Star Wars_ X-Wing 07_ Solo Command - Aaron Allston [126]
COLLISION DETECTION IN THE NAVIGATIONAL SOFTWARE WILL PREVENT IT.
“Oh.” She sagged.
UNLESS I DELETE SELAGGIS FROM THE STARMAP.
“Do it!”
DONE. WE ARE NOW BOUND FOR SELAGGIS.
“Tonin, you are wonderful. Kirney out.”
Perfect. Either Iron Fist would remain here, trapped by the Interdictor, until Solo destroyed it, or it would jump to Selaggis, where Solo’s fleet could finish it off.
She didn’t switch back to normal terminal functions. Instead, she lifted her goggles and glanced right and left, making sure that the analysts on either side of her were fully occupied with their tasks. Then she began recording.
Zsinj watched in pained fascination as the battle unfolded.
Red Gauntlet, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, and Serpent’s Smile, the Victory-class, had now dropped behind far enough to engage the Interdictor cruiser and her two escorts. His forces were somewhat overmatched; the Interdictor’s screen consisted of two Imperial-class Star Destroyers, and they had their starfighters deployed to offer additional damage to Zsinj’s ships.
But Red Gauntlet and Serpent’s Smile didn’t have to destroy the enemy. They merely had to make one ship driver flinch.
They had to do it quickly, too. Zsinj took in the broader range of the sensor data available to him. Mon Remonda, two more Mon Cal cruisers, another Imperial Star Destroyer, two frigates, and a swarm of smaller ships were converging on Iron Fist.
Already swarming with Rebel starfighters—Zsinj could see the tiny flashes of their lasers and torpedoes in the longdistance visual feed—his vessels dropped within range of the enemy capital ships’s guns. Brilliant streams of light lit up between them.
Red Gauntlet began a stately turn to starboard, bringing her main batteries to bear on the enemy ships. Her flank offered more firepower than the bows of all three Rebel vessels—and more target area, too. Zsinj bit his lip. “Bring up damage and diagnostics holos for Gauntlet and Smile,” he said.
“Yes, sir.” A starboard viewport was replaced by the giant-sized holoprojection of a data screen. It showed both his ships with shields intact, minor damage accumulating throughout their systems, especially on the older Serpent’s Smile.
But that ship had a canny captain who was a fine pilot. As Red Gauntlet rained destructive—and distracting—fire down on the enemies, Serpent’s Smile rotated ninety degrees on her long axis to narrow her approach profile and sideslipped between the Rebel Star Destroyers.
As they advanced, the Rebel ships unloaded only a portion of the full might of their flank batteries against Serpent’s Smile—any miss might continue on to hit the other Rebel ship. And, though Smile had only a few stern guns to bring to bear against the Interdictor, she had one other weapon—her considerable mass, which was decelerating right in the Interdictor’s path.
“Flinch,” Zsinj said. All the Interdictor had to do was veer away from the collision. Then Iron Fist and, ultimately, all the ships in Zsinj’s group could get enough distance from the Interdictor to jump into hyperspace.
The Interdictor came on, her own guns now firing on Serpent’s Smile.
“Flinch, damn you,” Zsinj said.
Melvar said, “We’ve identified the Interdictor. She’s Stellar Web.”
“Stellar Web? Nonsense.” Zsinj shook his head. “That’s an Imperial craft. Captained by Barr Moutil. He doesn’t have the nerve to do what that captain’s doing.”
“You were the one who said the Rebels and the Imperials were cooperating against you,” Melvar reminded him. “And Stellar Web has been observed to be part of Admiral Rogriss’s task force.”
“Rogriss.” Zsinj took a look at the sensor board. Stellar Web still came on, straight at the Victory-class destroyer decelerating into its path. “If he’s transferred his flag to the Interdictor … he has more nerve, better timing than my man. My captain will flinch first. We may have to summon the other groups and fight this one out. On their chosen