EXGAL HUNT: The Snubfighter Job (much money/prize, piloting free-for-all)

[Naast'ika Laaran]

Hyperion Security, like most other organizations with an ear to the ground, had received word about a missing box in a hard to reach location and the reward being offered for the retrieval of said box. Wanting the opportunity to tinker with whatever was in the box more than the reward itself, and wanting a mission for his newest creation to prove itself through, Rygel Larraq ordered Naast'ika Laaran and crew to pursue the mission. They were to locate the asteroid field, attempt to locate the objective on scanners, and assess the situation. If the ship was small enough to attempt retrieval of the package, it was to do so. If not, it was to deploy starfighters to retrieve the target package and return to base for debriefing.

Naast'ika Laaran exited hyperspace well outside the range of the asteroid field. As his sensors slowly expanded his awareness of his surrounding, he could nearly instantly recognize the signature of numerous starfighters weaving through the debris field. His voice chirped excitedly to the crew on the bridge as he began approaching the asteroid field, searching for a way through the densely packed rock so that he could play with the numerous smaller ships that appeared to be having a great deal of fun as they danced among the floating rocks. “Caution Naast'ika” said Captain Tupu. “Ensign Demona, what do you see on sensors?”

“Initial scans are showing at least five small craft navigating the debris field and one frigate-class vessel elsewhere outside the field.” Ensign Demona reported to the Captain. “Debris field appears to be densely packed with nickle-iron asteroids. We're getting magnetic readings all over the place.”

“Are you able to spot a safe way in?” Asked Captain Tupu.

“Negative Captain.” Reported Ensign Demona.

“How about you, Junior Lieutenant Tersu? Spot a way in?” Asked the Captain of the senior navigational officer.

“Ensign Rekama and I have identified three possible paths into the asteroid field.” Junior Lieutenant Tersu reported. “But debris density and sensor distortions are clouding them.”

“Good work. Ensign Demona, have you located the box on sensors yet?” Asked the Captain.

“I believe so sir, but it's hard to be sure.” Ensign Demona reported. “The signal appears to be emanating from one of the starfighters maneuvering through the debris field.”

“Good.” Said the Captain with a smile. “Our competition has made the job easy for us. Junior Lieutenant Tersu, mark a waypoint for the first pathway. Naast'ika... Follow the waypoints. Slow and cautious.”

Naast'ika's voice chirped happily on the bridge as he approached the asteroid field.

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Stardust beeped in response to o twos commamd as she followed close behind [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]'s ship, soon she watched above o two some debris be shot and explode, she looked round for the origin of the shot "where are you" she said to herself AMD watched for a second as fire rained to o two, she turned and angled up firing upon the fighter sge could barely see

 

[Cyrus Corr]

[member="stardust"] , [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] , [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] , @Arrbi Betna


Cyrus saw the battle and chuckled. His ship would get him through this no problem, with its stealth tech enabled. He gunned it toward the battle, hoping to maneuver carefully enough through the belt and its rather trigger happy inhabitants. He made sure his sensors were off, because it posed a detection risk. He sighed, moving straight toward the case, and battle. His worst fear right now was that he would end up hitting someone on his way in, but then he saw [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] dent up the case, and he worried that maybe this whole thing would be for nothing. As he was flying toward the fight, he risked a quick transmission to his brother, "Hey try and wreak some havoc on this whole field with those torpedoes!"

