Star Wars_ Rebel Force 04_ Firefight - Alex Wheeler [40]
Div shut his eyes and waited for someone to fire.
"Fire," Leia ordered, hoping that C-3PO had absorbed her quick tutorial on operating the quad laser cannons. Laserfire launched toward the Star Destroyer, scoring a direct hit on its shield generator dome. Leia quickly guided the Millennium Falcon out of the Destroyer's firing range and took a quick survey of the situation. Three battered ships—
one out of commission, two intact but taking heavy fire.
She tuned the comm to a Rebel frequency, hoping to pick up evidence that her friends were inside. As she did so, she accelerated and hurtled toward the remaining TIE fighter, which was lurking just beneath one of the strange ships, about to fire. Two quick blasts from the laser cannons blew it into debris.
"Took you long enough." Han's voice over the comm was as infuriatingly cocky as ever. Leia allowed herself a short sigh of relief. She'd worried she might never hear that voice again. "But what I want to know is who gave you permission to fly my ship?"
"Excuse me, Your Highness, but the Star Destroyer seems to be powering up its turbolasers again," C-3PO relayed, sounding worried. "At this juncture, might it be wise if we considered perhaps—"
"Just fire! " Leia snapped.
"Tell me you didn't let that tin can fool around with my laser cannons," Han moaned.
Leia ignored him. Now that the final TIE fighter had been destroyed, she could concentrate on the Star Destroyer.
When Zev and Wedge had reported back to Yavin 4 with news of the failed mission, Commander Narra had been convinced that Han and Luke were lost. There had been no life signs in the Kaminoan city, no indication that they had survived the crash. But Leia had told herself that electrical storms in the atmosphere could have foiled their sensors—
that Luke and Han must have survived.
Now that she had them back, she certainly wasn't going to let a Star Destroyer take them away. And fortunately, she didn't have to fight it alone.
" Now, " she said into the comm. Eight X-wings, three Y-wings, and a blockade runner emerged from behind the planet. They'd exited hyperdrive on the other side of Kamino, hiding in its shadow while Leia scouted the situation. Now they were ready to enter the fray.
The Rebels opened fire on the Star Destroyer. Laser bolts ricocheted across its bow, and a string of fireballs exploded along its starboard side. The Millennium Falcon led the charge, swooping low over the shield generator dome and unleashing a pair of proton torpedoes. The second hit was more than the dome could take. It cracked and exploded, leaving a large swath of the Destroyer's hull defenseless.
The X-wings took full advantage of the opportunity, peppering the ship with laserfire while Han and Luke concentrated their fire on the gravity well projectors—which, if overloaded, could take down the main reactor.
"Han, Luke, are your hyperdrives intact?" Leia asked through the comm. They needed to flee the system before the Star Destroyer released its squadron of TIE fighters.
"Negative," Han said. "But I can hold them off, give you time to get away."
"You're just full of dumb ideas, aren't you?" Leia snapped, trying to cover her panic.
There was no way she was leaving this system without Han.
"We're not going anywhere without you," Luke said.
"Don't be stupid!" Han shouted. "You stick around here and none of us make it home."
Leia pressed her fingers against the comm as he spoke. She could feel the vibrations of his voice.
She forced a careless laugh. "You've always said your ship can—"
"Exactly, my ship," Han cut in, his voice tight. "And I'm telling you to keep her safe."
"Right now she's busy keeping you safe," Leia said, firing on the Destroyer again and again.
They might have enough firepower to take down the Star Destroyer… might. Or she might be leading her people to their last battle.
I know what I have to do, she thought, and flipped on the comm, preparing herself to give