Ask Free Birds

[Elias Ryn]

Elias sat on top of a random crate, one leg tug tucked in with the other planted beside it with his knee in the air. He rested an arm on top of it loosely as his right hand had a small rock in it. He continually tossed it into the air and let it come crashing back down into his palm with a tiny smack. He had done it enough by that point, that he didn't even need to look anymore and just went off instinct where the rock would land. His gaze was trained forward the entire time, completely transfixed on the sky as it would occasionally flick to passing clouds and wildlife that migrated.

The Knight had found himself on Yavin-IV and in one of the rare temples that still stood for the Jedi Order and specifically, at the edge of the hangar. Normally, the vast and consuming jungle that teemed with life would be the usual sight for someone to drink in on the planet. But instead for Elias, his gaze constantly went to the sky, his vivid imagination helping picture himself up there in a cockpit. It had only been a few years since he had left Nal Hutta, more correctly, escaped from that planet as was discovered to be a force-user by the local crime lords. Even with the amount of time that had passed, he could still remember his flights with dad like they were yesterday. The laughs they shared as they spun around each other and gave chase to test each other's skill with the stick. The elation he felt when he saw the proud look his parents gave when they successfully completed a mission together without a scratch.

Only to Elias' eye, would two ships break through the thick clouds as they dipped and soared through the sky with practiced ease. One looked exactly like his own when he was younger, the other was his father's as it carried all the banged up marks a merc's ship would come with. They flew in perfect unison together and the only thing the Knight could do was sigh as the two ships eventually disappeared back into the clouds forever. "Soon, Pops." The rock continued to be tossed into the air as he imagined the small air show but when it finished, he caught it for the final time and threw it. It would skid across the metal floor of the hanger before hitting a ship and bouncing off. "Soon." Elias had been the one who revealed his nature to the cartel and he paid for his carelessness every day. He would eventually go back for his family but he had to be ready when the time came.

As he was about to leave from the hanger, he caught the sound of engines and he glanced up once more to the sky. A pack of Z-95's broke through the clouds and soared above the temple as they missed it with the coverage from the trees. This time, it wasn't imaginary and the pirate starfighters made a beeline path toward somewhere as they made no deviation. He lifted himself off the crate as his eyes tracked where they went. Then it hit him, there was a village only a few klicks away from the temple. He had been tasked to carry water there when he was a padawan to help the villagers and it was the only viable target beside the temple.

He stood in a hangar and he turned to the allotment of ships at his disposal. Elias couldn't let the pirates go untouched and raid even though he was supposed to stay at the temple. His fingers itched to be around the stick and he wanted to feel that rush once more. Without hesitation, he made his way to the ships deeper in the hangar.

@Wit

 

[Vinry Forge]

Deep in the temple, protected from most threads, the Jedi command post noticed the same group of fighters that Elias had spotted from the hangar. A call had gone out to any Jedi at the Temple, there was trouble nearby and they had to do what they did best. Protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

A strike party would be assembled, and soon enough there would be soldiers and Jedi alike making a beeline for the village. Vinry had no doubt that they would be prompt and efficient in their response, but she also knew that there was a distinct lack of pilots at the temple right then. And if the aggressors were pirates, then she needed to be in the air to go in ahead and do what she could.

So even as the call went out, she was rushing towards the hangar. With the Force to aid her, she was at the hangar within a minute or two, just as Elias would be reaching the ships. She spotted him near the ships, and didn't waste much time with pleasantries.

"You know how to fly one of these things?" She called out as she spotted a X-Wing with a astromech droid already docked on, and began climbing on. "I could do with wingman if you do"

She didn't wait for his response, assuming he would get into another one of the available ships if he was a pilot. She started strapping her in and switched her ship's comms to the channel used by the temple. If he followed her she would hear him soon enough on her comms as she rushed through an abbreviated pre-flight checklist.

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

As Elias rushed over to his specific X-wing, the astromech already docked in as well, beeped loudly as he approached. "Yeah, yeah! I'm hurrying." The droid seemed to enjoy flying just as much as him and was always eager to get into some combat. The cockpit windshield slid back and he climbed up the small ladder to get ready to seat himself before he suddenly heard a voice that asked if he knew how to fly. He couldn't help but arch his eyebrow at the fellow Knight but before he could even respond, she already got herself strapped in.