 

[Rennek Corr]

[member="Cyrus Corr"] / [member="stardust"] / [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] / [member="Thessa Kai"] / [member="Arrbi Betna"] / [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] / [member="Ashin Varanin"] / [member="Jared Ovmar"] / [member="Darren Shaw"]

=================================================================================================================================

Rennek barked out a series of commands to the robotic crew of the Okyaab. "Face forwards, fire Proton torpedo's into sector 29." Rennek then sat back and watched as two torpedo's were fired from his ship in quick succession into the asteroid field right where his brother had wanted them. All that was left was for Cyrus to grab that box.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"], [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Thessa Kai"], [member="stardust"], [member="Jared Ovmar"], [member="Rennek Corr"]


Naast'ika's lithe, predatory frame glided through the void as he approached the first pathway his crew had identified for him. He had no eyes, yet his sensors displayed the world around him in all the three dimensional glory of a holoprojection. He saw objects not by the face that presented itself to him, but in its entirety. He saw the shape and curvature, the ruggedness and rotation of each asteroid from every possible angle. As ranges extended, certain details became fuzzy while others glowed like beacons in the dark. He could see hundreds and thousands of individual asteroids, but these eventually faded into an amorphous blob at the limits of his standard sensors. Beyond these limits, the artificial sensors took over. Augmenting the image that was his perception of reality were the computer generated images of numerous starfighters dancing with one another in the amorphous blob of unscannable asteroids. The computers and software cybernetically grafted to his central nervous system identified the ships that it could based on power output, radiation and radio wave signatures, and a host of other factors. For those it could not identify, the computer software displayed the image of a generic fighter and updated the image as new data presented itself.

These starfighters were mesmerizing to Naast'ika. They looked to be having such fun with one another in the asteroid field and Naast'ika wanted to participate in the play. To do that though, he would first need to navigate one of the paths that his crew had found for him.

As he closed in on the first waypoint, a curious occurrence took place. He rounded the orbit of a particularly large asteroid, used the gravity of the small planetoid to hurl himself closer to his goal, and then continued using his Dovin Basal Neuroengines to drag himself towards the gap in the wall of rock and debris. As his body closed in on the gap, the asteroids forming the perimeter of the pathway seemed to collapse towards the center of the gap, closing off the pathway before Naast'ika could even attempt to navigate its winding corridors.

Naast'ika banked sharply and drifted using the momentum he had already built up with his Neuroengines. His Etheric Rudders worked like their nautical counterpart to turn his body in the void and redirect his momentum to another trajectory. As Naast'ika reactivated his Neuroengines to accelerate towards the next waypoint that his crew had marked for him, the asteroids moved once more. Rocks and debris suddenly raced away from the asteroid field and arced towards Naast'ika's beskar-reinforced prow.

Startled, Naast'ika turned sharply away from the approaching asteroids and chirped his confusion to the small creatures that inhabited his bridge.

Spoiler

(([member="Cyrus Corr"], Hey bud! You know that the stealth system on that ship is double-blind, right? Using the Stealth System in an asteroid field without being Force Sensitive is pretty much suicide. Then again... I've no idea if you're Force Sensitive or not.))

 

[Nyxie]

...And [member="stardust"] was the Lion.
Kurah waited for the inevitable first shot to arc away from Betna's fighter and gunned the engines just as it approached. The first mark just barely missed her tail, the ion cannons absorbing in proximity with her shields, causing them to shut down and the generators to stall out for a good moment. However, it was just because she knew that she was seemingly cornered and that her enemy would attempt to use that advantage to fire upon her no matter what she did that she did the one thing his actions proved he did not expect; she looped back sharply, holding the flight stick full-tilt and nose up, causing any remaining fire to pass over her, where she knew her enemy would anticipate her being. It was a juke.
Kurah was now more or less facing her aggressor, upside down, and for a brief moment had a perfect view of the fighter that had for that one moment forsaken its stealth to fire. Kurah put a bead on it and used her superior systems to form a lock with her computers and droid brain anticipating its most likely flight trajectories to project to Dryrie One.
"Dryrie One, fire! Fire across that fighter and HUD trajectory with both rotary cannons!"
Now Kurah was faced with the critical choice between two options. She could approach the fighter head on, ensuring a viable bead no matter which direction it moved, or doubling back around through the opening in the debris field she had made earlier and hoping the fighter would be foolish enough to pursue her again, ensuring the same tricks and enabling a plethora of other new strategies to be initiated. It wasn't without cost, but for the moment Kurah had brought the metaphorical ball in her court.
All the while, two proton torpedoes raced past the trio and onward to the asteroid cluster where Kurah originally found the box. The range between the two had since been considerable, since she had pushed with one craft that attempted to steal it, fly around to avoid another and quickly crawl through a debris chain to try and lure out the third. The large, silent explosion of fire, blue light and bits of rock gave off in the distance, almost like a finale to her crusade. It was time Kurah bugged out. She wasn't going to stick around while capital weapons were lurking.
Mistress Kurah had but one final command, at no risk of discovery now that she had, well, already been discovered and was actively tracking one or two other craft engaging her.
"This is Dryrie One to Glaive E. You are cleared to activate sensors and fire at will. Tally three bandits. We're coming soon."
The way she saw it, she had a good two or three posts before she could get to the shuttle. None were all the wiser to the fact that Kurah had spent most of her time mapping out the broader expanse of the debris field and now had a mostly-valid map of it all to plot a course on Dryrie One and Two's navicomps... which she did immediately.

