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StarWars FanFiction
POV: Something is happening in Yavin IV (Part II)
By Dario "Ibero" Pozo Pictures by Dario "Ibero" Pozo
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[Inside the operations briefing room of the Joan d'Arc]

"What do you think about this, Michael?" Shok'wave asked.

"I agree with General Madine's conclusion about the first ship." Vyper said. "If it had not been Imperial, they would have sent a patrol to investigate. You can think that Imperials could know that they were smugglers or something like that and don't care about them, but now we have the Star Destroyer and the transport picking up the satellite, and that supports the first hypothesis. What they are doing there several years after the battle of Yavin, I don't know. That base was fully investigated then, and Imperials are very careful with that, so I don't think they could be searching for a missed clue about the Alliance."

"We'll have to send someone to take a look." Shok'wave said.

"But without the satellite you won't know if there are more ships now." Captain Orris argued. "It could be dangerous, and probably you would discover that out too late."

"A fighter could exit from hyperspace far from Yavin," Foxfire proposed, "and do the rest of the travel in normal space. That would take more time, but it would be more uneasy for the Imperials to detect it. At great range and using the more powerful lents we have available, it could even take some pictures to support the readings and return unnoticed."

"Only if the Imperials never look in his direction." Moose commented. "That's not all. If you want to be sure that your exit from hyperspace is not detected, and considering the distance that a Star Destroyer's sensors can cover, it would be a travel of almost... 36 hours in normal space," while speaking, Moose was introducing new calculations on a portable datapad, "... and 36 more for the return. Too much time for a fighter, we would need to equip it with supplementary oxygen depots."

"Even doing that..." Shok'wave said, "72 hours is too much time. Things could change completely even in the middle of that time. The reports obtained by the recon wouldn't be usable. "

"And what about a new satellite?" Torpedo asked. Before anyone could reply, he continued. "A B-Wing could exit from hyperspace at the opposite face of Yavin, where there is a better chance to do it without coming into contact with any Imperials, and hidden from their sensors by the planet mass and magnetic field, leave a satellite and return. We know that Yavin's orbit is full of debris from the Death Star, so if we put a satellite there in stationary orbit, amongst the junk, after some hours it would pass in front of Yavin IV, and send us some accurate readings in just milliseconds. With a transmission so reduced, it probably wouldn't be noticed."

"That presents a considerable risk, too." Vyper said. "You are assuming there will be no Imperial ships patrolling the opposite face of Yavin. Believe me, they are not stupid."

"But with some luck, it could work." Foxfire said, before Torpedo had a chance to reply. She looked at the Intelligence Officer. "I think it's our best chance. Do you have other ideas?" Vyper shrugged as the only answer.

"Someone else have other ideas?" Shok'wave extended the question to the rest of the assembly. The silence that followed was eloquent enough. There wouldn't be a better plan.

"I can do it." Moose finally said. "It will be refreshing to leave the simulators and the recruits for some hours."

Captain Orris nodded and looked at Shok'wave. "Commander?"

"Yes, sir." Shok'wave said. "Go prepare yourself. Foxfire, inform everyone that we may have some action soon and to be on alert."

"It's about time..." Foxfire said while departing.

"I'll have my technicians begin working on the satellite right now." Orris said. "You'll have it within one hour or someone is going to have a bad time with me."

None of the pilots doubted that Captain Orris would have the satellite prepared in time.
 
 
 

[Onboard the Star Destroyer Gray Wolf]

"I did know it." Commander Guindamonn said closing his hand in a fist. "Captain Zelia, send a message to the Fleet Command. Tell them that we think that there might be a spy ship at that location, but don't tell them any more. Not yet."

"At once, sir."

"Ah, Captain," Guindamonn said. "I want images of the Rebel base immediately."

"Yes, sir. I've already ordered that."

"Well done, Captain."
 
 

[Space close to Yavin]

Moose was ending his short travel through hyperspace. The new satellite was in a small container under the B-Wing. In just a few minutes he will be at the mission objective. He had crossed his way with Vyper's when he was heading to the Joan d'Arc's bay. "Be careful" he had said ominously, making Moose feel a sudden shiver. He knew of the Intelligence officer's reservations about this mission, but he hoped it would be only his usual pessimism. All ex-Imperials are the same, he thought trying to cheer himself up. Foxfire had also said that of "be careful", but the way she did so had nothing to do with Vyper's. "Don't worry for me, babe." He had answered. That use of the word "babe" had earned him a painful squeeze in his arm, but he had loved to see that she cared. Don't worry for me, he thought. "Babe" he added with a twisted smile.
 
 

[Onboard the Star Destroyer Gray Wolf]

"Did the altered programming of the satellite allow it to hide some of the ships it detected?" Asked Guindamonn to the chief of the technicians, who had been ordered to stay on the bridge."

"We don't know yet, sir. The satellite program is big and very complicated. It will take some time to check it entirely, but I don't think so. Such an evident manipulation would show up by now."

"Hmmm, maybe there is only a small group." Guindamonn said. "Captain Zelia, I want TIE patrols covering the entire system. If there are no more of them around, we'll send some troops to that damned base."
 
