fish food carl:
Are we allowed the use of targeting computers, or like the navigation must we use manual controls?

My guess? Use the force, Carl.

The simulator pod hummed into life as the projection began around him. The power system whirred as Johnn was lifted off the ground by the simulator. All at once, the ones and zeroes surrounding him became a fully-fledged hologram. He reached out and touched the controls of the cockpit he was now sitting in. They felt cold against his skin. Remarkable technology, he thought. Truly remarkable.

Johnn strapped himself into the cockpit of the T-65-XJ X-Wing. As it slowly raised itself from the deck, Johnn primed the engines. He waited until he was a fair distance from the cruiser he had just piloted away from, and opened up the computer. Turning the dial and switches to manual, he began to enter in the co-ordinates for his Hyperspace Jump. He recalled the co-ordinates he had been given earlier as the console asked for direction. He input the data, and before long a blue pulse appeared in front of his ship. All of a sudden, the specks of light that were the stars shot towards him. He was thrown back in his seat as the X-Wing sped into Hyperspeed. In mere seconds, he had reached the co-ordinates he had set. However, he could see no sign of the Dreadnought Cruiser. Johnn wondered what had gone wrong with the system, as the readout beamed: [[Destination unreachable. Obstacles in path. Please clear obstacles or switch to manual.]] He turned the controls to a manual setting, and tried to see what obstacles were in his way.

He found out soon enough. An asteroid cloud loomed ahead of him. It was more densely packed than any he had seen before, and he could see no way around it. There was only one way to get past it - go through. He tilted the ship to 30 degrees and darted between two monoliths. He fired the dual cannons and disentigrated three smaller rock clusters, with the flecks of rock being easily deflected by his shields.

He eased the thrusters to a slower speed as he saw the Dreadnought Cruiser on the other side. Making a beeline for it, he steered his way around another small set of meteors as they drifted slowly towards him. Suddenly, a massive rock loomed towards him. Dipping down from above his vision, it was too close to avoid. Johnn fired the quaternal cannons at a marginally thinner section of the massive rock and kept up the fire until he saw the light of the Cruiser on the other side. The hole was big enough for the X-Wing and a few feet on either side, and he gritted his teeth and gripped the controls hard as he piloted through the impossibly narrow hole.

Finally, he had reached the zone where his aerial battle would take place. He saw the fuzzing of the shields as the first of the X-Wings flew from the hangar. He saw its blasters begin to send some shots his way, and brought up the targeting computer. He waited until the marker was directly in front of him, and fired a quick wall of pulses from his cannons. He swerved down and the X-Wing failed to avoid the concentrated energy. Another two left the hangar. Johnn allowed them to get a small distance away from the Dreadnought before he locked on to them. He flew in a diagonal line as fast as he could behind them, firing his dual shots. The first one was caught and span over sideways into the second. The second spiralled down out of sight. He knew it was destroyed shortly afterwards as the third wave of X-Wings flew towards him. Johnn tried to get a fast kill in before they had a chance to attack him, but the shots went wide and the three escaped unharmed. They swung in an arch, each firing their quad cannons as fast as they could. Johnn took some emergency evasive action to avoid the barrage and swung into position over the fighters. They could not see him through the tops of their cockpits, so it was simple work to take them out one by one from above. In came Wave 4. This time, he was successful in taking out some of the X-Wings as they were positioning themselves. A direct set of hits with the quad cannon sent it into oblivion. Whether it was so or whether it was just his fancy, Johnn thought he saw a small cloud of binary appear from the wreckage. The three remaining cruised towards him. Johnn dodged them as they came in past him, and used his targeting computer to get a lock. He used a simple single-fire stream to take each of them out before they even had a chance to retaliate. Ok, Johnn thought. One wave until the final set of X-Wings. Five of the fighters flickered through the Dreadnought Cruiser's shields as Johnn turned off his locking computer. There were too many for him to be able to get a lock now. Instead, he swooped down low and began to rush them from below. He fired a small array of lasers towards them and tilted onto his side, slipping between two of the fighters as they flew. The attack wiped out three of the crowd. The two last fighters of the wave opened fire at him. Performing a barrel roll, he dodged all but one of the shots. His shields depleted for a second, and he continued to dodge until the self-repairs had been completed. Now, he took his chance and set his thrusters to reverse. He flipped around until he was flying backwards and now facing the virtual enemies. A simple barrage of lasers eliminated the last pair.

