01.02 : The Light Begins to Dim

[22 BBY]

[Executive Security Solutions TIE Fighter Saber-01, Solem System]

I banking my TIE hard to the right and down, in an near identical motioning to my squadron-mates, after triggering the initial exchange with the droid-fighters of the Trade Federation. The TIE was incredibly manoeuvrable, as it accelerated away and then flipped and spun in space so that I was facing back the way I'd just come and mashed down on the firing button. Energy bolts spewed out into the blackness of space as I manoeuvred so the fighter wasn't presenting an easier target as the Vulture droid-fighter I'd been targeting exploded.

There was no time to celebrate the kill, just hammer down on the acceleration and hunt down the next enemy as kept a watch on the tactical display as well as the 'feel' of the Force around me. Whoever these idiots were they'd made a mistake in rely on their droid-fighters to swing the fight...not an atypical strategy for a Banking Clan or Trade Federation Captain or Privateer of course, but one the was going to bite in the ass if I had any say in the matter. Our Vulture droid-fighters were likewise tearing into their opposites; they'd better be considering how much we'd pumped into simulations and combat training these past three years. Taking losses of course as I saw an icon vanish, but better them than more than needed of our manned, and therefore costly to train, organic pilots.

"Saber-2, stick with me" I ordered to my wingman, burning hard again as our formation hammered back into the droids and broke them up into clusters. ECM should be hurting their command links, hopefully, but even if not we needed to kill these fuckers hard and fast. More bolts of energy slammed out into a droid-fighter, first from me and then from Saber-02 as I mentally selected the next enemy. It was chaos, but that suited me and my fighters as a glance told me our combat ships continued to power their way forward into firing range on the freighters.

Accelerating through enemies, and another spin-flip had me and Saber-2 flying backwards a moment; the droid-fighters attempting to pursue running into the fire even as Sabers Three and Four tore into their flank. One of my Sabers died, I could see it on the Tag Display as well as faintly feel it, but there was nothing to be done about it now as my world was the immediate territory and dealing destruction within it. Droid-fighters were useful support in a battle, or deadly if used in sufficient quantity alone, but our current enemies didn't have anywhere close to the margin needed here.

Not when I had ESS pilots train against our own upgraded Vultures, and our business in the escort line was dealing with pirates and 'privateers' often Trade Federation vessels in all but name. Nor when I'd refused to allow the others to cheap out on the star-fighters we used; such the non-military Republic Express used plenty of claptrap freighters and salvage, but ESS I prioritised. Quality could make up for a lot; like right as the battle rapidly turned into a slaughter as we tore the slightly more numerous droid-fighters apart...

Then my own Stormcrow roared into range along with the two other 'heavy' combat ships, and my old barely combat-worthy Cinnamon Wind, and lashed out with bright beams of destruction towards the enemy support vessels. One of the bigger icons blinked out of existence moments later, and the enemy droid-fighters poor performance immediate got worse at the momentary lose of a guiding hand. My finger triggered the command circuit even as I tugged on the controls so my TIE dodged incoming fire, and could counter-fire "All Sabers, strike-alpha, leave the enemy droids to the ours, all Sabers with me"

It looked like the second enemy freighter had decided to 'hide' behind the wreck of its compatriot, and hope the Valour of Horjivik would hurry up...or something maybe. The Valour of Horjivik was a warship, a cruiser, in name only really; it was ancient, and the last refit merely made its barriers and weapons obsolete rather than just irrelevant. Unfortunately it was still a ship that out massed our best, a frigate, by a pretty massive margin and while I was sure we could take it....it was going to hurt doing so. If they fought that was; swiftly butchering their fighter cover and supposed powerful off-world allies might just change that urge to fight. So now twenty-one TIE fighters raced towards surviving Federation at full burn after breaking out of the dying melee.

"Bridge and Engines Sabers, watch for defences, come in from rear and below"

There was some counter-fire, but it was just a converted bulk freighter and it was pretty clear this lot hadn't expected this level of a fight. Screaming up in two groups of ten and eleven the engines soon guttered out as the bridge was destroyed, and the freighter soon began to drift useless as the droid-fighters, the surviving ones, it had controlled went 'wild' and lost any remaining cohesion. Easy prey...well, easier prey at least as I ordered my squadrons back towards the fight, and the Bright Eagle with the other ships beyond it; not a good idea charging in against the Valour of Horjivik on our own quite yet...

Then the large vessel coming slowly towards us broke away on the Tac Display, away from the planet too as my command circuit came alive "Saber-1, this is Bright Eagle Actual, good show, enemy forces withdrawing. All units form back up on the Bright Eagle, Valour of Horjivik withdrawing from combat and reaffirming loyalty to the Fell government"

I gave the faintest snort of amusement "Saber-01 copies Bright Eagle Actual, change in management was there?"

