Posted by Lieutenant Alexandra “Little Sehlat” Primage (Pilot. Grn Squad Ldr) in Corridor into the Beloti system. . .

Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(Bump)

=^=Roger, Cag… Apex, I’m to the west of the landing. I think there is an outcropping just south east that may give you adequate cover. It gives us better coverage of what’s happening if we aren’t side by side.=^=

It wasn’t ideal, being split up. But the pros and cons were the same. Either way, something had to be done and monitoring was all they could do at the moment.

Xandra
Pilot

Ael had a similar thought. =/\=Agreed. But stay within sensor range.=/\= he dipped back down towards the planet. Here we go. As he came even with the ground, he started looking for any disturbances in the area that the presence of the Sierra alone couldn’t account for.

-Lt Ael Khev, Apex (Red Squad Leader)

On his way back to the planet, Ric pulled up a topographical map of the planet and the immediate area around the Sierra. He spotted a canyon not too far away that would suit his needs. He re-entered the atmosphere and quickly located Apex and Sehlat.

=^=Sehlat, Apex, take up positions on my 4 and 8 and follow me.=^= What he wanted to discuss with the two pilots was something he didn’t want to share over the comms for anyone else to pick up.

Ricochet (CAG)

=^=Roger, boss… on my way.=^=

Xandra slowly lifted from her position and followed Ric where he said. There was something about the tone of his voice that made her wonder just what intel he was about to share and what was going on. She hoped it wasn’t anything serious. Another planet issue wasn’t high on her list of things to do today.

Xandra
Pilot

Ael lifted up parallel to Xandra. Something was up, he knew that. =/\=On your tail, Ricochet.=/\=

-Lt Ael Khev, Apex (Red Squad Leader)

After Apex and Sehlat dropped into formation, Ric led them to the canyon he had noted on the scans.

=^= Stay tight, you two. It might get a bit narrow in spots.=^=

He put his Cutlass into a dive and through flew the twists and turns of the narrow gorge. Nearing the mid-point, Ric throttled back on his stick and set his fighter down on the sandy ground. He powered down, popped the hatch and climbed out of the cockpit and waited for the other two pilots to join him.

Ricochet (CAG)

Tag had been a favorite game of Ric’s in the sims, so it didn’t surprise Xandra when it became something very similar on the planet. She kept back enough to not crash if he shifted suddenly, but close enough not to lose him. She let Apex bring up the rear and once they were settled, she crawled from her fighter and headed for Ric, a slight frown on her face. It wasn’t upset, or anger, it was worry. The CAG wasn’t one for subterfuge or secrecy, so this was a dire situation indeed. “Sir… what’s going on?”

Xandra
Sehlat

Once Ael had joined them, Ric began explaining. “I wanted to talk to both of you, without our conversation going over the comms. . . just in case somebody’s got ears on us.”

“There are still too many unknowns going on here. There is absolutely no reason the Sierra had to sit down here. Cmdr. Harn were thinking maybe the Sierra was smuggling something. Either to pick it up here or drop it off so someone else could pick it up on this godforsaken planet. That’s why I wanted you scanning at low altitude.”

“The Sierra’s log indicates no on left the ship except for the people resonsiple for clearing out the exhaust ports. Intel says they were accounted for at all times. Nor were any extra bodies among the crew and passengers when they were ready to take off.”

The CAG began pacing back and forth as ideas were shooting through his mind. . .

Ricochet (CAG)

The acting commanding officer’s disembodied voice interrupted Ric’s thoughts. =^=Bridge to CAG, the Sierra is ready to take off. I’m sending you the flight path so your birds can stay out of the way.=^=

Within minutes, the Sierra rose from the planet’s surface, radioed its thanks and farewells to the Olinski, and warped out of the system.

OOC: The GM has had the Sierra take off and leave the system on the bridge thread, it looks like the mission is over, for now…

=^=Time to beam up Mister Balfor. =^= Jason replied regretfully. =^=The mission is over. =^=

He then walked to his chair and pressed a button. =^=Bridge to CAG, the Sierra is ready to take off. I’m sending you the flight path so your birds can stay out of the way.=^=

“Contact Starbase 257 and let them know that the Sierra is on their way,” Jason ordered. “It will give a chance to let us know if we have another assignment. In the meantime I’ll be in sickbay talking with Doolittle. You have the conn Toro.”

After an acknowledgement Jason nodded and left the bridge.

Jason Harn, aCO, trying to untie all of the continuity snarls (and hoping he’s not messing thing up further).

Jason Harn, aCO, trying to untie all of the continuity snarls.

Because they were outside, Xandra and Apex heard the CO comm to Ric. When it was done, a sly smile crept up the lips of the Sehlat. “Ummm… you know, we ‘could’ go take a look. I’m sure there would be signs of a pick up or drop off, now they are gone. And we could also use the fighters to see if maybe they can read shuttle weight from ground depth displacement. Should be easy enough to do the calculations for weight to see if there was any significant additional cargo on the ship if it was in large enough quantities.” She liked the idea of proving something that itched her mind had also itched others.

“Also, the fighters are quicker… we could return to the Olinski and offer to help those who got back. A fresh set of eyes in the shuttle may be able to pick out stuff that wasn’t supposed to be there.” The second idea seemed better to her in hindesight. If they discovered extra weight, it was moot if they weren’t on the Olinski to keep it from being hidden again.

Xandra
Pilot

Ric shook his head. “Cmdr. Harn doesn’t seem to think smuggling isn’t an issue right now. Still. . . . . .,” he paused and rubbed his chin, “let’s make one more low-level pass of the area. Use your eyes AND scanners. Anything looks suspicious, we’ll check it out. If nothing pops out, we’ll had back to Mother.”

A part of him hoped they would find something. The Sierra sitting down on the planet still didn’t make any sense, especially not from a seasoned, veteran CO. Otherwise, this mission, he felt was a waste of time and resources. . . .

After climbing back into his cockpit, Ric swerved his way out the canyon, checking his six to make sure Sehlat and Apex were behind him.

Ricochet (CAG)

Xandra listened and nodded. As she strapped in, she had an idea and tapped the comm to RIc’s private channel. “I’m gonna set down and scan their landing site. I’ll see what comes up.” Before Ric could protest, she added, with a gentler voice. “I won’t leave the ship, Ric…I promise.”

Xandra
Pilot
Curious Sehlat

=/\=Back we go.=/\= Ael dipped his fighter back down.

-Lt Ael Khev, Apex (Red Squad Leader)