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“Admiral Ackbar, I’m sure you can see what’s going on down at the Jedi academy. Luke and his trainees need our help, but I don’t know if you can take on Daala’s Super Star Destroyer.”

Ackbar made an indecipherable angry sound. “I will never forgive Admiral Daala for the damage she caused my beautiful home planet.”

Kyp shook his head with an ironic smile. “Daala’s not very good at making friends, is she?”

The Falcon was welcomed into the protected landing bay of Ackbar’s Star Cruiser just as Daala opened fire on the Calamarian battleship. The four Corellian gunships continued to sweep space clean of TIE fighters, but the Knight Hammer still out-gunned their combined force.…

“The remainder of the New Republic fleet is coming to join us,” Ackbar said as Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and Kyp came to the bridge of the Galactic Voyager. Threepio found another protocol droid and was soon busily regaling him with tales of their adventures so far.

“The Empire has launched a concerted attack on all parts of the New Republic,” Ackbar continued. “General Antilles has taken his arm of the fleet to answer a desperate signal from General Madine. We believe Madine has tracked down the Hutt secret weapon—and we’ve been receiving reports of destructive Imperial attacks at strategic targets across the New Republic.”

“We have to stop them here and now,” Kyp said.

“We will,” Leia said, and looked up at Han and Ackbar. “That Super Star Destroyer is a much bigger target than we can handle, but we have enough firepower to hold our own, delay Daala’s attack until reinforcements get here. It shouldn’t be long.”

As if hearing them, Daala launched a powerful salvo of turbolaser bolts.

“Shields on full,” Ackbar said. “Drop back.”

As the Galactic Voyager and the four Corellian gunships wheeled about, increasing their distance from the Knight Hammer, an invincible wall of turbolaser fire appeared off to starboard, without warning. Ackbar’s shields were damaged, and one of the four Corellian gunships, taken completely by surprise, split apart and exploded beneath the Galactic Voyager.

Ackbar wheeled on the bridge, rocking back in dismay and confusion to see that space had filled with ships. Imperial ships.

The reinforcements had indeed arrived.

Admiral Daala’s reinforcements.

Colonel Cronus returned to Yavin 4 with twenty of his crimson Star Destroyers. The remainder of his fleet had been sent off to continue harassing the secondary list of targets, but Cronus had accomplished his primary mission.

When the Victory-class ships arrived, though, Cronus was forced to reassess the situation. Vice Admiral Pellaeon’s seventeen Star Destroyers were nowhere to be seen. Admiral Daala’s Knight Hammer hung in orbit, and she fired upon a group of Rebel battleships that should not have been in the system at all, a giant organic-looking Mon Calamari Star Cruiser and four Corellian gunships: a significant fighting force, though nothing comparable to the Super Star Destroyer alone.

Colonel Cronus smiled. With the addition of his twenty smaller Star Destroyers, they would make short work of the Rebels and leave only a few burned hulks cooling in space, where the heavy gravity of the planet Yavin would suck them down inside its swirling gas clouds.

He went through his entire chain of contemplation in only a second and immediately broadcast orders to his fleet. “All ships engage,” he said. “Let’s get rid of some more targets.”

The Victory-class battleships attacked with no forewarning and with full deadly force. They took out one of the Corellian gunships on their first pass and caused significant damage to the Calamarian Star Cruiser’s shields. But the Rebel battleship rapidly came out of its stunned hesitation, and its powerful weapons began lancing out across the Victory-class Star Destroyers.

Cronus wished he had brought his entire fleet with him, though he was certain twenty of his ships would be sufficient. He flexed his arm muscles and leaned forward.

“Attrition,” he said. “Take out the other Corellian gunships first.” He designated five of his Victory-class