[Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

This archive contains the original story as it appeared on gaia, This is our main story, and what BHotR as a whole started from and builds off of. The setting has gone through many changes, and so the story has many inconsistencies. You can, in this forum, see the evolution of the story and its players as we went from a simple roleplay began in 2006.
CadetNewb
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by CadetNewb »

"Roger, roger!~" Pearl practically tweeted at Sasha's order. Most girls her age were more worried about their clothing, what the latest trends were, or if a certain boy was interested or not. In these troubled times, this was still the norm, though centering more around practicality than anything else. Was the clothing durable? Was this trendy thing of any actual, practical use? Is that boy capable of doing something productive other than just being a pretty face? Predictably, especially after all this talk, one would know right away that Pearl wasn't concerned about any of this at all. Instead, flying was Pearl's life passion, and it showed.

Sasha was no slouch, but Pearl followed her winding, twisting lead into battle with effortless grace. Even though they both were in the same type of vehicle, the younger pilot could literally understand how quickly her craft yawed or banked just by the feel of the craft, the sound of the ever so faint groans that escaped the small and light frame as it was stressed by the thrusters. It was her extensive technical understanding of her machine, and the enemy's, that made her such a feature to behold on the battlefield. After all, how could you outfly someone that knew exactly how tight of a turn you could pull, how quickly you could accelerate or brake? Sasha was no exception, and she was tailed easily.

Pearl flew into battle after her wingmate and locked onto her desired target, marking it for death.
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Straken »

“Alright Fred, let’s remind everyone exactly why you and I are the top dogs in this neck of the woods,” Steven called to his wingman once Green Squadron had split into their respective pairs. “Stick to my four o’clock as we engage. Nothing to flashy, but let’s still put a good hurt on ‘em.”
“Sounds like a plan ta me, Sir,” Fred responded, his smile was apparent even over the comm.

With the confirmation, the pilot duo led the Squadron’s charge into the enemy formations. The technologically state-of-the-art Scimitars, piloted by some of Terra’s best, struck hard into the flank of a preoccupied Scourge squadron. The initial charge allowed Steven and Fred to down one of the Scourges, and the Squad lead smiled as the other pilots in his wing executed their jobs perfectly.
Well, no more surprise bonus so it is time to get down to business, Steven thought to himself as he and Fred passed through the enemy ranks before making a hard turn to pursue the enemy fighters. “C’mon scalies, how about playing with us instead,” the sergeant chided as he began his chase.
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Kai »

It was a quick end for the first batch of enemy fighters- They had apparently gotten lax through their uncontested control of the space around the Planet Terra IV, and they would suffer for it. Sasha and Pearl's first targets were gone in a flash- that being the explosions as multiple breaches caused overloads and other horrendous things that generally cause death.

"Alright Pearl, your turn, I'll take your wing, find us something juicy!" the pilot called out to her wingmate, switching her combat computer to receive rather than send targeting data.
CadetNewb
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by CadetNewb »

Pearl licked her lips.

"An order of Juicy targets, hold the fries, coming right up!" She cheerily declared. Often outnumbered by the Drathonians, the young pilot was savoring this rare occasion where things were somewhat even in terms of numbers. Which, of course, meant that things were in the Terrans' favor. Sasha would quickly find a trio of Scourge craft, the slow, un-maneuverable yet tough craft in a lose formation at medium-long range from them. "Hit the throttle and begin evasive approach!" Pearl grinned as her picks came about, noticing them. "Same as the last battle!" The teenager gunned her Scimitar's engine to full and charged them in a zig-zagging course.

She eyed the numbers her rangefinder put up into her HUD; the timing was going to be critical! Further out, Pearl and Sasha's Scimitars could easily dodge the incoming fire from the Drath slugs and even shoot down missiles simply because of the rounds' time to contact. At medium range, that started to go out the window with weapons fire hitting more reliably, and at closer ranges, getting hit was a guarantee. That is, assuming the craft's turn rate was fast enough to stay on target. Pearl wanted to slip into that beautiful 'sweet spot' she found Scimitars had against Scourges; enter this zone where the lizards couldn't keep up at and hit them hard before speeding away from the inevitable reply. It was a complete half second of free reign before they could come about, a full one second if the pilot was incompetent!

