Star Wars: Path of Kan Taro
Hello everyone and welcome to my first posted Star Wars story! We've got something of an explosive start happening here that I think you'll all enjoy as we kick off what I hope to be one of at least a few Star Wars tales. As always, check out my Pat reon for news and updates on this and other stories along with a glimpse into my creative process. And before anyone asks, yes, I will be using some of the characters from the Star Wars Visions anthology series in this story. Now then, let's get started!
A Long Time Ago, in a galaxy far far away…
It is an age of fear and oppression. The jedi order has fallen and the once proud republic they served has been transformed into the galactic empire. The emperor, secretly the dark lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, has ruled with an iron fist for ten years. The few Jedi that remain have gone into hiding as the empire hunts them relentlessly. But one group has hidden long enough and shall soon make their presence known.
The Outer Rim World of Felucia
Viewed from a distance, the jungle planet of Felucia might remind one of a mossy lake or an algae-filled pond. When one actually got to the surface of the planet, however, they'd find it was colorful and lush beyond words with plants of outlandish sizes, shapes and colors. Its many species of animals were just as varied and unusual, though that's where the pleasantries typically ended. For every seemingly harmless creature on Felucia there seemed to be another one capable of rendering a person dead.
Some were large enough to pick up a man and tear them to pieces in a heartbeat, others were the size of large dogs and could rip out throats with relative ease and even some of the small ones packed enough venom or other varying toxins to kill a whole host of species from across the galaxy. It was for these reasons that the commander of the trio of Gonzati class cruisers was happy that all they were doing was dropping off troops on the planet before departing. It was true that serving on the large, rectangular vessels with triangular wings, side platforms for carrying TIE fighters on its underside, and three engines was considered boring by many an imperial officer but it was better than battling nightmarish creatures on a jungle planet. "Commander," came the voice of one of the two pilots on the lead Gozanti's bridge, "we'll be entering the planet's atmosphere in ten minutes."
"Excellent," the commander stated as he stood behind the two pilots, looking at their destination through the viewport, "send word to the garrison on the ground and tell them when to expect us. I'd like to get this loadout done as quickly as possible so they'd best be waiting for us when we arrive."
"I'll be sure to inform them of our need for…," something caught the co-pilot's attention on the monitors as he abruptly stopped speaking.
"What is it," the commander asked as his head turned to the co-pilot, noting the pilot had also seen something.
"Sir, it's possible I missed the latest information, but were we expecting to meet anyone on the way to the landing zone," the co-pilot asked.
"No," the officer replied as he looked at the screen, counting the signature of a single ship, "and the readings are too small to be a freighter, and much too fast."
"The craft is flying on an intercept course," the pilot noted, "IDing it now."
"Good, send word out to the convoy, full alert," the commander ordered before turning to the communications officer at his station in the corner, "raise that ship on the comms. I want them to know the penalty for obstructing the imperial military."
"Yes sir, contacting now," the comms officer acknowledged as he worked the controls for a moment. "Unidentified vessel. This is imperial Gozanti cruiser 4318, you are currently on intercept. State your business or change course immediately. Failure to comply will be viewed as an obstruction of the imperial military and be punished to the full extent of the law."
"Commander, I have ID on the ship's class," the co-pilot announced, "it's…..a Porax 38 sir."
"A Rogue class Starfighter?!" The commander exclaimed, "Production of those stopped years ago. What's a Clone Wars era fighter doing here?"
"Sir, we've established contact with the incoming fighter," the communication's officer announced.
"Put me on," the commander ordered as he stepped up to the station, "unidentified fighter, this is your final warning. Change course and transmit your ship's ID to us or you will be fired upon!"
"That's the idea," was the only reply they received before a pair of missiles suddenly streaked from the fighter towards the lead cruiser.
"Raise shields and open fir-BOOOMMM!" The two missiles impacted at nearly the same time, the first tearing through and disrupting what little shields the Gozanti had managed to raise while the second tore open the cockpit of the ship, killing everyone in close proximity. Within that same timeframe the fighter rolled downwards, changing its angle just enough to fire at two of the four TIE fighters hanging on the bottom of the ship. One exploded while the other incurred enough damage between that and the blaster fire to be basically inoperable as the attacker flew by.
