[IC] Eclipse

[Swampellow]

Alezar had been making his way back to the Eclipse, trying to get as good a look at the massive ship while he did so. He was trying to figure out how the Resanti had not only managed to capture it, but also capture it and hide it so that the crew of the Eclipse hadn't even known about it until getting here. Just as he was trying to come to a conclusion Rhees confirmed that it was indeed the Southern Cross and that made him shiver. 

 

"Okayyyyyy, yea thats no good at all," Alezar said as he continued his way back to the ship. "and we have no clue how or when this happened? I understand that losing a ship like this would be embarrassing but I feel like it would be better for people to know rather than, oh I don't know, run into it on a mission that should have been straight forward? How did the Resanti even manage to take it so cleanly?" From the looks that Alezar could get of it, that was probably what was worrying him most; other than the fact that it was a massive battleship of course. 

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The Southern Cross? Well, this was quite the fucking shitstorm wasn't it? How the Resanti got a hold of, Vixen didn't know but it really didn't matter at the time being did it? They clearly had the thing, there was no point twiddling ones thumbs and wondering how it got there. Besides doubting the Resanti's capabilities is one of the biggest mistakes that the Llimian Military kept making during intial contact. She wasn't about to make the same one.

This must have been the big ship that the Al kept referring to, the one she said she could help destroy. She said Father had brought it there... so clearly she has some connection to the Resanti... this wasn't an easy decision but Vixen couldn't see any possible gain for this entity to lie to her. "l'll take your word for it for now, lt seems my people are in trouble and l don't have time to debate the minutia of what you are exactly. However... do me a favor before l reestablish contact. Do you have a name? l hope so... otherwise l'm going to have to think of something to call you and l'm shit at names."

[Shamitako]

The AI's virtual face contorted in an exaggerated thinking expression that was altogether far too comical for such a serious situation. It didn't take very long for her to come up with something. "My friend is going to sacrifice sacrificing herself for me, I will take her name to honor and remember her. You may call me Kella." There was more than a hint of sadness in Kella's voice, she clearly cared deeply for her namesake.

[Sentient Bowtie]

At first, Willard didn't believe it. The Resanti had captured the Southern Cross, intact? Impossible. It just wasn't something they could do; the Cross was too heavily armed to make that happen. They'd have to destroy it, or at least heavily damage it.

 

And then Rhees confirmed it, a third time. Her words barely registered in his mind, because it was racing a thousand miles ahead of him. The rustbuckets had their hands on the Southern Cross now. Just what in the hell were these things capable of? How was it even possible? Biological weapons, or some sort of advanced, uncounterable tactics? Something new, something the Assembly couldn't counter. Willard refused to believe it was taken down in straight combat; nothing could have taken an Assembly ship of that size without any fanfare. It just wasn't feasible.

 

...Though, considering what he was seeing right in front of him, maybe it was.

 

"Let's just... If they have the Cross, let's just blow the damn thing up. We're right here, we can do it. It's a necessary sacrifice." he broadcasts. His usual suggestion when things got hairy, but this time there was less enthusiasm for the idea. A moment later, he adds "The fucking Cross. Oh god." in very un-Willard-like fashion.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Kella huh... a good name." all Vixen had to say in response to the Al's somber conclusion. She looked at the corvette... who was this perso that they'd willingly give up their lifelike this? Was this Al that important to her? Regardless... Vixen knew this was a more than necessary sacrifice however. The Southren Crosswasa ship that could not be in the hands of the Resanti. lt was much too dangerous and they had to destroy it here and now while it was damaged. lt was the only shot they'd probably have, the only real one anyway. She took a deep breath centering herself.

She opened the direct line to Rhees back up, she wasn't entirely sure if Rhees would pick up but she hoped she would, she usually always kept an eye on their line. "Rhees, if you read me this is Vixen. l've made contact with the corvette. We have a plan to destroy the Southern Cross utterly, here and now. The pilot of the corvette, Kella says that she can take it out but we must escort the corvette to the battleship. Do you read me?"

