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 Reading Room |
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Reading Room |
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"Lieutenant Deeggo, dive and turn to port.
Hunter, Tideria, listen to me! Our best chance is to cover
ourselves from the Destroyers with the docks. We'll last longer against
those batteries than against the Destroyers' cannons. Keep shooting at
the docks and at all those containers. The more junk we can put in their
path, the longer they'll take to get out of there."
Both Captains acknowledged his orders. They were now under attack from the base's fighters, and the Star Destroyers were launching TIE Bombers as well. But the TIEs couldn't approach them too closely, without crossing the line of fire from the station's gunnery turrets. The three ships were covering each others and shooting against the docks' installations at the same time. They had managed to surprise the Imperials, but now that they had reacted it was only a matter of time.
"Admiral, I'm receiving new contacts," the Rodian officer informed him. "The screen ships have been called back to defend the base. I've got another Star Destroyer and three Carrack Cruisers."
"Excellent. We have attracted all their
attention. Prepare for our next movement."
Drake pulled the joystick hard to the left following Arachnoid's fighter as they passed near the disabled Corvette. His scans gave him a complete reading of the Imperial vessel status, confirming what the inactive cannons and engines suggested.
"Torpedo, this is Five. You two did it, the fish is frozen."
"Nice to hear that. Could you cover us while we recharge our shields a few minutes?"
"Consider it done," the young pilot replied. "Vanessa, are you still with me?"
"Right on your tail, fortunately for you." Ladyfox's voice sounded in his headphones. "Didn't you see that TIE a second ago?"
"Ooops, no- Thanks! I had only eyes for the one who almost fried Sparks."
"Yeah, I know, I owe you one." As it happened, Sparks had seen perfectly well the danger he was in, but he had kept on the Corvette, hoping one of his escorts would do something with the fighters on his six. A less experienced pilot would have broken in that same moment. Sparks hadn't.
"Open your eyes, all of you." Ibero interrupted them. "The transports are here. Three, this is Nine, are you copying this?"
"Affirmative, Nine." Vyper answered. "Keep covering Torpedo and Sparks until they join Moose's group. We'll take care of the transports."
"Roger that, leader." The two B-Wings and
the four A-Wings started to move away from the disabled Corvette, momentary
free of the Imperial fighters, which were now being engaged by the rest
of Vyper's group and some of Amber's X-Wings. The two transports
were approaching Harrier covered from the Imperial frigates, but they wouldn't
be unaware for too long.
"Captain, we have detected two armored transports approaching Harrier. We can't communicate with Captain Veedar, his ship has been disabled."
"Well, while those transports are docked their friends won't run away. Order our fighters to keep away from the transports until I tell them otherwise."
"Aye, sir."
"Horax, they've got more fighters than us," Captain Kaban said in a low voice beside him. "We are taking torpedo hits-"
"Shut up, Kaban!" Horax replied harshly, although he kept his voice down to avoid being heard by the rest of the people on the bridge. "I'm not going to discuss this with you, so try to keep your panic controlled or leave the bridge." Kaban flushed, but he held back his first impulse to reply to Horax in the same tone. Captain Horax was his superior officer, and you didn't make a career in the Imperial Navy insulting higher officers, no matter what they said.
"All right, Horax, I wasn't suggesting retreat-" he started to say, trying to settle things down.
"Enough of this, Kaban." Horax interrupted his Second Officer. "And if you don't want to get arrested, call me sir or Captain when you're talking to me. Can you understand this, Kaban?"
"Of course, sir," he replied, even more embarrased. "It will never happen again."
Horax didn't answer, turning his attention
to the combat instead.He was a bit concerned about the Rebel fighters,
though he would admit that to no one but himself.
"Hang on, we're about to start the docking maneuver," the transport pilot warned.