Those in the cockpit of the Gozanti on the left side would've been treated to a fairly close, albeit brief, look at the fighter as it went by. It was a dull silver with a central half oval cockpit on the front, its back and wings were shaped like a horizontal oval with an engine on either side that appeared to have two spikes sticking out of them. They led back to the four engines that stretched out like feet behind the fighter, almost giving the impression of a frog in midjump. This was a Porax-38 Rogue Class starfighter, once a fearsome vessel used by the Confederacy of Independent systems, commonly referred to as the Magnaguard Starfighter, given how frequently they were flown by said droids.
But the pilot of this fighter was no droid and he felt more than a little satisfaction that things had gotten off to a good start. 'Didn't expect to completely cripple the first one so easily,' the attacker thought as he swung around, noting very quickly the remaining Gozanti's had launched their fighters, 'they didn't think to have their shields up. Definitely haven't seen any action recently.' Even so, that didn't change the fact that he was now dealing with ten TIE fighters, two of which managed to detach themselves from the central doomed Gozanti. He took a breath to steady his nerves slightly and pulled on the control yoke.
His fighter banked and turned back towards the gathered imperials, aiming for the next Gozanti even despite the wall of TIEs in front of him. The enemy fighters sent out a barrage of green bolts which he deftly evaded with relative success by bobbing and weaving his own ship left to right. He still felt his fighter shudder and jerk slightly from the few impacts that did land. But one advantage his craft had over his opponents was shields.
Something that became painfully clear when he returned fire, blasting one of the TIEs to pieces before rolling and scoring a hit on another, passing through their debris fields. He felt the other fighters fly past him as he continued on, his focus still on the Gozanti which had now broken off from its course towards Felucia. It was now attempting to jump into hyperspace by angling away from the planet and its gravity well. Unfortunately, the pilots seemed to be in too much of a hurry, not bothering to ensure their engines were out of his line of fire.
It would be another mistake they'd pay for as the Rogue Class Starfighter pummeled the ship's three engines with laser fire, focusing primarily on the central one. Electricity and quickly extinguishing flames erupted from the engines before two out of the three died. By this point the TIE fighters had succeeded in turning around and resumed their pursuit of the attacking craft as it raced by the damaged freighter. 'Two down, mostly,' the pilot thought to himself as he angled his fighter towards the final Gozanti, 'now let's see what we can do with the third.'
This particular freighter and its crew had clearly shaken off the shock of someone attacking them and had used whatever time they had to move the Gozanti away from the planet at full speed. Even if the imperial cargo hauler was one of the slowest in the galaxy there wasn't a lot of time needed when it came to inputting hyperspace coordinates and getting into position. That's why he set his Starfighter to full throttle and fired at the retreating ship's engines. He was rewarded with the sight of a few of his shots impacting, possibly even damaging the fleeing Gozanti's engines before it sped off into the stars, managing to leap into the relative safety of hyperspace.
"Sith spit," he cursed as green bolts from the TIEs started flying past him, moving closer every second, "that's just going to have to do." He directed his ship downward in a step dive then before rolling while pulling up to shake his pursuers. "No more reason to hang around here." His hand flew over the controls for the navicomputer as he inputted commands for his next destination.
The imperial fighters were working to catch up to him as he did this, quickly swinging behind his ship as they lined up their shots. He pushed the lever on his controls forward then, engaging the hyperdrive just as more laser fire came streaking towards him. The stars seemed to stretch out before his eyes as the Starfighter accelerated, disappearing into the blue, shadowy dimension of hyperspace, leaving the TIEs and Felucia far behind. Even then he didn't relax fully for a few seconds before breathing out a sigh of relief.
"Not my best run ever," he commented, "but it should do the job, hopefully." He punched in a couple commands on his ship's controls then, bringing up a hologram of an old man. "This is Hawk-bat, reporting mission completion, General."
