Training Stormfronts Way

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Chains Slipstream Echo Stormfront
Chains still comes to the racetracks now and then, not to race. He's fast, but usually isn't the one who cares the most about how fast one can go in circles. But there's lots to lurk around and explore here, and occasionally serves as a useful watching point.
Slipstream is in her jet form flying along as close to the ground as she dares. Zipping in between buildings with carefree abandon. She laughs as she does so, enjoying herself since it had been a some time since she got to fly.
Echo zips along behind Slipstream. Whether or not she knew, he didn’t know and didn’t care. He aimed to try and mimic her movements exactly - only HE was clipping buildings
Chains hears the roar of engines before he sees anything, and quickly goes diving and rolling for cover. He doesn't have any guns to draw, and much as he doesn't avoid fights, he's not about to go looking for one right now either, especially out on his own. Still, can't hurt to see what the Cons are up to out this way.
Slipstream spots the race track ahead and heads toward it, doing a casual barrel roll as she flies along. "Keep trying Echo." she comms to the mech she knows full well is following her around. Once at the track she dives lower and follows the path of the track.
Grumbling a little bit, Echo accelerates to snap roll perfectly just an instant behind her "I can do it! not my fault there are... updrafts." he remarks, catching sight of something below "Hey, I thought I saw an Autobot!"
Chains goes still in his hiding spot, trying to keep his optics locked upwards, frowning under his faceplate. He can't hear what the two are saying, but can see the fancy flying, and attempts to follow suit well enough - guessing it'd be some kind of training mission - that he'd prefer not start to involve target practice.
Slipstream chuckles softly as she does a snap barrel roll while following the race track around a curve, "Oh did you?" she asks, activating her scanners.
"yeah. Think we'd get in trouble if we shot him up here? " asks the other one, arching around carefully behind Slipstream on her left wing.
Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Detect Chains (10+)>
Slipstream rolls a 13!
Slipstream picks up the signature on her scanner. "Only if he calls for back up." she states calmly. "I have a reading at 1 point 63 by 2 point 48."
Chains growls as they take notice. One Seeker, really, almost any of them, would be one thing. He's fought Seekers and held his own and more before fine, especially quick exchanges. Two, on the other hand, is bad news. He's not about to go trying to spread resources though. He eyes them, waiting for the first pass over to get ready to bolt if they show signs of having detected him.
Echo ohhs "A time limit. that sounds like a challenge." the mech chortles. "Split up and take from both sides? " he asks as they swoop back.
Echo says, "Or what would you do??"
Slipstream considers as she passes over the location where the scanner shows there to be a signature. "You come in from the north east and I'll come in at the south west. I'll try to chase him out into the open."
Chains sees them split up instead of their usual game of follow the leader. That's good enough for him. Not waiting for them to get into position, he tries to time it to have as much room as possible, then launches out from his hiding point early, shifting as he bolts to try and make a run for the nearest heavy cover.
"Ten four! There he goes!" echo shouts, banking north quickly as he notices movement below, arming his lasers... but then watching Slipstream, to see what she would do.
Slipstream sees the movement as she was preparing to go southwest. "I see him." she banks hard and lays down some laser shots. "Chasing him your way."
Chains makes an effort not to do what the cons want, trusting in his armor and dodging skills to head directly at Slipstream, trying to get between or around the laser blasts, willing to take some nicks and heat scoring in order to not be hounded into open ground and a gang-up, keeping his internal mapping on cover and doggedly sticking to that course.
Echo rolls around, aiming to move closer to Slipstream as he dives between the buildings, slowing down a little bit "Where did he go?" he radios angrily
Slipstream hmms as the Autobot doesn't do as she figured he might. She makes use of the track to bank around without having to worry about nearby buildings. "He's trying for cover Echo." she states calmly. "Transform on my mark with weapons ready."
Chains guns the engines, kicking up to higher velocity. He may not be the fastest around in circles, but he's willing to ram through some things, and go off-roading, his definite specialty, trying to make the cover of the buildings where the advantage shifts before the cons can draw an easy bead on him.