All that was left now was to make it through the safe course Kurah's shuttle had plotted in the allotted time without getting caught, then she would hyperdrive away from the friendly edge of the field. With shields temporarily out of order and starboard flank sensors severely weakened, it would have to be a quick one.

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Star smiled feeling the adrenaline course through her body, sge enjoyed space battle it was a art in a way, sge listened to [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] and nodded"you got it consider it done"sge lopped around dodging some debris around her she looked and spotted the fighter pressing the fire button the rotary guns spun and fired at the fighter"wooooooooooohooooo

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

[member="stardust"], [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"], [member="Rennek Corr"], [member="Cyrus Corr"], [member="Arrbi Betna"],

Naast'ika swam through space, skirting the asteroid field and staying far enough away from it to prevent the massive rocks from catapulting themselves towards him. His Captain and crew explained to Naat'ika that the Dovin Basal's he used to move himself were also pulling the asteroids into his path. The crew on his bridge busied themselves with trying to figure out a means of safely entering the asteroid field while Naast'ika maneuvered himself towards the next Navpoint. Within his perception of his surroundings, provided by his sensors, Naast'ika watched as the starfighters looped and swirled around one another and the asteroids they maneuvered through. He watched as they fired weapons at one another and chased eachother through the swarm of rocks and debris.

It looked like so much fun!

Naast'ika beeped excitedly as he rounded a large asteroid and a new ship came into range of his perception. The computers analyzed the signals created by the warship and compared the signals to every ship held within the databank. After a few short milliseconds, the cybernetic augmentations of Naast'ika relayed the relevant information to his brain and a hologram-like representation of a Glaive E-class SEWAC Frigate was displayed within Naast'ika's sensor-based awareness. Naast'ika chirped happily as he altered course and accelerated towards the craft. He wanted to play!

--- On the bridge of Naast'ika ---

Captain Tupu was busying himself with looking over the shoulders of Navigation Specialists Tesla Tersu and Mossi Rekama as they and Commander Kain attempted to come up with a plan to successfully navigate the Asteroid Field. Nearby, Commander James Duke and Lieutenant Commander Shia Armada made contingency plans to launch starfighters and send them into the Asteroids instead.

Among the throng of voices discussing one plan or another, an automated beeping noise was almost overlooked as simply being the voice of Naast'ika chirping his excitement or frustration at them. After a few moments of ignoring it, Captain Tupu's subconscious alerted him to the importance of that particular noise. "Is that a weapon's lock?" He said at last, snapping his head to the forward viewscreen with a look of horror upon his face. A quick button push relayed his voice to the primary Fire Control station elsewhere within the ship. "Petty Officer Trite, what is the status of the main armament? Is the Proton Cannon on lockdown?"

"Negative Captain." Reported Petty Officer First Class Andrew Trite. "You ordered it operational in case we needed to clear an asteroid."

Captain Tupu was about to order the weapon locked when the dull echo of its firing reverberated through the deck plating beneath his feet.

