ABS FIESTA REDUX

[Qwepir]

Jaakko swings about and attempts to lock on to Nagato's tail.

With her being more focused on avoiding the Fulcrums, she doesn't notice your approach and you get behind her easily. The Fulcrum assigned to attack her disengages its attack to avoid a collision with you, while the Vanguard attempts to get on the other's tail, having passed it.
Vanguard base EV 78
No piloting bonuses or penalties
Test taken at 78
Fulcrum base EV 77
No piloting bonuses or penalties
Test taken at 77
Vanguard rolls to pursue: 56 - success by 2 degrees
Fulcrum rolls to evade: 49 - success by 2 degrees
Stalemate
The J-10 fails to get behind the Fulcrum, but the Fulcrum is unable to totally disengage.



A good distance away from Vengeance's hangar, Tippy, Gus, Kibble, and Yui are able to see a hat-wearing Kintharian mechanic come sprinting out of a hangar to flag Pagodin down before he walks by. He stops the walker and gets lectured for a while, and though they're too far away to hear what she has to say, thanks to the speakers you are able to hear his response when he notices the damage he's done to the tarmac.
: Oh, rooster.

[Ad Bot]

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko starts firing both the UAC and the flak gun, decloaking the aircraft. He orders the wingmen to clear each other's tails.

[Qwepir]

Jaakko starts firing both the UAC and the flak gun, decloaking the aircraft. He orders the wingmen to clear each other's tails.

The cannons tear her a new one, ending the round before she even knows what's happening.
: Wait, what? Already? The forget?

[Mr. Hurricane]

"I suppose so," Jaakko says.

He maneuvers to ease in to formation on to Nagato's wing.

"You had me in the first round though, wingmen certainly helped me this round,"

[Qwepir]

: Yeah, well... we're not done here yet. One more go.

She returns to her starting area.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko returns to his starting area.

He aligns himself to Nagato and starts climbing, alongside his wingmen, pushing for an altitude advantage.

[Gojira]

I take a good look at the tarmac.
"Well, that's not good."

[Qwepir]

Jaakko returns to his starting area.

He aligns himself to Nagato and starts climbing, alongside his wingmen, pushing for an altitude advantage.

She starts climbing as well, intent on denying you the high ground.

You will be in missile range next turn.

I take a good look at the tarmac.
"Well, that's not good."

The damage isn't severe, it's not leaving entire footprints or anything, but the fact that the walker has been cracking the pavement at all means that it could be breaking the surface into debris to potentially be sucked into a jet intake. Fortunately, the mechanic seems to have stopped Pagodin before he took the walker anywhere the planes regularly pass through.

[Gojira]

still not good
I figure I'll go check on my Razorback.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko cloaks and eases his climbs slightly. The Fulcrums keep climbing at their original rate.

[Qwepir]

Jaakko cloaks and eases his climbs slightly. The Fulcrums keep climbing at their original rate.

She follows the Fulcrums up and enters their missile range, and orders her wingmen to open fire.
Fulcrum base EV 77
No piloting bonuses or penalties
HSM 1 provides penalty of 25
HSM 2 provides penalty of 25
Flares provide bonus of 40
Test taken at 67
Roll: 79 - failure
Test failed

Fulcrum base EV 77
No piloting bonuses or penalties
HSM 1 provides penalty of 25
HSM 2 provides penalty of 25
Flares provide bonus of 40
Test taken at 67
Roll: 49 - success
Test passed
One of the Flankers is destroyed, but the other manages to save itself.
: Okay, really? I honestly hope you aren't intending to use your cloak like this in the field, for the rest of your squadron's sake.

still not good
I figure I'll go check on my Razorback.

It is a few hundred yards away, in the hangar Pagodin was stopped in front of. Inside, Yukamo and her team are doing maintenance on the twin GAUs while a radio in the corner plays something loud and repetitive.

[Gojira]

"Ark's exhaust, how do they tolerate that stuff?" I mutter to myself. I walk over to Yukamo.
"Hey, any way I can help?"

[Mr. Hurricane]

"Why's that?" Jaakko says, grinning.

He throttles up and continues to close towards Nagato.

Jaakko orders the Fulcrum to start descending.

[comr4de]

Good ol' "pags" pagodin, what a card. I remember the time he played "The Pink Floyd" on his rifle, which he pretended was a guitar.

[Qwepir]

"Why's that?" Jaakko says, grinning.

He throttles up and continues to close towards Nagato.

Jaakko orders the Fulcrum to start descending.

: Because, dumbass, you're using your comrades like ablative armor. If I were supposed to be taking orders from you, I'd file a complaint!

Nagato keeps climbing, allowing her allies to engage the Fulcrum while she keeps an eye on them from higher up.
Fulcrum base EV 77
No piloting bonuses or penalties
HSM 1 provides penalty of 25
HSM 2 provides penalty of 25
Flares provide bonus of 40
Test taken at 67
Roll: 62 - success
Test passed
Your buddy survives, but is now out of flares and won't last much longer without assistance against two enemy planes. You will be in gun range of Nagato next turn.

"Hey, any way I can help?"

: You could put a sign up so Pags doesn't stomp the tarmac into tiny little turbofan-destroying pieces. Other than that, I don't have anything for you, we're just making sure everything works like it should.

She glances up from her checklist to look at the Razorback.
: I like this plane, it's nice and simple. Well, as "simple" as things get anymore. No variable geometry, no energy weapons, no exotic power plants, no invisibility cloak... just a big flying brick made of guns and missiles.

Good ol' "pags" pagodin, what a card. I remember the time he played "The Pink Floyd" on his rifle, which he pretended was a guitar.

i remember when they poured water on his gills and he vomited to death