Echo wobbles as he moves to give chase, dropping as low as he dared after Chains, now right behind him "Just give up and it won’t hurt TOO much!" he shouts
Slipstream comes in at a slightly different angle as she tries to figure out where the mech is running, then she gives the command, "Mark!" her jet form changing over to her robot form, lance moving from her nosecone and into her hand as she uses the momentum of her jet form long enough to get her jet boots going to keep up speed.
Chains is making no particular secret of where he's heading, moving for the narrowest alleyway he can where his smaller frame gives him more of an edge. He's perfectly willing to fight hand to hand if it comes to that, noting the seeker with the lance - he just wants to do it on ground that gives him an edge.
Echo transforms a moment later, jet boots activated to help with inertia as he brings out his own arm guns, starting to fire at Chains from where he flew forwards.
Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Get ahead of Chains? (10+)>
Slipstream rolls a 9!
Slipstream tries to get ahead of the Autobot and get him off at the alleyway, but the shots that Echo takes has her bank away to avoid getting zinged herself. She sighs, slowing down enough to be at running speed for her robot mode. Once her foot contacts the ground she's running toward the Bot.
Chains takes a couple hits from the chain gun, mostly grazing blows and scrapes to his paint as he races with Slipstream. She's /almost/ caught up with him, close enough he can feel the heat from that lance, when he goes darting into the space of the alleyway, then veers around a hard corner, trying to disappear, either to find enough cover to really bolt for it, or at least enough to get in a sneak attack.
Echo hardly notices where his shots almost end up as he fires again at Chains' location, starting to stalk into the alleyway carefully, standing out quite brilliantly in the dark
Slipstream grins as he runs into the alley way, she clicks on her comm, <Echo, I'm going to check for another entry point to the alley. Keep him moving.> she veers off at the alleyway, hovering upwards and over the buildings as she looks for the alleys other entry location.
Chains hits the corner, then heads for the nearest smaller building, firing off the chain and lunching himself upwards to take a shortcut most cons wouldn't expect a bot to be able to access, continuing to try and avoid doing the typical or expected. Off-roading and maze-running suit him fine, at least until he can get closer to friendly territory.
Echo nods at Slipstream as he continues to slip down the alleyway, peering around corners warily... where was that bot?
Echo picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Where arrrre you?>
Echo rolls a 7!
Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Spot Chains? (10+)>
Slipstream rolls a 2!
Slipstream doesn't see Chains as she moves to the other side of the building and hovers in place, waiting at the other end of the alley to wait for him to come out.
Chains doesn't come out the other end of the alleyway, heading over the high road instead, Erroll-Flynning his way across alleys, over rooftops and then down into a new alleyway, getting as much ground between himself and the Decepticons as he can and trying to get to heavier cover.
Chains picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Find hard air cover? (10+)>
Chains rolls a 17!
Echo frowns, not seeing Chains in the alleyway "< I think he's gone invisible. I don’t see him.>" he reports quietly
Slipstream tries her scanners, but the buildings are providing cover for the mech. <He's in there, just making it hard on us. So choices are do we go in after him or do we let him be and get back to our practice?> she comms back to the mech.
Echo pauses, thinking. Then states "<What would YOU do?>"
Chains keeps heading deeper into cover and the buildings around, walking now to further reduce noise, carefully calculating each move. If this were at all fair, he'd be up for trying to fight his way out, but it’s not worth the chewing out he'd get from Ratchet - so he's just getting as much of a head start as he can, and utilizing being a minibot at every opportunity to get under and through tight spots they'd have trouble following through, making as much ground as he can while the cons discuss the situation.
Slipstream considers as she hovers there, then replies, <We had orders to practice. I would rather get back to that than trying to find a mini sized Autobot that probably has called in help by now.>
Echo frowns reluctantly "... Okay. I guess he lives this time." decides Echo, starting to power up to rejoin Slipstream
Slipstream can hear that disappointment as she transforms back to jet form and flies back to where Echo's signature is, <We'll get him next time.> she assures him.
Chains continues the tactical retreat, keeping radio silence until he's some way off, and getting underground as soon as he reasonably can to get his report filed. Seems the cons are out and about again - this is useful information.