"Ah, Kan," the old General replied in a business-like tone, "I assume you made sure no one was able to follow you?"
"The last Gozanti jumped to hyperspace before I did and you know those TIEs don't have hyper drives," Kan remarked, "even so I'll do the usual and pull a couple extra jumps before heading to the rendezvous. We are still meeting there, I'm assuming?"
"Yes, its mission success on our end, too," the General informed, "the rendezvous hasn't changed so be careful and get here as fast as you can. We'll be waiting."
"See you there," Kan nodded as the transmission ended. He let out another sigh then. Kan Taro, that was his name, his real name. He found it odd that he was more used to being called by other names these days than his own but that's simply how it was.
Ever since the empire had risen he'd had to get used to a lot of things, which is why it was going to be such a relief to be among friends again. And hopefully, they'd all make it back without too much trouble.
The Outer Rim: The Tao System
"We're about to come out of hyperspace," announced a young human man as an alert came up on his console, "remember the story now. We're here to talk business with a new client." The answer he received was short, to the point, and not in galactic basic. Unsurprising, considering his partner in the co-pilot's chair was of the green-skinned Kyuzo people who hailed from Phatrong.
At least what one could see of his partner, Daizo's, skin. Like most of his people he required a filter mask over his face to help him tolerate the atmosphere of other planets. It's not that they couldn't breathe in other environments, but their weaker respiratory systems had trouble processing certain things outside of their home world, resulting in weakness, dulled vision, inability to concentrate, etc. In short, it was just easier to wear a filter when not on their home planet.
It was also better not to get on a Kyuzo's bad side, either. The reason being was despite their weaker respiratory systems, their tall lanky builds were actually quite strong thanks to dense muscle fibers which developed in response to their planet's high gravity. Adding on to that was the fact that the Kyuzo were a people with a proud martial culture which easily explained why Daizo had dark orange combat armor with shoulder pads over a dark brown shirt, a belt of pouches containing extra ammo and other deadly surprises, a holster strapped to the leg of his light brown pants along with hidden blades in his boots. Rounding out this build was his circular steel and orange hat that his people referred to as 'war helmets'.
In comparison, the pilot of the ship, Tae (tie) Bothui, didn't seem like anything special with his parted black hair and dark green eyes that were roaming over the readings from the ship's instruments. His blue flight vest was fairly standard, save for the symbol of a Colo Claw fish, a Naboo creature, on the upper back. The grey long-sleeved shirt he wore under the vest had gold lines running up his arms and to his shoulders while his black pants and boots didn't appear all that unusual. The most eye-catching thing about him was probably the utility belt with pouches and a holster for the blaster he wore on his right hip.
But looking ordinary wasn't really a problem for the young man. After all, his line of work went far more smoothly when people didn't think he was interesting enough to keep an eye on. And given that they were about to visit a world occupied by the Imperials the less attention they drew, the better. "Alright, dropping us out now," Tae announced as he pulled back on the lever next to the flight controls. The swirling black and blue tunnel that was hyperspace disappeared as the stars, two moons and a planet came into focus in front of them.
Even at this distance he could tell their destination was beautiful with a large ocean surrounding several continents. As they approached, it became clear that some of the more nearby continents were connected by massive rails and bridges spanning countless miles across the oceans. It was sights like these that made Tae glad he learned how to travel the galaxy. Though his admiration was quickly cut short by an alert on his console, reminding him why they were there, and who was present.
"Approaching craft," came the voice of an imperial officer over their speakers, "identify yourself and state your business on Tao." Tae had rehearsed this act before and had a response ready as he hit the switch to talk back.
"Yes, this is Natchus Finley of the Grinning Manta," Tae lied, "we've come to meet a potential business partner down in Shima. We just need the landing pad for a few hours at worst if you've got one to spare."
"And what is the nature of your business," the officer asked. Both Tae and Daizo were aware their transponder code was being run through the Imperial's computer systems to see if there was anything suspicious. Fortunately, they knew a talented slicer who'd hooked them up with more than a couple of false but clean ship IDs.
