RP: YSS Imperator Mission Four: War Drums

[HAMnJAM]

YSS Imperator
2日 7月 YE 39
Kuvexian Frontline

Back with the fleet, the YSS Imperator had returned with transports safely in tow. It had been three days since they had returned, and there had been enough days where the hangar crews had learned the ins and outs of the Ke-V10 'Mamushi' starfighters.

The squadrons on the Imperator had all received new names, the CAG's personal group changing from 'Avatar' to 'Heartbreak.' Heartbreak was on CAP and ready station today with the CAG and the rest of her hand-picked pilots all up in space with two fighters sitting on the launch deck ready to go.

Meanwhile on the bridge, everything was normal but something was new. With Shosa Serphine's promotion to Chusa and her placement of Executive Officer, engineering now had to elect a interim chief engineer until a new one could be figured out. No one was being called chief, but everyone was expected to get their work done.

Space

"Eagle Eye, this is the CAG, anything on your scopes?"

Flying in a 'flying vee' formation, Heartbreak's Combat Air Patrol was well ahead of their ship. 'Eagle Eye' was being flown by two of the other squadron's pilots in one of the two seaters. It was setup as an airborne early warning and air control spacecraft, AWACS for short. AWACS responded in their curt tone, their very serious Neko sensors operator seemed to always be on her game.

"CAG, Eagle Eye, we ain't got shit."

The CAG rolled her eyes behind her helmet and toggled her comms to broadcast to her flight,

"Alright folks, looks like this is going to be an easy patrol. Let's keep the speed up and we'll try to make it back in time for chow."

Everything was quiet for the frontline, especially with how far they were going.

Bridge

Taisa Sutoikku Kaede sat in his chair at the 'top' of the bridge, they highest chair. His eyes were blankly forward, his mind looking through his SPINE at the many readouts that the ship's KAMI was giving him. The bridge crew themselves were all hard at work, and only the muted hum of the life support's air conditioning system and the monotone tune of the engines art work were audible.

Kaede spoke in his authoritative and serious tone, "Sensors, begin another wide range pattern scan."

The sensor's operator jumped a little before going to her work, "Hai!"

The Taisa's fingers rapped quietly against the arm of his chair as he listened to the computer's 'voice' speak to him while he thought. His SAINT asset had moved off of the ship from a rapid and last minute change which left him without his SAINT team, whom had all been moved to the flagship, YSS Dominator.

Engineering

All of the engines hummed quietly in their mountings, the Aether generators coating the room in the bright blue hue as they sung their song of work. Everything was running at optimal running temperatures and output, CFS was balanced and docile, and there were no faults stuck on the status boards.

For an aging Sharie, Imperator was strutting her legs around like she was a much younger girl.

Space, Extreme Range

With bright flashes, long, angular, and very-much-alien ships of large size dropped from FTL. There were just as many of them as there were in the entire third division, and by their vectors they were on a high speed approach.

The lead ship, a khaki arrowhead with pale-blue highlighting lights and two long tail fins, led a group of six ships of the same class. They were flanked by two wings of smaller vessels in a very broad formations on each side of the larger ships.

The ornate etchings on the sides of the leading ship's hull surrounded a small selections of words, 'Aste Kuvan.' These ships approached with great speed, and quickly appeared on every ship in the Star Army division.

"Eagle Eye to all Star Army Ships, New ships on sensors! Ship classes unknown but confirmed to be of Capital dimensions!"

There was a burst communication from the YSS Dominator, the admiral broadcasted a message to these new ships. "Unknown vessels, leave your current vectors and identify yourselves!"

A cackle came across the same frequency, speaking in a heavily accented Trade, "This is Deilfir Kazmund Dezald of the Kuvexian Interstellar Navy, you will be destroyed."

Immediately, both sides began to power shields.

Bridge

Kaede pointed ahead to the volumetric image on the bridge wall of the approaching Kuvexian fleet, his eyes locked onto the lead vessel.

"Go to condition one, bring all weapons to ready status, and get the CAG back to form up with the rest of the division's fighter wings! We've pissed them off enough to have them send one of their fleets to us."

