Location: Kuat
The Huntress came out of hyperspace, appearing just out of range of one of the last planets that Vaukel hoped he would never go.
"Oh great…" he muttered, seeing the planetary ring.
"Something wrong?" asked Nectije.
"Nothing… It's just that… Well… Why of all places, are we here?" asked Vaukel.
"Kuat Drive Yards is one of the largest ship manufacturers in the galaxy," said a male Zabrak Revanite Pursuer, "our reports say that they're responsible for providing the empire with some of their largest and most powerful ships."
Something clicked in Vaukel's head.
"Correct me if I'm wrong… But I thought the plan was for us to start from the Outer Rim and work our way towards the Core Worlds," said Vaukel.
"Clearly someone wasn't listening," said a voice.
Vaukel whirled around and saw Julsha approach.
"The main invasion force will be starting from the Outer Rim and working their way into the Core, that'll keep the empire and rebellion from having a means of escaping us," said Julsha, "the pursuer fleets are tasked with slipping in behind enemy lines and taking out key planets belonging to the empire so we can keep them from trying to restore themselves to their former glory."
"What about the rebels?" asked Vaukel.
"The rebels don't have any planets under their control, they only have cells hidden among the populace," said Julsha, "besides, even if there are rebel cells on any imperial planets, the hunters will find them and silence them."
Vaukel didn't say anything for a moment, he just looked at his master, then he turned his attention back to Kuat.
"…So, what's the plan?" he asked.
"First trick, will be to keep the imperial blockade on us," said Julsha, "once we get the attention of the imperial forces, we'll send in our commandos and pursuers onboard that dreadnaught and disable it, if not destroy it."
Vaukel looked at the Star Dreadnaught that seemed to be leading the blockade from the front, he felt a chill go up his spine.
"Now my apprentice," Julsha said as she put a hand on Vaukel's shoulder.
Vaukel looked at his master.
"…How good can you fly?" asked Julsha.
"…I participated in a few space battles with my master… And when I was with Clan Cold-Blood I learned a few tricks from those Mandalorians," he said.
"Good, you'll be-"
"General," said a Revanite Trooper.
Julsha turned.
"We're receiving a transmission from the Star Dreadnaught Aurora," he said.
"Oh?" she asked, "that's odd, I could've sworn we were out of range of their scanners…"
Julsha followed the trooper to the bridge, Vaukel and Nectije followed. When the group arrived, Julsha was surprised to see, Revanite Master Champions Kyrezac Ashrun and Kraxoch, a human male and a Rattataki male, were also on call with the individual in command of the Aurora.
"Unidentified enemy fleet, this is Admiral Teren Rogriss, you have entered imperial territory, identify yourselves," said the imperial.
"I am Kyrezac Ashrun," said Kyrezac.
"I am Kraxoch," said Kraxoch.
"I am Julsha Agabard," said Julsha.
"We cannot tell you who we are, but we would like to extend our thanks by having you reach out to us," said Kyrezac, "know that we are only here to claim custody of Kuat Drive Yards. If you stand down, you and your men shall be spared; however, we cannot promise that you won't be taken into custody."
"If you choose not to stand down, we will open fire and reduce your ships to scrap," said Kraxoch, "and your dreadnaught will be under our control."
The imperial admiral was quiet for a moment… But only for a moment.
"Well, you seem like a perfectly civilized lot… But though you appear civilized, I know not where you come from, nor do I know who you are aligned with, and as such, as an admiral of the imperial navy, I cannot allow you to take the shipyards," said Teren.
The three masters looked at each other, then back at the admiral.
"You refuse to relinquish control of Kuat?" asked Julsha.
"That is correct," said Teren.
"Then you have made your choice," said Kraxoch.
The Revanite Masters each ended the call.
"Helmsman, raise the shields, power up the cannons and bring us in range of the imperial fleet," ordered Julsha, "the rest of you get to your ships. Prepare for battle!"
"Sir, yes sir!" barked the Revanite pilots.
Vaukel watched as the pilots raced to the hangar. Julsha walked over to Vaukel and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Stick close to me," she said with a smile as she headed to the hangar as well.
Vaukel had a shocked look on his face, but he soon followed.
"That was quick," he thought.
Vaukel headed to the hangar and looked around.
"Vaukel, over here!" yelled Nectije.
Vaukel raced over to the Twi'lek.
"What are these?" Vaukel asked, seeing the vessels.
"Vipal-class Revanite Interceptors," said Nectije, "what they lack in firepower, they more than make-up for in high-speed ship-to-ship combat proficiency. The cannons on the ship have a high rate of fire and it comes equipped swarm rockets."
