Dogfight
The planet Tatooine is home to a good variety of scum and villainy from across the Galaxy, the kind of people who hire Bounty Hunters, and pay them well. Unfortunately for Decke, and his partner, Kesia Orr, some of those scum and villains require a little more reassurance of what their potential employees are capable of.
This is why he and Kesia were currently cruising across the shifting sands of the Dune Sea in The Hunter, Decke's personal ARC-170, pursuing a pilot formerly employed by a notable piece of scum called Jabba Desilijic Tiure. The chase had started simply enough; He and Kesia had traced the target, Guito Bowrid to a sleazy Cantina in the southernmost section of Mos Espa. From there they had followed the Rodian to his private Hanger, which is where things had gone sour.
Bowrid had been expecting some kind of hit from Jabba so had fitted a new security system to the hanger so recently that Jabba's network of spies had not been aware of it. Decke and Kesia may have been able to scope the place out prior to beginning the hunt but Jabba had been insistent on a very tight timeframe so there hadn't been the time to do a more a thorough job. Decke had guessed that this was the true test for them to pass, not merely the capture.
Bowrid had been alerted to his stalkers and had taken off in a Z-95 towards the dune sea which to most would have been the end of the chase but not so for Decke. In the time since his desertion from the Imperial Army he'd created a name for himself on Mandalore for always completing the contract quickly and in a, sometimes brutally, efficient manner. He was not about to ruin it by giving up at the first hurdle.
He and Kesia had sprinted to the hanger The hunter had been docked in, Kesia using the force to assert a sizable gap on him which would enable her to get the fighter going before Decke arrived. As soon as he'd jumped into the pilot's seat, the cockpit was down and the fighter was airborne. Moments later they were gaining ground on the target.
"Why hasn't he just left the planet? " Kesia asked from her position in the front Gunners Seat.
"It would be too easy for us to catch him if he did. Planet side he may have a chance. In a straight fight, a Z-95 has a speed and manoeuvrability advantage over a stock ARC. " Replied Decke, his tone matter -of-fact. He'd wondered the same thing but as always his tactical training gave him the answer.
"No." He continued. "He's leading us somewhere where he thinks he'll have those advantages. "
"Good job were not in a stock ARC then." Kesia Replied. Decke could picture the smirk appearing on her face. She was right though. Decke had made a great many additions to The Hunter and not only the new Black and Red Paintjob. The Z-95 would still have an edge when it came to manoeuvrability, that was a given considering its size but for speed the Hunter could not be beaten. Its engines had been customised to Mustaphar and back. No other fighter could outrun it.
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An hour after takeoff, they were still tracking Bowrid's vapour trail. The Sand had given way to rocky flats occasionally punctured by soaring rock formations which, had they not been chasing a target might have warranted a closer sightseeing fly by.
"Gah! " Kesia Exclaimed, the anger in her voice more than evident. "How have we not caught up to him yet? He didn't have this much of a lead. Are we actually following the right trail? "
"Calm down Kes, This is the right trail and it seems to be shortening. I think he may be leading us to... " He looked ahead trying to spot Bowrid's possible ambush site. To his right and in exactly the direction of the vapour trails was a raised area of land with a number of the huge rock towers on its plateau.
"There, to the right! That looks like the perfect place for an ambush, anything within Sensor range? "
"There are several heat signatures, but they could be anything. Ships, Sandpeople or natural Heat vents. Force says he's there though. "She said cynically. Decke steered the ship towards the formation. Kesia's control over the force wasn't as masterful as some of the Generals he's served under during the Clone Wars but it was certainly different. Different perhaps but usually spot on.
For the brief interval before they reached the formation Decke's eyes scanned the nooks and spaces for the Z-95. He couldn't see any trace of it. He steered the ARC into a space between two towering spires of rock and entered the formation proper. It was several seconds of flight when the attack finally came. A shot splashed across the rear shields. Decke knew that Kesia had already turned to man the rear gun. As she did Decke was already turning the Hunter sharply to the left into a steep turning climb. More splashes of green light across the shields told him the Z-95 was still with them. Completing the climb he banked left again barrel rolling through a gap between two spires.
"He's still with us." Shouted Kesia. "I've hit him a few times but his shields are still holding. "
Decke Jinked right and banked through another gap in the spires, before pulling the ARC into another steep climb.
"I think it's time to switch roles, we are supposed to be hunting him after all." Replied Decke frustrated.
Decke piloted the Hunter vertically out of the formation and continued as if heading for space.
"Hold on I'm gonna pull a cutthroat Turn." He said, warning Kesia to brace. The Cutthroat Turn was a manoeuvre he'd learnt on Correlia, widely known to be home to some the greatest pilots in the Galaxy. It involved climbing to a great height, cutting the engines, kicking the tail out sending the Fighter into a Shallow axis turn and letting gravity do the rest. It was called the Cutthroat Turn because the G-forces involved were said to strain the pilots neck muscles to the point where it felt like they were about to tear. Apparently, for a clone used to high G turns and a Force User, it was business as usual, to coin a phrase.
He cut the engines and pulled the Hunter into the tight turn required. The air resistance across the full profile of the ARC slowed them and once Gravity had taken over the Hunter was plummeting towards Tatooine once more They could see the Z-95 coming up towards them. He heard the almost imperceptible sound of Kesia's Seat swivelling into the forward position and a second later the two wing tip cannons were pummelling the front shields of the Z-95. Decke Started up the thrusters once more and Piloted the Arc out of the Z-95's path as it shot past them towards the upper atmosphere. He pulled them out of the dive and rolled the Hunter back into the fight with them now behind the Z-95 which had taken the apparent opportunity to finally head spaceward.
"Big Mistake. " Decke thought aloud. Once the fight hit the vacuum, the advantage was Deckes. A Z-95 was good in close combat where there were a lot of objects to hide behind. But with nothing obstructing the target, the Kill, was theirs. Or at least it would be if Jabba's Bounty was for capture only.
"So, we have a clear shot, but we can't take it. No tractor beams on the hunter either, any Ideas? "He said aloud. Kesia was usually the one with the ideas once all conventional ones had run out.
"Just one. If you can get me close enough I may be able to knock him out using the force. "She replied with a hint of humour creeping into her voice. This, Decke thought, would be good.
He accelerated towards the Z-95 which Bowrid was jinking this way and that in an attempt to dodge the blaster fire which wasn't coming. As the Hunter caught up Decke barrel rolled her so they could look up and see the Frantic Rodian punching buttons and flipping switches in an attempt to evade them. Suddenly Bowrid looked down to his right apparently to his harness catch and without any further warning was pulled out of his seat face first into the cockpit canopy with some force. He dropped back down into his seat, his chin resting on his chest.
A smile spread across Deckes face as he realised what had happened. In his mind's eye he could picture Kes sat in her seat with her eyes firmly on the fighter above her. A couple of swift hand gestures and her job was done. Their job was done.
"Jabba's gonna love this. " He said.
"I just hope he loves it enough to give us more work. " Was Kesia's reply although Decke knew she'd be bragging about this for weeks to any one she met.
"Agreed. OK, engage the magnetic clamps. Let's take this fool back to Jabba." He said plotting the course to Jabba's Palace. With the Clamps locked onto the Z-95 they returned to the planet.