 

[Space close to Yavin]

The B-Wing piloted by Moose exited from hyperspace very near from Yavin. He immediately entered into the cloud of debris that orbited the giant planet, reducing his speed as soon as he considered safe doing so. He didn't want to smash against a ten meters piece of hull, and there were plenty of them turning around the gassy planet. That damned Death Star was big he thought with apprehension. The computer beeped twice, indicating he had reached the optimal orbit the techs had calculated for placing the satellite. He pushed the button that opened the container and left the small device floating amongst the junk. Sixteen hours later, it would be in a position from where it could observe Yavin IV and the Imperial vessels. He was starting to leave when the sensors detected ships approaching. Three TIE fighters. The metallic fragments floating all around the B-Wing would give him some more seconds before he could be detected by the Imperial fighters. Moose had only a few seconds to make a decision. Without a second thought, his hands flew over the controls, disconnecting all the systems except the oxygen supply and the passive sensors. When he finished, the B-Wing was now like any other piece of junk turning around Yavin, very close to the satellite, but in a different orbit that was making the distance grow slowly between them. The Rebel ship could only be detected visually, but that unavoidably would happen if those TIEs got closer. Please, don't look in this direction!
 
 
 

[In the hangar of the deserted Yavin IV base]

"I did it!" Edu said entering into the simulator room, interrupting Dario's thoughts. "I think that Y-Wing is ready to fly at last!"

"Are you sure?" Dario asked his excited friend, while opening the simulator's canopy.

"How could I be?" Edu replied. Only now Dario noticed the bags under his friends' eyes, and realized how hard he had been working on that fighter. "We'll have to go up there and try. A specialized technician would have needed only one or two days to do what has taken me two weeks, and be reasonably confident about the result, but I think it will work."

"We'll cross our fingers." Dario said as he smiled. "When do we take off?"

"Give me a couple of hours to transfer the fuel from the Little Laura to the Y-Wing and test the systems one more time. And one more thing... We were finishing our trip when the accident happened, so there was not too much remaining fuel. That baby's engines will consume it faster than the Little Laura, so we probably won't have enough fuel to make many attempts. It must work the first time."
 
 

[Onboard the Star Destroyer Gray Wolf]

"Sir, the patrols have been searching through the entire system," Captain Zelia informed, "but they haven't found anything yet. Some fighters have received damages because of all the spatial junk."

Commander Guindamonn was visibly angry. He beat on the nearest console, causing the young officer that was attending it to practically jump out of his skin.

"We are going to finish with this waste of time. Order Captain Werttens to send a squadron of his troops to the surface of Yavin IV. And I want them to bring our four AT-AT walkers."

"At once, sir," Zelia replied. He was glad to have a reason to leave the bridge.
 
 

[Onboard the Nebulon B Frigate Joan d'Arc]

"There must be some reason, Sherry." Foxfire said, trying to transmit a hope that she had lost some hours ago. No one else could be as worried as she was, but she had learned to accept that tragedy was a part of her life. She wanted to yell, to cry, to break something, but she knew she wouldn't do any of that. Not now, at least. Nobody had noticed she had got two broken nails, as hard as she kept her fists clenched. That pain was welcome. It helped to forget the other one.

The time passed slowly on the Joan d'Arc, while waiting for Moose to return. Everybody was tense, from the technicians to the rest of the pilots of White Squadron, including the ship's crew and Captain Orris as well. Nobody had left the bridge during the last ten hours. The Training Wing members were the most visibly affected of all. They were looking at the external visors in a futile attempt to see Moose's B-Wing appear. Moose was the man who was teaching them how to be a pilot, but that was not the only thing they were learning from their instructor. Moose was showing them every day the meaning of being part of the Rebel Alliance, the objective that was behind the never ending sessions in the simulators, the reason to risk their own life piloting a dangerous starfighter against the fire from the Imperial ships, hoping to bring the freedom to the rest of the intelligent beings of the galaxy. Nobody ignored that their instructor was an Alderaanian. All the cadets were in the Frigate's bay, looking to the space not far from the point where Shok'wave and Foxfire were talking. Close enough to hear Shok'wave's reply.

"No, Avery. The only answers I can find are that Moose has either been captured, killed or has suffered a fatal accident between the junk orbiting Yavin. We must start to think that he is dead." Foxfire had to look in other direction. That was what logic suggested, but she would have preferred that Shok'wave had come up with a less definitive answer. Moose and her had been so prudent with their relationship that most of their squad mates ignored there was one, but Shok'wave had known from the beginning. Besides being friends, it was hard to hide something like that to someone with her sensitiveness to the Force, although Foxfire thought that Shok'wave's powers came and go, and she was far from having a full control over them. Nevertheless, she couldn't ignore the effect that her words were having on her. Shok'wave was not for one to feed false hopes, and that might be good for her, but Foxfire wouldn't believe Moose had suffered any harm while there was no physical evidence. Moose is a tough guy, what a hell.

Behind the two women, others were not as optimistic as Foxfire. Lisa "Angelrose" Hull tried to hold back the tears when she heard White Leader's words. Alex "Grizzly" Klingerman took her by the shoulders, fighting himself with his own emotions. Everybody raised their eyes to Shok'wave when her communicator beeped, indicating a message from communications.

"This is Commander Krenzel." Shok'wave didn't even let the communicator beep twice. "Any news about Captain Gregory?"

"No, I'm sorry, Commander." the Communications officer began, "but we have just received the transmission from the satellite. Captain Gregory managed to put it into position." Shok'wave and Foxfire looked at each other.

