ITOD Home > PSG Tour A1 (XW) > PSG Xa115.1: Hitting the Simulators (Grey X-Wing Sim I)

"You're up, Gold Leader."

"Copy that, control. Hypering in now." Hermus Dogan matched action to words, initiating a micro hyperspace jump to the target area. A vast stretch of deep space greeted him upon arrival, the sole object on the sensors a navigation buoy floating a few kilometers away. The mission was to rendezvous with a group of freighters passing through the area and ensure their safe departure, a fairly standard simulator run. The starfighter provided for that particular mission was the A-Wing.

The A-Wing's computer pinged, registering the arrival of one or more new ships within sensor range. Dogan tapped one of the targeting controls to rapidly browse through the new targets: four freighters designated Mynock. He brought the A-Wing around on an intercept course with the freighters and increased the throttle to full, keeping an eye on the sensors. Trouble was sure to appear shortly.

Another ping from the computer confirmed Dogan's suspicions. A hostile Nebulon-B Frigate dropped out of hyperspace in the distance, nearly ten klicks away. A trio of TIE Interceptors emerged from its hangar and altered course to bear down on the lone A-Wing. No further craft launched from the frigate, piquing Dogan's curiosity. Surely the frigate would launch bombers or more fighters to engage the freighters the Gold Squadron pilot was defending?

Dogan chose to stick close to the freighters until the interceptors were much closer, a tactic which proved wise. A second Nebulon-B Frigate dropped out of hyperspace on the opposite side of the freighters from the first. TIE Fighters and TIE Bombers charged out of its hangar, the bombers targeting the freighters while the fighters moved to screen them. There was little choice for Dogan but to engage the bombers as quickly as possible. It would only take a few proton torpedoes to destroy any one of the freighters.

Just as he engaged the bombers a pair of A-Wings emerged from hyperspace to back Dogan up, shifting the tide of battle into the Rebel Squadrons' favor. The new arrivals pounced on the rapidly approaching TIE Interceptors and wiped them out in short order. Dogan picked off the four bombers one by one before turning his attention to the TIE Fighters. More bombers and interceptors launched to replace the Imperial losses.

The battle continued in much the same fashion, the A-Wings wiping out each wave as they approached. Not one TIE Bomber managed to get in range to launch torpedoes at the freighters before the fragile cargo vessels escaped into hyperspace. Once all Imperial starfighters were wiped out the Rebel Squadrons pilots focused on the pair of Nebulon-B Frigates, which curiously chose not to leave. The turbolasers of the frigates were powerful, but ineffective against starfighters, particularly A-Wings. The agile starfighters weren't the best choice for engaging capital ships, but they weaved through each salvo from the Imperial ships with ease, repeating their strafing runs on each frigate until both were destroyed.

With the Imperial vessels wiped out, the A-Wings entered hyperspace. The cockpit around Dogan darkened, powering down. He unstrapped from the pilot's chair and popped the rear hatch, carefully extricating himself from the A-Wing simulator. The big pilot removed his helmet and drew a deep breath of recycled air. A firm clap on his shoulder prompted a premature exhalation.

"Well done, Captain Dogan! Yours was the best run on this mission so far."

Dogan turned to face Lieutenant Commander Modnar, second officer of the McGrath. "Thanks. It's been a while since I've been in the simulators."

Modnar snorted. "Doesn't look like it after that run. Pays to keep in practice, though." He glanced at the datapad in his left hand for a moment. "We're to hold station in this system for a few more hours before jumping out, so consider yourself off duty for that long. Captain Lawah will relay any new orders to the terminal in your quarters at that time."

Dogan grinned and raised his helmet in salute. "Yes, sir!"

Modnar returned the salute and snatched the comlink from his belt. "Send in the next pilot."

Dogan was already on his way to his quarters before he saw who the next pilot was.