Pilot's Table

[TieFighterPilot181st]

Tie walked into the bar and chose a table and set his flight helmet aside. A serving droid came over and took his order for Corellian Whisky. Tie was anxious to meet some new people, especially NR pilots. Soon his drink came and he took a long gulp, leaned back, and relaxed.

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB made her way into the bar for a snack and noticed one of the members of the NR Fighter Corp. It wasn't very often she got to speak to other pilots, so she made her way to his table extended her hand. ::

Hello. My name is Rie Mystt. And while I am one of the Jedi, I am also a part of Rogue Squadron.

:: She smiled as they shook hands. ::

It's not often I get to sit down and chat with other pilots save for the Rogues.

:: She gestured towards the seat opposite him. ::

Mind if I join you?

[TieFighterPilot181st]

He took her extended hand and shook it. "Sure, no problem. I was wondering if anyone was going to come at all."
"I actually just joined the NR and I'm currently serving under Admiral Lion El' Johnson...You ever heard of him?"

[AmazonBabe]

:: She smiled at the mention of the name. ::

Of course I've heard of him. He's a good man, and a good commander to boot.

:: She waved down a serving droid that tottled as it came to rest beside her. She went ahead and ordered a fruity drink to start off with, followed by a green salad. As the droid acknowledged her order, she returned her attention back to Tie. ::

So, you enjoying your assingment in the NR?

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"He's a nice man. I've known him for almost 3 years now. It's pretty nice so far. I've lead a pretty interesting life so far. I was born on Corellia and went to the Imperial Academy. I graduated at number one. In combat it seems as if I can read other pilots' minds and can tell what they're going to do...It's strange."

Tie took a breath and resumed talking.

"I was assigned to the Elite 181st, but defected when my parents were slaughtered by stormtroopers. I went around freelancing for a while. I actually saved Admiral Jonson at one point when he was just a lowly smuggler like me. I haven't been on active duty with the NR yet. I'm awaiting the completion of Lion's Flagship, which I'll be assigned to."

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB raised an eyebrow. ::

Corellia, eh? A well known world, especially being protected and ruled by the Sith Order.

:: Her drink arrived and she took a few sips of it before continuing. ::

Will you be assigned to a squad on the flag ship? Or will the squad you are with now be assigned as a whole to the ship once it's finished?

[TieFighterPilot181st]

Actually, Admiral Jonson's considering me for one of his Wing Commanders. I might have to learn about that position, though, since I've only ever commanded a squadron. Seen any action lately, Miss?" Tie finished his sentence and took a swig of his Corellian whisky.

[AmazonBabe]

Not recently. It's been blissfully quiet.

:: She chuckled. ::

Actually, gives me a chance to catch up on some Jedi business I've been setting aside.

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Oh, you're a Jedi too then? I haven't really met many Jedi in my profession. Have you heard anything about action from any of the other fleet units?"

Tie was curious...he'd heard a rumor about the shipyards at Bilbringi.

[Lion El' Jonson]

"I have...the Balmorran Empire retook Bilbringi 2 weeks ago..."

All present at the table turned, and Lion smiled.

"Hello, Mistress AB, Tie....am I intruding?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Hey, pull up a chair and relax."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Thanks, Lieutenant Yamagi."

Lion pulled a chair from another table and slid it over towards Tie and AB.

"So, we've had a bit of action on the front lines. The 6th lost three cruisers and half of their support ships at the hands of High Admiral Teradoc's fleet...Bilbringi tried to defect and got stomped on by Balmorra's Super Star Destroyer...and...what else? Oh, yes, Our...former...Commanders at Mon Calamari tried to sell off Intel's new flagship...Inquisitor Akima took care of that, though...is that it?"

Lion smiled at the looks on their faces.

"What, you want details?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"No I havent really heard that one yet. Have you heard any news on fleet deplyment cause i want some action. Hey Rie want to sim any time soon?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion laughed.

"I haven't heard much about military action, but the 8th Battlefleet under Vice Admiral Klemax is being deployed to reinforce Mon Cal's defenses...as for the simulators...I've got some new ones that need beta-testing."

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"That sounds like fun. Maybe we could try those sims out later. Im just itching for some real action though."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"I agree...we do sort of need some. Senate's debating whether or not to send a taskforce to Bilbringi...I doubt it'll fly, though."

He took a sip of his drink.

"So, you been keeping up on your training lately?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Yeah. But sims are never as same as the real thing."

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB greeted Lion as he sat down and listened to his story. This definitely was news to her and she paid close attention. ::

:: Then, when Tie made his offer to try the sims out with her, she chuckled lightly. ::

Only if we're on the same flight group. I don't think pitting you against me would be very fair.

:: She winked. It wasn't that she thought she was a better pilot... far from. But her Force skills gave her an edge that was definitely hard to beat. ::

But I'd love to show you my ship sometime. I have one of the newer models... XJ X-Wing, with a few modifications of my own, and a slew from my astromech.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion laughed.