"Everyone to the briefing room. Order the patrol team to land and refuel their fighters. Angelrose, Grizzly, pick your helmets and take an A-Wing. You will make the next escort turn." The two trainees ran to their closets. "Bay officer, when the escort team have landed, send them immediately to the briefing room."

"All right, Commander!"
 
 

[Space around Yavin]

It had been fifteen hours since Moose first disconnected almost all of the B-Wing's devices, including the heating system. The temperature had been decreasing without pause. Every breath from Moose came out in a cloud of vapor when leaving his mouth. The frozen pilot was trying to make some heat rubbing his body with his hands, but inside the black gloves, he couldn't even feel his fingers. The red dots had been permanently walking between the left and the right display, but the Imperial fighters had never been far enough to allow him to reconnect the systems and fly away. I would love to see Iceman here right now Moose thought We could even probably change our callsigns around.... The B-Wing's chronometer, one of the few instruments he had left working, signaled slowly the pass of the seconds. If the satellite is working, they must being receiving the data right now. I expect that no more ships have arrived, or nobody will come, and I'll become a nice ice statue. He exhaled deeply and saw how the humidity of his breath condensed in a white cloud. I hope not to forget smiling.
 
 

[White Squadron's briefing room]

"I don't celebrate that."

"I know, but if we all had heard you, we would not have lost Moose."

Vyper shook his head. "Don't even think of it. None of us was able to come up with a better idea. Most of times there are no safe plans, and all of them mean some risk for the people involved. Moose volunteered for this mission, and for all we know he succeeded." Both men stared at each other for some moments. "Success doesn't mean necessarily surviving the mission." Vyper added.

"I know all that, but I wanted to hear it from you." Torpedo gave Vyper a soft slap on his shoulder and entered the briefing room.  Vyper followed him after an instant wondering what had been all that about. Perhaps Torpedo just wanted to calm his conscience, or re-affirm his confidence on his own tactical skills. On the other hand, he might be interested on knowing if those skills were being questioned, or even be sure that Vyper was not going to inform by official conduct about his previous warnings.  Vyper shook his head. He must be becoming paranoid with age.

Captain Orris and Shok'wave had summoned all the squadron, including the Training Wing, to this briefing. The Captain had immediately informed General Madine about what their satellite had found out, and he had confirmed his previous instructions: In absence of more capital ships, White Squadron must attack the Star Destroyer. Shok'wave made a methodical exposition of all the data they had received. The pilots looked with interest at the pictures displayed on the holo-visor. They showed a lonely Victory II Class Star Destroyer floating over Yavin IV, and some TIE fighters flying here and there.

"As all of you can see, there is only a capital ship." Shok'wave was saying. "It's a Victory II Class Star Destroyer, identified by our Intelligence as the Gray Wolf. We don't know how long it will remain there, and if there are more ships coming. We must act right now. Torpedo, please..." Shok'wave said as she passed the pointer to her Tactical Officer.

"If the satellite was able to send these pictures, it means that it has not been discovered and we can count on the option of surprising the Imperials with our attack." Torpedo said. He was thinking that if Moose had been shot down, there would be no chance to surprise them, but it was better to omit that thought. "We'll launch an attack using six B-Wings to destroy the Star Destroyer, and six A-Wings to protect them from the three fighter squadrons that a ship like that can have available, probably all of them TIE Fighters and Interceptors. If there are TIE Advanced things can become tricky."

"It was not two squadrons for a Victory Class?" Hardrive asked.

"Vyper?" Torpedo addressed to White Squadron's Intelligence officer. As a former Imperial pilot, his experience in these cases was an obligatory reference.

"This is not a standard Victory, Nik, but a Victory II. The modifications from the original design include double armor on its hull, stronger shields, more turbo-lasers and a different disposition for the hangars. When I was with the Black Knights we were able to pack up to four squadrons in a Victory II. Two keep being the standard specifications, but you can't count on them."

"More questions about this particular subject?" Hardrive gulped and sank into his seat. As member of the Training Wing he was not probably to be in this mission, so he might as well kept silent for the rest of the briefing. None of the other pilots said a word, although he could heard Joker's low chuckle on his back.

"The Escort Team" Shok'wave continued, "will be composed of Iceman, Tempest, Psycho, Granite, Vyper and Foxfire, who will be the team's leader. The Assault Team will be composed of Daolaris, Marauder, Joker, Zeppelin, Torpedo and myself as leader." Joker opened her mouth in disbelief. She hadn't expected to be called either, but obviously she was wrong. In the front row of seats, Hardrive turned his head towards her and grimaced.

"The first target for the Assault Team will be these communications arrays, here and here." Torpedo signaled two points of the Star Destroyer's superstructure with his pointer. "Daolaris and Zeppelin, this will be your objective." The Twi'lek woman and the human nodded.

