Empire Rising

[LT Sandpaw]

The red lights flashed, a hair's breath from Dann's ship. Searing through space they collided head on with the pursuing fighter. For a brief moment the shields held, then with an encompassing flash it burst into brilliant flame before evaporating, lost in space forever. During the yoke Lacy made a pass to check on Dann, a smile on her face.
The victory was lost to Lacy as she realized there was still a free missile twisting in its flight path to take another run at its target. It rocketed towards Dann who seemed to be free floating.
"Dann move, move! Missile, missilemissilemissile! Dann!" Not thinking the rat slammed forward every bit of spare power in her ship into thrusters and forward shielding. Pulling the blast protector down on her face mask she shot forward inches away from colliding with Jared's fighter. A movement that put her directly in-line with the missile, which wasn't too picky about its targets.

Everything shook as the darkness of space was lit up in a terrible blue flash. Only the dark blast protection over her eyes kept Lacy from instantly going blind. Shields failed and tiny flickers of chemical flame tore across the Firefly. Every system went offline except for the well protected life support which sat directly behind Lacy, guarded by multiple layers of armor. Lacy herself blacked out, awaking seconds later to hear a robotic, female voice speaking in her ear.

"Warning severe damage detected, mandatory landing required. Return to Daynora immediately. Power at seven percent. Life support at seventy percent. Serious damage to cockpit. Proceeding with system reboot. Warning severe damage detected, mandatory...

"Oh you don't say," Lacy growled switching the warning off.

[Hickory]

OOC: You don't drop like a rock in space

BIC:

As another bomber scored a hit. One of the engines, crippled, broke away from the Daynora, plummeting slowly towards the nearby planet. The other fighters started to chip away at the Republic's forces.

With a rumbling creak the large ship started breaking apart. "We're falling towards the planet surface!" cried one of the bridge crew.

"All pilots, do NOT land on the Daynora, it is too damaged. Land on the planet surface."

[Fatch of Southsward]

OOC: I know, that's why I added that bit about the ship naturally being angled down, with the engines keeping it going straight. A little nonsensical but I thought the idea was fun. 

Dann finally got his fighter started again, and mercifully, the steering was back online. Unmercifully, Lacy took a massive hit for him.

"Lieutenant! What on earth are you doing throwing your life in danger for me? I'm just a soldier! You're far too important..."

He turned his ship around and used the nose to push Lacy's crippled ship towards the nearby planet, as the COMs had just announced that the Daynora was too damaged to land on.

"Thanks though...I owe you one." he added grudgingly.

The two made a sad scene - Lacy's ship had taken a direct hit from a missile, and appeared to be on the brink of falling apart, and Dann's ship was not much better. The two smoldering wrecks picked up speed as they approached the planet.

"Lacy, there's no way we're going to survive a landing like this - we'll have to eject when we get close enough. Make sure your parachute hasn't been hit."

[Hickory]

OOC: All shipboard characters need to get to an escape pod, now.

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: What kind of planet is it they are approaching?

IC:

"Rank doesn't matter, I wasn't about to see you get blown up Dann." Lacy answered, she fiddled with the controls, luckily her communication system was working again, but not much else seemed to be operational. She felt a small bump as Dann's rather beat up ship began pushing the Firefly along towards the planet. Dann's voice, scrambled slightly by the damaged COM came through.

"Lacy, there's no way we're going to survive a landing like this - we'll have to eject when we get close enough. Make sure your parachute hasn't been hit."

"Roger that Ensign," Lacy said craning her neck to check the ejection chute, along with a survival pack were still there. She strapped them on quickly, having forgotten to hook up before, in her rush to get into the fight. "I'm all set, by the way keep a sharp eye out, there might be some more Imps out looking for trouble." Lacy ordered, pushing the blast shield up on her helmet so she could see better. "If they catch us we're done for, for sure."

[Hickory]

OOC: Taiga.

[Unimaginative]

Marv sprinted to the nearest escape pod, ushering other crew members in until there was just one seat left open. Marv took it, and strapped in.

"Move over." He said gruffly to the Mouse that had sat at the controls of the pod. Working quickly, Marv detached the pod from the burning ship, and set a course for the nearest planet.

[W0NWILL]

"Listen, doc," the squirrel said hoarsely, "we gotta get to an escape pod now!" He broke into a fit of coughs, "Daynora is done for, let's not die too!"

Right, of course. "Lead the way!" Liswell said, and without hesitating, the squirrel ran, heading towards the escape pods, with Liswell following closely. "Everyone! Please! We have to leave!" Liswell tried shouting as he ran. Oh dear. Ooohhhh dear, don't panic, Lis.

The two of them were able to stumble into an empty escape pod, and the squirrel immediately sat in the control seat, then groaned horribly, holding his head. Liswell bit his lip, then stepped to the door of the escape pod, "we have a mostly empty one here, and we need a pilot!"

[Hickory]

One of themiligary crew members jogged over to the near empty pod. "Not to worry, Doctor. That's what I'm here f-"

Boom!

A massive hole was torn in the bull by an enemy missile. The pilot was sucked out with a scream as other passengers clung to the walls in an effort to reach the pod.

[W0NWILL]

Liswell shrieked, quite against his wishes as the hull was breached, and instinctively grasped the door as tightly as he could, reaching one paw out towards the nearest beast.

The squirrel, though black spots were appearing in his vision, spoke hoarsely, "Doc! They aren't gonna make it!" It would be far better for more beasts if they closed the pod now, and brought all the medical supplies they'd salvaged to whoever had already escaped, he knew. But Liswell wasn't going to abandon anyone, not when they were looking right at him, and would know, in their last moments, that he had abandoned them.

[Hickory]

Grappling onboard the pod, a mouse clawed his way up to the pilot's seat. "We'll have to use the autopilot," he said. Punching in a few buttons, he initiated the program. "Try and get the others onboard!" he yelled over the bowl of escaping air.

[W0NWILL]

Liswell nodded, to save his breath for more important things. A fox's paw brushed his own, and he tightened his grip, pulling her aboard the pod. She collapsed in the nearest seat. A vole flew past them into the vacuum of space and Liswell winced. Not a good way to go. Twenty or so seconds of coldness, swelling, and no air until you lose consciousness, then just sort of slowly exploding. The remaining air and pressure in the Daynora protected them for the moment, but it wouldn't last.

[Hickory]

With the last passenger aboard, the door slid closed as the pod pressurized. "Detaching in five, four, three, two, one...."

With a jolt, the pod shot away from the Daynora. As the autopilot engaged the ship was steered on course. Shooting past Dann and Lacy's destroyed fighters it plummeted towards the snowy surface of the planet.

[Hickory]

OOC:

@Fatch of Southsward
@HanNorwood
@Ashleg

Get your people to escape pods, and Fatch, have your fighter crash somewhere near the escape pods. Sand can do that too.

[Ashleg]

OOC-
I'm going to need to leave, there just isn't room for me here and for some reason I feel very clueless.
If somebody wants to adopt my character, that'd be great.
Otherwise, feel free to say he died and replace him.