Hydian Way, near Kuat, three days later
The Freedom's Destiny had been used to great effect in her former role as the Imperial Destiny. Most Imperial records hadn't listed her capture for the Alliance, and so she plied the trade lanes, offering 'protection' for merchants, traders, and commerce ships when in fact she was scouting them for potential targets.
When they had an adequate list of targets scouted out, the Task Force made its move. Three freighters were targeted in total. The first, and probably most difficult to combat, was the Bulk Cruiser Extinguisher. The ship was armed with thirty laser cannons and military grade shields. Rather than risk her smaller ship, Anne decided to attack it with both of her largest ships.
While the Freedom's Destiny rained a flurry of turbolaser and laser cannon strikes across the cruiser's shields, weakening them, the Starfire crept up from the other side. With the Extinguisher focusing all of her firepower on the tough shields of the Freedom, the Starfire was left free to open fire on the Bulk Cruiser without fear of retaliation. The four turbolasers targeted one spot on the bulk cruiser, drastically weakening the shields while the two ion cannons scattered energy across the cruiser, targeting and disabling first the engines, then the weaponry.
Once the cruiser was crippled and drifting weaponless, and the shields had been knocked out, Anne ordered the assault teams away in their boarding shuttles. They encountered little to no resistance, and within thirty minutes, standard time, they had the cruiser underway with a skeleton crew. Her cargo of one hundred heavy turbolaser cannons, manufactured on an armaments planet and being shipped to Kuat Drive Yards for installation on two new Imperial-II Star Destroyers, was intact and would be used to great effect.
The ship itself would be added to the fleet as well. Anne decided to issue it the name Constellation, and was deciding on what her role in the Task Force would be as they moved on to the other two targets.
A short micro jump brought the Task Force out of hyperspace near the second targeted freighter. Major Garrick of the Tarry had already secured the freighter, this one a more typical bulk freighter, its cargo having been deemed 'less vital' for defensive armaments in shipping. None the less, the freighter had been armed with single turbolaser cannon, which the Tarry had disabled before it could cause any considerable damage.
Admiral Phoenix knew Major Garrick could handle any mopping up operations here, so she moved on to the last target. While en route, she received a distress call from the Tangent, and upon exiting hyperspace, saw why.
An unexpected visitor had showed up to escort the third target, another bulk freighter. The visitor was an Imperial Escort Frigate, Nebulon-B2 class. Two dozen TIE Fighters swarmed around the Tangent, the corvette firing its quad lasers at the attackers, scoring a few kills while the frigate moved in for the kill.
"Deploy headhunters, have them help relieve the Tangent. Order the Freedom's Destiny to form up on us, and we'll take on the frigate," ordered Admiral Phoenix. The frigate was identified as the Warspite, one with a history in regards to anti-Rebel activities.
However, before they could begin to close, the frigate suddenly turned about, and headed away from the battle. The bulk freighter also turned away, but the surviving X-wings from the Tangent intercepted it, using their ion torpedoes to disable the freighter's engines.
The headhunters had reached the TIE Fighters now, intercepting them as they fled from the Tangent to rendezvous with the retreating Warspite. The Headhunters scored several kills before they approached too close to the withdrawing Imperial Frigate, and broke off.
Boarding shuttles from the Tangent and Starfire proceeded to board the freighter. The previous freighter was loaded with sublight engine components, while this freighter carried a supply of proton torpedo launchers, sensors, and the torpedoes themselves, enough to fully equip several squadrons of star fighters.
Even before the confrontation with the Warspite, Admiral Phoenix had planned to leave this area of space and move on to another raiding area. Knowing that the frigate was screaming for reinforcements only added to those plans.
Shortly after the Tangent jumped out of the system with her prize, Task Force Tempest departed the region, heading back to the base for a job well done.
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