The lights of the bridge dulled as the ship entered combat status, each member of the crew knowing exactly what their job was. Most of them slipped into their environmental suits if they could get to them with Kaede choosing not to remove himself from the command chair.

This was going to be a fight they knew nothing about. No real tactics had been devised to combat Kuvexian line ships, they hadn't ever actually seen the Kuvexian Navy's actual battleships in combat at all. This fight could only be a learning experience, and everyone was hoping that it wasn't a hard lesson.

 

[SirSPT]

Space

Shanoa Omoorai absentmindedly kept her fighter on course as she stared out into space for most of the patrol. With the short uneventful posting on the Soyokaze over, the blue neko barely had enough time to get acquainted with her flight time before finding herself on entirely new ship surrounded by new faces. Without any familiar faces and her feet on the long ground, she actually felt shy for the first time in her existence and seemed to avoid most social contact.

But now she found herself in the cockpit of one of the new cutting-edge fighters that were being deployed on a simple patrol around the front. And now it seemed like their enemy was jumping in on the horizon.

As ancy as the pilot was feeling, she stuck in formation with the CAG. Her eyes were focused on the ornate the ship that blocked her view of space.

"Looks like the neighborhood team came out to play." She radioed over to Ume. "What's the game plan, Taii?"

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Space

Heartbreak Four, formerly known as Avatar Four was flying in the 1A Mamushi variant on the CAP, which had just turned into a condition one. As soon as the foreign and hostile ships were spotted on the collective sensors of the third division fleet, Ayane powered her CFS shields, broke from the formation, and arced her fighter back towards the positions of the rest of the fighter wings of the third divsion.

As she flew, Ayane pulled up the armament and mission specialization of her fighter and brought her weapons to ready status. The craft was optimized and fitted for a void superiority role. The ships on the sensors were of capital dimensions, which meant that she would likely be engaging fighters or bombers. However, there was no way for her to be certain, given the lack of intelligence regarding the performance and strategies of the Kuvexian Interstellar Navy in combat.

Once Ayane had positioned her fighter with the rest of the fighter wings, the magenta-eyed Neko took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for combat.

 

[Zanven Brax]

Space

Zanven was breathing calmly today, his simulations on ship and learning of the new fighters had been going well. Today he was piloting a Mamushi 1A Variant, designation Heartbreak 6 as the warning indication flashed on his HUD.

"Condition one...damn, and this was supposed to be an easy day." He said to himself, careful to make sure that his mic was not on at the time. When his computer sensors and the information being fed in real time showed the hostiles he was quick to power his shields as he took a deep breath. "Actual combat as a pilot...let's do this!" He said with a grin on his face.

When the sight of Heartbreak Four breaking formation he followed suit, moving along a similar trajectory to give the others the same pathway out. His next step was bringing up his weapons systems, the check showed all were ready but unarmed. With an input command he was now looking at a screen indicator showing he was "locked-and-loaded" as his weapons systems were now armed. Joining up with the other fighter wings he joined the operating channel for Heartbreak as he flew the trajectory for the certain exchange.

"What's the next step sir?" He asked, his voice was calm and cold. Mentally he was prepared, and physically being his first fight in space and as a pilot his body shook from time to time, but he did not lock up.

 

[Arbitrated]

YSS Imperator
Bridge

The somewhat-freshly-promoted Chusa, Araena Serphine, shifted around slightly uncomfortably in her chair. The cushioning was quite comfortable, and she had an excellent view of the... Well, everything, really, except the upper level where Kae-Taisa Kaede was currently busy. The problem.... Yes, that was it. She felt too exposed, being in the center of the entire room like this. She was midway through a sip of water-it was about an hour too late into the artificial day for coffee-when the fresh report about a new fleet gave her a small alert. She was the first officer-she may be barely a week into the job, and this is her first combat experience as an XO, but nonetheless she needed to fill the role as quickly and effectively as possible. Now if only her AMES was easier to put on-a problem for all Elysians, that one. Wings were helpful, but also a hindrance...

