Chapter 26: Humiliation

*25. Humiliation*

“Boss, looks like they’re ready to throw down!” On one of the three bounty hunter ships, a crew member nervously eyed the massive mothership looming ahead. “That ship’s so huge, it could squash us with a flick!”

“You spineless worm, open your eyes! A ship that big with no turrets? It’s just a civilian cruiser! Size doesn’t mean squat!” their leader snapped, smacking down the fear.

“But it’s gotta be carrying fighters, right?”

“So don’t fly straight at it, idiot! See that mining station by the Endor gas giant? We head there, test their mettle. If they’re tough, we use the station as a shield and bolt!” the leader barked.

“Hahaha! Exactly! If their security’s just a bunch of useless grunts, we’re gonna clean up!” another hunter cackled.

“But… Master Dooku only told us to scout…”

“Quit yammering like a brain-dead bantha! Dooku wants intel, so we’re checking if these guys have credits to bleed! Hahaha!”

“Hell yeah! Let’s move—time to feast!”

The three ships surged forward, like a pack of starving wolves charging toward the interstellar mining station.

“Hahahaha!” Amid the bounty hunters’ wild laughter, two G-9 light freighters and a GX-1 transport barreled toward the mining station built by the Fourth Civilization on the outskirts of Endor’s gas giant.

A mining ship returning to the station didn’t dodge in time and was obliterated by a hail of laser fire. Those mining vessels had no defenses—poof, instant fireball!

At the same moment, the mothership’s massive central hangar platform opened, and four squadrons of Blade-class fighters poured out. The hangar was so huge it could launch cruisers, so the fighters didn’t even need to queue up.

Four squadrons—48 fighters total—raced toward the threatened mining station.

“Boss! They’re coming!”

“Just light fighters! No sweat! Blast a few, then we bail,” the bounty hunter leader growled, bold as ever. Even when running, he’d make sure to take a few enemies with him.

In many parts of the galaxy, bounty hunters and space pirates were practically the same thing—just depended on the job. Especially in the Outer Rim, where the Republic had no reach, it was a lawless free-for-all.

The G-9 freighters had been modified, with two extra turrets slapped onto their cargo holds. As the Fourth Civilization’s Blade fighters closed in, the turrets swiveled and opened fire.

Blaster bolts streaked out like red meteors. The Blade fighters broke formation, each squadron of 12 splitting into trios of four for tighter maneuvers.

From long range, the fighters let loose. Their twin six-barrel electromagnetic cannons spat fire, unleashing a storm of bullets that rained toward the targets.

But at that distance, the shots were useless. Most missed, and the few that hit pinged harmlessly off the bounty hunters’ deflector shields.

Meanwhile, the two modified G-9s unleashed hell. Their blaster bolts hammered the Blade fighters, and one took a direct hit. Without energy shields, the fighter didn’t stand a chance—its fragile hull shattered, and a chain of explosions turned it into a fireball.

Then the bigger GX-1 transport swung around. Nearly 40 meters long, it bristled with extra laser turrets. Any Blade fighter that got close was shredded, no finesse required.

The fight closed to dogfighting range, but the outcome was just as grim.

The bounty hunters’ ships were bigger, faster, and packed more firepower. Their shields were near-invincible. The Blade fighters, armed only with basic electromagnetic cannons, couldn’t even scratch them.

Only one squadron had infrared laser weapons, and those were the only attacks that made the bounty hunters’ shields flicker visibly.

But compared to the blaster weapons that blew things up on impact, the lasers—which needed sustained hits—were far less effective. Plus, the Blade fighters’ underpowered systems were still a problem.

Even with a 48-to-3 advantage, the Blade fighters were dropping like flies. Yet the survivors kept charging, like moths to a flame, hammering away with desperate attacks.

“Hahaha! Boss! Their fighters are pathetic! Hahahaha!” The once-nervous bounty hunter, seeing how weak their foes were, roared with laughter.

“Hmph! All bark, no bite! Let’s give ‘em a real show! Today, we’re filling our holds with their credits!” the leader snarled, eyes glinting with greed.

Emboldened by the gap in strength, the three bounty hunter ships went berserk. They abandoned formation, trusting their deflector shields to plow through the Fourth Civilization’s swarm.

In the mothership’s command center, Qi Jian stared at the screen, watching fighter icons turn red and vanish one by one. His fists clenched, his whole body trembling.

“Sir! Our fighters are no match! The performance gap’s too wide!” his aide shouted, eyes bloodshot.

Bang! Qi Jian slammed his fist on the console, hard enough to make the holographic display flicker. “Tell the pilots to buy time. Draw the fight toward the mothership, into our close-range defenses. They can’t breach our shields. Worst case, we abandon the mining field for now!”

He turned to Clement. “And get the engineering team to swap in infrared lasers ASAP. It’ll give our fighters at least a fighting chance!”

Clement nodded silently.

Word of the battle reached the research team—Guan Yan, Feng Yongwang, and the others—who rushed to the bridge. They’d hoped to analyze the fighters’ performance and gather combat data, but the massacre unfolding before them was horrifying.

“See it now?” Feng Yongwang said quietly. “Back to work.”

He turned and left the bridge, his steps heavy. He didn’t even notice when he knocked over a potted plant.

The other researchers said nothing, filing out to return to their labs. They vowed to work around the clock, to crack more tech faster—whether it was Phantom fighters or light frigates, they needed stronger ships!

So this humiliation would never happen again. So their pilots would never again have to fly outdated fighters into hopeless battles.

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*[Bonus Chapter Image 1: G-9 Light Freighter]*

*[Bonus Chapter Image 2: GX-1 Short-Haul Freighter]*