Echo sighs and starts up after Slipstream, transforming to follow her "<Yes, yes we will>" he promises.
Slipstream gets in next to Echo, flying wing tip to wing tip with him. "So it’s my turn to see if I can follow your moves."
Echo pauses at this "Err, you can out fly me easily." he notes as they pull away his engines warming up. "But we can try!"
Slipstream chuckles softly, "That's not the point Echo." she assures him, "Now let's see what you got flight leader."
-rumblerumbleRumbleRumbleRUMBLERUMBLE- The engines are unmistakeable. Stormfront is no stealthier in flying fortress mode than he is as a robot, and not much more agile. Compared to the seekers, there's not much banking and twisting, and he stays above the ground cover, making his way towards the pair at a steady pace.
Echo is quiet for a long moment as they fly away from the main racetrack "Well, okay." he states and then snap rolls abruptly, dropping like a rock towards the ground as his speed increases exponentially.
Slipstream snap rolls a few seconds after Echo does, following him toward the ground. She keeps about 10 feet distance between them. The rumble of larger engines are noted, "I do believe we are about to be observed."
The transformation sequence is a relatively slow one, Stormfront going from blocky, heavily armored winged carrier to heavily armored robot. He settles down atop one of the sturdier buildings, crossing the massive arms in front of him, not saying a word as the shielded optics settle on the pair as they wheel and dive.
Echo murmurs "I noticed..." to Slipstream as he catches sight of the mech out of the corner of his eye. he tensed imperceptibly, wheeling out of the snap roll with practiced ease, his belly just above the building tops as he accelerates again, zipping right by Stormfront on one side, turning so that his top was towards the mech, before banking sharply around to the other side.
Slipstream chases after Echo, closing ranks but not so close she is sucking in his back wash. She copies his snap roll and sharp bank as they zip by the large mech.
Stormfront nods just slightly at the close maneuver, not flinching when they decide to use him as part of the obstacle course.
Echo circles around, spiraling upwards before twisting at the top of a loop, and then arcing back down - turning halfway to belly up as he flew upside down now back away.
Slipstream idly notes, "This be more impressive if we had a third out here." She easily keeps up with Echo, following him in the spiral and twisting at the apex of the loop move. "You ever been part of a trine Echo?" she asks.
"A trine? " repeats the other seeker "we trained in groups of three, five and seven for small squads." he notes on the open radio.
Stormfront nods once again, responding over the radios as well. "Afraid I can't help you a lot with tight maneuvers, though a third would be helpful."
Slipstream now comes up to fly off of Echo's right wing, keeping the formation as tight as possible and still be safe. "Any maneuvers you'd like to see Stormfront?" she comms to the large mech.
Echo falls silent as he waits for Stormfront's reply, taking a small breather from the exercises
Stormfront considers the surroundings. "There is. You're going to play follow the leader and a trust exercise. Echo - turn your instruments off, all of them. You're to have no input save for Slipstream's instructions. She needs to calculate coordinates for two... and get her tagalong through the city and back to me safely - while staying under the radar line, which will put a lot of obstacles in the way."
Slipstream considers that challenged carefully, making sure her scanners and instruments are up to task for the task. "Go at a rate that you feel comfortable at that allows for corrections if need be Echo." she states, sliding back a bit off his wing and getting back in behind him.
Echo is quiet a long moment at that. Then he states "I accept the challenge. " as he carefully slows down, intending to line himself up for a good start as he starts to shut everything down, fidgeting nervously as the world goes dark except for sound. He didn’t want to miss THAT, just in case.
Stormfront assesses the two a few moments. "Good, Slipstream... here's your sitrep. Your squad has come under heavy fire. One of your comrades has been hit hard enough to go sensor blind. There's an evacuation, but it’s leaving in fifteen minutes, with or without you. The enemy is using radar guidance, so you must stay below the coordinates I'm sending you now... you must plot a course that will get you to one side of the city, then back, within the allotted time limit... that should not let you play it safe and easy... you'll miss your flight. Every time radar picks you up, you will be 'hit', requiring you to shut off one engine... so plan carefully, there is intentionally little room for error... begin when ready, timer will start when you pass that building."