"Interior decoration," Tae answered, "I hear our potential business partner has some wonderful designs that'll sell well in the mid, no, in the inner rim. If all goes well we could even get a gig decorating in Cor-."
"Yes, yes I understand," the now slightly annoyed Officer interrupted, "sending coordinates for landing pad C. Do not deviate from it or you will be targeted."
"Not like I'd give your guys much of a chase in this bulky freighter but you're the boss," Tae responded, "have a wonderful day." The line went dead then as Daizo gave him a look with a quirked eyebrow. "Don't worry we can do the hat salesman bit next time and you can do that trick you love doing so much." The Kyuzo gave him a quick response in his native language as Tae brought them down towards Shima.
It was a mixture of forest and suburban areas, many of which sported oriental style roofs that planets like Tao were known for. Large walls surrounded the buildings, separating them from the trees beyond. One of the more notable feature was a massive, walled off refinery that sat separately from the rest of Shima with a long, metal bridge connecting it. But the most conspicuous sight, and the most worrisome, was the imperial star destroyer with its distinctive T-shaped bridge, and massive triangular hull hovering just over the city.
Daizo commented on this and Tae nodded in agreement. "Yeah, nothing like a warship hanging just overhead to remind everyone who's in charge," he commented, "all the more reason to be in and out as fast as we can." He slowed their descent then, carefully maneuvering to one of the landing pads at the area which had been designated by the imperial officer. He quickly switched the ship's repulsors on while also extending the four, curved landing legs.
The Grinning Manta then settled onto the landing pad, shuddering ever so slightly as the landing gear temporarily flexed under the weight of the craft before pushing back up into its normal positioning. "Alright, you know the drill," the pilot announced as the two of them quickly undid their safety belts and moved from the cockpit. The ramp was just behind the cockpit of the ship and quickly lowered at the press of a button, allowing the two individuals to exit the ship. The ramp closed behind them with another press as they made their way off the pad.
Tae glanced back at the ship, as he did often these days when a more sensitive job was taking place. Being a class of ship known as a KR-TB Doomtreader, it was a fair-sized craft standing eighteen meters tall with a length of fifty meters from front to back. Even longer, though, was its wingspan which measured seventy meters long. Both wings ended in large, turbine engines with another pair of powerful engines on the back of the ship.
It's straightforward design of a blocky, rectangular body and square cockpit that almost resembled a face shield was one of the features Tae liked about it, along with its greyish green coloration that was accentuated by the yellow light from the cockpit when the ship was active. Of course, he only had a few moments to look over all of these features before stepping off of the landing pad and towards the waiting stormtroopers at the check in. "Halt," one of the troopers ordered, "State your business."
"Like we told your officer earlier we're just here to talk with a client about interior decoration," Tae began.
"You don't seem like the type to do interior decoration," the trooper noted as he looked them up and down.
"The big guy, Gutto, here is a bodyguard," Tae lied while indicating Daizo, "I've heard there've been attacks by terrorists here recently. Even brought my own form of protection, just in case." He patted the holster on his side for emphasis.
"And do you have authorization to carry such a weapon, interior decorator," the trooper asked.
"Oh nothing to worry about with this thing," Tae assured, "it looks like a blaster but it's just a dart launcher. Personally anything that can get past Gutto will probably take me down long before I can even draw this thing. Wanna take a look at it?" He turned so that the holstered weapon was more visible.
"Just let 'em through already," another trooper spoke up suddenly, stopping any attempt at inspection, "we've got another search to conduct in a few minutes. Not like two guys are gonna be able to cause that much trouble."
"Fine, go on through," the first trooper ordered, "and don't try to prove my fellow soldier wrong."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Tae assured with a slight wave as he and Daizo walked on through the checkpoint. It really spoke about the condition of things that they were more heavily checking those leaving than the ones arriving, not that it was a terribly busy port to begin with. The two made their way into the urban area that was one of Tao's main cities, quickly noting the mazelike layout of the streets. "Alright, let's find our contact."