[Shamitako]

Rhees picked up Vixen's signal, but refrained from acknowledging it directly. "That's all well and good, Gunguneel, but if we're going to counterattack we need a strategy. At full capacity, that ship not only has a significantly larger compliment of Strikers and Interceptors, but enough guns to sink the Eclipse in a ship-to-ship fight long before you can break through their lines." She responded to Willard, "Unless you can come up with something that will let us take out the Southern Cross without significant risk to our ship and crew, the captain isn't going to rescind his retreat order." Without pausing, she changed a couple settings so she was only speaking to Vixen and so that Vixen was speaking to the entire bridge. "So I really hope you're not suggesting we trust a complete unknown to perform a suicide run, Vixen."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"We don't really have any other options Rhees. Not if we're going to ever take this thing down, we have to now while we have the oppertunity. l shouldn't have to tell you that the toasters having The Southern Cross is not going to end well and people are definitely going to die, worlds will die if we let them get it fully operational." Vixen sighed she didn't think she'd have to really defend this to Rhees of all people. She looked down at the Al, Kella as she so choose to now be known. She supposed in any other situation she'd not be all that trusting... well. She honestly didn't know that. This was all a bit strange. Dealing with people was such a pain. Vixen rebroke the silence before anyone was able to speak again.

"Look, l'm escorting this ship by myself if l have to. We might as well be dead if we let the Resanti have the Southern Cross. lt's damaged now, this is our best shot to take it out. As l've said before, this is our only real option. lf we retreat one of the strongest ships the galaxy has ever known will only befitted to be even more powerful. We cannot just let the Resanti have a weapon of this magnitude. You already know that."

[Sentient Bowtie]

Willard starts the first syllable of a response, but stops himself. No, he did not have a plan, and no, he was not going to be able to come up with one any time soon. Strategizing wasn’t really his forte - following strategies, maybe, if he was in the right frame of mind. He sighs into the comms, before replying, “Roger that. I’m returning to the Eclipse.”

 

Damned Rhees. Always knew just what to say to get him off his rush.

[Shamitako]

Rhees was about to tell Vixen how absolutely ridiculous her plan was, when the captain interjected with his opinion. "She's right." He said firmly, "If there's even the smallest chance that we can destroy the Southern Cross here, before the Resanti have it back to full capacity, then we need to take that chance. The galaxy won't get another."

"Elijah, we don't stand a chance if we do this." Rhees stood to face the captain, speaking to him directly.

"Lieutenant, right now isn't the time for personal appeals. You should know that better than anyone." Matthews told her, "Even if we don't stand a chance, we have to do this. The Cross will be here soon, get our pilots in position."

The two had a staring contest before Rhees finally backed down and returned to her station. "Hold that thought, Gunguneel. Altesian, Vulkodlak, get back out there. We're throwing a hail mary."

 

Rhees directed Vixen to lead the corvette over to the Eclipse and prepare for its suicide run. The Cross had already entered orbit of Kelbar IX and would be reaching the Eclipse's position in less than fifteen minutes, so Rhees and her team didn't have time to put together a complex plan, for the most part she would be relying on the pilot's insticts. In other words, they were winging it. "All pilots, the Resanti corvette has been rigged to explode, once it reaches our position, your sole job will be to defend that corvette at all costs until it rams into the Southern Cross. Those that can dogfight, focus on defending it directly. The ones that can't, aim to get to the Cross yourself, drawing away their interceptors. You won't have your usual cover, so be especially careful and don't be afraid to pull back if things get dangerous. The Eclipse will start the run by physically shielding the corvette from the Southern Cross, we'll stay there as long as we can, but once we pull away we're on our own. No matter how many Strikers get to us, keep protecting the corvette." She awaited acknowledgement from the pilots while also keeping careful watch of the Cross and corvette's positions.

[Twinwolf]

Rose took a deep breath, a light grin playing across her features - they were going to do something here. They were going to hurt them. "Got it, Rhees! The EXARCH is prepared for combat operations!" she said, as she started charging all weapons and thrusters. Plasma repeater... check. Railgun check. Shield check. Thrusters, check. The EXARCH, of course, was not an Interceptor - she wouldn't be dogfighting anything, at least not effectively. No, she would be taking it to the Cross and making herself a dangerous and distracting target, and hopefully blow up the Resanti that take the bait. 

