" Dogfight "
(Previous Post was Serena's " Operation Assault, Phase 2 ")
==========
Stardate: 60298.1548
Setting: VIPER 1, Cockpit
The young woman had been pinned to her seat due to the sudden acceleration of the VIPER as it got propelled through the launch tunnel and into the open vacuum of space. The advantage of this sort of exit was that the small Interceptor-Class craft came into play at almost its maximum speed… the immediate drawback of this same exit was that the pilot needed a couple of seconds to get their wits back.
This had been Rikar's first official sortie onboard a VIPER, the last time she had been at the controls of 1 of these crafts having been during the holographic simulation back on NEW ALEXANDRIA. The controls were the same, including the control stick and the PHARAOH helmet that was on her head and which allowed the redheaded woman to access many of the ship's systems by simply thinking of them. The only difference had been that the dangers she would face this time around would be all too real. The error the young woman had done during her training still haunted her thoughts and this time the ANUBIS' ExO vowed not to hesitate should the opportunity present itself. Capturing Xan would give them a nice tactical advantage and likely source of Intel, but Sabrina would not risk letting him escape by offering him to surrender… like she had during her training simulation.
"Picking up a warp capable shuttle coming out of the planet's atmosphere on a heading of 116 mark 41. Estimated time for that shuttle to being able to jump to warp is 42 seconds… likely less if it increases speed at it emerges from the atmosphere." The green sounding Ensign sitting behind the young woman announced, she blue skinned Orion woman having been the closest copilot available on such a short notice.
"Then we better get there and stop it before it does." The young woman offered pushing the interceptor's engines to their maximum which caused both officers onboard to be pushed against their seats. The absence of any type of inertial dampeners onboard the VIPER had been clear and impossible to miss but the redheaded woman had started to like being able to feel the reaction of the ship to her hand delivered commands.
"Commander… should I contact the ANUBIS and report on our situation?" The Ensign inquired, advertising in no uncertain terms that she lacked experience in such situations. Under normal circumstances the young woman would have been pleased to instruct the junior officer on the proper protocols or direct her copilot to someone more experienced for the lesson but neither option had been a valid 1 for the time being.
"No… we don’t want to tip Xan that we are onto him or whoever else might be listening in that we are out here and that the ANUBIS is somewhere near. This little excursion is just between Xan, us and whatever supreme power is out there between the stars." The young woman offered with a sigh, spotting the FOOL's GOLD as it climbed through the atmosphere of TOLAR IV.
"Weapons system are online… soonest estimate for shuttle to jump to warp is now at 26 seconds. If this Xan person is in as much in a rush to get out of here as you have hinted to… he may not wait until he is completely out of the planet's atmosphere. It is not the safest way but if escape is his primary goal he may not care." The Ensign pointed out to the redheaded woman who had already been aware of this particular detail. As little time as the 2 women had been able to share together during their preparation, Enaii had been able to give the ExO a quick psychological profile of Xan… a profile that supported the probability presented by her copilot. The young woman would have only seconds to act, and next to not margin of error… so she had to make whatever she did count.
"Alright… looks like I'm going to get only 1 shot at this… so I guess I'm shooting first and asking questions later." The young woman mumbled to herself before biting her lower lip as she squeezed the trigger on her control stick and fired the VIPER's pulse cannons in the direction of the rapidly moving shuttle.
The first several bolts of energy went well off the mark… and knowing that she had just informed Xan of the predicament that he was in the young woman did not ease on her persuasion methods. Alter course to bring her weapons' fire more on target, the ExO never released the trigger causing the FOOL's GOLD to be followed by an increasingly long line of energy streaks until finally 1 of them impacted against the vessel. Obviously not ready to accept this single hit as a victory, the young woman continued her attack on the shuttle registering several more hits against the craft.
"Nice shooting… looks like you have managed to disable its warp drive… I'm detecting a faint plasma leak from the portside nacelle." The navigator announced, sounding genuinely thrilled that they had disable the FOOL's GOLD with such apparent ease.
**Nice shooting? If Enaii had seen this she would have raked me over the coals for having missed shots 1 through 14… maybe I'll let my copilot tell the story… *after* we capture the pilot and get back to the ANUBIS.** The young woman thought to herself as she witness the FOOL's GOLD making a quick course correction away from the approaching VIPER. Although the shuttle's warp drive had been disabled, Xan had not given up on his wanting to escape and by the looks of things he was going to give the interceptor and its 2 women crew a run for their credits.
==========
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Commander Sabrina Rikar
Executive Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
As well as…
Lieutenant Kittianna
Intel Coordinator
NEW ALEXANDRIA
"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the Darkness and the Light"
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