Slipstream focuses fully on instruments and the mech ahead of her, "Drop down to below radar line and keep to your heading. I'll tell you when to bank left or right or to pull up as we go." she pause to listen to the directives given by Stormfront. "Understood. I copy coordinates are 1 point 84 by 2 point 35. " she comms back. The clicks over to Echo, "Increase your speed by 200 Echo, we have a time limit."
"Understood." notes Echo. He was still listening to the radio at this point as he started forwards, accelerating smoothly "Give me second counts on any turns that are upcoming so I can be ready." he sounded nervous, though his voice was steady.
Stormfront tracks the progress of the pair of them while analyzing the terrain, and watching for any signs of anything else moving, since Echo's instruments are off and Slipstream has to focus on the task at hand. He goes quiet so the two can concentrate on their assignment, aside from the creaking of his reinforced joints when he shifts, and the quiet whirr of his onboard tac-comp analyzing and scoring their progress.
Slipstream watches as the building that is their time starter goes by, "Countdown from three, bank right at 45 degree angle then snap out of it. Ready. Three. Two. One."
Echo twitches his wings a few times and then snap banks - overestimating a little bit before correcting himself as he overpasses the 45 degree angle, rolling back to straight again.
Stormfront tilts his head a bit, noting the overcorrection, then the agility of the roll. He doesn't comment, the whirring just getting a little louder for a moment, making notes and scoring each moment of the exercise and logging the radio chatter.
Slipstream follows after him, "Course correction, bank left slight until I say mark. Straighten. Good. From two hard bank left, and then hard bank right." she tells him, "Ready. Two. One. Bank."
Echo banks as hard as he could, and then yelps as his cockpit glass skrits across a nearby building, taking off a chunk as he pulls away, quickly rolling to the other side as he remembers the instructions, before moving to straighten out "What's my altitude? " he asks dryly.
Slipstream checks that, "50 under radar level. Next hard bank don't go as hard. In three hard bank right then snap straight and then slight bank left. Ready. Three two one. Mark."
"Hard bank... snap sa... " Too late did the mark come and he banked hard, trying to get that perfect 'bank down'. HIs wings twitched as he wobbled, then snapped back into place, puffing with effort as he eased over to the left, feeling something whoosh by him "What was that??"
Slipstream comes in behind him, dropping down just a bit to see past him. "Bank slight right straighten then bank hard left on three." she tells him, "Three. Two. One. Bank." then a pause, "Was a building. Straighten out. Almost there."
Echo puffs a few times as he banks once more, wobbling "This is hard." he mutters lowly to her.
Slipstream can see the objective ahead, which is just past Stormfront. "On three bank slight right then straighten out. Prepare for transformation on my second mark. Ready. Three. Two. And one. Bank." she waits for him to clear the last building, "And mark. Slow to 100 and begin to drop slowly."
Stormfront watches the pair in action, noting and coring the over hard turns, and logging the instructions given compared to the results.
Echo carefully banks again, a little less cleanly than before. He starts to slow down,
Echo carefully banks again, a little less cleanly than before. He starts to slow down, extending down his landing gear out of habit as he remains as steady as possible.
Slipstream watches on as he goes down, "Slow to 50. Keep dropping at that angle." she waits a few beats. "Slow to a stop and hover down. We should land right on the coordinates given within the time allotted."
Echo wobbles again at that, slowing even further, tilting his nose up to keep in the air as he continues to descend, waiting for her cue to tell him to transform.
Stormfront checks the timer, starting the countdown as he gets notice of the intent to approach. "Good, good... now...talk him through the landing." he instructs quietly, well aware how difficult takeoffs and landings can be without instruments, even with transformation. "Timer will stop when you're both safely down."
Slipstream waits for it and then says, "Transform, legs bent so when you land you can absorb your weight." she tells him as she moves do transform herself.
Echo lifts his nose up entirely now as he transforms, folding down and hitting his jet boots instinctively to cushion the landing.
You say, "Ground in five. Four. Three. Two. One."
THUMP
Slipstream lands next to Echo, ready to catch him should he stumble at all. "Well that went all right considering we had a couple close calls." she notes.
