• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“That was my cannon,” she said.

“You okay?”

“If you call third-degree burns okay,” she said. “My hands’ll five.”

“Get up there and help Chewie, then,” he said, uncertain whether or not she was making up the burns. “We’re going to have to pass right over one of those Star Destroyers. Let’s hope it doesn’t see us.”

“Hope is a dangerous thing, Solo.”

He didn’t answer her. His arms were rattling his entire frame as he kept shooting. The TIE fighters were swarming around the Falcon, but their shots kept bouncing off the deflector shields. Chewie must have fixed them.

Or maybe not.

Another shot connected. The Falcon twisted in space. Chewbacca was yelling, Mara was swearing, and Han found himself upside down from his previous position. If he hadn’t been strapped in the chair, he would have been thrown all over the gunport.

“Damage, Chewie?”

Chewbacca yelled back.

“I know it’s not your fault! Just let me know the damage.”

“The concussion-missile tubes.” Again it was Mara who answered. “And you’d better thank Chewie for his quick thinking. He dumped the missiles as the shot hit.”

“Oh, great,” Han said. “I’m supposed to thank him for dumping our weaponry.” He kept shooting, though, and took out one TIE fighter that exploded and spun away from the pack. “Get that shield back on line.”

The Falcon righted itself and headed for the Star Destroyer.

“Hey, Chewie,” Han said, “abandon that last plan. Just head for the planet.”

Chewbacca growled back.

“There are no straight lines in space,” Han said. “Go over it, around it, or under it if you have to. I don’t care that it’s in your way.”

Chewie growled again.

“They can’t have us in a tractor beam, Chewie,” Han said, not wanting it to be true. “Check the instruments again.”

“Looks like it doesn’t want us to get to Almania, Han,” Mara said.

Han wiped the sweat from his face with the back of one arm. He could see the open hangar bay on the destroyer. They would be sucked inside, facing stormtroopers and who knew what else.

If only he could get to Leia.

Luke had done something with his X-wing against a Star Destroyer once. He had shot proton torpedoes into the tractor beam. The torpedoes had gone on board the destroyer and exploded.

But the Falcon no longer had that kind of fire power.

The laser cannon wouldn’t do enough damage. But it might stun them for a moment, maybe break the tractor beam, and keep them from chasing the Falcon. It might give him the opportunity he needed to get to Almania and Leia.

Chewbacca shouted from below.

“One ship at a time, Chewie. We only have to pay attention to the new one if it shoots us.” At least, Han hoped that was true. The new ship that Chewie had spotted coming up behind them might be even more of a threat.

“Haven’t you got any other weapons on board this thing?” Mara shouted.

Han swiveled in his chair, shot several bursts at two passing TIE fighters, and then yelled, “We’re down to one laser cannon, sweetheart, and a whole lot of blasters. You want to open the top hatch and climb onto the roof and fire a blaster from there? I’m sure Chewie has enough spare time to rig you up a wire to keep you from falling off.”

Chewbacca growled.

“No need to be sarcastic, Solo,” Mara said. “Just trying to be useful.”

“Then scan for Leia’s ship. I’m not going to Almania if she’s not there.” He pointed the cannon upward—for him, anyway—so that his chair tilted him onto his back. He concentrated on one TIE fighter, blasting, blasting, blasting, until the thing fell away in a smoking heap.

“How soon till we get to the destroyer?” Han yelled.

“Almost there!” Mara yelled back.

Chewie growled a countdown to the futile shot. Han’s shot wouldn’t have the one-in-explosive power that Luke’s miraculous destruction of the Death Star had. If anything, Han’s blast would smash a few transparisteels inside, knock a few officers out of their chairs, and scorch a bulkhead or two.

For this, though, he turned on the targeting computer. With his right hand, he punched in the coordinates