Like the Colonel says in the briefing, this mission is coming down to the wire. The Marines are planetside, but at least one has been detected by the cats. They’re moving to reinforce the planetary troops, and it’s our job to ensure that doesn’t happen. Oh, joy.
Bar chatter before the mission is pretty subdued. Pilots have an eight hour bottle to throttle rule, which, incidentally, is the same as the actual FAA regulation on the subject. Turns out Bluehair is a British Tea guy when something stronger isn’t an option. Who knew? Talking to Knight, and he’s decided to pass on the flight instructor assignment and keep flying combat missions with the Claw. That’s understandable, although Knight probably would have made a good IP.
The mission itself is to knock out the troop transports that are trying to reinforce the Kilrathi position in Firekka. Mostly just Salthi and Dralthi for escort fighters, plus a couple of Hhriss lurking amongst the rocks. Difficult, to be sure, but far from the worst we’ve faced. Especially when we’re flying the old, reliable Raptor.