Stormfront checks his chronometer. "Mark at 14:12:37... well within the time allotted, minimal damage. You've both done well... especially on the trust portion of the exercise. I had some concern after the first hard bank... but you compensated well, and more importantly, stuck to instructions and trusted your flight leader... very good. Next time we do this exercise, it will be in formation, with the flight leader guiding two blind craft, so be sure and study tracking multiple flight paths."
Echo erps at that, and glances to Slipstream, and then back "Question, sir." he asks, rubbing the scratches on his glass.
Slipstream nods to Stormfront, "I will do so sir." she assures him, saluting her superior.
Stormfront salutes Slipstream back, then looks to Echo. "I would be more concerned if there weren't any questions. Ask."
Echo says, "Why did she not simply carry me back in robot mode? IT has been done before in battle, I have seen..."
Slipstream smiles at the mechs' question, her wings quirking up slightly. "That wasn't the task."
Stormfront nods. "It has. In the interests of the exercise and self-rating, Slipstream... why do you think I didn't have you carry him back? I can think of three reasons, off the top of my processors."
Echo flicks his own wings a little bit, folding his arms. As the two talk, he frowns even deeper, fidgeting
Slipstream considers a few moments, "My hands would not be free if I needed to defend us both. Jet boot speed is slower than jet form speed."
You say, "And I am not strong enough to carry him."
Echo says, "I've seen it done in jet mode though."
Slipstream rubs at her chin, "An alteration to the wing walking I was training with Goa on?" she asks.
Stormfront nods. "Correct. Additionally, carrying another mech slows you both down, you are both a larger and slower and less maneuverable target that way, evac is under a tight time limit, and if there are other wounded, or troops are needed to defend the evac point, commanders will want you back as quickly as possible. It can be done, carrying and towing is possible... but it limits speed and maneuverability, and you become an easier target, especially as you then can't fit through as tight a space... which would have put you above radar lines. However, there will be carrying drills as well... and I am curious to hear about this wing walking as well."
Echo frowns a little, doubtful, but he nods without arguing further.
Slipstream nods to Stormfront, "Basics are that the flier is in jet form and the walker is in root mode. The walker hangs onto the flier using their hands and feet to brace against the flier. The flier cannot do loops or barrel rolls. Otherwise it’s a trust between the two."
Stormfront nods. "I'd like to see that at some point, once you've had opportunity to practice with someone else. You both also performed excellently. Would the two of you like to try one additional exercise?"
Echo glances to Slipstream "What would you do?" he asks
Slipstream glances over to Echo, "What is the exercise sir?" she asks.
Stormfront looks between the two, a touch of amusement in his tone when he answers, "Next time, I'm going to make Echo choose the exercise without any input. Today, though, I'd like to try a marksmanship drill... because I believe that you wished to work on your accuracy, Slipstream?"
Slipstream inclines her head, "My diving down with lance on my nosecone accuracy when wanting to thrust the point through an Autobot sir. But I doubt Echo wants my lance through him."
Echo chortles a little bit, shaking his head 'You would be right about that! I would gladly watch and observe for any faults I could see from the sidelines though." he offers.
Stormfront nods. "I would imagine not, which is why he's not going to be the target... he's going to be your hound on this one. Shut off your sensors and turn around. I'm going to set three heat seekers... with the explosives removed. Echo is playing flight leader - he's going to fly low, and pick up the missiles. You need to pick them out of mid-air with your lance before they catch up with him - this is both accuracy, trust, and coordination... since they will be following him - so it will be up to him to feed you coordinates of where he's going to bank out of your path so you can assess where the missile will be."
Echo blinks and stares at Stormfront "So I get the missiles to CATCH me, before they hit me." he states "While I try and tell her where they are... " he sounded quite uncertain about this.
Slipstream makes a slight O with her lips, then nods. "Understood sir." she states, taking her lance from her back and holding it in her hand. She switches it over to active projection of its energon sapping abilities. "Weapon is ready." She smiles to Echo, "You'll have to tell me when to shoot and at what coordinates while I'm effectively blind."
