[b][u]Aboard the 'Nightstalker'[/u][/b]

Chigan lurched forward, his seatbelt holding him down as the VCX-100 freighter spun and wove with the grace of a twi'lek dancer. Alarms rang in his ears, with every single nudge signalling another beam of energy that stretched his shields to the breaking point. The radar showed three fighters left, each attempting to get a line on the larger vessel to launch their devastating missiles. 

"Bringing it down hard, see if you can get a bead on them!" Chigan's confident demeanor seemed to be breached by a little bit of panic as the experienced pilot played with the fact that he had potentially made his match. The comms rang returned an affirmative grunt and the sound of the Nightstalker's top turret firing desperately in the background. Jakoli, his partner in crime, was more than capable manning the guns, but they could not seem to shake the pilots. 

Pushing the controls forward in a violent motion, the freighter shot directly downward towards the nearest planet, Metellos. Holding the controls down, the Nightstalker was held in a full front flip, a maneuver definitely not designed for a larger ship. As the ship settled, he noticed that the three remaining Tie interceptors had wound up coming at the freighter head-on in the confusing evasive maneuver. A grin pulled Chigan's cheeks up to his ears, as he lined up the first of the oncoming traffic in his sights. The front facing laser cannons bucked, sending the tie fighter into oblivion as its pilot was sucked into the vacuum. Turning to focus on his two other adversaries, he had noticed that the top mounted swivel cannon had done the job for him. "Three down," echoed the speaker to confirm his observations on the ship's radar.

There was not the usual celebration, no yip's and hollers as the battle was won. Both parties knew what tie fighters in the Core Worlds meant, that a Battlegroup was nearby. Fortunately, the radar showed nothing for the immediate time. Turning to the approaching figure behind him, the Rodian smuggler shook his head.

"Haven't seen Imperial Tie Fighters since the war. Means something's up, turn on the Holo while we prepare for hyperdrive. Think we should head back to Nar Shadaa for another load."

Nodding back to Chigan, Jakoli pressed the button to the Holonet terminal as he walked to his Co-Pilots chair. What greeted the duo was the siege of Coruscant, the pre-war pillar of democracy and freedom. Judging by the size of the fleet and the shadow that eclipsed Coruscant's sun, the city-planet did not have a hope. The talking heads filling the screen had no idea what was going on, though as their faces flickered in and out it was apparent their input wouldn't be broadcasted for much longer. 

Chigan stared blankly for a moment, the hum of the ship signalling the hyperdrive spinning up.

"I think we should contact Dantooine. Looks like they may need our services again..."

Prior to lift off, a communication request was sent to the Alliance base designated with the Nightstalker's old authentication code. While the duo weren't exactly 'Rebel Heroes', they had a name for doing everything from blockade runs with Special Operations Teams on board to delivering high level packages to local resistance groups. Despite the work's danger, the credits were too substantial to pass up to feign some patriotism.