Star Wars_ X-Wing 02_ Wedge's Gamble - Michael A. Stackpole [140]
“Can you get me better visuals? Is there a feed from that mirror you can pull?”
She shook her head. “No visual feed from it and all of the military ships have gone independent of the ground, so I can’t get their visuals either. We know where they are, but we don’t know what they’re doing.”
A few holes opened in the Rebel formation. Wedge knew that the ships lost were small—most likely converted freighters with weapons grafted on—but their losses disturbed him. Just looking at the situation, the size of the Rebel fleet and the paucity of defenders, there was no way Imperial forces could defeat the Rebels. Slow us down and hurt us, yes, but keep us off Coruscante? No. That’s clear, which means everyone who dies up there today doesn’t need to.
Tycho pointed to one of the space platforms. “I’d bet that’s a Golan III. Our heavy ships can’t concentrate on it until they eliminate the destroyers. It’s not quite as heavily armed as the Victory-class destroyers, but it’s got to be the source of most of the damage to the fringes of the fleet.”
“You can’t slice into any ground-based missile batteries to use against that thing?”
Winter shook her head. “Aside from Corran and the other Headhunters, we have no weapons here. It would be nice if the Golan station would shoot streamers down into the atmosphere and into our thunderstorm, but I wouldn’t count on that happening anytime soon.”
Tycho shrugged. “Look on the bright side, Wedge …”
“Is there a bright side?”
“Sure, if it had targeted us, we’d be slag.”
“That’s not what I’d call particularly bright, Tycho.” Wedge brought his head up. “But it could be. It could be very bright indeed.”
“Go down without a fight, Lieutenant Needa?” Pedetsen frowned in Needa’s direction. “One proton torpedo and we go down without even a whimper. I’ll take two.”
Needa blinked in confusion. “You want us hit with two?”
“No, I want two more cards.” The cadet glanced at his cards, then up at Needa. “Of proton torpedoes I want zero.”
“The Rebels have come!” Needa pointed at the viewport. “We must do something!”
Pedetsen shook his head and laid his sabacc cards on the table. “Sir, if we do anything, we’ll die. Now either side might have a use for dead heroes, but I don’t think the heroes will get much out of it. On the other hand, whoever takes Imperial Center—or maybe we should call it Coruscant—will have use for an undamaged mirror and a live crew.”
Needa glanced back at the fleet. “But those are the Rebels.”
“You think they can find us worst duty than this?” Pedetsen smiled. “They’ll probably hail you as a hero.”
“What?”
“Hey, it was your cousin who was martyred by Darth Vader after he let Han Solo escape Hoth. After all, your cousin had Rebel sympathies that he only confided in you, which is why he let Solo escape. Your having been punished with this duty proves the Empire suspected him, but could prove nothing.”
That is one way to interpret the facts of the case, I suppose. Needa frowned. “Do you think the Rebels would believe that?”
“I don’t know, but I think if we’re dead, you won’t be able to convince them that you and your loyal crew have been waiting for them for ages.” Pedetsen raked a pile of chips toward himself and started to shuffle the sabacc deck. “Your choice, sir. Do what you think is right.”
Needa thought for a second, frowned, then nodded. “I think I choose not to choose. If we do something, we risk death. We can’t do anything anyway, so there is no reason to choose.”
A tremor shook OSETS 2711. Needa braced himself against the bulkhead as the mirror started to shift. “We’re moving.”
“I know, Lieutenant.” Pedetsen smiled. “Looks like someone just made your mind up for you.”
On Home One’s bridge chaos reigned. Hundreds of voices competed with one another, each filled with urgency. Admiral Ackbar sat at the center of it, listening intently to comm feeds from his group commanders.