Objective: Interception
Post: 3
Unfortunately for Audren, it was clear that the freighter's pilot was experienced. The ship began turning almost as soon as the missiles were launched, and as the two got closer clouds of glittering metal were suddenly visible, along with bright dots that trailed smoke. Chaff and flares, a simple yet effective response to missiles. One of the projectiles was perforated by too many pieces of chaff and exploded, but the other managed to contact the freighter's shields and do some damage there.
At the same time, Audren became aware of a sort of pressure. It was similar to the sense of warning he got when someone was shooting at him, close enough that he had reason to believe it was the same situation, only felt more like something narrowing to a pinpoint. Right as that pinpoint was achieved, he twitched the yoke. Twin laser cannon bolts caromed off his shields, but follow-up shots missed. Then started the narrowing again. It must have been the gunner drawing a bead on him. Rather than allow that to get closer, his right foot mashed on its pedal and took the starfighter in a curve to the right - starboard, as it was called. Only it wasn't just a curve to starboard, he course corrected back to port seconds afterward. The whole time his altitude was rising while the freighter's was lowering, and right around that left turn they were equal.
A slight course correction put the Sephi directly to the rear of the freighter. This kind of flying wasn't all too difficult, a starfighter - even a large one - versus a lumbering freighter was no contest. A rear turret opened up on him with a spray of bolts, but he retaliated with his forward-facing cannons, chewing into weakened shields. The last few shots penetrated, one of them silencing the turret.
"Pirate freighter, I will accept your surrender."
"Coalition starfighter, we have slaves on board. It'd look bad if you were to shoot down a ship full of innocent slaves."
"We're alone here, freighter. No outside holocams to carry the message."
That claim was pure bluster, Audren couldn't shoot down a ship full of slaves unless there was no other choice. But he had senses beyond his sensors. A Force scan turned up none of the despair he'd come to associate with slaves, just a sense of ruthless determination, fear, and anger. No slaves. Meanwhile the pirate was talking again.
"Yea, but you're all good and caring. What will your friends thing?"
"That might be a problem if you actually had slaves on board. You have ten seconds to lower shields and power down weapons."
"Or what, you shoot us down?"
"That's the general idea. Seven seconds."
There was a click as the comm channel was closed, then the freighter pushed down sharply. Well, as sharply as it could. The bottom - ventral, he had to start getting those right - turret blasted away, but the Knight just allowed his ship to level off for a second and rose above the shots. He then inverted and switched weapons to his own turret. Ion bolts ripped through the freighter's shields, but only two of them impacted with any real effect. The freighter abruptly slowed and stopped shooting, and the Hathol overflew it before Audren could get back around on its tail.
It became clear that the ship was having trouble. One engine was flickering in and out and there was a sense of panic overtaking the crew. Shields were down, no weapons moving that he could see. Slowly, very slowly, the larger ship began to level off, and though it kept moving towards the ground the projected landing point was nowhere near the base or Coalition forces. Finally, the comm channel opened back up. A different voice sounded.
"Coalition fighter, is your offer of surrender still open? If so, we surrender."
"It is. Continue on your current course and land. Power up weapons or shields at any time and you will be destroyed."
The freighter acknowledged and flew until it landed, a good hour's walk from Coalition forces. Once it was on the ground, the Sephi pumped three more ion blasts into the vessel, grounding it, and called in the location to the ships in orbit. They could send someone to take the pirates prisoner. Meanwhile, he headed back towards the pirate base to see where he could help out next. If nothing came up, he might try to figure out where that third ship had gone off to, and where it had come from.