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[Preyt Jhess]

Theme song​

It was a nice day to be a Hutt cartel member, Preyt Jhess was enjoying some music aboard his ship, a Cag-15 "Enforcer" gunship the Trandoshan had bluntly named the Hunter, driving with his astromech droid being the co-pilot and a small crew on the guns who didn't understand why the bounty hunter was listening music right now. Well, to be honest, Preyt didn't know either, he just felt like listening some music before doing some damage to the republic.

How were they going to do so? Well, that was simple, Preyt wasn't the only notable Hutt Cartel member that was taking part of the operation, there was a pirate (@Ecclessey) he was accompanying, the two had just "borrowed" some coaxium from a Republic freighter and were now going to use it against them as an improvised bomb, a simple but fun way of screwing over your enemies.

Their target was a small convoy of heavy freighters who were transporting fuel that would be used by the Republic ships if the Hutt didn't blow it up, the ships were of course guarded by some republic starfighers, but they could've dealt with "All right mate, letsss get thisss over with" He said through the comms, talking to the pirate "Jussst like we planned, I'll protect you until you are in range to drop the cargo and then we get to sssee sssome magnificient fireworksss, all right?"

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

"Yes," Darwin sighed at the protocol unit as it flailed its arms at him in protest "...I am aware we are delayed, I just want you to tell me why - is that so hard?" the aging Senator rolled his eyes, as he stood in a Pilots Suit next to a collection of ST-9 Starfighters brandishing his pilots liscense, as the droid once again stated that 'he looked to old to be a reservist'.

"This is ageist you know, I could have you dismantled for this!" Darwin chuckled, pushing his way past the Droid and hopping into his starfighter. Checking his pistol was in place in the holster down the side of his chair, he thumbed the controls and sent the ship out of the hanger, banking it up toward the patrol route - a simple escort mission for some fuel tankers.

Easy right?

 

[Visquis]

Hyperlanes and the routes to and from were extremely busy with commercial traffic. Like, that's not an understatement at all. In between all the independent cargo haulers, core-based corporations and large intergalactic conglomerations like Blackrow Hyperlogistics, sometimes even space travel felt like a crowded place. Crowded, congested space traffic lanes always had regulated separation schemes and lanes for traffic. This was something every spacer knew and usually it was also a place pirates tended to avoid. Too much traffic meant to high a change some patrol boat or fellow hauler came to their target's aid. Nah, they usually went out of their way to avoid these congested parts of hyperspace traffic.

Not today, though. The Nerf-Herder Light Freighter was outfitted as a cargo hauler and its IFF info showed he was meant to be going in the direction he was heading, which was towards the Core, in the opposite direction as the Republic Fuel Convoy. From the cockpit, Visquis noticed the starfighters leave one of the larger freighters and that strangely enough put him at ease because that meant the convoy wasn't going to engage the hyperdrive for at least a half hour seeing as the starfighter don't have a hyperdrive and employing them around the convoy for protection was ridiculously expensive if done for every ten minutes of 'normal speed'.

With a sly smile on his Quarren face, Visquis opened the encrypted comm channel with Preyt Jhess "Republic fighter escort in sight," he informed his protection detail, "-switching to plan Nem'ro."

The droid co-pilot beeped and bleeped, anticipating that Visquis was going to address him next. "Auto-pilot engaged, keep us portside of our lane."

Leaving the cockpit, the young Quarren pirate made his way to the cargo bay and checked the large amount of coaxium stored in its hull and more specifically the timed detonator. He would need to press the button on there before using his escape pod because he couldn't have the ship and thus the convoy explode before he was well out of range. Being a member of the Supreme Mogul's Crime Family was nice and all, but he wasn't willing to die over it. Content with the state of his cargo, Visquis then went to check his escape pod for all necessities. All his personal items were already inside and the panel showed no singularities that would explain malfunction. Good.

The Republic Convoy would never see him coming.

@Versok

 

[Preyt Jhess]

Preyt stopped the music after seeing the republic fighters, that obviously meant that they might have to go and engange in some classic space combat, but it also meant that they wouldn't simply going to leave that part of the galaxy any time soon, leaving them with a lot of rigged coaxium and no one to bomb with it. "Roger that" Preyt said though the comms to Visquis, looking at the convoy with a sinister smile, he couldn't wait to see the fireworks go boom on those ships, he would have usually recorded the whole thing just to add the video to his "happy memories" compilation, unfortunately, he destroyed the camera after smashing a Rodian's head with it.