The pilot quickly pulled out and typed a message on a small data pad he'd grown accustomed to carrying with him ever since he'd gotten into this line of work. 'Your decorators have arrived,' the message said, 'what would you like us to see?' It was a simple code but one that had proven effective time and again. After all, how many military types cared for interior decoration?
'An exquisite piece on the outskirts,' the reply came, 'but we're eager to discuss multiple business options. Meet us halfway at these coordinates.' Said location appeared a moment later and the duo began their trek. It took a few minutes and required many twists and turns through side alleys and tunnels which housed numerous stalls selling food and other wares.
Tae and Daizo were also quick to notice the occasional person in ragged clothing with large, electronic collars around their necks. Slave workers employed by the empire. It was a practice those in the mid and inner rims knew nothing about and spreading the word was made quite difficult thanks to Imperial censors. It was much the same with many of the empire's crimes.
Daizo commented a few things to Tae who nodded without looking back. "I know, mon meiure, the empire's hold on this planet is strong. But maybe not as strong as it appears." Either way he added this planet to what had become a laundry list of planets that could use a little help.
It was shortly after that the pair turned another couple of corners before finally coming upon a strange duo sitting on some boxes in an alley. "State your business," the smaller of the two said in a feminine voice as they got to their feet. Even with the short cloak she was wearing Tae was able to tell she had her right hand on some kind of weapon.
"Easy now," Tae began as he slowly raised his hands, "we've come looking to talk to some folks about interior decoration. You two wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"It depends," the second taller and much more broad shouldered individual spoke as he stood up, "have you come to discuss the 'kepu' way?" Unlike his companion, this large person was a man in a red and black pressure suit with a goggle-eyed mask and rebreather covering his face and head. He could've been any number of species in that outfit, which was likely the point.
"I think you'll find 'kepu' is our specialty," the pilot replied, "I have a wide selection back on my ship if you'd like to see."
"Most excellent," the man nodded, "but introductions first. I am Yasaburo and this is my daughter, Lop."
"Sorry if I was a bit jumpy a second ago," Lop apologized with a bow. Now that Tae had a better look at her, he noticed she was of the rabbit-like race known as Lepi. In this case her fur was brown but her eyes, which contrasted well with her fur, were blue. Of course thanks to the wide-brimmed shade hat she wore along with the cloak he was only able to see those few features even up close.
"No problem, can't be too careful when the empire is stalking you," he waved off before the duo did the greeting bow that was customary on Tao, "my name is Tae Bothui, and this is my partner, Daizo." The green-skinned alien sounded out a greeting in his native language.
"A pleasure to meet you both," Yasaburo said as they bowed back, "I assume you have a plan for extracting us?"
"If things go right we should be able to walk right up to the ship, board and get out of here before anyone gets suspicious," Tae answered, "after causing a minor distraction, of course."
"So you've already noticed they're watching the departures," Yasaburo observed, "and I feel I should inform you of a possible complication. The ISB has a particular interest in us."
"The ISB has a presence here," Tae raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, "so they really have come out this far. All the more reason to get you both out of here, so let's get moving."
"This way father," Lop said as she grabbed his hand and led him along. Daizo placed himself strategically at the back of the group, his height allowing him to keep an eye on the front and rear of their little entourage. They moved along silently most of the time but would strike up a 'conversation' about artistic and decorative taste whenever they were in a crowded area, making sure they were heard when they did so. After all, why would decorators have anything to hide?
It made for slower going at first since they decided to use an alternate route but Lop quickly pointed out a few shortcuts she herself had found a few years ago. Tae would have to ask what made her wander around the back alleys of an urban setting like this, but those would be questions for another time. Right now, an issue presented itself as they neared the landing pad. "So as mentioned earlier," the pilot began, "the imperials seemed more concerned about preventing people from leaving as opposed to entering. I'm guessing you two are the reason for that?"
"We are, I'm afraid," Yasaburo answered, "as you've no doubt gathered, we are no friends to the empire. They are the ones currently polluting our world and slowly subjugating it under the guise of 'progress'."
