Star Wars_ X-Wing 01_ Rogue Squadron - Michael A. Stackpole [63]
They made the first jump on Wedge’s mark and came out in the fringes of the transit system all in one piece. The X-wings maneuvered around to the exit vector quickly, then had to mark time as the Skate and the Corellian corvette Eridain came about. Corran nudged his throttle back a notch, shortening the gap between him and the Gand.
The larger ships reported they were ready, so the whole convoy shot into hyperspace and came out in the second transit system intact. The course adjustment there was not as radical as the one from the first system, so they headed out quickly and arrived in the Hensara system just outside the gravitational tug of the third planet.
Corran heard Tycho’s voice come through the comm. “Rogue Leader, Captain Afyon reports a clean scan of the system. You’re clear for your run.”
“Copy, Control. Three Flight, you fly CAP. Two and One, on me.”
Corran let a low snarl resound in his throat. Flying Combat Aerospace Patrol meant his flight would remain at the edge of Hensara Ill’s atmosphere against the possible incursion of any Imperial forces. The other eight fighters in the squadron were going to escort the Skate down and strafe the Imperial mudbugs and the durasteel dogs they had hunting Dirk Harkness and his compatriots on the planet. Strafing runs against ground troops—even stormtroopers—wasn’t much in the action department, but it was better than skipping across atmosphere, shooting at nothing.
He shrugged. “Maybe slagging an AT-AT will sweeten Jace’s disposition.”
Whistler gave a stuttered chirp that sounded as close as the droid could manage to a laugh.
Corran matched it with some laughter of his own. “Jace clearly figures that because his name rhymes with ‘ace’ he should be one. He can’t understand why TIE pilots don’t just line up for him to vape them all in one pass.”
Tycho’s urgent comm call cut off Whistler’s trilled comment. “Control to all Rogues. We have a Strike cruiser that just jumped in-system. Profile matches Havoc, but two fighter bays have been added. TIEs are launching.”
“Three Flight, lock S-foils in attack position.” Corran glanced at his sensor display. “Come to a heading of 272 degrees.”
“Control here. I have thirty-six, repeat, three-six TIEs launched. Six Interceptors, six bombers, and twenty-four, repeat, two-four starfighters. Eridain beginning evasive maneuvers. Wait. Confirm, bombers are heading to ground.”
“We copy, Control.” Wedge’s voice came through strong despite being nibbled upon by static. “Rogues Three and Four, the bombers are yours. The rest are ours. Keep them off the Eridain.”
“As ordered, Rogue Leader.” Corran shoved his throttle full forward. “Go all out, Three Flight. Into the middle, shoot at anything that isn’t an X-wing. Call if you need help.”
Under normal circumstances Corran knew that flying into the teeth of an enemy formation would have been suicidal, but odds of thirty-to-four weren’t all that conducive to long-term survival anyway. Since running wasn’t an option, doing what the enemy didn’t expect would buy him a second or two of surprise, and that would keep him alive just that much longer.
Hauling back on his stick and canting it ever so slightly to the side, he brought the X-wing up into a lopsided corkscrew maneuver. While the jerky motion of the ship’s nose meant he didn’t have a flame’s chance on Hoth of hitting anything, he was that much harder to hit himself. He pumped more power into his shields, then shot through a flurry of laser bolts before he penetrated the Imperial formation.
He hauled back on his stick, killing the weaving flight and arrowing his ship up into a flight of TIEs. He lined one starfighter up in his sights and let it have a quad blast of lasers. As the eyeball exploded, he cut the stick hard to starboard, then rolled out into a level line that continued his original course, with a half-kilometer cut to the right