He glanced over at the astromech and it let out a few beeps the moment he made eye contact. "Be nice, it wasn't meant like that." The droid was quite a vocal one. Elias slid himself into the seat and strapped himself in as the windshield slid over him. He placed his headset on and synched his comm channel with Vinry. After that, switches were flipped as power flooded through the ship and the engines roared in enthusiasm. Vinry's voice shortly came through as she began reading through the mandatory checklist but Elias' voice would cut her off as it came through the comm and repeated her words to her. "I could do with a wingman too. Let's see if you can keep up."

When she was halfway through the list, she would begin to see Elias' ship suddenly lift into the air as it hovered for a moment. He began to maneuver it forward as he lined it up straight with the hangar. The S-foils locked together and the engine whirred for a second before he immediately shot off like he was fired out of a gun. The walls and lights became a blur as he was pushed back against his seat while the hangar exit got closer and closer. When he shot out of the hangar in a matter of seconds, the trees blew in the opposite direction from the speed he had already collected.

Elias kept his ship low to the ground as it followed the nearby river and nearly skidded nearly on top of it. He snaked with the waterway as it did and the water reacted with him as waves crashed together. He pulled up and gained altitude shortly after and pressed a button to pull up a holographic map. His voice would come through the comm channel that Vinry was connected to, "Only a few klicks out, shouldn't be too long before we make contact."

 

[Vinry Forge]

Vinry let out a smile at her fellow Jedi's response, some friendly never rivalry never hurt anyone. As his ship rose into the air and shot out of the hangar, she wrapper her own flight check and followed in his wake as her ship emerged from the hangar at a more relaxed pace before she pushed forward the throttle to catch up with him.

A quick glance at her console and some hurried been from her R2 unit informed her of his position and she dropped to lower altitudes as well to follow his approach vector. It was evident, once she had caught up to him, that he knew how to fly. That was good, with just the two of them in the air they would need every advantage they could find to take out the pirates. They were going into this with a numerical disadvantage, she only hoped that skill and hardware superiority were on their side.

"Roger that, switching S-foils to attack position." She dropped a little and instructed her R2 unit to lock her S-foils into attack position, best to be prepared for any surprises now that they were this close. "Let's stay out of sight for as long as we can. The priority is to prevent them from landing, harrying the village from the air. We hug the tree line, come in quiet, catch them unawares. Suggestions, objections?"

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

The trees were tall enough to keep the two Jedi's ships out of sight. The holographic mapped flipped its angle around 180, showing him the way the river traversed and the landscape that surrounded the village they were heading to. Elias scanned the area and his voice came through the comm, "There's a ridge that breaks off from the treeline further down the water. We ride along that to the village, we'll end right on top of those pirates." Hopefully, if they came from above, it would be enough to scare off the pirates and break apart.

He flipped a switch and gave a nod to Wulf as the S-foils unlocked with a thud as if they had been waiting for this moment the entire time. The two of them flew in unison as they trailed along the trees until he finally found the ridge that the map had indicated. Pushing his stick to the left, Elias' ship veered to the left and pulled away from the trees as it instead followed the ridgeline and almost nearly skimmed along the rocks. The village would soon be in sight for them but then his map beeped loudly.

There were four red triangles flying in formation as they aimed straight for the village. "They're approaching their target now. Get ready." A few seconds later, the two Jedi would be able to hear the sound of triple-blasters as the pack of ships began to open fire. "Now." Elias comm'd to Vinry before his ship sharply turned and soared straight up the ridge and into the open air. The X-wing then angled down as the two would be at a slightly higher plane than the ships they were following. He pierced through the thick clouds and closed the distance quickly to make sure his aim would ring true.

Elias lined his shot and squeezed the trigger, the four laser cannons opening fire as they let out their iconic sound. They rained down on the Z-95s but they completely whizzed past and harmlessly struck the ground below them that wasn't the village. He may have missed but that was the point as the Z-95s instantly split off and broke away from the village to leave it alone. Elias spun his X-wing around as he drifted it through the air before as he changed direction and gave chase to a group of two headhunters. Because the Z-95 was basically a downgrade in every sense of the way, they had to make a break for it. The only way they could take one down is if they lined up directly behind one and took a straight-on shot.

