I'm ahead of the curve this time, and had enough time to also do my journal much sooner than usual.
G’wriss 1
I notice some pilots playing a card game at one of the tables when I step into the Rec room. I also see Dallas looking out into the depths of space. I ask Dallas if he’s ok, and he says that he would be better if he had a one-way ticket home. He says that we’re in a fine mess, and I try to tell him to get used to having to fight. He interrupts me, and says that the Kilrathi were tied up on the Feudal Planets with problems of their own. The Border Worlds have been completely quiet with the Black Lance out of commission. Peace has been reigning for quite some time, and he did not expect having to fight. He ends his rant by saying he is hosed, but I tell him that all of us have joined Confed to do a job that has no guarantees. Dallas wonders if that’s supposed to make him feel better, and I tell him no. I explain that whatever we are up against here will have to be stopped. We’re the only group out this far, so all we have is rely on each other. Until we get word back to Confed about the enemies we are facing, this will mean that we’ll have to give each other 100% commitment. Dallas takes a few moments to ponder what I’ve said, and walks away. I’m hoping that I got thru to him. I turn and notice Stiletto sitting at the bar. She offers me a toast to my talk to Dallas. I enter the briefing room, and the CAG says that she left the tactical division with a new strategy. The enemy has cut us off from our primary supply routes in the H’rekkah system. We were able to contact a convoy destined for a Confed colony, and have rerouted it towards the Midway. Our sensors are showing a small strike force closing to striking range of the convoy. Enemy capital ships are closing in on the convoy’s position, and we’ll use a series of nav points to circumvent the fleet to reach the convoy. Once we reach the convoy’s position at nav point 4, we’re to take down any attackers of the convoy and escort them back to the Midway. After getting dismissed from the briefing, Dallas comes to say that he’ll be there for me 100%. I tell him that I’d be happy to give 150%, and that I’m looking forward to us kicking some aliens around.
I take off in a Tigershark with Maestro and Dallas on my wing. At the first nav point, we run into a light force of three Morays. The Midway comes on the communication line to patch us into the communication channel of the convoy since they’re now under attack. I hear communications about the convoy defense having to deal with too many fighters, and they are wondering if there will be help from the Midway. We’re on our way guys; just hold on until we get there. The Midway tells me that any hope for us salvaging the situation is gone since their analysis confirms that we won’t reach the convoy in time to offer much assistance. I’ve taken out two of the Morays by this time, and the third one is also quickly gunned down. A few more nav points along, we run into another small group of Morays. I hear the TCS Barkley send out a mayday requesting immediate assistance. I then hear a Confed pilot having to eject, but the convoy does not have an SAR ship available to pick him up. The TCS Barkley then says that their fighter cover is completely gone and that they’re taking heavy damage. The ejected Confed pilot asks for help, and there is an alien ship that is picking up the ejected pilots. A few moments after this news, I make a mess of a Moray. A second Moray goes down without too many troubles, although a Dragonfly missile shot from Dallas goes wide. Together, Dallas and I get the last Moray and another Dragonfly hits the enemy fighter. We reach the fourth nav point where the convoy is. The enemy quickly destroys both the TCS Barkley and the TCS Porter. I go after one of the big fighters that are now identified as Mantas. The guns of my Tigershark punch thru the thicker shields and armor of the Manta, and that ship is destroyed. I approach another Manta directly, but shift my attack angle after seeing it shooting a nasty looking wide green blast. I’m able to eliminate a second Manta with a missile and guns, but take a missile hit from the rear. I target the Manta that was attacking me from the rear. He follows his fellow into the vacuum of space. I then see a bomber cluster, and I slow down enough so that I don’t fly past it in pursuit. The cluster breaks into three individual smaller fighters, and I use a missile against one. Fortunately, it looks like just one missile hit will blow these fighters up since they’re quite maneuverable and difficult to hit with guns. With the exception of one of the fighters, they all have to be eliminated with missiles. Maestro expresses my wishes that we had gotten here sooner to help the convoy. A small refueling and rearming ship called the Redeemer says that there would have been nothing we could do to save the transports. The alien bugs were just toying with them until we arrived. The Redeemer offers to refuel and rearm us, and I match its speed to do so. It takes three more nav points before we encounter another small group of Morays. We then get a communication from the Midway that it’s under attack, and we are to return ASAP. I quickly eliminate two of the Morays, but the third launches a missile that hits my port side. I finish off that last fighter, and we’re on our way to the Midway when they ask what’s keeping us from assisting. We arrive to the Midway’s position, and the CAG tells us that the launch control is off line. We’ll have to help any defense with the Black Widow squadron, and the Midway says they are taking hits from all sides. I see one of those big clusters like before at the convoy point and target it. I’m able to break the cluster apart, but my fighter took a few hits from a Manta while doing so. My ship’s core has 40% damage, and my shields took some damage too. The damage control system repairs the shield damage, and I get rid of that Manta. I get after another of the clusters, and a few fighters are destroyed by our defense before I get in range. I break that cluster apart and blow up two of the smaller cluster portions with missile shots. I sight a third cluster, and engage the afterburners to quickly close the distance. I break that cluster also, and again use missiles to blow up those smaller portions. The area is clear, and I can now land. The Midway says that next time they may have to keep me closer to them, and express their sympathies about the tough loss of the transports. I land on the Midway, and Rachel says that it looks like her crew will have its hands full with repairing the badly battered fighter I came back in.