Stormfront nods. "The explosives will be disarmed, and they won't catch you at your top speed... but yes, you'll be playing tag with missiles... and telling her the coordinates where you're going to bank to get them off your tail. You'll want them to chase you, not catch you, admittedly."
Echo shifts from foot to foot silently, his wings twitching as he tries to think about this in his head, tilting it.
Slipstream looks to Stormfront, "What is the top speed of your missiles sir?"
Stormfront begins to hover up, then head towards the city. "I'm partly disabling these to have a top speed of 350 mph, low enough he should still be able to maneuver ably... this is an introductory drill, after all. He can easily outrun them any time he wants to... but part of his test is keeping them on his tail to set up his teammate - but if he /needs/ the safety outlet, he can just hit the jets."
Echo looks at Slipstream, and then at Stormfront before nodding slowly "I... Okay." he finally decides.
Slipstream inclines her head and shuts off her optics, "May I keep my coordinates map up sir?" she asks.
Stormfront glances back, then nods. "You can keep all of your instruments up, you'll want them. The missiles will be traveling at 350 mph, and you don't want to catch your teammate in an explosion... pretending, for a moment, that the missiles are live, so you'll need to intercept them on his mark anyway. While it should be fairly easy at this speed, it’s still not a remedial drill... and is good practice for when we do this drill at MACH."
Slipstream is ready to go as she checks her instruments and which way they show she is facing, "Ready when you are Echo."
Echo nods at Slipstream wordlessly, turning to walk towards the takeoff area with her, muttering "This is insane... nobody can do this." he whispers.
Stormfront sets the missiles while they're occupied, making sure to slow them down, then disable the explosives. He returns to his viewing point, "Begin at your leisure, exercise is being logged now."
Slipstream can 'see' Echo's signature walk away as she stands there. She centers herself, tuning in to her instrument readings and coordinates map as well as her hearing.
Echo transforms as well, starting to taxi reluctantly out before hitting his jets - doing a vertical landing "When you are ready sir." he replies in a meek voice, circling overhead. "Are you ready Slipstream?"
Stormfront nods. "Be confident, Echo... you need to be certain that she has your tail, and will shoot the missiles off of it. By the time I'm done with you both, you'll consider this a remedial drill. If it’s on my count then... three...two...one..."
"That isn’t what I'm worried about." murmurs Echo as he waits nervously for the missiles to start up towards him.
Slipstream clicks her comm, "Ready, willing, and able." she assures the mech, "Make sure you give yourself enough distance between yourself and the missiles."
The missiles have been planted within the city - so they won't launch until something with enough of a heat signature flies over them - and, of course, the two seekers don't know where they'll launch from. All part of the surprise.
Echo comms back "<This is crazy. But I'll try>" he starts to fly over the city carefully, waiting for the first one to zip up towards him
The first missile arms and launches into the sky, heat seeker picking up on his signature and going into a following pattern. It’s slow enough that he can stay ahead of it, or outrun it if he wishes - but if he gets too far ahead, it will lose his signature and might go after another target.
Slipstream comms to Echo, "I am facing true north." She tilts her head, listening to the area around her. The missile launch is heard so she knows one is chasing him. "Think you got yourself a bogey."
Echo darts sideways, zipping back on his original path just at the maximum speed - 1 of the missile, trying to avoid triggering the other one "Okay. aim at about uh... ten degrees up and - FRAG" he banks sideways quickly to avoid a building, growling under his breath.
Slipstream comms up to Echo, "Stay calm, you can stay ahead of it and lead it toward me." she brings her lance up ten degrees, "Waiting on further instructions."
Stormfront frowns behind the faceplate, speaking over the radio. "Coordinate... plan ahead. Don't tell her where you are, tell her where you're going to be so she can plan an approach."
"I was TRYING to... sir." notes Echo tersely as he keeps the missile on him, trying to come around again. He falls silent, trying to run the calculations.
Slipstream stays pointing true north until she hears what coordinates she needs to be pointed toward.
"I know you're trying to." Stormfront answers. "But you're stressing too much about it. Trust your abilities... you've run flight plans before. I have complete faith that you're capable of knowing where you'll be in ten seconds now as well. Just focus on that, and line her up a shot."