The Knight's voice rang through the comms, "Riding the tail of two of them." The two headhunters spun and weaved crazily but Elias was skilled enough to keep a respectable distance for his laser cannons to be effective and to keep up with them.

 

[Vinry Forge]

On her instructions her R2 unit brought up a visual of the ridge that Elias mentioned, and after a quick glance at the tiny display she couldn't find any strong reasons to object to his suggestion. So she waited for his signal as the two of them moved along the tree-line, getting closer and closer to the village.

She spotted the opening and reacted even as Elias was giving the call, rising into the air and dipping moments later to approach the pirate vessels from behind. As Elias gave chase to two of them, Vinry peeled off after the other two. "Copy that," she replied as Elias informed her of the same, "I'll on the other two."

She shot after the two Headhunters, shooting a few warning shots to try and guide them away from the village. One of the ships suddenly killed its speed and, whether out of a badly executed move or intentional suicidal tendencies on part of the pilot, almost slammed into her. She reacted instinctively, dipping downwards and whipping her stick to the side to spiral around the ship and somehow returning to her original flight path. Only now the Headhunter was flying parallel to her.

That was when she realized that the other ship, that should have been ahead of the two of them was gone, as her droid started beeping frantically in warning. Shot slammed into her rear deflector shields and she started evasive maneuvers, flying this way and that, up and down, to avoid getting hit by the barrage of lasers. The second ship had taken the opportunity to loop back above them, and was now hot on her tail.

"Got two on my tail." She warned her fellow Jedi over the comms, as her astromech drew as much speed out of the X-Wing as he could, helping her build up some distance between herself and the two slower Headhunters. "Be careful out there, they're crazier than I thought!"

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Elias speared through the air along with the other Headhunters. His shots were to the outside of them, preventing them from splitting and creating two targets for him to chase. Wulf continually beeped to him as the droid tried to provide adjustments to his aim mid-flight. "I'm not trying to hit them, Wulf." The droid beeped enthusiastically but it was for different reasons than just agreeing with him and it got an eye roll of a response. The two Headhunters continued straight, only doing evasive maneuvers when they thought one of the bolts would hit.

But, as the two ships were about to peel off, Vinry's voice came through his comm and notified him that the Headhunters had turned on her. Elias glanced at the ship comm and then the two ships in front of him before he slammed the air-brakes and yanked his stick straight backward. The X-wing responded in kind and did a flip in the air as it spun around and flew toward Vinry's location. "Hang on, I'm coming." The two Headhunters he gave chase immediately spun in the air as well and chased his tail this time. However, Elias was able to put some distance and give himself a headstart so he wouldn't be shot from behind.

The S-foils locked for his craft and the thrust of his ship grew in intensity as he tried to fly toward Vinry's position. It would only be a minute before she would see Elias' X-wing and vice versa. The two Headhunters that chased him also revealed themselves a little afterward. They began to shoot at the Jedi but he didn't even seem to take notice as he only focused on getting the other two off Vinry. "Get ready." He comm'd to the Jedi as his S-foils unlocked and split into four wings for him.

They followed along another river with ridges and valleys surrounding them. A little further ahead, there was a natural stone obelisk that stood in the middle of the river. Elias first angled his ship toward the left side of it to follow Vinry. When they were about to pass it, his voice would come through her comm's, "Break right!" When he said it, he immediately flicked his stick to the right and his ship barrel-rolled to his right and on the other side of the obelisk. If Vinry crossed in front of him, it would line up her sights with the Headhunters behind her.

 

[Vinry Forge]

If both the ships had ended up behind her then she would have been in real trouble, but even so she had her hands full avoid fire from the one behind her while preventing the other one from getting in behind her. A minute, short though it may be, seemed like like an eternity till she opened herself to the Force and stopped trying to stay ahead of the two pirate ships and let the Force guide her so that she was doing it. Bolts flew past her X-Wing, missing by mere feet, she accelerated at just the right moment to blindside one, then dipped to force the other to overshoot with his lasers. This went on for a minute that lasted forever and almost no time at all in her head, for she was with the Force.

But she couldn't keep it up forever, even the most powerful Jedi had their limits, and she wasn't anywhere near that strong with the Force. Thankfully that was when Elias joined their little skirmish, and as she let out a breath she felt the Force slipping away as well. For now she would have to rely on her own skills.

