Lucky Strike (A Star Wars SI)

[MarkWarrior]

Chapter 5

"Captain, dropping out of hyperspace in thirty seconds," I reported, resisting the urge to wipe sleep from my eyes.

"Franz, please have the communications suite ready," Teskit nodded. "I expect we'll have to explain our brief delay."

Just as he predicted, as soon as the streaks of light reformed into individual stars, we were hailed from multiple different sources.

"Sir, multiple hails. The Corellian PDF is hailing us and asking for our Republic ID and system access authorization," Franz said. "And Commodore Dao is asking to speak to you directly.

"Send the authorization protocols and the ship's designation," Teskit replied. "Then accept the hail from Dao."

I kept an eye on the sensor feeds. Corellia was a large hub of trade for the Core, and despite space being massive, the way that you kept things from getting congested in space was to have specific lanes broadcast from the space version of air traffic control towers.

"Lieutenant Teskit, you're fourteen hours behind schedule," I grimaced at the way the commodore pronounced the word, but listened instead of commenting as the Lieutenant responded.

"Unfortunately, the Pathfinder's hyperdrive had received damage that we hadn't identified in the immediate aftermath of our previous battle," Teskit stated, his gray eyes not wavering from the hologram. "We attempted to repair it, but in the end had to scuttle the ship to ensure that it didn't fall into enemy hands."

"Regardless of your reasons," Dao sighed. "You're here now. Fall into formation alongside the Starfury. The Hydra and Ardent are the other two ships of this battlegroup. We will make up the escort of this convoy and others for the foreseeable future."

I took note of that and checked the sensors until I found the Arquitens listed under that ID tag, surrounded by assorted freighters that I assumed we were the escorts for. But I waited for the Lieutenant to give the order. I knew that initiative was a good thing, but I didn't have confirmation on our access to Corellia, and I hadn't received the appropriate path to use through the system itself yet.

"Once we receive the go ahead from the Corellian system control, we'll join the battlegroup," Teskit replied. "Is there any further information that I should be informed of?"

"We have a Jedi Commander," the Commodore shrugged. "Jedi Knight Kalyna Durald has taken command of the limited starfighters among our battlegroup. I believe you won't have a problem given your experience with the Order." Dao's head shifted to something on his ship before he refocused on the communications. "That will be all, Lieutenant."

With a quick touch of the controls, Franz ended the transmission before speaking.

"Sir, we've received authorization and a designated path through the system," She reported. "I've forwarded the requested path to Ensign Hull."

"You heard the Commodore, Ensign." Teskit's gaze turned to me at the con. "Bring us into formation with the Starfury. Ensure that we do not deviate from the path given."

Sending the secondary calculations to the Clones that had replaced the droids as my copilots, we quickly charted the course and began heading into the system.

It was funny, I'd been worried about them not being as efficient as the droids. But they'd blown my expectations out of the water after spending the last few days working closely with them. Admittedly, naming them was a bit of a problem, but we quickly had a name for at least one of them after a few rounds of Pazaak.

"Frank" had tried to cheat nearly as soon as he learned the rules of the game before finding out that skilled players were better at figuring out the tells of cheats early on. "Victor," on the other hand, had lost at every turn. So, of course, in the traditional military fashion, we turned their nicknames into the opposite of what they actually had demonstrated. Frank was a cheat and dishonest when it came to games, and Victor was anything but.

However, for all of their faults, when breaking out of their shell, they performed spectacularly when it came to their job. Quickly figuring out my methods and learning to anticipate how I was going to do things came as almost second nature to them. Of course, we hadn't operated in combat yet, but I was hoping we could maintain this level of synchronicity when we did enter combat.

Giving my head a quick shake, I refocused on the console in front of me. The problem with now being in a sector of space that wasn't in the middle of combat is that full-speed maneuvers were restricted. So, the ETA for slotting into our position among the battlegroup was two more hours. And unfortunately, under shift plan Dorn, I still had four hours of work before I would rotate out with the Clone pilot who'd taken Avon's place on Second shift.

Jazz was a good pilot, if a little rigid, and would be able to keep us alive if we entered combat along our escort route. But the man couldn't carry a tune to save his life. Which was a shame, given he had the largest collection of music onboard the ship. (He'd apparently started collecting the contraband while a kid undergoing training and kept the habit up til now.)

Still, I settled in for the next few hours, the occasional twitch of a control correcting our path as we moved to escort the convoy.

---

Location: Spirana, Inner Rim
Three Months since the initial battle at Christophsis

"Thank you for taking my considerations seriously," Kalyna Durald's voice came through the speakers as her Delta-7 Aetherpsrite and the six ARC-170s that made up the starfighter forces of Battlegroup Hydra.

"The other officers took some convincing," Teskit replied, trusting that this Jedi's instincts were better than some of those he'd heard rumors of over the last few months "But this is not the first time a warning from a Jedi has saved the life of myself or those under my command."