The seconds it all happened in could be counted on a single hand.

Pearl's fighter screamed in at the loose Scourge formation like a bat out of hell - she launched a single missile at the vehicle trailing the formation before having her fighter jink and juke as it closed in. The young pilot eyed the range as fire slashed at the craft, getting closer and closer to striking. Just a little more! The Scimitar then suddenly nosed 'down' as soon as she was close enough and sped under the Scourge she fired upon earlier. Pearl cut the engines and 'slid', momentum having the small fighter continuing forward while now nosing up and bringing the guns to bear. Her craft faintly shook as the autocannons flashed forward to hammer the weakened Scourge, hostile streaks of light just passing 'overhead' and closing in as the Drathonian's aim gained.

The engine flared to life as the Scimitar sped forward and away from the oncoming stream of fire, the craft now behind her. Cutting engines again and 'flipping' over to face it, she let off one last burst, finishing it off just as fire briefly raked her shields. "This order's still a bit big for me!" she spoke over the comms to Sasha. "Lets share the last one!" Pearl laughed, expecting her wingmate to have finished one off on her own as well.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

With his iconic bravado, Samuel Godwin simply rushed straight at his opponents, guns blazing, and kept on flying even after passing them. With his usual irritation, Ibrahim trailed at a good distance and wiped not one but two of the weakened Scourges from existence. As he passed the wreckage, a small prayer was uttered: "And may the fires of Hell burn especially bright for you and your kin."

Godwin radioed his wingman, "Good work. A kill for each of us." This was also nothing new. Samuel believed they both put equal effort into the kills and therefore they ought to 'share' the credit. Ibrahim, ever a humble man, was willing to accept this agreement- but that did not stop the Arab from further disliking Samuel with every kill he claimed for his own.

Nor did Ibrahim wallow. He was also a focused and alert individual, and very few things went unnoticed by his keen eyes. "That looks like another squadron coming to engage, 3 o' clock low."

"Yeeeeeaaah!" exclaimed Godwin, as he spun his craft around- almost too far- then took off toward his opponents. It was like watching someone peel out of a parking lot, except the driver was some kid with just a permit instead of a stuntman's license: in short, he looked scary stupid.

"Right behind you, Five."
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Kai »

Sasha followed Pearl this time, though she did something different- While at first the fired at the squadron of enemies, her aim was to get them to spread out a little further-which they did, and then, before she had even passed them, Sasha had flipped her Scimitar around and feathered the thrust nozzles on the nose, bringing the fighter through the middle of the enemy formation ass-end first, where she let out a torrent of missiles- two for each enemy, before pouring fire from her cannons into them the moment she could get a bead. The trick had worked- she had managed to damage most of them, and take down one, but she paid for it in about a quarter of her shield sections having shut down- it would take them a few minutes to recalibrate and recharge before she had full shielding again.

"Alrighty, Pearl, I've softened them up, what do ya say we take another pass and turn them into space dust?"
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Straken »

The initial charge had worked quite well in Green Squadron’s favor. The cluster of Drathonian squadrons had broken apart and were scattered around making easy targets for the other Terran fighters in the vicinity. However, the pilots would soon find that their job was about to get several degrees more difficult as a large mass of enemy squadrons were roaring in from the enemy lines.

Steven’s HUD flashed a general warning in his peripherals that there were several locks on several members of Green Squadron, himself included. The sergeant ground his teeth out of habit as he thought of the next steps to take that would gain the advantage for his squad.
“Green Squadron, reform on my position. We’re going to relocate real quick,” Steven said to his pilots on the squad channel as he mentally marked a location that would give them the advantage, hoping to get to the location before engaging with the new droves of enemies.