"Your world wouldn't be the first to get that line," Tae remarked, "I guess we'll have to get creative here." The pilot scanned their surroundings, noting the various activities occurring along with the movement of cargo and other goods. He looked up then and that's when a small smile crossed his features. "Daizo, how well do the imperials understand Kyuzo again?"
His tall green companion made a curt response. "Yep, not very well at all. They'll probably be happy to send you on your way since you're not who they're looking for." Daizo responded with his version of a dismissive wave. "Got it, you head to the ship and get it prepped for takeoff and I'll work on creating a distraction here. You should probably go ahead and wake up RN while you're at it."
"What should we do," Lop questioned while glancing around at the security present at the landing pad.
"Follow me," Tae signaled while turning and heading towards his next destination, "once I set off the distraction they'll probably send extra security to the landing pad. We'll need to be in position for a pickup when that happens."
"Just tell us what we need to do when the time comes," Yasaburo requested as the trio headed back off the landing pad. With some quick directions from Lop, Tae was able to locate a ladder that he used to climb up onto a nearby roof that put him just close enough to his target: the communications antenna. 'Alright,' he thought as he drew his sidearm, an S-5 heavy blaster pistol. He removed a bit of housing on top that he used to disguise the weapon's actual barrel, allowing him a better line of sight to aim with. Then, taking a deep breath, he aimed at the base of his target, steadied his grip, and fired.
But what he fired wasn't a blaster bolt. Ironically enough, he'd been telling a half truth about the weapon being a dart gun. What he fired now was from the dart launcher which hung just beneath the barrel. The projectile stuck to its target several feet away and Tae, after inspecting his work for a moment, nodded in approval before heading back down. "Alright, everything's set," the pilot relayed before pulling out a communicator, "Daizo, you set?" His Kyuzo friend answered in the affirmative.
"Where do we head next," Lop asked curiously before looking to the side. She seemed rather concerned about something.
"Up to one of the rooftops near the pad," Tae answered, "is everything alright, by the way?"
"It's nothing, I just had a weird feeling for a moment," the Lepis assured, "but I think I know where we can head to."
"Lead the way," Yasaburo encouraged as his daughter did just that. In another couple of minutes they found themselves on a rooftop overlooking the pad. The building itself seemed to have been an apartment of sorts at one time before the tenants were forced to renovate due to 'security concerns' from the Empire.
"Okay, now comes the tricky part," Tae announced as he pulled a small detonator out of his jacket, "get ready for a show." He hit the switch then, causing the sting charge he'd shot onto the communications antenna to explode. Chaos erupted at the landing pad as the antenna fell and everyone began running every which way. Naturally several of the stormtroopers present left the pad, heading to investigate what was likely another 'terrorist incident' in their minds.
It even drew away the troopers from their ship whose engines and repulsors were now quickly powering up. "Get ready," Tae warned, "we might have to jump a little." The reason being was now that their ship was lifting off from the pad, there was no way some of the troopers weren't going to notice. Fortunately, the confused crowd made it just a little harder for landing pad security to respond as the Doomtreader hovered over them and towards the building they were waiting at.
But just as it was getting positioned next to the building and lowering its cargo ramp, something unexpected happened: an imperial gunship showed up, one greatly resembling the police models used on Coruscant. "Firfrek!" The pilot cursed as he opened fire at the sliding door of the craft before the troopers could even think about jumping out. The green bolts did their job for a moment but it wasn't long before a half dozen of them managed to disembark and begin returning fire. "Get on the ship!"
Lop looked unsure for a moment until the bottom turret of the freighter swiveled and fired at the imperial patrol ship. Its backside exploded as the red bolts slammed into it, causing it to careen down towards the street. By this point Tae had already hidden behind a ventilation unit, some of the only cover their was while Yasaburo and Lop, finally spurred into action by the falling gunship, rushed towards freighter. They leapt onto the cargo ramp and were just about to signal to Tae they were ready when a stray bolt from a stormtrooper struck the old man in the leg.
