Star Wars_ X-Wing 02_ Wedge's Gamble - Michael A. Stackpole [137]
More green laser blasts shot past. At least the turbulence is making me tough to hit. He shoved the stick hard to the left, then rolled right and pulled back. After two seconds he rolled left again and hauled back on the stick. Leveling out right, he hit rudder and brought his nose in line with the aft of the Interceptor. His quick turns amounted to taking a long time to cover the distance the squint covered swiftly in its swoop. He ended up behind it and fired.
The blaster bolts clipped the starboard wing on the Imperial fighter. It rolled right and got out of his line of fire. Corran could have followed it and killed it, but he’d closed on his target, so he switched over to concussion missiles. He set them on single fire, rolled, and dove in on the target. He dropped the targeting box on what appeared to be the base of a massive obelisk honoring the Emperor and let fly.
The concussion missile streaked out and hit the base of the statue. It exploded, casting rock in all directions. The obelisk cast a massive shadow up over the face of the Imperial Palace, then it tottered and fell. Hitting the ground, it shattered into a thousand pieces, but Corran saw no secondary explosions. Ruined a monument, but nothing else. One more run better do the trick.
Wedge stared at the map. He’d seen Corran’s attack run and had a track of the missile going into the target, but the lights didn’t go out and the image didn’t die. “What happened? He hit it, didn’t he?”
Winter nodded. “Right on target, but not enough power. He’s cracked the outer case. Another shot or two should do it.”
Tycho shook his head. “It better just be one more shot because that’s all he’s got.”
Wedge pointed to a green Interceptor icon coming in and around toward Corran’s red Headhunter icon. “Provided he gets one more shot. Can’t you do something about that squint, Winter?”
She looked up at him. “That squint was the source of the data on the missile hit. You really want us to be blind out there?”
“No, of course not.” Wedge looked down for a moment, then clapped his hands. “You’re getting datafeeds from him? You have his identification number and internal identification, right?”
“Can’t get this data any other way. We’re inside the Imperial system, so getting that data is easy.”
“Good. I’ve got an idea. Tap into Coruscant Traffic Control and get the Taxi, Hangar, and Maintenance programs set up with his numbers.” Wedge keyed his comlink. “Corran, listen to me. Your first hit was good, but you need to pack more into the next one. Here’s the plan …”
• • •
Corran closed his mouth. “I copy, Wedge.” He punched a couple of buttons on his console. “Telemetry coming your way. You know, you’re always stealing my data for runs. Can I start getting Pathfinder pay?”
“Sure, I’ll add it to your back-pay file. Squint’s coming up on your tail. Get ready.”
“As ordered, sir.” Corran let a smile spread across his face. According to the boss I want you with me as tight as possible, but still loose enough that you aren’t going to burn me down. Corran unconsciously pressed his hand to his throat, but the medallion he normally wore wasn’t there. It’s with Whistler. That’ll have to count for luck for now.
Coming around on another attack vector against the target, Corran let the squint drift onto his tail. Loosening his grip on the stick ever so slightly, he let the air bounce him around a bit. Green laser bolts played out all around him. With a flick of his thumb he shunted all forward shield energy to the rear shields, then he tightened his grip and rolled ninety degrees to the left. He remained diving in at the target, but was ready to pull out at the last minute.
He spitted the hole the earlier missile had made with his targeting reticle. “Control, three, two, one!” He hit the trigger, then pulled back on the stick for all he was worth. “Missile away.”
Winter punched a button on her datapad. “Link