Star Wars_ X-Wing 06_ Iron Fist - Aaron Allston [126]
Wedge thumbed his comlink, still set up with Castin’s Ewok-voice modifications, and said, “Bleed and die, yub, yub,” then rolled to starboard and relative down as he caught sight of the squadron continuing on to the new Super Star Destroyer. It had skirted the engagement zone and its ten survivors were forming up. Even before clearing the screen of friendly and enemy fighters, he opened fire, hitting one TIE fighter in the engine pod with all four beams, a beautiful shot. The fighter went off like a fireworks display, its explosive cloud enveloping its wingman, but that TIE emerged from the cloud intact.
Dia’s complementary shot hit another TIE’s port solar array wing, but merely punched a clean hole through it without significantly damaging the vehicle. Together, he and Dia tore out of the engagement zone and continued after the nine remaining TIEs.
Shalla saw something ahead, movement just above the hull, and brought her interceptor down against a piece of space-station wreckage. She killed power instantly.
That dropped the new blips off her sensor screen, but she could see the source of the blips through the viewscreen. A half squadron of interceptors heading more or less in her direction, and as they came closer she could see that their solar wing arrays were decorated with the horizontal red stripes of the 181st Fighter Group—the deadly unit of Baron Soontir Fel. She stopped breathing.
The interceptors roared past her at a distance of less than a hundred meters. None varied its course to swoop closer to her; none hesitated. She relaxed. Doubtless they were doing a visual reconnaissance of the skin of Razor’s Kiss, making sure there was no substantial damage from the Destroyer’s violent departure from its berth.
She powered up again, ran through an abbreviated checklist, and brought her interceptor back into motion.
From here, she had to climb the hull to the Super Star Destroyer’s command tower. It was a more difficult approach, as the ship’s hull, which seemed comparatively smooth from a distance, was in the area of the command tower, a tricky terrain of graduated terraces.
Yet her terrain-following flying was fast and skilled, and within moments she settled neatly—and very delicately—into place between the deflector-shield domes atop the command tower.
She powered down all systems except her suit’s life support and the starfighter’s communications board. Then she changed the interceptor’s comm unit to broadcast across a range of frequencies, took a deep breath, and said three words: “Parasite Two, go.”
Of course, they’d probably detect that transmission. To account for it, she put as much of a masculine growl as she could manage into her voice and continued transmitting. “Kuat Central Authority, please acknowledge. This is Engineer’s Mate Vula aboard Razor’s Kiss. This vessel has been seized by Rebels or pirates. I think we’re under way. I’m requesting instructions.”
A hiss, then a static-blurred voice: “Vula, this is Mauler Control. We’re aware of the situation. Where are you?”
“I can’t say. This is an open transmission. They’re probably listening.”
“Then get to an escape pod and launch. You’ve done your duty.”
“Acknowledged. Out.” She sighed. Get to an escape pod. Odd to have an enemy repeat to her an order she’d already disobeyed. She hoped that the comm exchange had fooled Raslan’s crew, and tried to relax.
Dia had just vaped one of the fighters, battering the top of its hull with a barrage that popped open the access hatch, filled the interior with light, and cast the remains of its pilot adrift, when Wedge heard the transmission. “Parasite Two, go.”
Startled, he checked over his sensor board. That code meant that one of the Hawk-bats had successfully pretended to crash upon the hull of the second Super Star Destroyer and was in position to destroy its deflector-shield domes. But