//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Opposition // Story: Star Wars: The Blockade Runner // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// It didn't take long for the automated transports to appear from hyperspace. Three GR75s appeared just behind the moon. Dice Squadron rendezvoused with them and they began their approach to Equestria. "Looks like the transports aren't programmed for a lot of risky maneuvers," Gary said, linking up with the convoy from his gunner's console. Brett nodded. "Let's not give them any surprises, then. Form them up behind us but at a distance. We'll make a nice gap for them to slip through just like this morning." "What are our odds this time?" Gary asked. "I'll tell you after we make it to the surface," Brett replied. He gripped the controls tightly. They came around the moon and saw Equestria once again, a shining blue orb in space. The Imperial cruisers were back in the same place they had originally been in just a few hours ago. They still looked deceptively small, almost harmless from this distance. Were they the same cruisers they'd disabled earlier in the day or entirely new ones? There was no way to know for sure; Imperial ships all looked identical down to the tiniest details. But now, Dice Squadron had a group of transports behind them. Three slow, unarmed, unmanned bulky cargo ships full of supplies for the war effort on the ground. They wouldn't be able to use the same strategy again. "What's the plan, boss?" Tovin asked. "Same as before, with a few twists. You and Jana come in from the sides again, but this time, you'll each have a transport with you. We're gonna ignore the fighters this time until the cruisers are disabled- they're the biggest threat to the transports," Brett said. "You got it, Brett!" "We're with you!" "Let's roll, Dice!" Brett said, and accelerated towards the blockade. The three Y-Wings shot at the Imperial ships like arrows with the slower transports behind them. Just as before, a wave of TIE Fighters began swarming towards them. Brett smiled. "And you were worried they'd try something new." "Well, we are. So that's something." "I guess we are. Let's see if they like it." Brett angled his craft at the large X of TIE Fighters once again. Despite his confidence, he was still cautious, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing that changed in their patterns; they were still the same standard TIEs that fired the standard Imperial weaponry at them, which they easily dodged. Brett used the same strategy of before and "crossed" the "X" by blasting three of the corner TIEs, then the center one and picking off the last one as it ran. "Heh, as predictable as TIEs are, you'd think they were automated." "They definitely get pissed off fast," Gary said, as the TIEs banked around to pursue them. They were already through the wave of TIEs and Gary was lining up shots at their pursuit. With the cruisers directly ahead of them, everything was going exactly as it had before, but with the transports still behind them. A few TIEs tried to engage the transport but its heavy armor and shields absorbed their shots and Gary was able to pick them off. Just as before, Jana and Tovin came in from the side and hit the cruisers with ion torpedoes. The cruisers sputtered and dipped downward, falling out of formation as their engines failed. Once again, the blockade had crumbled. "Hahaha! That's the stuff, right there!" Bretton exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at the disabled warships behind them. His wing mates formed up and began heading for the surface. "Transports are all clear! The Imps might as well have rolled out the welcome mat!" "Uhh, Brett? Something's wrong," Gary said, concern in his voice. "What's the matter?" Gary swallowed almost audibly. "We've got additional contacts!" "Where?!" "Incoming- port and starboard!!" Two additional Imperial cruisers jumped in from both the sides. Dice Squadron's Y-Wings were already clear of the blockade... but the transports were just barely crossing the line. The Imperial warships came out of hyperspace with their bows aimed right at the incoming transports. They opened fire without hesitation. Gary had a full view of the massacre but Brett and the others could only see the fringe. The cruisers opened fire with their main batteries and blasted the sides of the transports. Their lasers tore into the transports' shields and armor, being designed specifically to do so, and blew them to pieces. Supplies spilled out of their pierced and burning hulls to float freely in space, half-charred and ruined. The port-side transport collided with the one in the middle, causing both to explode. All three transports were transformed into flaming wrecks and burnt debris. Not a piece of them made it past the blockade. "Holy shit..." "Deep shit..." The pilots watched, as best as they could, their mission literally disintegrate under the withering fire of the Imperial cruisers. The cruisers sent no TIEs after them, nor did they attempt to pursue them. Instead, they took up position in the blockade, joining the other two that were recovering. In an instant, the blockade had doubled in strength and closed the gap the Rebels had made. "I think those are the two cruisers from before," Gary said. Brett shook his head in disbelief. "That's... that's gotta be the worst luck I've seen... ever." "What do we do now?" Gary asked. "Pull around and head back to base. Tell them the blockade has been doubled," Brett said. He led Dice Squadron in a long bank out of Equestria's orbit, avoiding the blockade while they had the chance, and flew back to the moon base.