Six Degrees of Freedom

"The Phoenix is a bit roughed up, but I'm fine. All other members report status."

He turned the ship around, aiming back for the city.

Adrian began idly turning his fighter around. "Green Demon. Minor hull damage but it's nothing the autorepair won't be able to fix. I should be fine."

Gil heard the chatter of the radio.

"My Vimana has not a scratch on it. But that shouldn't come as a surprise."

He downed his cup then hopped in and headed towards where the rest of the fleet was headed.

A crackle can be momentarily heard from the communications of the Soundwave before it intones "Minimal damage to hull, minimal fuel consumed. Everything is at optimal efficiency. With our prey neutralized, there is little left for us here but to head back for a debriefing, unless we intend to join the men here in honoring their dead."

"My X-wing has a few minor dents. S foils are fine! I am good," Silas states checking the automated systems of his X-Wing. "No issues really. Fusion reactor is stable even!"

Marcia did a check on the Harrliard's systems and responds to the query on her status.

"E-everything is um fine here... Those kebabs did some damage h-here and um there, though. I also um tried to fire my w-weaponry wisely."

"Noether here. Pretty much the same as everyone else; a few dents, but nothing major."

"Alright, seems like we're all doing just fine then. Sokol Flight, how are you all doing?"

Sokol 1-1 returned to the Atlas Fleet. The Foxbat looked hideously beaten up, and didn't seem like it had long in the air.

"We have taken casualties," came Sokol's voice. "Return to Stanistan capital and inform them of mission success. I may need to eject."

As if prompted, the fighter's engine blew out, and Sokol 1-1 ejected before the Foxbat's engine disintegrated and the Foxbat's various pieces fell out of the sky.

The Soundwave quietly flew back as suggested, disappearing completely out of sight for the moment. Over the radio, you could swear for a moment there was a slightly worrisome mechanical screech echoing over the communications like that of a bird, but no indication of where it came from.

"Do you need a ride?"

He called in over the radio, flying close to the ejected pilot.

Looking off into the distance, one could spot an APC headed out towards Sokol's location. As Sokol 1-1 waved the Atlas Fleet off it appeared he wouldn't need any help; the remnants of Gorod's defenders had him covered.

"Well, just checking. Over and out!"

With that, he began the trip back to Stanistan.

"Alright then, stay safe, we'll see you guys back to base, or wherever we're going back to!" Jake said as he started heading back with the others, letting out a sigh of relief.

The Soundwave hails the APC to let them know the job is done as it continues to make its way back.

edited 6th Jul '15 12:34:21 PM by Raidouthe21st

With the mission done and dusted, Marcia turned the Harriliard towards Stanistan and headed in that direction.

Emily joined the others in heading back to Stanistan. She hoped that she could get a nice laser cannon or something for her ship; ion cannons were nice and all, and the pike beam kicked ass, but it certainly took a while for her to charge up compared to the other members of the fleet, and the ion cannons were only good for precision shots or disabling ship systems, and they didn't to any physical damage to other ships either. Having a laser cannon would be a nice middle ground between the two.

"I wonder how much we're gonna get paid for this?" thought Adrian out loud. His mic was on, so everyone in the Fleet would likely hear what he was saying.

"Man, I have no bloody idea, you tell me". Jake chimed in as he relaxed in his seat, stretching a bit.

"I don't even know how I pulled all of this off to begin with, soooo yeah, the pay at this point is an afterthought."

The Soundwave replies "Likely not enough to suit our needs or our greed, but at best it will be a starting point."

"W-who knows? M-maybe it will um pay our b-bills if we um need to stay at a hotel?"

"Getting something is better than getting nothing, at least. Plus, the experience can never hurt. If we're going to be a fleet, we'd best learn how to move and fight as a team."

"Fair points from you all," replied Adrian. "If nothing else it'll probably cover living expenses for a few days until the next job. I get the feeling this was a simple mission, as frightening as it was."

The lights of Stanistan's capital city approached, as did the radar contacts of the starfighters travelling through its spaceport.

"Well. I just know we need to do something... been awhile since that Voice talked to us," Silas noted.

Adrian snorted when Silas brought up the voice. "Wanna bet it's why we're here? Because I think it fumbled trying to be mysterious when we first met it."

At the mention of the Atlas, it returned for a moment. "Hey, you," it said to Seth. "If you want to try hacking into an entire planetary network without being noticed in the process, then I'll give you a computer and let you have at 'er. I'm making good progress, though. Just keep working, they haven't even noticed." It disappeared shortly after.

edited 10th Jul '15 9:27:45 AM by SpartyMcFly

Silas pondered, "Well, they have a advanced planetary network... but they don't seem too much more advanced than the 1990s of Earth... Ah man. That was a different time, do you know how long I had to scour the net for those old episodes of Batman the Animated Series? Don't even get me started on Gargoyles."

It was becoming clear Silas was a fan of the past, actual personality trait? His admitted mental instability? That would be never answered.