He cried out in pain and collapsed to one knee, feeling around for the now smoking hole in the leg of his suit. "FATHER!" Lop exclaimed as she quickly pulled out and slapped a bacta patch on the wound. Meanwhile, blaster fire continued around them as Tae peeked out from cover and caught one of the troopers in the side before moving back to cover again. 'We can't afford a drawn out firefight here,' he thought, 'and the angle isn't great for the turret to take out the troopers without risking hitting me too.'
It didn't look great but the only option right now seemed to be taking a chance and booking it toward his ship. That is until he heard an odd sound, a distinctive snap hiss followed by a low hum. Tae's eyes widened as he turned and looked at the source: Lop. Or rather, the green-bladed weapon Lop had produced from within her cloak.
'That's a lightsaber,' the pilot realized with more than a little surprise, 'Tao has jedi?!' It was a surprise to the stormtroopers as well before they came to their senses and began focusing their fire on the Lepis. She swung the blade skillfully, however, shifting the weapon from side to side in a two-handed grip, deflecting shot after shot. Tae didn't waste this opportunity and broke cover, firing as he went, taking down two more Stormtroopers while another fell to a reflected blaster bolt from Lop.
The rabbit girl held her hand out then as the young man approached, helping him onto the cargo ramp. He quickly hit the switch to retract the ramp, yelling to Daizo to take off before it was even closed. The Kyuzu complied and the group felt the shifting of the vessel as it ascended towards the sky. "Don't worry father," Lop tried to keep her voice even as she deactivated her lightsaber and hung it back on her side, "we're getting away."
"Not quite yet," Tae informed as he and Lop both slipped Yasaburo's arms over their shoulders and carried him to the nearest acceleration couch. "RN get up here!" The sound of metal scraping against metal came in response to that as a fierce looking metallic head poked up from a hole in the floor.
"What in the world is that," Lop couldn't help but ask, "is that a combat droid?!"
"Formerly," RN replied in, surprisingly, a feminine voice as she climbed the rest of the way out of the gun well that led to the bottom turret, "ex-separatist commando droid, RN, at your service for all your medical needs."
"You reprogrammed a commando droid to be a doctor," Yasaburo groaned in confusion. He was probably starting to get delirious from the wound, which wasn't a good sign.
"She prefers to be called 'nurse' or RN," Tae explained, "it's a long story how she wound up this way but right now we got bigger problems. Lop, hate to say this but do you know anything about being a gunner?"
"I mean my sister and I used to play with a simulator when we were little," the Lepis recalled, "but I've never actually been in a dogfight."
"But you do have the force, right," the pilot questioned further. Lop hesitated for a moment before nodding in the affirmative. "Good enough. Just worry about holding off any pursuers until we can make the jump to hyperspace."
"But what about my father," the rabbit girl asked, her voice laced with worry.
"RN can take care of him," Tae assured her, "the best thing you can do for him right now is help make sure we don't get shot down. Once we reach hyperspace, then you can help tend to him." Lop still didn't look completely convinced but she did finally stand up and head towards the gun well. Tae, for his part, raced to the cockpit where Daizo was seated in the co-pilot's chair.
The Kyuzo quickly explained the situation as young man took over the controls in the main pilot's seat. "They sent how many," he asked, "a dozen fighters after one freighter?! They must really have nothing better to do, so hang on!" He slammed the accelerator forward as far as he dared, knowing that even despite his ship's upgraded engines it wouldn't be enough to outrun the smaller, faster TIE fighters.
A fact which made itself known fairly quickly as green bolts started flying by the transport. The pilot began evasive maneuvers by shifting right, then left, and back to the right before going into a full barrel roll at one point. This served to lessen the damage to the ship but it didn't stop their pursuers from scoring a few hits on them. The ship shook with a few of the impacts before the sound of their own turret firing behind them was heard.
"Divert as much power to the rear shields and engines as you can," Tae instructed Daizo before hitting the intercom on the console. "Lop, how are things back there?"
"These fighters move a little more quickly than the simulators," she commented as the sound of blaster fire could be heard on her end, "I managed to get one, now two."
