Private Economic Warfare

[Maldor Mecetti]

​

"The Lilaste Premier is here to see you," The voice of Maldor's Droid receptionist announced.

Maldor had been sitting at his desk, working on request forms so that he could be attached to a military unit for the upcoming intervention on Ryloth. He'd been so engrossed in the documents, he had allowed the time to slip away from him. But now he suddenly felt a jolt of alarm at the announcement.

This was the most important meeting of the day.

The Lilaste Order was a fairly recent faction which had arisen just outside of Galactic Alliance space. They seemed to be in the process of a rapid build up of their forces, and as a consequence they had become valuable trading partners.

Many millions of credits poured into House Mecetti coffers from raw materials and basic tech that was being exported to the Order to meet their seemingly insatiable need. Lilaste freighters, or at least freighters contracted by them, were frequently seen passing through the Mecetti province. Sometimes they carried resources from further on. Sometimes they purchased needed resources at House Mecetti factories and ports of call.

Either way, it was profitable business.

And so, if the Lilaste Premier wanted to meet with him, he would bloody well be met.

Maldor touched the intercom on his desk. "Send him in."

Then he stood and smiled, "Premier, a pleasure to meet you. Can I get you a drink?"

The size of the man was imposing. Maldor did not often have to crane his neck to regard a visitor.



Laphisto
Shasill Kaarte

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto walked into the senator's office. He did not make his way out to Coruscant often. He despised the city world mostly, but a clause in their contract stated that should either party wish to end their trade deal, they would meet the other at their base of operations. A clause was implemented to give the other a face-to-face interaction and work things out if possible. As he entered the man's office, he wore his usual attire. a Customized Set of LO-56A MKII armor that was custom-built for his unique biology. On his hip, however, laid his Broad Saber, mag-locked to the belt section of his armor. He looked down at the senator from his Seven-foot-eight stature.

He had left his guards with the ship that had brought him here. Being the high commander of a military-based faction meant he needed the guards, though not for his sake but more so for the sake of his people. Being a leader was all about appearances, figuring things would be best if he didn't seem to be trying to intimidate his business partner. Holding a hand up at the offer, he shook his head.

"No, thank you, Senator. I don't believe my business will be extended. Unfortunately, I am here to end our trade deal. I have gotten several reports of shipments and ships going missing. And the freight company is threatening to enact a self-preservation clause for their ships." laphisto shook his head with a soft sigh, his eyes flashing a teal blue, peering into the man with the force, and pulling at their alignment, albeit more so out of habit than intentional. It felt like nothing more than a poke or prod and was over quickly.

"I have received word about pirates attacking the convoys before they reach their destination or even after leaving your sector. Unfortunately, the Lilaste order does not have the funds to look for a new freight company or provide them with a military escort as requested. Surely you understand, no?." laphistos arms crossed over his chest as he squinted - or was he glairing ?- at the man before him. It was hard to tell for the most part.

Maldor Mecetti Shasill Kaarte

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Maldor's jaw dropped a few millimeters lower as the Premier explained the reason for his visit.

End the trade deal?

Pirates?

Come to think of it, Maldor had heard that pirates had recently been operating in the Mecetti province. But he'd assumed the Mecetti House Guard forces would have dealt with them by now.

Apparently not.

Life had demonstrated to Maldor time and again that he needed to visit spots of tumult to deal with important matters personally. Apparently, this pirate problem would be no exception. No matter how high he climbed up the rungs of the political ladder, there was always some matter below his station which demanded his attention.

Fine.

It would keep him from becoming soft.

"Premier, I am distressed to hear that things have reached such a state that you feel the need to come here and make such a lamentable business decision. I believe the fault with this matter must lay firmly upon House Mecetti's shoulders. Let me begin by making a formal apology.

It should not have come to this."

He bowed, as one did often at the royal court. You either bowed in apology in such situations, or you drew a foil and made a challenge. The foil would not serve his interests, today.

Though... it might serve his interests soon enough.

"If I may offer an alternative suggestion?" He lifted his gaze again.

"House Mecetti has developed a technique for dealing with elusive and troublesome pirates. As this matter negatively impacts both of our peoples, perhaps we can work together on a solution?"

