Ask Made You Look

[Crix Dolan]

The mottled blues of hyperspace burst into thousands of white pinprick lights out of The Freebird's viewport. The Freebird, a Cutlass-9 and a TAC transport dropped out of hyperspace at the exact location he'd last encountered the Pirates he'd been hired to eliminate. The idea of wiping out a group of capable fighters didn't make much sense to him so he'd decided to try and recruit them into his employ.

Specifically for this mission, he'd made some modifications to his ship. In place of his two forward light cannons he'd equipped an ion cannon and he'd replaced his ventral turret with the factory tractor beam that came standard on the Lancer Patrol Craft. His purpose for this mission wasn't to destroy, it was to ensnare.

His recent run-in with this band of Pirates ended in his favor, albeit by the skin of his teeth. So, along with the modifications he'd made, he also brought back up. The Scoundrel was accompanied by his business partner and all-around surly Trandoshan, Barlo Drussk, and the spunkiest astromech this side of Tatooine, BG-67, or Beegee to his friends.

Crix was confident they'd be able to handle the pirates, but he wasn't going to be able to expand his power base by continually handling things alone. He'd thrown a holo out through his company Hardlight Independent, and received a number of applicants, but the one that stuck out to him most was a mercenary named Strill.

After looking over their profile he'd hired them on the spot. There was something about hunter's he liked, and what better profession to have on his side for a mission like this.

Crix under, his alias Damon Kross, hailed the hunter, "Keep your eye on your radar. I have a feeling they'll be hitting us any minute."

@Darasuum

 

[Iviinyc Eldar]

The days since she had been trapped on Nar Shaddaa were behind her. The Cutlass-9 she flew in now was a lucky find. One in a million really, after her last one was almost completely destroyed in a crash landing. It still probably sat in pieces somewhere on the Smuggler's Moon. The starfighter at the hands of the armored twi'lek had been modified a bit from her previous ship as well. Now it was no longer just a cutlass-9, but a proper beskad.

Whereas Damon Kross's had opted to outfit his ship with ion cannons, the bounty hunter didn't have the facilities or the equipment to have that versatility. Instead the primary laser cannons of the starfighter had been upgraded to hit harder than ever before. They were a step away from being light turbo-lasers. On the other hand she still had a healthy amount of concussion missiles. When it came to tangling with Iviinyc, she mostly dealt in turning in bounties cold and dead than the alternative.

For this mission the twi'lek knew she had specific parameters to abide. The man didn't want to outright wipe out the pirates they were going after but instead wanted to eliminating them, Hardlight Independent wanted to hire the brigands. Iviinyc, under her bounty hunting alias of Strill, was here to simply provide support as one does. This would help pay off any debt she had come up with relating to her new replacement ship and maybe could make inroads to getting better equipment. The Eldar clan member wondered if she fit the target demographic the company had in mind.

"Roger that." She replied simply. The air of mystery that often surrounded her people was sometimes the best tool at their disposal. It made professional work sometimes easier and more expedient. Her starfighter didn't have anything special in the way of sensor arrays like larger ships or newer starfighters. But all the same, her helmet would check each of her readouts and keep her eyes glancing around the horizon for possible bogies.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan]

The simple response from the hunter in the Cutlass-9 put him at ease. Recently he'd run into a slew of upstarts and this wasn't a job for someone green. He settled into his chair. His hands resting on the controls were poised and ready to go. His eyes scanned his radars, but all was clear.

A sudden klaxon wail sounded a moment before four ships dropped out of hyperspace. Crix immediately recognized two fighters as the Cutlass-9.

What was there some sort of sale I missed?

It seemed like everyone had Cutlass-9's out here, and he made a mental note to check out their affordability.

The other two ships were new. An AIAT/I Gunship pulled up the rear trailing just behind a G1-A Starfighter. It was clear the pirates weren't here to play this time around and a smirk settled on his face. He hailed the ships drifting their way and was answered.

"You got balls coming back out here, Freebird."

"Good, you know who I am. Power down your weapon systems and I'll let you live."

Laughter erupted from the other side.

"You killed a friend of mine. I'm gonna enjoy ripping you to BITS!"

