• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“You’re crazy, kid,” Han said uncertainly.

Kyp shrugged. “Just determined—and it’s worked to my advantage before.”

Chewbacca growled his reservations, but Kyp squatted beside Han. “Before I came to Yavin 4, Dorsk 81 and I sent an alarm to the New Republic fleet. Reinforcements should be on their way. I don’t know how long they’ll take, but we can’t let Daala destroy everything before they get here.”

Han thought again of how Admiral Daala had strapped him in the torture chair of her Star Destroyer Gorgon. “Whatever you say, kid,” he answered slowly. “It’s like a big sabacc game, so let’s throw all our cards on the table and hope Daala doesn’t see that we’re bluffing.”

The Falcon peeled through the outer skin of atmosphere and headed into the blackness of space where the immense planet Yavin filled most of the vicinity like a giant eye watching the battle. The Knight Hammer lorded over the tiny jungle moon, a dark city in space loaded with deadly weapons.

“Punch it, Chewie,” Han said. The Falcon soared forward, picking up speed directly toward the Knight Hammer.

Leia came down and stood beside Kyp next to Han. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I hope you have a plan,” she said.

“A plan?” Han answered, raising his eyebrows. “I’m just trying to get Daala’s attention.”

TIE fighters swirled about the front of the Super Star Destroyer, but the Falcon came in so fast they didn’t have time to scramble and acquire the new target. Han punched the comm system.

“Hello, Admiral Daala! Han Solo here, with my friend Kyp Durron. Maybe you remember us?”

Within seconds the Knight Hammer had stopped blasting the jungle moon below and targeted the Falcon instead.

“Let’s get out of here, Chewie,” Han yelled, slammed back into his seat as acceleration hurled them away from the Knight Hammer.

“That was real smart,” Leia said.

“At least we got her attention,” Han said. “Not to mention that she stopped shooting down at the Jedi academy for a few minutes.”

The forward bay doors opened on the Super Star Destroyer, and four squadrons of TIE fighters launched after the Millennium Falcon.

“I hope our shields are strong enough,” Leia said.

Daala’s TIE fighters closed in, firing repeatedly. The Falcon rocked and lurched from endless blows hammering its shields. Han uneasily looked at their power levels, and though the Falcon fled at top speed, their shields were drastically weakening—and the TIE fighters kept coming.

“Sir,” Threepio said, “by my estimate there are two hundred and eighteen TIE fighters after us, each firing with two laser cannons. That provides an anticipated shot number totaling—”

“I don’t want to know, Threepio. We’re doing our best.”

“But what I meant to say,” Threepio continued, “is that statistically we can’t possibly hope to—”

“Threepio!” Leia said, “I think we’ve figured that out for ourselves.”

Then an unexpected volley of fire came from the side, blasting through the swarm of TIE fighters and sending them into absolute confusion.

“What was that?” Han said.

Chewbacca yowled, and Kyp smiled. “It’s our reinforcements,” he said.

Admiral Ackbar’s Galactic Voyager dove into the system, flanked by four Corellian gunships. The Calamarian Star Cruiser stabbed through the clustered TIE fighters, wiping out half of them in its first pass. The Corellian gunships, more specifically designed to take out attacking starfighters, enclosed themselves in a cocoon of blaster fire as the ranks of independent gunners took on the mass of enemy ships, while a few desperate stragglers fled back toward the Knight Hammer, their twin ion engines coaxed to maximum power.

Ackbar’s voice came over the comm system. “General Solo, is that you? You look as if you could use a bit of help.”

“Admiral, are we glad to see you!” Han said.

“I suggest you come to safety aboard the Galactic Voyager,” Ackbar said.

“Oh, I think that’s a splendid idea,” Threepio said.

“We’ll do that, Admiral,” Han answered, but Leia grabbed the comm system.