Skyfall

[Merrick Helmsdottir]

​

Blasted traitors. Or so he was told.

Rocketing through Cato Neimodia’s upper atmosphere, Merrick broke through to space in his fighter alongside Peirce, their ships darling as they passed through the cold buffer. Cato Neimodia’s orbital defendes needed to be downed for the Imperial fleets arrival, so that’s where they came in. Shoot in, knockout hostiles, blow the damn thing out of the sky. Twenty minute adventure.

Fingers crossed, anyway.

The pull of gravity lessened on his ship, and Cato Neimodia turnedbelow. The defence platform wasn’t far, hopefully they could get close without getting spotted. A few well placed rockets and it’d fall,

“Much of a Pilot, Pierce?” He chatted over the comm. They’d be in danger soon, last little chance to chat before it all started. Either way he wasn’t complaining, nice to be back to flying, something his rotation through the Imperial military offered him far too few opportunities for. Hopefully a few more of these and he’d get his transfer approved.


@Deviant

 

[Pierce Rathios]

“Not exactly.” He answered over the Imperial frequency of his personal starfighter, uncertain of what operation he had just walked into. All the Sith Acolyte understood was that the Imperial Republica needed troops on Cato Neimoidia, a treacherous colony world just beyond their borders. Apparently, their attempt at independence was nothing more than sedition, and they had to pay for what was done. Pierce didn’t share his superiors utter disgust for the Neimoidians, but a mission was a mission. As long as he could further prove his value to his father and the Empire, he was satisfied. He didn’t care what was to come.

Accepting his assignment with another unfamiliar Sith, he eventually found himself outside a defense platform orbiting the wayward planet. Truly, he was never much of a pilot. He was a fighter, a duelist. Engaging in combat in the cold vacuum of space behind a hundred different controls was not something he found very exhilarating. Not that he could complain. He was just glad for the opportunity, and hoped the man he was partnered with could hold his own. Pierce had a feeling the other Sith would fare better than he would though. He had actual experience.

The two men began their approach toward the platform. So far, the enemy had yet to spot them. It was a good sign. Perfect, in fact. The closer they were to the target, the faster they could get this operation over with and return home. Little did Pierce know that there was a patrol already circling around the station, just below its silhouette, ready to take on pirates or assailants such as themselves. By the time they were spotted, the patrol would not hesitate to engage, as well as the armed platform.

@Nightfall

 

[Merrick Helmsdottir]

“Well, you’ll learn soon enough” Merrick yawned through his drawl. The fella seemed competent enough though, treat it like any other fight and you’d find your way in.

Probably, anyhow.

For now though, with the defense platform on the horizon, he kept his eyes peeled as they drew in closer, their trip so far as quiet as a funeral. Though he didn’t plan on it staying so. At the edge of the platform he spotted a patrol, completing a loop around the station. For now though they were headed away, taking them leaves round the rear of the station,

“Alrighty, first ones up, patrol heading to the stations rear, lets hit em before they can alert anyone else, get us a clean shot” Merrick chatter across to the other pilot, banking his ship down and starboard, taking them right below the station and up under the fighter patrol. A set of four, apparently unsuspecting, fighters lazily rolled around the station, the sunlight cutting across their hulls and lighting them up in the darkness. Easy game for the pair that hunted them.

Swooping up, Merrick shot up beneath them vertically, targetting the rear ship with his cannons as soon as he was in range, tearing it through. The others were jumped, they hadn’t known anything was coming, scrambling at controls and instruments to work out what the hell was happening,

“Light em up Pierce!” Merrick called through.

Oh this was going to be easy.

@Deviant

 

[Pierce Rathios]

“Sounds good.” He answered back over the comms and smirked. The patrol should be easy prey. Seeing their metal hull and transparent cockpits glint against the sunlight on the planet’s horizon made them quick targets. His partner Merrick understood as much and dived down. Pierce decided to follow suit, coasting behind him with his hands on the trigger. He was itching for a kill, ready to set sparks flying and watch some brilliant fireworks light the empty oblivion that was space. But he breathed in, controlling, and settled under the wandering patrol. They were clueless.

