Passive sensors showed Wedge and Corran approaching the enemy force, showed the enemy’s starfighters arraying themselves out in front of the frigate as a defensive screen. Luke nodded. These were wise, basic tactics. The frigate and starfighter screen passed Luke’s and Mara’s position, and Luke’s sensors showed the frigate to be an ax-shaped Nebulon-B.
The Jedi waited there and watched the battle begin. Wedge and Corran, staying so close to each other that they were sometimes one blip on the sensors, darted to one edge of the starfighter screen. There was a swirl of activity there, Mid suddenly Wedge and Corran were in retreat. Eleven enemy starfighters remained, and one was dead in space, its pilot requesting shuttle pickup over open comm frequencies.
Luke gave Mara a simple prod through the Force, then lit his thrusters and began to maneuver in behind the frigate. She tucked in beside him, and he could feel a cool readiness flow from her-a dispassionate willingness to inflict damage, kill, even die as necessary.
Their approach was smooth and slow, designed to benefit from these X-wings’ comparative invisibility to sensors. They needed to come as close as possible and launch their proton torpedoes before the frigate’s crew realized they were there. At the moment, the frigate was running with its shields more powerful at the bow, weaker at the stern-a sensible measure, as Wedge and Corran were keeping the starfighter skirmish out ahead of the frigate.
Closer they came-now one hundred kilometers behind I lie frigate, now ninety …
When they were so close that their attacks would take less than a second to reach the frigate, but not so close that retaliatory laserfire would be at point-blank range, Luke fired a torpedo. A split second later Mara fired hers. Luke activated his X-wing’s shields and, through their Forcebond, felt Mara do the same.
The torpedo thrusters drew a near-instantaneous straight line to the frigate’s stern. Luke’s torpedo detonated against its rear shields. Then Mara’s disappeared into the blast zone and detonated, as well.
It took a few moments for the superheated gases of the explosions to dissipate. As they cleared, they revealed a frigate stern that was badly damaged, deeply cratered. Luke couldn’t see a single functioning thruster. He gave a little whoop. One enemy was out of commission, and the loss of life had to have been low-if luck was with the frigate, it might have lost no personnel at all.
Luke and Mara accelerated in an arc toward the starfighter engagement. Sensors now showed eight actives in the engagement zone-Wedge, Corran, and six hostiles. On Luke’s sensor screen, the computer finally identified the hostiles-I-7 Howlrunners. Luke was familiar with the starfighters: sleek rectangular hulls with stubby maneuvering wings at one end and two forward-projecting laser cannons at the other. Luke knew them to be shielded and tough, but they also lacked much firepower. Still, the original escort of twelve starfighters would ordinarily have been more than sufficient to destroy two X-wings … just not X-wings flown by pilots of the caliber of Wedge and Corran.
And now they were to be joined by pilots of the caliber of Luke and Mara.
The StealthX fighters were only a few kilometers from the engagement zone when the five still-functional Howlrunners broke away, roaring back toward the frigate. Luke and Mara let them go. The Howlrunners took up position circling the crippled frigate, a far more pathetic defensive screen than they had been mere minutes before.
Luke reactivated his comm transmitter. “What now?”
“Back to the Errant Venture for me,” Wedge said. “To give protection until it makes the jump into hyperspace. I’m not going to get involved in the main battle. Honestly, I wouldn’t know whose side to be on.”
Mara asked, “How about you, Corran?”
Corran sounded just a little uncertain. “It’s kind of up to you, Luke. I’ve tended to all my personal business on Corellia, I don’t need to go back … where do you need me?”
“Coruscant,” Luke answered instantly. “We need all the good sense and sharp thinking we can get at the Temple. But for now, Mara and I will be heading to the main engagement to see what good we can do for the Alliance forces. You want to come along or head back to the Temple?”
“I’ll fight.”
Wedge said, “Luke, you’re Ganner One now. Best of luck.”
“Likewise.”
As Wedge peeled off from their formation and set a course for the Errant Venture, Luke opened his comm board to listen across military frequencies to find out what was happening and where.
DODONNA
Admiral Limpan retreated to the command salon, which was smaller, quieter, and less frantic than the bridge. Now she could hear herself think again-and could more easily track the battle’s progress.