ABS FIESTA REDUX

[Badger]

Walter scratches his head for a moment and then speaks up

"I guess I'll go introduce myself to your two new recruits then, wonder if they give your squadron the same type of guys we get."

[Ad Bot]

[Operator¹]

Bell decides to go over to the crewman's station to check on their progress or lack thereof on tracking Eremit's Foxbat, muttering to herself.

: Gee, the last time we had someone try to desert, they weren't carrying ordinance that was vital to our war strategy.

She crosses her arms and waits for Jaakko and the Sky Marshal to finish talking.

[NoZoner]

The Shiva touches down on the deck with only three hundred pounds of fuel to spare. Relieved he was able to stick the landing without having to go around, Lorens sighs into his mask as a tractor wheels​ the fighter to the carrier's workshop.

Lorens' trek back to the Tordenskjold's upper decks passes by in something of a blur. Wrapped up in his own thoughts, he stares blankly at the ceiling of the commons room, slouched in his seat with his head resting on the back of the chair, playing the day's events through his head over and over.

Aero is confirmed dead. Djuriskas lost one of their new recruits. Hundreds more are probably dead or missing in the waters below, yet in spite of all their losses, Arkhip abandoned his mission and deserted his team.

Feeling his eyelids grow heavy, Lorens closes his eyes and tries to rest. Memories from the last two years of his life begin to bubble from the deepest reaches of his subconsciousness. His transfer to Mjolnir would herald dozens of firsts in his relatively short career with the UCAF, and perhaps made for the biggest and farthest reaching change in his life. Lorens' time as a CAS pilot apparently served as a reasonable prerequisite for entry into the 514th, but nothing could have possibly prepared him for this.

Lorens opens his eyes. The din of the fusion engines and the scattering of his thoughts proved too much to sleep through. While he couldn't remember much from his short dream, Lorens does seem to recall one important detail.

141.

That's the heading that bastard took off in, wasn't it? Southeast by South. If he kept flying in that direction, there's a chance he might run into the Imperials.

Remembering he still needed to be debriefed, Lorens slowly gets up from his seat and walks to the CIC.

[Qwepir]

"I believe he said something about his reasoning, but I was engaged with the Imperial squadron. Lieutenant Ashford was attempting to talk him down at the time, if I recall correctly. As for where he was heading, I think he was skirting around the dogfight to the south, and then split in some direction. I was engaged, and couldn't pay attention. I suggest bringing Lieutenant Ashford up here, sir,"

Remembering he still needed to be debriefed, Lorens slowly gets up from his seat and walks to the CIC.

As Crash finishes talking, Lorens and Kommandant arrive in the CIC.
: Sir, there's a problem. Orlov deserted his post and took-
: Took four Thunderbolts with him, I know. Major Kirves already told me. If you have any idea where or why he left, I advise you make it known.
: I don't know, sir. He's always been a recluse but none of us ever had him pegged for a deserter.
: Kirves. Bring Lieutenant Ashford here, I want to hear what he has to say.

Walter scratches his head for a moment and then speaks up

"I guess I'll go introduce myself to your two new recruits then, wonder if they give your squadron the same type of guys we get."

Pansar just grunts and shrugs. You see the two recruits are standing with each other checking damage to their planes.

[Badger]

Walter approaches the two recruits and introduces himself

"So I take it you two are the new fill for Djuriskas? high command must've had a hunch to get you in now."

[Qwepir]

Walter approaches the two recruits and introduces himself

"So I take it you two are the new fill for Djuriskas? high command must've had a hunch to get you in now."

: A hunch? What do you mean?

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko finds an intercom and calls for Lieutenant Ashford to report to the CIC.

[Badger]

"How one of your squadron members decided to take off and desert the mission. I'm saying they were even quicker to replac-"

Walter hears the intercom and slightly scowls

"Right, well I'll see you guys around. Sorry to be so brief."

Walter waves and then begins heading off to the CIC

[NoZoner]

Lorens arrives shortly after Rikard and comes up besides him.

"Colonel, Sky Marshall​," he addresses his superiors, "Lieutenant Lorens Zaman, reporting. I was one of the last two pilots to have flown in formation with Arkhip, and I believe I have an approximation of his last known location and vector."

[Qwepir]

Jaakko finds an intercom and calls for Lieutenant Ashford to report to the CIC.