The final six X-Wings now left the hangar. Heating up his lasers, he dodged the incoming shots and flew around the incoming V formation. Now swerving behind them, he opened fire with the single-fire blasters. He hit the three on the outermost side of the wing, with two being destroyed in a blast of short-lived flames and stored fuel. The third had been badly damaged, but was still intact. Four to go, Johnn thought. He knew he could not use the effective surprise assault again, so he engaged them head-on. Simply dodging the small blaster shots, he decided another improvised tactic was in order. A small purple light behind him signalled that the pursuing four X-Wings were all charging the quad cannons. Johnn counted until two seconds before firing, and jettisoned four percent of his fuel - a negligable amount. The X-Wings continued to charge, and fired just as they flew into the drifting fuel. Johnn checked his readouts, and noted that all of the remaining four had been destroyed in the fireball they themselves started.

The first of the A-Wing fighters left the hangar. Johnn could not match the small fighters for pace, but he could get the superior firepower. After all, he had twice the number of weapons. Sending only one of the ships to face him was almost laughable, but Johnn tried to keep his concentration under control. In the field, he could not afford to let himself slip. The targeting system found the A-Wing and promptly dispatched it. The same happened for the next unfortunate two to leave the hangar. And then there were three. The trio left the hangar and sped around behind him. Johnn looped as well, until he eventually was at a reasonable angle to them. The outer ship was easy pickings, and it was taken down quickly. The next two were harder. They forced Johnn into a battle of agility, both of physical and mental reflexes. However, they soon tired and he caught them on the wings. Wave four launched their ships and began the dogfight. Johnn tilted his ship upwards and fired a few quad shots. Then, after firing a few shots below, continued straight on. The fighters, to avoid crashing head-on with him, were forced to go upwards, directly into the line of lasers. Each and every A-Wing in the wave was taken down. Wave 5 was now Johnn's opposition. The crackling shields on the Dreadnought signalled the arrival of the new A-Wings. Once more, Johnn was forced to turn off his targeting computer. He blasted his way through the first two of the A-Wings as they attempted to line up, sending the computer-generated debris thudding into the others. One more was taken out after a particularly large chunk of wing was sent headlong into the cockpit, shattering the metal. There were only two left, and a quick burst of dual fire dispatched the stragglers.

Now, six more A-Wings prepared to attack him. They left the base and soared upwards to meet him. They fired some warning shots, each of which went wide. He waited until they had cruised around enough to form a line, and he fired with the dual cannon once, about eighty metres ahead of them. It struck the third A-Wing in the row as it circled with the rest of the fighters directly into it. Formation breeds both strength and predictability. Abandon it when predictability is the weapon of choice of your opponent. Johnn thought back to the attack lessons he had taken years back. Clearly, he had used a different school of thought than these pilots. They looped around again, using their energy cannons. Johnn knew his shields could withstand the shocks and flew towards them, returning fire. Two more were hit by the spray, whilst Johnn escaped with only minor damage from their careless barrage. He fired again at them, and hit one of the A-Wings with the dead-on shots. The final two each fired a shot at Johnn, one which he could not identify. He had certainly never seen it before outside this simulator. He knew it could not breach the energy deflectors, and allowed it to strike him. He cursed at the top of his voice when he realised what he had fallen for. His engines had been temporarily depowered by their experimental modified weapons, and could not move. You complacent fool, he thought. "Now they have an opportunity!" Both of the opposing fighters looped around, firing at him. Johnn flipped each of the relevant switches, trying to reactivate his engines. The A-Wings were now on either side of his stationary craft, flying straight for him. Desperately trying to restore power, he entered the algorithm once more. The engines whirred to life, and he used his boost to shoot forward a few hundred feet. The small fighters were taken unawares and crashed into each other, sending debris flying through the air.