G’wriss 2
I see Finley at the bar, and it looks like she’s trying to pass out from the booze as quickly as possible. I ask if she’s had a hard day, and she says everything is fine. I do admit that I’ve never see a person drink the way she is right now and live. She asks if I’d like to see her down another shot, and I stop her and ask what is wrong. She says that everything is going wrong in the science division. They don’t have a clue on what we’re facing. All they have are some unknown contacts, a bunch of dead Kilrathi, and a cryptic story about the end of the world. I ask her what she means by that, and she explains that she means the Kn’thrak of the Kilrathi. I tell her that I heard from Zero about what it means, but she clarifies that I did not get the full picture. There is an ancient Kilrathi prophecy about the end of the world where the Kn’thrak figures prominently. I ask her if that only meant the destruction of Kilrah, and she says that was only the beginning. Their prophecy does not mean Armageddon like on Earth, but the end to everything. I ask if she told the Captain about this, and she says he wants answers and not ghost stories. We’ve also been attempting to send a distress signal to the nearest Confed starbase, but our link has been cut. I say that this must mean that relay station in the H’hrass system is out of commission. I ask her why she’s down here again in pilot country, and she says that testosterone and adrenaline appeal more to her than brass. I say that a very smart person once told me that was a dangerous combination. I hear an announcement over the intercom for all pilots to head to the briefing room, and I tell her that I have to go. She tries to tell me something as I’m leaving, but I can’t hear it. The CAG says that this mission will be important to us in this system. I receive confirmation about my comment about the communications relay station in the H’hrass system no longer transmitting. We must reach the system to repair the station and send a distress call to Confed. An enemy cruiser group followed us thru the H’rekkah jump point and will intercept us before we can reach the H’hrass jump point. Because of the assault on the Confed convoy, the cruiser has fallen behind its destroyer escorts. We’re to go after the fighter screen of the destroyers, as well as eliminating the shield and turret defenses on the destroyers.
Dallas hopes that our Shrike bombers can handle the destroyers since they look very big. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. I target a Manta since it’s the biggest threat to fighters and bombers. I nail the Manta, and Dallas says that the turrets on the destroyers are trashing his ship. I pursue another Manta, and make a minor bump to a friendly Confed fighter. Dallas ejects from his fighter, so it sounds like the destroyer got the best of him. While still working on whittling down the Manta, and Confed pilot is killed in action. I finish off the Manta, and notice that the only ships within easy range are Squids. I notice a torpedo from one of our bombers hit the engines on one of the destroyers. It’s not going anywhere, and I have the Squid in my gun sights. It becomes sushi, and I go after another Squid. That ship launches a missile, but all it does is take down my shields. I blast the Squid into tiny tidbits, and notice that when they spread their wings to attack it makes a huge target profile. This is a perfect opportunity to use some Dragonflies. I’m blasting at a third Squid, and the bombers have disabled the engines on the other destroyer. I’m going after yet another Squid, and miss my target with a Dragonfly. Stiletto then says that she also has to eject, and I’m thinking that these destroyers must have a lot of turret firepower. A torpedo hits the bridge of a destroyer, and that capital ship is scratched. I dispatch another Squid, and the bombers smack down the other destroyer. I come at a direct pass on a Squid, and it takes down my shields and forward armor with a missile hit. I get on its tail and start shredding it with guns. I also get a hit in with a Dragonfly, and that Squid is soon shredded. There is still one Squid left, and it presents a perfect profile to use a Dragonfly. My guns finish that fighter off, and this zone is clear. I head back to the Midway, and they tell us that we still have the cruiser to deal with for our next mission but we do have an upper hand since we have just one enemy capital ship to deal with instead of three. Rachel congratulates me on making some right moves, and says that it looks like I have the right stuff.