He removed himself back to his seat behind the desk, and pressed the intercom button.

"Francine, please bring me a JO-22 Joint Operation proposal form."

Then he looked up at the dragon-man once more.

"After all, what could bring two people with a deep-rooted military tradition together better than a Joint Military Operation?"

He smiled widely now, his mind working through the military history texts he'd been drilled on as a youth.

"Premier... have you ever heard of something called... a Q ship?"


Laphisto Shasill Kaarte

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto shot the man a soft nod. His inquiry about ending the deal and the quick reaction to try and keep things going was a good sign. It at least meant the man wasn't behind the attacks, let alone skimming produce off the top." of course, we will need shipments to make up for what we have already paid for, as well as insurance to prove this will not occur again."

Laphisto was a soldier first and foremost but knew his way around a deal, for the most part, diplomacy was never his strong suit anyway. upon receiving the bow Laphisto gave one of his own in a silent acceptance of his apology, after all, they were businessmen, and the galaxy was a dangerous scene. and the lilaste order needed those metals to further fuel their war effort. " if you have a way to ensure and guarantee the elimination of these pirates its only right i hear you out."

when the man requested the form and then asked him about what a q ship was he raised a brow head tilted to the side, his left hand rising up to grasp his chin in thought "I can't say that have heard of that ship before. " he paused for a moment thinking before inevitably shaking his head " I'm more knowledgable when it comes to warfare than laying traps for pirates"

Laphisto made his way over and took a seat leaning back somewhat as he got comfortable, a joint operation would be a start to bolstering the trust in this trade deal once again. perhaps he could work something out to make house Mecetti responsible to protect the trade routes it would at the least save him some man power

Maldor Mecetti Shasill Kaarte

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Maldor nodded to the Premier as his droid receptionist shuffled in, bringing both a digital pad and ornate paper, in case Maldor was able to negotiate a signing on the spot.

"We can certainly compensate you with credit at all House Mecetti owned merchants and factories, and waive all tariffs and fees normally incurred for... three months."

Credit was only useful if the Order kept doing business with House Mecetti, of course.

"I will inform the Minister of Defense that the Mecetti House Guard will assign a destroyer to each of your convoys in the future, to escort them through our space. At least until we are both reasonably satisfied that this pirate problem is in the past. It will take weeks for that order to come into effect, however, so I perceive an immediate solution is needed."

Then he grinned, "Bringing us to the Q-Ships... that is a piece of history I relish, and which may interest you.

In the distant past, the provincial Lord of our House was experiencing just such a problem with pirates. They would flee from warships. Then strike mercantiles. There were not enough warships to accompany every merchant ship... so he had a problem on his hands.

He solved it with the Queen's Glory. She was a special mercantile ship built with hidden weapons and hidden troops. The pirates mistook her for an easy mark. When they struck, out came the guns. Out came the troops. It was a bloody massacre of pirates, killed to the last man.

And the pirate problems evaporated.

Since then, we have called secretly armed mercantiles Q-Ships, in honor of the Queen's Glory. I propose a similar tactic.

Let us take some of the heaviest freighters which do business for you. We can fill their cargo canisters with House Mecetti snubfighters. And fill their halls with Lilaste Troops. When the pirates move to strike, we wait for them to begin boarding operations. Then, suddenly, they are opposed. Canisters break apart, revealing starfighters. The halls are flooded with trained warriors. Mecetti fighters gut the ships, while Lilaste Troops gut the pirates.

We kill them all, harvest their computer cores for intelligence about their operations, and make it widely known that anyone passing through Mecetti space must be allowed to pass in peace."

A hand went under his silken robes, touching lightly on the Foil he kept there.

"And I would like to accompany your troops personally, to show my House's commitment to this matter.

We will put our blood on the border."

That, like Q-Ships, was a saying with a history. But there was no need to bore the Premier with such details.




Laphisto Shasill Kaarte

 

[Laphisto]

three months was a reasonable amount of time especially with the need for the resources though Laphisto tried not to let it show. Pondering it over some what his hand grasped his chin before gesturing it towards Maldor " Make it four months and you have a deal. These shortages of supplies have put a hault on our manufacturing and you know how things build and snowball in time."

