The Etti IV Trail [Itash]

[Darth Athora]

The bustling sounds of industrious evolution were abundant in a concerto of scraping metal and hissing machinery as crates of precious materials were being loaded onto the last few freighters apart of the Koensayr caravan. Their destination was Etti IV. It was there that the headquarters of Didact Defense Solutions was located. This all started with a business deal between both companies' CEOs. Koensayr had the materials while Didact provided the protection and funds. It was all a foolproof plan.

Zahori had hired her friend and business partner, Mimi Vaal, to oversee the operation on her behalf. She would be leading the caravan to it's destination alongside the escort sent by Didact themselves. She was just looking voer the last few crates being loaded onto the ships before she made her way to her ship.

"All ships are loaded to full capacity and ready to move out. Prepare for launch on my go."

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

Tash looked over the manifest one more time, before giving the attending Thyrsian a nod and giving it back for now.

"Looks good, it has my stamp." This was an important operation- for one, it allowed Didact to showcase their navy and for more raw material they'd need to finalize the last steps for the shipyards in CSA space. Two flies with one hit as far as Tash was concerned. "I will be on the bridge, ping me if something needs my attention." Once both Denko's representative and Mecetti signed off on the deal, the convoy with its escorts would realign its trajectory for hyperspace travel.

It was a big convoy.

Several large hulk freighters filled to the brink with expensive materials.

Then several frigates and corvettes that would do the bulk of the escorting. Oh, Itash had a surprise in store, but he'd only deploy it if the situation demanded it. Suffice it to say that this route had been all planned out from the beginning.

"Didact escort fleet ready, miss Vaal." Tash would relay through the comms once he was on the bridge.

 

[Darth Athora]

"Roger that." The freighters' thrusters fired up and began takeoff procedures as the journey was just about to begin. "We are cleared to go." The freighters, escorted by Didact vessels, lifted from the shipyard and cruised through the atmosphere and into space. "Takeoff's a little bumpy but that's to be expected."

As the ships entered space, all of their hyperdrives were warming up and preparing to take the ships into hyperspace.

"We'll hit Etti IV in a few hours. All ships, enter hyperspace on my go. 3...

2...

1...

Go!"

The stars around the ships turned into streaks of pure white light as the convoy entered hyperspace. Mimi was looking forward to the smooth journey, but she was smart enough to know some mishaps of some sort were to happen. They always do.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

The trick was usually to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but in truth today Tash did hope for the worst.

He wanted to see how his fleet would handle itself in a real fight.

Simulations were one thing. Actually being faced with enemy fire, chaos, the press of the moment was something entirely else. It would be a worthwhile pursuit and considering much of their assets was insured... he didn't foresee it digging into his profit margins too much. "Invite the Koensayr representative to my quarters." Tash relayed over to one of the Didact personnel, before following suit and stepping into the turbo-lift that would get him to his quarters.

There was business to discuss.

If this went well, there were other opportunities afoot for Koensayr to assist in Didact's expansion in the Corporate Sector and its navy.

 

[Darth Athora]

Mimi double checked the ship's bearings before activating the auto pilot and leaning back in her seat. She reached to the ground next to her seat and picked up a can of Fizzyglug. She popped the can open and started drinking. "That's some good chit." She let out a light burp and chuckled at herself. One of her droids stepped into the cockpit.

"Mr. Mecetti wishes to speak with you, ma'am."

"Wonder what he wants..Patch me into the holocall."

"Yes ma'am."

Once Itash reached his quarters, he'd see the holographic form of Mimi Vaal in her seat, awaiting him. He'd notice hear wearing a particularly average wardrobe made of leather and cloth. Something you'd see your average smuggler wear. Nothing fancy. "You called for me, Mr. Mecetti?"

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

"Indeed, miss Vaal." Tash nodded to the Koensayr representative. At least, what the Mecetti scion assumed was the representative for Koensayr in this endeavor. It was a fair assumption, considering she had been chosen to lead this convoy.

In his mind only those with links to the company had any business of leading their enterprises.

"I would like to discuss future business with Koensayr." Simple and to the point, there was no point in complicating this. Koensayr was new in town and hungry for profits, Didact was steadily expanding into space and would need a pair of experienced hands to assist. There didn't seem to be any reason why they couldn't find a way to help one another further.

"If this business deal turns out acceptable, Didact will be interested to discuss the potential of adding Koensayr for some of its projects, as a... sub-contractor."

The ancient company had always been known for the quality of their parts, their attention to detail.

it seemed to be an obvious partnership.

 

[Darth Athora]

Mimi crunched the can beneath her boot and gave Itash her attention. He started talking business and deals. Stuff way above Mimi's paygrade. But, she still played along, wanting to see where he was going with this. She wasn't the most business savvy. At least, not for anything outside of her own. And she knew Zahori would reprimand her for speaking on her behalf on such concerns.

"Yeah? Well, I'm sure we can get some kinda deal goin'. We'd be anxious to workin' with you and yours, Mr. Mecetti." Mimi reached for another can and popped it open. All of a sudden, hyperspace turned into real space. The convoy was stopped in it's tracks. "What the.." Blips appeared on Mimi's console. They were closing in on the convoy. "We're under attack. I repeat. We are under attack! Get your head out of your asses and defend the convoy! Uh..gotta go, Mr. Mecetti. Duty calls." The holocall dropped as Mimi focused on protecting her freighter. Pirates, or something, had stopped the convoy, looking to raid it of all it's valuables. Mimi was no fan of pirates, nor they of her. She was going to have some serious fun with this.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

The ship rocked out of hyperspace and that made Tash blink.