G’wriss 3
I see Zero sitting alone at a table with a drink. He’s silently thinking things over, and I sit down to give him some company. Zero asks why he can’t commune quietly with his drink. I apologize, and say I did not see a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. Zero asks me what it was like being the son of the Iceman. He thinks I must have had a free ride thru the Academy due to having a famous father. I tell him that I never got a free ride, and Zero’s not convinced since my father was a great war hero. I explain that while he was a hero by being one of the most decorated Confed pilots, he died while I was an infant. My mother got his last medal while I was still in diapers. I explain that having a hero for a father was no help, and that I’ve spent my career trying to live up to the reputation of a person I never knew. Every time I fly, I feel that I’m competing against my father. Zero tells me about his father, who was a cultural anthropologist. Confed intel put him to work during the war against the Kilrathi. Zero’s father spent years studying the Kilrathi’s history and technology to get an edge against the cats. Due to this classified work, he could never tell his son about it. Zero says that at one point he wanted to be just like his father. I say that maybe he is like his father, and we make a toast to each other. I ask him what he thinks we’re up against, and Zero says that his father was the expert in regards to the meaning of Kn’thrak. He says that he heard the word only once or twice in relation to one of Earth’s biblical texts and a race called the Nephilim. He thought those stories were fairy tales, but he remembers being so scared that he had to leave the light on for days in order to sleep. Zero says that it does not matter, and I point out that we are alike in our efforts to outrun the shadows of our fathers. I head into the briefing room to find out our plan of attack against the cruiser. Hawk’s Charlie Wing will act as a fighter screen along with our wing. We’re to escort Maniac’s Bravo wing of bombers as they work to destroy the cruiser. After destroying the cruiser, we’ll head back for any defense of the Midway if needed. This force may have been responsible for the destruction of the Kilrathi fleet, so success is very important. After leaving the briefing, I tell Dallas that I’m ready to give him 150%, and he says that he’ll offer 200%.
We launch in Wasps, and the Midway tells me that I have no time to lose. It’s imperative for me to take out the fighters so that Bravo wing can deal with the cruiser. I hit the booster pack right away, and look for priority targets. I find one with a Skate cluster, and the Midway says that I need to make sure that Skate cluster is dealt with. I break the cluster apart, and finish a smaller Skate section with a missile. Another section is taken care of by the guns of the Wasp. The only other close enemy fighter is that last section of the Skate cluster. I get it with a missile, and then Dallas is killed in action! I target one of the Mantas, and another Confed pilot dies. This mission is going south quickly, so I better help to turn it around somehow. I blow the Manta apart with a Swarmer missile launch, and target a second Manta. It also is scrubbed by the Swarmers, and our group destroys two Remora pods. A third Manta gets medium damage from my Swarmer launch, and I finish it off with guns. I see an enemy corvette seriously damage, and Zero polishes it off with a Swarmer. I see a Squid fighter, and go after it in pursuit. I get the Squid wiped out with just the guns of the Wasp. Zero and I combine to kill another of the Squids, and only the cruiser is left. Time to help out by taking out turrets. I wipe out six of the turrets and a missile launcher on this Hydra cruiser. With no defense left, it should be easy picking for the bombers to blast the bridge. The bombers successfully break the bridge, and the Hydra deploys a Skate cluster. One cluster against several fighters is not even odds. I bust the cluster apart, and take out two of the smaller Skate sections with missiles. Maestro does overkill with a Swarmer launch against the final one, and it’s time to head back to the Midway. The Midway congratulates us on a good job, and that it looked like the Captain would pull the plug due to our losses. Fortunately, I was able to help turn things around but I still wish it did not mean the loss of two pilots today. I check my performance score after landing, and pound the computer table in frustration. Maestro and Stiletto try to tell me that there was nothing I could do to save Dallas. I step away from them both still steaming, and Stiletto swears over this loss.
I attend the funeral services for Dallas and the other two dead Confed pilots. The chaplain gives a good eulogy, and I hope I can keep true to their deaths not being in vain. I’m sitting with Zero at a table in the Rec room, and say that we’ve lost good pilots today. Zero welcomes me to the wonderful world of armed aggression. Maniac comes in the room spouting all sorts of bravado about his acts against our new enemy. Hawk tells him to give it a rest, and Maniac says that he’d like to but it would mean that somebody would surpass him on the killboard. I’d hate to break the news to you Todd, but I’m now #1 on the killboard. I ask Maniac for some respect for the dead, and he’s amazed that I have the guts to talk to him after our first encounter. He says that he has no sympathy for people that can’t hack the combat action and get themselves killed, and I jump out of my chair to shake some sense of compassion into him. I’m hauled off to the brig, and Commodore Blair comes in after a while. I’m tossing a rubber ball in frustration at a picture of Maniac on the wall. Blair tells me that he heard about my struggle with Maniac, and that Maniac is good at hiding his emotions behind a lot of hot air. The Commodore tells me that Maniac’s heart is in the right place, and that I can’t let his attitude get on my nerves. I ask Blair if he’s here to arrest me, and he says that he had a word with the CAG. She’ll let my actions slide due to severe stress and anxiety, but Blair warns me to not try that stunt again. Blair grabs the rubber ball I’ve been tossing and catching during this speech, and says not to thank him all at once. I apologize and say that I expected things to be different. The Commodore tells me that when he was still flying along with others taking risks, it did not seem to matter much. Blair tells me that things for him became clear when he realized that we fly with death every day. We fight, struggle, and lose friends along the way. Blair tells me that he lost somebody he really cared about a long time ago. Blair then says that what I do is very important to this ship and its people. The Commodore urges me to not let anyone stand in the way of what I need to do. I say that he sounds envious, and Blair admits that perhaps he is.
P.S. - There's a possibility that I'll have the Photobucket pictures ready today as well. The videos are already up at:
http://www.youtube.com/davecaspermeyer
Enjoy a little bit of bug blasting before football if you're American sports fans.