Dragon's Guarding Treasure

Posted on Sunday 7 August 2016 @ 19:15 by Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix & Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. & Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant Commander David Tan
Edited on on Tuesday 13 September 2016 @ 19:14

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: Hayes Proving Ground
Timeline: MD7 - Late afternoon
1982 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Sav ran onto the deck where the 18 fighters were being outfitted. She called the pilots over. "Let's get this show on the road. We are expecting a possible bogey, and/or friendly, so things can go good, or south, in a hurry. We will be on extended ops, meaning eight on, eight off, for the next day at least, or until Father calls it off. As this is dealing with ships, not fighters, we need to be able to intercept and hold until Merlin backs us up. The boys with the easiest assignment will be the three Winchesters hiding out at the marine base by the discovery. The marines will keep the birds hot while the Drivers need to stay ready to wake up and fly at a moments notice. And, that leaves the rest of us."

Sav continued, "We need to establish a two hundred thousand k perimeter around the main asteroid, we'll call it Dashit. Even though in space, ships tend to follow the standard galactic plane, but that doesn't mean someone might come in from North or South pole. So, Talon Scouters, your craft are designed for over a week out. Go 60 kiloklicks North and South, just outside the Asteroid field, yet, letting it help hid you. Any pings from anywhere, let us know. Go get your diagnostics going, your thirty minutes out from launch. Move it."

The 776th Tactical 4 man crews for the Talon Scouts saluted and ran off to get their birds ready. Each crew consisted of Pilot, Tactical/ECM/ECCM, and Sensors. Each was double trained so that they could spell each other and even have two people running while two people slept. This would allow them to be out for a week before needing swapped out due to fatigue.

Sav looked at the main 28 pilots and the 15 backup. "Okay, most junior Winchesters, you get Dashit duty. Sync up with the Marines at their established base. One of you will be shield duty for the 'find'. Decide who by favors owed, not who 'deserve's it, alright?" She looked at the others, "Our quadrants will go as follows: Outside asteroid belt is one and two, inside the asteroid belt is three through six, just like checking sides on a main ship. The senior most two Winchesters fighters will establish a perimeter for one and two. As you have the best antiship armament, and are not as maneuverable as the raptors and valkyries, I want you not playing tag with asteroids but concentrating on flying rings around any incoming bogeys, keeping them busy till joined by support fighters and/or Merlin, got it? The final Broadsword will be on Merlin as relief, as I will explain in a second. Your goal is a perimeter of 200 kklicks."

"Next, four Valkyrie will be in quadrants three through six. Again, at 200 kklicks. Moving inside to 100 kklicks, in now divided of four quadrants, will be circling Raptors. You guys will be our fast support. When a bogey or friendly is spotted, two of you will hit outwards to support the fighter with the bogey. Now, the remaining two Valkyries and two Raptors will be relief."

"Here is how relief works. At the four hour point, the relief fighters launch and move out to replace two existing fighters as per type. Those fighters move back to the ship for pilot downtime of eight hours while the pit crews get the fighters ready again for the birds four hour relief. At four hours, the next pilots will take the birds out and replace those who now have been on duty for eight hours. Coming back in, those pilots get eight, the birds get four, and relief crew gets ready. Transporters can transport the pilots from Dashit to Merlin for turns. We should be able to hold this pace for three days, which means the current mission should be done by then, we hope. If not, we will regroup and change the arrangement to better suite longer time deployment. Any questions?"

The Uroboros Flight leader, Winchester Squadron Leader, and Longwings Squadron leader shook their heads. This was a monitor and guard assignment, just with an asteroid field to muck things up, and, help things out. That 'Dashit' was within the asteroid field made things interesting from a fighter point of view, positive for them, and a negative point of view for any ship larger than a corvette.

Sav smiled to her group. "Okay, designations are as normal, with rotating comm channels as per standard Fed ops, except, guys, let's go backwards in three hop increments. We don't want any friendlies coming up and expecting to just listen to us, eh? Call signs are standard ops, so no issues there."

Sav, being Squadron Leader of the Uroboros besides CAG, would be designated 'Dragon Actual'. The Squad leaders for the Longswords and Broadswords would be 'Dragon Two' and 'Dragon Three'. Their squads were numbered based on Dragon naming. Thus, Valkyries were Dragon 12 through 16, Longwings were Dragon 22 through 26, and Broadswords were Dragon 32 through 36.

Dragons 12 - 14 and 32 would be out in the 200kklick perimeter with their Squad leaders. Dragon 2 and Dragons 22 - 24 were at the 100 KKlick perimeter. Dragon 33 and 34 would be on the asteroid as a surprise package, while 35 would be at the find to protect with shields. The rest of the dragons, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 36 were all relief for starting up the 8 hour relief shifts. Of course, first change out would be at 4 hours into watch with junior pilots.

Sav pointed to the ships, "Alright Drivers, to your birds, let's get this show on the road and show just see who has the most frost and sparkle. Time to shine, move it."