Picking up a cue from the allied reinforcements, the initially broken Scourge squadrons quickly regrouped and began pressing at the Terran fighters. With renewed vigor the Drathonian pilots viciously fought back in attempts to catch the Terrans between a rock and a hard place when their allies arrive.
So before the pilots of Green Squadron had time to reform the Scourges honed in on the Terran pilots like hornets intent on keeping them separated from each other and their allies from other squadrons.
CadetNewb
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by CadetNewb »

"You be - " Pearl's sentence was cut short as Steven gave out his orders. "Aww, that guy'll just have to wait his turn Sasha! C'mon, we gotta regroup." The teenager's light starfighter flipped about by cutting main propulsion and pulsing its maneuvering thrusters. She suddenly accelerated away as she moved the throttle to full. Pearl knew that the Drathonians were aggressive, and were going to go right back on the attack as soon as they started to regroup. This meant that Steven, their leader, believed that it was best to give up their current initiative in order to re-organize.

It was something she agreed with, especially since the current initiative was only temporary, given that more of the red scaled bastards were coming right for them.
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Kai »

Sasha let off a couple of defensive salvos of mini-missiles before gunning her throttle to try and distance herself from the enemy fighters, her HUD showing her views of the battlefield behind her, giving her an idea of where she had to place her fighter in order to avoid getting hit.
"Roger, regrouping." she responded sharply, as her mind was going in a number of different directions, thinking through flight paths, trajectories, and all sorts of other variables as her fighter weaved a safe path through the cacophony like a ballerina in a minefield- one false step could easily mean the end, but Sasha performed everything naturally, as if the ship were just an extension of her body.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 1] In Gallant Defense

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

"Alright, one more 'n we gotta posse up!" declared Samuel Godwin.

"No, you fool," Ibrahim's icy voice cut in. "We go now."

"Fine!" Green Five cut his engines, spun one-eighty, and lit them up again. Not content with flying straight like a normal, sane person, Godwin spiraled his craft. Ibrahim could accept this sort of tomfoolery in the battlefield if the pilot proved their prowess; Samuel had yet to do so, and as such his actions merely grated on Pilot Schwinn's nerves. It was kept within, though, just another toss of kindling for the simmering coals of hatred and disdain that comprised his core.

Just when things were looking good, Samuel must have made an error. His path became looser, wider, and eventually trailed off in an unpredictable spin. "Five? Five! What are you doing?"

"I-I'm l-losin' 'er, Schwinn!" The fear was evident, likely compounded by the fact that his new course was putting him closer to their pursuers. Even after correcting it, he was far from safety. Green Six could practically envision the foul lizards licking their scaly lips, greedy to usurp their racial superiors by any means possible- even if it meant preying on the weak and stupid. Ibrahim set his jaw and dove toward his partner; like him or not, Six also had a duty. Now he could see, though, that he wouldn't make it. Even at full power, even if the Drathonian ships could only move at half Schwinn's speed, the lizards would still overcome Samuel Godwin. Knowing this, he corrected his course to regroup as originally planned with a heavy sigh.

"Samuel," called Ibrahim.

"Y-yeah, buddy?" His voice was shaky, probably even more nervous hearing his typically formal partner refer to him with familiarity.

"Find peace, Samuel. There is nothing to fear."

"SCHWINN!" His fear seemed to have redoubled now. "Are you KIDDING!? Y'see th--"

"PEACE, Samuel!" What began as a thrashing river became a somber brook. "Peace."

Samuel's soft sobs reached the team's ears then. "I... I'm sorry, Schwinn. So sorry!" The Drathonians were firing now, and with impunity. Perhaps it was Ibrahim's words, or perhaps Samuel simply saw the futility, but his ship made no evasive maneuvers.

"You're--" Was the last word Samuel Godwin heard. "--forgiven."
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