Then smile.

He hadn't actually been expecting a fight, but the fact that they were getting it? Now that was a pleasant test drive for the Didact navy. "Get me a solid sensor reading on what's out there." Tash relayed through the comms and it only took a few seconds to get a solid reading. There seemed to be five corvettes, two frigate and about three dozen starfighters approaching them in a v-solution.

They were outnumbered.

Technically.

But that didn't account for the surprise that Itash had in store. The new experimental carrier in development by Didact and finally ready for space about two weeks ago, still itching to be put through the paces. "Ping the Vance, Jeero, I want it in the system within the next five minutes."

That would be enough to get a good feel on how effective his navy was outnumbered, before being 'saved'.

 

[Darth Athora]

The caravan stuck together, Mimi at it's lead, as it moved into defensive positions. They weren't heavily armed, but they had enough to keep themselves alive. The caravan quickly came under fire, but most of it was directed at Didact's defensive fleet as they provided sufficient cover. Mimi did what she did best and fought for her life.

"Hold the line, ya mugs! We getting outta here with every freighter in tact!" Mimi's ability to stay cool under situations like this was mostly attributed to her numerous attempts at messing with the wrong people. She liked the excitement of being shot at. "Someone get Didact to get these fighters off me! I can only dodge these mugs for so long!"

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

It didn't take long for the frigates to begin running target solutions.

Once targets began locked the point-defense systems fired at will. There was no sound in space, but Tash had heard them roar in the atmosphere during preliminary testing rounds.

They had sounded impressive.

Eithere way, Mimi would soon find the pressure on her tail ease as laser shots ripped through the pirate fighters, leaving only vaporized slag behind. "Your approach is ready, fire at will." A Didact operator would filter through her comms as Itash waited for the right moment. The good moment. When this entire battle would be decided by the insertion of his trump weapon.

 

[Darth Athora]

Mimi whipped her ship through the vacuum of space as she dodged the laser fire bearing down on her from the attackers. "These guys couldn't shoot the broadside of a crashed Star Destroyer if they tried!" Mimi's taunting was her coping mechanism for when she was facing life or death situations such as the one she was in now.

The laser fire died down after a bit as Didact's fleet was able to provide sufficient defense as they were hired to do. "Nice shootin'. But, there's still more coming at us!" The rest of the convoy was able to evade destruction as they mimicked Mimi's maneuvers as best they could. They were good pilots, but not Mimi good.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

Now.

Nearby a new shape reverted from hyperspace.

It outsized the other ships by several factors and had already reversed in a prime position to do what the Vance-class had been designed to do. Send out dozens upon dozens of fighters into the fray of battle. This wasn't a fight where the bombers were important- they were kept inside while elite fighters and interceptors started being launched into space by the Vance's advanced hangar systems.

Within the span of a few minutes the void of space was filled with deadly fighter screens coming in from a second direction.

"Not for long." Tash's calm voice filtered through Mimi's earpiece. He sounded immensely pleased by all of this.

 

[Darth Athora]

And in that instance, the attack on the caravan was repelled. The additional aid from outside of the system proved sufficient enough to fight off the pirates, killing most of them and sending the rest running for their lives. "Hey, we made it. And the caravan still in tact too. Denko's gonna have to pay me extra for this."

Mimi reached for another can to only find a cooler of melted ice. "Damn it. Out of bubbly."

The caravan formed back up and prepared for hyperspace one more. Before that, Mimi thought to check in with Itash to see if he was ready. "Mecetti, you still there? We got a job to finish, man. Let's get it done."

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Zahori Denko"]

Except that Didact did not let them go.

Superior speed as their engines were severely damaged left them unable to wind up their 'drive fast enough to drop into hyperspace. Instead the Didact ships kept firing, ignoring all hails for communication, until the very last ship was turned to slag and debris. Then and only then did Itash accept the call from Mimi, his cold dispassionate and relaxed.

"Certainly do, miss Mimi." As if his men hadn't just slaughtered the rest of those pirates without mercy or consideration. There hadn't been any quarter and not even the escape pods had been left alone.

"We will check for the status of our flotilla and then we can proceed to jump."

With that done Tash disengaged and left his quarters in favor of the bridge. They had along day ahead of them... but they had shown that Didact Defense Solutions' navy operated with rapid efficiency.

Good.

 

[Darth Athora]

"We're good to go. Jumping to hyperspace in 5." Mimi's hand rested on the hyperspace switch, waiting for the 5 seconds to pass and, once they did, she shifted the switch forward and entered hyperspace. The rest of the caravan followed in kind, jumping to hyperspeed with her.

Just like that, the caravan exited hyperspace just within Etti IV's orbit. "We made it. Finally. Mecetti, you good? Lead the way to your spot and we'll get this stuff offloaded." The caravan waited patiently to be escorted to the planet's surface and Mimi was frantically looking for another bottle of her favorite drink. "Wait...wait..Aha!" Mimi managed to find a bottle lodged beneath her seat. After a few moments of yanking on it, she got it free. It was covered in a bit of dirt, but she brushed it off. "I needed this." She popped the cap off and started drinking.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]