"Dooku, we've been hit! By a pirate fleet, I suppose, but they were nothing like any blasted one I've ever seen!" He completely skipped over formalities.
His wide chest gave him a deep basal growl, and as he spoke he ground his meaty fist into the palm of his hand, like he wanted to brawl with one of the attackers personally.
...
"Any details you can provide would be useful." Dooku told him. "My own Advisor to the Defence is going to need to fight off a raid on Serenno."
Harrad grimaced. "They didn't raid us. Not a single pirate plundered anything, not even setting foot on the planet! The main fleet did a flyby on Secundus, and of course I thought they would land to collect slaves and valuables, but they were just a diversion! Dooku, the kriffing bastards hit the shipyards on Prime! They had bombers, Dooku. Bombers! Who ever heard of a pirate warlord with a flight of bombers?!"
"An extremely well paid one." Dooku replied. "This is the Trade Federation's retaliation for my actions over Naboo."
"I think it's even bigger than that, friend! They saw what we were planning, and now they've gone to strike down the competition." He spat. "Blasted capitalists!"
Dooku paused, realizing the man was right. "They're coordinating. Hitting everyone they can in our sphere of influence."
"You better talk to the others, Dooku. I've got to see to what can be saved here."
Of course Dooku did just that. He sent a warning to Tan'ya, letting her know what these pirates' goal was, and started the long process of getting in contact with the rest of his allies, then he called Ky Narec as well. If the Trade Federation was willing to go after his allies, there was no reason to believe they wouldn't target the New Temple as well…
...
The Palace had gone into full alert the moment the raiding fleet was detected. In this Galaxy, almost any ground installation could be outfitted with a barrier, making it all but impervious to anything but extended bombardment. A well made barrier could hold out against continuous heavy blaster barrages for months, so Tan'ya was confident that her mother and siblings were safe.
As Advisor to the Defence, she had taken command of Serenno's small defense fleet, and now sat aboard her own Hammerhead, watching the information about their attackers stream in. The enemy fleet was composed of three Corona Class Armed Frigates, their saucer shapes looking exactly like UFOs from old sci-fi movies in Tan'ya's first life. Each one of them was larger than a Hammerhead, and with a heavier armament. They could match each other for turbolasers, but the saucers boasted additional missile launchers and ion cannons.
In a straightforward brawl, Tan'ya's outgunned fleet was almost certain to loose. However, she had one major advantage over the pirates, and that was the quality and disposition of her crew. Recruited from Serenno, and trained by naval commanders from Coruscant, Tan'ya had no doubt they would be willing to sacrifice their own lives if it meant taking even one of these raiders down. She could feel the grim determination and hatred in their minds, the eagerness to show these aliens why they should never return.
In comparison, the pirates were confident, but hardly committed to the mission. Tan'ya had yet to identify their species, but she could sense from their minds that they weren't human, and the three captains of the Coronas were all quite attached to living. If they felt that things weren't going well, she was sure they would turn and flee. That said, the pirates did have an important edge in experience over her crew.
Thanks to Duke Harrad's warning, Tan'ya knew their objective wasn't to plunder, but to destroy. Most likely, they were going to target the capital city's spaceport and the mines that were being excavated all across the planet's surface. They would do whatever they could to disrupt Serenno's capacity to provide raw resources for the Outer Rim. It was useful to know her enemy's objective.
Right now, the situation was a stalemate, with the House Guard's Royal Fleet holding position behind Serenno's moon, and the pirate fleet circling around a distant gas giant. For the pirates to complete their bombing runs, they would need to close in to Serenno's gravity well, which was probably why they were hesitating. Caught between the planet's gravity and Tan'ya's Hammerheads, the pirates would be pinned in an extremely dangerous position without room to maneuver and difficulty firing their weapons upwards against the pull.
This was definitely a temporary state of affairs, though.