The pirates went into attack mode, and Crix didn't hesitate to follow suit.

He went into evasive maneuvers and barked into his comm to Strill, "Safety's off, these guys aren't fucking around. Do your best to leave one wounded. This job's a failure if we can't find their base.

@Darasuum

 

[Iviinyc Eldar]

Contacts showed up on her ship's sensors as they came into range. They were much too small for her to see with the naked eye for now but the cockpit and her linked helmet provided markers on the Heads Up Display. Letting her scanners do most of the work, she took note of the ships and models. Knowing pirates, their transponders could be altered to make them think they were different types of ships.

The threat was heard over the channel shared by the various ships and Strill didn't hesitate to move into action. She could tell in the tone of the brigand's voice that they were set on violence. Her starfighter's acceleration responding to her commands and sending her towards the attempted ambush.

The twi'lek tapped the trigger to begin arming missiles and locking on target. The magazine of missiles on the ship weren't cheap to buy but they could take out a starfighter in a single hit. This would be an interesting fight in Strill's mind. She was getting a chance to pit her Beskad-9 against the Cutlasses of the enemy. Now she would get to prove that she was an ace.

The pair of enemy starfighters led the squadron as the fastest in the group. The Mandalorian's two laser cannons had been upgraded to maximize damage. Angling her craft, she tried to gain target lock on one ship while keeping the crosshairs of her cannons centered on the other. Two heavy laser cannons opened up, impacting the light deflector shields of the starfighter from just a single hit. Among the hail most of them missed but it only took a second shot that directly struck the cockpit of the first enemy cutlass, instantly killing its pilot before detonating in a ball of fire. She would make certain to commemorate the kill on the hull of her starfighter. How ironic that it would be another cutlass being on the receiving end since most recent upgrades.

Banking to avoid flying directly through the cloud of debris she had made, the hired guild member would dive, delaying the target lock on her enemy but saving her shields from being struck by the incoming hail of laser cannons. Hauling on the stick to bring her ship around and out from directly in front of her prey, she saw the target lock go green. Pulling the trigger, the woman fired one of her missiles. The last remaining cutlass of the pair was wise and focused on trying to outmaneuver the incoming warhead.

Strill had prioritized which craft to attack and kill first. It would be easier for her to disable the larger ships without fully destroying them. It was a sort of wisdom that out in the void it was survival first before vendettas. Maybe even with all this hatred towards Damon Kross, either this pirate or their followers might have a change of heart after their numbers halved or more.

Another reason for her movement was the slower enemy ships were still a threat and needed to get closer to the TAC transports and the Freebird. Rule number one of escorting another ship was to not fly far away from what you were protecting. That meant also trying to draw her quarry with a bait and switch. As the first to take blood, she hoped this would aid in positioning her allies to better defend against the hostiles.

@Zay -

 

[Crix Dolan]

Damon knew he couldn't abandon the TAC vessel. The ship was a total ploy, but that didn't mean he was ready to reveal their entire hand.

Crix managed to skate just to the side of the cackling gunship's laser fire, "Barlo, get that guy off us, but don—"

"Don't kill'em, I know!" barked back his gunner. The Trandoshan tracked the Gunship with the triple-barreled light cannon and opened fire. The ship peeled off to reveal the G1 hiding in it's wake. Damon was forced into evasive for a second time as the starfighter's cannons lit up.

They were good. It was clear this crew had been flying together for a while. Which meant this was going to be harder than he'd hoped. The Freebird banked up and to the right and as they did, the AIAT/I, fell back in behind them. Luckily, Barlo was a practiced marksman.

The Trandoshan opened fire and raked the nose of the gunship. The G1 came to it's aid immediately, The Freebird's consol blarred a warning as an incoming missile streaked toward them.

"Barlo, aim for the G1 and get ready to fire."

Just before the missile caught them Damon sent the ship into a loop. As they hit the zenith of their flight Barlo opened fire on the G1. The starfighter burst into a shower of twisted metal and sparks as they completed the loop and came up behind the AIAT/I Gunship.

Flicking back on his com and opening the frequency, Damon said, "Last chance to power down."

