THE HUTT GAMBI(102)
“Let’s go!” he yelled, and disengaged his magnetic grapple. Swooping out from behind the hunk of space junk, Iniro saw that there were two other ships with him. Only two? Where in the name of Xendor’s Minions were the others?
Iniro didn’t have time to wonder, because almost immediately he found himself under attack. Some kind of TIE fighter.
A blast struck his forward shield. Iniro compensated, and felt the ship shudder as Gadaf shot at the TIE. Clean miss, too far to the left.
Overcompensated, the fool!! Iniro thought. He sent the Take That!
into a sweeping turn, pouring on all the power he could. “Get him, Gadaf!” he yelled.
A red bolt streaked out, barely missed the twisting, turning TIE.
Iniro swore, and gave chase. It wasn’t easy, here in this junkyard of space debris. He was constantly having to flip his vessel up on her side, or resort to other, even more drastic maneuvers, to avoid crashing into something.
“Clear shot … coming!” yelled Iniro. “Be … ready!”
As he had promised, the next instant the TIE fighter and the Take That!
were in a straight line with nothing in between them. Another red bolt tore through vacuum, and this time it impaled the recon TIE fighter dead center!
For a moment the explosion flared out, yellow, then white, expanding, expanding …
Then the TIE was gone, and there were only sparkles of blazing debris and ash drifting in vacuum …
But before Iniro could celebrate his victory, his eye was caught by his tactical display. The something big was closing on him! In a second it would be right on top of him!
Captain Iniro twisted frantically in his pilot’s seat, slapping his controls, trying desperately to evade, trying to see it. He caught just a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. Minions of Xendor, it’s Falan Iniro never had time to complete the thought. The Carrackclass light cruiser’s heavy turbolasers engulfed the little freighter in a wash of green fire, utterly obliterating the Take That! in less time than it takes for a human eyeblink.
Ten seconds later not even spacedust remained.
Within seconds of following Falan Iniro’s Take That! out of hiding, Niev Jaub knew that he’d made a terrible mistake. The little Sullustan was flying his small light freighter (modified, of course), the Bnef Nlle, and when he’d seen the Take That! blast out of hiding, he’d assumed he’d missed Mako’s order, and followed the other vessel. The moment he was out in the “open,” Jaub noted that only one other ship was with them. They’d obviously jumped the gun and the attack hadn’t started yet.
For a moment Jaub considered trying to swoop back and hide again, but it was too late. A green blast from a TIE fighter nearly singed his whiskers.
Jaub sent his small freighter (which rather resembled one of the shelled reptiles of his homeworld) skittering to his right in an evasive maneuver.
Unlike most of the defenders of Nar Shaddaa, Jaub was an honest trader, who happened to do business on the Smuggler’s Moon, delivering exotic foodstuffs to the once-elegant hotelcasinos. There was a sizable Sullustan enclave on Nar Shaddaa, and the little sentient had kin and friends living there. So, when Mako’s call for help had gone out, Jaub had figured it was his responsibility to respond. He couldn’t let his friends and family be injured, and not try to help them!
Now what? he wondered, firing at a TIE fighter. I can’t compete with these pilots! I’ve never even fired my weapons before, except in target practice!
But there was no turning back now. The Carrackclass light cruiser had entered the fray. Jaub’s already huge eyes went even wider as he saw the Take That! impaled in a green burst of turbolaser fire.
Sickened, he watched as the Corellian’s ship was vaporized.
If Jaub had thought he could outrun any of these ships, he might have tried. But he knew better. All he could try to do, he figured, was to stay alive and maybe get in a lucky shot. Mako was bound to order the real attack any second now!
Jaub zigged again as a TIE roared by him, seemingly out of nowhere.
The evasive maneuver brought him within range of the Carrackclass ship’s turbolasers. The Sullustan pilot squeaked in utter terror as the barest edge of green licked past his vessel.
I’m all right, he didn’t hit me, he didn’t hit me, he didn’t.., oh, gods ˇ . . he hit me… the Sullustan thought.
His power indicators were dropping. That blast had barely brushed him, but it must have wiped out his stern shields and disabled his engines.
The Bnef Nile was still hurtling along, still in the grip of inertia, but his engines were dead.
Jaub tested his maneuvering thrusters and realized they still functioned.
He couldn’t brake, or speed up, but he could turn his vessel.