The seventh wave was now upon him. They sped out of the hangar and accelerated towards him. Johnn primed his quad cannon, and fired upon the approaching squadron. It glanced one of the A-Wings and sliced its wing off. The fuselage exploded in front of him, but the wing continued to speed towards him at the same, if not a higher, velocity. It cleaved Johnn's left thruster clean off, and it sent him on a downward spiral. Wrestling for control of the ship, he brought the writhing controls to heel, but it was too late. The simulator went black, and the burning light stung his eyes as Johnn was lowed out of the simulating pod.

"You may argue with my statements if you wish. They are quite irrelevant. You simply ask way too much, my friend. Yes, I am here to seek apprenticeship with the rest of you honourable and not so honourable gents." Higurashi communicates with Carl through the force.

"Now, if you excuse me, I must focus on the task at hand."
Saying this, Higu takes out a blindfold and ties it around his head to cover his eyes, sailing gracefully through the space. Inputting the coordinates that were given by the autopilot, he prepared the jump to hyperspace. Powering up, he is pressed against his seat as light around him becomes a blur. It does not take long, however, and slowing down to realspace, he soon senses indeed a dreadnought cruiser. Locking the S-foils in attack position, he felt not entirely ready.

Magnificent... He thought. Interrupted in his contemplating, a single X-Wing Fighter was suddenly on its way towards him in top speed. He would not use the force against one opponent, other than perceiving with, of course. Boosting over him to perform an outward loop, he was suddenly behind him, pleased with his reaction. To get a sense of his enemies skill, he pursued him a while and fired warning shots now and then. Skill they had. This he concluded as the fighter before him dodged most of his shots. Turning suddenly, he was headed towards him again. A bit single-minded perhaps. Facing off in a high velocity duel, Higu was the only one who got quad shots in, and the fighter exploded to be reduced to a flaming wreck. Impressive simulations...

Without delay, two more X-Wings were let out to do battle. They fight just like in real life, flight controller and all. He concluded. This time he was more ready, and thought he saw them were they did not see him. He was starting to remember the basics. Searching for him, he swooped in among them in high velocities and destroyed one by firing at his back with stutter fire. The high speed allowed a very quick manoeuvre that got him the upper hand against the one left. Flying towards him slightly above and on his flank, it was picked off with a few well aimed single fire blasts. The fire of the opponent seared by him, and adrenaline began rushing to his head. This was more daring combat than he had counted with.

In accordance to this, three more fighters were already headed towards him. He would have to rely on reflexes now, and the force. In tight formation, they laid heavy, constant stutter fire on him. As he tried to manoeuvre away to gain the advantage, one of the fighters broke up from the formation and started flying in the opposite direction. This allowed Higu to perform a daring turn and spin and end up in between the other two fighters. Tackling them both and pulling out, they lost control and crashed into each other. This was kind of fun.
The last fighter was making large circles, panicking. He didn't know where to go. It seemed his mind trick had worked, even in this simulator. Good thing it was tuned to recognize the effects of the force. A single quad fire burst made short work of the panicking fighter.

Given no time to formulate a plan beforehand, four more fighters were now already searching for him. He was far away by now, however. Relentless...
Accelerating to top speed, he launched a proton torpedo towards one of the fighters in the cluster. The explosion ensuing caught them all in the blast wave, and he was able to crush the three left in an onslaught of blaster fire. The last one got a shot in on him, though. He had depleted a bit more energy than he wanted.