Nobody said anything. From the co-pilot's seat, Captain Collins saw the Corvette Harrier for the second time in his life, and a chill ran down his back. The other transport, Nosey Two, was now at starboard, both ships almost touching each other. They were supposed to dock together, but there was not too much space to do that on a Corvette's hull. Collins almost jumped when he felt a little blow right beside his seat, but the pilot didn't even blink. Those guys are used to flying this close... His respect for the tranport pilots increased considerably. He had been so eager to be in this flight that he has offered himself as co-pilot for one of the transports. If he was able to pilot a shuttle, an armoured transport couldn't be that different, but he was beginning to see that the hard part was not the flight itself.
He couldn't see the Corvette for a second, and then he felt a new blow, this time exactly beneath him. At his back, the commandoes' sergeant started to shout orders.
"No time to lose, boys, so I want this done fast!" he roared. Collins realized there was no need for the shouts. Every one of the boarding troops knew perfectly well what he or she had to do. The pilot closed the door at their back, and the Sergeant's voice couldn't be heard any more.
"There is always the risk of losing internal pressure while they force their entrance to the boarded ship," the pilot explained. "They have their sealed armour, but we don't, sir."
Collins nodded. A shrill noise at his back and beneath him startled him.
"That's the soldering unit," the pilot said, anticipating his question. "You wouldn't expect the Imperials were going to open the door, would you?" Before he could reply, the man continued with his lecture. "No, of course not. They have to make their own doors cutting the hull, attach the safety ring to the transport lower hatch, and push the broken piece of hull inside. Sometimes they trap a rookie stormtrooper under it, can you believe it? And then, of course, they have to enter there shooting like devils. The first losses always take place right at that moment..."
A TIE Fighter crossed in front of them, no more than five meters from their viewscreen, closely followed by an Amber X-Wing. Collins noticed then that the pilot's fingers were firmly clenched on the flightstick, and that the engines were on.
"So how do you manage to appear so calm, while it's obvious you're not?"
"What, you mean while we're here without
moving, attached to a ship where people are fighting, looking at all those
fighters flying around us, one of which might shoot at us at any moment,
and praying that none of the capital ships decide to blow us apart?" Collins
nodded "Talking, sir, how else. To myself if I'm alone, or whoever is sharing
this cockpit with me if there is someone." The pilot looked at Collins
and smiled nervously for the first time. "Talking and talking. Have you
noticed it?"
"They're boarding us, oh, shit, they're boarding us right now and that piece of a Gamorrean pig of Horax is doing nothing to help us..." Captain Veedar muttered. The Imperial officer was leaning against the main viewscreen, with his knees over the control panel and his face literally smashed against the transparsteel window, struggling to see the transports over them, but he couldn't do it from there. "He is doing nothing, damn it, we're just the bait, that's what we are, and who would care for the worm, when the fish has caught it?"
That might not be Admiral Garil's ship, but the readings they had obtained before being disabled had confirmed that at least the X-Wings were his. If the commandoes on those transports were aware of what had happened in this ship, and he didn't doubt they were, the first blood they would be looking for would be his. When he realized he wouldn't be able to see anything from there, he turned to descend from the control panel. Then he surprised the rest of the officers on the bridge looking at him in that ridiculous position, and that turned the fear into rage.
"What are you looking at, eh?" Of course, no one replied. Veedar jumped to the deck, almost falling when he collided with one of the seats. He looked around, looking for the two stormtroopers who used to be permanently on the bridge, but he couldn't see any of them. "Where are the troops?"
"It seems that the prisoners are trying to escape." One of the lowest-ranking officers started to explain, seeing that no one else was going to answer. "The troops' command officer has called all of them to the detention area, but now I suppose they'll have to face the Rebels up there."
"Communications are still out? Send a runner to the detention area and tell the troops to kill all the prisoners before the boarders can reach them." He spat. "All right, there is nothing else we can do. Take your weapons and keep them trained on the main entrance. We'll have to defend ourselves until help arrives!"
If it ever does... he added mentally.
Captain Sera risked raising his head over the fallen stormtrooper. His kick couldn't have killed the soldier, but the shots from his partners at the other end of the corridor had finished the job for sure. The blaster fire had ceased suddenly a minute ago, just after all of them could hear the unmistakable clang of a ship docking on the upper side of the hull. Now the sound of laser bursts had started again, but beyond the corridor where they were trapped. There was no place to go except forward, but that direction had been full of stormtroopers until some moments ago. Now the only ones they could see were those scattered on the floor at the end of the corridor. There was no mean to know if there was someone more, just hidden at the other side of the turn, but they couldn't stay there forever. His weapon's energy was practically drained, and the one now held by the sturdy Trandoshan, since the officer who had been using it was hit, couldn't be much better. They wouldn't resist a second assault.
