Resurgence - Director Ricky "Fireball" Lutz
Director Ricky "Fireball" Lutz
Director Ricky Lutz earned his nickname a few years into his career as an aerospace pilot. The Outworlds Alliance had good relations with independent worlds in the periphery, Spinward of the capital world. When Clan Snow Raven melded with the Outworlds Alliance, the Khan saw fit to continue those positive relationships.
Ricky Lutz had been in love with the Hellcat aerospace fighter before he even tested to become a pilot. After a few years, he was finally able to pilot one. He took to it very quickly and it went with him on a temporary duty station in the periphery. While stationed there he immersed himself in the local culture and melded well with the people. Taking that influence back with him, he customized his personal flight gear so that he could embrace those memories.
The Raven Alliance did a significant amount of economic purchases from the world and it was in both the Alliance and the world’s best interests to ensure the show of force to prevent raids by pirates. Well, his time came one day to defend the world. His lance of fighters was a mix, higher ups were trying to influence small unit compositions to have more capabilities with less.
One day a dropship emerged from behind the planet’s moon. Hails from the planetary service station went unanswered and the Alliance CO ordered his lance to intercept. No jumpships had arrived in system recently so the dropship had been present for at least a short while. Ricky Lutz engaged the dropship and the lance of fighters protecting it. At first the lance composition seemed to be working but things spun out of control.
As his lance engaged the small fleet, they got some strong initial shots on the attacking forces, motivation and morale were high. However, the response was devastating, two of his lancemates were shot down in the time it took them to bring down only one of the enemies. Calming down and pulling back to range, it took some time but, Lutz and his remaining lancemate took down two more fighters.
As they re-engaged the one remaining enemy fighter, both his lancemate and the enemy fighter collided, leaving only him and the enemy dropship as the dropship was now breaching the atmosphere. It had taken some damage but, nothing that was critical.
On his own and the one possible chance to stop this attack by a force that could overrun the local garrison, he pressed hard. Pulling off every maneuver he could figure out between barrel rolls and jinking, he was hammering the Union over and over. First, he took out a number of the hull mounted weapons. Then, he began chewing through the hull with his laser array.
On the surface, a news crew was recording the fighter dodging waves of fire from the union as it burned into the atmosphere. A huge ball of fire, followed by a smaller one that was aggressively pursuing.
Ricky could hear the groaning of the Hellcat as he pushed it far beyond its normal capabilities, stressing the hull to the max. But, he kept pursuing, kept hitting. Missiles were exploding on his fighter and lasers were gouging his armor but he kept pushing.
Finally, he began to breach the hull, then the ship began rotating. Clearly, he penetrated deep enough that the ship was going to try to accelerate away. But, that was their undoing. He took aim at the dropship’s thrusters and while they were melting part of the front of his fighter, he was ripping into them. One by one, they shook and stopped functioning, a couple of explosions going off.
Then the Union dropship started to roll uncontrollably. Sections of the hull began falling off, creating their own little fireballs. As it exited the atmosphere, it was still burning, trailing smoke. Moving far too fast and eventually slammed into the ground in the wilderness with zero survivors.
However, Ricky had pushed his Hellcat too far. It was critical across the fighter’s body. One of his thrusters was offline and most of his weapons had melted from the heat of the atmosphere, firing, and the dropship’s thrusters. The garrison could not contact him and it seemed like all was lost as the fighter continued to rocket in, losing altitude.
Turns out Lutz was gliding the fighter in with minimal thrust from the remaining engine, seemingly from sheet willpower. The landing was rough as the landing gear did not deploy from damage, however, he was able to land it, sliding across the tarmac. When he emerged, the media teams were already nicknaming him Fireball.
That Hellcat was stored in a local museum, in the condition it landed in. He was given a new Hellcat to replace it and his skills have only grown.
***
Last Ricky “Fireball” Lutz was seen, he was critical in the defense of Rudolpho, leading the aerospace attack that guided the jumpship Athena away from the world. With the Athena’s jump, a warning of the Word of Blake attack made it to Alpheratz, where Raven Alliance units could be recalled. Because of that warning, the Raven Alliance was able to present a significant show of force.
However, contact was lost with Ricky Lutz after the jump. His status is currently unknown.
Heroes and Villains of Resurgence