Echo tries to calculate this "Okay... "he states finally, a little bit rattled perhaps as he starts to come around then "About thirty degrees to your left in ten seconds, target is five hundred yards away and fifty yards up in five... four..." he swoops down and past the point at 'two', the missile two seconds behind.
Slipstream moves herself as he directs, thirty degree angle and to her left, she listens to his countdown, waiting for him to say one. When he does she depresses the button that has the lance send out a pulse of energon drain.
Stormfront picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Hit the missile? (10+)>
Stormfront rolls a 11!
The missile detonates... very minorly. The shot is a clipping one, but it still takes it off of Echo's tail, leaving him bogey free of the first shot. "Well done." Stormfront radios. "I told you could do it."
Echo puffs a few times as he starts to go back to the city, not speaking again as he 'hunts out' the second missile as he mutters under his breath
Slipstream smiles and comms, "Sounds like I got it. Still facing true north." she tells Echo.
The second missile launches when Echo passes over it.
Echo starts to pull it around again, lifting higher now to keep above the buildings "okay..." he states, feeling a little more confident as he started down "Right in front of you, range... hundred yards... no angle in fifteen..." he starts down, accelerating a little bit excitedly as the missile streaked behind him
Slipstream hms softly, holding her lance where it’s even with her shoulder and pointing it straight ahead. She waits for the fifteen count and sends out the pulse.
Stormfront notes the timer and coordinates, logging every communication and setting his tac analysis on the situation to help score it.
Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Hit? (10+)>
Slipstream rolls a 17!
Echo zips right in front of slipstream, sighing in relief as the second one finally goes down.
Slipstream hears it go off and nods, "Still pointing true north Echo. Go get that next one." she tells him.
Echo paused 'I thought there was just two!" he states
"Three." Stormfront reminds over radio - just in time for Echo to pass over the missile he had forgotten about, probably getting his attention quickly.
Echo reflexively spin rolls to one side to avoid the missile, dropping out of the air with practiced ease as he puffs now, trying to reorient himself
Slipstream was paying attention and knew there was one more out there, and when she hears it launch she readies for the comm from the mech.
"Good, good." Stormfront offers quietly, at the rolls and efforts to reorient. "Be ready for surprises. Your evasives are solid. Now calm down, chart a course, and feed the coordinates to Slipstream... one more, and you're done."
"I'm calm." notes Echo tersely, a little pride creeping up on him as he starts to lead the missile on, throttling back heavily to avoid losing it. "This isn’t natural to me. I'm trained to just avoid the things..."
You say, "Sometimes you cannot avoid things, then you need to trust your wing mates to help you out."
Echo says, "I do! And they get behind me and shoot the missile down."
You say, "Then get focused and tell me where to shoot."
Echo says, "I /am/ focused!"
"Exactly, this way, they're not risking hitting you when they shoot them down, and if you get used to coordinate mapping, you can get /anyone/ with seeker training to shoot them down for you, instead of just people you've worked with. You're both doing very well. Take the last missile out and bring it in."
Echo states this as he starts to come around again "Same coords as last time, only ten second count!" he finally transmits as he ducks down, the missile dangerously close behind him from his distractions of arguing.
Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <Hit? (10+)>
Slipstream rolls a 20!
Slipstream nods and brings up her lance to her shoulder level again facing straight ahead. She listens to the missile and Echo's engines. She counts from ten to one then lets the pulse go.
This shot is perfect, catching the missile head on. It detonates, only a few bits of shrapnel drifting and tumbling to the ground. "Well done, both of you. You steadily improved with each shot." he reports back. "I'll have your feedback reports ready for your review, and a review of each other, within the week."
Slipstream brings her optics back online as she puts her lance back into place. "Speaking of reports sir, I have a preliminary one from the recon scouts over at Crystal City. It’s on a data pad in my berthing spot."
Echo transforms as fast as he could, sighing in relief as he rolls his shoulders, turning to nod at Stormfront quietly, without speaking another word.
Stormfront snaps off a salute to the pair. "Good, good. Echo... nice job. Slipstream, I'll head back there shortly and see what I can do with that information."
Slipstream inclines her head, then salutes back. "I shall join you; I think we have had enough practice for one solar cycle."