Now five more fighters tried to stop him in his track. They were just in the start of accelerating, however, and he was still in top speed. In attack manoeuvre omega, he encircled them, spewing blaster fire in excess. Catching one in the wing, it spiralled past another and damaged its hull before exploding. Crushing what was left of that fighter, he managed to get a lucky shot at the fuselage of another. A proton torpedo towards another hit, and the last one was so confused by the calamity it succumbed to his blaster fire in short. Snapping back to reality, he was undoubtedly in the combat high. That had all gone by reflex. Impressed by himself, he got ready for more. He enjoyed this immensely now, and the feeling of not fitting inside a cockpit was entirely gone. A small smile spread on his lips, when six fighter in all launched towards him.

He recognized the attack formation, and thought it was more typical of Tie Fighters. Tearing through a swarm of blaster shots turning and barrel rolling, Higu saw them all coming. They were all so predictable to him. When they had passed him, four remained as he had managed to destroy two in the flurry. The remaining ones were thrown off a bit off by the explosions, and he easily picked another off. Turning sharply, there was another one that flew directly towards him. What was he doing? They must be confused as their formation was broken.
Trading fire, he won the duel without complication. Two left, but where?

The ship rocked violently as he caught blaster fire in the back of the ship. His shields waned a bit, and he was forced to a manoeuvre more daring than his stomach complied too. Turning upwards and spinning, he managed to shake them. They had set a risky trap after realising they could not best him in direct combat, and pulled it off thanks to the sacrifice of the other fighter. A bit angered, Higu took one out with an overwhelming barrage of shots from above and passed the last one in top speed. He enjoyed toying with this last one, and picked off his shield with one shot at a time as he remained in his back.

The last of the X-Wing Fighters destroyed, he now braced himself for a greater challenge. It was time to formulate a solid escape manoeuvre, should he take too many hits from the quick A-Wing Fighters. His ship was far from mint condition as well, and the enemy seemed to pick up a few things about his tactics.

Soaring towards him was now one A-Wing Starfighter. One at a time, they should not prove any problem, but Higu was careful not to underestimate them. It took skills to pilot an A-Wing, and the simulator would surely prove this true in this exercise as well.
Indeed, the A-Wing was a lot better at agile space combat. And so fast! But with the advantage of distance, he managed to obliterate it before it got him within the range of its blasters. It was good to have superior fire-power, but picturing many of those on him, he saw few ways of making it out victorious.

As two more accelerated towards him, he was caught off guard by their sheer speed. His reflexes were used to the X-Wings, it seemed. Forced to launch a torpedo as they passed him, it crashed into the first head on. The second one was thrown off due to his high speed, and Higu was able to turn to face him too, head on. Trading blaster fire, there was no way for the A-Wing to escape, and it was sent spiralling under him, cut almost in half. It was indeed a lot harder to hit these things. But luckily, it was still only artificial life. He had always had an easy time with it, though biological life was able to fascinate him more. And so, he preferred it.

Awaking from his trail of thoughts, he was given even less time to strategize as three A-Wings now made their way to end his spree. Launching three torpedoes, he dispatched these before they even reached him with their blasters. He knew he wouldn't last much longer.
So he might as well go on the offence, he thought. The four A-Wings accelerating towards him, he had the advantage in everything, even speed. Spinning, he turned upwards to bombard two of them with single blaster fire from above. Even at these speeds, they managed to hit him, though. Crap..
Going down and then turning as he went up, he faced the remaining two and dispatched them with two torpedoes. Wobbling through the air, he had taken damage on one of his wings, and the explosions made him unsteady as he disengaged.

Five A-Wings now got him in the back. This was the end, he thought. They had not the range, however, and he locked the S-foils to perform a burst of speed in order to do an outer loop to try and gain the advantage. They were a bit too fast, however, and he ended up in the middle of their formation, S-foils regained in attack formation. Complete chaos of blaster fire, fuel leakage and proton torpedo fire ensued, and he cursed in his cockpit. Calm... remain calm.
The reminder did its job. Four torpedoes found their target in the calamity, and Higurashi found himself in a completely different reality.

