61. Iron Fang Strikes (Part 6)
At the same time, a flash of white light appeared near the dawn star, and a disc-shaped spacecraft suddenly materialized! It was a Corellian YT-1000 light freighter!
"It's the Lancer!! It's the Lancer that lost contact earlier!!" Seeing the ship, Qi Jian shouted out in extreme excitement.
Yuri Olov's boisterous laughter came through the comms, "Ahahaha! Brothers, I'm here!! Hahahaha!! I am now, FULL! OF! FIREPOWER!! Hahahahaha!!"
Under the glow of the star, a proton torpedo mounted on the side of the YT-1000 reflected a brilliant golden light!
"Yuri! How did you get here?!" Tang Xiao was overjoyed.
"Don't say anything else, Administrator!! There is one proton torpedo on this ship! You know what to do with the rest! Hahaha!!" Yuri laughed so hard he was gasping for breath, appearing almost unhinged. "I'm leaving this ship to you! I don't know how to fly it!"
A sharp glint flashed in the corner of Tang Xiao's eye. He immediately shouted into the comms, "All fighter squadrons, hear my command! Provide full cover for the Lancer's return to the mothership! Notify Glori Judith to stand by in the hangar! I will pilot the Lancer in coordination with her!!"
"Administrator, are you planning to..." Qi Jian asked in confusion.
"The risk of forcing a landing with the Oro-class freighter is too high. Before that, I want to make an attempt. I have a plan." Tang Xiao's gaze was piercing as he stared intently at the Hammerhead-class cruiser in space.
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
"Judith received! I've been waiting a long time!"
Tang Xiao immediately turned his Blade-class fighter back toward the mothership. The remaining fighters also pivoted; aside from leaving two squadrons to continue harassing the Iron Fang cruiser, all other fighters flew toward the Lancer.
The Lancer's jump-in position was poor, appearing right in front of the Iron Fang. Seeing another ship approach, the pirates aboard the Iron Fang wasted no time, pouring all their firepower toward the vessel!
Inside the YT-1000 Lancer, old man Truda was piloting the ship unskillfully, but he was doing his utmost to head toward the mothership. Vitaly Olov assisted from the co-pilot's seat, an open flight manual resting on his lap.
"Old man! Our lives are in your hands now!! Fly into that big ship! You can have whatever you want!" Although Yuri was laughing loudly over the comms, his face was now filled with tension as he stared ahead.
"I told you, I'm doing my best!" Truda roared while struggling to maneuver the ship.
"Don't let the Lancer get hit!! Charge!!" A fighter squadron leader shouted over the comms, flying fearlessly toward the cruiser to disrupt the Iron Fang's firing angles.
The Iron Fang's bow main cannon fired without hesitation, instantly blowing the fighter to pieces!
But even more fighters rushed forward. Since the Lancer struggled to perform evasive maneuvers due to its pilots, they used their own bodies to shield the Lancer from the cannon fire!
As the Blade-class fighter returned to the mothership's hangar, Tang Xiao threw open the canopy and jumped out before the ship had even fully stabilized. The 1.9-meter-tall Black female pilot, Glori Judith, was already waiting there.
Contrary to her melodic name, Judith had a face full of rugged features and a heavily muscled physique, appearing nearly two sizes larger than Tang Xiao.
The elite pilot flashed an awkward grin, showing a row of bright white teeth. "It is an honor to partner with you, Administrator!"
"Sink that cruiser! Tell everyone who covets this place that we, the Fourth Civilization, are not to be trifled with!" Tang Xiao raised his fist, slamming it hard against Judith's.
...
The wobbling silhouette of the Lancer appeared outside the mothership's hangar, landing in a very unstandardized manner. Thick smoke billowed from the ship's hull, the result of being struck by several secondary batteries from the Iron Fang during its forced flight.
To cover the Lancer's approach, the fighter squadrons had paid the price of four destroyed fighters—all sacrificed to block fire for the Lancer!
As soon as the hatch opened, Tang Xiao and Judith rushed into the ship. Yuri Olov and his brother Vitaly were inside, along with old man Truda and the two T-850s.
Seeing Tang Xiao enter, Yuri looked almost physically exhausted. He was still laughing to himself, seemingly as a release of adrenaline after surviving a brush with death. "Hahahaha... hahaha... Admin..."
Tang Xiao didn't ask questions. He stepped forward and gave Yuri a massive hug. "It's okay. Thank you. You gave us the chance to sink this cruiser!"
Only then did he realize that Yuri was drenched in cold sweat; it was hard to imagine what they had endured.
After ordering the T-850s to take the others down to rest, Tang Xiao went straight to the pilot's seat. He buckled his seatbelt and ordered a T-850 to man the turrets.
Previously, Judith had studied the flight operations of the YV-865 Oro-class freighter and this YT-1000 in detail, and Tang Xiao had some experience as well—at least more than Vitaly Olov.
But regardless, he shouldn't have been the primary pilot!
Judith was also shocked. "Administrator, you're..."
"I'll operate it. We only have one proton torpedo and one chance. Furthermore, the person who rescued the escape pod sent a transmission; Vunt is still on the cruiser. Trust me, you act as my co-pilot," Tang Xiao said seriously. Only he understood that as a Force-sensitive, he was the most powerful pilot in this universe!
"Understood," Judith nodded solemnly.
The ship's engines were not shut down. Immediately after Yuri and the others disembarked, Tang Xiao piloted the ship directly out of the mothership's hangar platform.
"Administrator, you only have eight minutes to attempt this. That cruiser is constantly changing course. Although its linear speed is slower than the mothership's, the mothership cannot match its turning rate. It is estimated that in 38 minutes, they will escape the mothership's gravitational range! Therefore, in eight minutes, we will execute the original plan to force the YV-865 Oro-class freighter to land!" Qi Jian's urgent voice came through the comms.
"I understand. Eight minutes, right." A sharp glint flashed in Tang Xiao's eyes.
He took a deep breath and began to sense the surrounding Force.
No one had ever taught him how to use the Force; he could only use the most rudimentary method—expanding his consciousness outward to perceive everything through the Force.
He felt he possessed some talent; at least in moments like this, he could always maintain intense focus.
"Mainframe, based on the technical parameters of the Hammerhead-class cruiser sent by Vunt, calculate the exact entry point for this proton torpedo to paralyze the ship without triggering a sympathetic explosion," Tang Xiao commanded, while simultaneously adjusting the Lancer's various system parameters according to his habit.