"Those are your targets, here, the parabolic antenna over the bridge, and here, the bigger one close to the main hangar bay. If you are fast enough, they should not have time to ask for reinforcements from out of the system. Before you have had a chance to reach the antennas, Shok'wave and myself will be attacking the shield generators, shooting two missiles against each tower. Speed is essential, so Joker and Marauder will shoot against the same target just after us, two missiles on each one. Three use to be enough for each tower, you know, but it's better to be sure. Many of you already know what I'm about to explain, but I'll mention it in the benefit of the trainees. Why don't we just shoot some torpedoes at the shield generators from a safe distance, as we are going to do with its warhead launchers?" There were some nods between the cadets. Most of them had been wondering that. "As you can easily imagine, shields strength is higher around the generators, so high that a laser shot or even a warhead launched from outside an area of, say, two hundred meters, will be moved off from its route when it is still very far from them. We must penetrate that area if we want to hit those towers, so close that there won't be room for them to be deviated, and aim very carefully to the very center of the domes, or the torpedoes will miss the target exactly the same. If they were less effective, they wouldn't use them. As Captain Stauber use to say, Imperials are not stupid." Vyper grimaced when he heard that last remark, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Next target for all of us will be the engines." The Tactical officer continued. "Don't spare your torpedoes shooting at those thrusters until the shields have fallen. This way the effect will be bigger. The secondary objective will be the main bay. The A-Wing team will launch all their concussion missiles against the warhead launchers and the laser towers from medium range. I know this is not the normal use for the concussion missiles, but we need to leave that Star Destroyer with the minimum amount of weapons possible before all of us are in short range. It's very important to coordinate the launching. This way, the first warheads will weaken the shields, while the next ones will be able to actually reach their targets. A tenth of a second of delay, and the shields will recover enough to resist the second wave of missiles. All the fight will be very near of that ship, actually too near. When you have shot those missiles, don't even wait for the impact, instead automatically engage every enemy fighter you have in sight."

"Two last remarks." Shok'wave said. "If a new capital ship appears while we are there, don't engage, and be alert if I or whomever is at command..." all the pilots knew what that would mean, "give the order of retreat! Second, Captain Orris has received orders to keep the Joan d'Arc out of the fight", she said with a nod towards the Captain, "so don't expect any help from it." Some pilots exchanged concerned looks. "Any question?"

"Yes, ma'am." Granite said showing a hand up. "Why can't I be in the Assault group and...?"

"Because you've got an impressive amount of flight hours on A-Wing lately, that's why."

"But..."

"And because I've decided it." Shok'wave fulminated Granite with her eyes, and the Caldanian pilot decided this was not a good moment to argue with her.

"Ok, people, that will be all. Board your fighters and may the Force be with you." Shok'wave said. "Joker..., please stay behind a second."

"Yes, Commander?" Joker questioned while the rest of her comrades were leaving the briefing room, Granite audibly groaning.

"It has been a while since your last combat mission." Joker nodded. She had been in the Training Wing since the creation of the squad, although she had seen a lot of combat in her previous unit, the tragically disappeared Mantis Squadron. Shok'wave, Foxfire, Angelrose and herself were all that remained now from it. Joker had been a decent B-Wing pilot, but she was having trouble dominating the impulsive A-Wing, and that was the only reason that was keeping her between the trainees.  She was not the only case. Hardrive, for example, was a hotshot on an A-Wing, but he had a worrying tendency to crash the B-Wing on the simulations. The orders were that all pilots should master both fighters, so they both had been trapped in the Training Wing for their desperation. "I've included you in this mission because we need someone to cover Moose's place, and you are the best B-Wing pilot between his trainees." Shok'wave smiled reassuringly. "Make Moose feel proud of you. I'm glad to have you again on my side."

"Thanks, Sherry. I'll do my best." Joker answered and began to run towards the bay. She was pale, with a storm of thoughts and feelings in her head. Moose probably dead, her first combat mission after almost a year... no time for that now. She would think about that when she was back.

Shok'wave started to exit too, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Be careful out there, Commander." Captain Orris said. Shok'wave stopped surprised. Captain Orris and her had never done very well together since he took the command of the Joan d'Arc. Incompatibility of characters would be the most adequate definition. They respected each other, and worked together when they had to, but that didn't include too much closeness. This time she detected a trace of real concern in the man's voice, and that somewhat made her soften her attitude.

"I always am, Captain. Don't forget to take care of the d'Arc while we're away!" Shok'wave replied with a forced smile and then parted, leaving Captain Orris looking at the door while it closed. He exited a few seconds later and took the bridge's path. These were going to be some long hours.
 
 

[Onboard the Star Destroyer Gray Wolf]

Commander Guindamonn cursed in silence.

"Reply that we are performing our own search, and we'll communicate with them when we have a positive contact."

"Yes, sir."

We are running out of time Guindamonn thought.

"Is there a report from Captain Werttens?" Guindamonn asked.

"Yes, sir. His armored transports are parting as we speak. He estimates twenty minutes to landing point on Yavin IV, and twenty more to deploy the troops and the AT-ATs, sir."

"Excellent. In forty minutes we'll know if there is something to hunt down there."
 
 

[In the hangar of the deserted Yavin IV base.]

"I've been questioning the Little Laura's computer about all the inhabitation that can be reached from here in only one jump." Dario explained. While he spoke, he was connecting all the Y-Wing's systems. "There were only five, and I've chosen Sullust."

"But Sullust had joined the Rebellion, hadn't they...?"

"Yes. And that is the reason of my election. You don't want to appear in a system controlled by the Empire in a Rebel Y-Wing, do you?"

"Eeeer... no, I don't. I suppose." He hadn't thought about that aspect of the situation until now, as busy as he was trying to fix the hyperspatial capabilities of the crippled fighter.

"All the systems show green status." Dario said from the forward seat. "Time to cross those fingers."

