Two months later, under the guidance of Nute Gunray, Captain Daultay Dofine was fully prepared to return to Coruscant, hoping there would be no more mishaps this time.
After another hyperspace jump, Captain Dofine once again found himself in the Mandalore system.
"Nothing bad can happen, nothing bad can happen," Dofine thought to himself.
Just then, Koth's communication came through: "Welcome back to the Mandalore system, Captain Dofine. This time, we won't be boarding your ship for inspection. However, there have been a lot of pirates in the Mandalore sector recently, so it's best to be careful." Koth thoughtfully reminded Dofine.
"Thank you for the warning, Governor Koth. I believe my forces can handle just a few small ships," Dofine replied before cutting off Koth's message.
After hanging up, Koth chuckled on the Free Will. "Can you really handle them, Dofine? Let's wait and see."
"Activate thermal shields! Escort fighters, be vigilant! Radar, expand to maximum scan range!" Dofine commanded the crew below.
"Yes, Captain, scanning for nearby ships has begun," the operator reported.
"Good. This time, there might be a hitch. We must complete this voyage!" Dofine shouted to the others, feeling a little more at ease.
Meanwhile, Koth and his team, who were suppressing pirate forces in another star system, saw that the fattest duck had finally arrived. They immediately concluded their final strike against the pirates, sending fighters to clear the area, and then quickly made a hyperspace jump back to the Mandalore system.
At this moment, Captain Dofine was overjoyed. No pirates had attacked him, and he was about to reach the beginning of the hyperspace lane. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Full speed ahead! Get out of the Mandalore system quickly!"
"Yes, Captain, but if we do that, we'll need to deactivate the thermal shields to achieve full acceleration," the operator advised Dofine.
"Just go full speed ahead. Deactivate the shields first."
"But if we reactivate them, it will take…" The operator was cut off by Dofine. "Didn't you hear me? Full speed ahead!"
"Yes, Captain," the operator reluctantly disengaged the thermal shields.
At this moment, Koth's Hammerhead-class cruiser, the Free Will, had exited hyperspace and immediately dispatched twelve A-wing Starfighters to attack the Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 freighter.
"Blue Squadron, everyone attack the freighter's two hyperspace thrusters first, then deal with the other escort fighters," Koth, the leader, commanded.
"Blue Two, understood!"
"Three, copy that!"
"In that case, commence attack!" Koth ordered, and the attack began immediately.
Meanwhile, on the Lucrehulk-class freighter, "Captain! Detecting fighters rapidly approaching our position!"
"Damn it! In that case, have all the Lancer-class frigates and Munificent-class frigates attack them!"
"What if they're not pirates?"
"I'll take responsibility!" With Dofine's command, two Munificent-class light cruisers immediately turned and began attacking Koth's Blue Squadron.
Four Lancer-class missile frigates also launched missiles towards Blue Squadron, and the six anti-starfighter cannons on the freighter continuously spat out blaster bolts. Fortunately, Blue Squadron had undergone over half a year of training and combat experience in various star systems and were no longer easy targets.
However, the combined firepower network of six frigates made it difficult to approach the freighter.
"Red Squadron, you're cleared for deployment," Koth ordered. Twelve modified Viking fighters immediately launched from the Free Will, which had already arrived on the battlefield from Vaddar.
The Viking fighters' superior speed and modified attack methods completely outclassed these old-fashioned ships. With a volley of missiles from the twelve Vikings, a total of twenty-four missiles directly destroyed a Munificent-class light cruiser that had its deflector shields active.
"One destroyed!" a cheer came from Ray.
"Excellent! Blue Squadron, push forward!" Koth piloted his A-wing, rapidly weaving through the barrage of fire, but the others weren't so lucky.
However, the six turrets on the Free Will, after multiple volleys, destroyed one of the still-attacking Lancer-class missile frigates. But the Free Will's shields were also close to breaking, as the twenty-eight turbo laser cannons on the Munificent-class light cruisers were no joke.
"Red One, I've been hit! Requesting assistance!" a pilot from Blue Squadron shouted over the comms.
"Understood. We will deal with the other forces immediately," Ray replied over the comms.
The modified Viking fighters could now not only launch missiles but also had four heavy laser cannons added. "Diamond formation!"
Immediately, Red Squadron formed a diamond and began using their heavy laser cannons to engage the Lancer-class missile frigates. By this time, Koth, with his superior piloting skills, had reached the rear section of the freighter. With the targeting complete, two proton torpedoes were fired, destroying the Lucrehulk-class freighter's hyperspace thrusters.
"Blue One, should we destroy all escape pods?" Ray asked, looking at the escape pods floating in space.
"No, let them go. We'll have to rescue them later," Koth instructed everyone not to destroy the escape pods. These were all about favors and money.
Inside the Lucrehulk-class freighter, emergency alarms blared. Some crew members immediately began heading to the hyperspace drive section for repairs. The freighter was now completely immobile; the explosion had not only destroyed the hyperspace thrusters but also largely crippled the engines.
"Send a signal to Koth! I'm willing to pay him to send people to deal with these pirates!" Dofine was furious at this point, completely unprepared for how powerful these pirates were. They had basically destroyed his fleet, and he couldn't even escape.
The operator sent a message to Vaddar: "We need Mandalore's support! We've been attacked by pirates!"
But at this moment, the message was received by Mayor Murto on Vaddar. "Sorry, our Free Mandalore Company currently has no contact or cooperation with the Trade Federation. As for the government, the Mandalore government only has ground police forces, so I apologize, but we cannot help you."
Dofine immediately took over the communication, furious. "Connect me to Governor Koth, not some small fry like you!"
Seeing this, Murto ended the communication. Murto had no desire to deal with such an idiot, who thought he was someone important.
Seeing Murto end the communication, Dofine was instantly enraged. "How dare anyone talk to me like that!" But he had no more time to be angry, as all his escort fleet outside had been destroyed.
Just then, a communication came through: "Captain Dofine, hello. As the successor of Death Watch, I am speaking with you now. If you can accept your ship being plundered by Death Watch, there might still be a way out. Otherwise, there is only death." Koth, wearing a helmet, altered his voice and spoke to Dofine.
"Damn pirates! I will never accept any of your conditions! The Trade Federation will not surrender!" Dofine still had some backbone at this point. After all, he had a considerable number of droid forces on his ship, and killing the pirates if they boarded might not be difficult.
"Alright, you have your choice, and I have my difficulties. See you on board," Koth hung up the communication and had the Free Will prepare to dock.
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