. You are free to join as well, Sam.

Mr Feeken, you've got the fleet. Keep me in the loop."

LC Feeken over at tactical called out "Already done," and rose allowing one of his people to take his station as he prepared to take over the command chair.

 Sam sent Beth's message again to all Burian fleet members, and Burian Troopers, she made sure everyone had it. " Already done Ma'am." She said as she did it. Then Sam replied, " Yes Ma'am I would love to kill some of those bastards, why the children, they put them in harms way and we lost good people and ships, they need to pay, plus i might be able to pick up something on the ground. Ma'am I am not much on combat, but i will do my best for the Children."

 Sam got up and followed Sarah off of the bridge.

 As Sarah and Sam headed for the shuttle that would take them down to the surface and the Admiral. Sam decided to send the Hermes, Beth,  Admiral Hack and the Board a super secure message," This is Lt. Robertson of the Burian Fleet, Commodore McKeon is heading to the surface to join the Burian forces, I will be on planet as well. If I can help in any way on the planet please let me know, Burian Fleet out."

 Sam got everything she needed to do what she needed to do on the surface and still keep tabs on the fleet and the battles.