Spoiler

"Ensign Demona... What did we just open fire on?" Captain Tupu asked the sensor operator.

"A Glaive E-class SEWAC Frigate just appeared on sensors sir. Naast'ika immediately put himself on an intercept course and opened fire." Ensign Demona said. On forward viewscreens, they could all see the twin Heavy Plasma Cannon rounds and Heavy Proton Cannon round rapidly closing the distance between the two ships. Whoever owned that ship no longer mattered. They needed to engage and destroy it before it could identify them and risk a legal or international incident.

"Whoever that is, we're committed now." Captain Tupu said with sudden conviction. "Sound alarm and set for Condition Red. All hands to battle stations."

 

[Cyrus Corr]

[member="Naast'ika Laaran"], [member="stardust"], [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"],

Cyrus saw that [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] was trying to make a getaway, and immediately changed course to follow her out. He made sure all weapons systems were operational before actually committing to the change in his flight plan. He'd have to be careful not to mess up this package, and again, to avoid hitting someone on the way in towards his target. He chuckled. The element of surprise was definitely on his side. He hadn't made himself known, and was now going after a vulnerable prey.


(([member="Naast'ika Laaran"], unless you designed the ship or found something in the thread that I didn't notice, I don't notice anything about this supposed double-blindness.))

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

On the Flight Deck of Naast'ika Laaran, things were hectic long before the Captain had called for Condition Red. Senior Chief Petty Officer Rob Keppora was busy managing the preparation and readyment of the ship's complement of fighters and gunships. They had come to this location knowing that they could very well need to rely on the starfighters to complete the mission. So Senior Chief Petty Officer Keppora and his team had been busy fueling, arming, and readying the starfighters for quite some time. Systems had been checked, mechanical components had been checked, weapons and fuel were topped off, and the pilots were on standby in the Pilot's ready room.

When Condition Red was called, Rob Keppora and his crew were ready. His men scrambled to complete the final activation procedures for each of the six combat craft that lined Naast'ika's Hanger while ten Naval Aircrewmen double-timed it through the connecting corridor and made their way to their respective ships. Lieutenant Daemona Demona and Junior Lieutenant Lima Fiora made their way to Beskad Starfighters one and two, climbing up the crew ladder and pulling themselves into the cockpit of the elite starfighters. Lieutenant Moria Armande and Junior Lieutenant Lauren Talus approached Cabur Starfighters one and two and pulled themselves into their vehicles.

Cabur Patrol Ship one and two sat on opposite sides of the hanger. Pilot Lieutenant Daniel Swift, copilot Ensign Aerith Cari, and Turret Gunner Ensign Darien Korne went to one while Pilot Junior Lieutenant Justine Starfall, copilot Junior Lieutenant James Cameron, and Turret Gunner Ensign Corbin Dalis went to the other.

The voice of Operations Commander James Duke filled the hanger and each of their helmets as each of the Naval Aircrewmen strapped themselves in and donned their MMSHMD-A01 Flight Helmets. "Your orders will be simple for once. Beskad Flight and Kyramund Flight* will make their way into the asteroid field. ATC Ensign Aldamar will guide you to target and keep you abreast of enemy movements. Cabur Flight will keep tight formation with Naast'ika and engage targets as ordered."

A moment of silence followed the man's voice before a woman's took over. "Beskad and Kyramund Flights are clear for launch." Ensign Briana Aldamar said as the hanger doors opened and revealed the cold of space beyond. There was only a single hanger door aboard Naast'ika. The entrance and exit to the hanger was on the aft end of Naast'ika, just below the creature's tail. Hydrostatic shielding kept the void of space at bay as engines roared to life and the four starfighters launched themselves into the darkness one at a time. When the last of the four had cleared the hanger's shielding, Ensign Briana's voice greeted them once again. "Cabur Flight is clear for launch." She said simply as the two other ships lifted themselves from the hanger floor and rocketed out and into space.