"Copy Saber-01, Hammer of Yendun decided it was joining the fight and the EO on the Valour decided now was a good time to relieve his Captain of command. Permanently sounds like"

'Understood Bright Eagle Actual, returning to formation; time to end this farce on the planet I think"

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[Six Hours Later]

[Executive Security Solutions Corporate Compound, Bunker, City of Gai'solem, Solem]

"Well that was a nasty little farce wasn't it?" I muttered sitting down at the large meeting table along with the other board members of ESS present in system, and the holo-images of those currently off-world "...I know we got off light, but we've hundreds dead in three major cities and tens of thousands of credits worth of damage caused to the compound, let alone munitions expended"

"Price of doing business I'm afraid..." the Captain of the Bright Eagle Jurdan Ironhill replied tiredly, in hologram form from aboard said ship while I restored matters groundside "...we've got plenty of salvage from the droid-fighters we destroyed, and at least now the SSDF is being reorganised with loyalists so we don't have to worry about a repeat of this madness"

Shesagora, formerly Captain of the Dirty Old Whore, but now of the Gozanti combat freighter Wicked Witch of Endor, shrugged in her avatar form from a spacedock over in Malastare "Payback for that incident near Dolla last cycle I'd suspect. Those kriffers were too damned organised and discipline to be anything but really corporate military playing at pirates"

I sat back in my chair, sipping my energy drink "Possible, likely even, or it could just be because things are heating up with them in general. Seems to be a lot of such independence talk across the Outer Rim, hells, even in the Mid-Rim and Core I'd guess"

"And the nearby system governments? Karksis?"

I shook my head at her query about her homeworld "Nothing serious, at least from the last transmission. The situation here was coming to ahead for months after all, we saw it coming, and it just...happened alot earlier than we'd reckoned it would"

"Bah, a bunch of weaklings who got slaughtered quickly..." one of the two non-Koradin sector natives on the Board grumbled across the table from me. Braika Chorn was a nasty piece of work, but that was just the nature of being a Mandalorian in general, and a bounty hunter/mercenary/trainer by trade I guessed. Getting her, and her teenage daughter Vhonte onboard had been damned expensive, a board position on ESS based on experience and skills alone "...now we plan our revenge I expect"

"Perhaps, but not yet at least" Jurdan aboard the Bright Eagle argued back "...we've repairs to make, the wreckage here to salvage, and a number of jobs lined up that need us to fulfil the terms of"

"That and we don't know exactly who planned this yet"

"Oh come now woman, it was clearly elements of Trade Federation Out Rim Corporate, or Security, Divisions..." the human woman rumbled arms folded across her armoured chest "...things have been get tense everywhere, good work for us after all, but this is the other side of it"

I nodded "I tend to agree, we need to send a message, but not right now I'm afraid. Jurdan's right we've contracts to complete and things are going to hell galaxy-wide. Let's give our technicians time to rip what they can from the wrecks data-cores and we move from there. Ideally while we're going about the newest job for our friends on Eriadu...and after all that's happened I think we'll have to leave a guard force here till things settle down fully..."

The latest contract, from our 'friends' in the Outer Regions Security Force, called for four of the heavily armoured Gozanti-class cruiser-freighters for transport of passengers and 'packages' to Naboo, Christophsis first, and then unto the Core itself. Premium rates and all, along with armed escort, so I didn't want to know what it was they wanted us to haul but it meant it wasn't something they wanted potential future Separatists knowing about it looked like.

Initially we'd planned on using the converted and refitted for combat former Consular Cruiser Shining Breeze, but it looked like it might be a better idea to bring the Bright Eagle and a little bit extra firepower to do give some...lessons....to whoever had decided to pull this off here. That'd come later, and I was pretty damned sure things were going to kick of the Clone Wars soon. I hadn't heard anything about Geonosis yet, but it wasn't like I could maintain much contact with anyone in the Temple these days; Council frowned on that, and a friendly 'Hi how are you!' message every few months was the best I could manage.

'Not that I can say much anyway, secrecy and all that' I reminded myself as the quick debrief continued and general agreement was to go ahead with contracts as planned, save with increased caution and vigilance. There was also the matter of collecting our two new YT-series vessels for our civilian business, and another Gozanti-cruiser to bring their number up to eleven between ESS and Republic Express. Or owned by ESS as ownership from Express only lasted long enough legally to get delivery so we could transfer over ESS and armed the damned things properly...