Star Wars_ X-Wing 05_ Wraith Squadron - Aaron Allston [0]
Myn Donos, the X-wing squadron commander, looked around in confusion. This wasn’t right. He’d been through this already. This mission could only lead to …
Death.
The ambush. They were all about to die.
“Talon Leader to squad, break off! Omega Signal!” He rolled up on his port wing and curved in a tight arc. Away from death.
The other Talons did not follow. They sped down their destined path toward annihilation.
“Leader to group! Break off! Follow me!”
A woman’s voice: “Can’t do it, sir.”
“Follow me. That’s an order!”
“No sir. What does it matter whether I die down there or on the way out?”
Donos continued his arc until he completed a full circle. He now sped on in the wake of his pilots, heedlessly rushing toward their doom. He felt an unfamiliar weight crushing his chest. It wasn’t acceleration; it was the inevitability of those pilots’ needless deaths. “Please.”
“Don’t ‘please’ me, Lieutenant. You don’t care enough about yourself to live. So you don’t give a damn about us.”
“You’re wrong. Turn back.”
“Swear it.”
“I swear it! Turn back!”
The canopy of his X-wing went black and the roar of his engines died.…
STAR WARS: WRAITH SQUADRON
A Bantam Spectra Book / February 1998
SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks
of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
®, TM & © 1998 by Lucasfilm Ltd.
All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Cover art copyright © 1998 by Lucasfilm Ltd.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-79649-3
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada.
v3.1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks go to:
Tom Dupree, Pat LoBrutto, and Michael A. Stackpole, for the opportunity;
Steven S. Long, Bob Quinlan, and Luray Richmond, my “Eagle-Eyes,” who protect me from the worst of my mistakes;
Michael A. Stackpole, Kathy Tyers, Dave Wolverton, and Timothy Zahn, from whose fiction I have been able to draw details and inspiration;
Shane Johnson, Paul Murphy, Peter Schweighofer, Bill Slavicsek, Bill Smith, Curtis Smith, and Dan Wallace, for the invaluable resources they have written;
Sue Rostoni and Lucy Wilson, for making the approval process a pleasure;
Quel Richmond, for being inspirationally big, handsome, and cowardly; and
Denis Loubet, Mark and Luray Richmond, my roommates, for not casting me out into the cold when writer’s mania and deadline pressures made it an appropriate option.
Contents
Cover
Test of Wills
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Dramatis Personae
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
About the Author
Also by this Author
Introduction to the Star Wars Expanded Universe
Excerpt from Star Wars: Iron Fist
Introduction to the Old Republic Era
Introduction to the Rise of the Empire Era
Introduction to the Rebellion Era
Introduction to the New Republic Era
Introduction to the New Jedi Order Era
Introduction to the Legacy Era
Star Wars Novels Timeline
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
The Wraiths
Commander Wedge Antilles (human male from Corellia)
Lieutenant Wes Janson (human male from Taanab)
Lieutenant Myn Donos (human male from Corellia)
Jesmin Ackbar (Mon Calamari female from Mon Calamari)
Hohass “Runt” Ekwesh (Thakwaash male from Thakwaa)
Garik “Face” Loran (human male from Pantolomin)
Ton Phanan (human male from Rudrig)