Ash Longbaugh
Apr 28th, 2002, 07:28:49 AM
Executing a roll to avoid the incoming laser fire, Ash Longbaugh brought his XJ3 X-Wing to the side of his wingmate, and checked damage report to confirm he wasn't hit.
"You okay Mynock?" came the voice from his comm
"Nebula, please tell me any time I haven't been" he replied, smiling
Pulling their snubs round, they saw that their opponents had done the same. They were flying A-Wings. Although weaker than an X-Wing, they had speed on their side.
"Hey Nebula, Think Mynock's suprise will work?" He asked, diverting his shield strength slightly to the front.
"Think it's worth a try. Me cut, you suprise?"
"Roger that. Setting lasers and shields to seventy five percent"
"Throttle at maximum"
"Let's do it"
Speeding forward at maximum speed, Ash saw his opponents turn to face them head on. Knowing they wre out of range, Ash slowly stroked the trigger, not yet firing.
"Okay Mynock, cut throttle to seventy percent"
"Copy"
The two slowed slightly, although not enough for the opposition to notice. Looking down at the computer, he saw that they were nearly in range. Almost there...
"Now!" He shouted into the comm, and immediately cut the throttle to below fifty. He looked to his side in time to see his wing set it to full, and cut straght across him. Falling for the bluff, the A-Wings began to turn to follow Nebula, thinking it was evasive maneuvers. It was too late that they realised Ash hadn't followed. Pressing the trigger, he fired a series of dual burst shots into the front opponent's exposed side. Hitting the engine, he watched as the snub exploded, narrowly missing his friend. Returning throttle to full, Ash got onto the tail of the final opponent. Switching to Photon Torpedoes, he watched as the sight on his HUD went from red to yellow, and finally green. Smiling, he released a single torpedo, and watching with satisfaction as it crashed into the rear of the A-Wing, turning it into nothing more but debris.
"You okay Nebula?" He asked, quite unconcerned
"Yeah, they didn't get the chance to fire" came the reply, causing Ash to smile
"Well, I think that's mission succesfull. Let's get back" he said, and pressed a button on the top of his cockpit, and watched as the stars dissapeared into blackness.
---
Getting out of the Simulator, Ash undid the chinstrap on his helmet, scratching where the rest had been. Helmets and flightsuits weren't needed for Simulators, but most pilots wore them anyway, so that the feel was all there.
Looking across to the simulator next to his, he saw his wingmate getting out. Dropping to the floor, he began to walk over, as Miro Ton took her helmet off, shaking her head to bring her dark, shoulder length hair out from under. Seeing him approach, she smiled over at him.
"Another run without a casualty. Keep this up, and Rogue Squadron will be begging us to join" She said
"Rogue who? We don't need them, we're Monkey Lizards" Ash replied, laughing. He glanced to his side to see their two defeated oponents, from Remenent Squadron, looking at them.
"Monkey Lizards?" One asked
"Yeah, because we're from Kowak" Miro replied, as Ash began laughing in immitiation of one of the small creatures. Looking even more confused, the pair left the pilots alone.
Taking his helmet off, Ash headed to a viewport. Looking down, he saw the small planet of Kowak, the planet he'd spent most of his pilot life in orbit of. Sighing, he sat down on a stoarage box, still looking out.
"What's the matter?" Miro asked, coming up behind him
"Just thinking about my wasted career"
"aw, come on..."
"Let's be honest here. I'm the best pilot stationed here. I've seen the reports. Lead says I'm good enough for a frontline squadron, so does Admiral Paak. Am I on the frontline though? No. Instead, I'm stationed near a planet in the middle of nowhere. Fought a few Vong scouting forces, the odd Imperial or pirate, defended the nearby scientists from attacks. Any squadron could do this. The entire squadron deserves more. But you've seen, noone can get transferred from here. It's as if they don't want us from the rim in their squadrons. So, that is my job hopes. Fly the simple missions, occasionally get a challenge, wait for lead to retire to see if I can make lead." he interrupted
Sitting down next to him, Miro rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it. He smiled, and rested his hand on hers, turning to face her.