She heard his words on the comms, and spotted the obelisk coming up, getting a sense of what he intended. So when he gave the instruction to break right she timed it almost as well as she would have if she had been flying with the Force moments earlier. Almost, but not quiet, but enough to give him the shot he needed.

"They're all yours!"

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

With the barrel role, Elias was in perfect position and it was late enough that the Headhunters couldn't pull off the maneuver as well. It would only be a second or two before Vinry's ship would rumble past. The moment she did, he squeezed the trigger and the gun emplacements on his wings unloaded. The first Headhunter was the most unlucky, the first bolt striking directly in its right-wing and then the second striking its engines. The ship immediately caught fire and spun out of control towards the ground.

One of the bolts clipped the second Headhunter, smoke billowing out from where Elias had found his mark. The pirates realized that their ships were just simply no match against the technological difference the Jedi had. They had given it a healthy try but that was all they were willing to do. The remaining pack of Z-95s peeled off from Vinry's rear and flew in the opposite direction of the village and possibly back to their base.

Vinry would hear Elias' voice before seeing him, "I think we scared them off." His X-wing would then pull up right beside her flank as he flew even with her. "That Z-95 is still intact. We should see if our pirate is still alive and kicking in there." The two of them would be able to see the smoke column from where it landed. Elias would have preferred to scare them off and then track them but they had drawn dangerously close to Vinry. They had to end the conflict, not draw it out.

Peeling off from her wing, Elias would head towards the crashed Z-95. When Vinry dropped down to land as well, she would find Elias' X-wing across the field the crashed ship as he was starting to get out. The astromech, Wulf, was also ejecting itself from the ship.

 

[Vinry Forge]

Vinry was already impressed with the Knight's handling of the situation, but when he managed to save her ass without blowing the two pirates out of the sky that impression only improved. A Jedi needed to be respectful of life, even if it made things harder for them taking a life was never the answer. She was glad that they had survived this little adventure without the loss of life on either side.

Following him down towards the crash site, she exited her ship, giving it's hull a pat as she began moving towards the downed pirate ship. Short thought the flight might have been, she was really liking the feel of the ship. She migth have to try and pull some strings to get herself one on a more permanent basis. Would make some of her dealings in the Outer Rim a whole lot easier if she wasn't flying around in a rust bucket.

Stepping up to the crashed ship, she gave a nod to Elias. "Thanks, that was some impressing flynig! Where did you.." The words died off as she spotted the open hatch of the Headhunter's cockpit and the easily discernible trail left behind by the pirate who had tried to escape from it. They would easily spot him at the edge of the little clearing the crash had created, limping slowly away from them. She let out an exasperated sigh before beginning to move after him.

"Why do they always have to run?" She shook her head as they started the pursuit, before shooting a warning to Eslias' droid. "Mind asking your droid to run a quick scan on the ship, let's make sure it doesn't blow up behind us."

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

When Vinry touched the ground, Elias finally pushed off the hull of his X-wing as Wulf let out a few enthusiastic beeps. His astromech always wanted to fly and pretty much hated the ground. The pair walked to the crashed ship as he was asked how he knew how to fly like that. The simple question brought back a flood of memories he could only chuckle to. "My dad. He was a merc and thought flying was a prerequisite, just like shooting a blaster was before I stepped out into the galaxy." It was one thing he was quite thankful for, the practical skills he was taught.

When they reached the ship, they found the cockpit open and the pilot doing his best attempt to run away from them. Elias exhaled softly as he began walking after him as well. He gave a simple gesture of his hand towards the ship for Wulf, "You know what to do buddy. Records, flightpath..." Elias glanced at Vinry then, "And make sure we don't blow up." The droid let out another round of beeps before simply activating a small burst from its jets to get on the crashed ship.

"Well, who can blame them? We're a terrible blight on the galaxy after all." Elias joked about the general perception of their order. It didn't take long for them to catch up and when they were about half a distance away from the pirate, the Jedi used the force to bring him back. The pair would just see him trip onto his face and disappear before the grass that swallowed parted as he was dragged back.

When he popped out of the grass, Elias brought his foot down on the pirate's stomach to him right in front of the two. "Pleasure to meet you." The Jedi gave the pirate a grin as he stared up at them with suspicion in his eyes. He was perfectly content to let Vinry ask questions as his foot kept the pirate pinned.