Laphisto raised a brow, nodding along to the explanation and the plan that was being discussed. " that sounds like a brilliant idea, ill supply the soldiers so long as you can supply the fighters. Ill need the blueprints drafted up and sent to my people on Aurora Station so that we can get my men briefed and prepared for this mission"

Laphisto quite liked the idea and the premise of the cargo freighters holding a secret army within. A tactic that wouldn't bolster well against the much more well-funded Dusate Pirates they were dealing with in the Dreuss sector though for a much smaller band of brigands it would be the perfect trap

" Once these pirates are dealt with i will need some assurance that these trade lanes remain safe. should those i contract for the delivery of these trade goods feel threatened again, i do fear they may pull my contract with them. and that would bring trade to a standstill between our two peoples." Laphisto spoke with sincerity, he knew both parties needed one another for one reason or another and the last thing they both needed was another scenario that jeopardized their relations again

Maldor Mecetti Shasill Kaarte

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Maldor considered the Premiere's counter.

One month more wasn't too high a price to pay to retain such a lucrative trading partner.

As for the lanes remaining safe? "Rest assured, Premier, I will never allow the Mecetti Province to fall into such disarray again."

With those assurances delivered, he completed the joint operational proposal and signed it, before turning it for the Premier to sign.

"Let's butcher some pirates."

____________________________________________

SULLUSTAN FREIGHTER 'QEPOMI' REGISTRY SCS-2401
AT THE BORDER OF THE MECETTI PROVINCE
TAPANI SECTOR



​

The two-hundred meter long behemoth 'Qepomi' was an old Sullustan freighter which had been modified and equipped just for Operation Reversal, the Joint Military Operation between the Lilaste Order and the Mecetti House Guard Navy. Normally, a freighter like this could carry a hundred thousand tons of cargo among its large cargo canisters. Today, eight House Mecetti tie fighters were secreted in those canisters. At the push of a button, the canisters would break open and reveal their deadly cargo... hopefully too late for any pirates who might be in the middle of an attack.

The corridors of the freighter held a different kind of deadly cargo. Lilaste Order troops filled the halls, waiting for action. They were led by a high-ranking officer in their military, whom Maldor was now approaching to make formal introductions.

Needless to say, it was exceedingly unusual for a Galactic Alliance Senator to be involved in a military anti-piracy sting. But while Maldor was very typical of Senators in many ways, there were a few areas where he differed dramatically.

One of those differences was his willingness to settle important matters by getting personally involved.

The fact that he might actually be helpful here was another.

Or so he believed, anyway.

He extended a hand to the Lilaste Order's military leader.

"Senator Maldor Mecetti, at your service, Sir.

I understand you have operational command over our joint forces today. I will be deferring to your judgment on all military matters. My role will be to back up your marines and dispatch House Mecetti fighter craft when you give the go-ahead."

Placing himself in a subservient position wasn't something that came naturally to Maldor. On his homeworld, only his parents outranked him.

But politics meant making concessions, and military operations meant taking orders.

Whether he liked it or not.


Laphisto Shasill Kaarte

 

[Laphisto]

the man who Maldor had approached was a human male, with his helmet visor currently in the up position allowing the senator to see his face. his armor bore a crimson orange-like markings on his armor when Maldor reached a hand out to introduce himself the Commander looked to the outstretched hand and simply gave a nod instead " I am Commander Tarian, its good to meet you senator" he held a bit of disdain in his voice. to Tarian this was a military operation, one where the prissy eagos of senators were not welcome. Not to mention this man was an outsider. but he had read up on the combat report and new that this trade deal was vital to the Lilaste order in order to continue to feed their war effort " understood sir, though I don't see a reason for a senator to be in a combat zone. You will stay in the FOB with me. if things get out of hand just know my men come before this mission"

Tarian was admittedly protective of his soldiers, but that protectiveness ensured a low casualty rate - or as low as one can really get in war - as well as the loyalty of his soldiers. he wasn't exactly trusting of this plan, but if the High commander saw it as necessary then he was more than willing to go along with the idea. that and the Fact Laphisto was waiting nearby with Mau'luk Squadron and Tia Tavor was re assuring. if things were to go south then at the very least they had back up waiting and ready to assist

Maldor Mecetti Shasill Kaarte

 

[Trace Xyston]

Trace sighed, crouched behind a cargo crate with a clear line of fire on one of the boarding hatches. This operation would be very fun, certainly, but probably not something the Elghaseki would be expected to do. But in turn, that would be expected of them. To do the unexpected. He sighed again. Paradoxes.

