STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Virus

The only response you are receiving from the city is the rapid deployment of TIE Fighters.

"...oh damn." He hails the city as well, priming his own weapons. "Whoever is down there, stand down!" To his droid ally, "99, get ready for a joyride if need be. We may have to make things go boom."

Rylis simply glares at them.

"Someone get me in contact with Staff Sergeant Erwher, or there is going to be trouble that you won't want to deal with," she snaps.

And your comms are now down. Someone doesn't want you leaving Rolion VII now that you have arrived...

The TIE Fighters are rapidly closing.

"Oh for..." Rylis mutters angrily to herself. "These things can never be easy..."

She's going to abandon her landing vector, instead bringing her ship around and getting ready to blast those TIEs out of the sky. She may be getting paid by the Empire for this, but if they're going to attack her, she's not quite going to stand for it.

Rhys pulls off as well to engage the fighters. The Black Dawn may be practically falling apart, but she's still got some tricks left in her...

You close in on the swarm of TIE Fighters coming your way!

It is now that you notice something about these fighters. Instead of the hexagonal wings that the TIE Fighters normally sport, these have rectangular wings that jut out ahead of them. They also do not have cockpits, from the way they lack viewscreens. These are automated!

The way Starfights work is pretty simple. You choose, each turn, whether you want to fly cautiously- one event- or aggressively- two events. You declare which wing you are flying against and, each time you get a chance to shoot at the Pilots (the term for flying Mooks) you must roll twice as many successes as they have Armor. If you fail to do so, you merely reduce their Armor by one and go again.

The numbers are:

Ship (Thrust Maneuverability Pilot): Armor

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LANDING APPROACH AMBUSH, Start of Turn 1

Crimson Dawn (T4 M4 P7): 80

Black Dawn (T4 M3 P10): 100

TIE Squadron A x12 (T5 M6 P4): 1

TIE Squadron B x12 (T5 M6 P4): 1

TIE Squadron C x12 (T5 M6 P4): 1

Ion Cannons x6 (HW4): 5

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Your Pilot Schticks are factored into your ship's stats- Rylis adds +1 to Thrust for Speed King and +1 to Maneuverability for Daredevil, and Rhys does the same for Daredevil.

TIE Droids are flimsy targets, but they have launched en masse.

Cautious flying? Hah. Nah, Rylis is going in aggressive against Squadron A.

Also- nearly forgot- these TIE Droids are obviously quite a bit faster and more maneuverable than your vessels. Against Rylis' Dawn, they get +2 dice, but they get +4 dice against Rhys' Dawn as their Maneuverability score is three points higher than his own. Be cautious.

Meh. Blow stuff up time! I'll be cautious if this round doesn't go well.

Rhys will go in cautiously against Squadron B.

Let's get going then! TIE Droids get initiative due to being faster unless otherwise stated by events.

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Rylis:

1. Melee

In the swirling chaos of combat you and an enemy engage each other. Fight normally.

If you have Killer Instinct this event becomes a Closing In - You move in close to your opponent, ready for the kill. Fight normally, except you win initiative in the first turn and get a three dice attack bonus.

What do you know, Rylis gets the drop on a TIE right away... she only gets two successes, but that's what she needed. She blows it out of the sky!

2. Closing In

You move in close to your opponent, ready for the kill. Fight normally, except you win initiative in the first turn and get a three dice attack bonus.

What are the odds? Rylis blasts another one, much more comfortably this time with five successes.

-

Rhys:

1. Explosions

Thrust Test (Level 4). You try to clear the blast area as couple of ships explode around you. Take 4 damage if you fail.

Probably caused by Rylis, you try to zip through some explosions that come too close for comfort. You race through safely.

2. Melee

In the swirling chaos of combat you and an enemy engage each other. Fight normally.

A TIE zips across and its lasers flash across your shields... six damage! Nothing your shields can't handle. You respond in kind and blow it apart.

-

The turbolasers below open up as Squadron A and C swarm over Crimson Dawn and Squadron B gives chase to Black Dawn. Rylis does not have a good time with it; about twenty successes are rolled against her, green lasers burning across the shields and causing things to spark in the cockpit. Fifteen successes hit up Rhys, and XD99 gives a shrill whine of protest.

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LANDING APPROACH AMBUSH, Start of Turn 2

Crimson Dawn (T4 M4 P7): 59

Black Dawn (T4 M3 P10): 77

TIE Squadron A x10 (T5 M6 P4): 1

TIE Squadron B x11 (T5 M6 P4): 1

TIE Squadron C x12 (T5 M6 P4): 1

Ion Cannons x6 (HW4): 5

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Rylis swears to herself in a multitude of languages after that barrage, quickly checking to make sure nothing on the Crimson Dawn is seriously damaged, before deciding this was not a fight she had any chance of winning. She's going to bail the hell out of there and go for landing at Narpest.

Figuring Ms. Tavel has the right idea, Rhys turns tail and runs for the planet, pushing the Dawn as fast as she'll go.

You can hardly outpace the TIEs, but there are too many for you to fight. Ducking out of the fight, the two ships race for the surface, closely tailed by a swarm of automated fighters. Green streams of cannonfire zip past with blistering accuracy and rate, flashing as they skim across your shields or bursting violently as they impact against them. No matter how evasively you fly, there is always a TIE ready to meet you...

But once you descend on Narpest, they suddenly peel off! Some remnants of their cannonfire streak down on the city and strike structures. But they have relented and are returning to their point of launch, it seems.

However, you had been concerned with the fighters to be wary of the turbolasers. One final barrage of ion charges comes your way before you dip below their range.

I need a pitch to see how you want to avoid the turbolasers, and then it's a Pilot roll to see the result...

...so I suppose shooting the lasers before they fire is out of the question?

Well, I don't think they're terribly maneuverable, so simply flying out of their path should be fairly reasonable, I'd think. Evasive landings!

Yep, maneuvering out of the way of the lasers. Should have a couple bonuses to dodging out of the way here...

Evasive maneuvers! The roll being made is to see how well you handle the turbolasers while also focusing on not crashing into the city. Because you take such actions, I can give you a +3 bonus for Daredevil...

Rhys rolls six successes on thirteen pool.

Rylis rolls four successes on ten pool.

The goal was four successes... Crimson Dawn just skims by as some ion blasts buzz her shields and she nearly collides with something resembling a church tower, but Rhys drops the Black Dawn low and pulls up just in time to avoid smashing into a street.

The turbolasers stop firing and you are free to land. Where are you planning on landing?

If there's a starport, then Rylis will set down there.

Otherwise, an open area or street that's large enough for the Crimson Dawn will do nicely.

Landing in the starport is a certified failure, as the turbolaser batteries are located there.

You pick out a roundabout that is wide enough to accomodate your large ship and put down.

And how about our roguishly handsome smuggler?