RP: 21st Fighter Sq [Mission 9.0] Flight into Darkness

Launch Bay

Marco had found himself passing time, as he often did when he had the excuse, around his plane. In fact the ground crew had already half-heartedly sent an informal complaint to his CO that it was kind of pointless to have both a ground crew separate from the pilot if he was going to be spending all his free time with them elbows-deep in - whatever needed working on for his bird.

Of course he liked to think that the occasional smile and the one time he was actually invited to get a drink (though a flight to get stick time meant he couldn't) were signs that he was earning the respect of the men and women who were going to keep his fighter ready to run when he brought it back. After all, the FNG had to make sure his ground crew respected him, or otherwise neither group would be very effective at the job.

So during the briefing? He was, unsurprisingly, crouched over an open panel helping a member of the ground crew pull a safety-check on the IFF beacon and sensor package. His EWO, Santo Hei Kiyofomi Kudou, had been closer physically to the actual briefing, and while Marco split his attention between the job he was performing and the briefing he knew that his EWO was taking in every little thing about the briefing like a sponge.

When the time came and Marco was throwing on his helmet all he needed to do was do a quick verbal run-through with his more bookish partner to make sure they both understood the situation before starting a pre-flight check.

A short taxi to the staging area with a neko on the ground giving signals to taxi them in.

Marco gave and received a thumbs up. All was good to go. And in that next moment of stomach-churning euphoria?

Launch.

Space

"This is Wing-93." Kudou announced over the unit comm-channel, "We're off-deck and moving to a holding pattern. We'll move in on the tail of the formation once everybody else is up."

Marco's eyes settled on the other launching members of the 21st, and then on his sensors that showed him both they, and the few others that had been before him in the launching order.

Unaware that his mike was keyed as he brought his craft closer to the now moving formation, Marco spoke out on the unit-wide comm-channel, "If there's a higher power, let me fear no evil. Keep my eyes sharp and my mind fast. Let me be tested in the forge of what's to come and found not lacking." He breathed a deep sigh - and he blinked as he heard Kudou.

"What was that, Marco?" The EWO peaked around the headrest in front of him.

Marco shook his head, "Just - nothing, Kudou. Don't worry about it." And then he noticed the fighter under the callsign 'Hellcat' pulling ahead, on its own, "Lets just focus on the job. Looks like we're pulling wingman duty for this run." Marco eased forward on the throttle, not catching up instantly, but still pulling ahead of the rest of the formation easily enough. It was never good to leave a fellow pilot out in the open like that - though it wasn't exactly good for a fellow pilot to go breaking away from formation like his new-found wingwoman was doing.

"Hellcat, this is Wing-93, we're taking spot on your starboard side." Kudou paused and both Marco and his EWO waited for a confirmation before the Yamataian spoke again, "Hellcat, Wing-93. We're taking spot on your starboard side." Another moment of silence before Kudou declared, "Nothing."

Marco keyed his own radio, "Solitaire, Blade. This is Weismuller. Hellcat pulled ahead of the formation and isn't responding to comms. We're on her starboard running as wingman. Please advise, over."

Enroute to Rendezvious

Errowyn collected herself mentally as turned on her Kawarime's transciever, and other communicational devices as she approached the site where they was suppose to meet up with the shuttle from the Heiten. She did a lazy loop and taking notice one of the squadron had stayed with her. She brought up the tactical read on it. And did a scan on Marco's Kawarime.

She relaxed as the readings came back true. A friendly. But who was flying it? Was the question. Should she inquire as she neared the rendezvious spot. But this close to a wormhole that led to an enemy stronghold. Prudance and tactical wise, she kept radio silence. She powered down her speed and approached cautioniously the rendezvious location scanning the area for enemy targets.

In one of her many turns and maneuvers, she caught the site of the Kawarime that was matching her maneuver for maneuver. ~~9?~~ She thought to herself. What was that pilot doing out here?

When Blade launched from the Heitan she certainly did not expect to see Hellcat screaming away ahead of the group. She accessed the Kawarime's controls via the IFF channel using her command access. There was no indication of a system malfunction so it was obviously pilot error. She was about to bring Hellcat's fighter to a halt when the pilot suddenly changed her course.

"Blade to Hellcat, explain what the hell you were doing? Are you okay to proceed with the mission or do you need to return to the Heitan?" Akemi sent across the comms.

Kawarime 5 / Rendezvious Point

"Hellcat to Blade, Just pre-mission jitters and a new Kawarime coming to my terms is all." Errowyn replied, using the barest transmitting power and the weakest frequency to reach Blade's location, bouncing the signal and using Kawarime 9 to relay her signal. "Gotta show these machines whose boss is all. I'm fine and fit." she spoke in quiet confidence with a touch of aggressiveness in her tone.

She flew in a circle around the rendezvious point as she waited for the rest of the squadron to catch up and the shuttle. Wondering who was stupid enough to tag along with her as she tried to see into Kawarime - 9.

Kawarime 1

Akemi started the navigational calculations for their approach to the tunnel. "You better be, you pull a stunt like that when we enter the tube, and you'll just be a debris cloud coming out the other end."

Kawarime 4

Kayo moved into position just aft and to the left of Akemi. She had noticed Hellcat's erratic flight, and made a mental note to do a review of Hellcat's service jacket. If there was an issue listed in it, she would make sure it got to Akemi. "Kawarime 4 in position, ready to follow you into the gravity tube Blade."

