Star Wars_ Rebel Force 04_ Firefight - Alex Wheeler [39]
Han cursed under his breath and slammed a fist into the controls again, silencing the alarm.
He needed to focus on surviving the next moment, then the next.
"Think you can sneak up on me?" Han shouted, pushing the accelerator and hurtling past the closest of the TIE fighters. Activating the inertial damping system, then slamming the aft thrusters, he flipped the ARC end over end reversing direction in a hairpin swivel that put him face to face with the shocked Imperial pilot. "Think again." Han waved at the Imperial, then pulled the trigger. One good thing about the ARC fighter: The laser cannon muzzle was designed to internally tilt the beam, offering a few more degrees of accuracy.
It was a direct hit.
The TIE's cockpit window shattered into a shower of transparisteel as the ship imploded. Caught by the shock wave, Han's ship lurched and shuddered, and he was nearly trapped in the blowback fire of the explosion. But he guided the ship safely out of range, already homing in on the second fighter. "Can't believe that actually worked," he muttered.
Chewbacca barked sharply.
"What are you worried about?" Han said. "Even without the Falcon, three of us can take two TIE fighters, easy."
But then he glanced at the radar screen and answered his own question. Another enemy ship was drawing into range. A larger ship, shaped like a dagger.
Han shot Chewbacca a worried glance. Two TIE fighters was one thing. Two TIEs and a Star Destroyer was another altogether.
"You seeing what I'm seeing, kid?" Han asked through the comm.
Luke's voice was steady. "Copy that, Han. I'm not giving up yet."
As he spoke, the bank of turbolasers on the Star Destroyer's starboard side swiveled toward his ship. And fired.
Div watched it all happen with a clarity he hadn't experienced in a long, long time.
The laser bolt speeding toward Luke's Howlrunner.
Luke, as if he'd expected the shot before it happened, was already taking evasive maneuvers, shifting hard to starboard and diving away from the incoming fire.
The TIE fighter easing into Luke's blind spot, taking advantage of his momentary distraction. Preparing to fire.
Han was pinned down; Luke was focused on the Destroyer.
Div could watch his target go up in flames, return to his employer, and claim the reward money all for himself. Or he could act.
It was as if the ship had decided for him. Feeling as if he were watching himself from a great distance, Div rotated the vessel, coming up fast and shallow behind the TIE fighter.
Just before the Imperial pilot could fire on Luke, Div launched a concussion missile.
Direct hit. The flimsy fighter exploded.
Div dodged and weaved through the flak, soaring over the wreckage—and straight into the Destroyer's line of fire. The Empire's cannon attack strafed his wings and blew out the shield generator.
A hail of laserfire lit up the cockpit. Alarms blared. Hits to the navigation, propulsion, targeting systems. Engine power overload. Port thrusters dead, starboard thrusters firing out of control.
The ship fell into a dizzying spin. The cockpit filled with smoke.
All because I couldn't watch a Jedi die, Div thought bitterly. Not another one. Not again.
He'd been weak once more; he'd given in to impulses that should have been long since destroyed. Maybe death was the punishment he deserved.
He waited for the Destroyer to deliver the final blow.
But before it could, a ship jumped out of hyperspace, a rusted Corellian clunker that wouldn't last five minutes against the Imperial onslaught. If it tried to attack the Star Destroyer, it would be a momentary distraction for the Empire's craft, nothing more, before they returned to the task of slaughtering Div and the rest of them.
If the freighter was an Imperial ally, then maybe it would take Div down first. He almost laughed. Imagine the galaxy's greatest