Star Wars_ X-Wing 08_ Isard's Revenge - Michael A. Stackpole [46]
“As ordered, Admiral.”
“Guns, give me firing solutions for the starboard guns. Pick a point and have everything hit it.” She raised her left hand to her mouth and gnawed on the flesh of her index finger for a moment. “Flight Control, get the Rogues out there. Tell them Direption is launching something while we’re blind.”
“Relaying the order now, Admiral.”
Areta nodded slowly. Given her angle of attack, she’d exchange broadsides with Direption, which would hurt her ship badly. Still, the way Moonshadow would be coming in meant that the attention paid to Swift Liberty by Krennel’s ship would leave it open to a devastating broadside from Moonshadow. And if Direption’s Captain deals with Moonshadow, I get to hammer him. His turning to attack both of us makes no sense. He should be remaining at range and fighting a delaying action until he can get reinforcements here.
“Sensors, be sharp. Someone else is coming in, or something is going to intervene. Watch for dirtside action, or something popping into our aft.”
“As ordered, Admiral. Scopes clear at the moment.”
“Sing out when they’re not.” She stared hard at the holograph of the unfolding battle. “The only surprises I want here are the ones we bring to the fight.”
Wedge jammed his throttle forward as the X-wing cleared the Victory-class Destroyer’s belly. He rolled out to port, getting himself well away from Swift Liberty as the capital ship started to maneuver in toward Direption. Further starboard, driving in at a sharper angle but still level, Moonshadow disgorged its B-wings, which formed up and flew toward the Direption. Already Wedge could see TIE starfighters and Interceptors coming up around the enemy Deuce’s hull.
Looks like they launched a whole wing. With seventy-two TIEs in the battle up against an equal number of B-wings, it looked like Corran’s comment was accurate. Then again, just because B-wings have shields and TIEs don’t, there’s no guarantee our side will prevail.
Wedge opened his comm channel. “Rogues, on me. Come up over the top of Swift Liberty and down on the squints. They’ll be outdistancing the slower TIEs. We’ll pounce, break them up, then let Salm and the others pick up our crumbs.”
He rolled his X-wing up onto its right S-foil, then pulled back on the stick. He pointed the nose up over the Swift Liberty’s knife-edge, then inverted as he came over the top. The X-wing flashed over the capital ship’s white hull, then rolled to starboard to bring the Direption into view.
The Hegemony Impstar had already leveled out to match Moonshadow’s profile. He’ll accept what Bell’s ship can do just to pound Moonshadow. Wedge shook his head. I don’t understand those tactics, which is why I’m better in this cockpit than I will ever be on the bridge of a capital ship.
Wedge nudged his stick around and, with the flick of a thumb, switched his weapons over to proton torpedo control. He centered the box on his heads-up display over the distant spark that was the lead Interceptor speeding toward the B-wings. The box started green, but quickly went yellow and, when Gate started piping in a constant tone, the box went red. Wedge pulled the trigger on his stick and launched a proton torpedo.
His target immediately rolled and broke toward the planet. There wasn’t much of a chance that he could outrun the torpedo, but Wedge knew what he was trying to do. If the Interceptor pilot could get the torpedo pointed at Liinade III, then break sharply at the last second, the missile would slam into the planet’s atmosphere and would be reduced to so much space junk.
Three other squints broke off their run on the B-wings to follow their flight leader, which suggested to Wedge that the pilots were a lot more green than they should