Star Wars_ The Han Solo Trilogy 02_ The Hutt Gambit - A. C. Crispin [43]
Han dodged an incoming Drell ship, saw the turbolasers fire a vicious burst at the oncoming vessel, but at the last moment it dodged the fire. Blasted little ships are too fast!
His comm unit crackled. “Headhunters here. Ready for launch.”
Chewie opened the cargo-bay doors, and dropped one shield amidships so the two fighters could launch.
Han activated the comm. “Pilots … launch on my order! Three … two … one … NOW!”
Jabba was hollering over the comm, demanding an explanation. Han could hear wails and curses from the Twi’lek and the dancing girls. Totoplat, the cook, was fussing that Jabba’s dinner was ruined, just ruined!
With a muttered curse, Han spared half a second to close the comm channel from the passenger section. When he looked back up, he paled.
“Incoming amidships, Chewie!” he yelled, knowing this time he couldn’t evade fast enough. The Star Jewel shuddered violently, then shuddered again. Han realized the first ship had swung around and was now firing on their stern! He cursed when he saw that his rear deflectors were nearly gone. “Chewie! I’m coming about! Compensate for that shield!”
Activating the comm, Han shouted, “I’m coming about, hard to port! You guys get that blasted pirate off my rear!”
The Wookiee snarled as he worked frantically on the shields. Han sent the Star Jewel into a hard port turn, then a second later he felt the faint jolts as the gunners fired.
Another miss!
Han cursed and activated the comm. “Listen up, you guys! I want portside gunner one to target the following coordinates, and fire on my order!”
Glancing at his sensors, Han located the position of the first Drell ship, saw that it had swung far out, then turned and was coming back for another run. Han checked his X-Y coordinate grids and made a rapid calculation. He spat out a string of coordinates.
“Coordinates acknowledged, sir!” the portside gunnery chief said.
“Gunner two, target the following coordinates and fire your burst five seconds after gunner one! Got that?” Han reeled off another string of coordinates.
“We copy, Captain!”
“Gunner three, target the following coordinates and fire your weapon five seconds after gunner one.” Again, Han gave the prescribed coordinates.
“Yes, Captain! Ready!”
“Okay … gunner one … prepare to fire!”
What Han was attempting was a military technique called a limited barrage pattern. It was designed to make a ship dodge a burst of fire, only to run right into another blast. Tricky, but if they could get the timing right …
Han counted seconds in his head as he angled his stern slightly toward the Drell, offering the most tempting target he could. Three … two … one!
“Portside gunner one—fire!”
The deadly beam shot out, but as Han had figured, the agile Drell vessel evaded the blast.
Four … three … two … one … Han counted, watching the portside viewscreen. “Yes!” he shouted as the evading ship ran straight into the blast from portside gun two!
Incandescent white fire blossomed against the blackness.
“You got him!”
Cheers erupted from the comm unit.
The Headhunters were zeroing in on another of the Drell ships. Stuttering bursts from their lasers shone red against the star-speckled blackness.
Han could only spare a glance for the snubfighters and their battle. He sent the Star Jewel hurtling toward the two remaining Drell ships, then spoke into the comm. “Starboard gunners, prepare to fire continuous bursts on my order. Coordinates are …” Glancing at his board, he gave them a string of numbers.
He watched as the two Drell ships came about for another attack run, then began hurtling toward the yacht at full speed. “Starboard gunners, fire at maximum … now!”
The three powerful turbolasers blasted away into empty space. Those captains are gonna think I’ve lost my mind, Han thought as he counted the bursts