Sorry in the delay;
I was going to wait on some more responses, but you are just getting started now....here's why it wouldn't matter if everyone got in the shuttle and was ready to go.....Remember, the beginning of what you read below is not ICly known. I'm just giving the story to you, so act accordingly...

I scanned a picture and put it on this next turn. Some is Bryan's Pic, and some is a scan from the Star Frontier's Knight Hawks cover. Yeh I could have done more with it but time was limited. I'm working on my TV show's web site too - check it out if you haven't already:
http://www.inetnow.net/~jeff-b/starlite/Lagoon/index.html

(Boy, shameless plug, huh?)
 
 

[IC]

Cargo Hold.
    The whole group assembles in the hanger and ready to go.  Raleigh
turns to the others and says...
  "OK, whos flying this thing?"

  <silence>

  "Uh no...Zhirrzh, hand me that rifle over there."
 

Bridge.

    Another laser slices through space, this time only 40 meters from the Dawn. Too close.
    Nayden's display glitters at her and she growls loudly. She knew this was coming. "I've got six Class I fighters, coming from Volturnus surface, intercept course on us."
    "Damn...Nayden, you can take six on, can't you? Stu, don't forget about that Cruiser either. Make's it fun for you," Balou says. The Dawn is a mosquito to the Cruiser; hard to hit but hurting like hell when it happens. Evading the ship was difficult enough, let alone having to worry about six fighters. The Captain hits his console and the ship intercom comes to life:
    "Sorry, team, we've got fighters on us. I'm not lowering the shields until we can get out of their way."

    "Here they come," Nayden warns, the viewscreen coming to life with the image of six growing ships. They come on fast. Nayden targets one of them as rage begins to build inside, the common Yazirian trait beginning to surface. Now! The Dawn's laser battery explodes in orange light the same instant the leading fighters open up. The second fighter explodes before firing a shot. Nayden howls in victory, already picking another target. Stu banks the Dawn fiercly, attempting to avoid the onslaught of the fighters...
 
    The Dawn shutters tremendously as her side is raked in laser fire. The shields flash, proudly displaying its protective shell, but the hit was still a good one. The remaining five fighters scatter in seemingly random directions as they dance amongst themselves, planning the next flyby. The dogfight had begun.

[Reaction Speed Rolls for All] All pass except ---

   The team in the Cargo bay did not expect the assault so soon. Raleigh is knocked to the floor as the ship shutters from the attack. The others braced themselves on a nearby wall, a chair, anything and remained standing. Lights throughout the Dawn turn from Yellow to  Red; the room darkening a shade because of it. The muffled sizzles of the Dawn's lasers can be heard, telling everyone that she was fighting back as hard as she was being hit.
 
 

================================
Referee's Note:

The dogfight is on and as Balou said, he's not about to drop the shields now.
You've got until Saturday to make additional preparations, for what,  I don't know, that's up
to you all.

Hope you're enjoying this now that things have picked up some. What a welcome comittee, eh? :)

Jeff
=================================
 
 
 

[OOC]
If you have not joined the listbot yet, please do so. I see that a few of you have. You can access it at the main SF page, http://www.inetnow.net/~jeff-b/StarFrontiers/index.html
All you do is enter your name and pick a password, then you just have to send email to starfront@listbot.com
to get the message to the rest of the group. When replying to a listbot message, be sure to REPLY TO ALL, otherwise it goes to only the person who sent the first message. Confused? I'll continue to send to the list until we're all comfy with it...

We have another week to go with this one - I'll give until next Saturday - a little more than a week. This week's turn had slow turnover, either because you all were busy or were just waiting to see what would happen next. And if you think we should go to two week turns, let me know....I may be getting pretty busy soon with my TV show, but I think I can still handle once a week. We'll see..
 

[IC]
 

    Zhirrzh cursed as the Dawn shook from the hit. Steadying himself against the wall just inside the cargo hold, he somehow managed to stay standing. He picked up his pace again and dashed into the shuttle. He sees Telgar still pulling weapons out and kneels next to him. Working as quickly as he can, Zhirrzh grabs an auto-rifle, an auto-pistol, and a G-jet Sidearm. He straps the auto-pistol to his left side, the G-jet sidearm to his right side, and buckles the auto-rifle to his bandolier. He grabs a clip for each and snaps them into the weapons. He then grabs two additional clips for each and attaches them to his bandolier. He grabs a knife and fits it to the slide mount on his right wrist.
    Zhirrzh grins at Telgar. "Now I'm ready to kick some pirate ass."
    Zhirrzh climbs out and runs to the front of the shuttle. Drawing his auto-pistol, he kneels and takes up a defensive position. Looking up, he sees Kah'liss sitting in the shuttle. "How about warming up the engines?" he asks Kah'liss.

    The firefight continues outside for....how long was it? 10, 20 minutes? Less than that? Communication was silent from the bridge; everyone only imagines the struggle the crew of the Dawn are going through. Often, the ship rattles violently as it is once again strafed in laser fire. Once or twice you hear a muffled explosion outside. The Dawn seems to be dishing it out as well. After a few sharp hits, the lights in the cargo hold flicker, but they always return...sometimes a bit dimmer than before.

[Reaction Speed Rolls - 10  for all]
    Finally it came. A bolt so jarring that Brenon, Gwarth, Raleigh, and Lyrium are hurled to the floor...

[Damage, 1d5]
Brenon takes 1 Stamina Damage
Gwarth takes 2 Stamina Damage
Raleigh takes 2 Stamina Damage
Lyrium takes 1 Stamina Damage

    The Cargo hold is plummeted into darkness. Only the dim, hypnotic glow of the shuttlecraft console provides any hint of light. An eery silence invades the hold as everyone attempts to shake the cobwebs from their heads. After several moments, a shaky voice crackles on everyone's chronos. Unable to tell who's voice it is...

"Standby..."

    A long minute passes, the lights in the hold flickering twice, trying with all their might to remain on. Finally, a dim yellow glow returns to the hold, and you can see further than a few inches. Your chrono them comes to life again, this time booming the voice of a more stable Balou, speaking quickly, spewing facts only.
    "Our shields have been disabled. Engines down. Three shuttles have launched from the Cruiser and they will no doubt dock with the hatches on each deck. Arrival....3 minutes...We can lock them out but they'll break it in time. The remaining fighters are maintaining a perimeter....If you want to leave, say the word, we'll open the airlock when you are ready, provided we are able. We are remaining on the Dawn. You may be able to make planetside - we're pretty close and their perimeter is long...If you want to risk it here, we are fighting it out. They are NOT taking the Dawn. If it comes to it, we will destruct and use the lifeboats. But we're going to give her a chance.....Good luck."

Your chrono crackles briefly as his transmission ends.
 

=================================
Referee's Notes:

Study the maps of the Dawn, where the airlocks are and where the lifeboats are, in case you decide to stay. Or, take off with the shuttle and risk the fighters. wow....tough position, huh???  :)

Looking forward to seeing what you do........

==================================