"I've already done that." Edu sighed and checked that his seat belt was as tight as it could be.

"Ok, let's go..."

Dario completed the sequence to put the engines on and the sound filled the hangar.

"Well, I had tried that before." Edu shouted to be heard over the noise. They had found no helmets, so they had installed the two headphone sets the Little Laura was provided with. At least they would be able to use the comms. "Now comes the frightening part."

Dario closed the canopy, what eliminated most of the noise, and connected the repulsors. The Y-Wing jumped from the frame that was holding the ship and threatened to collide with the ceiling.

"Slowly, slowly!" Edu screamed.

"I'm sorry. There was not a lot of training procedures for free take off operations. There was always someone managing a tractor beam..." Dario said apologizing. He pushed the throttle slightly and the fighter started to move forward. He was still using the repulsors, so the ship didn't stop to climb, and when they went through the huge entrance they were very near to the ceiling. The two men sighed when they left the hangar behind them.

"Maybe I should be the pilot?" Edu said.

"Too late for that. And don't be complaining all the time, ok? I can easily eject your seat from here!"

Edu didn't even laugh at the chuckle.

"I'm seeing that our little holidays are being good for you." Edu snorted. "You are doing bad jokes again."

"Just relax and enjoy the travel." Dario answered. He was starting to wonder if this had been a good idea. Another thing that he couldn't find in the simulator was the atmospheric flight. He had done that before in small orbital jumpers, but an starfighter was slightly different.

"Well, I think I can disconnect this now." He said, and turned the repulsors off. The ship started to fall like a stone over the giant trees.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh..." Edu yelled while only the seat belt prevented him from getting smashed against the canopy. Dario pushed the throttle at maximum, and the Y-Wing roared while it was launched to the sky."

"I'll do it better the next time, I promise. " Dario said. He felt his heartbeats like his heart was about to abandon his body.

"Next time? Next time I'll pilot!" Edu said while putting his seat belt even more tense, and remembering that he had just done that. "I don't know what you have been doing in that simulator!"

"Don't worry. From here everything will be under control." Dario replied with a confidence he was starting to lose.

But it was true. When the Y-Wing found itself flying towards the stars, it seemed like as if it had its own life, and reacted to Dario's orders with precision. The gravity compensators worked as a charm, avoiding them the worst of the acceleration effects. Within minutes, the blue around the ship was being replaced by the black, and the vision of the stars helped the two men to breath a little easier.

Suddenly, two red dots appeared in the left display, and then one more. Dario used the computer to identify the ships, and he discovered two armored transports and a Star Destroyer.

"Edu, I don't think we're alone."
 
 

[Imperial Transport patrolling the Yavin system]

"Roger, Gamma 1, we have it on our screens too."

"What is going on?" Commander Guindamonn asked the nearest controller.

"We have detected a Rebel Y-Wing approaching, sir."

"They were there?" Guindamonn questioned with a fierce smile. He took the microphone from the controller's console and gave his orders directly. "This is Commander Guindamonn. All TIE Fighters abandon the patrolling and engage the Rebels!"

"At once, sir!" Identical answers were arriving from all the patrol leaders.
 
 

[Inside Moose's cockpit]

He tried to say that with his own voice, but he couldn't. A painful groan was the only that came out from his throat. Stretching his frozen fingers, he connected all the systems again. He pushed the throttle forward and the B-Wing started to follow the TIE Fighters. The B-Wing's sensors didn't detect the Imperial fighters for almost an entire minute, because the mass of Yavin was between them and Moose's ship, but he was happy to have that time before entering combat. With the heatings at maximum, he was recovering slowly the mobility in his hands and feet, though he still felt himself moving slowly.

After all those hours of cold and waiting, he was eager to join the fight, but he didn't expect what he saw. When his fighter climbed over Yavin's horizon the sensors detected the three TIE Fighters again, and immediately after more signals appeared on his left display. The onboard computer identified a considerable amount of TIE Fighters, the Victory II Class Star Destroyer that Captain Orris had said they could find, two transports whose signals disappeared when they entered in the Yavin IV atmosphere... and a lonely Y-Wing flying directly towards the Star Destroyer.

"But who is that crazy guy?" Moose asked himself out loud. His voice was back, although it sounded as he had been in a wild party for a whole week. "Oh, my... Where is the squadron? What do I do now?"
 
 

[Inside the cockpit of the unknown Y-Wing.]

"Maybe they are coming to rescue us..." Edu said doubtfully, his voice dominating the rest of the sounds on Dario's headphones. He didn't seem as surprised to hear them, but he was more up to day with that kind of developments.

The three closest TIE fighters started to shoot against them. Five laser bolts made the forward shields almost collapse before Dario reacted and evaded the fire. He was doubly glad to have thought about installing their speakers on the fighter's intercom. Without hearing the sound he interpreted as laser bolts, he'd never had avoided them in time.

"Those are Imperial fighters, Edu!" Dario yelled. "And we are flying a Rebel ship! Do you remember that?"

"Use the intercom!" Edu suggested. " Explain to them who we are..."

Two more impacts in the rear shields interrupted Edu. Dario began to use what he had learned in the simulator, and maneuvered to avoid the TIEs while recharging the shields with energy from the weapons. When one of the TIEs crossed in front of them, he tried to shoot it down without success.

