Harry Potter and the Dark Lord of the Sith

Chapter 21.

Things began to go wrong before they got out of light-speed. Or, more precisely, Hermione's brain screamed 'DANGER!' when she started to get ready to emerge in the Suran system. She tensed, clutching her control stick.

"Eichee, do you detect anything?" she asked her droid.

The beep was affirmative. "What!" she demanded, but then her fighter lurched unexpectedly and she was thrown to the side. The straps tightened. She looked around. Space around her was full of TIE fighters, and on her left flank was a giant ship, looking like a Star Destroyer, except for the four enormous globes embedded in its hull.

An Interdictor Cruiser. Hermione heard about these new warships the Empire developed, but this was the first time she had actually seen one.

"Rogue Leader, this is Rogue Eight," she called in. "I came out of hyperspace. No damage. Yet."

"Check, Rogue Eight," Wedge replied. "Everyone's present. Here they come!"

A formation of TIE fighters was approaching them. Suddenly, a voice came through on an open frequency. "Attention, Rebels! This is Admiral Thrawn. Surrender now, and you will not be harmed."

"We don't know what 'surrender' means, Admiral," Wedge spat. "Care to explain?" He switched the channel. "Rogues, block the non-squadron frequencies. They're trying to distract us." With that he opened fire and took out the lead craft in the approaching formation.

Hermione also destroyed one fighter and then had to make a sharp turn to avoid collision with another. They barely missed each other. "I'm all right," she said.

"Turn around and regroup," Wedge ordered. Hermione banked and took her position. Eight TIEs were heading towards them.

Hermione opened fire first, taking out one Imperial. The enemy formation broke, but not before two other fighters turned into plasma.

"Rogue Eight," Tycho told her, "You've picked one up."

Hermione already saw him, and was dodging the fire. Her shields were still strong. Tycho got behind her and took out the enemy.

"Thanks, Tycho," she said.

Meanwhile, Hobbie and Wes each destroyed a fighter of their own. Wedge was pleased. "Only two left." And those two fighters, Hermione saw, were heading back to the cruiser.

Wes cut in. "Uh, boss, that's not quite true. Look!" Hermione saw it. A much larger swarm of TIEs was heading their way. Hermione saw now what happened. The TIE squadrons were spread out, and while they battle the one that was closest, the rest gathered up. "Looks like five squadrons, boss," Hobbie said.

Five! They were outnumbered more then ten to one. "Sithspit!" Wedge swore. "All right. Chain reaction."

"Boss?" Wes inquired.

"Chain reaction," Wedge repeated. "Hermione first, then you, Hobbie, Tycho, and myself at the end."

"Got it, Rogue Leader," Hermione acknowledged. "Standing by."

"Now!" Wedge commanded. Hermione fired two proton torpedoes on divergent courses and made a U-turn. The other pilots did the same, but she saw that the desired effect would not be reached. The TIE pursuit group was already breaking up.

The torpedoes, one after another, found targets and detonated, each one taking out two or even three fighters. But most of the enemy craft, at least thirty, survived and resumed their chase. The trick could not be repeated. They had no more surprise... and no more torpedoes.

"Chain reaction" was a tactic developed specifically to destroy large groups of fighters. You fired proton torpedoes in sequence, with delayed activation fuses, while flying towards the enemy. When the torpedoes sought out targets, the enemy craft would find themselves under attack from within the formation. It should have worked, thought Hermione. How could they have known to break up that soon? It's like they knew exactly what we had in mind.

"Head for the Imperial base," Wedge ordered. "Get to the surface."

"Are you out of--" Tycho tried to say something, but was cut off.

"That's an order!" Wedge bellowed.

What's he thinking? Hermione's mind was racing. Belay that, ishe thinking? But she felt like she should trust him here. She followed Wedge's fighter towards the planet.

"Put all power into your shields," Wedge said. "We want to get into the lower atmosphere quickly, but burning up isn't a good idea."

"Right," Hermione responded. She maximized the shields power. She saw at least part of what Wedge intended. X-wings were better than TIEs in atmospheric flight, and, because of shields, could descend faster.

The pursuit was left behind. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Uh, Rogue Eight," Tycho called out, "that's a bit premature. Take a look."

Hermione already saw it. TIE interceptors from the base have been scrambled and headed towards them. These ships were FAST. Hermione barely had time to dodge their first bolts before the Imperials were among them. Wedge was the only one who managed to get one on that pass, but when she turned her ship, she saw he was in trouble. "Wedge," she called, "you've got one on your tail. Hang on." She got behind him and fired even before her computer got a lock. The TIE exploded.

Wedge thanked her. "Good shot, Rogue Eight. Now," he ordered the rest of the group, "turn on your cameras and head for the base."

"You still going through with the mission?" Wes asked.

"We won't get another chance," Wedge replied.

The squadron regrouped and headed towards the complex that, according to Intelligence, was a chemical weapons lab. They already activated the cameras when Tycho cut in. "More squints, eighty degrees high."

"Got it," Wedge answered. "Attack pattern sigma." They had no time to even think about it. The base's ground defenses opened up, and they had to evade bolts from the ground. Wedge immediately changed his orders. "Get away from here," he said. "We can't--" At that moment, Hermione's fighter shook and she lost control. The X-wing plummeted to the ground.

"Wedge!" she shouted. No reply. "Tycho? Wes? Hobbie?" Also nothing. She looked at her displays. They were blank. She nodded to herself. She's been hit with an ion cannon, similar to the one Rebels used on Hoth. "Eichee?" she asked, mostly to confirm the guess. The response was silence.

XXXXXXXX

The Imperial Star Destroyer was within range. It opened fire, and Han managed to dodge several bolts. But then, as he turned to run, the Falcon was hit. Regaining control, Han tried to speed away, but the enemy ship gave chase.

The asteroids started occurring less frequently, and soon disappeared altogether. "Good," Han said. "Stand by for light-speed." He pulled the throttle.

Like before, the result was nonexistent.

"It's not fair!" Han nearly whined.

"NO!" Ron screamed. This was too much. Chewbacca gave a series of frantic grounds indicating he agreed.

"The transfer circuits are working. It's not my fault!" Han yelled.

"No light-speed?" Leia's question was rhetorical.

"It's not my fault," Han almost apologized.

"Great." Ron looked at the pilot. "What else could go wrong?"

"Sir," Threepio intoned, "we've just lost the rear deflector shields. One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for."

"I had to ask." Ron closed his eyes.

Han wasn't listening. "Turn her around," he said.

Chewie barked. "I said turn her around!" Han repeated the order. "I'm going to put all power in the front shield."

"You're going to attack them?" Leia screamed.

"Attack!" Ron was shocked.

"Sir," Threepio pleaded, "the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer--"

"Shut up!" Leia yelled at the robot.

The Falcon darted straight towards the bridge tower of the huge ship. For a moment, Ron actually saw the stunned faces of Imperial officers through the viewports. The freighter went over the warship and made a "landing" on the back of the central tower. Han activated the magnetic clamps to keep the ship put. Then he began shutting down systems, as if this was something routine. Ron had to admit, Han had a tendency to pull out of the most hopeless situations imaginable.

"That," he told the smuggler, "was brilliant."

"All in a day's work, kid," Han replied, but he did sound pleased at the praise.

"What now?" Leia demanded.

"Now," Han emphasized his answer, "we wait."

"For what?" Ron asked, remembering how Harry said the same thing when they were in a cell on the Death Star with Leia.

"Until they decide we jumped into hyperspace, and go to search elsewhere. Trust me. They won't find us here."