The AIAT/I Gunship didn't respond, instead, they fell into a back and forth strafe that told Damon they weren't going to go down without a fight. He powered up the ion cannon prepared to take them by force.

@Darasuum

 

[Iviinyc Eldar]

The targeted cutlass-9 dipped and dived desparately. It's engine trail flared but the swerve was not enough to shake the incoming missile. The nose of the concussion missile raced towards the glowing rear of the starfighter. Its pilot knew it was closing in by proximity warning.

Iviinyc came around and smoothly banked to line up her cannon's sights ahead of her prey. The targeting computer was only using the twin heavy laser cannons. The Mandalorian didn't want to waste another warhead on this enemy. Pulling on the trigger the devastating laser cannons fired yellow bolts one after another. Stretching out across the darkness they would slam into the limited shield of the starfighter. The powerful cohesive laser pierced one of the wings and slowed. The pilot realized it was dangerous to keep moving forward, but that hesitation was the last thing he thought as the concussion missile finally reached the defenseless starfighter.

Underneath her helmet, Strill smiled before already beginning to return to the TAC transport. "Both Cutlasses are toast." She called with a smile to give Damon an update. Laser cannons were cheap to fire and pulled on the ship's reactor. Flipping to the open channel she began coming up on the Gunship's underbelly. Now her ship would begin to gain missile lock on the bigger enemy vessel. She wanted to wait until it beeped ready and send a warning to the crew of the targeted vessel. Still, the AIAT/I was swerving enough to delay the confirmed target lock by a few more seconds. The twi'lek found her grip tightening, but waiting and following Damon's lead seeing as this was the last ship.

@Zay - rolled 78/100 on discord dice

 

[Crix Dolan]

Strill's voice over the comm made Crix smile. That was it. The gunship in front of them could do nothing but run. The Scoundrel didn't open the com line to them again. He'd given them enough warning. His eyes began to track just in front of the ship, and The Freebird began to fall in sync with it's movements.

Crix closed the gap and let loose the ion canon. Even with the tax, it put on his sub-light engines, his ship was still faster than the gunship by a lot. The iridescent blue bolt slammed into the ship sending it listing to the side as it shuttered and lost power. For a moment he felt for them. He'd been clipped by an ion bolt and it had nearly killed him, but his sympathy was fleeting. He swung his ship around, hailing Strill at the same time.

"Prepare to board, weapons to stun."

Beegee began prepping the docking procedure. It'd had been a while since he'd taken and ship like this, his heart was pounded. He knew what it felt like to be a rat pushed into a corner, and knew it was going to be a hell of a fight. Crix pulled on his helmet and made for the docking tube.

He'd wait for Strill before breeching. No use being the only target. He had no doubt they would be outnumbered, but that was to be expected. He placed the charge and stepped back behind the wall.

@Darasuum

 

[Iviinyc Eldar]

The Mandalorian watched as the fizzling blue energy rippled across the outer hull of the gunship. Its drives and shields along with everything else were caput leaving them dead in the water. Receiving the call from her client, the twi'lek brought her starfighter around to land on the top wings of the AIAT/I and enabled the magnetic landing skids so her ship would become affixed.

Normally such an action would be pretty risky with an enemy ship. Her ship shuddered slightly but it was tough and Strill knew what she was doing. This also kept her ship out of the line of fire for the vehicle in case it regained power.

Making sure her armor had a positive seal, the canopy of the starfighter was opened with a momentary rush of air exiting into the vacuum of space. Grabbing her Galaar-15 from its stowed spot and unhooking herself from the seat's safety harness, the woman pulled herself out of the starfighter and moved onto the surface of the gunship. Her magboots engaged allowing her to walk along its surface and come to the docking ring before the tube made contact. She figured the man didn't want the ship to depressurize so would simply make sure to aim down her carbine. Almost forgot to switch to stun. The quick tap of a digit switching the heavy damage output to non-lethal would be heard by present company.

The twi'lek was well equiped for a boarding action. While most of her armor functions served to simply help keep her alive from the dangers of space, she had two heavy blaster pistol and her fusion cutter should things get dicey. While Damon was fine boarding an infantry transport, Strill knew she would maybe end up with lighter ammo pouches by the end of this.

@Zay