The Bespin–Corellia joint fleet began its breakout assault.
If they sat and waited, death was certain. If they charged into a desperate push, there was still a razor-thin chance—one in ten thousand, but a chance all the same.
Under Admiral Berethron's command, the joint fleet stopped trading heavy volleys with the Hutt battle line and instead poured all firepower into the enemy armed freighter convoy that was intercepting their starfighter wave.
"Punch through. All batteries—free fire," Berethron ordered.
To avoid the savage particle-beam crossfire between the two capital lines, the Mandalorian starfighters attacked by splitting into four prongs—above, below, port, and starboard—arcing around the killing zone.
Black Sun's armed freighters moved to intercept in the same fashion.
The two swarms met fast and slammed into a furious dogfight. Around the straight line formed by the opposing capital ships, a thin, ragged ring of combat began to form—fighters and freighters tearing at each other in a sparse halo.
Berethron ordered the joint fleet to break formation and drive toward that "ring." He wanted his ships to push behind the starfighter–freighter melee—ideally forcing their way into the fight itself.
That accomplished two things:
First, it let the fleet hammer the armed freighters at close range, efficiently clearing lanes so their starfighters could break through.
Second, it forced the Hutt battle line to hesitate—if the Hutts kept firing their heavy guns, they risked shredding their own forward screen of freighters.
Berethron stared ahead, eyes burning, and roared, "Come on, you vermin! If you've got the nerve, then get in here with us!"
If the Hutts dared close to brawl, Berethron thought, he'd let them taste what Corellian engineering—and the Sphyrna's little surprises—could really do.
…
"Great Kosak?" the Evona's captain asked, awaiting orders.
"Hmph. A cheap trick." Kosak Desilijic Tiure sneered. "Let him play his game. You keep playing yours—keep 집중 fire on that little whale."
"Yes, Great Kosak." / "All ships—continue salvo fire!"
…
"Great Kosak, Black Sun's convoy is disengaging. The enemy ships and fighters are not attempting to stop them—they're still closing on us at high speed."
Crunch. Crunch.
Kosak chewed viciously, grinding a zeefrog down—skin and bones into paste—like he wished he could do the same to Ziro.
"How dare they betray Great Kosak! How dare they flee the line!" Kosak bellowed. "Traitors! Useless trash! Launch the starfighters—swat those gnats out of the void!"
"Great Kosak… intercept who?" the captain asked uncertainly.
"Idiot! You're an idiot too—idiots, all of you!" Kosak thundered. "Fine! Intercept those damned backwater trash and their damned starfighters!"
"Yes, Great Kosak!" the captain shouted. "All ships—launch embarked craft. Intercept enemy fighters."
"Mm." Kosak stuffed another zeefrog into his mouth. "And give Ziro's worthless garbage a send-off."
"Yes, Great Kosak!" / "All ships—target Black Sun freighters. Free fire!"
…
"All ship-and-fighter elements: volley concussion missiles and proton torpedoes at the enemy capital ships. Execute immediately!"
Through the Force, Max saw the Hutt fighters spilling from hangars before they were fully visible, and he issued the order without hesitation.
"Confirmed." Admiral Berethron immediately followed up with a supplemental command to the two C-80 Sphyrna-class corvettes. "Volley concussion missiles. Now."
Seconds later, more than two hundred bright points streaked toward the Hutt warships.
They were still at long range; the missiles and torpedoes needed time to fly. They likely wouldn't reach the Hutt fighters in time for a clean head-on ambush. But they should hit before the Hutt ships' particle shields fully recharged—and that could still inflict meaningful damage.
"Where are the concussion missiles or proton torpedoes?" Aayla Secura's voice came through Max's helmet comm. "I can't find them."
"We don't have any," Max replied, resigned. "Our T-6 has only the wing-root laser cannons and a tail turret—nothing else."
"Then how are you planning to destroy a Hutt warship's deflector generator?" Aayla sounded even more resigned. "With those guns? You could burn through every tibanna feed on this shuttle and you still wouldn't crack a heavy cruiser's shields."
The Fang fighters carried proton torpedoes. The Kom'rk fighters and the Z-95 Headhunters carried concussion missiles. In theory, those starfighters could destroy deflector generators.
But the Cloud City ship didn't carry those. Its embarked craft were limited—T-6 shuttles only.
"With teammates. With cooperation, Mentor," Max said, giving a thumbs-up she could feel in his tone. "We punch holes in their screen. The shield-kill job goes to the pilots flying proper starfighters."
"Understood." Aayla's voice lifted—steadier, sharper. "May the Force be with us."
As she spoke, the Hutt warships opened their hangar bays and began launching fighters.
"Enemy fighters are launching." Max switched back onto the joint fleet's open channel and began directing tactics.
"They're M12-L Kimogila heavy starfighters. Heavy firepower, thick shields."
"All starfighters—especially the Fang-class—do not trade shots at range. Don't get dragged into an attrition duel. Use your mobility: close fast, then once you're inside the missile/torpedo no-escape envelope, fire and kill."
"All ships: stop dueling the enemy battle line. Full support to starfighter breakthrough."
"Yes, Commander!" The Mandalorian officers responded.
"Execute. Target Hutt starfighters. All batteries—free fire." That was Berethron, relaying to the two Sphyrna-class escorts.
"Knowing your enemy like this…" Aayla added—half praise, half rallying cry, trying to lift the oppressive despair she could feel bleeding off the Corellian crews. "No wonder they call you Thornflower's hardened spine… Mandalore's blade… Max, the one who hasn't tasted defeat."
Then she switched to the private comm between the three T-6 shuttles and teased, half joking, half sincere: "Not bad, student. You really do know a lot."
"You're flattering me, Mentor." Max kept his voice even. "That model was built for the Hutts by the MandalMotors shipyards. I saw the specs during a visit."
"Good eyes, too," Aayla continued. "I haven't even seen them yet."
"I haven't either—strictly speaking." Max corrected himself. "I saw them through the Force. Precognition."
Aayla went quiet for a moment, then laughed softly to herself.
And at that moment, the Hutts finished cleaning up the Black Sun freighters that had tried to disengage. Their fire-control solutions snapped back onto Wide-Area Silence.
A new volley slammed into Wide-Area Silence's shields. Max's heart jolted.
"Captain Reeves—report your ship's condition," Max barked.
"Shields at thirty percent," Tracy Reeves reported calmly, as if reading weather. "We can take three more salvos. Commander."
"Abandon ship immediately. That's an order!" Max roared.
"Yes, Commander." Reeves accepted the command. "All hands on Wide-Area Silence—begin boarding escape pods. Prepare to abandon ship."
But she didn't carry it out completely.
PS: The differences between proton bombs, proton torpedoes, and concussion missiles:
Power: proton bomb > proton torpedo > concussion missile.
Speed and lock/tracking: concussion missile > proton torpedo > proton bomb.
All three can penetrate ray shields, and none can penetrate particle shields. When firing any of these munitions, the launching ship/craft must first drop its own particle shields.
Concussion missiles also deliver an EMP effect on a successful hit.
PPS: There's a widely circulated sourcebook that claims an X-wing's "best/maximum" proton torpedo range is only 200m/600m. That's absurd.
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🛡️🔥🌌 STAR WARS: THE RISE OF MANDALORE 🌌🔥🛡️
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The armor remembers.
And Mandalore will rise again.
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⚔️ Mandalorian warriors🔥 Clan warfare🚀 Galactic conflict🌌 Star Wars worldbuilding👑 Power & leadership💥 Massive battles🛡️ The resurgence of Mandalore
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