Echo salutes back "Am I dismissed? I think I am as well." he agrees with Slipstream.
Stormfront nods. "I agree. Would you care to practice your fighter escort positioning and see me back then? Otherwise, I'll be along. You're both dismissed as you'd like unless you want to fly escort... your choice... and you're not being rated either way."
Echo glances to Slipstream, to see which she would do.
Slipstream considers and nods, "Yes I'd like that sir." she smiles to the mech.
Echo says, "I will as well. We may as well go as a group"
--
Stormfront returns to the barracks. By seeker standards, it’s a long, slow flight. Likewise, it takes a while for him to rumble through the passageways, finally settling back into the hollowed out area to make space for him.
Slipstream follows in after her superior, out of respect for his higher rank. She stops by the energon cooler to get her ration and then walks over to her berth to get the data pad. Upon finding it she steps out of her berth area and comes over to where you are seated, "Here you go sir."
Stormfront takes the report carefully, then extends a cord from his tac-analysis computers to download the data directly, and compare it to the maps and schedules he already has. "Thank you... you're very thorough."
Slipstream takes a sip of her ration as she waits for you to download, pausing to say, "I try sir." she takes another sip of her energon.
Stormfront gestures absently with one hand. "We're in the barracks now. You're not required to be so formal. In the field, and during drills, it is appreciated... but good soldiers need their time and place to relax as well."
Slipstream nods to him, accepting the data pad back once you are done with it. "All right then." she replies softly, "I should have another recon report from them that's more thorough in a couple of solar cycles."
Stormfront returns the data pad, clearly already processing what he's got. "I'll look forward to adding that. After all, consistency is the key. We need to know how often they rotate shifts, when they change them up. I've also been studying the routes we know within the city. See what you can get on the back gate in the next report as well?"
Slipstream nods, "They will have that in there as well." she assures the mech, her wings flexing slightly behind her. The position one of relaxing and at ease. She takes another slow sip of her energon.
Stormfront finally turns his attention to you, optics sweeping over you as he lets the processes run. "And we're trying to avoid the head of their security in particular, right?"
Slipstream replies, "Yes, the Angel commander especially. I told the recon scouts to try and spot the most inexperienced of the guards and see what shifts they have and who is overseeing them. We'll aim for the greenest of the guards with the least experienced overseer as we can and hope for the best."
Stormfront nods thoughtfully. "I'd put you on a tight schedule, if I were coordinating. Find a green crew, get there 2 hours into their shift, let it get routine. Hit the library and plant the feed, get out while the same shift is on duty so they recognize you and are more likely to give you a pass. Four hours, tops."
Slipstream takes a sip of her energon then swallows it to reply, "Mm yes, that would be workable. I'll be glad this is done and over with as I am sure that Megatron is getting impatient."
Stormfront continues to consider, both you, and the data at once. "I would imagine so. With luck, everything will work out perfectly. Your partner in crime was working on her end of the deal, so hopefully all should be put together soon. One more recon cycle, and everything should be good on your end."
Slipstream cocks her head as she hears that, "So you got to speak to Shadowstar alone?" she asks, walking into her berthing area and sitting down on the berth itself. She finishes off her ration and shifts her legs up onto the berth.
Stormfront nods once. "Yes, for a short time. We mostly discussed the plan of attack, and how she was going to approach the situation. I'm not trained in stealth ops, so I'm not sure what all is planned, but she seems to be nearly ready."
Slipstream brings her wings even with her back so she can lie back on her berth, she reaches down to the side and taps on the buttons to program in the length of recharge. "That's good to hear Stormfront." she states honestly, "Thank you for all your help in the planning, it is certainly helpful."
"Its what I'm here for. I want to see you succeed and help the cause, after all." he replies simply, leaning back against the wall, both the wall and the big mech creaking a bit in the process.
Slipstream smiles to that as she offlines her optics, "Have a good rest cycle Stormfront." is offered softly as she slowly drifts into recharge.
Category:Logs
Category:2011 Logs
Category:Stormfront's Logs
Category:Slipstream's Logs
Category:Echo's Logs
Category:Chain's Logs