[Chevaleresse]

Naomi glanced over her HUD once more. She'd already gone over her systems once, of course, but it never hurt to double-check. Abandoning the Eclipse didn't sit right with her, but she fully saw the need to do so, and thus did not raise her objections. The crew of the vessel knew what they were getting into, anyway. "Confirmed, Captain. Peregrine moving into position." She shifted the vessel slightly in formation without changing its orientation overmuch; the maneuvering thrusters were rather sluggish, all things considered, but she needed to keep her main gun pointed toward the enemy's likely approach vectors for that very reason.

[kj1225]

Varg sighed. Doing a quick once over of his systems he shook his head. This didn't sound like it'd be fun. The lack of any apparent crew meant that more than likely he'd need to enter near the engines so he could mess up something readily important... Varg opens his comms channels quickly. "Vulkodlak here, acknowledged orders recieved. I'll be on them like white on rice ASAP command." With his acknowledgement logged he starts his way to the Cross.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen was going to assist, as directed, in getting the corvette into position however she couldn't find a way to hail it that was remotely simple. Anything she could do would probably take way to much time to bypass all the jamming signals and what not it was spewing out.But then she thought of something. "Hey, Kella. You came from the corvette ye? l need to get in touch with your friend to help uh... orchestrate this mission. You have any way to patch me through all the jammers? You got into the Cleansing Rain somehow." Vixen said looking about her ship until focusing back the the screen Kella was on. lt was a bit strange conversing with Kella for Vixen as... it felt like she was everywhere and yet nowhere. Vixen, while she was sure others would chasitise her for this, still feltan overwhelming sense of curiosity about Kella, wondering just how she functioned how she could occupy her ships computers and so on.

[Swampellow]

Alezar steadied himself after hearing the orders be issued. 

 

"Aye aye, Kormirand getting into position." He replied. This was going to be an interesting mission for him. While he had dogfighting capabilities, his real strength lay elsewhere. To get it so that he could defend the corvette best he would have to stay nearby. So with that he began pulling himself around towards it, if it was a part of the mission to take out the Cross, then it should be a friendly right? 

 

I still can't believe that we are going up against THE Cross he thought to himself as he finished going through a systems check.

[Yours Truly]

Irene took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh before she put on her best 'of let's just get this over with' face and tone of voice as she turned her tesla drives back on again and slowly made her way back to where the others were gathering. She tried her best to drown out the thoughts of how this course of action was almost certainly going to lead to her death as she turned up her striker's engines and prepared to blast off towards the southern cross with the intent to try and...prevent the Varlik guy from dying horribly due to being the only really valid target for miles. "Aye aye Lieutenant, and for the record she's called the Alt Eisen not the Altesian, you're all certainly going to need to remember it for when they give me my postmortem medal of valor."

[Sentient Bowtie]

Willard is absolutely ready to dive right in for their new plan, until he hears that last part - about drawing away the Cross’ interceptors.

 

...What? Seriously? They were seriously asking him to make a suicide run after telling him almost every mission not to do that exact thing please for god’s sake Willard you’re going to get yourself killed one of these days? Willard can’t even begin to articulate to himself exactly how ironics and annoyingly hypocritical that was, so he opts to instead broadcast a curt “Sure thing,” followed by unconvincingly hidden grumbling as he prepares his Striker to move.

[Shamitako]

Torin

 

"Hell Raven checking in. Ready to blow some Resanti bastards out of orbit, Lieutenant." Torin acknowledged, his tone almost gleeful. Sure they were up against seemingly impossible odds, but that didn't mean he couldn't be excited about crushing a few of those disgusting robots. Besides, he enjoyed his job. It was dangerous, for sure, but that was part of what made it so exhilarating. A high-speed freefall towards a moving target several kilometers away through a swarm of enemy targets just waiting to be torn apart by his Striker's railgun if they got in his way. Even better when those targets were inhuman monsters that he hated with an intense passion. He could barely stand the anticipation as they waited for the Cross to come into range.

