Sallin smiles as you assemble.  "Between the loading, the jump to hyperspace, the Captain's speech, and now...wow, what a day, eh?"

"Come back here" He motions toward the forward corners of the hangar, "I was able to get an old simulator.  It's not a flight-school full-level system, but I think it'll do the job.  I've queued up a few missions that I want everyone to run through.  That'll determine the inital roles - who's flight leader, who's wingman.  Who's running with the bombers or shuttle, and most important, who's my wingman."

He leans against the bulkhead, loose and relaxed in his pilot coveralls, and smiles rakishly.  "Who's first?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:19, Sat 04 Feb 2023.

"Ok den.  I'll shew yous what we're doing here out in the dark, on the edge of the Empire."  He chuckles, straps on the helmet, and slides into the simulator.  He fires it up with few switches.

You can see on the screens on the outside what the simpilot sees:

(So this also posted with more detail in the Space Combat thread.  Read this first, if you can)

Cocky, confident, a leader - that's what he tells himself.  He designed some of these missions himself, and the rest he's great at, so it should smooth like synthasilk...

The sim helmet whirrs to life; the cool black of space opens up, and the mission loadout apears:

Flight: Solo
Mission 131 Profile: Barge + 2 Escorts

He crushed the thrusters to Flank Speed and fired the sensors; "Two by Z-95 Headhunters and  a Brick.  Intercept and Disable.  Beef Out." he found himself saying outloud.  The Z's moved to intercept too, but somehow, they were on a better angle?  He's run a simple split pattern in his head, but they'd crossover spun; and now he was facing a concerted 2:1!  He juked and ramped-over; his shots were wild!  WTH was happening?  They were bouncing his speed; skittering between his 5 and 8; the scarred one wouldn't get off his six; he tried a freestyle reverse, and it worse than failed, it put him square to the triple blasters of the one with the blue tail!  Out of the frying pan, into the fire, as his front viewport cracked and melted!  Only a swift jam on the eject saved him...

He took off the helmet and looked stunned. "Figures that the worst sim I've ever run, I would run in front of my first team, first day.  But take from this that not every mission in there is a cakewalk, because not every mission Out There will be one either.  As of right now, I'd rather have a live pilot and no TIE, than a dead pilot and a dead machine too.  Don't make me change my mind."

He sets the sim helmet back, muttering in his peculiar accent "Sheesh.  Unbeliefable.  Torn ahpawat.  Foist sim.  Foist day."

"So who's next?"

Zam stepped forward¹. "Sir," he said softly, adding a salute - clearly something important to the officer, judging by his reaction in the scif².

He didn't know whether he'd be better or worse than the human, but he felt confident that he could take defeat better. Humans, he had discovered, were largely irrational animals that allowed their emotions to be read more easily than he could read a billboard advertising Corellian squinpop - at night. On Umbara. Without any other lights - or the native bioluminescent species - on the planet.

For his part, Zam kept his features blank as he stepped into the simulator. Darkness swallowed him, the kind of comforting darkness he'd been born into. Humans were not prepared for darkness, either. They were afraid of it. But Zam found it comforting. Much more comforting than the appearance of the cockpit that quickly replaced it. Not that he was bothered by the mock-up of the cockpit, of course - it, too, felt like home in a way. But it wasn't the same. It wasn't the calming home of his youth, but the comfort of a place he'd been forced to endure under the brutal tutelage of academy commanders.

Space appeared on the screen before and around him, and he felt himself swooping low over an asteroid. On the screen before him, the mission loadout appeared.

Flight: Solo
Mission 189 Profile: Pirate Interceptor

He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He wasn't even sure what it meant.

Turning his head, he saw no sign of-

A starburst of flashing light alerted him to a vessel sneaking up on his rear, as if the stars themselves were in support of his role as guardian of the Empire, and he jerked the controls to starboard as a spray of red plasma raced toward the spot he'd just vacated. Cursing, he flipped the tongue mic on his headset. "Elone to command, I have made contact with pirate interceptor."

It might have been an easy mission, or not, but he was definitely in the hot seat. A quick calculation, and he felt fairly confident he could turn the battle in his face - assuming his piloting skills were up to his tactical understanding. To say nothing of his reactions. All the speed in the galaxy was useless if he wasn't fast enough to make use of it.

Rather than trying - and probably failing - to lead the pirate on a merry chase, the TIE pilot instead cut the engines nearly to zero. It was a calculated risk. If the opposing pilot was paying enough attention, he would end up a smoking ruin. But if, as he hoped, the maneuver surprised the pirate, it wouldn't have time to react.³

The Umbaran, by contrast, was not surprised: it was his maneuver. He was ready. Even as he hit the proverbial brakes the pilot fired a stream of lethal green energy at where he expected the pirate to pass him.

The green bolts lept from his tie, and though the move nearly didn't work, the bolts connected, chewed through the shields of the pirate, and smoked him.