“Here goes nothing!” He shot back just as Merrick tore through one of the ships on the back. Its engines burst and fire consumed the entire vessel, just as Pierce had expected. A thin smile spread across his unshaven face knowing the rest would be caught off guard and follow into the footsteps of the Sith’s first victim.

With a few energetic clicks, Pierce unleashed a volley of shots into the fighter at the front of the patrol as it attempted to turn around and flank them. No way was he going to let that happen. And because of it, he watched the enemy likewise burst into fiery light. However, he failed to catch onto one of the fighters as it circled around and managed to get right behind the Sith Acolyte. Outsmarted and outclassed, Pierce knew getting out of that situation would take a lot more than pressing a trigger.

@Nightfall

 

[Merrick Helmsdottir]

Ah, out here in the black, that’s where Merrick felt at home. And sometimes that home isn’t the quietest place to be, take his current predicament for instance. True, he’d put himself in it willingly, was enjoying it even, but same as always, part of him could’ve kept flying off.

Too bad then a blaster bolt to his port side knocked him out of any more wistfulness.

Kriff, these buggers were game, good thing really, meant they were focused on killing them than on alerting the station. That thing online would make their job a lot harder than it had to be. Still, they neeeded to end it, the sooner the better before they got the chance,

“Try and shake him, I’ll see if I can get him off your back!” Merrick shot over the comm to Pierce as he watched the fighter whip round to his allies rear. Not that he could help, angle wax too wide as he fired off his cannons, the bolts fading into the void,

“Kark it, honestly” he muttered, firing off at a fighter coming toward his cockpit. But the other had better luck, striking him across the roof, draining his shields,

“Oh this just keeps getting better and better”

@Deviant

 

[Pierce Rathios]

Pierce heard his Sith partner over the comms and position himself to rescue. The heart that sank into his stomach suddenly rose back up— until Merrick missed all his shots and failed to destroy the pursuing enemy fighter. Instead, it dropped right into his seat. His stomach also did the same, churning around as Pierce decided to take evasive maneuvers. His interceptor, far faster than most ordinary starfighters, would be able to carefully evade any oncoming shots. As Merrick complained, Pierce would only bellow back, still spinning. “You’re telling me!”

Pushing on the yoke of his controls, the interceptor stabilized. He careened out of his seat but his safety harness pressed into his chest, keeping him in place. As for the ship that was behind him, he had successfully twirled around and now had them in sights. However, they had him in view too. Knowing either of them could blow the other up any moment, Pierce took the initiative to act. Thumbs on the trigger, he furiously activated his cannons as much as he possibly could.

They packed a heavier punch than those of his enemy, but they weren’t as fast. While his shots landed, destroying the opposing cockpit and turning the fighter into a brilliant display of metal and fire, Pierce received a sickening hit on his left wing. It grazed the top but it was enough to throw him off balance. That would certainly place him at a disadvantage for the remainder of the fight. He hoped Merrick fared better than he, however, and managed to take down the last fighter.

@Nightfall

 

[Merrick Helmsdottir]

With the patrol putting up a far better fight than he had expected, Merrick was getting more than a little anxious with it all, his trigger finger on the missiles, itching to take the shot and get the kriff outta here. And yet the fighters still dogged them every step. While it meant the station wasn't online yet, at least, as far as he could tell, it meant they lost precious time shooting them back,

"One last attempt or we're bringing this thing down damn it! We ain't got time to waste anymore before that thing sends us more friends" another bit of chat across the comm, but it was better to keep Pierce up to speed as they went than anything else, meant they were on the same page as anything happened.

And boy, were things happening. Tearing at his controls, he whipped his fighter over end to try and get off a shot as the thing sailed overhead. But it was a risky maneuver and he damn well knew it, only confirmed when the fighter managed to make zip out of his effective range as he dangled upside down now without a bit of momentum to speak of, making it all to easy for the fighter to tear past and rack fire across his hull, damage indicators lighting up across his board. Critical systems they weren't, but more like that and he wouldn't be in the air much longer. Instead, he primed the missiles as his ship spun round again, rotating back to the station as he keyed the lock on,

"Dodge this" he muttered to himself, yanking at the trigger.

