The Hammerheads formed up, their barriers still standing, but deteriorating. Hoves glanced at his holocom's chronometer, watching the agonizing passage of a single second, before focusing back on the battle. Two of the Coronas were boarded. Each ship was several hundred meters in diameter, with a number of branching passageways running through them. Assuming everything went perfectly, Hoves knew the Guard could clear a similar sized building in ten minutes.
But they didn't need to clear the ships, just cripple them. Their primary targets would be the voidkin on the bridge, but if that was unreachable then they would target the engines. In the worst case, they were to storm gunnery.
Ship warfare was different from ground warfare; less like combat with the men, almost more like hunting. It took patience, observation, and timing. When fighting men, a simple blade and some aggression could carry the day if things went well, but to charge headlong after the Skraa-bird in the brush would only leave you tired.
If the Rider's shields fell, the missiles from the Coronas would slay them in the blink of an eye. For the moment, the two fleets were at a distance from each other, twisting and writhing in long arcs to avoid fire, while firing in turn. It seemed like the enemy wasn't willing to close the distance, though Hoves wasn't quite sure why. Up close, the enemy would have the most advantage, but then It would be natural for the voidkin to not like or trust each other. Perhaps they were simply cowards.
Each of the Corona's was marked on his tactical display, too far away and too small to be visible to the naked eye, but marked as a red crosshair. Labeled as C1, C2, and C3, Hoves could also see which ones the men were currently aboard. C1 was the current primary target, his ships concentrating fire on it because it was the one his own men weren't aboard. His fleet's coordination seemed to be working in his favor, as C1 pulled away to more easily evade incoming fire.
Then, all of a sudden, C3's canons stopped firing. The ship was still maneuvering towards the planet, but an encrypted message was suddenly sent to the SHG Rider, confirming the ship had been taken.
"Close distance with C1." Hoves ordered his fleet. "Maintain fire patterns."
"Copy."
"Right away."
C1 realized it was being chased, and sensors showed it was now starting to engage its hyperdrive.
"C3 is maneuvering towards us." Someone called out, and Hoves glanced away to see he was right. That was the Princess's ship.
There was some excited chatter about adding the captured ship to their defense fleet.
"The battle's not over yet!" Hoves barked and the bridge fell silent. "The Princess has fulfilled her duty, now focus on yours!" To break off from C1 would give it a chance to escape.
The Coronas were slower than the Hammerhead's outside of hyperspace, and with his cruisers closing in on C1, at last its shield flicked and fell under concentrated fire. Plasma pockmarked the ship's hull, as a trail of fragments drifted behind it, bodies of the crew visible among the debris. It was bleeding now wounded prey leaking its life's essence, hopelessly seeking shelter in the underbrush, and Hoves couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.
"C2 is activating its hyperdrive!" A voice called out.
Gon and his team were still aboard that ship. Hoves rolled the stainer on his tongue, torn for a moment between finishing off the crippled C1 and trying to save those men, but realizing there was nothing he could do. Was he supposed to blast at C2 with his men still aboard?
"Archer, break off and follow C2." Hoves commanded. "Wherever it jumps, follow it, but hold your fire. We'll pick up our boys later."
"Copy." Hoves replied, before turning his ship around to chase his target.
He might not be able to save those men with his blasters, but he'd give his flesh to the village butcher before he let them be sold in Hutt Space!
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, and what had to be more than a dozen direct hits, the heavily armored C1 lost power. It drifted through space, a cloud of oxygen trailing behind it, as the Rider and the Watcher broke off their attack, and turned around.
Too late though, as C2 was able to jump away, followed shortly by the Archer.
Hoves finally caught up to C2 and the missing men twenty minutes after the battle stopped. It had been the Jedi who sent the report. They'd taken the bridge, though with plenty of casualties.
It was a relief for sure, to recover the surviving guards alive. On their way back to Serenno, he quickly typed up his report for the Princess. It was a victory today, and Hoves relished a successful hunt.
...
Tan'ya was shocked when she got the casualty report. Of the fifty men who made it aboard C2, only seventeen had come back uninjured. Even Colonel Gon Seith had been seriously injured, all but losing a hand. Her crew hasn't escaped unscathed either, despite her best efforts.
She'd known that storming the enemy ships would be a deadly operation, and that the casualties would be high, but seeing it in front of her, layed out so starkly, was… upsetting. What a waste. What a terrible waste of good men.
Not without any other choice would Tan'ya ever-
Then she stopped herself before she made a promise she couldn't keep. The operation had been a complete success, despite the high casualty rate. The two Coronas they captured intact were a fine prize, rugged ships well suited to the Outer Rim, and from an independent subcontractor well known for their reliable parts. They had some nice firepower, and would augment the Serenno House Fleet.