Things were of a different colour in some way. The entire creation seemed to burn ever so brightly, and a gentle whisper seemed to be heard in his head. Reaching out, it felt as if he emerged his hand in liquid magma. But it did not hurt. It enveloped his entire being, and warmed him to the core. Grasping desperately all he could of this warmth, he managed to obtain it to warm him from the inside out. And then his vision returned. Opening his eyes from the removed blindfold, he saw. Saw in such a different way the life of the galaxy. As he did, he also had just enough time to see that he was a nanosecond from colliding with the remaining A-Wing. There was no way of avoiding it, and a bright flash stunned his eyes.
The simulation was over.

Staggering out of the simulator, he wobbled away to the nearest wall and collapsed against it. Before passing out, it felt as if his mind had taken a flaming sledgehammer to it, but also, his entire body felt energized. Too energized. Perhaps it was this that overloaded his senses as he slumped to the ground by the wall. No thoughts of the trial he had just endured passed his slumbering mind, but he was filled with something indescribable. Something nameless.

Darth Mobius:

Trouble at home

As I strode purposefully down to the simulator pod, I felt confident. This was one of my strong points. When I first tried flying I discovered a natural talent. I excelled and received top grades when I was taught flight maneuvers and evasive actions. This was partly due to the fact that, when I was four I was given a toy spacecraft. I loved that toy, and when I grew older I was often reprimanded for neglecting other duties so that I could pilot something. Although I had never entered a dogfight against a force of enemies, I was still quite happy. I know that my precognition needed working on, and that were areas of training that I was not quite as confident in, but right now, I was in my element. The simulated cockpit was laying open , and it looked terribly inviting.

The whole ship looked and smelt new. "Wow" This was terribly advanced. I touched the controls blindly. They had friction... I thought it a marvel that something as real as this could possibly be recreated by a combination of binary and intricate metalwork. I strapped the electronically monitored helmet to my head. It was covered in electrodes and the visor contained a miniature read out of the scanner screens and gun sights in front of me. I had never piloted one of these before but I had flown in its formidable predecessor many times, and the controls were essentially the same.

I ignited the primary boosters, and they unfurled from the hull then blasted down. The ship rose about seven feet into the air, awaiting further instruction, like a well behaved dog awaiting its masters orders. My old instincts came back to me very easily. All of my motions were born of a thousand times of repetition. I switched on the thrust and set it to half of its power, allowing the engine to warm up - I learned this when all too often a cold engine would stall and such an occurrence could prove fatal on this exercise. After a few seconds I turned off the boosters, extended the thrust to its maximum and shot out into the depths of space.

I prepared the engine for the rather disconcerting jump to hyperspace. I punched in the coordinates and the on-board computer entered them into the navigation system's main memory bank. A small light lit up letting me know that the hyperdrive was in working order, all of the connections were strong and that all exhaust flaps had partially sealed. The ship was ready. I flicked open the box that contained the switch that would cause the ship to meld into hyperspace. I breathed sharply. I was nervous. Then, with a jerky and rather awkward movement, I flicked on the switch.

I never could get used to that feeling. The blood rushes to your head, your stomach gets dragged to the back of your body, and you felt like a giant hand was gently but firmly squeezing you, just until it became somewhat difficult to breathe. Fortunately for my vital organs, the odd ordeal came to a rapid close. I rematerialised. And only a few hundred metres in front of me lay the next obstacle on my way to the top. The Dreadnought Cruiser. I switched off the hyperdrive, and put the engine back into manual. I also extended the triggers for the two pairs of cannons. The lasers on this ship were arranged in an unusual way, to allow for increased power while performing complex maneuvers. There was a pair close together at the front, and a second pair spread out at the back. The torpedoes that accompany this specific model were in three launchers, also attached to the bottom of the ship. I check that all is safe. I like the procedures of flying. They feel natural and simple. I figure that a decent connection to the force and my strong natural talent would guide me through this task. The nine torpedoes are all ready for launch, the four guns are all primed for attack.