"Heartbreak squadron, fall back to the other fightercraft! We need to coordinate against this force!" Ume felt the normally quite calm engineer's voice almost bark at her from the battleship. As the Imperator's weapons primed for combat, the exec's voice-in a much more calm manner than her rushed order to Ume-echoed throughout the ship, assisted by the resident KAMI: "Please prepare for combat immediately. This is not a drill."

Space
Heartbreak 7 and 8-two identical-looking Mamushis, mostly focused around the carrying of heavy ordinance, held their positions relative to their CAG, following her back to the Imperator as she turned. The equally-identical pilots, Armin and Arcturus, trained their smaller, rotatable weapons towards their rears-in the event that someone on that big ol' fleet decided to send an interceptor or missile or three their way, even though they were about to be backed up by the Imperator and her guns.

 

[Soban]

Space

Akane flew the Ke-V10-1B with Aoi as her RIO. "How's it looking back there?" She asked as she maneuvered the two seat fighter into formation.

"Lots of ships, big ones too, some of the signatures are completely new. Looks like we are in for a fleet battle." Aoi said, slightly nervous about their first real taste of combat. "We'll probably switch on over to electronic warfare mode when we get into the hairball."

Akane nodded in response, "That's exactly what I was thinking." She said, entering the formation with the rest of the squadron.

 

[KingTyrant]

Space
Heartbreak Squadron​

Able flew at the far side of the formation, somewhat absentmindedly as he looked around at the stars outside his cockpit. Earlier, he had taken his time admiring and finding his way around the controls of the newly issued fighter model, but it didn't take him very long at all to get accustomed to the new layout. At this point, he was just spending his time admiring the vast emptiness of space. It wasn't like much was happening thus far anyways. His first time flying in formation with his wingmates, and it was a snoozefest. Disappointing, really.

It was just when Eagle Eye had so eloquently explained the utter absence of any danger, that danger showed its ugly face. Capital ships, and many of them. His first face-to-face encounter with the Kuvexian Interstellar Navy, and what an encounter it was. Where there were capital ships, there were also fighters and bombers. More likely than not, he'd have his hands full. They all would. He heard Eagle Eye's warning, but it seemed to come all too late, as before they knew it, the enemy was bearing down on their heads.

"Let us hope these new models will keep us all in one piece." Able said over the comm., giving the center stick an iron grip as his eyes narrowed at the intimidating display before them. "I would strongly suggest that we do not stray far from one-another. Doing so would leave our blind spots open to engagement. If we are to attack, I suggest we do so as a cohesive unit."

Able understood that he didn't call the shots here, but he still felt the need to shoot forth an idea or two to the CAG, as he could clearly see a solid strategy in front of them. Besides, any orders she gave that he saw as threatening to the success of the mission would most likely be argued. Well, as long as the enemy starfighters didn't interrupt, of course. Though, he could see where his plan could most likely falter, as grouping up would give the capital ships a rather easy target. Come to think of it, what was a good strategy here? They seemed to be facing an entire galaxy's worth of firepower right now...

 

[Burgmond45]

YSS Imperator
Engineering

Just about anyone can be amazed by the collosal area, especially when feeling the thrum of engines and generators at work in the air. It somehow instills a feeling of awe and insignificance to those whom cannot comprehend the output a Sharie Class provides. It could make a grown nerd cry.

Not Noboyuki, actually. The YSS Wasabi was a immense cargo ship, and had a huge Engineering room much like this one. It was just as big, just as noisy, just as busy, and he loved it to death! Of course, the Wasabi wasn't as sparkly... Such shiny metal...

The Shoi hummed happily, a data pad in one hand, and a FARS hovering over his other shoulder. Thus far, everything was looking orderly!

Of course, it was when the everyone was running to their battle stations that he was less calm, but he was being brave enough to hold himself together, ready to assess damages and guide people around the area. The latter is part of what he should be doing as a staff member, but Noboyuki just wanted to be more involved!