The problem wasn't that the guard had stormed the enemy ship, it was that they had done so while poorly prepared. With better boarding vessels, weapons better suited for the task, smoke grenades, flashbangs and armor that could take even a single extra blaster round, the casualties suffered today could've been cut in half.
Victory in battle didn't mean the end of war, just that you would survive to see the next one. There was still a lot to do, but once all the prisoners were stowed away and the Coronas were ready to move, Tan'ya would be able to return home.
For now, she quickly wrote up an after action report in bullet points and sent it to her father. She had just finished pulling her captured Corona in formation with the returning Archer, Rider and the second commandeered pirate ship, when she received a call on her ship's holocom from her father.
When she answered, holographic images sprang to life around her, not just of the Count, but Duke Harad, Duchess Satine, Queen Amidala, Master Narec, and Hego Damask were all present. It made sense all the major heads of their alliance would be in a meeting during the first crisis their fledgling empire faced, though they gave no hint of what they had been discussing previously.
"Make your report Tan'ya, we can hear it verbally." Dooku quickly explained to her.
Was he trying to show off to them?
Clamping down her annoyance, Tan'ya quickly explained. "The House Fleet was engaged by three armed Corona frigates, of which two were boarded and captured by the House Guard. The third attempted to flee, but was destroyed." Tan'ya hesitated, before adding. "The House Guard took heavy casualties in the operation."
"Good stuff." Duke Harad congratulated in his chair. "Well done girl, did you command that?"
"Yes, I did, Your Majesty."
"I'll send you a box of cigars." Then he noticed the annoyed look Dooku sent him and added, "Chocolates, then."
"Thank you, Sir, but victory was only possible because of the information you shared with my father, regarding the enemy's plan."
"Ha! Well, at least I learned something useful while my shipyards were getting bombed." Harad grunted, before lighting a cigar, the burning tip glitching out his holographic image for a moment. "Well, what are we going to do now? We're at war, we don't have a fleet we can retaliate with, and they're bound to hit us again."
"We're stable here for now." Duchess Satine answered. "Our domed cities are shielded, and our Protectors were able to drive away the enemy." She hesitated, then added. "I'm afraid they might try to send infiltrators or saboteurs for us next time. We might not have the numbers to repel such a force so easily, if they disperse through the undercity."
"The Temple was well protected. They didn't even try. It's almost a shame; we didn't get a chance to test out the new fighters Mr Damask donated." Ky nodded towards Hego. "And we're more than capable of facing a ground assault."
"This was merely a probing strike." Dooku said, and Tan'ya nodded her head in agreement. "They will return with greater numbers, forces, and resolve soon."
"This was clearly the work of a Hutt." Harad pointed out.
"But which Hutt?" Amidala asked.
"I believe I can be of some assistance here." Hego Damask said. "I have a number of well paid informants in Hutt Space."
"They weren't able to tell us about this attack before it happened though." Duke Harad pointed out flippantly, then blew a smoke ring.
"Indeed." Damask replied, darkly puffing on his own respirator. "I will inform you of what they tell me soon. The other Banking Clan directors have just called me to an emergency meeting of their own, in response to my investments being attacked. I must go now."
"Thank you, Mr Damask." Amidala told him politely. "We will be grateful for whatever you share."
Hego nodded once, then hung up.
"I have my own contacts and Hunters to dispatch." Dooku said. "Tan'ya, begin debriefing the captured pirates, and see what you can learn. In particular, we need a target to strike back at."
"Yes, father. We were able to capture the jump computers intact, so we have a good idea of where they came from."
"Very good. Share the data with the Advisory and we'll see if we can find somewhere to strike back at." Then he hung up.
Amidala and Satine both dropped out at that point, leaving Tan'ya with Duke Harad.
He stared at her displayed image for a moment. "How old are you again?"
"I'm eight years old."
He nodded at that, still regarding her. He took another puff of his cigar, then said. "You should marry my son. He's only a year younger than you."
Tan'ya blinked. Her mind raced with images, the idea of being engaged to a child repulsing her to the point where her skin crawled. After swallowing down a much sharper response, she replied, "I'm sorry, Sir, but that's not a decision I can make."
Harad barked out a laugh. "Well, maybe in a decade or so, huh? Let me know how your interrogation goes." Then he hung up, leaving Tan'ya alone with increasingly dark thoughts regarding the captive pirates, and their comrades' inevitable return.
...
Apparently, chapters write themselves faster when Power Stones are involved. Who knew? Feel free to test the theory go ahead, toss a few my way.
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