Part 26: Flight Log 20 - Lt. Lance Casey

[Flight Log 20 - Lt. Lance Casey]







Not much to this one. Standard 4-point Nav patrol while escorting some Shrikes. We were to eliminate everything in our way and make sure nothing escaped. Didn't sound too particularly difficult, but they severely underestimated the number of aliens.



At the first Nav point, we ran into a cruiser and about 14 aliens or so. While initially I was disturbed by this fact, for some reason, the aliens seemed to be much weaker than they were previously. Their flight skills were under par, and their ships tore apart from our lasers like knives through hot butter. I had never seen anything like it before, but I couldn't complain.



Within a couple of minutes, almost the entire alien support group as well as the cruiser had been taken down by our squadron. Unused to this kind of success, I figured it was some sort of trick to get us to let our guard down, but I enjoyed it while it lasted.



The only thing that posed a threat to us were Stingray clusters, and they seemed to be everywhere. All of the Nav points that we travelled to were manned by at least six Stingrays, which meant that we had to take four of them down almost immediately to keep them from clustering up and putting a severe hurt on the bombers and us. But like I said, the fighters were inexplicably weak this mission, so we never had a problem taking them down fast.



As we took down the aliens, I started thinking that maybe it wasn't a trap. Maybe we had run into the alien equivalent of rookies, or perhaps some flight training in progress. I had no idea. The aliens sounded the same. Gave the same insults (and actually, quite a few more of them. For some reason, my wingmen and the aliens seemed to be talking a lot more this mission. I have no idea why) and everything. Who knows? I wasn't going to argue with success.



At Nav 3, we checked on the status of the comm tower, as required. It was still exploding, which was almost amazing, considering we had blown it up yesterday. But it was a huge base and probably took a while for every part of it to be destroyed. The fact that aliens were still alive in there surprised me, but we didn't know much of anything about these aliens. Maybe they could live on barely any air or whatever in the hell they breathed.



Along with the comm tower, there were also two transports in the area. I don't know where they had come from, but it looked like they were making a beeline for somewhere. Guessing that these were the ships that were trying to escape to warn the main fleet, we told the bombers to keep their eye on them while we whittled down the fighters.



We hurried up and finished off the fighters so the bombers could get a clear shot at the transports before they jumped out. I wasn't exactly sure where the jump point was, but needless to say, we got them well before they got there. I say we, but other than taking out the turrets, I guess I didn't do much of anything to the transports. Either way, they were destroyed fast thanks to Bravo Squadron.

(If you look hard at that picture, you can see a torpedo streaking towards the engine. I thought it made for a cool shot, but it's sorta hard to see)



As soon as the transports were down, we got a mission accomplished message from the computer. Apparently the cruiser and the transports were the only ships capable of jumping out and warning the main fleet. Funny that the computer knew that and I didn't. I made a note to ask Rachel exactly how these computers worked when I got back.



At our last Nav point, we ran into one final group of 6 Mantas and 6 Stingrays. The funny part is that my whole squadron had tried to talk me into going back to the Midway after Nav 3, since our mission was complete, but I was insistant on checking out the last Nav point. I'm going to catch a ton of shit for that one back at Pilot Country. Thankfully, we still made it through without any casualties, and put 12 more alien corpses into the void of space.



When we got back, the Midway congratulated us on not letting anything escape. It was a long mission, with over 50 fighters downed between us all, as well as a capital ship and two transports, but I have to say that it went well. Amazingly well, actually, due to the unexplainable alien incompetance and their paper-thin shields and hulls.



On the flight deck, the CAG and captain were waiting for me. While that was almost never a good sign, this time they let me know that I had earned the Flying Cross. I was floored. It's one of the most distinguished accomplishments that a pilot can have, and here I was getting it barely out of the Academy! Maniac looked a little pissed, but he wasn't going to spoil my good mood. Drinks were on me at the bar tonight!

(OK, so today's flight log was a little tongue-in-cheek. Sue me.)

G'mar Mission 2 * (for those of you who don't actually read the thread, let's just say that I got way better at this game overnight. There's a small cutscene at the end, but it's not plot critical or anything. Also, my mic is low in this, but it doesn't matter, since I don't say anything interesting or witty (as if I ever do))
(Filefront)

Edit: Oh yeah, the songs in the video are (in order):

 Nirvana - I Hate Myself And Want To Die
Anal Cunt - Your Kid Committed Suicide Because You Suck
Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Sly and the Family Stone - Runnin' Away
Del the Funky Homosapien - If You Must