"It's time to move." He whispered. He was about to check if the motionless man besides him was alive, but Sergeant Trosk shook his head in an unmistakable sign. Sera nodded and picked his way over the stormtroopers' bodies, gesturing to Sergeant Trosk to follow him. They reached the other end of the corridor, where three more stormtroopers laid, and took their weapons from the floor. His first intention had been to jump to the opposite wall shooting, expecting to surprise any stormtrooper who could be hidden behind the corner, but the Trandoshan put a hand on his chest to keep him from moving. The tall being carefully removed one of the stormtroopers' helmets and gestured Sera to return to the other side of the corridor, where the rest of his people were waiting. The Trandoshan moved back with him and when he considered they were far enough he launched the helmet against the farthest wall. Before it reached the floor a violent explosion disintegrated everything around the corridor's corner, including the stormtroopers' corpses. The shockwave knocked Sera off his balance, but the Trandoshan sergeant pulled him up before he hit the floor.
"A mine with a photo-cell," he explained. "The oldest booby trap after the cord at ten centimeters from the floor. But it works ninety percent of the time."
"Uff, thanks, Trosk..." he said, brushing himself off. "How did you know that?"
"Not a big deal. We put one at every corner back in Hoth."
"I see- It seems you haven't spent your entire career on shipboard duty, have you?"
"No, you can bet I haven't." The Trandoshan grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "We can continue now. There won't be anybody on the other side."
The survivors of the Gaudeamus abandoned
the narrow room where they had been held for three weeks. They could hear
blaster fire, louder and closer than before, and Sera wondered uneasily
which side would actually make it to them.
More time, we need more time! Garil thought, glancing at the onboard chronometer. Only three minutes had passed since the begining of their attack. Both Corvettes, Hunter and Tideria, had been destroyed by now, leaving a cloud of flamed gases and debris as the only remnant of their crews. Trailblazer itself couldn't take much more punishment. The shields had collapsed under the fire of the dock's defences and the Imperial fighters. Now the bigger enemy Star Destroyer was managing to move out of them, literally pushing the Victory Class out of his way. He couldn't know how Orris and Louyan's people were doing. They had agreed not to have any communication between both groups; the longest the Imperials took to connect the two attacks, the better. But they should have guessed already that this one was only a diversion.
But what if they hadn't? The Imperials rarely grasped the concept that someone could risk his life to help others. The kind of thing Garil's remaining crew were doing now would be just unthinkable for most of them. No, the only thing you understand is how to torture innocent people, and those who can't defend themselves- Behind him, Lieutenant Deeggo was constantly checking if any ship was sent to hyperspace, but all the enemy vessels seemed to be focused on Trailblazer. Perfect, that was what this was all about. But they had to hold out at least another three minutes, or there wouldn't be enough time for the rescue operation.
"Admiral, the Carrack Cruisers are here, and the other Star Destroyer will have us in range at any moment. We're starting to show hull damage." There was no trace of nervousness in the officer's voice, he was only informing about the facts. Garil thought that the Rodian must have ice in their veins.
"Not to mention the Star Destroyer that is coming now from the base..." Deeggo didn't answer. He just kept staring at Garil with his dark eyes, knowing the Admiral hadn't said his last word.
"Do you think we could make them run a bit more before catching us?" Garil asked in an almost casual tone.
"Not to the fighters nor the Carrack Cruisers, but the Destroyers will have to force their engines. Nevertheless, we won't last too much in a race towards space."
"Not towards outer space, but towards the other side of the planet. As close to the atmosphere as we can."