OOC: Rolls follow. I apologize for any and all that I got wrong - I am unfamiliar with the mechanics of the game, so I'm going by guess and by god. As I am leaving town in a few hours, if there is anything else to roll and write, please feel free to NPC Zam on my behalf.  Please note that Zam will not be first. Nor will he be last (although that is much more acceptable than first). I'm posting because I will be out of town this week, not because Zam wants to go first!

09:49, Today: Secret Roll: Zam Elone rolled 13 using 1d20+4.  Initiative.

09:52, Today: Secret Roll: Zam Elone rolled 25 using 1d20+9.  Tactics. (I assume I did this one right. I'm not a D&D player, so I'm unfamiliar with how things are rolled. I rolled 1d20, and added Int as well as the various skill modifiers.) Regardless, assuming I did things correctly, I add +3 to "a roll" (which, tbh, I'm not sure which rolls you're referring to here).

09:56, Today: Secret Roll: Zam Elone rolled 12 using 1d20+9.  Pilot (Maneuver for Advantage). Total for this roll, with the Tactics roll, is 15.

10:05, Today: Secret Roll: Zam Elone rolled 15 using 1d20+9.  Attack - not sure what to add. None of the stats seem fitting for an attack roll from a cockpit. Additionally, I have no idea what to roll for damage.

1. Regardless of where this post happens to come, he will not be first. Nor will he be last (although that is much more acceptable than first). I'm posting because I will be out of town this week, not because Zam wants to go first.

2. Me making a bit of an assumption that the earlier facilities was, indeed, a sensitive-compartment information facility. If not, replace this with whatever the appropriate designator would be.

3. I'm making the assumption, here, that I should continue on. However, in real play, how do you prefer to handle being caught from behind?
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:16, Sun 05 Feb 2023.

Zinda was genuinely shocked when Sallin flew the scenario badly. He was far more experienced than her, and therefore unbeatable, at least to the naive Zinda. Then she got it; he must have messed up on purpose, to put them at ease. She smiled, encouraged. "I'll try, sir" she said brightly, the first to volunteer. She loved flying the TIEs and was eager to get started. She got a little less confident after putting on her helmet though; she felt silly wearing her life-support helmet in the ship where she knew perfectly well there was life support, and as she climbed into the simulator she started to think that if she messed up all her new friends would be right here watching her. She bit her lip nervously, now grateful that her helmet kept the others from reading the emotion on her face and activated the sim.
The situation resolved itself into two TIEs escorting a pair of freighters. Checking sensors, she saw four fighters approaching from behind: 'uglies', improvised fighters assembled from the bits and pieces of destroyed fighters. They rarely made a very good fighter, but anyone crazy enough to fly one was no one to be messed with.
Her pulse started racing, and Zinda tried to calm herself. It was four against two, but it was an escort scenario. She only had to distract the enemy; she could 'die' and still win. A study of her sensors revealed two of the uglies were older and less impressive. "Seshani here. I'll go aggressively after the first pair, shoot them down if I can and draw them away if I can't. You run interference with the second pair, but don't get too aggressive. I want them to follow me” she spoke into her comlink to the other TIE, adding “Best of luck.” Of course, she knew the other TIE was only a computer program, but that was no reason to be rude. She worked the controls gently, aiming her TIE towards the uglies, attacking from what she concieved of as 'above' even though direction was meaningless in space.
Her plan was pretty simple. She would make a fast attack on the first pair of uglies, hopefully shooting it down, and draw the group’s attention. TIEs were one of the fastest things in space, so if she could draw their attention it should be easy to stay ahead of them as she drew them away from the freighters.
That was the theory, anyways. In practice, her quick, slashing attack swept over the two uglies without doing any real damage, and as she peeled away it left only the hope that she’d be able to get away safely and get them to chase her instead of the freighters.


19:53, Today: Zinda Seshani rolled 13 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 5.  All-out Attack.
19:30, Today: Zinda Seshani rolled 11 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 4.  Skill: Tactics.
19:29, Today: Zinda Seshani rolled 9 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.

GM OCC:  Some adjustments - Pilot Skill for this one.

So: Attack Roll is 5, +11 (Pilot skill) +4 for All-Out Attack = 20.  DC was 17 here, so that should have been a success, though not by a lot, so reasonable to say that Zinda did some damage, and avoided them doing damage to her.  Response below!
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:17, Fri 10 Feb 2023.

As Kenth's turn came up for the simulator he was, for some reason, very nervous. Not like he hadn't been through this before. But this was the first time as an actual pilot in a field unit. Taking a deep breath he climb into the simulator and settled in. As it closed and everything came to life he managed to calm somewhat.

Flight: Fighter & Wing-man (Delta 1 -Delta 2)
Mission 183 Profile: Freighter + 2 Escorts

As mission parameter flashed across the screen Kenth looked out briefly at the fake stars but quickly set his mind to the task. Readouts showed his wing-man Delta 2 in formation with him. Toggling his sensors to full gain he quickly spots their target an old Action VI transport and two A-Wings.

