The Voyager sped toward the outer atmosphere of the planet Hoth.
Amir was flying fast—ever since his signal jammer had been damaged, an ominous feeling had been gnawing at him.
He never ignored such feelings. He had to get out of this area—fast.
Having already entered Hoth once, Amir was now familiar with the surrounding space and purposely steered away from the asteroid belt.
"Beep beep—bzzt!" BD-4 suddenly chirped anxiously.
Amir noticed the anomaly at the same time.
A fleet was trailing behind them.
At the front was a modified light freighter. Its shuttle-shaped top was mounted with multiple heavy laser cannons that guarded its hull, and its engines jutted outward from the rear on both sides.
Though technically a light freighter, it was significantly larger than the Voyager, measuring over forty meters—easily fifteen more than Amir's ship. It had clearly seen its share of battles, its hull scarred with dents and blaster burns.
Behind the freighter followed several starfighters—ships without hyperdrives, which meant they'd either been transported here by a larger cruiser or had used hyperdrive rings to get this far.
Either way, it confirmed one thing: these people weren't to be trifled with.
Amir reached for his comm to hail them—then remembered: his ship was still under signal jamming.
Which meant if they had tried to contact him, they wouldn't have gotten a response either.
"Damn…" Amir debated whether to briefly deactivate the jammer, establish communication, and then reactivate it.
After all, he was about to leave the area. Even if tracked, he'd be safe for now.
But then he remembered—he might have to return here someday. That thought made him reject the idea immediately.
It was possible that he'd already been exposed by the previous signal breach. But if there was a hidden transmitter on his ship or person that broadcasted signals at regular intervals, that would be a bigger problem.
Many signal transmitters were designed to conserve power by sending pings at set intervals—once every half hour, or even daily or monthly.
Amir didn't know what kind of transmitter he was dealing with—only that it might exist. And just the possibility was enough to make him cautious.
He had to preserve the option of returning here undetected someday.
Still, he prepared for the worst.
With no intention of communicating, Amir decided instead to outrun them—he trusted the Voyager's speed.
"Shit, they're firing!" Amir suddenly detected high-energy signatures behind him.
He immediately veered off course, dodging two incoming laser blasts.
"What kind of savage place is this—opening fire without even saying hello?" Amir muttered, hands steady as he kept the Voyager on high alert.
Then a realization struck him.
"Wait a second… could this be the pirate crew Charles tried to sell me out to?"
"I should've figured—what are the odds a random fleet would just happen to target me out here?"
Now certain that battle was inevitable, Amir braced himself.
More laser fire followed, but none of it aimed directly at the Voyager. Instead, the blasts blocked off possible escape routes.
"They're herding us into the asteroid belt!" Amir realized their plan.
"Why? What advantage do they gain by pushing us in there? Do they know how to fly safely inside?"
"Beep beep—bzzzt!"
"Sorry, BD-4, shouldn't expect you to solve this with your tiny circuits."
"BEEP BEEP BEEP!"
For good measure, Amir fired off two concussion missiles—not to hit anyone, just to throw them off.
As expected, the explosions disrupted their formation. Their laser fire faltered for a moment.
"This is it!" Amir seized the chance, accelerating sharply and veering away from the blocked path.
The starfighters behind him resumed fire immediately, but by then the Voyager had broken through their net. Their targeting systems couldn't lock on anymore.
"Haha! And you thought you could trap me?" Amir laughed—only to freeze as a massive asteroid loomed into view ahead.
"We're not in the belt yet—are we?!"
"Beep-beep-beep!"
"Wait, no way… could that thing be caught in some planet's gravitational pull? If it hits Hoth, it'll trigger massive quakes—maybe even erupt the volcanic chambers beneath the ice!"
As he swerved to avoid it from the left, Amir couldn't help but think: this was unnatural. But he left the rest to the will of the Force.
The enemy fire behind him gradually lessened.
He was pulling away.
"Beep-beep-beep!"
"What now? Don't worry—we're about to jump to hyperspace."
"WHAT?!" Amir followed BD-4's frantic alerts and turned to the right—only to see the massive asteroid that should have been far behind… rapidly closing in on them.
It had been moving slowly along his right flank. Focused on the enemy ships, Amir hadn't noticed its sudden acceleration—now it was right on top of him.
"Too late!" Amir yanked the controls, pulling up hard and banking left.
The Voyager scraped terrifyingly close to the asteroid's rough, tan surface.
"BEEP-BEEP!"
"We're already at max power!" Amir shouted—just as the ship's speed dropped sharply.
"What the—tractor beam?!" Amir stared at the asteroid in disbelief.
Its entire surface was covered in mechanical structures—turrets, propulsion systems, and more.
All of it had been hidden beneath the crusty outer shell.
This wasn't an asteroid.
It was a damn Star Destroyer.
-
-
-
🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Is Strong! 📢
Star Wars: Relics of the Past has 100+ chapters ahead available now on Patreon! ✨⚔️
Discover ancient relics and forgotten Force secrets ahead of everyone else.
🛑 Also available on Patreon:
Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort
Cyberpunk: The Relentless
Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator
My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?
The Rebirth of Harry Potter
Dragon King of Ice and Fire
R18: Reincarnated in Her World
🔗 www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 SrMagnus🐦 https://x.com/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ Let the Power Stones guide future updates!