"That would delay them a bit, sir," Deeggo answered. As he talked the Rodian moved the thrusters levers forward to the maximum power, while changing the Trailblazer's course. The wounded Frigate launched itself toward Muldron's orange sphere, pursued by two dozens of TIE Fighters, a bunch of Bombers and the three Carrack Cruisers. And two Star Destroyers behind them.
"Two minutes. Two or three minutes is all
we need," Garil muttered as if it was a prayer.
"Great," Granite muttered to himself. "Just
great. Look at all those laser turrets. Hmm...they'd shoot down torpedoes,
and Foxfire will kill me if I ram it..." He dodged a burst of turbolaser
fire reflexively, most of his mind occupied with the question of how to
produce a really big explosion if he couldn't launch torpedoes.
He was flying in Moose's group, which
had the unenviable job of harassing the enemy capital ships in an attempt
to balance the unequal fight between the two Nebulon A Frigates and the
Joan d'Arc. His last readings showed his mothership had its shields down
to twenty percent, while the Imperial ships had them around seventy percent.
The only good news were that Foxfire's and Louyan's groups were managing
to keep the enemy fighters under control. However, they had lost some people
too. Amber Squadron was taking the worst part, they were taking just too
many risks. Granite was sure that at least one or two White pilots had
been forced to eject, too. He had seen Grizzly's B-Wing become a ball of
fire just in front of him, although his squad-mate had abandoned it in
the last moment. He wondered how Barris was going to pick them up, as close
as they were to the enemy ships. It would be kind of ironic, to get captured
during a rescue mission. He put it out of his mind. To destroy those laser
turrets without getting killed himself was going to be quite enough to
keep him busy.
With Hammer pacing him, he swung aside
and dove abruptly, trying to make things harder to the Imperial gunners.
"Hey, that hurts!" He exclaimed when he couldn't avoid a near-direct hit,
which took away another twenty percent from his shields. "Wait until I
can put a pair of torpedoes under your seat!" the Caldanian pilot threatened
the anonymous gunner who had shot that last burst.
"Torpedoes away." The report rippled down
the line of B-wings, and Moose watched intently as the salvo of blue proton
torpedoes arced swiftly into the nearest Nebulon A Frigate's hull. Some
of them were destroyed before reaching their target, but the rest impacted
on a wide area around the hangar's section. He broke away from the Frigate
and took a look at his sensor readings. The Imperial ships' shields were
falling, but not far enough, not yet. They had to press the attack and
buy more time for the commandoes. He had a very good idea of what the prisoners
on board that Corvette had been going through, and most of his thoughts
were on them.
"All right, people, get some distance
and make one more pass..." A shout interrupted him.
"TIEs Advanced!" Iceman warned. "Coming from one-oh-five!"
"Oh, no..."
"All fighters, engage the Advanced!" Foxfire's
order sounded in every pilot's headphones. "Vyper, be ready for some company!"
She heard the acknowledgements while she swung her A-wing around to attack
the newcomers. This is starting to be too hot for my taste- she
thought.
Commander Horax did his best to hide his relief. That last salvo of torpedoes had made their shield strength descend dangerously. Thennef had lost most of its fighters and the Rebel B-Wings were starting to be a bigger problem than their Frigate, which should withdraw soon or be destroyed. And now a squadron of TIEs Advanced appeared from somewhere to save the day. But he hadn't called them.
He turned to his Second with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Did you call for reinforments, Kaban?"
"No, sir, I've been here all the time, beside you."
Horax noticed the communications officer was turning to him.
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Captain Jader is demanding to talk to you, sir." This was Frigate Saitell's Captain. He must have made that call.
"All right, Lieutenant, let's hear him." Horax waited until the officer confirmed the line was open. "This is Commander Horax, I hear you, Captain."
"What were you thinking about?" the angry voice demanded. "I thought you would call for reinforcements!"
"So I am to understand that it's you who has called for help?"
"Of course I did! We did need that fighter coverage! Were you going to risk our ships just to get all the credit? The Empire has lost what it has lost because Commanders like you!"
"How you dare, Jader? I'm commanding this convoy...!"
"I'm sorry, sir." The communications officer apologized. "He's cut his end of the link."