"How one of your squadron members decided to take off and desert the mission. I'm saying they were even quicker to replac-"
Walter hears the intercom and slightly scowls
"Right, well I'll see you guys around. Sorry to be so brief."
Walter waves and then begins heading off to the CIC

: Later.

Lorens arrives shortly after Rikard and comes up besides him.

"Colonel, Sky Marshall​," he addresses his superiors, "Lieutenant Lorens Zaman, reporting. I was one of the last two pilots to have flown in formation with Arkhip, and I believe I have an approximation of his last known location and vector."

: Go on.

[Badger]

Walter enters the room and heads to the side to wait, seeing a conversation is currently in place.

[Operator¹]

Bell waves over at Walter, offering to let him stand closer while Lorens and the Sky Marshal were conversing.

[carolcat]

Cualli, realizing that her break is more than over, reluctantly gets up and exits the rec room. She feels incredibly drained, still overwhelmed by the news and all of her conflicting emotions. She wants nothing more than to just retreat to her bunk and curl up, then wake up the next morning and find out that all of this has been one bad dream.

But it isn't, and Cualli, as she makes her way to the hangar with Elu in tow, hopes her supervisor won't scold her too harshly for being late.

[NoZoner]

Lorens flips through his kneeboard and states the coordinates for both the first waypoint and the initial point where the Imperial airship formation was expected to be, according to Djuriskas flight's waypoint scheduling.

"... About fifty miles from the IP, AWACS identified a hostile group approaching our flights head-on. Kommandant and Virvel formed a separate element and advanced to face the threat, while the strike package trailed behind another five miles, eventually breaking to avoid enemy BVR scan patterns. Pansar, Frisk and Djuriskas-6 turned North, while Arkhip and Djuriskas-8 turned South.

"Following orders from Crash to assist with suppressing air defense assets for Djuriskas flight, I entered formation under Arkhip. The three of us maintained a minimum of fifteen miles of separation from the furball. From heading 190, we turned sixty degrees before I noticed Arkhip breaking from formation.

"He turned to bearing 141 and continued in that direction until my ranging equipment could no longer track him. Considering how quickly he gained distance, he likely applied maximum power. The rumbling from his comm transmissions would indicate the same."

[Qwepir]

Lorens flips through his kneeboard and states the coordinates for both the first waypoint and the initial point where the Imperial airship formation was expected to be, according to Djuriskas flight's waypoint scheduling.

"... About fifty miles from the IP, AWACS identified a hostile group approaching our flights head-on. Kommandant and Virvel formed a separate element and advanced to face the threat, while the strike package trailed behind another five miles, eventually breaking to avoid enemy BVR scan patterns. Pansar, Frisk and Djuriskas-6 turned North, while Arkhip and Djuriskas-8 turned South.

"Following orders from Crash to assist with suppressing air defense assets for Djuriskas flight, I entered formation under Arkhip. The three of us maintained a minimum of fifteen miles of separation from the furball. From heading 190, we turned sixty degrees before I noticed Arkhip breaking from formation.

"He turned to bearing 141 and continued in that direction until my ranging equipment could no longer track him. Considering how quickly he gained distance, he likely applied maximum power. The rumbling from his comm transmissions would indicate the same."

Tarkirov examines a map screen as he listens to your report.
: Hrm. That bearing would take him on a path straight towards Austerra itself. But surely he'd know he doesn't have the range to get there. But I have my doubts he'd be intending to ditch his plane if he was going that way, he'd be bailing out in a storm.

Walter enters the room and heads to the side to wait, seeing a conversation is currently in place.

: Lieutenant Ashford. Your commander says you could shed some insight as to why this man deserted.

Cualli, realizing that her break is more than over, reluctantly gets up and exits the rec room. She feels incredibly drained, still overwhelmed by the news and all of her conflicting emotions. She wants nothing more than to just retreat to her bunk and curl up, then wake up the next morning and find out that all of this has been one bad dream.

But it isn't, and Cualli, as she makes her way to the hangar with Elu in tow, hopes her supervisor won't scold her too harshly for being late.

As you make your way to the Hangar, you see Virvel walking towards you in the cramped hallways, with Frisk in tow. Instead of letting you pass, she grabs you by the collar and slams you against the wall, bumping your head against an exposed pipe in the process. Elu reaches into the tool compartment on his back and pulls out the holy book given to him by the monks, holding it in front of him like a shield.
: You helped him escape, didn't you?