Near the Unknown Regions

The Aquarius and the Outrider dropped out of hyperspace at the rendezvous point.
"Nobody to be seen," Dash Rendar said to Biggs who looked at the readouts.
His son shrugged. "Maybe they're only delayed, Papa. Look, there are Mama and Junior."
Dash smiled seeing his wife's battered freighter floating along his YT-2400. He hailed the Aquarius: "Outrider to Aquarius, hello sweetheart."
Dash Jr. chuckled when he answered his father's call. "Here isn't sweetheart but your son, father. Everything's alright over there?"
"Of course," his father's answer came. "Where's your mother?"
"She laid down to rest after we fell back in real space. To be honest I'm a bit worried about her."
"Worried? Why? Your mother is stronger than you think, Junior."
"I think she is tired of being on the run. Mama mentioned that this happened to both of you during the Civil War. I hardly remember this time and she speaks seldom about it."
"As nearly all veterans of the war do. Those who are bragging about their heroics aren't mostly the heroes as they see themselves, my son. Some of them didn't even fire a shot. It's a shame."
Dash Jr. looked thoughtful out of the viewport at the stars. Like their mother their father hasn't told them much about what they have done during the war. And no one of them has dared to ask. Now they found themselves in the middle of a war. A war that seemed already lost. Too few resources, too little manpower and support with those who helped gone when Starkiller Base fired at the Hosnian System. And now the First Order showed up at D'Qar. The young Jedi sighed. Fighting for a lost cause wasn't after his taste.

Biggs kept a close eye at the Outrider's sensor readouts when the proximity alert blared. The monitor showed three dots marked as hostiles. "Great," the young Jedi muttered under his breath. "Right what we need now. Father!"
His father looked at the monitor. "They're still out of range, Biggs. There's no reason for haste." Dash leaned back in his seat and commed the Aquarius. "Aquarius for Outrider. Three hostiles coming in."
"I see them, father," came Dash Jr.'s response while the siren was to be heard in the background. "Time to wake, Mama, I think."
"There's no need to wake me, Junior." Nomi slumped in the pilot's seat. "Shields are up?"
"Of course," answered her eldest son.
The Civil War veteran studied the readouts and frowned. "One freighter and two escorts, marked as First Order. Easy prey if you ask me." Nomi commed her husband: "Dash…"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"You saw the readouts? What do you think? We take them on?"
The former mercenary chuckled: "Of course, my love." His fingers moved over the controls when he activated the Outrider's weapons system. Nomi did the same aboard the Aquarius. Dash fired a shot across the bow and hailed the First Order freighter: "Unknown freighter you just entered Republic space. State your designation and cargo."
The answer was only statics. Dash hailed the First Order freighter again: "Unknown freighter answer or we shoot instead across your bow right through it."
Finally he heard a bored and arrogant voice answer: "Republic? There is no Republic. You are nothing else than pirates."

The two escorting TIEs begun their approach full throttle. Dash switched over to the battle frequency.
"Incoming hostiles, Nomi. Stay sharp, darling."
The Jedi's fingers danced over the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. "Junior, all power to the front shield." Her son did as his mother told him. "They're coming fast, Mama."
Nomi gritted her teeth and let her hands linger over the fire controls. Her son steered the Aquarius in the TIEs direction to take them head-on.
His father onboard the Outrider kept a close eye at the hostile freighter. "Two dorsal laser cannons. That's all what they have to fire at us. We should take them out fast." Biggs looked at his old man, grinned and steered the YT-2400 towards the First Order vessel.
"Keep the fighters at bay, Nomi." "I'll do my best," his wife's response came as she fires at the first enemy fighter. "I hate those shields they have," she muttered under her breath.
Dash Jr. turned round the ship and his mother fired again at the TIE. The TIE pilot at the yoke definitely knew his stuff and went in a steep dive. At the same time the second TIE came up behind the Aquarius and fired. Dash Jr. cursed when the freighter shuddered under the impact but the shield held. He pushed a button to transfer energy from the front shield to the aft shield.

Dash Rendar saw what happened. "Sithspawn! Seems they're in trouble." The skilled pilot turned the Outrider. "Fire at will, Biggs, don't let them fry your mother and sibling."
"I'm on it, father," his son answered and pushed the fire button when he saw the first TIE in the crosshairs. The TIE's shields were already crippled by the hit his mother scored earlier and couldn't absorb the blast. The enemy fighter exploded in a fireball. The young Jedi let out a cheer of triumph. Dash Rendar cast a glance at his son. "Splendid shot, Biggs. But don't get cocky. One left." He steered the Outrider towards the remaining enemy fighter.
"Junior! We encircle it," he said over comm. "Copy this, father," his eldest's response came. "Mama, you heard Papa." Dash Jr. flew a corkscrew maneuver and set the Aquarius behind the TIE while the Outrider came frontal up on it. Nomi and her husband fired simultaneously.
The laser beams pierced right through the TIE's cockpit since the combined firepower overstressed the shields and the pilot had a quick death when his cockpit exploded.

"Now we'll see if the First Order guy's still farouche," Dash muttered under his breath and hailed again the freighter. "Unknown freighter, prepare to be boarded."
Instead of an answer the freighter's laser cannons swiveled in the Outrider's direction. The war veteran sighed and nodded to his son. "Fire!"
Biggs pushed the button and two proton torpedoes were on their way towards the freighter to take the shield generator out.
"Shields down." Dash careful approached the freighter when Nomi and her sons felt something.
"Turn her around and back away from the ship, father! They activated the self destruct."
Without hesitation Dash turned the Outrider and headed full throttle away from the doomed First Order freighter. Not too early. A chain reaction of explosions went through the vessel until it vanished in an inferno. Dash's YT-2400 barely escaped the aftermath of the explosion.

Nomi sighed seeing and feeling the loss of so many lives for nothing. She unstrapped, stood up and left wordless the cockpit to go back to her bunk.