 

[HAMnJAM]

Space

Before the CAG could give orders, a voice echoed along the entire Imperator fighterwing, "La la la! Listen to my beautiful voice!" It was male, and extremely male at that, their HUDs told them it was callsign 'Nightstalker,' the Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS craft. The Two-seater Mamushi flew well behind the pack with it's four escorts and was acting as the CAG's very odd and super aggressive-sounding eyes and ears.

His loud and bass voice came on the line again, "Alright angels, we have hostile fighters and bombers as twelve o'-clock high coming in at full burn. All squadrons to battle-spread!"

As the newly christened Sentinel, Hummingbird, Century, and Heartbreak all moved into their large eight-ship formations with the rest of the division's fighter squadrons, the CAG's voice came over the Heartbreak radio net, "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we are the Heartbreak! We give no love, and we take their hearts! Weapons hot!" Ume moved her hand to manually arm all of her pylons and hardpoints, eight high-maneuvering torpedoes coming to an angry and ready state.

The AWACS came back over the radio net, "Range to targets is now 3 light-seconds! All squadrons move to-"

A large streak of golden, large, and tight beam of energy, arced above the Star Army fighter wings and into the bows of a cruiser, covering it entirely. It pitched and rolled violently as its CFS barriers compensated for the massive hit. The other cruisers surrounding the primary target rolled and pitched as well but not as intense.

As the beam faded, the entire outer plating of the Eikan was burned through, the turrets remaining all were battered and broken, two of them burning brightly blue and fiery. The Eikan began to list over as it began transmitting across the fleet's communication line with a terrified and teary Neko voice.

"All ships, all ships, YSS Saigō has taken heavy damage! Multiple hull breaches! Internal detonations reported! Mayday Mayday!"

As soon as the Saigō finished their transmission, the Admiral's voice filled the entire fleet. "Their guns are just as strong as ours! Battleships FIRE!"

Bridge

Kaede spoke aloud, "What in the fires of hell? Sensors, confirm where that originated from!"

The sensor's operator stammered out, "It came from one of the larger ships, sir!"

Kaede growled, "Fine then, fire main battery! Charge Aether shock cannon!"

The weapon's operator shouted a curt, "Hai!" Her hands moved aggressively across the console while her SPINE went to work training the massive guns to bear. Due to the Kuvexian's wide formation, the majority of the main battery on the fore end could train to something. With a final quiet 'hmph!', the mighty guns of the Sharie were unleashed.

Engineering

The engineering crew went about their combat work, the reserve damage control teams moving to their stations in the case of breaches or major leaks from the generators. Powerful and mighty, the generators could also take as much as they gave. One of the senior members turned to Noboyuki.

"Go make sure that the generators are all operating at full combat power, we have a minor drop in battery two."

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Space

Yamasaki Ayane arced her Mamushi to the left of Ume's craft and ordered her craft's weapon systems to be primed for combat. Her craft was equipped for interception and space superiority. She had three high maneuverability torpedoes and one aether torpedo within her craft's four internal hardpoints. All of the rest of her hardpoints were empty, save for the Mamushi's inbuilt turbo aether cannons.

As the other craft filtered into battle-spread around her, Ayane stayed silent over the squadron channel, taking in the full might of the Kuvexian Interstellar Navy as it approached on the sensor grid. Despite her relative status as a "veteran" to some of the newer members of the Heartbreak squadron, Ayane was still quite young, even by Nekovalkyrja standards. If the division was really facing a naval force that was their equal in direct combat, then the implications for the success or failure of the battle was grave, regardless of the outcome.

Although Ayane was nervous and sweaty, she was a Nekovalkyrja. Trained and engineered for war, the peak of physical perfection, she could phase out any thoughts of death, fear, or, insecurities. In order to perform well in battle, one had to be confident, composed, and, patient. While a civilian-born pilot may have succumbed to their doubts, Ayane did not.

The magenta-eyed Neko set her craft on course and digested the neverending flow of telemetry data, her weapon systems primed for battle.