It wouldn't be long until the pirates got sick of waiting, and decided to pursue her Hammerheads as their primary target. With Tan'ya's fleet crippled or destroyed, they could then bomb Serenno at their leisure. If she maneuvered her fleet too far from Serenno, then the pirates would simply complete their objectives and turn tail.
"It's a difficult situation." Sturn said to her. "What are your thoughts?"
He wasn't aboard the ship with her, she had asked him to take a position on a different ship. Her Hammerhead was the SHG Rider, while Sturn was aboard the SHG Watcher.
The third ship, SHG Archer was being commanded by a Serenno native, Hoves of Ruulvess.
Ruulvess was the name of a jungle region, not a village. Among all the new recruits into the House Guard, Hoves had distinguished himself with his razor sharp mind and hard earned pragmatism. Supposedly as a child he'd scratched out a living with his family in the jungles, trapping animals and sucking down worms pulled from loam. He'd taken to reading and writing like fish to water, and in the end Tan'ya had chosen to promote him to Captain of the Archer because he more than earned it. It also helped that having a Serennoan at such a high rank made it clear to the newly recruited Guards that their ambitions would be rewarded with time and service.
Hoves listened to the conversation between Tan'ya and Sturn with his face blank. He had yet to say anything.
"We have the numbers, and the training." Tan'ya hesitated, before adding. "And two Jedi. A boarding action is our best choice."
"A boarding action will be very dangerous." Sturn warned. "Even a Jedi can get sucked out into space."
"We're climbers." Hoves pointed out. "Not meant for spacewalks, but our harnesses and carabiners will keep us from getting spaced when they vent atmo."
Tan'ya nodded in agreement, leaving unspoken the far greater dangers of storming a ship. Every doorway was a chokepoint, every loose panel and grill could conceal a grenade or a blaster. She had spent years training these men, and she knew them. They were fast learners, determined, and she couldn't have asked for better soldiers, but any boarding action was a tactical nightmare. Even with the Hammerheads' much larger crew complements over the Coronas', there was every chance that the smaller bands of pirates would be able to fight them off due to sheer home field advantage.
Unfortunately, Tan'ya didn't see much other choice. Numbers and willingness to take casualties were the only advantages she had, and so those were what she would have to lean on. In the times of the Old Republic, the Hammerheads would come with a complement of twelve fighters each. A handful of fighters would give her more options, but unfortunately those weren't aboard the ships when they were abandoned on Primus, with the ones bought to replace them yet to arrive.
"It's our best move." Tan'ya finally said. "So it's what we'll do."
Hoves broke out into a toothy grin, obviously eager to get his hands on some aliens, but Sturn looked like he didn't like the idea. He didn't question her choice in front of the men, though.
"I'm sending you your flight paths now." Tan'ya said, typing some instructions into her command console. "Have your men prepare for boarding action."
"I'll break out the black." Hoves said, before closing his comm.
Sturn closed his a moment later.
"Colonel, prep the men for combat." Tan'ya gave the command to her own combat crews. "We'll be boarding."
Gon Seith grimaced, but nodded grimly. He pulled his helmet on, and strode off the bridge, cape billowing behind him.
The rest of the bridge crew got to work, as Tan'ya continued to focus on the plans and flight paths in front of her.
"Your Highness." A voice interrupted from beside her.
Tan'ya looked across to find a small cube of black stainer being offered to her by one of her officers. As she looked around the bridge, she noticed many of the officers on board had taken out a small black cube of the stuff, and were chewing on it. Even one of the Coruscanti had accepted a piece, though he looked unsure of himself as he chewed on it. A grinning Serennoan slapped him on the back heartily, before getting back to work.
Tan'ya took the cube, and made a mental note to procure more for her men as she chewed on it. If this was going to be an important part of their battle traditions, it would be something that her administration should pay for.
...
Apparently, chapters write themselves faster when Power Stones are involved. Who knew? Feel free to test the theory go ahead, toss a few my way.
...
If you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my patreon :
patreon.com/Rimanovi