Chap. 38 - Back to Action

In the present time.

B1: - Commander, we are ready to leave the planet's atmosphere. -

Icarus: - Understood. Engines to all machines. -

B1: - Roger. Roger.

The Munificent's powerful thrusters shook the ground and created strong gusts of wind that shook the vegetation and the dome walls hard. Those who were close enough had to cover their faces to prevent any object from hitting their eyes, while they felt the gusts shake their clothing. When the gale stopped tossing over the great plains, they could look up to see the huge ship ascending into the void of space, trailing thick white smoke behind it. Meanwhile, in the cabin of the Bountiful:

Doom: - Commander. We have turbulence, but nothing out of the parameters. -

Icarus: - Stay the course. Let the speed remain constant. -

Doom: - Understood. -

The Munificent cut through the many atmospheric layers one by one as flames formed visibly over the entire upper hull of the ship, but nothing to threaten its integrity. And after a final strong jolt, the huge ship finally reached the weightlessness of the outer void.

B1: - Commander. We have left Gwori's orbit. No damage detected. -

Ícaro: - Excellent. -

The droid turned, seeing a large group of thirty engineers standing behind the captain's chair inside the control room. They could not contain their excitement for a long time, clearly visible that they had many doubts if the ship could once again sail through the sea of ​​stars. -

Icarus: - Gentlemen. They already know what to do. Go to their posts and find out that everything works as it should. -

Engineers: - Yes, sir. - They shouted in unison.

The crowd left the command post, leaving only Icarus, Mirana, Doom, the B1 droids in charge of piloting the ship, and Wag Too, who was speaking on the comlink.

Wag Too: - Yes, honey. We managed to reach the atmosphere. It seems there won't be any problems... Of course... Yes... Yes... We'll return as soon as possible... Yes... Yes!... - He exclaimed at the end.

Icarus: - Wag Too. We are ready to go. - He told the lurmen.

Wag Too: - I have to go now. - He continued speaking through the communicator. - Yes I love you too. A kiss. - And finally hung up. - All set, comrade. -

Icarus: - Why does it seem like your IQ drops every time you talk to Mayor Miraj? -

The droid asked suddenly, causing the lurmen to be unable to hide his embarrassment at such tactless words, which caused Mirana to be unable to hold back a thunderous laugh.

Icarus: - Very good. Get ready to jump. Are we still getting the distress signal? -

Doom: - Affirmative. The coordinates appear to have not changed. -

Icarus: - Understood. Ready to jump. -

Doom and the other B1 droids: - Roger. Roger. -

After pressing a few buttons, the Munificent's hyperdrive began to heat up as it began to make that characteristic hum. And after a few seconds, the ship shot off at the awesome speed of light.

https://youtu.be/6ga4IICXyCE

Mirana: - Don't we have more information about it? - He asked as they approached the place in question.

Doom: - Negative. We only know that it is a civilian transport that is being attacked by pirates. -

Icarus: - Very good. We will proceed according to plan. Mirana, go to your ship. -

Mirana: - On my way. -

Icarus: - Alpha unit, Delta unit, report. - He spoke on the comm.

Alpha: - We are in position. -

Icarus: - Understood. -

Doom: - Commander. Leaving hyperspace in three... two... one. -

As the OOM unit finished its countdown, the brilliant white streaks left behind by the light being pierced at high speed suddenly dissipated. Two ships could be seen in the distance, one much larger than the other.

The smaller one was clearly a civilian transport. A CSS-1 Corellian star shuttle. A model for the transport of passengers, of an opaque matte red color, but devoid of any type of defense. Which made her easy prey for any vermin that caught her on their radar.

The other was an older model, but much larger. Its geometric lines were straight, not like the smooth curves of the Corellian shuttle. Its Gray Hue hid very well behind the darkness of space, but its silhouette was clearly visible before the Munificent's scanners. It was nothing more and nothing less than an old Kandosii Battleship. A living relic of the ancient Mandalorian Wars.

Doom: - There are no strange movements on the part of the hostile ship. -

Ícaro: - Well, it seems that they haven't detected us. -

Wag Too: - Those bastards. They are shooting at civilians. - He said after appreciating the small discharges of red energy that impacted the fuselage of the Corellian ship.

Icarus: - They are not lethal shots. They just want to scare them into giving up. He paused briefly. - Very good. To all batteries! Open fire on the hostile ship! Be careful not to harm civilian transport! -

All B1: - Roger. Roger. -

The Munificent's dozens of batteries began firing on the unprotected hull of the pirate ship. When trying to board the civilian ship, the pirates had to lower their shields to get closer, and without having the slightest suspicion of the shadow that stalked them from the darkness of space, they could not realize what had happened until it was too late.