 

[KingTyrant]

Space
Heartbreak Squadron​

Able raised a brow at the male voice, eyes landing on the callsign on his HUD. At the order, he immediately fell into position, still at the far side of the formation. Not the safest place to be, he thought. Wide open to attack on his right wing. If he were to be hit right now, and live through the experience, Ume would chew him out for sure. Something he was prepared for, but he still would've rathered it not happen. He'd like his first dogfight to be one where he could actually show what he was capable of. Not be a laughing stock to the entire squadron.

At Ume's words, Able's eyes narrowed, and he armed all weapons, from the aether cannons, to his anti-starship torpedoes. "Ready to engage." He said, comm. still on. His voice was stoic, calm and collected, even when facing what seemed to be the gates of Hell. Before anything else could be said, Able's attention shot up towards the beam which arced over the entire 8-ship formation, tagging one of the cruisers and seemingly disabling it for good. He mouthed a swear, focusing once more on the fighters which would most likely be bearing down on them in no time.

He looked down at the bandana wrapped tightly around his bicep, taking it in his other hand and pulling it free. He kissed the piece of fabric, briefly closing his eyes before opening them once more, his face still revealing no signs of panic or anxiousness. He was calm. Calm, and ready to do his part.

 

[Arbitrated]

YSS Imperator
Bridge

The newly-appointed Chusa paused for a few moments. She needed to figure out how to handle this battleship's crew in combat, and she needed to do it fast. Internally grumbling about digital brains making her job look easier than it was, Araena used her distinctly non-digitized mind to sort through the swarm of requests and messages being sent towards her.

Some fool tripped and twisted their ankle running to their station, medical team's already on their way.

Engineering was reporting a small power malfunction. Of course things go wrong as soon as she leaves her station as chief engineer...

There's a complaint that-that isn't important.

Serphine sighed to herself as she pulled a tactical map of the battlefield as the fleet knew it-aside from the crippled Eikan, they were holding formation quite effectively. And those larger ships... She didn't like how only one almost annihilated the Saigo. "Focus on eliminating a single ship at a time whenever possible!"

Spaaaace~

Both Sargas twins armed the sixteen torpedoes they shared-slower than the average Mamushi they were, but much more terrifying against the larger starships. As the radiant, golden death shone above them, Armin stated quietly, "Maybe we shouldn't touch that..."

The brothers had mirrored each other from across the new formation, settling powerful anti-starship weaponry in areas of high flexibility-one or the other could fire at almost any target with little maneuvering from this position.

Arcturus smirked in his cockpit, eyeing the dangerous fleet in front of him. Well, they seem to like attacking. Let's see what their defenses have to say...

 

[SirSPT]

Space
Heartbreak Squadron

Shanota took her position at the opposite end of the formation from Able. She flipped the switches on her weapons, readying a compliment of aether cannons, anti-ship torpedoes, and a couple of gun pods for anyone daring to ride up behind her. As her HUD flashed green for the weapons being readied, her cockpit lit up as the golden streak flew by and collided with the Saigō. The neko simply shook her head and whistled before returning to double checked her weapons as the group pressed on.

"Guess they're not playing around on that 'destroyed' part." Shanota glanced back at the burning hole in the Saigō after the third check. "But we sure as hell aren't going to be playing around either. Fangs are out and ready to engage on your orders."

 

[HAMnJAM]

Space

Blue arcs danced away from the Star Army division with the violent urge to strike back at the Kuvexians rising throughout the fleet. Distant explosions were seen as barriers held and hits were shrugged. Another bright streak of yellow light arced out above the fighters, eating one of another ship's entire squadrons away before slamming into the Saigō and the cruiser and the cruiser that had slowly approached to give aid. A rounding detonation ate the ship alive as the damaged cruiser's hull gave way and her powerplant went critical.

The AWACS came on the radio net again, "All squadrons, engage engage engage!" The CAG cut the channel and moved to her own squadron's to give her orders. "Alright, go to full burn and head for the lead ship. We're going to see if we can get her to list around a bit. Watch for enemy fighters and their point defense. We're blazing a trail here, folks."

