Star Wars_ X-Wing 05_ Wraith Squadron - Aaron Allston [97]
Captain Hrakness’s voice was cool over the comm: “Wraiths, Grays, we have incoming from dead ahead.”
The bow hold doors were sliding open as Hrakness transmitted his message. As soon as they were separated enough to allow an X-wing to exit, Kell saw the distant thruster trails of the incoming fighters.
He was lucky enough to be the centermost of the nine X-wings in the hold. That meant he launched first, and he wasted no time with repulsorlifts, punching forward with a burst from his main thrusters. He’d helped build the blast shield behind the X-wing’s housing racks; he knew it could take punishment from his engines.
He emerged from the hold into dirty air and checked his sensor panel. “Wraiths, I read two full squads of snubbies unknown types, mixed types, distance two point five klicks and closing.”
“Night Caller is vectoring.” That was Lieutenant Tabanne. She sounded as calm as her captain. “Wraiths, compensate for the maneuver or refrain from launching for a moment.”
Kell nodded. Night Caller couldn’t approach oncoming fighters with her bow hold open. Even with shields up, if a laser blast or proton torpedo penetrated them, there would be no ship’s hull to take the shot; X-wings still in the hold could be vaped. So could any of the mechanics on duty there; or the blast could angle up against the ceiling and penetrate the bridge. Hrakness’s maneuver was simple self-preservation, and Kell prepared himself to fly alone for a few long moments.
18
Tyria’s voice came over the comm: “So, you’re making it a challenge?” Kell glanced back to see the corvette in midmaneuver, Wraith Ten firing out of the bow hold. Tyria stood her X-wing up on its port strike foil and angled straight toward Kell.
“Wraith Two away!” Jesmin’s snubfighter was next.
That cleared the center column. The other six X-wings in the bow hold, closer to the sides of the hold, would have a slightly more difficult launch; even ignoring the corvette’s maneuver, they’d be several more seconds. But now Piggy was following Janson out of the topside hold, arcing around to join the group, and the TIE fighters of Wedge and Falynn were rising toward them.
Kell’s R2 unit shrieked at him as the cockpit alarm indicated an enemy laser lock. Without waiting for authorization to break, Kell rolled up on his starboard strike foils and continued the roll, spinning and diving; he could see the other Wraiths break and roll.
Wedge heard Janson’s voice: “They’re Uglies.” Uglies were hodgepodge rigs assembled from components of normal fighters; they were unpredictable to both their pilots and their targets, sometimes characterized by terrible flight performance, sometimes by unusual and effective weapons combinations.
Wedge added, “Wraiths, this is Leader. Fire at will. Forget the standard wing assignments. Form wings as you launch. Three, stay with me.” He shook his head. This was bad. The Wraiths were uncoordinated, still half off balance despite the destruction of the ambushing laser cannon.
His sensors showed a trio of bandits headed his way. He desperately wanted to snap off a proton torpedo to shake up their formation, to put extra energy into his forward shields, but the TIE fighter didn’t give him either option.
Instead, he gave his yoke a little sideways tug, felt the moon’s thin atmosphere yank at his solar wing arrays, and was hurled to starboard. His engines screamed with the change in course. The maneuver was just in time; green lasers cut through the air he had just occupied. Sensors showed Falynn performing a similar sideslip to port.
His Imperial-style targeting screen showed a lock on the closest oncoming enemy. It was visible in the viewport, an unlikely assembly of parts: a classic Headhunter body augmented by TIE fighter solar wing arrays mounted horizontal to its plane of flight on each side. TIE fighter wings were designed to recharge ship