Jester One rolled hard to port and banked back the other way so hard the inertial dampeners had a hard time compensating. He could feel the centrifugal force begin crushing him into the jumpseat for that brief moment. He could change the settings on those if he wished, but he actually liked those moments although they made it hard to breath sometimes. It kept him from getting too comfortable in the cockpit of his fighter.
Technically it wasn't his fighter. It still belonged to the Republic Galactic Fighter Corps, but he defected with it. Defected wasn't the right word, but it was the word he chose to use. Desertion made it sound like cowardice, and really it had taken a lot of guts to do what he did.
Jester pulled back hard on the stick and decelerated, bringing the fighter into a tight loop and dropping right in behind the two fighters on his tail. His first maneuver had effectively broken their missile lock and now the hunted became the hunter. The cross-hatch on his HUD view dropped neatly over the first target and he squeezed the trigger. Red darts lanced out and pierced the hull, turning the fighter into a ball of fire and slag. "Die, Republic scum," he mumbled to no one but himself.
Every ship he shot down was just one more little piece of payback for his family and friends. Years ago, his home system had decided they no longer wanted to be a part of the Republic. He had been a kid at the time, and hadn't paid attention to politics much. Next thing he knew the Galactic Republic was landing troops on his homeworld to "quell the insurrection."
He had been conscripted in the following occupation and sent to the Academy where he endured his time quietly until the time was right to defect. He knew he would be unable to return home, so instead he struck out on his own, taking small bits of revenge in his own way and sending the profits back home to his loved ones.
He'd spent many years doing just that when this opportunity came along. He had already been payed a hefty sum up front for this mission, as had anyone who signed on with their own ship, and there was the promise of much more if the mission was successful. He didn't expect to live through this mission, but it didn't really matter, he'd already sent his sign on bonus home, and should the mission prove successful his share should set his family for life.
Unfortunately things hadn't been going their way. The opposing fighter force had been double what was expected, and while Control had apparently implemented some sort of contingency plan that caused one of the hammer heads to go crazy, there was still an attack frigate bearing down on them.
The frigate wasn't as big as a hammerhead and they carried no fighters, but they were bristled with guns. Most fighter pilots would turn and run when forced to go against one, but Jester wasn't most fighter pilots.
His comm crackled to life, "Jester One, Mole. We're going to have company!"
"We copy you, Mole," the Jester replied. He had already been formulating a plan and they had one pass at best to complete it. "Two, Five, Six, form up on me. Target their shield generators. They should be located just behind the dorsal fin."
"Leader, this is Five, you want us to attack that thing?" the other pilot questioned.
"Just do as you're ordered and take your lead from me," the leader of the fighter pilots replied. He adjusted his targeting computer for the spot on the ship where he knew the generators were located and increased his throttle.
As expected, the frigate began firing everything they had at the four incoming fighters. It was heavy and a couple of times the laser beams splashed across his shields, causing them to momentarily light up, but he kept his fighter moving side to side, waggling his way in and none of the hits were direct enough to do more than superficial damage.
His small force wasn't so skilled, or nearly as lucky. All three were taken out quickly, emphasizing the reason most pilots dreaded these small attack capital ships. Jester pulled up and broke off his run. He needed at least two ships for this, or it would never be successful, and he doubted they'd get a second pass at this.
"Command, this is Jester Leader," he said, dialing in the command channel. "I need one more fighter over here, and right now, preferably the best one you have left. Otherwise you better get your big guns over here."
-------
"Jester Four, Command," came the call over Mannix' comm. "Your wing is gone and you're flying solo anyway, drop the sortie and form up on Jester One as fast as possible."
Mannix didn't question the order. He'd taken out four enemy fighters single handedly and led three more into the waiting cross-hairs of gunships and freighters. Now they were sending him over to support Raezyr and the rest of the insertion team.
He checked his scopes as he jammed the accelerator to full throttle. To his surprise, there was only one fighter over there standing in between Mole and the attack frigate. Something began to nag at the back of his mind. Something about fighters and attack frigates. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He dismissed the thought as a distraction and pulled into position on Jester Leader's wing.
----------
Jester Leader gave Jester Four the same orders he had given the others, and this time his wing man managed to stay in one piece. Jester loosed his torpedos. The struck home and weakened the shields. He watched his scopes as Four's torpedos closed in... and missed their mark.
"Sorry about that Leader, I'll hit it on the next pass," came a kid's voice over the comm.
"Forget it kid, there is no next run. They know our strategy now. They know we know where their generators are. They're not going to mess around with us and let us at it again," Jester replied, but he was also planning.
There was one shot left, but he had to turn back now in mid run. He began banking and was about to Order Four to stay close to the Mole, and protect it at all costs when he noticed Jester Four was already making the same turn he was. In fact he must have started making the turn sooner because Four was already ahead of him.
"Four, what are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" Jester yelled at the kid.
"I'm going back to finish the job," came the reply.
Jester swore under his breath and pulled back hard on the stick and jammed the throttle forward, and felt himself being crushed into his jumpseat as he tried to catch the young pilot. "I suppose it's not going to do any good to order you out, is it?"
"Nope, sorry One," Jester Four said flatly.
The older pilot smiled to himself and for the moment regretted his decision to not get to know any of the other pilots before the mission started. He figured there'd be enough time for that if he survived this mission, but this kid reminded him of himself when he was younger: eager, daring, and a feeling of invincibility... with a touch of stupidity thrown in for good measure.
His ultra fast turn had taken him wide, and while his own fighter was faster, it was still taking some time to catch up. Suddenly his scoped lit up with new blips: the frigate had just launched numerous torpedoes and missiles at Jester Four.
"Four, this is One, break off!"
"Negative, One. This is my screw up, and I'm going to fix it." The kid said with a note of determination in his voice.
Jester watched as the missiles were closing in on their target, and noticed the frigate had launched a second salvo aimed at him as well. By his calculations, neither of them were going to be close enough to get accurate shots on their target generator before both ships were vaporized.
It suddenly dawned on Jester what the only clear course of action was, and he altered his course just slightly.
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Raezyr watched the scopes intently as the fate of his own part of this mission rested heavily on those two remaining fighters. He knew Mannix was one of them, and as much as he had hoped that the kid would live through this, it was quite apparent that this was it for the kid. All that was left was the hope that he'd finish taking those generators out before he died.
Suddenly he noticed Jester One change his vector. He was no longer headed to make second pass as was Mannix, but had taken a trajectory which would put him on a collision course with Mannix. The Sith reached for the comm, about to warn the young Taxl monk and then looked more closely at the screen. "What in the name of the Sith is he doing?" he whispered to himself.
Suddenly Jester One's spacecraft swooped in on Mannix' tail. He held that position for the briefest of moments, then veered away. As if by magic, the torpedoes turned and followed their new target. Three seconds later, they connected.
-------
Mannix loosed two more torpedoes, and this time they connected. The explosion rocked the frigate and it's shields glowed briefly before coming down. He was still in shock and awe of what had just happened. Moments ago he had prepared himself to fire as he took his last breath, and now the defenseless frigate was veering off.
Although it was still going to pass near the Jet Razor, and most likely attack in passing, it was no longer on a direct attack route. His job now was was to harass and harry the frigate, doing as much damage as he could.
Later there would be plenty of time to think about Jester.
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