(*Kyramund Flight = Cabur Starfighters)

Spoiler

[member="Cyrus Corr"]

I am [member="Captain Larraq"]. For one, I sell them.
For another, it's in the ship's sub and on Wookieepedia.

BR-0100 Neta'norac
""""
Non-Combative Attachments:
*Advanced Shield Generator
*Long-Range Sensors
*Sensor Jammer
*Cloaking Device (Double-Blind Hibridium)
*Efflux Diffusion Baffles
""""


Hibridium
""""
...and left the craft on which they were being used double-blind. Though the craft was invisible to other ships' sensors, it could not locate other ships with its own sensors.
""""

Cloaking Device
""""
The hibridium model cloaking device's worst drawback was perhaps the "double-blind" nature of the cloaking shield, which also blocked the host ship's scanners and communication systems. Crews and passengers on cloaked ships were unable to peer beyond the cloak's shroud. Since visual navigation was impossible, any other form of navigation could only be exercised by preprogramming astrogation routes. The vessel was thus effectively isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Communications, combat operations, and sensor sweeps could only occur when the cloaking field was lowered or disabled. The cloaking device did nothing to impair senses dependent on the Force, however, and trained Force users could detect even cloaked ships in battle with ease.
""""

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] [member="Naast'ika Laaran"]

This was Empire of the Hand territory, and the Empire of the Hand had put out the call for contractors. Imagine the surprise of the Empire of the Hand when other militaries' assets started showing up.

Elsewhere in the nameless system, far outside the range of turbolasers and standard sensors, the Star Destroyer Grave Wind examined the SEWACS frigate and the strange bioship with its DER sniper scope array, and was no doubt examined in turn.


[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

 

[Nyxie]

(((OOC: There's way too many to PM once so I'l just have to state this here. I was in the middle of an RPJ mediation of something so I have not posted and will not until that decision has been made and edits have or haven't been made in accordance. Sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience. I appreciate that no one is stacking posts against me in my intermission.)))

 

[Nyxie]

(((For [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] and [member="Ashin Varanin"])))​

​

The Ri'essi Union Glaive E had, fairly quickly detected the incoming fire and approaching ships as it was designed to do, its presence no secret with equally transparent intentions
"Half Ahead at seven point o'! Pitch forty degrees! All hands to battle-stations! Starboard Quads aimed, weapons cold!"
The passive-aggression defense order would be given from the ship's captain.
The Glaive E quicky dipped down and at considerable speed, the bandit's angle of attack and munition's speed coupled with the ship's natural slender shape giving it a near miss with the enemy ordinance.
"This is the RUS Malygos to the Unidentified Craft," a pervasive multi-signaled transmission came through on all bands and frequencies; far more than the biological ship could simultaneously comprehend without preemptive knowledge never given by or stolen from the SEWACS' manufacturer before. "You are ordered to cease fire immediately or you will be fired upon and engaged by allied squadrons en-route. I repeat, cease fire and disable all weapon systems immediately!"
Dryrie Squadron, unlike the union-operated and thus non-military Glaive E, was a full naval squadron outfitted with heavy multi-role starfighters which ranked upper elite in the AWCS by all standards. It was unwise to be on the bad side of one, as not a single one had been shot down in the history of RRDI's manufacture of the model line to date. They were a rare and elegant sight, usually not one welcomed as it oft meant serious offense and imminent death.
If Aynea were there, she would have regret how utterly incompetent a biot she had helped make. Of course, she'd also just scold it like a child and send it off, which would instinctually have worked at least defensively. Sadly, it was none of their business what Aynea created in her spare time and none of her interest to make it anyone's else.

 

[Nyxie]

Kurah was about to begin the long route out, lockbox under carriage, when new orders were received to abandon the box and aid a nearby patrol with a pirate attack. Never one to disobey an executive order, dropped the box on the spot and attempted to bug out. It slowly began to drift back gracefully near its original resting place in the asteroid cluster beneath her.

