Aayla, together with Master Tholme, watched the maneuvers of the reconnaissance fighters returning to refuel. Looking back, the Twi'lek sighed. They had been patrolling space for three days now, and so far they had not been able to detect any pirate ships. And all this time, Knight Vikt had been sitting there, deep in the command center, perched on one of the crates in a meditation pose, with only a few short breaks. His behavior was starting to annoy the woman a little—either because of his stubbornness or his phlegmatic nature.
"Master?" The small Togruta's concerned voice made everyone turn around.
The man slowly rose from the crate, a trickle of blood running from his nose, but he paid no attention to it.
"Knight Vikt, are you all righ—?.."
Instead of answering, the Jedi ran to the tactical table and activated it.
"Jump here! Quick! To this point!" He pointed to one of the nearby systems, enlarging it and highlighting an area near one of the planets.
"Roger that, sir! Initiating jump calculations!" replied the first lieutenant—his name seemed to be Cerri.
"Flight time: three hundred and sixteen seconds!"
"Lichtendal, ship to battle! Ahsoka, follow me!"
In an instant, Vikt and his apprentice disappeared into the elevator.
The Jedi exchanged glances.
"Master Saa, what was that?" Aayla asked.
"Something strange. It seems… he managed… to see something that disturbed him," Tra'Saa replied.
"Battle meditation?" Dark Woman asked in surprise.
"I'm not sure. I tried, but my efforts were fruitless," the Neti replied sorrowfully. "Especially with a Jedi of his level…"
Master Tholme took a small datapad from his belt, glanced at the screen, and chuckled.
"But he's from the Balance Corps."
Aayla tilted her head to one side, watching the smiles that appeared on the faces of the others.
"Eh, what does that mean?"
"Hmm, usually people who go there," the Jedi shrugged, "are extraordinary individuals whose behavior, at first glance, seems rather dubious and strange. Still, their skills make up for it. They… meditate for a long time. Very long—sometimes for days on end—merging with the Universe, feeling the flows of the Force. Sometimes they can see what is happening on the other side of the galaxy, and the strongest ones, from the Upper Circle, joining forces, can sometimes even see the future."
"Let's hope he's lucky," said the Dark Woman.
And then all they could do was wait.
Moments later, the ship emerged into the green sun system. A battle was raging right in front of them.
"Attention, releasing bombers! Lead pilot—General Vikt!"
Aayla and the other Jedi watched the crew's coordinated actions with detached focus.
"The bombers are away! The 'mosquitoes' are next!"
"There is interference!"
A striking red-haired girl with the rank of first lieutenant monotonously reported the incoming information:
"Enemies… initiating… confirmed. Three ships and forty-eight fighters. The first is a Diamond-class cruiser, Commercial Guild. Length—one hundred and twenty meters, width—five hundred and twenty-two. Armament—two medium laser cannons. No hangar. Analysis has revealed unaccounted structures: several additional guns, one medium-caliber ion cannon, and a protruding formation in the middle…"
"This is probably the very same gravity well projector," Tra'Saa muttered.
"...The other two ships are an HCT-2001 container ship and an YV-929 armed freighter. Starfighters—brand: Scarab-class. Control—live pilots. Two paired cannons each. Probably based on the container ship. Perhaps four of the twelve… correction, of the fourteen universal cargo boxes have been converted into hangars."
"Attack the enemy! Open fire!" commanded the ship's captain, who belonged to the Atoan race.
Green turbolaser bolts streaked toward the enemy ships.
"Attention, don't hit your own! Bombers are already attacking the enemy cruiser, course Three–Aurek–Zero!"
"We have contact with our ships!"
"Send out the ARC-170 group to cover the transports! Mosquitoes—two squadrons, cover the ship. The rest, assist our frigate!"
***
Three days… three fucking days I meditated, trying to use the Force to track down those asshole pirates… After nearly blowing my brains out, I finally felt something.
"Master, what's the plan?" asked my padawan, running beside me.
"Follow me to the left hangar! We're taking off in a bomber! As soon as the ship comes out of hyperspace, we launch! You'll be in the gunner's seat and cover our tail! I'm counting on you!"