Then, out comes the first X-Wing. I know that in a one on one fight I have a serious advantage. I decide to test its skill. It swerves to the left to avoid repeat bursts of fire from my guns. I probe it for weaknesses. Surprisingly, it catches me off guard. It carves diagonally towards me, firing as it goes. I drop, forced into action, I roll around behind it, take advantage of my position, and open fire. I catch it directly in the engine. It spins off-course, and shatters into flame and sparks.
"Don't underestimate a program. Ever."
But then I do a little mathematics. I have to face another 20. Then a whopping 78 A-Wings and another 78 Defenders.... I don't think I could last that long. I begin to doubt myself. Nobody can fight that, that's practically a fleet. Just as this horrific thought creeps its way across my mind, the next wave arrives. A pair of them.

They meet my charge head on, they both split and bank around me, going for a flanking maneuver. If there were more of them, it could have worked. But by the time they're behind me, I've rolled upwards, unleashing fiery doom in short bursts. I perform a rolling sweep across them, pounding them to dust with all I can muster. Bits of X-Wing float of into the blackness. I turn on the targeting computer, just to make this task that little bit easier. I glance at my astromech, and give it orders to warn me should I miss a ship that is trying to flank me. A small sequence of light-hearted beeps are all I recieve as confirmation.

I begin to drift to the left, just as the trio pulls up towrds me, I dive and strafe to the left. I get a lock on the centre and starboard ships, and with one fluid motion, I obliterate them. I bank around to face the final ship. It appears a little nervous, perterbed by the sudden loss of all its support. I tail, it firing in small bursts... but it is surprisingly nippy and manages to keep off of my screens. Unfortunately for it, I know a few tricks too. I drop a good twenty metres, then come up again, it doesn't know where I am. Where I am is barely a few feet from its sensory array. I line up the easy shot. I take some unnerving pleasure from this position of power. At this range my concentrated fire quite literally tears the ship to pieces. In a beautifully tragic moment, it rips up all the way down to a molecular level.. or at least it seems like that. The droid informs me that it may be wise to turn off the targeting computer, but I ignore its advice... I have a plan.

The next four make their attempt. I immediately get a lock on the ship closest to me, but I do not fire... yet. Instead, I sweep across to the left, allowing the ships to follow me. I wait, just until the right moment, and then, I unleash almighty fury from my guns. My plan works perfectly. The ships had decided to tail me in formation, in a flat square. My guns were fired at exactly the right moment, one side was inflamed in the barrage, and that side collided violently with the still-moving other pair. This skirmish was over before it had begun. I ready myself for the next set.

Only eleven more X-Wings... easy.

The ships sweep out in perfect unison, forming a rather intimidating column. I rise steeply, then ignite boosters. I am propelled forward, my guns pounding terrifyingly. My sudden attack claims the first pair, but the final three are very fast to take evasive action. In an impressive coordinated moment, they all roll diagonally up, firing bursts at me, forcing me to keep the craft at a safe distance. They proceed to bank, and twist. A positive ballet of pointless maneuvers. In the agonising seconds it has taken them to face me, I've moved. I dived, and risen behind them, releasing a fiery death upon them, I relish the taste of the kill, I laugh and lick my lips.
My God, that felt good. Could I win this? Only 162 more ships to go through.

The prospect of another 6 of those is highly satisfying.

I check again that all is well, and look up in time to see the next step. The six X-Wings are coming at me in a very predictable formation. It is commonly known as the triangle because, the six ships have split up into pairs. One pair is leading and is slightly higher than the others, the remaining pairs are flanking directly behind. Predictability will be their downfall. I make a rough estimate at the distance between us. In about seven seconds the lead pair will drop suddenly to meet me head on, and the other ships will use the time gained to loop around behind me. I count silently in my head. three, two, one... NOW!

