*ACTION* Make the push

<OOC - Davie, if you tag someone the polite thing to do is to give them chance to respond before dismissing it. You only posted yesterday, it was this morning before I even had chance to read it! Some of us have jobs, pregnant wives, cats and home-improvements to worry about!>

Jay's fingers opened then closed as they wrapped themselves around the control stick of the Phoenix.
The fit was so natural, behind the controls of a spacecraft was where Jay Chrysler was supposed to be. Like night following day, it was one of those things that nature dictated. It had been a while since Jay had flown on an actual mission, but here, now, was probably the most important flight he'd ever make.
"Everyone aboard?" he asked as the hatch raised and sealed itself. Jayne, sitting herself down in the co pilots seat nodded. She placed a hand on Jays arm. "how you holding up, boss?" she asked tenderly.
"Been better..." he replied "but it's not about me...it's about everyone they've ever hurt..." his face softened for a moment as he looked into his clones caring eyes. "Thanks.." he said "for sticking by me..."
Jayne smiled, and sat back as Jay pushed the throttle sending the Phoenix hurtling out of the shuttle bay where it moved to the front of the squadron of starbugs, cargo shuttles, light transports and fighters from all the gathered ships that made up the fleet.
"Ok guys..." he said into the intercom "You have your coordinates, take 'em in...Amber, be prepared to engag....."
He didn't get to finish his sentence, the Hymenoptera had detected the human's and launched a squadron to intercept them. The lead ship opened fire, plasma bolts flaring from it's cannons, and ripping through the starbug that had been alongside the Phoenix.
"Smeg..." Jay exclaimed as he rolled the Phoenix hard to the left to avoid getting pelted with shrapnel from the exploding spaceship. More ships were destroyed, as those who were quick enough to react broke formation and rolled, dived and weaved in all directions.
Amber, in the Vespidae soared overhead, leading a wing of Space Eagles who quickly engaged the hymenoptera in dogfights, granting the nuclear convoy some breathing space to re-form.
"Jay!" Jayne yelled "Look!" she was pointing ahead.
"Crap...." Jay muttered as he saw what his clone was pointing at, they hadn't expected this..the de-cloaking ahead were dozens of hymenoptera defence platforms, organic satellites that were bristling with weaponry, surrounding the entire planet.
"BREAK THROUGH!" Jay ordered to his squadron "WE have to get past them somehow! Open fire with everything you have!"
The Phoenix's cannons wound up, spinning for a few revolutions before opening fire, high-caliber bullets ripped into the first satellite, tearing it apart. Two more satellites were taken out by the other craft, and a fourth by a Hymenoptera fighter that spun out of control, it's engines ablaze, having been shot down by Amber, and crashed into a satellite.
"Nearly there!" Jay said, his teeth gritted, and his knuckles white as he steered the Phoenix.
The missile lock alarm sounded, and Jay rolled the craft deftly to one side as a Hymenopteran missle sailed past.
"Easy..." Jay said smugly "Come on bugs, at least give me a challenge!"
The missle lock alarm sounded again, and Jay glanced fleetingly at the panel, then did a double take.
"Smeg..."
"What?" Jayne asked
"I never thought I'd say this....but everyone to the escape pods!"
"What...why?"
"Because we have 12 missiles locked onto us, that's too many for even me to avoid...they obviously knew I was coming..."
"But,.."
"ESCAPE PODS NOW!"
"What about you?!"
"I'll be right behind you!"
Jayne and the rest of the crew in the Phoenix ran to the escape pods, and launched immediately.
Jay unstrapped himself from the pilots seat and ran over to the nuclear warhead, that was on an anti-grav platform in the centre of the cabin, reaching into a panel on the floor, he opened up the ship's grappler maintenance hatch, and using a plasma cutter, stored in the locker, sliced through the cables tether, he fixed the end to the warhead, and quickly unravelled a length of the cable, slicing through it once he was happy with the length he sliced through it again, and fixed it to one of the last remaining escape pods docking clamp before climbing into the pod. He took one last look at his beloved Blue Midget's interior, and hit the pod's launch button. The doors hissed shut firmly, and he felt a juddering as the pod disengaged, his view quickly changed from and interior to an exterior view of the Phoenix as the pod accelerated away, yanking the tethered nuclear warhead with it. 12 hymenoptera missles caught up to the Phoenix, and detonated, filling the pod's small window with a view of a large explosion.
The Phoenix, was gone.

<Tag / TBC feel free to post your involvement in the battle, (maybe you're in one of the ships that made it through to the surface) but no-one rescue Jay or Jayne!>