"Wow!" It was obvious the girl was bursting with excitement and impatience. Well, she loved shooting just as much as she loved swinging a saber.
Flying into the hangar, where the alarm siren was already blaring, we ran toward the BTL-B.
"Sir, the bird is ready for takeoff! Ten proton torpedoes on the racks!" reported the technician standing by the ladder.
"All pilots, get ready!" I yelled, waving my arm over my head.
Jumping into the cockpit, I put on my headset and began issuing orders.
"All bombers, this is General Vikt. Prepare for takeoff. Two-Zero-Two, you will lead the half-squadron on the starboard side. The rest, follow me!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Roger that!"
"Master, I'm ready!"
"Excellent. By the way, the turret rotates three hundred and sixty degrees, so you can fire forward!"
"That's great!.." the Togruta replied cheerfully.
A few minutes of tense waiting passed, and the hangar doors swung open.
"Let's go!" I commanded, lifting the machine and pushing the throttle to the floor. The bomber leapt forward eagerly. I banked, and we were already skirting the Acclamator's hull, breaking out into open space.
Right in front of us, a scene of fierce battle unfolded. One frigate—the Pelta—was fighting back with its last ounce of strength… What the hell is this mess?
As we flew closer, my mind rapidly analyzed the situation.
So, that incomprehensible thing was a Diamond-class cruiser—a multifunctional ship of the Commercial Guild, designed to transport valuable cargo, escort convoys, and deliver combat droids to collect debts from defaulters. During the Clone Wars, Diamonds were mostly used as landing ships, as they were capable of taking off and landing faster than C-9979 landing craft, which was crucial when delivering troops to a planet.
Judging by the rate of fire, this was one of the modernized variants—additional weapons and upgraded generators. And the ugly superstructure jutting out from the middle clearly indicated a gravity well projector.
The other two ships were unfamiliar. One was a long brute resembling a container ship; the other, a pot-bellied transport bristling with cannons. Nothing remarkable. But then there were the fighters circling the frigate…
I was surprised to recognize the Scarab—an antique nearly seventy years old, yet still a dangerous one. Light, fast, maneuverable, and, most importantly, cheap, the Scarab fighter was the predecessor and prototype of the Vulture, currently in service with the Trade Federation. It had originally been designed for live pilots, but when the Trade Federation began purchasing the model, they installed droid pilot brains instead. Unlike Vultures, the Scarab possessed a higher degree of autonomy. But this particular modification was flown by live pilots. I could feel it.
Meanwhile, the pirates finally came to their senses and began to stir. Well, yeah—it's not like you're three against one anymore.
"Attention! Attack the lead ship! Two-Zero-Two, you take the container ship!"
Then the "voice of God," in the form of Sumeragi, joined in.
"I recommend approaching from the stern. They have no weapons there."
"Roger that! Do we have contact with the frigate?"
"I'm transferring you," Mirro reported.
"Frigate Pelta, this is General Vikt calling!"
"Second Lieutenant Antilles here. Good to see you, sir!"
"Cut the sentimentality. Focus your fire on the smaller ship. We'll handle the rest!"
The Scarabs surged toward us, trying to block our advance, but I didn't care. A powerful deflector shield allowed us to ignore their fire, and I vaporized one idiot into atoms who attempted a frontal attack with two medium blaster cannons. Snips "calmed" two more, and then we punched through to the cruiser.
Ten torpedoes, launched with intervals of just a few milliseconds, slammed into the hull one after another, triggering a series of spectacular explosions. Torpedoes from the remaining Y-wings finished the job.
The entire battle lasted five minutes.
The second half of the squadron destroyed the container ship, while the Pelta finished off the transport. The Acclamator contributed as well. The Actis, keeping pace and without losing a single machine, mopped up the remaining enemy fighters.
Escape pods began launching from the pirate ships.
"Lichtendal, send out the shuttles and recover a couple of those lifeboats."
"I've already given the order, General."
"Good."
"Well, Master, shall we head back to the ship?" the girl asked.
"Yes."
Notes:P@treon: /SadRaven
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