 

[Vinry Forge]

Vinry found herself nodding as Elias explained where he has learned to fly, making her wonder what the Jedi from before the Empire would have felt about the current crop. Elias wasn't the only one with such a background, and in most cases these bonds with their past lives made them better Jedi. The Order had changed, evolved. "A practical man. My parents are accountants, and yet they never managed to get me to understand how to properly manage money. They say it's a good thing I became a Jedi or I would have bankrupt myself many times over by now." The story came out almost instinctively, the words tinged with fondness.

Once the droid was dealing with the downed ship, the two Jedi turned their focus towards the pilot. "That we are," she replied with a chuckle as Elias caught the pirate, "how can a honest, hard working pirate go about pillaging with us breathing down their necks. Simply abhorrent behavior."

She knelt besides him, a smile on her lips. "Won't you agree?" She didn't really wait for him to answer, before reaching out with her right hand and pressing it gently against his chest. She closed her eyes for a second as she reached out with the Force, making sure he hadn't suffered any serious injuries. She wasn't particular great at healing, but working on her own had forced her to learn how to at least spot when something was wrong.

"Good news, you're not going to die. So, let's talk shall we?" She removed her hand from his chest and got to her feet. "Let's start with introductions. Why don't you tell us what you and your friends were doing here, where you came from, and if we can expect any more?" Her voice was calm, yet there was a tone to it that would let the pirate know that they weren't messing around.

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Elias wasn't expecting Vinry's answer about her parents. He was used to living on Nal Hutta mostly and an accountant was simply just a rare sight unless he went into the palace. "Well, if I ever have financial problems, I'll make sure to steer far away from you." His words came out with a laugh, at the joke but also at his actual situation, he barely had any money worth to his name, practically none.

The pirate stared up at them silently and when Vinry crouched down beside him, he started thrashing under Elias' boot but he kept him still. He saw the woman bring her hand close to him but he calmed once her palm touched his skin, warmth spreading throughout his entire body as his more superficial wounds began to become healed. When she finished, he spit in the direction of her foot and didn't speak.

Elias sighed and kicked the man in his injured leg as he let out a yell, "Be nice." The pirate sighed as he realized the position he was in with two Jedi right above him and being injured. "What does it look like we're doing idiot? We were trying to get a big score." Elias shook his head and lifted his foot to get ready to kick again, "You have Z-95's, they don't have capabilities for long flights." The pirates put his hands up at the sight of his boot. "Alright, alright."

"We have a small base not too far from here, at least flying wise. We heard there were possibly artifacts here and decided that we should take a look for ourselves." The pirate laughed, "Oh there are quite a few of us." That was all the pirate said and he seemed perfectly content with letting them decide if it was a lie or not. "We'll have to be careful." That's when Wulf would beep through his comm piece, letting them know he had something.

 

[Vinry Forge]

Having dealt with all sorts in her time away from the Core, Vinry's only reaction to the spit to her feet was a shake of the head. It had taken her a long time to realize that it wasn't her job to think about people's opinion of her, just to help them when she could.

So while his response to her aid didn't affect her in any way, his answers to her questions did make her pause. The way he spoke, it wasn't deceit or bravado. He actually seemed confident in their numbers, and she wasn't comfortable with having to fight more pirates this close to the settlement, or the Temple. The Temple was still a well kept secret from the Galaxy, and it would be better if they didn't have to explain the sudden appearance of a large group of Jedi near a random settlement on Yavin IV.

"I have a bad feeling about this." She nodded and replied to Elias' comment about being careful, and was about to say more when his droid started beeping. There was a buzz on her datapad as well, and she pulled it out to a find an aerial map that the droid had sent them. It showed the surviving Headhunters, and a larger blip. A carrier of some sort"A very bad feeling."

The three blips that represented the fighters merged with the bigger one, and a moment later they were gone. The downed pirate, noticing this on her datapad, started laughing again. "They'll be back, with more. The two of you are going to wish you had never interfered in our business." This time it was Vinry who gave him a quick kick to the leg to shut him up. She gestured to Elias to follow her as she walked a little distance away from the pirate, to talk without being overheard.