The entire convoy and Battlegroup Hydra had dropped out of hyperspace in this little-known system. With Dao now an Admiral and transferred to begin the liberation of Ryloth, the battlegroup had fallen to the command of a very young captain who had just graduated from the academy.

Thankfully, the young Captain Bradool had the wisdom to listen to Teskit and the few other veterans in the group and had given the order to drop out of hyperspace when Commander Durald had reported that there was danger along their convoy route.

"Lieutenant Teskit, your Firebird and Lieutenant Harrput's Starfury will scout the next few systems ahead," Captain Bradool's voice came through the same channel. "Jedi-Commander Durald, if this is a trap, as you suspect, then it'll be in our best interests for you to accompany the screening force."

"I'll transfer to the Starfury," Durald responded, her starfighter and three of the 170s peeled off for the Arquitens. "Durald, out."

"Lieutenant," Captain Bradool spoke after the Jedi had closed her end of the channel. "If this is nothing more than a bad feeling, I want to know immediately. The last thing we need is delays to the blockade around Geonosis."

"A delay is better than failing to receive the supplies at all," Teskit cautioned, knowing the grim calculus and reality of the war. "We cannot deliver supplies if the convoy is destroyed, or worse, captured."

"Just see to it that we remain as on schedule as possible," Bradool scowled. "I've never been late on a shipment, and I won't start now."

The transmission ended, and Teskit buried the initial burst of irritation with yet another idiot officer. Yes, the overall competency had increased over the last few months, but the Bantha poodoo that existed among the Republic Navy's leadership was still present; they had just adapted and knew that officers now needed to be competent and connected.

"Ensign Hull," Teskit turned to his pilot, his reddish-brown beard skirted the surface of regulations, but was still technically allowed, even if Teskit preferred his crew clean-shaven. "Link us up with the Starfury and lay in a course that stops us just shy of New Cov. If we're to run into trouble, it'll be out of there."

New Cov was a Separatist world that had been somewhat monitored and blockaded but left alone for the most part. With there being no particular value to the world outside of its position along the Corellian Run. However, with it being an exporter of biomolecules, the world might have a battlegroup of CIS forces patrolling in it and the surrounding corridor.

"Course is set, Captain," Hull reported, his hands moving across the controls before he glanced back. "Starfury is ready to jump as well."

"Initiate jump," Teskit ordered and waited for the stars to turn into streaks of light once more.

If the CIS had learned, they might repeat the trick that the Sabaoth had used to drag them out of hyperspace earlier in the war. If they hadn't, then they'd have to stop every few systems to get reports and updates.

Because RI varied wildly between knowing the exact troop movements of the enemy forces and not knowing what the Republic's movements were, Teskit had no way of verifying any enemy's locations without stopping and sending in the 170s to scan the next system over.

So, despite Bradool's wishes, they were going to be delayed, there was nothing that could be done about that.

–
–

"170s are reporting two capital ship contacts along our route," Franz reported as the Firebird and Starfury sat in the void between systems. "No ID on the ship classifications as of yet."

"Forward the transmissions to the Hydra," Teskit ordered. "Signal for the Starfury to stay on our flank, we're going to move into the system and engage the enemy."

The two Republic vessels made the short jump and arrived just in time to see the Munificent-Class star frigate and the companion Recusant-Class light destroyer start to head for them.

"Sound battle stations," Teskit ordered. "Lock down the corridors and vent the atmosphere in nonessential sections. Chief Mattix, bring the secondary concussion missile launchers online. "

The two CIS ships outgunned both the Starfury and his own Firebird, but given most data, the Recusant was solely manned by droid brains, and could be outmaneuvered if matched against a good crew. The Munificent, on the other hand, might be a problem. Technically, the Arquitens could match the Munificent in a one-on-one fight, all things being equal. But given the Starfury and Firebird had only four fighters against the now deployed thirty-six droid fighters… Well, numbers had a superiority of their own, and it only took one mistake for a life to be lost.

"Captain, hypercomms are being jammed; we can't get a transmission out to the rest of Hydra. Commander Durald is hailing us."

"Lieutenant Teskit, I need you to focus on that destroyer." The Jedi's voice was eerily calm for a woman in a lightly armed starfighter about to face nine-to-one odds. "If the Force Wills, we'll be able to handle the fighters and keep the Munificent busy long enough for you to deal with that firepower."

"Understood, Commander," Teskit replied, cutting the transmission and issuing orders. "Ensign Hull, I want to be able to see the individual panels on that destroyer. The closer and faster that we are, the slower the droid brain will be able to react to us. The Recusant-Class isn't as heavily armored on its aft ventral. Mattix, have our concussion missiles ready to launch. We may only get one chance at this."

With that, the Ensign shifts his hands on the controls and the Firebird accelerated towards combat, leaving the Arquitens-Class Starfury behind to face the enemy fighters.