The sim was alot like the Commanders except for the A-wings. If he remembered right the A-wing was light on armor but was as fast or faster than the Tie. -Heads up Delta 2, targets ahead. Concentrate fire on the freighter then avoid the fighters till we get a shot.-

Apparently the enemy fighter or the freighter had spotted them also as the A-wings broke away, banking and approaching on an intercept course. Increasing speed he swung the fighter over and made the run at the freighter. Laser fire lanced out from the two A-wings, most shots going wide though he and Delt 2 both took a couple of insignificant hits.

Closing on the freighter they both opened fire. The Action VI was an easy target an had minimal shielding. There was multiple hits followed by a brief and strangely satisfying explosion. with luck it was enough to at least delay the freighter from going to hyperspace. There was no time to think about it though as he rolled the Tie and changed heading, darting underneath the freighter as he tried to use it a cover from the A-wings that were now chasing them.

OOC:
08:20, Today: Kenth Felaeon rolled 13 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.
08:21, Today: Kenth Felaeon rolled 25 using 1d20+8.  Comp Use Sensors. (+2)
08:26, Today: Kenth Felaeon rolled 22 using 1d20+10.  Strafe the Barge.
08:27, Today: Kenth Felaeon rolled 22 using 1d20+10.  Defensive Flying. (Use +2 so 24)

Osk wasn't too concerned about the failure of their leader at the sim, one couldn't win them all, and that's what simulation was for. She was sure that Beef was an excellent pilot and, even his little failure, was something that newbies like her could learn from. Others seemed to fare better, in their own simulations, which was reassuring on itself. When the time finally came for her to give it a go, Shadea stepped in and got the helmet on without much thought. Simulation or not, a cockpit was a cockpit and that helmet was something she was familiar with as well. This was her home in the void, precisely what she had chased after all this time, and she was just a step away from realizing the transition into the real thing. Time to put everything she had learned back at the academy to one final trial test...

Flight: Four Tie Fighter flight
Mission 204 Profile: Fighter Screen

The simulation fired up. Osk and the rest of the flight she was part of were in turn part of a larger engagement. However, they were not directly involved in the fighting further away but instead tasked to be the defensive screen for their ship, in anticipation of bombers and other troublemakers that would try to threaten it. The way Osk figured it, the difficult part was to spot them in time to rain on their parade and prevent or at least disrupt their runs. Not one to trust sensors over her own senses for something the latter could do, Shadea kept her eyes peeled for any grouping that may detach itself from the fighting ahead. With all the action taking place, she didn't think the machine would pick them up in their intention with enough time to react.

After a short while of flying about the destroyer at cruising speed, Shadea thought she had spotted the unmistakable 'Y' shape of the aptly named bombers rapidly approaching their charge. Kicking the pedals and getting her fighter into full gear, Osk flagged tehm to the rest of the flight as she went into a mad dash in an interception course. "Bombers coming from below." As the distance closed, she saw their silhouettes more clearly now, 3 in total. Cursed things were already too close for comfort to their target, so there was hardly a moment to waste to make sure they were on their own. At least the angle of attack wouldn't put her on a head on encounter.

Caring not if some unseen fighter escort blew her into cosmic dust after her pass, Osk made a mad attack run on the lead bomber, which with some luck and combined with the others, would eliminate the threat directly or disrupt them enough to make them break their formation and attack. Then again, it wasn't as if she was planning that much ahead or taking such things into consideration. A fighter pilot must be aggressive and tenacious. Always. That was the first lesson that had been seared into her mind as she arrived to the academy, and Shadea had made of it her default stance and approach whenever at the controls. A reckless and aggressive attack maneuver was her bread and butter, specially at a time like this, with bombers almost getting the jump on them and rapidly closing the gap to their objectives. Once in range and caring little for the return of their gunners, Osk quickly got her target on her sights and opened fire with as high a cadence as the guns would give her.

---

12:21, Today: Shadea Osk rolled 6 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.
12:22, Today: Shadea Osk rolled 22 using 1d20+4.  Spot.
12:31, Today: Shadea Osk rolled 22 using 1d20+8.  All Out Attack 2.0.
+1 from spot to all out attack.

GM OCC: Spot used well, determined that there's no fighter escort. I definately wasn't clear before that a 22 would be a +2, but that's fine.  All Out Attack +4 so, 14 roll, +8  pilot, +2 from Spot +4 from all out attack, 28 Result; pretty sharp.  Response to follow.  I'd like you to roll up a new attack; keep in mind you move *after* the Y's, with an Init like that.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Fri 10 Feb 2023.

In reply to Zinda Seshani (msg # 4):

While Zinda's quick, slashing attack swept over the two uglies without doing any real damage, she peeled away, and was correct that they are chasing her instead of the freighters...

But the freighters now only had one TIE defending them against two attackers, and Zinda getting further away with each second...

[As is common with the sims, the Communications light is either Green (your AI allies are well) Amber (AI allies mixed) or Red (AI allies not good).  Red light flashing indicates losses]

And sure enough, the Comms light that was green, was only on Amber for a moment before shifting to red.  Those uglies probably got the jump on your wingleader, and the freighters, too!

>>New phase.  Zinda, you may roll again for tactics, but only if you're changing your strategy.  Result below 17 will count against you.

For attacks, new DC is 18 for your pair of uglies.