"He's right," she began, her voice tinged with concern, "they probably will be. They must think there's more to be had here than a simple village, why else would you have two X-Wings on patrol. And if they return in force I don't know how we can fight them without broadcasting to anyone nearby that the Jedi are here. Unless..." She trailed off as she started thinking on the alternative that had popped into her head, her eyes on the pirate as she started thinking out loud. "Unless we followed them, attack and incapacitate them before they are able to formulate any sort of attack plan. Of course it would mean a small strike force, if we wait to gather our strength then it gives them time as well. So just us." Her eyes would return to Elias, a questioning look on her face, seeking his opinion. He had shown himself to be better behind the controls of a fighter, and seemed to be better prepared for something like this, so she hoped he saw a better way to resolve this situation.

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Elias remained quiet as Vinry continued her interrogation of the pirate. Even though two Jedi stood above him, the man was miraculously calm. It unsettled him that the pirate was actually appeared quite confident of his crew's abilities to take them down. She told him that she had a bad feeling and he couldn't help but agree but they had to ignore it and take care of the problem.

Wulf relayed the map to them and both the Jedi witnessed as the three blips disappeared into the large one. It was a base but it was a mobile one at that and that made it much more difficult. The pirate boasted to them and Vinry was the one to this time to give him a small kick to shut him up. Both of them walked away after to speak, the pilot remaining on the ground with no indication to move as he couldn't really.

When they were alone, Vinry voiced her concerns and her plans for what should be done. He just crossed his arms over his chest, clearly thinking as the cogs in his head turned. Elias had been expecting some type of a small base but a mobile one was a different animal as it also carried its assortment of armaments. After a few moments, he finally responded, "If they have numbers, we'll be able to take a few down before they completely swarm us." The two of them could probably take a few down but it would only be a matter of time before numbers won them the fight. "We have a few options. We either fly after them now and maximize the element of surprise while we have it and try to get on that carrier." It was a plan but one where it would fluctuate with the situation instead of remaining rigid.

Elias then turned towards the direction of the village, "Another is we seek the village's help. Attempt to see if they have any pilots by chance to spare for us. More ships, more that splits their attention." This one was more based on luck and could possibly equal nothing for them but the more people they had, the higher chance they could actually break through the base. Elias was confident in his own abilities for just the two of them to fly out but he was curious about Vinry and what she could do. "What are you more comfortable with?"

 

[Vinry Forge]

She hadn't given thought to asking the villagers for help, she had simply gotten so used to working on her own that it wasn't even an option that would have shown up on her radar. As she thought on it, she saw why Elias had brought it up, the tactical backing behind it. But it did leave her a little uncomfortable.

"I am no pushover behind the controls of a ship, but you saw how close they came to shooting me out of the sky. That too when they were flying that junk compared to what we have." She nodded towards the downed Headhunter, in a mostly unhesitant acceptance of the skills of these pirate pilots. "With us in X-Wings and whatever flightworthy ships the villagers might have, they might be more hinderance than a boon. I fear they might turn into nothing but extra targets for the pirates. I feel more comfortable going in now, just us. We...I, know what they're capable of now, so at least we're prepared for the worst."

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

Elias waited as Vinry contemplated what she wanted to do. Each one was a viable option but he wanted to make sure she was fully on board. She brought up her counter to why she didn't want to bring the villagers and he understood her reasoning and gave her a nod to indicate that he agreed. "Alright then, just us. We should get going now before that carrier gets too close to the village to possibly do damage to it."

Elias let out a short and sharp whistle towards Wulf as he raised an index finger and circled it in the air. "Let's go, Wulf!" The droid let out a few happy beeps and used its jets to lift itself off of the headhunter. It rolled toward the X-wing that was his and got on top of it so it can be brought down and docked. The cockpit slid open and Elias used the force to lift himself up and into the seat of his aircraft. When the glass slid back down and locked in place, he flipped some switches and pushed buttons as the engine roared to life once more.

He turned to glance at Vinry through the glass before connecting his comm's to her's, "Fly fast and keep tight on me." The X-wing lifted itself up before shooting off into the sky. They still had some distance to go and he would comm her once again, "I'll get you as close to the carrier as I can. You board it and try to stop it or destroy it, I'll keep the others busy and focused on me." It wasn't the best but his flying was better and it would be easier for him if he only had to worry about himself instead of him and another.

 

[Vinry Forge]

As Elias whistled for his droid, Vinry pulled out some restraints and placed a tracker on the downed pirate's ship after putting them on. A strike force from the Temple should be along soon enough to check out the situation, they would deal with him and his ship.

