ITOD Home > PSG Tour A1 (TIE) > PSG Ta113: Grey Tribulation

Mines, everywhere. EVERYWHERE! Whose bright idea was it to send a single, unshielded fighter on this deathtrap of a mission? First Lieutenant Hermus Dogan had no idea, but the dozens of mines firing on him made it difficult to think about anything beyond survival. Assault Transport Brier had hauled him to the combat zone, but was remaining outside the range of the mines at Dogan's order. The last thing he wanted to worry about was keeping the transport alive while it tried to navigate the minefield.

He narrowly dodged an ion blast and heard the comm crackle. "Careful of those mines, Grey! They shoot back!" The crew of the Brier was hilarious. A laser bolt flashed past, just beneath the starboard wing on his TIE Interceptor. Extremely hilarious. Dogan was certain he heard someone chuckling in the background, too. He'd have to find suitable payback if he survived the mission.

The most dangerous mines carried advanced concussion missiles, extremely difficult to evade. One stray shot would set one off, sending a missile right up your engine port. And since missile evasion was NOT one of Dogan's strong suits, such launches never ended well. The best way he'd found to handle such missiles was to shoot them at range. He really needed to practice missile evasion in the simulators, and made a mental note of it. Of course, he still had to survive the mission he was on.

Laser and ion bolts, on the other hand, were something he was able to readily evade. The TIE Interceptor he piloted was a highly agile craft, making such evasion even easier. The downside was that one wrong maneuver could leave him without critical systems like weapons or engines. Two near misses prompted a more extensive evasive maneuver. Dogan greatly preferred having shields.

After much time, careful evasion, snapped shots, and more sweat than in the last several missions combined, Dogan cleared the mines. Only the tug remained, hovering lifelessly in the void. With a quick scan he confirmed that the tug had the nav buoy aboard and gave the Brier the signal to move in and capture it. A quick check of the sensors and targeting system told Dogan that only the three craft, his included, remained. He slumped into his seat and shuddered with a heavy sigh of relief. All that evasion had worn him out.

He targeted the Brier and glanced at the display in front of him. Still several kilometers away. Technically, the mission for Dogan was complete. He'd neutralized the minefield and scanned the tug, and no other hostiles were in the area. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave the mission until he could dock with the Briar, which wouldn't allow him to dock until it was finished with the tug. He sighed. TIEs didn't have hyperdrives, so he was stuck waiting.

The distance between Assault Transport Brier and the tug continued to wind down, seemingly taking hours. Dogan grumbled, certain the transport crew were toying with him. He considered taking a few pot shots at the shielded transport, but figured such an action wouldn't end well. The wait continued.

Finally, the Brier had docked with the tug and looted the nav buoy. The crew gave him the green light to dock. Dogan wasn't sorry to be leaving the former minefield, already looking forward to a shower, a cold drink, and a nice nap.