​

For a moment, he expected everything to go wrong, for it to bounce of shielding, or get shot out of the sky. And yet somehow, it didn't instead the damn thing sailed across the void and smacked into the stations hull, piercing a point between its upper and lower halves. The detonation did more than a simple missile would, rupturing the connection between them and splitting the station, the shockwave pushing them apart (and sending his fighter flying backwards from the blast).

The thing wasn't dead, but it didn't have much of a chance any more.

@Deviant

 

[Pierce Rathios]

“Do it!” Pierce cried back over the comms, urging Merrick to forget his own fighter then and focus all his efforts against the enemy station. That was the objective. That was the main target. One dingy enemy fighter would not stop them from doing what needed to be done. However, that still left his partner open to attack. And indeed, an attack happened.

The Sith’s ship was raked with enemy fire, not enough to damage anything critical or turn him into a flash of light, but certainly enough to put a dent in their chances of a quick and easy battle. Not that it mattered. Merrick had an opening now to fire, and with his missiles, blew a hole straight into the hull of the enemy station. No doubt enough to make the entire bloody mess collapse within the minute.

Meanwhile, Pierce decided to move against the remaining fighter before it tried to take out Merrick for good. Despite the blaring alarms and the rasp of his engines, the Sith Acolyte mustered his courage and the strength of his own interceptor and sped toward the other man’s aid. At maximum acceleration, reaching the Sith as well as the oncoming fighter would be a cake walk. Destroying them, perhaps not. However, the gamble he made was ultimately successful. With a couple volley of shots, Pierce managed to destroy the final enemy. At long last. He could breath free.

His confidence restored, Pierce immediately banked his vessel toward the orbital defense platform. Readying his missiles, he aimed and fired at a separate spot from Merrick, hoping to swiftly finish the job. Even though the station was not bound to last after the previous hits, the Sith wanted a taste of the glory too. Except, he received a taste of bitter defeat. His missiles missed entirely. In addition, as the station continued to break upon itself, shrapnel and another concussive blast slammed into his interceptor.

Suddenly, Pierce was spinning through space. His engines screeched, still active but incapable of regaining balance. The alarms screamed even louder now. Then, his engines shut down. His radar closed off. While most of his controls were active, his ship was disabled and without easy control. Only his weapon systems worked. The Sith gasped. “Shit!” Now, it was up to Merrick to make sure they saw the mission through, and to get Pierce out of his terrible position.

@Nightfall

 

[Merrick Helmsdottir]

"Oh, you ain't dying yet" Merrick gritted his teeth as he saw Pierce's fighter fly off from the fallout of the stations death throes. It didn't look good. His own engines stuttered a little, his ship puhsed back from the station,

"Come on, come on ya bucket of bolts" he muttered to himself, trying to get his ship to flicker back. Happily, it didn't take much. Flooring the engine, the fighters engines roared back to life with a satisfying burst, a cheeky smile breaking on his face. The speed coming back to his ship, he needed to loop around for Pierce, and that meant swinging past the station one last time.

He couldn't resist.

His last two missiles, primed and ready, rocketed out of their launcher, smacking into and tearing apart the stations halves, scattering them even further across the sky. The defense platform was toast, and when the fleet finally arrived they'd have an easy time taking control. Too bad he couldn't savour the victory just yet.

Completing his arc around, Merrick darted toward Pierce's erratic fighter, trying to match speed and angle as it spun away,

"Four-tee, do you think you can do something?" Merrick couldn't do much with his own hands, but the astromech in the back? that was a chance.

The little guy beeped back in the affirmative, apparently pleased to have been remembered in all of the excitement. Extending from his top, tools whizzed and buzzed as Merrick pulled as close to Pierces fighter as he could, letting the droid work. And work well, it appeared. A flicker of light as the astromech did something, rerouting controls and fixing faulty wiring as Pierces screens lit back up, control restored,

"Buddy boy, we are getting on home after that. You owe me a round for that one though"

Mission complete.

@Deviant

/EndThread