Star Wars_ X-Wing 08_ Isard's Revenge - Michael A. Stackpole [126]
The Frigates exploited the gap opened in the shield, hammering the Vic with fire from their turbolaser batteries and laser cannons. Red-gold energy bolts splashed over the larger ship’s hull, vaporizing armor and occasionally exploding a weapons platform. Despite the fury of their attack, and of the Chandrilla, Mrlsst, and Sullust in taking down the port shield, the real damage done to Emperor’s Wisdom was minimal, leaving the ship more than capable of inflicting serious damage on the New Republic taskforce.
Ackbar’s attention shifted as Reckoning and Decisive split and began to move forward, their daggerish prows jutting toward the retreating fleet. Decisive came in high and off to port, leaving Emancipator between it and Home One. Reckoning hung back ever so slightly, but sought to insert itself between the two New Republic ships. Binder remained behind the both of them, and clouds of fighters swirled and broke like schools of fish in the void around the larger ships.
“Weapons reporting positive weapon locks on Reckoning, Admiral.”
Ackbar nodded to his weapons officer. “Fire at will, Lieutenant Colton. Make them all count.”
• • •
Corran banked his Defender to starboard, then ruddered around to port to line up for his run on the prison. He unlinked lasers, letting them fire in sequence, then swooped low and leveled out barely five meters above the wall he’d been assigned. His finger tightened on the trigger, pulsing out verdant energy darts. He walked the fire straight down the wall, exploding E-webs, igniting storm-troopers, and sending faster men leaping fifteen meters to the ground.
He held his ship on target on the northeast tower and sent two bolts boiling into the guardpost on top of it. The square little building exploded into a ball of flame, scattering men and equipment. Tugging back on the yoke, he brought the trip up through the fireball, banked to starboard, and started a long loop around the prison’s south end.
“Nine here. North wall is clear, northeast tower is gone.”
“I copy, Nine. Wall defenses seem to be down.”
“Six here, I see a lot of activity on the ground. Stormies and guards.”
Corran glanced down at the prison. He saw a lot of armored individuals milling around in the open area on the western edge of the rectangular compound. The main building ran from north to south, but between it and the southern wall were three smaller buildings which seemed to house plenty of guards. All four corner towers leaked black smoke, and the ruins of heavy blaster emplacements and E-webs on the walls burned, but without troops on the ground, there was nothing to prevent the guards from entering the main building and slaughtering the prisoners.
I promised Jan Dodonna I’d see him and the others freed. I’ve already failed Urlor. I’m not failing them.
“Five, set up strafing runs on the guards. Scatter them. I’m going in.”
“Nine, you can’t.”
“Colonel, I have to. Isard’s people are late or aren’t coming. Someone’s got to go in.”
Tycho remained silent for a moment. “Okay, take Ooryl and Nrin with you.”
“I’ll take Ooryl. Nrin will be more useful up in the sky.”
“You haven’t seen him in a firefight, Nine. He’s with you. Go!”
“Thanks, Five.”
Pulling back on his fighter’s yoke, he brought the Defender back around to the north wall. Swooping down to two meters above the ground, he ruddered around until the trip faced the towering metal doors in the front wall and locked his tractor beam on them. He reversed thrust, then pulsed the throttle to full. The doors bent in the middle and metal screamed as the hinges ripped loose. The doors flew at his ship until he cut the tractor beam, then they