 

Kella

 

"I've already relayed the plan to her." Kella informed Vixen, "The corvette should begin moving... Oh, there it goes. You'd best land on the hull, you won't be able to keep up with it on your own." The corvette's engines powered up and it began to rapidly accelerate out of the moon's gravitational pull and into an orbit of Kelbar IX. "The corvette will reach the Eclipse's position in approximately twenty-three minutes and thirty-two seconds, they will need to hold their own until we can get there."

 

Rhees

 

The tension was unbearable. Waiting for the Cross to arrive, double checking every system just to be sure, it was always nervewracking, but this time it was far worse. Rhees was almost relieved to finally be able to say. "All pilot, the Cross is in range, we have incoming Strikers and Interceptors." She checked her displays and listened to information being relayed around the bridge, taking stock of the situation. "It looks like they're under equipped on fighters and their only active gun batteries are their railguns and a very few plasma cannons. That means we'll have a much easier time closing the distance than we would get normally, we can't waste this opportunity. The corvette won't be here for another ten minutes, we need to delay the Cross until then. It's time to start your drops." The cloud of enemy fighters spread out on her displays, sparser than the Cross should have carried, but still far more than the Eclipse carried.

[Chevaleresse]

Naomi stayed near the back of their formation for the time being; while she could theoretically get ahead of the group, her inconsistent maneuverability wasn't something that she wanted to put to the test at the moment. Targets are a long distance away. . . going to need to lead them a fair bit. She twitched the nose of her interceptor a bit, adjusting her trajectory - and more importantly, the direction her main gun was pointed. She launched a testing shot, to see how the enemy would maneuver around her fire, and watched for return fire.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen

Vixen quickly listened to the Al and landed on the hull of the corvette, though... she could've just spun up her warp drive, she figured she'd not argue for the sake of staying in contact with the corvette if need be. "l've got a mighty itch to shoot these bastards l'll tell ya. l wasn't made for sitting back and waiting. We'll be there soon yes? l'll probably part ways earlier than you may expect. This lnterceptor is equipped for long range... perhaps an oddity in this type of combat but it's design is to rip apart anything that doesn't imploy shielding." she said just trying to fill the dead tvme with something. Vixen when she was alone would often think to herself to pass the time... however he Al being onboard made her feel some strange obligation to speak aloud instead.

"Hmmm... l'mma have to explain this, well you, to my bosses later. That's gonna be a shitshow and a half. Maybe, l just won't. Whatever. l'll figure that out once we actually get out of this alive, and not a second sooner."

[Twinwolf]

Rose cracked her knuckles in the cockpit - it was time to get to work. Final system checks - thrusters, ready for maneuver. Shield ready. Plasma repeater, heated up. Railgun loaded. "Heading in. Some cover would be nice." she reported, before launching the humanoid war machine towards the Southern Cross, shield up to block incoming fire and plasma repeater ready to shoot anything that came too close. It was a target rich environment, so it wouldn't exactly be hard to find one. 

[kj1225]

Varg did a quick double check before sending out a quick message. "On my way to their engines. Switching on Scramblers now." With that said Varg switches on the signal scramblers and proceeds towards the Cross, his arms raised half way up in case any strikers started firing already and he needed to extend his shield. Inside the cockpit he hums a war song he learned from his parents.

[Swampellow]

Alezar pulled himself ahead of the corvette. "Deploying mines now" he said as he started boosting. He began to create a path of mines towards the Cross to help cover the corvette, looping back and around to cover both himself and his allies with his plasma turret. He made sure not to get to far ahead though, so as to not put himself out there too much yet, and to make sure he could reliably cover the corvette.

[Shamitako]

"This corvette can only go so fast," Kella answered, "I'll tell you as soon as we're close enough for you to fight." Shr had no comment on what to tell Vixen's superiors after this was over, she wasn't sure they'd survive to that point in the first place. She hoped the Eclipse's pilots were stronger than they were numerous. 

 

The incoming Resanti craft spread around Naomi's shot fluidly and reentered their formation with little effort. But it wasn't just any motion, it was a recognizable pattern that she'd encountered countless times before. The most maneuverable opponents were near the center of the formation, letting them dodge initial barrages that targeted the center of their formation very effectively. In this particular case they were using a cross pattern, a very aggressive dodge used in swarm tactics. That combined with the lack of return fire towards her suggested they weren't equipped with much long range weaponry. 

