Chapter four is here now, obviously. Sorry about it being updated late, I had tons of college work and writer's block. Four chapters in and not a review in sight... kinda disapointing, but it is what it is. Enjoy.
Chapter 4
The trip seemed longer than most. It was uneventful, with little to distract Nasheth's mind from his father. Jarec Ordo was pretty typical for a Mandalorian father. He taught his children when and how to fight. He made sure they knew exactly what to do if danger reared its ugly head. He loved them dearly and it showed. Of course, that was only when he was home, which he wasn't on a daily basis, taking week-long trips to get bounties. He provided for his family, but never let his children forget how hard he had to work for those credits. He expected his kids to do the same for the family whether he was home or not. Nasheth had taken those teachings to heart, always trying to take care of others when he could and always taking responsibility for his actions. He didn't love the combat that came with being a Mandalorian, but he understood the necessity of it.
Nasheth spent most of his time in his dormitory. HK wasn't much for conversation and he enjoyed the solitude. Being raised on a forest moon such as Dxun created the loner persona that Nasheth often displayed. When HK came on the intercom to announce their eta of 15 minutes, Nasheth nearly jumped off his bunk to make it to the cockpit.
"HK, be ready to bring up the deflector shields as soon as we come out of hyper space." Nasheth commanded as he himself armed the shuttle's one concussion missile launcher.
"Yes master. Are you expecting company?" HK questioned.
"No, but we don't know what's out there, and Jarec's comm blackout maybe a really bad sign."
No sooner as the words left his mouth than the distortion in the view screen vanished and was replaced by the planet Aradian and its three moons. Aradian was a backwater planet with nothing to note other than a slightly poisonous atmosphere and contributions to repulorlift technology. The Lianna system itself was home to a major battle during the Mandalorian wars some twenty years earlier.
"HK, are those shields up yet?"
"They're online now master. Why do you ask?"
"Notice the lack of air traffic? Something is wrong here. Run a sensor scan on the closest moon to Aradian."
HK went about his assigned task and moments later turned to his owner. "Statement: there appears to be two Foray-class corvettes coming around from the far side of the moon. What are your orders?"
"Power up the laser cannons and switch power from the shields to the sub light drives. The Republic wouldn't have ships this far from the Core, especially with the recovery effort finally picking up. No, these are pirates. And what's worse, we don't have the firepower to even try to tangle with them. See if we can make it planet side."
"Yes master." HK acknowledged. The boxy ship rocketed towards Aradian, but it was clear that they couldn't reach the planet's atmosphere before the corvettes managed to catch them.
"Master, they are launching fighters; two per corvette. Sensors read them as Chella-class fighters."
"Transfer all power from unnecessary systems to the engines. If we manage to beat them to the planet, we might be able to lose them."
HK did as he was instructed, the ship picking up a small amount of speed, but it appeared to not be enough as the fighters were still closing on them. The corvettes, it seemed, were going to try to pull within firing range, but weren't rushing to catch up with the shuttle.
"Those corvettes should be gaining on us quicker than they are. They must either expect us to surrender or have no intention of taking the ship."
"Worried reminder: master, those fighters are almost within maximum firing range. This shuttle isn't designed to handle dogfights."
"It's not, but it does have some serious modifications. Arm a concussion missile and set it on a delayed detonation. And cut off the propellant line in it."
After a minute of thought, HK responded. "Surprised statement: you're creating a mine. Calculating best release time now."
In one of two cylindrical corvettes in pursuit of a high-speed shuttle bound for Aradia, a gruff looking man of roughly forty eight years of age sat in his command chair on the bridge. The ship's two fighters had been deployed to head-off the shuttle and appeared to be making good time.
Having served in the Mandalorian and Jedi Civil War, like those under him, he knew the young Mandalorian piloting the shuttle stood no chance of reaching Aradia in one piece. He had considered boarding the shuttle, killing the youth, and keeping the ship. But, even with all his boys' training, they couldn't bring down a fully armed and armored Mandalorian. So, instead, he quietly watched as his fighters closed within firing range of the ship, thoughts of credits running through his mind.
As the Chellas barreled towards them, Nasheth was pushing the shuttle for all it and its illegal upgrades were worth. But all effort on his part seemed to be in vain, for the fighters were almost within firing distance and one of the fighters had pulled ahead of the group. Nasheth decided then that this was their only chance to create some time.
"HK, launch the missile now. And bring redistribute power to the laser cannons and rear deflector shields." He commanded as HK began pressing buttons. A dull metallic thud followed shortly after, and Nasheth sent out a silent prayer that this ploy would give them the time required to disappear on Aradian's surface.
The four star fighters, three clustered together and the fourth with a considerable lead, sped towards Aradain; their target approaching rather quickly now. The lead pilot, bringing his targeting optic to bear on a bulky shuttle that seemed to be slowing down, grinned knowing he would be getting a nice bonus at the end of this week. Just as he squeezed the trigger, a bright, sudden flash went off towards his stern. The almost immediate concussive force that followed caused the pirate to wince and jerk his targeting receptacle off his intended target. Unfortunately for Nasheth, the pilot's first shot was on point.
The laser penetrated the weakened deflector shields on the rear of the shuttle, slamming into the cargo hold and subsequently detonating the small box of grenades stored within. The shuttle rocketed towards the planet below. But Nasheth and his droid weren't the only ones given a boost by the explosions. The lead Chella pilot was also blown way off course; the force of the detonating missile causing him to accelerate, passing the shuttle.
"HK! Bring all cannons to bear on that fighter!" Nasheth commanded through gritted teeth. "If we're going down, I want to take the bastard with us!"
With that, the shuttle's four laser cannons opened up on the fighter, green bolts tearing the small, crippled fighter to pieces. With their momentary revenge enacted, Nasheth and his companion tried assessing the damage done to their shuttle. To their dismay, they found that the cargo hold, sub-light and hyper drive systems were gone, as well as the lateral wings and a section of the dorsal fin. Luckily, the thrusters used in the landing sequence were still marginally operational.
"Looks like we might be able to land," Nasheth commented as he scanned the system lights.
"Amused statement: 'land'? More like a controlled crash. And if we do, I don't believe we will continue to be serviceable."
"Funny. There's a reason Mandalorian armor is so expensive for aruetiis to purchase. Beskar'gam can take quite a beating."
"Ignoble statement: that's all well and good master, but it still leaves me dismembered." If it was possible for a droid to look worried, HK-50 sure looked it at that moment.
"Don't worry, HK," Nasheth chuckled. "Zuka managed to coat sections of your chassis and major joints in beskar. You'll survive impact… hopefully…"
"Chiding statement: master, I do believe you have forgotten that we are crashing."
"I didn't forget, just waiting to hit the atmosphere before I start running the thrusters. Go ahead and ready them. I want to try to keep us in one piece."
HK started taping on the consol as the ship started to shudder. The viewport suddenly dimmed as flames leapt up from the friction created by entering the atmosphere. Even through the almost black material and orange tongued flames, Nasheth could make out a very green landscape, with large swatches of blue that would undoubtedly prove to be oceans and lakes.
"HK, lock yourself in and begin deploying thrusters. And keep an eye on those shields. If they go, our hull doesn't have enough strength to make it through without breaking up."
HK went about his assigned task as the ship continued to shudder. The flames somewhat diminished as the ship's speedy descent slowed for a brief second when the thrusters flashed on, then back off. This sequence repeated itself once every two seconds, until, with fifty feet left to descend, the thrusters cut out for the last time. The last thing Nasheth saw before blackness enveloped his mind was a small field filling the viewport.