"Are you mad?" Edu exclaimed. "If you shoot at them they are going to kill us!"

"They are going to kill us anyway, so do something useful and use the ion cannons!"

"The ion cannon? Oh, gods!"

In the older model of the Y-Wing, the weapons operator managed the ion cannons, mounted over the rear part of the canopy. The cannon was not fixed, unlike the last models, having a great mobility. The gunner had a display available that showed the image captured by a micro-camera installed in the same cannon, and the targeting system added all the needed indicators. Edu had not revised the weapons, because even in the case that he knew how to, he didn't think they would need it. But if the laser cannons worked...

Edu centered his display on one of the TIEs that was on their tail and shot repeatedly against it. The Imperial pilot didn't expect that the Y-Wing could shoot towards the back, so he reacted too late. The fighter was covered with blue discharges and lost his route. A second later it exploded.

"I've hit one! I've hit one!" When Edu realized he was shouting, he understood the time for excuses and lies had finished. Dario was right about the futility of using the intercom. The Imperials were out there,  blood thirsty, and the only way to escape from them, if any, was shooting at them.  The fear didn't disappear, but it became a bit more tolerable. He realized how much frustration he had been accumulating inside during the last months: Shooting at the Imperial made him feel good. In the pilot's seat, Dario let something that sounded like a terrified war shout come through. Edu wiped the swear from his forehead and would have smiled had not been so frightened.
 
 

Moose saw how the Y-Wing shot down the TIE fighter, and he was almost as surprised as the Imperial pilot. But the Y-Wing pilot wouldn't live that long if nobody helped him. Moose had the three TIEs he was chasing at range. He had needed to sacrifice a considerable part of the shields energy to obtain more speed and be able to keep them in range, but now his sight turned to green and he shot with his cannons linked. The TIEs had just detected him, and two of them started to evade, one to the left and one to the right, but the pilot in the center tried a loop, and Moose was far enough to keep him in his sight just with a slight pull of the stick. The TIE exploded.

"Only twenty or thirty remains!" Moose said as he added an evil chuckle.
 
 
 

[Onboard the Star Destroyer Gray Wolf]

"There are only two fighters, after all! What are those TIE pilot's doing?" Guindamonn questioned angrily. He looked at the tactical screen with concern. That didn't make any sense. First, they were attacked but a lonely Y-Wing. Then the Rebel reinforcements arrive: a lonely B-Wing. They couldn't be such a fools to think they could threaten a Star Destroyer and its fighter complement with only two fighters, and they couldn't be that desperate either. If they were projecting to use Yavin IV's base again, they would have planned a better defense, but on the other hand, perhaps this was just a trick to hide their real strength, and they have acted only when they have seen terrain troops to come...

"Have our transports landed already?"

"Negative, sir." The controller answered without moving his eyes from his console. "They are finishing the approaching maneuver. They have reported they have found an adequate place to deploy the AT-AT, three kilometers from the base. The other option was to land directly over them, and Captain Werttens has considered that would be too dangerous."

"All right, but have they spotted something of interest when they have flown over the Rebel installations?"

"Nothing, sir. The pilots of the transports have reported that there was no sign of activity, but the jungle is too dense around the base as to be certain." Guindamonn's frown accentuated.

"Tell Captain Werttens I want to be informed at the second of everything they find out down there."

"Yes, sir."

"I don't like this." Guindamonn muttered.
 
 

[Yavin system's space]

"Everybody, report in." Shok'wave demanded.

One by one, all the pilots confirmed their ships were ready and in position.

"Lock S-foils in attack position."

The six B-Wings spread their lateral wings simultaneously and armed their cannons. The deadly bombers were ready for combat.

"Hey, the party has started without us!" Psycho exclaimed. They saw the fireworks before their computers informed about what caused them. Two Rebel fighters, a B-Wing and an Y-Wing were surrounded by what seemed a full squadron of TIE Fighters, and laser fire illuminated the space around them.

"It's Moose, that B-Wing is Moose's!" The voice of Foxfire was full of excitement and joy. She felt as his heart weighted a ton less or so.

"He is alive!" Joker gasped.

"But who is in the Y-Wing?" Torpedo asked. "My computer identifies him as Gold 7..."

"Gold Squadron no longer has any Y-Wings after the battle of Yavin." Granite pointed out. "Besides, that is the older model, adapted for two crewmen..."

"Isn't this a curious coincidence?" Vyper questioned. His tone indicated he didn't believe it a coincidence at all, although he was far from have an explanation.

"Leave the questions for later and attack the objectives!" Shok'wave ordered. She understood what their minds were going through since she was asking herself the same things. However, she couldn't allow them to be focusing on the wrong subjects and jeopardize the entire mission.

The A-Wing group turned to port following Foxfire's fighter, at maximum speed, and maneuvered to starboard again when the left side of the Gray Wolf was more exposed in front of them. The slower B-Wings kept the route that was driving them to the rear part of the ship. Daolaris started to descend with relation to the main group, waiting to have the antenna that was near to the main bay at sight, while Zeppelin elevated his fighter to have a better position to attack the one that was in the bridge's structure, not far from the now visible shield generator's domes.

"Escort Team, have your target selection linked to that of your wingman, and introduce a delay of two hundred milliseconds in your computer." Foxfire ordered. Three of the six pilots acknowledged the order. Now every two paired fighters would shoot against the same targets.