The Twi'lek called on his comm to the rest of his squad. "Everyone in position?"

He got a chorus of confirmations. "Good, sit tight. We'll be going in soon."

He settled in for a wait.

Laphisto Maldor Mecetti

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Maldor regarded the Commander, suppressing a sigh.

"You might better understand my presence here if you were from the Tapani Sector, Commander. Among our nobles, it is known that House Mecetti always puts their blood on the border where our interests are concerned."

Whether that explained anything for the man or not, it explained everything as far as Maldor was concerned.

But perhaps the culture divide went both ways. Maldor found the statement about 'men' coming before 'mission' to be puzzling. What was the point of having men if they weren't there to accomplish a mission? Why wouldn't men be expendable to that end?

But he didn't say anything on that front. There was no point in further straining the relationship with the Lilaste Order.

"If things get out of hand," Maldor replied, "you may yet find reason to be glad of having this Senator on board."

_______________________________________

It was on their Jump to the outskirts of the Javis system, while calculating the next stage of their journey, that the pirates made their appearance.

Their vessel was a modified Quadscythe Corvette, a old model vessel which was nearly as old as the CR90 corvette its engines had been pulled from. The Kamera Corporation had built this class of ship on the Outer Rim in limited production, from the decommissioned and disassembled remnants of other ships. They were sold to some corporations for security, but mostly they were purchased by mercenaries and pirates operating on the fringes of civilized space.

Four large Ion cannons were mounted on the expansive wings of the vessel, where the massive S-foil servos allowed them to be split for additional thermal radiation during combat. The Ion Cannons were part of the standard operating procedure for disabling merchant craft. As soon as the ship closed in to weapons range, it would fire the ion cannons to disable the freighter.

Then it would launch one of its three large boarding pods, forcibly entering the merchant ship after clamping onto the hull. Meanwhile, four smaller custom-built 'ugly' snubfighters would be launched, to cover the boarding pod while it made its approach.

The boarding teams would take the ship with its cargo. The crew would be put out on escape pods and launched into deep space, to be retrieved if they were lucky.

It was a technique these pirates had used like clockwork, time and again.

But today, that clock would be broken...

"Pirate Ship On Approach," came the announcement over the ship's internal intercom, "They're closing to weapon's range. They'll get to us before we can complete jump calculations. All personnel should move away from electronic devices."

 

[Laphisto]

Commander Tarian gave a soft, subtle nod towards the senator. he had brought with him Six squadrons, which was roughly 54 men in total. He had figured if these pirates were less funded than the ones they were fighting in their home sector, then they would be a cakewalk. The Dusate Pirates were funded like a private military, an unfortunate situation that grew to be a bigger and bigger thorn in the side of the order. Hearing Maldor Mecetti words he gave a small chuckle " If we need a negotiator, senator, then I am sure you will be out man. " hearing the announcement, his visor slid down, covering his face, a hand grasping his rifle as he turned to look at the holo table of the Makeshift FOB. which had been hooked up to an independent power source so Tarian could monitor the ships vitals as well as troop movements.

Reaching his comlink, Tarian spoke to his men and Trace Xyston . "Right, boys, this is a straight shot you know what to do. These adversaries may not be like the ones we are used to fighting but keep your minds sharp and your weapons ready. Show these pirates why you don't mess with the order."

 

[Trace Xyston]

Trace nodded to himself as he listened to Commander Tarian's words. He had to admit, he was feeling a little...excited to face these new pirates. They were probably jankier and shabbier than the Dusate Pirates, but that didn't mean that the Elghaseki would underestimate them. Luckily, the pirates would have to breach through a choke point, and on top of that they didn't know that there were elite killers on board.

So that was wraps for the ambush. Hopefully.

Trace propped his gun up on the cargo crate and started admiring its fine craftsmanship.

Laphisto Maldor Mecetti

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

As expected, the pirate ship opened fire as soon as it was within range.