"Ssso, in case they try to open communicationsss with usss, we are jussst delivering thisss fuel to Zeltros, okay? The info about the ssshipment ssshould all be sssomewhere inside your ssstolen ssship" Preyt then prepared himself and the ship in case anything went South, the crew was already on the weapons and the shield was obviously active, and while they were not doing anything specially suspicious, the Trandoshan was more than ready to fight and blow some ships.

@Ecclessey @Nor'baal

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

Following protocol, Darwin Antilles activated the inter-ship communicator, and gave a clear instruction "Unidentified vessel, alter your course three points port immediately." he spoke, briefly switching off the communicator, and activating his fighters weapons in case things went south, before speaking again "...this is your only warning."

The ship was acting oddly, its course clearly intending to intersect with convoy, and - hovering his hands over the ships weapons - he readied himself to take down the vessel, immobilizing it if it did not change course.

 

[Visquis]

Visquis heard his ship being hailed all the way from the corridor and dashed back to the cockpit to grab the comm unit and drop himself in the pilot's chair. "Republic Starfighter, this is Midline Cargo Hauler Synestra bound for Corellia-" he frowned as he said it, checking his systems and wondering why the starfighter pilot hadn't just checked the Nerf-Herder's course, name and destination on his own IFF display. He would've seen that it wasn't on a collision course with the convoy at all and merely kept portside of its own traffic lane. Apparently the Republic employed pilots who had no idea how any of the piloting and spacer-work actually worked.

Checking where the course correction that he was ordered would put him, Visquis saw no reason for not complying. "-changing course to port at your command." The nerve of the Republic Navy to command freighters to move out of there way outside of Republic space was beyond Visquis. He'd heard stories of Republic arrogance and in some way this entire war was because of the arrogance of its meddling senators, yet he never thought it'd run so deep.

Setting the auto-pilot to make a turn port and engaging the ship's civilian grade shields, the young Quarren once again left his cockpit -like all cargo haulers did- and went back to the cargo bay. There was a lot he would never understand, but ordering a freighter to go port and thus directing him into your convoy was perhaps the most rookie mistake anyone could've ever made. Visquis set the timed detonator the coaxium to blow and stepped into his escape pod, shaking his head.

It was only thirty seconds after he was ordered to turn to port and if the starfighter ordered fire on him now he would no doubt be facing court martial, if he survived the chain reaction. The last thing Visquis did before punching out of his ship was open the ship's intercomm, "Droid, engage full speed." He could hear the engines roar as he punched the button and was shot out into the endless black of space where he'd wait for his partner-in-crime to pick him up.

All the 'Synestra' had needed to intercept with the convoy had been a course change to port, which is exactly what the Republic pilot demanded of him. With it's shields engaged and flying at full speed, there was simply no way the convoy's protection could stop the Nerf-Herder before it's timed explosion would start a chain reaction and take all Republic ships with it. Visquis hoped that Preyt was able to protect his pod while it shot towards him at maximum speed. He'd be hard pressed to escape the blast himself, after all.

@Versok @Nor'baal

 

[Preyt Jhess]

Welp, seemed like whoever was on the other side of the comms had just make their work a lot more easier, Visquis had set the ship to take course and go boom just as planned and the Trandoshan went to pick him up, now the freighter was going at full speed against the convoy and the coaxium was set to explode fairly quickly, Preyt moved towards the escape pod, opening the currently empty hangar and catching him with it, just to close it and get as away from the explosion as he could.

"Good job mate" Preyt commented as soon as the pirate came out from the pod "Thisss couldn't have gone any better, they might suspect a little becaussse you...well...usssed the essscape pod, but I would be sssurprissse if thessse republic ssscrubs are able to react and do anything about it, probably they probably haven't realized that sssomething isss going on yet, thossse moronic sssnobsss" Preyt stated, letting out a smile with moving away from the convoy to gain a little more distance just in case "Now we jussst have to wait for the fireworksss"

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

And just like that, the apporaching ship canged its course, on a direct collision with the convoy. From his vantage point, Darwin saw the ships escape pod launch - and put two and two together, the ship was on a ramming course, and so he did as his training commanded, and attempted to disable the vessel.

Bringing his starighter closer, he fired a torpedo at the escape pod, intending to destroy it, and a further torpedo directly at the underside of the freighter, seeking to disable it by destorying the vessels fuel lines. Unaware the ship was briming with explosives, he kept his vessel on its path toward the enroacher, and fired at the cockpit with his fighters blasters.

