"I had no idea the Empire had another ship like this!" Han Solo exclaimed in surprise.
"You don't need this many to deal with a single planet," the Mandalorian said.
Amir swallowed hard. "You're right. You don't need this many to deal with a planet because they're after me."
"Hahaha, you're funny, friend," Han laughed.
"I'm afraid not," the Mandalorian said, watching a group of TIE fighters emerge from the small cruiser. He silently turned the Razor Crest around.
"We're locked on!" Amir suddenly shouted, pulling the thrusters to full power. The Traveler burst forward at an incredible speed.
The cruiser fired a barrage of laser cannons.
Amir maneuvered the ship several times, causing all the attacks to miss.
"They never locked onto you," Han Solo shouted. "They're blocking your path! He wants to capture you alive!"
Amir agreed; none of the attacks had been aimed at the Traveler.
"Damn it! We can't enter hyperspace," the Mandalorian cursed.
"Are they really after us? Why?" Han Solo let go of the control panel.
"Don't give up, deserter," said Amir, who was just as shocked as anyone else.
How could this cruiser track them so precisely? Had they planted a chip in his brain?
The TIE fighters were closing in.
Amir was beginning to feel desperate. There were numerous TIE fighters, and the cruiser was closing in. Most importantly, they could track him at any moment.
Lango continued firing while Han Solo adjusted the ship's energy distribution.
"90% thrust," Amir said. He assumed the enemy wanted to capture him alive and wouldn't attack with full force, so he lowered the shield's energy.
"Copy that," Han Solo replied without objection. Only greater speed could create a sliver of hope.
"Mando, head the other way!" Amir shouted through the communicator. If they split up, the Mandalorian should be safe.
"Good luck," the Mandalorian said before sprinting toward the other side.
Han Solo stared at the radar, furrowing his brows. "We can't escape like this! Think of something, quick!"
"I'm on it!" Amir pressed a button, and the spacecraft entered optical stealth mode.
"Got that, too! What else do you have up your sleeve, friend?"
Amir immediately shut down the intelligent assistance system in front of him, disabling all devices that could emit signals.
The Traveler disappeared from the radar of all the TIE fighters and from the pilots' view.
"We can't hide from the cruiser's scan!" Han Solo said, looking at Amir, who had shut down the engines.
"I wasn't planning to hide," Amir replied.
As the Traveler decelerated sharply, seven TIE fighters charged forward from Amir's field of vision. At that moment, Amir's fingers moved.
"Lango!" he shouted.
Two forward-mounted, manually operated heavy laser cannons locked onto the rear of the TIE fighters.
In an instant, Lango's gun turret and Amir fired simultaneously.
The intense laser beams struck the TIE fighters' hulls and thrusters with precision. Half of the fighters exploded, one had a shattered wing, and only two remained intact.
After the attack, Amir quickly restarted the engines and applied maximum thrust to move forward. Without the fighter group harassing them from behind, the Traveler's speed increased significantly.
. . .
"It's still not enough!" Han Solo shouted anxiously as the cruiser drew closer.
"We're already at full power!" Amir replied helplessly. He had done everything he could, but he didn't know where the spatial blockade ended, and he couldn't delay it much longer.
All he could do was watch as the cruiser slowly closed in on them.
The underside of the massive vessel gradually brightened, and Amir knew the tractor beam was activating.
This time, there was no escape.
"Is there any punishment other than death for deserters?" Han Solo asked at that moment.
"There are plenty of job openings at the mines over here."
"Then I'll take death."
"BOOM!!!" Suddenly, an intense burst of light erupted from the cruiser's hull, forcing the tractor beam back.
"What? What broke through its shields?" Han Solo exclaimed.
At that moment, Amir's communicator rang.
It was Gerita.
"I'm giving you a hand before I go. Don't say I broke my promise."
Amir remembered what she had said. If his target was the mine on this planet, she would send a ship to help him.
Turning around, he saw a starfighter circling the cruiser and firing its weapons continuously.
"The space here is sealed off. How are you going to escape?" Amir asked, but he didn't stop. He accelerated again and flew off into the distance. As long as he could escape the space seal, he could enter hyperspace and get away.
He didn't know how far away he was, but with help, there was hope.
"Haha, don't worry about me." Gerita kept harassing the tractor beam emitter, which was dangerous. If she made a mistake and was caught by the tractor beam, escape would be difficult.
Not wanting Gerita's efforts to be in vain, Amir rushed forward regardless.
He had never felt time pass so slowly. Every moment was agonizing.
The TIE fighters circled back from a distance to surround Gerita.
"Almost there!" Han Solo said, staring at the panel where the red light began to flash and gradually disappear.
Once the red light disappeared, it meant that the space was stable enough.
"We're there! We're there!" Han Solo finally shouted as the panel stabilized.
"You're clear, Gerita!" Amir nodded slightly and pushed the hyperspace drive lever.
Before he could finish speaking, Gerita's starfighter flew past him.
In less than a second, it turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the sky.
"She didn't enter hyperspace, did she?" Han Solo asked in shock.
"It's a sublight engine. I like it," Amir said.
The Traveler followed closely behind and entered hyperspace.
Amir fell silent, looking at the dazzling lights around him.
There must be a reason why this cruiser was always able to track him. Had he installed a tracking device on his ship?
Amir thought back, but he couldn't recall any opportunity for that. If they wanted to install a tracking device on his ship, why didn't they just capture him directly and save the trouble?
Senir had handed this ship over to him for the same reason—to raid the Empire's prison ship. The likelihood of his selling himself to the Empire was slim.
Even if he had, what value would he have had?
What could possibly be worth the Empire's relentless pursuit?
Amir couldn't come to a conclusion.
For now, what mattered was conducting a thorough check of his body.
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