Supercharged bolts of ionic particles smashed into the freighter, sending randomized electric discharges jumping all over the hull and through its electronic components and subsystems.

Inside the ship, where officers and crew were anticipating this outcome, hands were lifted away from consoles. The interfaces flared. Some sparked and smoked. Safety systems kicked in, protecting most systems against permanent damage. But these safety systems also cut the power to all of the essential systems of the ship.

Main lights switched off, and emergency backup lights came on. The engines died. The ship's limited shields failed. An eerie quiet filled the ship as the white noise of the environmental systems cut out. The gravity itself failed for an instant before the emergency backup kicked on, giving everyone's belly an uncomfortable lurch, and causing some people to stumble.

Fortunately, the military units aboard had independent communication gear.

"The enemy ship is launching pods. Three Pods. Repeat: Three pods."

Maldor blinked. "Three pods? According to the previous victims of these attacks, the pirates only ever launch one breaching pod. One pod with fifty troops aboard."

The meaning of this development seemed clear to him.

"There's a leak, somewhere. They must know something is unusual about this freighter.

But... I don't understand... if they know this is a sting, why attack? Why walk knowingly into a known trap?"

The same voice came over the com channel from one of the officers on the bridge, "They've launched four snubfighters, now. The fighters are escorting the pods in."

Maldor reached down to his belt and retrieved his transmitter. The original plan had been to wait for the boarding pods to latch on before launching the surprise fighters. That way the pirates would be fully committed before they realized that the ship was a trap.

But the original plan had been to resist a mere 50 boarders. Now there would be three times that number. Maldor looked to the Commander, waiting for his instruction about how to proceed. As he waited, the situation kept rolling over in his mind.

"Why attack in force, if they don't know something is amiss? And if they do know something is amiss, why attack at all?"

He repeated his questions, as if repetition would summon the answers he sought.

The boarding pods were closing in.

Within moments, they'd clamp into the hull, cut through it, and then disgorge their invaders.


Trace Xyston
Laphisto

 

[Trace Xyston]

Trace's admiring session was over. The enemy was coming in force. More force than was expected. Was it possible that the pirates knew that something was different about this ship? Strange, he thought, as he signaled to some of Tarian's soldiers to prepare themselves.

A clank resonated from the boarding hatch ahead, and bright sparks began to fly from the door, followed by a horrible shrieking noise. The pirates were breaching. Trace aimed down his rifle's sights, placed his finger on the trigger, and took a deep breath. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. Finally, after all this time, he would have a meal other than the Dusate pirates.

Time to see how marauders did things in this sector.

Maldor Mecetti Laphisto

 

[Laphisto]

Tarian cursed softly under his breath quickly clicking at his internal comms " Vicenza, Kimura take your men and quickly set up some Machine gun nests
in the hallways to this location, I want this to be our fallback point if things start getting out of hand i want another setup on the scaffolding. as for you senator" the commander turned to Maldor Mecetti handing him a LO-17D Rifle " let's see how skilled you are in a fire fight."

Tarian began to organize his soldiers preparing their makeshift FOB as a fallback point in case things in the field started to get out of hand and they needed to retreat to a more fortified position. " alright men we stay the course, things have changed and there are more pirates than expected but remember your training and you will come out of this is one piece"

Trace Xyston

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

​

Loud clangs sounded through the ship as the breaching pods latched on. One nearer to the bridge. One amidships. One near the engine compartment.

The collision was violent. It had to be, to tear through the outer hull and into the interior of the freighter. The pods were designed to form a seal as they mated and pierced through the outer layer of the ship and into its interior. This allowed the passengers to disembark in comparative safety, without worrying about being pulled towards the breach by escaping gasses.

The men inside the pods moved more ably than one might expect from pirates. They moved as though they had training. Ex-military, most likely. They were wearing heavy armor, and the first into the hallway had tall body shields made of heavy Duranium. They had probably been selected for their strength. As automatic weapons tore into the passage, they absorbed or deflected most of the fire with the heavy shields as they marched forward against the pressure, making room for comrades behind them.

No... this was no mere pirate crew. This was a professional mercenary team.