"I'm guessing that Force Users are permitted to pilot these," Vaukel said as he climbed into the cockpit.
"Of course," Nectije said as he climbed into his own interceptor, "the other pilots can't be able to turn quick enough in them."
Nectije wasn't exactly lying, these interceptors did seem to rely more heavily on speed than firepower. The wings appeared similar to a Mandalorian starfighter, but the main body of the vessel appeared sleek and rounded like a tank shell, unlike the starfighters in the hanger, which appeared much more ridged.
"Let's hope it's not too different from my old starfighter during the war," he thought as he closed the cockpit.
"This is the helmsman, imperial fighters detected," said the helmsman, "repeat, imperial fighters detected."
"This is it everyone," said Julsha, "all fighter and interceptor pilots take off, bombers, hang back until we're in range of the enemy fleet."
Vaukel took a deep breath and exhaled. He fired up the engines, raised the interceptor off the ground and followed everyone out into space.
"Remember Vaukel, stick close to me, stay calm and focused…" Julsha said on the comm.
"Yes master," he said.
Vaukel looked around at the massive squadrons of ships, which appeared to be much more… Rigged than the interceptors. Vaukel also took notice of the arrival of additional squadrons that came to join the battle.
"The other masters must be joining the fight," he thought.
"General, enemy fighters coming in on our twelve," said the helmsman.
"They don't waste time, now do they?" asked Julsha.
Over towards the blockade, scores of TIE squadrons came roaring towards the approaching Revanite fleet.
"Lock S-Foils in attack position," ordered Julsha, "activate your deflectors."
The Neebray-class Revanite Starfighters switched to attack position.
"Here we go," murmured Vaukel.
The squadrons came in closer towards each other. Weapons were primed, fingers were on the trigger, adrenaline was pumping through the veins of the pilots.
It was on.
"Break off and pursue!" barked Julsha, "weapons free! Weapons free!"
The fighters broke off and fired on the imperial starfighters, shooting down a good dozen of them before they too broke off and engaged the Revanites. Vaukel stuck close to Julsha as instructed as she gave chase with a TIE fighter. The Revanite Master let loose a quick burst of bolts from her cannons every five seconds as she stayed on the TIE fighter's tail.
"Vaukel, take the shot when you see an opening," she ordered.
"Got it," he said.
The TIE dropped low, then it went high; still both master and apprentice gave chase.
"Master, interceptor coming your way!" barked Nectije.
Julsha gasped, seeing the TIE coming in.
"Vaukel, break off!" she barked.
"What!? You said stick close-"
"Forget what I said, break off!" she yelled.
Vaukel and Julsha broke off as the interceptor came in and split them apart. Vaukel looked back at the imperial starship.
"Jeez… That thing almost matches the speed of a Vulture," he thought.
Vaukel gasped and veered to the right as green bolts rained down on him. That TIE fighter that he and Julsha were pursuing was back.
"Uh-oh," he thought as he punched it.
The TIE gave chase.
"This is Vaukel, I've got one on my back!" he screamed as he tried to shake him.
"Commander, move to the right," said a voice.
Vaukel looked up and saw a Revanite starfighter come in, spraying a burst of bolts at the pursuing TIE fighter blowing it to pieces.
"Thanks for that," said Vaukel.
He got on the comms.
"Master, are you there? Where are you?" he asked.
"Afraid there's been a change of plans Vaukel, you're going to have to fly solo from this point forward," grunted Julsha, "these bastards really want me and the other masters dead. Watch back and keep an eye out for anyone being pursued. These imperials are wily."
"I'll remember that," said Vaukel, "good luck, and may the Force be with you master."
Vaukel cut the connection, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
"Alright… Time to dance," he thought.
Vaukel fired up the engines and took off, going after a TIE fighter that shot and blew a Revanite starfighter to pieces. Vaukel gritted his teeth and fired a retaliation barrage, blowing the TIE to hell, then he resumed his hunt.
As the young man flew through the fray, he caught the attention of another interceptor coming right at him. Vaukel broke off as the interceptor fired on him. Thinking fast, Vaukel pulled back on the controls and performed a Split S maneuver, he turned his starship upright and roared towards the interceptor, letting loose a hail of bolts before the imperial pilot could have a chance to react and was blown to pieces.
"Alert, the imperials have sent their star destroyers forward to back up the imperial fighters," the helmsman reported.
Vaukel looked towards the distance.
"Aw crap," he thought.