 

[Visquis]

The Republic fighter pilot must have really bad reflexes, Visquis thought as he watched his ship become smaller and smaller the further he drifted out into the endless black. The Nerf-Herder had been on collision-course for thirty seconds before Visquis had used his pod and the only thing he saw when he was well and out was one single Republic fighter turn to close distance with the freighter. Long seconds passed then, the freighter coming closer and closer to the convoy and the fighter approaching it seemingly with the intention of kissing it. "Karking hell is he doing?" the young Quarren frowned from his pod.

First the Republic pilot had ordered him on that course, so it being a collision course must've been the intended outcome, but why would it approach the freighter anyway? Was it to scan it and then order it back towards its own traffic lane? Was the Republic really -that- arrogant to have a slow freighter maneuver its way to an fro instead of the agile and fast fighter? Visquis felt more and more content with blowing them all up and showing those Core worlds what their arrogance is good for.

Luckily everything for that was already set and put in action. Due to the late reaction of the pilot and his severe mistakes, the freighter was close enough to the convoy for its combustion to cause a chain reaction of ships crashing into each other, losing life-supporting functions and outright exploding themselves. It wasn't something Visquis would ever get to see, however, as the Republic fighter fired a proton torpedo at his escape pod.

He was entirely trusting on his partner (@Versok) to protect him from that torpedo since his pod didn't have any anti-missile features to boast. That said, the torpedo fired on the freighter was simply too late, if Visquis' partner didn't take care of that as well.

Either way, a giant explosion ensued and engulfed part of the convoy and the Republic fighter pilot, almost assured to kill everyone and everything in its blast radius.

 

[Preyt Jhess]

Well, to be honest, Preyt didn't expect the starfighter to actually shoot at the freighter and his pirate partner now that the freighter was so close, but it put the Trandoshan on alert, Preyt started piloting the gunship towards Visquis and the torpedo's general direction "Lassser weaponsss, ssshoot at that torpedo!" He ordered to his goons, the three laser weapons shooting at the torpedo the moment Preyt shouted to his thugs, one of the bolts would have to hit the torpedo before it reached to his mate, for the gunship wasn't too far from the freighter when the pirate used is escape pod since they were guarding it? He couldn't do much to stop the torpedo going towards the freighter with all the coaxium, but well, coaxium explosions were kind of big, so the convoy would probably still get hit by it. So, that thing was going to create a huuuuge mess.

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

Given the speed at which a proton torpedo moved, it was almost imposible to shoot it down - let alone give a command, and then coordinate three seperate weapons firing to disable it. Theoretically, such an act was possible, but practically, it simply was not. The torpedo continued unabated toward the unprotected escape pod containing Visquis, immolating it on impact, the lasers missing the torpedo entirely.

Darwin however had little time to celebrate, yanking the controls of his fighter in a desperate bid to escape the exploding frieghters blast. His starfighter was not able to withstand the blaster, and milliseconds after the escape pod blew up, so to did his starfighter, becoming a fireball in space - Darwin and all.

 

[Visquis]

There wasn't much of a life that flashed before Visquis' eyes when the torpedo impacted with his pod for he hadn't had lived a life long enough to make it memorable. Now, the young quarren pirate was one of countless basadi -or common thugs- that would die as a direct result of the Republic declaring war on the Hutt Cartel. Perhaps there'd be a Vigo one day remembering him, or most likely the vigo would be dead, too. Regardless of his life ending, Preyt Jhess (@Versok) onboard his own ship was safe from the blast and would survive to take whatever credits the mighty Supreme Mogul Svallos had left.

The Republic convoy and the starfighter piloting senator were destroyed, striking a significant blow against the Republic at only the cost of some coaxium and a young soul. Svallos knew there were higher prices paid for similar results.

This was a cheap win.

 

[Preyt Jhess]

Preyt watched as the escape pod got utterly destroyed, the lizard letting a sigh and facepalming after seeing how none of the shots got the torpedo, it made sense though, those things were pretty fast and there was no way the crew he hired was able to hit them, but the Trandoshan was a bit sad, while the plan had gone perfectly and the convoy was indeed destroyed, they should have planned the squidface's escape a bit better, probably wouldn't have died like that.

But Preyt wasn't one to grief loudly or for long periods of time, so he shrugged at his copilot before talking through the speakers at the rest of the crew, looking at the beautyful explosions that came from the now destroyed convoy "Ladiesss and gentlemen!" Preyt said loudly to catch their attention "WEEE GOT THEM!" The lizard shouted in a cheerful manner, which was followed by the crew celebration, this had been a success, but the Trandoshan wouldn't forget the valiant effort of Visquis, for this wouldn't have been achieved without him.
.
.
.
At least until he gets drunk, which will probably erase him from Preyt's memory like half of the stuff that happened around him.

/End thread