 

A group of four interceptors broke off to intercept Torin and Rose, who were moving ahead towards the Cross. Alezar's Kormirand managed to pick off one with his turret, but moving so far forward to lay his mines put him in range of a hail of railgun fire, preventing him from following up on the attack without major risk to himself. 

 

Varg went largely ignored by enemy interceptors, facing no trouble until the enemy strikers came into range, when four with drills and railguns targeted him for a bought of melee combat. 

 

The majority of enemy fighters headed straight for the Eclipse, two getting caught up in Alezar's mines and destroyed. Rhees and her info staff counted twenty-two strikers and five interceptors, including the ones Alezar had destroyed. That was well under half of the Cross's maximum capacity, and Rhees happily relayed the info to her pilots. Even so, the strikers seemed to be well-equipped for capital ship destruction, even two making it onto the Eclipse would spell doom before the corvette even arrived. 

 

The Eclipse and Cross traded artillery fire, their shots whizzing past the convergence of fighters. With the Cross being low on functional plasma, the Eclipse had the advantage at range, but once the cross was in range for railgun fire, they wouldn't last long before they had to pull back.

 

"Your friends aren't going to last another seven minutes." Kella told Vixen, "We'll be close enough for you to fight in another minute and a half, but I'm not sure we'll be in time to turn the tide." Even with the Cross weakened, the superior coordination of the Resanti drones gave them a huge advantage with their numbers. Sure a good pilot was worth ten bad ones, but Resanti was hardly bad. The Eclipse would have to have a truly outstanding crew to pull this off. 

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Heh, well you've never seen my craft. l doubt those rust buckets are equipped to handle what the Cleansing Rain has installed in the way of firepower." she seemed quite proud of this fact, Kella if she was familiar with interceptors would certainly know that while Vixen's craft certainly looked like the old classics from decades ago, that it was far from those original designs. Vixen did her last minute systems checks before she was ready to deploy. "Friends is a strong word for people l don't know, but l have a job to do and that's more imprtant. Empire wants these bastards out here doing what they do... they help people. So, l'm gonna make sure they don't bite the dust. Not enough good in these god forsaken stars."

With that last musing it was was about time for her to detach, and begin her wrk. She was the guardian angel... the one who watched from afar. A hand that could reach out and pluck foe from the sky as if they were nothing. She crecked her neck, took a deep breath. She was ready to do the work she was born to do as she so thought. "l've got some flys to swat..." Vixen snarled as deattached the Cleansing Rain from the corvette. She began looking for the nearest lnterceptor to blow high sky, to keep them off of her own crew. lt was her job after all, and one she prided herself at being one of the best at.

[Chevaleresse]

They were evading her fire. The specific strategem was one she recognized; now she knew which craft to aim for. "Takahashi engaging enemy interceptors." The strikers would be dealt with, but first she had to take out the threats to herself. A striker would have little chance of maneuvering out of her fire unsupported by interceptors. She flipped a single switch as she prepared to maneuver; normally, her main cannon would lock up if the targeting systems reasonably believed they would hit the Eclipse itself. . . but at this time, the risk was worth cutting out the potential interference, and it was unlikely her stray rounds would have any real effect on the ship unless it was too late. 

 

The primary cannon shot another round toward the Resanti craft, but Naomi had no expectation of it landing. She stayed her course for a moment, aiming at the same spot as a consequence as the round streaked through space. It was trivial to avoid, of course, and given the conditions surrounding her target, it would be most efficient to dodge. . . there. She sighted her target solution, twitched the nose of the craft just so, fired again, and fired once for good measure. The Resanti intercepted slipped easily around the first one, only for the second to clip the nose of the craft as it tried to jerk out of the way. The resulting spin made it impossible for the third round to miss, and it sheared straight through the interceptor, carving an arc through the hull. Structural integrity gone, the craft's momentum ripped it apart, leaving not much but shards of plastic and metal flying into deep space in fifty different directions.