After the crew meeting, the Wolves had peeled off to the hangar to prepare for the mission. After a quick eval, Krystina determined that there wasn't enough time for any performance tweaks to be made on the fighters without potentially compromising them in case of a deployment. So instead, she and her squad got to work on the paint modifications, taking on any help from crew members that were lingering around the hangar looking for work.

As soon as the Durendal had made contact with the pirate ship, the Wolves began prepping for deployment. They worked themselves into their respective flight suits and cockpits, beginning the start-up sequence for launch. Krystina glanced from squad member to squad member, waiting intently for the all-clear to launch. She couldn't help but smirk at her squad; they had adjusted each of their positions slightly so they would launch from the hangar in formation. That's why she picked these people, Krystina thought, as she received the all-clear to launch from the bridge.

Wolf Squad began powering up the starfighters at Jon's first call for them to scramble, and were already on their way out of the hangar at Jude's recommendation to launch.

"Wolf Zero, away."

"Wolf Three is backing her up."

"Wolf One is out the door."

"And Wolf Two is covering his ass."

"Durendal, please copy that Wolf Squad is away and beginning aerial defense of the ship," Krystina reported in to the bridge. Considering the captain was joining the boarding party, the fighter squadron was likely reporting to either the XO or the helmsman. It didn't matter; somebody was going to be on the other end to respond.

On her heads-up display, the names of her squadmates popped up in the corner, a dim glow outlining each name as they spoke.

Wolf One lit up first: "Zero, what's our goal here? Are we playing offense or defense, today?"

Krystina fumbled options around in her head for a split second. "I'm calling defense so we can thin out the herd. Keep the attention off the Durendal; I don't want the ship taking any shots that we can divert. After that, it's captain's call from there," Krystina responded. "I don't think I need to call any kind of formation for these rookies. We're dealing with pirates, here, kids. Wolf One, you do as you will, Wolf Two will cover you. Marina, you're with me." At that, Krystina and Brandon peeled their fighters off in opposite directions, Marina and Jason following their respective leads.

Krystina and Marina opted to veer hard to their left, pulling out five enemy fighters from the main group in pursuit. Brandon took the remaining seven head-on, with Jason dipping underneath the pirates' formation and popping back up behind them, effectively trapping the pirates in a crossfire between the two ESC fighters.

Krystina reverted her attention back to her situation at hand. She had Marina at her eight o'clock, and five pirate fighters scattered behind her in various positions. "Wolf Three, dip out of formation for a split." Marina ducked to the left accordingly, and Krystina slammed on the reverse thrusters. She watched in amazement as the pirates shot past her in pursuit of Marina and chuckled. They fell for the easiest bait there was. She shot some laser cannon fire in their direction, her shots bouncing off the pirates' shields. One of her shots penetrated the shield and landed itself on a thruster, the fighter lighting up into an instantaneous ball of flame before the vacuum of space put out the fire and left naught but the empty shell of a fighter.

"Wolf Zero recording one down. Eleven to go," Krystina called in, only to hear in quick response, "Make that ten, Zero. One and Two bagged another."

"Easy pickings. We'll have these guys rounded up in no time," Marina called in. Krys could almost see the joy in her voice; Marina loved an easy housecleaning.

Krystina called into the bridge, "Durendal, confirm two hostiles down. While we're at it, what do you want us to do once the rodents are dealt with?"