The heavy blasters hit the gray fuselage of the Kandosii battleship, something old and battered by the passing of time, and with a visible level of abandonment on the part of its crew. After all, pirates weren't very famous for taking care of their ships.

Several explosions were visible above the hull of the pirate ship from a distance just seconds into the fight. Damaged the hull enough before her guns could return fire. The few turbolasers that could barely return fire were dwarfed by the Munificent's deflector shield.

Doom: - Sir. Looks like we've damaged the prime mover. -

Icarus: - Very good. Mirana, commando units, it's your turn. -

Mirana and Delta: - Understood. - They said over the communicator.

From inside the hangars of the Munificent two ships took off, much smaller in size compared to the pristine one that transported them. The first was the Kestrel Nova, now a different color, and flown by Alpha and Delta. Inside, two small squadrons of commando units waited patiently under the orders of the droids programmed by Icarus.

The other was a Trident ship, Mirana's personal ship that she used when she worked as a bounty hunter during the Clone Wars. Now with a modified design, and some accessories that she personally installed to better fulfill her missions.

Mirana: - We are ready for extraction. - He spoke on the comm.

Icarus: - Very good. Proceed with discretion. -

The Trident ship manned by Mirana took the lead, closely followed by the Kestrel Nova. The pirate ship's anti-fighter fire blasters passed dangerously close, but their previously small numbers would not be a problem. Then, from inside the Kandosii, a dozen fighter ships took off. Each of different models, they were small and light, with enough firepower to engage in close combat.

Mirana: - They took the bait. - He said with a mischievous voice. - units, Vulture! Now! -

The Kestrel Nova's cargo hold hatch opened, revealing the blue energy field that contained the pressure within the ship. Inside, the Vulture fighters, gave a small hop to their dogfight form, and flew ahead of the group at high speed.

The pirates weren't expecting this ploy, and two of them went down instantly with the first exchange of blasters as they flew head-on into each other. The Trident ship and the Kestrel Nova continued on their way, cutting through the anti-fighter fire coming from the pirate battleship, ignoring the fighters behind them. After all, they had another mission.

However, a close combat was fought between both battle fronts. The pirate fighters had some skill and combat experience, but they were no match for the dexterity and speed of the two Vulture droids. After a few long months of programming by Icarus, those two droid units could take on a Jedi general and be on equal footing. Of course, it was only a matter of time before the enemy fighters fell one by one between the combined fire of the Vulture units and the anti-fighter fire of the Munificent.

Mirana: - Commander. We are in position. - It was heard over the loudspeaker.

From the safety of the Munificent's command post, Icarus could watch as Mirana's Trident ship attached its four legs to the Corellian shuttle as the Kestrel Nova pushed it out of Munificent's blaster fire.

Mirana: - Commander. The civilian ship suffered too much damage. In his current state he will be unable to resume his path. I doubt it will be able to reach the nearest planet. -

Icarus: - Understood. How many knows how many civilians are on board? -

Mirana: - The flight officer is informing me that there are at least three thousand. Maybe more. -

Icarus: - There are too many for them all to fit on the Kestrel Nova. He paused to compute on a plan. - Very good. Escort the ship to the nearest planet. Let the Kestrel Nova pull it at sublus speed. -

Mirana: - Understood. -

From a distance, Icarus could see the three ships move away from the battlefield, disappearing into the darkness of outer space. Leaving only the Munificent, and the badly damaged Kandosii ship, which could barely turn away from exposing the damaged sector.

Doom: - Commander. The enemy ship tries to escape. Do we shoot him? -

Icarus: - Negative. With the hyperdrive damaged, they won't be able to escape us. All power to the frontal shields! Full throttle engines! -

Doom and the B1 droids: - Roger. Roger.

Despite the pirate ship's pathetic attempts to hold off the Munificent, the energy shield was perfectly capable of absorbing the shots. With her engines running at barely 10% capacity, it was only a matter of time before the Munificent caught up with the Kandosii battleship. And once positioned just alongside, thousands of metal hooks were launched, piercing the battleship's hull, joining the two ships as one solid object, while a long conduit stretched from the Munificent to one of the Kandosii's access bays.

Doom: - Commander, the link is stable. -

Icarus: - Very good. Prepare the troops. Let's board the enemy ship. -