/\/\/\/\/\
"We found our smuggler," said Kylvin.
"Looks like someone beat the hell out of him," said Juzem.
The other hunters looked and saw Kylvin and Juzem drag out their man.
"A Nikto?" asked Nikron.
"A Nikto," said Juzem, "his name is Bykk Sorr."
"They got a file on him?" asked Shokan.
"Oh yeah, real big tech-wizard. Used to do a lot of… Should we say 'shady dealings' during the Civil War before he was arrested. When The Phantom Corsairs learned about him, they sprung this guy from the imperial prison ship and brought them into their ranks so he could help them with a lot of their heists. Breaking into banks, raiding cargo ships, the works."
"And then he ended up in prison again," said Kayla.
"Well, when you say it like that, you make it seem like I wanted to be put back behind bars," said Bykk, "hey, you guys mind letting me go?"
Jezum and Kylvin released the Nikto.
"Say, who are you guys anyway, I heard that there was a Jedi strike team that busted in here and was cutting through the imperials, but you don't look like any Jedi I've seen," he said as he dusted himself off, "even from the holo-net."
"Who we are is of little importance," said Shokan, "we're here because we caught wind that your crew was carrying some rather precious cargo and ended up crashing here on the planet."
"Precious cargo?" asked Bykk, "oh! You mean the Rectification Unit!"
"Rectal what?" asked Kayla.
"Rectification Unit, real advanced piece of hardware, Rakatan in origin by the looks of it," said Bykk, "that stuff is able to make some real solid hardware."
"What kind of hardware?" Kylvin asked, crossing his arms.
"The kind of hardware that puts medical droids and surgeons to shame," said Bykk, "this baby is able to create the perfect cyborg."
"Perfect cyborg?" asked Juzem.
"Yeah, one of my crewmates lost his arm during one of our heists and decided to test it out himself. In a few moments, boom! Brand new arm, nice and sturdy too," Bykk said proudly.
"A Rakatan device that makes perfect cybernetic enhancements without having to rely on any… Well… I think we all know," said Nikron.
Kayla suddenly had a thought.
"Hey… Refresh my memory… Wasn't Rakatan tech fueled by the Force?" she asked.
"Yes," said Shokan, "from what we've learned."
"…Which side of the Force exactly?" asked Kayla.
"Primarily, the dark side," said Nikron, "why?"
Kayla turned pale. The others were confused at the way the color left Kayla's face, but something clicked in their minds within a hot minute too.
"Oh no," said Kylvin.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Well things went from zero to a hundred really quick," thought Vaukel.
"This is General Julsha, Huntress launch the bombers," ordered Julsha, "Nemesis Squadron, provide escort."
"This is General Kyrezac, Valor launch the bombers," ordered Kyrezac, "Cyclone Squadron, provide escort."
"This is General Kraxoch, Warlord launch the bombers," ordered Kraxoch, "Firebolt Squadron, provide escort."
All at once, multiple bomber squadrons and escorts were deployed and headed towards the imperial star destroyers.
"All starfighter pilots, focus fire on the bridge deflector shield generators on the closest star destroyer," ordered Julsha, "Ripper, Matriarch provide cover fire keep those ships one you."
Starfighter squadrons made a line for the closest star destroyer as the Revanite star destroyers fired on the closest star destroyer, Temperament. Six starfighters broke off in groups of three and fired on the deflector shield generators, destroying them, and then breaking off.
"Deflector generators destroyed, General," said one of the pilots.
"Excellent, continue your attack on the next star destroyer. Bombers, the star destroyer's bridge is vulnerable," she said, "destroy it."
The bombers moved in and launched a volley of torpedoes at their target. The Temperament's bridge started smoking and then erupted in a fiery explosion, leaving it virtually dead in the water.
"Temperament is down, General," said one of the bomber pilots.
"Excellent, continue your attack pattern," ordered Julsha, "Huntress, this is General Julsha, have all boarding parties get to their respective gunships and have them on standby."
"Acknowledged," said the helmsman.
Amidst the intensifying battle, Vaukel was in the middle of racking up his ninth kill.
"These TIEs are fast, but I'm faster," he thought.
"How are you holding up, Vaukel?" asked Nectije.
"A little rocky at first, but I think I'm getting back into the swing of things," he said, "it's a lot more different fighting real people as opposed to machines."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Nectije.
"I mean-WHOA!" Vaukel exclaimed, dodging another TIE Interceptor, "tell you later, I've got another one."
Author's note: I think we can all agree that the KDY flashpoint in SWTOR is ass