Bridge

The weapons operator spoke quietly, almost as if she had lost all of her fire. "Aether Shock Cannon ready."

Taisa Kaede gave a frown, "Begin opening up at one minute intervals, keep the primary battery firing at the lead warship." As soon as he finished, he looked down to the angel in the hot seat, "Araena, begin to deduce the ships by relative size and assign them relative classes. I want to be able to focus the battleships instead of the cannon fodder.

Space

The two large bows of the Imperator began to glow, a high amount of energy moving around from the massive generators in the belly of the beast. A sudden beam emerged from a point between the two hulls and streaked out above the fighters and clipping the barrier of the lead Kuvexian ship. No visible damage occurred, but the barrier couldn't have too much more strength remaining.

As the ships continued to close distance and the guns became more and more accurate, something was becoming apparent. The strongest navy in the Sector now had an even match, something that hadn't been apparent since the Second Mishhuvurthyar War. This was going to be a hard fight.

Engineering

One of the technicians barked out, "Someone get that generator sorted! We don't have enough power to keep firing everything without it!" Another belted out, "Conduit seven is burning out! Moving Damage Control team three to manage. I am temporarily rerouting power to substation B!"

The room seemed to begin to grow more stressful, each of the teams moving in and out and trying to accomplish everything at once. Without a de facto head, they body would run amok. Someone needed to take charge soon, and in a situation unfolding one was needed very soon.

 

[Burgmond45]

Engineering

The Shoi was about to respond to the senior's request, albeit he didn't. It's just that he couldn't respond at all after he heard one of the two hundred and fifty three ship-wrenching scenarios that would make any engineer sweat, and any technician scream in terror.

That just so happen to be scenario number one hundred and one: conduit burnout. Conduits burnouts on their own aren't something a engineer should worry about... If anything, conduit burnouts are a common precursor/symptom of way worse disasters!

Noboyuki ran off without saying a word, feeling the tension build up throughout his very being as he ran to the battery array. He floated off the walkway, and looked around for Main Battery 2. His fears were realized; it was much worse than just a conduit. Battery 2's casing had busted open, and it was leaking incredibly acidic battery fluid all over Conduit 7, melting it down at a slow and unimpeded pace.

He utilized his telepathy to get out a really concise, clear message. "Damage Control 3, Conduit 7 is one of the conduits that are directly linked to the main battery array. I need all of you to equip hazardous material protection, quarantine Battery 2, and fix the damages immediately! We can't afford to have collateral damage in here! Please follow safety procedures while you're at it!"

The young officer shot out another telepathic message to all technicians. "Please, in the name of the Empress, remain calm! The Imperator is counting on all of us to keep her safe. Keep to your stations, keep your tools in hand, your pencils resting on your datapads, and let's give this Sharie every thing she has!" Noboyuki added an additional telepathic message: "Reroute power into Battery Array Beta, Damage Control 3 is going to deal with a severe battery fluid leak in Battery Array Alpha."

Noboyuki floated to the nearest walkway, and shut off his flight. This will be the first moment in this Minkan's life that he will be so relieved to have telepathic abilities, and this is not going to be the last moment, either.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Space

The pilot of the lightly-armed and agile Mamushi set her engines on full power and directed course for the lead ship in the Kuvexian formation. Ayane intended to utilize her only aether torpedo against the lead ship in the formation or against a condensed cluster of Kuvexian fighters. Either way, she needed to use the wide radius and the high damage effect of the torpedo to its maximum potential. It would do little good if she were to waste it on a single fighter or shuttle.

As Ayane manuevered her Mamushi through the gauntlet of fire, she maintained alertness for any hostile craft that came up on her sensors. Her actions swift and unyielding, Ayane locked her targeting systems on the approaching enemy fighters, and fired a salvo of aetheric fire at her designated marks. She did not intend to initiate any dogfights unless forced to, as her primary objective was the lead ship in the Kuvexian formation. That would not change unless extenuating circumstances forced her on the defensive.