The pilots and gunners for the VFA-131 Winchesters were listening to the Squadron Leader bark out rapid orders, and then they broke for their Broadswords to get them launched as soon as pods were attached and fighters into launch positions. The flight leader for VA-102 Uroboros squadron slapped Sav on the shoulder, "Got it, go, Sir," and then motioned who for where for the Valkyries, and who was staying behind for relief.

For the VA-103 Longwings, the squadron leader barked out orders for who where, and relief. However, before he finished, he was joined by another Pilot. After a quick discussion, the Squadron Leader became a reserve pilot and let Major Richard "Wolf" Johnson take the Squad Leader position. The rest of the pilots for current airborn duty went to their Raptors.

Sav moved over to her Valkyrie. She waved away the gunner, "No, your needed for relief with others, and I already have Venita rigged and able to use her armament alone, if you couldn't tell from the earlier training mission. Besides, if we need a 'gunners' seat for a desired 'tester', she's available." Sav sat down and the hatch closed. She had noted proudly that her hull had been painted with the requisite '100' designation number for CAG. She was going to Quadrant four, aft of Dashit, for her first stint. If a ship was foolish enough to come through the asteroids, that was the best bet as it had the heaviest amount of debris for hiding, but also the most chance of getting damaged.

She signaled to the crew and they moved her into position. She felt the thrill of the lock and load.

=/\= Flight Ops, Dragon Uroboros Squadran Leader, CAG Tillatix reporting. Gun is loaded, ready to fire.=/\=

=/\= Dragon squadron, flight ops. You have clearance. Good hunting.=/\=

She churred as she felt the ship surge forward for the launch. She hit her thrusters and jumped into the power curve precisely for maximum thrust and output, and she was out and moving away, heading towards her 200 kklick position designation aft of Dashit. She wondered how many fighters realized she had named the Asteroid after the term for all fun plans going awry, 'Dash it all, man, there went that,' Dashit for short. Behind her, the other three Valkyries followed and then split off for their quadrants.

The rest of the launch went well, the four Raptors launching next, and then five Broadswords. Two Broadswords went for sectors 1 and 2 while the Valkyries went into the asteroid field for taking sectors 3 through 6. The four Raptors moved in closer to the Asteroid to take up circling patrol duty. In that way, any two at any time could speed out to support the lone fighter in a sector to make a three fighter threat. Of course, two heavily armed Broadswords could launch at any time from 'Dashit' to add to the support.

Wolf was in the Raptor designated Dragon 2. He didn't need to be there, but, given the very real possibility of combat he didn't want to leave the new CAG blowing in the wind, "Dragon Actual, Dragon two, change comm to channel two," he ordered then switched over to the private comm channel, "Dragon Actual, you have good copy?" he asked on the closed channel.

=/\= Dragon Two, Dragon Actual, Copy.=/\= Sav switched over to channel 2 and waited for Dragon Two to chime in. As he was the one from earlier, she didn't know he was filling in. =/\= Copy that, Dragon two. Whatcha need? =/\=

... In the Tactical Information Center, Tan was listening to everything being said. Watching the deployments, which were now on numerous view-screens around the almost circular, two level room, he could see the fighters as they arrowed away from the massive USS Merlin ... Below them and almost two hundred kilometers ahead, was the stricken Tri'jema. Long-range sensors had now picked up one vessel, too far distant to identify, but it was likely to be the Vulcan ship that was coming to take control of the area, and presumably shepherding the Merlin out of the area in the process. As to their leaving, that was not an option at this stage, and he couldn't imagine that the Vulcan's would openly attack a Federation Vessel without provocation, unless of course, the Tri'jema 'WAS' their ship, and there was something aboard that vessel the Vulcan's didn't want discovered ... alas, only time would tell, he decided ......

"Alright, I'm here for support if you need it, you're not alone out here," Richard started, "this is your command and your orders are law, but use my experience if you need it, I've got your six, copy?" he asked as he throttled up as he turned away from the ship, only wanting to let her know she could lean on him.

=/\= *churring sound in the background* I gather from that you've taken the place of Longswords Squadron Leader for the time being. As this is just my second sortie with a bogey, I can use all the experience I can get. Welcome aboard. I will make sure that you remain out for the full 8 hours as I will. we are expecting a possible 'friendly/bogey' in six hours. Hence why I had the junior pilots out be the first relief at 4 hours, keep the replacements frosty since they are junior as well. The rest out, all experienced, so that should help. I do have tactical training, and *pause* spatial training, if that helps. Anything you see, or feel, that you would suggest for the arrangement?=/\=

Inside her Valkyrie, Sav snorted out in humor at how she had to 'cover up' her natural inborn spatial sense. There was navigational spatial training for Navigators, and optional for gunners, and it would help explain how she could keep track of what was happening around her so easily.

"Not yet, actual, you have things well in hand," Wolf replied with a smile even though Sav couldn't see it, "switching back to primary channel."

OFF:




Commander John "Apollo" Barstow
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin

Lt. j.g. Saveena Tillatix
CAG / Uroboros Squadron Leader
Bridge Command Specialist
USS Merlin

Lieutenant jg. David Tan
Chief Operations Officer
USS Merlin

1st Lieutenant Elias Walker
'Knight' Company Commander
USS Merlin