ONE
Inside a combat transport
13:22
"Bastila! I need to know now!" Faryl yelled from the cockpit, turning his head to the back of the ship. Another laser blast smashed into the Incisor and Faryl cursed as he desperately attempted to dodge another one.
The Jedi sitting on the benches against the walls of the troop module exhibited different kinds of behaviour. Some had their eyes screwed shut, others muttered mantras of some kind, two of them looked out of the Incisor's transparisteel windows with eyes wide with fear, and yet others had their eyes locked on the meditating figure in the middle.
A red light started flashing on the Incisor's heads-up display. Faryl growled an obscenity and sent the combat transport into a wild spin to avoid the incoming laser fire. Next to him, the Twi'lek co-pilot rattled information into Faryl's ear in her strange language.
"I know," Faryl snapped. "I'm not blind, damnit!"
One of the Jedi leaned over to his neighbour and whispered, "that red light means our shields are down." The other Jedi gnawed her lower lip a little bit harder.
"Bastila!" Faryl attempted again. But the meditating Jedi still did not stir. Frustrated, Faryl then directed his anger at the Zabrak manning the gun turret, on the upper deck. "What the Hell is Dar-Vek doing up there? Trying to impress those fighters with a laser show?"
Another blast hit the Incisor, much louder this time due to the absence of shields. An alarm started tweeting. The Twi'lek co-pilot started spouting more information at Faryl.
"Then we'll fly without long-range sensors!" Faryl barked. Then, under his breath, "it doesn't matter anyway, the only thing we can use those sensors for now is to broadcast our last words back to the Claymore."
A Sith fighter whined past overhead, only to be destroyed by the Incisor's penta-laser. "About time that Zabrak gearhead did something useful," Faryl grunted. The fact that the 'Zabrak gearhead' had blasted more fighters into space dust than Faryl had successfully dodged turbolaser blasts did nothing to lower Faryl's need to sling around random insults.
"The break between those two Corsairs," a calm and refined voice said softly. "Dive into it."
Faryl turned his head toward the meditating Jedi on the troop module floor. "You've got to be joking! If we fly in between those two things, their turbolasers will grind us to bits!"
The Jedi's eyes were still closed. "Trust me, Faryl."
The Echani pilot shook his head. "Fine. At least then I can blame our deaths on you."
The Jedi's lips moved in a faint smile.
"Here goes! Hope you all went to the bathroom before we left!" Faryl yelled as he jerked the steering yoke and sent the Incisor roaring toward the opening between the two frigates. The comlink connected to the turret started relaying the Zabrak gunner's hysterical shrieks. "Are you crazy, Faryl?! What in the Sarlacc pits are you doing?!"
Faryl jabbed his finger at the comlink's "squelch"-button and wondered what those Corsairs' captains must be thinking right now. A brave and bold combat transport racing toward them at top speed, followed by several Sith fighters. They must look completely suicidal.
Several turbolasers were already firing at them, and missing spectacularly. Faryl dodged and weaved as best as he could, but it was almost as if the turbolasers didn't want to hit them. He spared a quick glance at the meditating woman in the back. Lines were creasing her forehead and beads of sweat were forming on it.
One of the Sith fighters was vaporized by a lucky friendly fire blast. Well, unlucky for the Sith, obviously. With a deft maneuver, Faryl managed to ram the flimsy Sith fighter flying next to them, sending it careening into one of the Corsairs. The third was broken in two by the Incisor's pentalasers. The Corsairs' turbolasers continued to fire like mad, but the only thing that struck them was a harmless glancing hit on the lower hull. Another turbolaser bolt flashed right past the cockpit, and then they were through, zipping between the two frigates and toward the two capital ships they had been defending.