(((Yes, I'm 'throwing' the competition. Have fun, kiddos.)))​

 

[Arrbi Betna]

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]
[member="Naast'ika Laaran"]
[member="stardust"]

Betna felt the controls judder in his hands slightly at the enemy fire that impacted against the Bes'uliik's hull. It wasn't enough to damage the armor, but if previous experience was anything to go by, he was probably short a sensor or two.

The culprit of drawing more or less accurate fire had been the stygium cloak aboard the starfighter. He thought it was supposed to stay on all the time, but apparently not. No matter, he figured he'd have Anija look it over later.

As it was, the enemy knew he was there and engaging at will, so he flicked the cloak off, revealing the beskar plated Bes'uliik in all its glory. In the process, a glimmer ahead caught his eye.

The starfighter he'd been chasing had lost something just then. Something metallic and substantial. As he didn't see any real hits on the starfighter's armor, it could only be one thing: the box.

Double checking to make sure his cloak was fully shut down, Betna then reached to the control stick. One hand brushed a bright red button while the other flicked on his sensors. As the nose was already aiming for the box, little adjustment was needed.

With a roar heard only inside the cockpit, the booster engines thundered to life, propelling Betna's craft forwards and ahead in a spray of engine backwash.

With a dull thud, preceded by other clangs and bangs of smaller debris bouncing off the hull, the box smacked into the hull of the Bes'uliik directly in front of the cockpit. The box blocked some of betna's forward-low view, but he figured it was an okay tradeoff.

Now, he just had to stop the starfighter he was flying long enough to turn around.

Spoiler

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4725913/

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]


Heedless of the warnings, Naast'ika Laaran fired again and again at the thinly armed and armored target before it as it raced towards its target. Miraculously, the stationary frigate managed to completely dodge the first volley of shots that had been launched at it. Even Captain Tupu had not known that the shots were going to be fired, and yet the frigate had somehow managed to dodge those shots. Quietly, Captain Tupu took note of this miraculous feature and would investigate further. True, Naast'ika was not the best of shots, but to miss a stationary target entirely was... impressive.

"Naast'ika, mechanical ships are far less maneuverable than you are. They must move forward and have limited maneuverability options. Aim slightly in front of the ship." Captain Tupu said as he highlighted an area of space slightly in front of the ship. Naast'ika's targeting brains would automatically handle the calculations required to correctly aim and time weapon firings to hit the intended location. "Ignore their warnings Naast'ika. You can take them easily and have full permission to do so."

Captain Tupu was not a fan of needless murder, but Naast'ika needed to experience actual combat before he could become the Warship that Rygel Larraq wanted him to be. The data their computers had on the Glaive-E was promising. Limited Shields and Armor. Limited Weapons. Not particularly fast or agile. Limited or no hanger capacity. And best of all, a crew of only ten. Naast'ika held a crew of 40-100 at all times. Traditional Frigates held dozens to hundreds of crew. Whoever owned their target ship was flying an unrepairable deathtrap. It was more like a frigate sized starfighter than a true warship.

Yes. Naast'ika would likely have no challenge from the Glaive-E. As for the apparent squadron or so of starfighters the captain of the enemy frigate claimed was coming to its defense... Captain Tupu would see. More importantly, he would also see who was bringing frigates and squadrons of starfighters so close to Mandalorian borders. Surely, there was valuable intel to be gathered here, beyond the obvious data available should they manage to acquire the objective in the asteroid field.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The prize claimed by [member="Arrbi Betna"] - the lockbox so desired by the Empire of the Hand, at least ostensibly -- proved to be a miniature gravitic modulator, a prototype from Iron Crown. Also in the box was a furious mouse droid armed with a wired-in blaster, his wheels and blaster hardwire deactivated.

This being on the fringes of the Aeten Nebula, the box also contained a sample of stygium - enough for a very small snubfighter, or a personal vehicle. Similar samples, perhaps from destroyed lockboxes, might be found by [member="Thessa Kai"] and [member="Naast'ika Laaran"].