"Focus on breaking up their formation," the pilot instructed, "I got a move which'll hopefully throw them off long enough for a quick escape." Daizo gave him a questioning look upon hearing that statement. "Yeah, go ahead and start laying in the coordinates. We'll jump to lightspeed the moment we're clear." The tall alien nodded, doing as instructed.
"I got a couple more," Lop informed, "but the shields around the engine are almost gone!"
"Then now's as good a time as any," Tae remarked over the intercom, "everyone brace yourselves!" He went into a half spin then while simultaneously pulling back on the accelerator. It was like hitting a break as the ship lost a ton of momentum, forcing the TIEs to fly around it or risk slamming into it. Ironically, one of the more inexperienced pilots pulled too far and wound up running into the fighter next to him, resulting in the downing of both ships as Tae pulled the triggers on his control yokes and fired at a few that happened to be in front of them.
Two more fireballs lit up the atmosphere of Tao before the pilot punched the accelerator forward once again. The remaining TIEs attempted to circle back around to continue the pursuit but just as they were about to line up behind him again, the welcome sound of the navicomputer greeted their ears. "We just broke free of the planet's gravity," Tae exclaimed, "whenever you're ready big guy!" Daizo nodded before pushing forward on the designated lever. The familiar sight of stars stretching out and the feeling of sudden acceleration greeted them as their ship jumped into hyperspace and towards safety.
About the Same Time: Star Destroyer Bridge on Tao
"Can anyone hear me, respond," called a comms officer as they attempted to radio the TIE fighters.
"This is squadron leader," one of the remaining pilots answered, "we lost seven TIEs and the freighter has escaped."
"I want a full background check run on it, thoroughly this time," the commanding officer on the bridge declared, "how did we miss-?" The sound of the bridge doors sliding open behind him alerted the officer to a new arrival, his superior.
"Captain, report," the superior officer ordered while strolling forward. Her white uniform top and black pants marked her as a member of the Imperial Security Bureau or ISB for short. The presence of a white cape further denoted her higher rank. Her dark hair was cut short and didn't hang down far past her ears. What was most unusual was the presence of purple markings under her sharp eyes which were currently fixed on the displays.
"A freighter escaped the dock with two fugitives," the captain informed quickly, "we're running a background check on it now and following up on any reports that have a ship matching its description."
"What can you tell me about the fugitives," the ISB agent questioned.
"One appeared to be a large male, though they were wearing an enviro-suit so determining their exact species is proving difficult," the captain read the data he'd just received, "but it's the second fugitive who has us most concerned."
"Explain," she ordered, her gaze finally shifting to look at the captain who quickly typed in some commands on a data pad he'd been holding in his hands.
"This is footage we managed to pull from a nearby security camera," he explained. The nearby holopad lit up, its shimmering image that of the lepis girl, and the weapon she was wielding.
"A lightsaber," the ISB agent seethed, "and not just any lightsaber. That is the keepsake of the Yasaburo clan!"
"Lieutenant Commander Ocho," the captain drew her attention back to him, "are you sure that's the same-?"
"I'd never forget that blade," Ocho growled while feeling an ache on her chest, "that girl was granted it by the Yasaburo clan head, no doubt the person in the enviro-suit. Send out a system-wide alert. The terrorists we've been seeking have escaped Tao and could be anywhere. The moment you find any information on them I want it forwarded to me immediately!"
"Shall I also inform," the star destroyer captain was about to ask before being cut off.
"No, he doesn't need to know," Ocho barked with narrowed eyes, "his focus should be on the development of Tao. I can handle the terrorists and once they're dealt with I'll be able to give my full attention to its development as well. Tao must progress with the rest of the galaxy and I will ensure no one gets in the way of that!"
And so it begins, the first Star Wars fic I've posted on this site! As with all of my other stories feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked about this opening chapter along with any neat ideas you have for future chapters. Also, check out my Pat reon for news about this and other possible upcoming stories! Finally, tune in next time as we're introduced to the other heroes of the rebel cell! 'Til then.