“Cease fire.” That was the voice of Thrackan, coming from the rear of the unit of six remaining CorSec operatives. They obeyed. “Impressive, Jacen. But I’d like you to understand. We have more than enough troops, droids, and special surprises to deal with you. They’re here or rushing here. You’re never going to get anywhere you can do significant harm to this station.”
“You may be right, cousin.” But you haven’t mentioned Ben. You’re not aware of him, are you? “Still, I have to try.”
The smoke was beginning to clear. Jacen could see the nearest three CorSec operatives, one kneeling, two standing, resolutely barring his way with their blaster rifles raised.
“I suppose you do. Resume fire.”
The soldiers opened fire. Jacen advanced, hurling the blaster bolts back the way they’d come-but over the firers’ shoulders, in the direction of Sal-Solo’s voice.
CORONET, CORELLIA
Suddenly the explosions ended and the skies to port, starboard, and ahead were clear of gray smoke. Luke checked his diagnostics board. His X-wing had suffered some shrapnel damage to its top-side starboard engine, but it was still running at 60 percent capacity.
There were only nine X-wings in his squadron now. The snubfighter of the Rodian, Toile Senn, had been shaken to pieces by three near hits. Toile had ejected … and at the apex of the ejection had disappeared in the center of another gray cloud. Luke had felt the sudden cessation of his life.
Now they emerged into the open skies where the Corellian attack fighters lived. “Keep sharp,” Luke said, one eye to his sensor board. “S-wings to attack position. Break and attack at will. Continue toward original rendezvous position.”
“They’re coming at us from high, straight back,” Mara said.
And they were, two streams of attack fighters roaring down at them. Luke dived, giving his X-wing more speed, more time before the foremost attack fighters reached him, and adjusted his shield strength to double rear; Mara stayed tucked in on his wing.
The attack fighters came on, green lasers battering at Luke’s rear shields. R2 squealed a note of alarm-alarm for Luke and alarm for himself.
As the three attack fighters approaching from astern neared, as their laser barrage hit his rear shields with the strength of greater proximity, Luke cut his thrusters. He could feel Mara, through their link, understand his intent and do likewise.
Inexperienced fighter pilots would have overshot him and been easy targets for a moment or two. These Corellians weren’t inexperienced. The moment Luke’s X-wing began to grow too fast in their forward sights, they veered, two upward, one to starboard.
But Luke was far from inexperienced himself. Instinct and a touch, a glimpse of the future through the Force, had him hauling back on his control yoke and goosing his repulsorlift the moment he completed his deceleration maneuver. He was oriented upward as his pursuers banked. The only things he could see were blue sky and two Corellian attack fighters, one of them jittering madly in his targeting computer. He fired, red lasers closing on and hitting the port-side attack fighter, then traversed right again and fired even before the computer confirmed a lock.
Luke’s first shot blew his target cleanly out of the sky. His second sheared the attack fighter’s starboard wing off. The crippled fighter spun and plummeted, out of the combat.
These Corellian attack fighters were not equipped with shields.
Luke shook his head over that, even as he looked with his eyes and his Force-senses for his wife.
She’d peeled off to starboard and vaped the attack fighter that had headed off in that direction. Now she was angled back his way.
Luke checked the sensor board. Nine X-wings and eighteen attack fighters had entered combat. Seconds later, nine X-wings and eleven attack fighters continued to occupy the field. He sighed. He was facing Corellians as brave, perhaps as skilled, as his friends Han, Wedge, and Corran, and he was obliged to purge them from the skies. Sometimes he bitterly regretted the oaths and traditions that bound the Jedi order to the Galactic Alliance.
He turned back in the direction of the conflict. Mara tucked in under his port side and matched his speed and course.
ABOVE CORELLIA
Lysa’s sensor board lit up like a festival parade. She glanced at the readings. Someone had a targeting lock on her. She forced herself to ignore that fact. Her leg bounced even more frantically. “Leader, Eight.” Eight’s voice sounded anguished. “They have a targeting lock on me. Permission to break and fire.”
“Denied, Eight.” VibroSword Leader sounded exasperated.
“They’re just trying to rattle you, Eight,” Lysa said. “Provoke a reaction.”