"Escort Team, shoot your missiles... NOW!"

The six A-Wing's sent duo after duo of missiles against the Star Destroyer's weapons. Thirty six concussion missiles were flying towards the forward part of the Star Destroyer, where the warhead launchers were deployed, and the remaining twelve missiles searched the laser towers over the bridge's structure, the ones more dangerous for the approaching B-Wings.

"Engage the fighters now!" Foxfire ordered the A-Wing team.

"My pleasure!" Vyper replied.

Psycho counted eight TIE fighters in the first wave that was trying to intercept the B-Wings. They had supposed a great relief for Moose and the mysterious Y-Wing. Eight eyeballs was not a great challenge for the six A-Wing's, but they needed to be very fast if they wanted to make certain that none of the enemy fighters could disturb the B-Wings during their first pass. There will be more after that group, and then things would get more difficult.

Foxfire took a fast look towards the Star Destroyer while targeting the nearest TIE. She liked what she saw, the missiles had almost reached their targets, but she couldn't keep looking. Her sight was turning green.
 
 

"Move the ship, move the ship right now!" Guindamonn screamed as he watched on the screen at the signals indicating the concussion missiles that were getting closer and closer. If the Star Destroyer would have been moving, the Rebel pilots wouldn't have been able to hit the target with their missiles from such a far distance, but the giant ship started to move very slowly, too late to avoid the damage. Many of the missiles did fail the main target, but with the amount of warheads that were dispatched the launchers were doomed. The Imperial gunners tried to shoot them down, but the concussion missiles were far faster than the proton torpedoes and the majority of them had already reached the enemy ship. The two warhead launchers were destroyed, with at least three laser towers. By then, the B-Wings were almost in position to shoot without even being intercepted yet.

"Torpedo, you take the left tower, I'll take the right one!" Shok'wave exclaimed.

"Copy that." Torpedo maneuvered to evade the fire from the laser guns and watched as the dome containing the powerful shield generator grew bigger in front of him as he got closer. He pushed the trigger and when the two torpedoes hit the upper part of the dome he was already turning to the left, leaving a clean fire line for Joker.

Shok'wave had shot two torpedoes too against the right tower and like the mirror reflection of Torpedo's fighter she turned to the right, leaving the field clear for Marauder. Zeppelin passed over them searching the hyperspatial antenna, but now every laser tower was shooting against the incoming fighters. Joker and Marauder found an impressive wall of fire between them and the now damaged shield towers. Joker was forced to break her attack with her shields hardly resisting the laser bolts, but Marauder decided to try it even with the opposition. His B-Wing exploded before he could shoot a single torpedo.

Dario and Edu couldn't believe what was happening. They were just in the middle of the battle, and they had seen how the missiles impacted against the Star Destroyer. The TIE pilots had more work in store for them now, and most of them ignored the crippled Y-Wing to engage the new threat. They saw that Moose's B-Wing had turned its direction to the Star Destroyer, shooting his torpedoes against the ship's bay.

"Best regards!" Moose said.

A new squadron of TIE Interceptors was being launched and they found Moose's torpedoes without a chance to evade. A huge explosion trapped at least eight Interceptors, hanged from the launching array that came from one of the hangars, in a hell of fire, chained explosions penetrating the magnetic field and causing damages on the hangar itself.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Moose cheered. He selected a broader range for his transmissions and spoke.

"The Y-Wing's guys, if you can hear me, move away from the Star Destroyer while you are able to!".

"Thanks for the help!" Dario maneuvered to accomplish with the advice that had just sounded through their headphones. "Did you see what that pilot has done up there, Edu?" He asked while diving back towards the moon.

"Yes, I did. I just can't believe any of this!" Edu replied, moving the ion cannons in a defensive arc towards their rear side. This was the first time the were no TIEs on their tail.

"We badly needed this breath..." Dario used those few moments of relief to recharge the shields all that he could and once the indicator showed a pale green again for the primaries he piloted the Y-Wing back after some of the TIE's that had left to engage the incoming B-Wing's. The A-Wing's were already there.

"Do you know what you are doing?" Edu asked.

"I think so..." Dario answered while targeting a TIE fighter.
 
 

Daolaris had the antenna in her sight. She was the only pilot who didn't have a callsign. To be called something different than the name received from the clan would have been unacceptable between the Twi'leks. She ignored the laser bolts that were pounding away at her shields. In the opposite side of the ship, Zeppelin was firing two torpedoes against the upper antenna. Without stopping to look, he followed his way towards the arrow head of the ship shooting with his laser over every target he could see, while maneuvering to the left and right to evade the fire. When he thought he was far enough, he made a half loop spinning at the same time, changing his direction in an elegant move for a B-Wing. But the antenna was not there, his torpedoes had already blown it away.
 
 

[Gray Wolf's bridge]

"Call for reinforcements!" Guindamonn demanded. He had hoped not to give that order, at least not so soon, but things were not developing as he had expected. "Contact the Punisher right now!"

Daolaris shot.

"Sir, we have just lost our hyperspatial comms! " the young officer reported.

"DESTROY THOSE B-WINGS RIGHT NOW!!!"
 
 

[Back in the battle]

"Watch out, Foxfire!" Granite warned. "You've got two more after you!"

"Care yourself too!" Iceman exclaimed. "You have a bogie at your five!"