 

[Zanven Brax]

Space

Zanven received the orders for attack just as a bright yellow light struck the Saigo causing extreme damage to the ship before the Imperator struck back. His HUD showed weapons ready as the squadron moved in as the Kuvexian fighters did the same. The fight had begun, and over the coms...he heard the sounds of anger, sorrow, and even joy as they went to war. He had trained for this, and it was time to show that he was indeed a pilot worthy to be apart of the Heartbreak Squadron.

"Time to kick the tires and light the fires everyone!" He said over the coms as he maneuvered his Mamushi inot position as he participated in a dogfight that resulted in the Kuvexian fighter being blown completely through as he continued on his trajectory to assault the main ship. The flash of the Imperator's shock cannon was a sight to behold as entire enemy squadrons were wiped out, but the shields of the enemy ship seemed intact. "Damn! Alright, gotta help out the boss." That is when he saw Heartbreak Four on his HUD.

"Heartbreak four, this is Heartbreak six...assisting on your six. Let's give em' hell." He said in a rather cold tone as he brought up targeting parameters. Helping from the rear to clear a path for Heartbreak Four.

 

[KingTyrant]

Space
Heartbreak Squadron​

Able only flinched as the bright, unrelenting beam punched another hole in the Saigo, effectively destroying it. His cockpit lit up with the bright, orange light that emitted from the explosion, the fiery remains of the cruiser being snuffed out by the vacuum of space. As soon as the carnage behind them had ceased, Able's face went right back to neutral. No time to mourn however many were just lost. Now was the time to prevent any more from being killed. That wouldn't be an easy task, seeing what they were up against.

Able had a very limited number of torpedoes, much like Ayane. However, he had two to spare. Also similarly to his wingmate, he intended to unload both on the lead ship they were carving a path into. He gripped the center stick, index finger resting on the trigger for his aether cannons.

"Able, engaging approaching enemy fighters." He said over the comm.. At that instant, around two or three enemy fighters seemed to break off from their original squadron, both flying in formation to the far side of Heartbreak Squadron, bypassing his Mamushi. Pressing down on the trigger as soon as they came close enough to ensure a hit, he watched as the craft closest to him was clipped, the wing splintering off as sparks flew in every which direction.

He couldn't help but smirk, a rare occurrence for him. A glancing blow, in his first dogfight nonetheless. Not too shabby thus far. His smirk disappeared, and he let the enemy fighters continue on... They weren't his focus, and he didn't plan on breaking formation to confirm a kill. The lead ship. He had to keep reminding himself of their primary target. He tried studying the target, examining weapon placements, and possible blind spots, but they were still too far away to get a good look at anything.

 

[SirSPT]

Space

With orders given, Shanota couldn't help but smile.

"Roger. Beginning combat operations."

The neko slammed on the afterburners and reveled in the whine of the engine among the chaos of the battle. With the coup de grâce shot onto the Saigō, she didn't pay much mind to the enemy fighters as screamed towards the squadron. Her Mamushi pulled up and rolled to the side to avoid the oncoming bandits before returning back to dive down at angle on the battleship, sighting in her target for a good couple of torpedo. The pilot had her orders and she was out for blood.

But the enemy was just as determined as she was. Her gunpods lit up as a couple of bandits closed in on her six. While they were no means her only offensive capabilities, they were enough to keep the bandits at bay for now. Her fighter turned upwards into a barrel roll stopping and rolling flat half to give her gunpods a better firing position on the bandits.

"Sorry boys, no time to dance! Gotta a delivery to make!"

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Space

"Maintaining course for the lead ship within the Kuvexian formation.", Ayane answered in response to Heartbreaks six. Her Mamushi arced and pitched through the gauntlet, the smaller missile payload making the craft agile and graceful in motion. As Ayane's craft got closer to the lead Kuvexian battleship, her Mamushi established a lock on the lead Kuvexian ship in the formation. However, Ayane decided to hold her payload. At this range, she risked her torpedo becoming an easy target for the point defenses. She decided to wait until the point defense systems became overstretched, at which point she would release her aetheric payload.