"Do me a favor and don't do that, yeah, Hellcat?" Marco's laugh was just barely caught as he ended the transmission.

"Yes, ma'am. With all due respect, I'm fond of not being spread across space when my pilot zigs where he should have zagged." Kudou seconded.

Seeing inside wouldn't be a problem so long as Errowyn's turns and maneuvers didn't mean that Marco had to present the belly of his craft to her or vice-versa. He made no attempts to conceal himself, after all. The Nepleslian with his myriad of tattoos and bright blonde hair was nigh indistinguishable from his dark-haired and glasses-wearing partner save for where each sat in the craft, given the travel speeds and distance involved. Never the less, save for the almost imperceptible lag of a skilled non-SPINE pilot, he kept on his new-found partner's moves to a fine T. She would be able to see him as he looked to her craft, the light of nearer stars caught on the dark face-plate of his helmet, and see him give a small wave.

Then Kudou came over the radio, "Blade, Wing 9. We'll be flying on Hellcat's wing since she doesn't seem to have a wingman, if that's okay."

::Rendezvious Point ;; K-5::

"Meow," Over open tactical radio, Errowyn returned the wave to K-9's pilot and settled down. Falling silent once again as she kept the maneuvers simple. Running checks on her Kawarime's systems and munitions. She hated waiting, missing the mad rush into battle dodging all sorts of dangers that could spatter person all over. This would be the same only they had to stay longer so the T7 crew could do their job. She would have to stay alert for this one.

Errowyn spoke again, "Hellcat to K-9, what munition load you're carrying?" She was carrying heavy scince there was a rescue mission involved.

Rendezvous Point K1

Akemi looked at the sensor data showing the position of the aperture. It was only barely visible to the naked eye, but the sensors showed it clearly. "Blade to Wing 9, confirming you and Hellcat are wing mates. Once we see the shuttle leave the Heitan we enter the tube. We need to create enough confusion with our attack to let the shuttle approach as unnoticed as possible."

Rendezvous Point - K-5 ::

"purrrrrrrrr" Came over the radio waves, Errowyn was excited. She smiled feraly as she flew away from the aperture. Aligning up with the aperture, she brought her Kawarime to a slow drift. Hopefully she will not have to make another circuit. She had enough room to get up to the mission's profile recommended speed before entering the wormhole.

This gave her time to study what was known of the NMX base of operations to formulate a battle plan of attack. This had to be very precise of a surgical strike of a guided lightening bolt turning into a chain to hit other targets. Missiles for the bigger ships, dry docks and aether cannons for fighter and small support crafts. Looking over her payload of countermeasures. She would have to do a lot of maneuvering to conserve her countermeasures.

She had the high speed run from the Heiten to the aperture data stored so she could access it when needed. She doubled the flight time and overguestimated the reload time. She frowned as the time mounted up to get back to protect the shuttle that carried her squadron mates. Minimum of 1 hr and 10 minutes if the munitions crew back aboard the Heiten had their act together. Plus 40 minutes to and from the aperture plus the time it took to traverse the apertures wormhole doubled.

"Keep it simple stupid," unaware that she was transmitting over the airwaves. She spoke softly as one would talk to her/himself out loud, holding a conversation with someone.

She stored her data she garnered for her attacks to protect the shuttle in and out; plus a doudle whammy on the NMX base if she survived the first run and didn't ruin her Kawarime in the process.
She laughed at that thought. "I hope my crew chief has a back up Kawarime for me....."

Kotone snapped out of a trance of some sorts trying to absorb as much information as she can about the operation, and hurried to her own fighter. While she was still confused over some parts, she got the gist of it: something involving the NMX, a bomb being sent to a shipyard, along with a rescue team just leaving in order to save survivors (hopefully, there are survivors, she thought grimly), and now she was leaving the launch bay and on en route to the rendezvous point.

She has absolutely no idea what she has to do: at most, she was half-informed about the mission itself and everyone else was ahead of her at this point, but she couldn't let that get her down. All she can do now was do her best and hope for a positive outcome.

Rendezvous Point.

"Kawano-Hei, you follow after Kayo-Hei. When we come out of the tube, you fly off my port wing, and she will be on my starboard. Our first attack run is to be against whatever ship is defending it." Akemi said. Glad that one of their newest crew members had finally joined up. For this mission more pilots, meant increased chance of survival.

Kawane nodded once she heard the order, but then blushed when she realized that Akemi wouldn't even see the action. 'Stupid.' "R-Roger that, Akemi-Juni." She spotted Kayo's Fighter 4, altered her course slightly to match said ship, and tried to calm down. It's going to be okay-she can do this.

Errowyn watched the newest member to join the group at the rendezvious point. She sat there relaxing, enjoying the quiet before the storm. Glancing over at her wingman through the canopy. She would follow Kawane's Kawarime with K-9 following herself. She smiled as it sounded like a species in the history books of the canine species.

Kawane happened to take a glance backwards to see a fellow member, Errowyn, trail from behind her. She assumed she knew what she was doing ('More than I do, anyway...' she thought wryly) and focused on her orders. "Okay, follow Kayo, then Akemi's port wing after the tube..."

'No problem, right?'

Post in 9.2 Charging into Uncertainty.