Behind the shield ranks, invading troops lobbed concussion grenades up the hall towards the defenders. The grenades were designed to be non-lethal, but they could definitely shake up a target and disrupt an organized defense.

______________________________________

​

Maldor took the offered gun, studying it with some evident disdain. He'd never taken up shooting as a sport, and had certainly never been trained professionally. But he watched the other soldiers who were nearby. He saw where their fingers manipulated safeties. Set fire control. He could tell where the trigger was.

It seemed like the sort of weapon that was quick to learn and slow to master.

The same voice that had declared all previous status updates sounded through the halls again, "Circuits are being re-routed, and we have partial power. Three pods have made contact. They are advancing professionally even under heavy fire. "

The sound of gunfire told him that one of the pods had made contact not far from his current position. There was the sound of an explosion nearby. Maldor winced. The sort of combat he usually engaged in was much quieter.

As the cacophony encroached, and danger neared, Maldor's mind worked on the problem.

He could only come to one conclusion.

"They know I'm here," he said. "Attacks on ships in Mecetti space. Anyone who knows our House philosophy would assume a personal intervention by someone in the nobility. I'm the most logical choice. And someone... someone leaked the specific mission details to these people, so they'd bring everything needed to the engagement.

This isn't a pirate raid.

This is a convoluted plan to capture or kill a noble of House Mecetti."

He couldn't be sure that was true, but it was exactly like the machinations the Tapani Sector nobles engaged in.

It was all a trap... and he'd walked right into it.

"Do you want the fighters launched, Commander?"

He was itching to initiate some flavor of payback.



Trace Xyston
Laphisto

 

[Trace Xyston]

Trace opened fire the second the hatch was opened. But he found his fire was not affecting the enemy whatsoever. They had shields. But that wasn't the biggest problem. Trace had seen the way the supposed pirates moved. And it was way too professional. The way the riflemen moved behind the shields, firing through small gaps, was like that of a mercenary group, or a private army.

The Twi'lek grimaced and shifted back a few steps, taking cover behind a faded green crate. He ducked down and gritted his teeth against the impact of a salvo of shots against his new defense. Trace looked at his utility belt and grinned.

Usually Lilaste Elghaseki didn't carry explosives, as they wouldn't need them for their stealth operations. However, this was no stealth op. And as such, he had a thermal detonator on his belt. He wasn't worried about it possibly breaking the ship, so Trace unclipped it, set a timer, and lobbed it over the crate.

He crouched lower and covered his ears.

BOOM!

A massive explosion shook the durasteel floor, and the overhead lights flickered for a second. The shooting slowed until it stopped completely. One of the soldiers behind him asked, "Is it over?"

Trace peeked his eyes over the crate. Smoke was rising from a small crater in the floor, and bodies were heaped atop each other. Trace smiled malevolently. "I believe so. Follow me," he ordered, creeping forward to the busted hatch and the room beyond.....

Laphisto Maldor Mecetti

 

[Laphisto]

The commander was suddenly flooded with comms about the situation at hand the 'Pirates' and their formations and the tactics they used. with a grimace, he looked to the senator "Launch your fighters and have them target the attacking vessel's engines." Pulling a hand up to the side of his helmet he flicked his comms on to speak to his men directly, including Trace Xyston . "all units switch to slug rounds. repeat. all units switch to slugs!" switching com Frequencies Tarian quickly tried to contact Ali Kare " High admiral come in. its an ambush enact the backup plan!."

Around him, soldiers hustled to fortify their positions. The room was alive with focused energy, with everyone from officers to foot soldiers working in unison. the Soldiers of the Lilaste Order moving with precision. over the comms, one squadron would call out

"this is Gilvets, I'm pinned down on the eastern corridor iv lost three men and the enemy is pushing us into a corner, we need reinforcements up here!"

hearing a few of his men had died sent Tarian into a bit of a fit, if only he had brought more then he would have been able to better react to this scenario. but then again they were expecting pirates not trained mercenaries. calling over the comms Tarian spoke " whos closest to Gilvets? some one get over there and provide him some cover immediately!"