Kaban's face didn't show the smile he had
in his mind, watching how his higher officer discharged his fury hitting
his armchair. It had worked again. If you were patient enough, someone
else would do the dirty work for you. Horax couldn't accuse him of disobeying
any order, but it was for sure that when Jader presented his report, Horax
was going to be in deep trouble. And he might be the next captain
of the Thennef.
The two stormtroopers almost ran into them. Captain Sera and Sergeant Trosk shot at once and the two soldiers fell to the floor without a sound. The Trandoshan caught a movement at the next corridor out of the corner of his eye and immediately launched himself to the floor, pushing Sera with him on the way. Sera raised his eyes, trying to find out where the enemy was. All he could see was a blaster cautiously showing behind the next open door. The armoured arm that held it was not white, but dark blue.
"This is Captain Sera, from New Republic Fleet!" he shouted.
"Nice to hear you, sir!" a voice replied. "Have you seen two stormtroopers coming in your direction?"
"Yes, but they didn't see us."
A relieved laugh sounded and then he saw two New Republic commandos coming out from their hiding places.
"Those were the last ones in this section, sir. You and your men please follow me. We're going to take you out of here."
"Thanks, soldier. I've never been so happy to see anybody in my whole life."
"I know, sir. I hear that a lot."
Sera laughed and patted the soldier's back. They had to cross through another corridor full of corpses, most of them stormtroopers, but there were a pair of commandos, too. He thanked them silently. When they reached the spot where the commandos had entered into the ship, he could see that they were evacuating some of their wounded comrades through the entrances open on the ceiling. An armoured figure with Sergeant pips approached him.
"Glad to see you, sir. I'm Sergeant Agueda. We'll help you on board the transports. We must hurry - I don't know how much time we have, but it can't be much."
"Thanks, Sergeant. All right, we're going home!" he announced to the rest of his crew. The tired prisoners started to pass through the openings, assisted by the commandos. When all of them had disappeared beyond the ceiling, the Trandoshan sergeant going last, Captain Sera approached the commandos' leader.
"Have you checked the infirmary?"
"No, sir. There is where the last stormtroopers must be now. Is any of your people there?"
"Maybe. I have to go."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I was serious about having little time. I've just received a report saying that the Imperials are receiving reinforcement fighters. And we have two transports up here just waiting for some TIE pilot to take a potshot." While he spoke, he kept his hand on Sera's back, urging him to take the hands of the soldier at the other side of the opening, who was ready to help him to climb.
"I can't leave her behind." He said shaking his head. "I couldn't tell you while my men were nearby, or they would have insisted on coming, but I won't leave without one of my people."
"Sergeant," the soldier in the hatch said. "The pilot said that we must take off right now. There are enemy fighters in this area..."
"Oh, damn it..." Sera couldn't see Sergeant Agueda's face, hidden behind his facial plate and the mask, but he had no doubt that he was cursing in silence. "OK, tell the other transport to take off, and if you're attacked leave too!"
"But, sir..."
"That was an order, soldier! And don't forget to seal both security rings, or you'll kill us when you leave!"
"Aye, sir." The soldier didn't say what was evident to all three of them. Sealing the rings was well and good, but it would be useless if there was nobody to pick them up later.
"All right, Captain, you win. To the infirmary we go."
"You're going to get a medal for this, Sergeant," Captain Sera said.
"Oh, yes, my mother will love it when they
send her the damned thing."
"Our shields are falling, sir!"
"So tell me the good news, Lieutenant," Captain Orris said.
"One of the transports is taking off..."
"One? What about the other? No, don't tell me. Rammes, put everything you have straight to the engines, we have to move fast or those two Frigates are going to made a sandwitch from us!"
"Are we retreating, sir?" The chief technician's voice came through the damaged communications system with a tinny sound.
"Did I say to retreat, Rammes? I said to
accelerate, that's all. We have to force them to move further from the
Corvette." The enemy ships rolled on the viewscreen while the Joan d'Arc
maneuvered. Green bolts were constantly shot from their laser turrets,
and now every one was causing damage on the unprotected hull. Admiral,
Orris thought, I hope this is worth the price we may pay for it.