"Thanks Iceman, I didn't see that one!" Granite evaded the Interceptor before he could be hit by its lasers. He would have rather preferred to be piloting one of the B-Wings, and be causing real damage, but all those recon flights had made him assigned to the A-Wing group instead. Another reason to learn to have my mouth closed...

There were so many TIEs around that they couldn't avoid that many of them and they raced towards the B-Wings. Vyper knew very well that the TIE pilots had orders to ignore the A-Wings and attack the assault fighters instead. He had given orders like that some time ago.

"Psycho, Tempest," he shouted, "try to catch some of those TIEs that are going after the B-Wings!"

"I'm on my way!" Psycho replied. At least three TIE Fighters and two Interceptors ran to attempt to reach Psycho and Tempest. Vyper chose the Interceptors as the main threat for his comrades and targeted the closest one. His pilot never knew what hit him. The other one saw the danger in time, and when his fighter was about to explode he was able to eject. Vyper remembered how he was taught in the Imperial Academy how to ram the pilots who ejected in combat. He felt a bad taste in his mouth when such a memory crossed his mind. He closed his mind from that thought and turned to help Foxfire's group with the incoming fighters. Now Moose's B-Wing and that mysterious Y-Wing were joining with them.
 

Joker had seen in her display a cold message from the computer. White 12 had been destroyed. Marauder had been the last cadet abandoning the Training Wing to join the Squadron. She could remember him as he just earned his wings of Flight Officer and the band with his combat patches, the happiest man in the universe, saying to her that they will soon be flying together again, forgetting she had not always been a trainee. Moose always said "It's better to hit the target in the second pass than never hit it all!" Marauder had not learned that lesson. On the other hand, Moose himself was alive after all! Joker left those thoughts for later. She was now in position to try that second pass, and Shok'wave would soon have the right tower in in her sight again.

Shok'wave checked the closest pilots positions and the opposition the had around. She thought the situation was calling for a slight change of tactic.

"Torpedo, leave the left tower for Joker and do all you can with the bay." White Leader ordered. "If you can avoid that more fighters are released..." She didn't even finish her sentence, it wasn't necessary. There were already too many TIEs around them.

"All right, boss!" Torpedo replied while directing his B-Wing to the other side of the Gray Wolf. "It's all yours, Joker!"

"Copy that." This time she could evade the worst of the fire and shoot her torpedoes against the tower. One of them missed the target, but the other did the job. The dome erupted in flame and immediately the shield readings of the Star Destroyer descended to a half of their previous strength.

"Well done, Joker!" Shok'wave said. But now she was the one with problems. It seemed that all the remaining laser towers were shooting at her. She aborted her attack and retreated to a position where she could recharge her shields. But that was not easy. Five TIE fighters were approaching her from different sides, making it impossible to evade all of them at the same time.

"Could someone get those guys off my tail?" Shok'wave yelled into the comm.

"I'm on it boss!" Psycho appeared with his A-Wing spitting laser fire. One of the TIEs exploded and one more was forced to interrupt his attack. Shok'wave shot against a third TIE and damaged it. She breathed after several seconds of holding her breath.
 
 

The battle near the Star Destroyer's bay was getting more and more fierce. The Gray Wolf was now turning and spinning without warning, and it was more difficult to keep near the selected targets. The TIE Fighters and Interceptors seemed to be everywhere, and the Rebel pilots were being overcome by the force of numbers. Covered by Moose, Daolaris had already destroyed one of the catapults, so the Star Destroyer couldn't launch new TIEs as fast as it would like to.

"Moose, this is Torpedo. Do you need some help down there?"

"It would be most appreciated, but I think you are a bit late to prevent the bad guys from launching more TIEs at us. Most of their fighter complement has to be already flying, in one or more pieces.

"Too bad for us, but if we still manage to put that bay out of commission they wouldn't have a place to return to..."

"That would give them something to think about!" Daolaris pointed out while recovering a position besides Moose's starboard wing.

"That would be... wait a moment." Moose saw how two more Interceptors were about to be launched and directed his B-Wing towards them. He had no more torpedoes, but if he could cause some of those fighters to explode inside the bay... "Do you have any torpedo in your launchers, Daolaris?"

"No, I'm sorry, the two on the catapult were the last ones."

"I still have half of mines, I'll be there in some seconds if someone take this two eyeballs off of my tail!"

"We have our hands full of them!" Granite's reply came through.

"Sorry, Torpedo, you're definitely late, the opportunity is now!" Moose said.

"Be careful you two!" Torpedo warned when he saw the two B-Wings flying directly towards the bay's entrance. The laser batteries installed on the Star Destroyer's keel concentrated their fire over them. Daolaris received a direct hit from one of them. With her shields collapsed she had to break or be destroyed by the next blast.

"I can't follow you!"

Moose had no time to answer. The two Interceptors were launched just towards him. He shot against one of them by pure instinct, and tried desperately to get out of the trajectory of the other one.

"Oooooops...!" The Interceptor collided violently against the rear side of the B-Wing, in front of the horrified eyes of Torpedo and Daolaris.

When the cloud of fire disappeared, they could see that Moose was still there. But his B-Wing was evidently badly damaged.

"I've lost my engines, I've lost my engines!" Moose screamed. He was no more than a few hundred meters from the bay. His desperate situation was seen wit interest on the monitors of the Gray Wolf's bridge.
 
 

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