"A matchup between you and Tie wouldn't be fair at all, mistress AB. He'd probably get two shots off at you before you toasted him...maybe not even that many."

Lion kicked his feet up on the table.

"So, what do you think of the new XJ's? I got a few complaints from the older pilots...they think it's too easy to use. Pash Cracken thinks that any starfighter that makes stuff easier for him isn't a good thing...too much of his father's influence, I guess."

[TieFighterPilot181st]

" You underestimate me. I'd get at least 4 shots. Yeah sure Id love to see your ship. You can see mine at anytime too but you gotta watch out for the astromech hes kinda protective of my ship."

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB laughed. ::

What astromech isn't?

:: She turned to Lion. ::

I think the XJ's handle fairly well. Their maneuverability is much better than it's predecesor. And some of the systems that were added to a helluva lota good in combat situations.

Not to mention the new systems take much more kindly to tweaking and upgrades than the older systems.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion also laughed.

"They take more kindly to upgrades? Aw, come on. Whatever happened to the days of whacking the computer systems until your fist got sore? Where's the fun in that?"

Lion seemed to recall Tai's astromech...probably that crazy one down in Hangar Bay AR-4E with the Tazer...

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Hey i still do that. And everytime I try to ive my astromech a memory wipe he comes back half an hour later unchanged. He must have been keeping backup discs of his personality somewhere."

[AmazonBabe]

:: She gave Lion a side-long glance with a crooked smile to boot. ::

Thanks, but I got enough bruises on my hands and enough stubbed toes from those old systems to last me several lifetimes.

:: AB shook her head at Tie. ::

If you want quick link-ups and reaction time from your ship and astromech, DON'T get their memories wiped. Yeah, they develop personalities of their own, but they also become more "in tune" with the ship.

The ship is just the body, while the astromech is it's heart, and us pilots are the brains.

I've never given R2-C3 a mem wipe, and frankly, I probably never will.

:: She laughed. ::

I just don't have the heart.

[TieFighterPilot181st]

" Oh no I've never tried to wipe his full memory just his bad personality traits like his tendency to insult people who he and i havent met before and let me tell you that has gotte us into a lot of trouble more than once. Otherwise hes a great droid and friend. He keeps those long hyperspace flights from getting boring."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Hey, bruised knuckles aren't bad...invent stories to go with the bruises." Lion shook his head. "But, then again, I've got repair crews to beat up my command consoles now. You guys get to play with the small fast ships, and I get to mess with the big guns."

He leaned back in his chair and scratched the back of his neck.

"I've never flown a B-Wing before....pilots I've talked to say it feels like driving instead of flying."

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB laughed. ::

Yup, that sounds about right.

:: She shrugged. ::

Never flown one myself, but I've done the flight sims for em. And those sims are pretty dang accurate.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion sighed.

"The sims seem to not want me to win...it always comes up with some strange rationalization to drop 3 Star Destroyers into the middle of the battle...I'm going to start bringing along Interdictors."

He took a sip of his drink and then turned to Tai.

"Lieutenant Yamagi, you ever been to Bilbringi?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Hehe. Thats hilrious. Ive only been there once but it was for a brief stop during my first tour of duty with the 181st. Any particular reason you asked?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

"We might need to debrief you on any knowledge you have of the shipyards there."

He shook his head.

"Senate seems pretty riled up about the situation there, now. Intel might be penetrating a man or two into the yards, for confirmation. Any knowledge you've got would be helpful in planning the infiltration."

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Alright. You can ask Sneaky my astromech too if you need anything, he keeps recrods of anywhere we've been. Im pretty sure he has a layout of the shipyard or something cause we had to stop by for a few extra parts i couldn't get on the black market at the time."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Black Market? We're gonna have to arrest you!" Lion laughed.

"You remember the paths through the shield generators?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Yeah I reember soe part by memory but i had Sneaky take a whole bluepring of the place in case we ever needed some more spare parts for the ship. Let me tell you they werent happy when we were leaving with their spare parts.." Yeah Tie reflected throughtfully those were the days.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion laughed again, and took a drink.

"I bet it cost them a few TIEs, eh?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"Yeah it was great. We caused so much confusion that the general traffic couldnt get in. I had Sneaky reset the generator fields for the 10 minutes we needed for our escape. No one knew where to do except us and then when they thought that they had figured it out e sqitched it back on em."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Gave 'em a few bumps on the nose, eh?" he asked, smiling.

Lion chuckled to himself.

"Was Sneaky happy about the arrangements?"

[TieFighterPilot181st]

"He was pretty satisfied with em as was I. Yeah lots of pretty explosions. Control mut have had a helluva time trying to get it all cleaned up after."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Sounded like a lot of fun. Pity I missed it."

Lion glanced at his watch and his eyes bugged out slightly.

"I've got to report to Master Dasquian in 15 minutes. Lieutenant, I'll have Intel contact you about that debriefing. Later, Mistress AB, Tai."

With that, he downed the last of his drink, slid his chair back, and walked out of the bar.