I strafe and roll, bringing the ship up to the pair on the left, I get a very easy lock on them, and unleash the fury of my guns. Sensing the other two pairs, I drop and twist sharply, letting off bursts of fire as I do. Just as they scatter, I charge. I carve my way through them like a knife through butter. I roll and my constant barrage catches two of them, their pieces drift off lazily. The final pair are no longer on the offensive... they have taken emergency procedures and are cowering before me. I have a target on one of them, but I want to get closer. I saver the precious moment before ending the ships that were foolish enough to try to run.

I let out a long gasp. Only now, can I see how much of a strain this has been putting on my body, both physically and mentally. I'm sweating, I'm shaking and my arms hurt. But I will persevere. I tell myself that I have to win, I have to.

No rest for the wicked I mutter, as a single A-Wing advances.

I curve down under it, and just as it pulls away from me, I roll and blast the craft away.

That felt very easy. Time for a little dessert. The next pair stumble out in front of me, no match for my cannons. Cutting directly behind them I get an easy lock. Two swift clicks of the trigger later, another three come out.

Unsurprisingly they go on the offensive and they try to perform strafing runs. But the last ship in the line is out of sync with the others, by seconds. I slip into the gap, mesmerisingly quickly, and eradicate the weakest of them. The two left curve around and I get a very warm feeling that they were not expecting to lose a third of their force so soon. I dive and twist up underneath them in the dangerous few seconds they took to turn. Both ships just manage to evade my targeting computer, but that doesn't mean that they can evade my guns. My furious barrage catches them both in the back, causing a positive cataclysm of death.

The next four sweep out before me. I cut straight through their midst, my surprise attack works and they scatter. I know that their strength lies in numbers, in single matches they are no contest for me. I lick the inside of my mouth with glee as I chase after the flankers. The ship on the far right is my target. I keep it from rising or falling with well-timed bursts from my primary guns, allowing my secondaries to lock on to the ship. Instead of firing immediately, I plan to destroy the others as well. I tail it, keeping it at a careful range, and I check my sensors. Good . The other ships are doing exactly as I had planned. They come to rescue their comrade. They all sweep underneath me, preparing to attack me from below. Instead of running, I wait. They rise, I stay. Just as they reach a certain distance, I unleash all power from my guns, and drop spraying destruction as I go. All of the ships are caught in the terrible blast, tearing them up into worthless pieces of junk.

I like this game I think to myself. I turn to face the next wave. Five more.

I dive for them, then strafe, fire and roll. Wiping the pair on the far left from existence. However the next three are extremely quick, and they all charge, firing deadly bursts as they go. I have to take emergency evasive action. I boost straight forward a good hundred feet, then backflip around and launch a pair of torpedoes. Just as they find their respective targets, I note that the ship is still working. The shields are damaged, but holding, the auxiliary engine is disabled, and the oil pressure is dangerously high, but these problems are negilgable. The final ship turns to face me. I steadily advance on it. But my arrogance is almost my downfall, as it cuts underneath me and fires, and it takes me a good few seconds to react. I drop, and sweep across it, eliminating it with my superior weaponry. I gasp for breath as I realise how close, one little ship, came to ending this exercise. Just as I regain composure, I note that the six A-Wings... are nowhere to be seen. I check the sensors, and I begin to understand, with dread. I turn, and they are all in formation directly before me.

GOD DAMN IT! I must remember, never ever get distracted. Something like that could get me killed out there. But I have not given up yet. I intend to go down fighting, if I'm going to lose then so are you. I launch all torpedoes, fire all guns and charge, fuelled by manic aggression and frustration. I cannot tell how many I destroyed, if any. All I can see is a blinding flash of light as this reality disappears, and a fuzziness as a new one forms. I cough and splutter, shaking from that final ordeal, as I am lowered from the simulating pod.

All I can think is... I'll be back.

Higurashi:

Spoiler: Click to View

I'm typing in some updates to my exercise with regards to the rule changes right now. I'm also attempting to get the picture, so it should be up by 8pm GMT.