"One day, I am going to do something with my skills. Something that will make people proud to have known me. I am not going to live my life a failure" he said, a detirmined look in his eyes.
"You okay Mynock?" came the voice from his comm
"Nebula, please tell me any time I haven't been" he replied, smiling
Pulling their snubs round, they saw that their opponents had done the same. They were flying A-Wings. Although weaker than an X-Wing, they had speed on their side.
"Hey Nebula, Think Mynock's suprise will work?" He asked, diverting his shield strength slightly to the front.
"Think it's worth a try. Me cut, you suprise?"
"Roger that. Setting lasers and shields to seventy five percent"
"Throttle at maximum"
"Let's do it"
Speeding forward at maximum speed, Ash saw his opponents turn to face them head on. Knowing they wre out of range, Ash slowly stroked the trigger, not yet firing.
"Okay Mynock, cut throttle to seventy percent"
"Copy"
The two slowed slightly, although not enough for the opposition to notice. Looking down at the computer, he saw that they were nearly in range. Almost there...
"Now!" He shouted into the comm, and immediately cut the throttle to below fifty. He looked to his side in time to see his wing set it to full, and cut straght across him. Falling for the bluff, the A-Wings began to turn to follow Nebula, thinking it was evasive maneuvers. It was too late that they realised Ash hadn't followed. Pressing the trigger, he fired a series of dual burst shots into the front opponent's exposed side. Hitting the engine, he watched as the snub exploded, narrowly missing his friend. Returning throttle to full, Ash got onto the tail of the final opponent. Switching to Photon Torpedoes, he watched as the sight on his HUD went from red to yellow, and finally green. Smiling, he released a single torpedo, and watching with satisfaction as it crashed into the rear of the A-Wing, turning it into nothing more but debris.
"You okay Nebula?" He asked, quite unconcerned
"Yeah, they didn't get the chance to fire" came the reply, causing Ash to smile
"Well, I think that's mission succesfull. Let's get back" he said, and pressed a button on the top of his cockpit, and watched as the stars dissapeared into blackness.
---
Getting out of the Simulator, Ash undid the chinstrap on his helmet, scratching where the rest had been. Helmets and flightsuits weren't needed for Simulators, but most pilots wore them anyway, so that the feel was all there.
Looking across to the simulator next to his, he saw his wingmate getting out. Dropping to the floor, he began to walk over, as Miro Ton took her helmet off, shaking her head to bring her dark, shoulder length hair out from under. Seeing him approach, she smiled over at him.
"Another run without a casualty. Keep this up, and Rogue Squadron will be begging us to join" She said
"Rogue who? We don't need them, we're Monkey Lizards" Ash replied, laughing. He glanced to his side to see their two defeated oponents, from Remenent Squadron, looking at them.
"Monkey Lizards?" One asked
"Yeah, because we're from Kowak" Miro replied, as Ash began laughing in immitiation of one of the small creatures. Looking even more confused, the pair left the pilots alone.
Taking his helmet off, Ash headed to a viewport. Looking down, he saw the small planet of Kowak, the planet he'd spent most of his pilot life in orbit of. Sighing, he sat down on a stoarage box, still looking out.
"What's the matter?" Miro asked, coming up behind him
"Just thinking about my wasted career"
"aw, come on..."
"Let's be honest here. I'm the best pilot stationed here. I've seen the reports. Lead says I'm good enough for a frontline squadron, so does Admiral Paak. Am I on the frontline though? No. Instead, I'm stationed near a planet in the middle of nowhere. Fought a few Vong scouting forces, the odd Imperial or pirate, defended the nearby scientists from attacks. Any squadron could do this. The entire squadron deserves more. But you've seen, noone can get transferred from here. It's as if they don't want us from the rim in their squadrons. So, that is my job hopes. Fly the simple missions, occasionally get a challenge, wait for lead to retire to see if I can make lead." he interrupted
Sitting down next to him, Miro rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it. He smiled, and rested his hand on hers, turning to face her.
"One day, I am going to do something with my skills. Something that will make people proud to have known me. I am not going to live my life a failure" he said, a detirmined look in his eyes.