"Copy that." She didn't see much reason to object to his plan, splitting them up was not without its cons, but they had a better chance of success if they forced the pirates to split their forces as well. And the advantage that Jedi had was the ability to cram the effectiveness of a small strike force into a couple of operatives. So she jumped into her ship and prepared for the jump to the carrier. "By the way," she said as their ships escaped the planet's atmosphere and got ready for the hyperspace jump, "the name's Vinry, in case we die out there we should at least know who it's next to."

The journey to the cruiser didn't take too long, and Vinry used the time to meditate and prepare herself for the coming fight. When their ships emerged from hyperspace, Vinry kept her S-foils in hyperspace setting, her role wasn't to fight here. She instead instructed her droid to divert all energy to her engines. As her droid beeped a warning about the carrier preparing to launch ships, she fell behind Elias, she would rely on him to give her the moments she would need to slip by the pirates and board the vessel. "Hangar shields dropping, they're preparing to launch. That's our window!"

@Orbit

 

[Elias Ryn]

The ship soared straight and right towards where the carrier was. Vinry acknowledged the plan and he was glad the two agreed on one approach. It would be difficult for both of them. He would have to deal with the fighters and she would have to deal with anyone that crewed the ship. The two broke from the atmosphere and as he typed in the coordinates, Vinry's voice came through as she introduced herself. Elias chuckled softly before activating his comm, "Don't put the idea out there. But good to know, the name's Elias."

Both of their ships jumped into hyperspace and when they came out, they would be directly on the enemy. As they traveled through it, Elias closed his eyes and reached to his neck and specifically the silver necklace there. His finger securely wrapped around it as it calmed his nerves. It had been gifted to him by his mother and he touched it whenever he felt anxious to help him give a clear mind.

When they broke out of hyperspace, the carrier floated right in front of them and he finally opened his eyes. His hand around his neck reached down and grabbed the flight stick as he readjusted himself in the seat. "Fly tight. I'll get you there." The S-foils remained locked as well during their approach but when Vinry notified him that the shields had dropped, they finally unlocked. Z-95s shot out of the hanger and angled right toward them. Without hesitating, he squeezed the trigger as his gun emplacements started to unload their lasers.

For the Headhunters that hadn't left from the hanger yet, they had to bank-wide in order to not get hit by his shots and forcing them to have to take a much wider angle in order to find their shot against them. As that happened, Elias locked his S-foils once more, "Now!" He dove his ship forward and underneath the carrier, the top of his X-wing scraping along the belly of it as sparks erupted from the collision. The fighter rode along the belly for a few seconds but eventually yanked the stink and he separated, his X-wing barreling out from under it and out the other side as the Headhunters turned and followed him.

 

[Vinry Forge]

When Elias gave the signal Vinry was ready, having followed in his wake, their unexpected arrival had given them the time to approach the carrier mostly unmolested. She shot straight for the hangar, hitting the reverse thrusters at the very last moment and coming to a screeching and scratching halt moments later as her X-Wing slid across the hangar before coming to a halt.

She didn't give the pirates much to react as she had already unbuckled herself from her seat during their approach and was free to jump out of the ship even as it was coming to a sparking halt. She shot out of the cockpit, lightsaber igniting even as she flew through the air and somersaulted through the air to land a dozen or so feet from where her X-Wing had come to rest.

She was immediately on the move, grabbing a nearby container with the Force and throwing it towards the hangar's shield generator. The ray shields went down, which trigger the ship's automatic responses, blast shields slamming down to close the hangar. Trapping her in, but also preventing any further reinforcements from escaping to join the fray against Elias.

"I'm in," she called out over the comms through the piece she had pressed into her ear, "I've managed to lock down the hangar, you should have a few minutes before they manage to get it open again and send more ships out." She had seen him fly, that ought to be more than enough.

As for her, her task lay here. As the pirates left in the hangar finally got over the shock of her maneuver, they started firing shots at her. The first few were far apart enough that she was able to deflect them at the grounded ships, taking a couple out of commission before the quantity of blaster fire became too much for her to deflect with any sort of precision. She started moving, parrying shots where she could, avoiding them altogether when not, moving closer to the pirates firing the shots with each passing moment.

@Orbit