Star Wars_ Darksaber - Kevin J. Anderson [142]
They cruised over the jungle. Billowing black smoke rose from scattered forest fires. Strips of the jungle were ripped up and incinerated where the powerful turbolasers had sliced down from orbit.
Callista grabbed Luke’s arm as he climbed out of the Falcon’s gunwale, wearing a boyish grin. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that.” But then his smile faded again. “The Jedi academy must be under attack. We have to get to them.”
“I know,” Callista said. “I’ve already told Han.”
Han called, “Hey, I’m flying as fast as I can.” Leia came up to join him. “Great shooting, Leia,” he said.
“Plenty of incentive when the Imperials are using us for target practice,” she answered.
Two TIE fighters soared over the treetops, firing at the Falcon from the sides.
“These guys just don’t give up, do they?” Han muttered. He launched one of his concussion missiles directly at one TIE fighter, which was obviously expecting a laser-cannon retaliation. The TIE fighter tried to veer away, but the sensor on the tip of the concussion missile homed in on the flat panel and detonated, sending Imperial wreckage tumbling out of the sky.
The second TIE fighter zoomed upward out of range, apparently not wishing to continue the engagement. Below the Falcon, ground assault machinery moved about, mechanical scout walkers and bulky flying fortresses combing the jungle and heading toward the Great Temple.
“We’ve got to see if the trainees are okay,” Luke said.
Han looked around. “Well, maybe we could get them all aboard the Falcon, take them to safety.”
Luke flashed Han a grim expression. “I don’t think we’ll be leaving Yavin 4,” he said.
“But that’s crazy, Luke!” Han said.
“Look,” Luke said, “if it’s only a matter of survival, my Jedi trainees would probably do better split up and alone in the jungles than all aboard the Falcon. No insult to your piloting skills, Han, but if we evacuated the Jedi trainees on the Falcon, one lucky strike from Admiral Daala’s Star Destroyer would take out nearly every Jedi Knight in the New Republic. I can’t risk that. We’ll fight here. You can take off. Go back and get help, or stay and fight in some of the ground battles. But the Jedi aren’t leaving here.”
“Okay, okay,” Han said. “Let’s see what the situation is first.”
“Well, if you ask me, I believe I should prefer to attempt an escape,” Threepio said.
“Shut up, Threepio,” Leia said.
“Why is it that nobody ever listens to my opinion?” the golden droid said.
Han set the Falcon down beside a landed Imperial shuttle in front of the Great Temple. A battered AT-ST walker lay ruined at the edge of the jungle. Forest fires raged nearby; even the great Massassi temple appeared changed, blackened from air strikes, but it seemed structurally intact.
Luke hoped the Jedi trainees had either taken shelter inside the pyramid or had gone out to hide in the jungles.
The Falcon’s ramp extended, and Luke and Callista were the first to dash out, followed quickly by Han, Leia, and Chewie. Artoo rolled down the ramp, chittering agitated electronic sounds. Threepio hovered at the top. “Perhaps we should stay here, Artoo—to guard the ship,” he said. But the little astromech droid gave him an electronic raspberry.
Luke and Callista hurried toward the temple. The heavy horizontal hangar door ground upward a fraction and a figure appeared as the thunder of battle continued around them.
Kyp Durron plodded out into the sunlight, bearing in his arms the limp, blackened body of Dorsk 81. Callista winced, and Luke gasped.
Kyp’s voice was hoarse and strained as the other Jedi trainees flowed out behind him. “There were seventeen other Star Destroyers,” he said. “We worked together, linked our abilities with the Force. Dorsk 81 guided us. He took the power upon himself. He got rid of the other Star Destroyers—but it cost us his life.”
With a clanking sound and a crashing