Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Counterstrike

Counter-Attack

A car?! No one in their wildest dreams expected this to be what greeted them! They couldn't fathom why anyone would store a motor vehicle inside a spacecraft. The four-meter-long wreckage was tossed like a toy; the mercenaries, caught off guard, opened fire, but their blaster bolts hit the metal frame to no effect.

CRASH! The wreckage plowed into several mercenaries, sending a shower of sparks across the deck.

Regaining their composure, some mercenaries fired violently toward the airlock. The sharp, high-pitched whine of blaster fire filled the air as several red bolts pierced through the mist toward the opposing side.

However...

A sudden, invisible force swept over the area, and several blaster pistols were ripped from the mercenaries' hands without warning. Before they could scramble to retrieve them, a rhythmic, staccato burst of gunfire erupted—RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! The mercenaries in the front collapsed one after another.

A hulking figure emerged, wielding an assault rifle in one hand. His aim was surgical, and a single sweep downed five or six mercenaries. The return fire from the mercenaries struck him, but it only shredded the synthetic skin covering his frame.

"It's a robot!" a mercenary shrieked, catching a glimpse of the silver-white metallic endoskeleton beneath the tattered skin.

RAT-TAT! RAT-TAT! The T-850 showed no mercy. Once the assault rifle ran dry, he discarded it and drew two more from his back, continuing his relentless barrage.

Tang Xiao, Cunte, Quinto, and Spade followed closely behind, each firing their own assault rifles wildly into the fray. Regardless of the tactical advantages of blasters, the mercenaries were limited to semi-automatic pistols, which proved no match for the rapid-fire capability of the assault rifles.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!! Dense hails of bullets poured out like water, leaving four or five more mercenaries dead in pools of blood. The survivors could only cower behind cover, firing potshots.

Tang Xiao focused his mind, locking onto a Rodian mercenary hiding behind a crate. With a flick of his hand, he used the Force to wrench the blaster from the mercenary's grip. The alien instinctively reached for it, but the moment he poked his head out, his skull was shattered by a shot, spraying blue blood across the floor.

The T-850 marched fearlessly at the front, allowing the blaster bolts to pelt his chassis. His synthetic skin sloughed off, revealing the skull-like mechanical endoskeleton beneath. His red electronic eye swiveled, locked onto a target, and fired.

A bolt struck his left eye, shattering the optic, but he didn't falter. He aimed with his remaining eye and sent a bullet through the forehead of the Bith mercenary who had fired the shot.

When his assault rifles ran dry, he dropped them and drew two pistols from his belt to keep firing.

BANG! A blaster bolt struck his right wrist, blowing his hand off. The T-850 swung the mangled stump with such force that it slammed the mercenary into the bulkhead, leaving an indentation.

"Die, you metal-headed freak!" A mercenary lunged out from behind, pointing his blaster at the T-850's occiput.

Before he could pull the trigger, his weapon was ripped from his hand.

The next second, his head exploded like a watermelon.

At the start of the skirmish, the Falleen woman had realized the situation was dire. She scrambled toward the cockpit, screaming, "Close the docking bay! Quickly!"

No sooner had the words left her lips than a shot rang out, grazing her cheek and entering the pilot’s skull. Brain matter splattered across the console.

Behind her, Tang Xiao blew smoke from the barrel of his revolver and said coldly, "If I were you, I'd drop to my knees and put your hands behind your head right now."

The Falleen woman obeyed without hesitation, her face pale with terror. "Don't kill me! This wasn't my idea! Don't kill me... it was the Blac—"

"I don't want to hear it!" Tang Xiao cut her off and moved to pull the trigger, but as he met the Falleen woman's gaze, he hesitated. He had never even killed a chicken in his life, but now...

Yet, at that moment, a wave of violent emotion surged within him. A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes. BANG! A gunshot echoed, and the Falleen woman collapsed into a pool of blood.

Tang Xiao sighed, discarded the pistol, and leaned against the bulkhead, feeling suddenly drained.

Meanwhile, the other Ghtroc 720 freighter realized something was wrong, banked, and began accelerating in a desperate bid to escape.

"No loose ends! Cunte! Get to the cockpit and take out that ship!" Tang Xiao snapped back to reality and shouted.

"I'm already on it!" Cunte had kicked the pilot’s corpse aside, but the console was smeared with brain matter, and he couldn't distinguish which buttons did what.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

Outside, the vacuum of space rippled with light, and a massive warship dropped out of hyperspace right before them!

It was a Munificent-class frigate adorned with the insignia of the InterGalactic Banking Clan!

"Damn it! It's the pursuers from Muunilinst!! How did they track us here?!" Seeing the 825-meter-long behemoth, Tang Xiao felt his blood run cold. His body stiffened. "Cunte, can we still get away?"

"I don't think so," Cunte replied with a bitter smile.

The Munificent-class frigate’s turbolaser turrets adjusted their angle, locked onto the fleeing Ghtroc 720 freighter, and fired!

The ruthless barrage struck the freighter instantly. In the vacuum of space, there was no sound, but the violent explosions spoke of the attack's brutal efficiency.

With a single shot, the 38-meter-long freighter was obliterated; the ship's deflector shields were entirely useless against an assault of that magnitude.

Having fired only once, the Munificent-class frigate remained motionless, simply opening its hangar bay doors and drifting in the void.

Tang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. He stared at the frigate, his gaze deepening. He caught a glimpse of the profound, bottomless darkness hidden within the warship—an infinite abyss.

Shaking his head, Tang Xiao said, "Alright, I think we're safe for now. Quinto, you and Spade try to pilot this freighter. Cunte, T-850, we're heading back to the *Lancer*. We need to get inside that warship. It’s time to deliver the goods."

The *Lancer* and the Oro-class freighter flew one after another into the narrow hangar of the Munificent-class frigate. As the ships settled, hundreds of fully armed B-1 battle droids surrounded them.

The B-1 droids were rudimentary machines, favored by massive intergalactic entities like the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Trade Federation for being cheap, effective, and available in massive quantities. They were used for everything from combat to menial labor.

Cunte took the data drive and led the way, while Tang Xiao blended in with the others, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.