Maldor Mecetti

 

[Ali Kare]

Ali stood gazing out the viewport of her ship at the battle ensuing just a few dozen kilometers away. The reason why nobody was shooting at her? She was cloaked. The entire ship, 1500 meters long, 600 meters wide, and 300 meters tall was unseen to the pirates, just another patch of starry black in the abyss of space.

But when the call came from Commander Tarian that the backup plan would need to be put in place, well...the pirates were about to have the jump-scare of their lives. "Nav, uncloak us. Weapons, prepare a salvo of ion blasts on the enemy corvette. Try to aim for their weaponry so they can't shoot back," Ali ordered.

A shimmering field fell down outside the bridge, showing that the cloak was down. Soon after, bright blue tails of ion fire rained down upon the corvette, splashing against shields. Ali raised an eyebrow. Pirates attacking a merchant ship shouldn't expect them to fight back...so why waste energy on shields? Unless the pirates were expecting the merchant ship to be a phony.

But in that case, why board the ship at all?

After taking a closer look at the tacmap, she discovered that there were three boarding pods attached to the Q-ship, while just one had been expected. Everyone on board was in danger.

She growled in frustration. There was nothing she could do but take down the corvette. She opened a channel to Tarian. "Request for support acknowledged, Commander. Engaging corvette. Good luck," she said.

Laphisto Maldor Mecetti

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

​

Upon receiving the order, Maldor did not hesitate. He triggered the signal that would release the House Mecetti Ties from their concealment within the freighter's cargo canisters. Unfortunately, it turned out that the release mechanism of the cargo pods had been damaged by the Ion cannon blasts delivered by the pirates. Only four of the eight intended canisters blossomed open, and so only four House Mecetti Tie-Fighters entered the fray.

Twisting the transmitter, Maldor activated its com functionality. "Target Engines only, but watch for their own fighters. They have some uglies in the sky."

​

'Ugly' was a term for fighters which had been cobbled together from available parts. They worked, but were seldom elegant, and were rarely as effective as properly manufactured fighters. In this case, elements from Tie Interceptors, Y-Wings, and X-Wings had been meshed into a bizarre monstrosity and fielded by these pirates to produce a discount force. These pirate 'uglies' were sufficient for fighting civilian assets, but would seemingly not fare well against more maneuverable Mecetti House Guard Navy birds.

Unfortunately, the 'uglies' were not entirely without merit. Each had an Ion Turret mounted on top, capable of firing in any direction. And each had a dedicated second-seat gunner to manage the turret. One shot from that turret would easily disable a Tie/mg, and leave such a fighter fully vulnerable to the fixed laser emplacements of the 'ugly' when it came about for a strafing run.

The aerial combat began, with the fighters weaving in and out of each others' firing arcs, blazing away.

_____________________________​

​

Meanwhile, the pirate ship began to come about, responding to the threat of the uncloaking vessel. Even hardened mercenaries could not have anticipated such a maneuver. House Mecetti possessed cloaking devices, but they were manufactured in small quantities for clandestine insertion vehicles, not warships.

Still, they did not flinch. The massive S-Foils of their ship moved into a more dynamic attack position, spreading to allow maximum heat dissipation. The engines roared to full power, and the vessel blasted away with its four large Ion cannons, hoping to disable the newly arrived vessel.

Even as they did so, Ion cannon fire was already pouring in from the decloaked ship. It splashed against the pirate vessel's shields, wreaking havok with the defense systems. But the Pirate ship did manage an Ion blast of its own. Whether it would be effective against the Lilaste ship was anyone's guess.

The Pirate ship's shields collapsed, leaving only energy sinks to absorb the enemy's Ion energy blasts before they could completely disable the ship. Aboard, officers and crew scrambled to get the shields online again before the enemy ship- or an opportunistic fighter- could completely disable them.

_____________________________________​

Another loud explosion rocked the freighter, vibrating the decks even where Maldor and the Commander stood. Whether the explosion was caused by friend or foe was anyone's guess, but it suggested brutal conflict.

Maldor pocketed his com unit transmitter and looked to the Commander.

"They are here because of me. I'm sure of it. I should proceed to the engagement zone. Your men are surely outnumbered, and will need support."

It seemed like an uncharacteristically bold- and probably foolhardy- offer from a Galactic Alliance Senator.


Laphisto
Ali Kare
Trace Xyston