X-wing_ Iron Fist Part 18

She should never have agreed for him to plan and propose this Aidivy mission. She had to be in charge of it, every part of it, or something would come up to ruin her, expose her.

But she was oddly unworried. It was because she, she...

Trusted Myn Donos.

Trusted him.

Trusted someone.

She shook her head. That was wrong, she couldn't trust. It went against all mission parameters.

But she did, and once again she found herself crying without entirely understanding why.

Wedge ascended the ladder to the interceptor and peered down into the c.o.c.kpit to make sure Lieutenant Kettch, Ewok pilot, was not waiting for him once more. But his c.o.c.kpit was clear. He glanced up and saw Face, lowering himself into the c.o.c.kpit of his own interceptor, smirking at him, obviously having figured out what he was looking for.

Wedge gave him a mock glower and clambered down.

A moment later, he heard Face's exclamation of "Son of the Sith!" and Lieutenant Kettch came flying up out of the open hatch of Face's interceptor. Phanan, walking toward his TIE fighter, neatly fielded the stuffed toy and handed him off too squeaky.

Wedge shook his head. At least morale was high. He began his power up and systems check.

Kell, Runt, Donos, Tyria, Piggy, and Castin were already off in the Narra. Their mission was to conclude at about the same time as that of the other Hawk-bats, but required more time in its initial stages. In some ways it was even more dangerous, and Wedge wondered briefly about the advisability of putting Kell Tainer in charge. But the man had not demonstrated any recurrence of the problem that had plagued him during his first few weeks with Wraith Squadron. Wedge suspected, though he had never voiced his thought to Janson or any other member of his command, that Kell's problem had not been cowardice. Kell's father had died-at Janson's hands, in fact-when fleeing from a fight in the early days of the Rebel Alliance, but Kell's own problem with freezing up in the face of adversity had always seemed more like a very strong case of performance anxiety. But he'd gotten past it during the final battle with the Implacable. Wedge and Janson would keep a close, if surrept.i.tious eye on him, but for now all seemed well.

All systems were go, and diagnostics showed the interceptor performing at something like 98 percent overall efficiency.

Not bad for a crew of mechanics whose training with Imperial starfighters had begun so recently.

"Hawk-bat Leader to squadron, give me your status."

Face's voice was now low, growling. Wedge wondered whether Face was performing already, or whether Castin's modifica-tions to the individual starfighters' comm systems were already in place.

"Hawk-bat Seven, two in the green, all systems charged, and I'll have a mint liqueur with a lomin-ale chaser." Phanan's voice was a ba.s.s rumble, which he couldn't have managed in person.

"Hawk-bat Ten, all ready." And Shalla's voice was distinctly that of a male.

Wedge cleared his throat. "Hawk-bat One, ready to launch."

Laughter erupted from his comm set, several voices' worth.

Frustratingly, he couldn't even recognize the voices now. He said, "Is there a problem?"

Face's growl answered, "No problem, sir. We're receiving you at full power." But Wedge could hear poorly restrained laughter in his voice.

As the count continued, Wedge switched his comm unit over to a private frequency, one he shared with his X-wing and his astromech. "Gate, are you receiving?"

His R5 unit responded with a cheerful mechanical tweet.

"On my first mark, record my transmission. On my second mark, cease recording and transmit what you've recorded back to me. Mark. 'We, the Rebel Alliance, do therefore in the name - and by the authority - of the free beings of the galaxy, solemnly publish and declare our intentions.'

Mark."

His words came back to him a moment later. But they were not in his voice. In fact, they were high-pitched and fuzzy, a type of jabber Wedge well recognized. They were exactly what an Ewok would sound like if trained to speak Basic.

He sighed. "Thank you, Gate. Out." He switched back to the Hawk-bat Squadron channel and banged his helmeted head on his pilot's yoke.

At least morale was high.

Escort duty was tedious, but it drew extra pay. That's how Lieutenant Milzin Veyn, native of the city of Hullis and starfighter pilot, looked at it. And as a husband and father of three, he could always use the extra credits.

Today he and his wingman were guarding the tanker Bastion.

Such a warlike name for an inelegant, rusting hulk of a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p...

Currently, it was in dock at Station 17, one of Halmad's few remaining asteroid-belt mining colonies, while Veyn's TIE fighter and his partner's watched protectively from a distance of about a kilometer.

Veyn's comm system hummed. "Hey, Lieutenant."

"Veyn here."

"Bad news. We have a fuel-pump failure. They're repairing it, but it's going to be a couple of hours at least."

"Maybe you should just disengage and go home."

"We should... but the captain says we'd just have to come out again tomorrow, and we can repair with parts on hand, so that's what we're doing."

"Wonderful."

"Listen, we can power sensors back up... and you and your wingmate can come in for some caf. There's a fresh pot brewing."

"Ooh. Shouldn't." But the thought of spending some of those extra hours in a heated mess with fresh caf instead of drifting in zero gravity was an appealing one.

"Well, what if I said, uhhh, that the captain wanted to consult with you on matters pertaining to the future protection of Bastion."

"Sounds serious. We'll be right there."

Two minutes later, in the colony's crowded main hangag Veyn and his wingman clambered out of their c.o.c.kpits, climbed down the access ladders, and turned to face into the muzzles of blasters.

Two figures wearing TIE-pilot gear-but colored gray instead of traditional Imperial black-held blaster sidearms on them. One appeared to be a tall woman, the other a very corpulent man. A third enemy, a man of slightly better-than-average height, wearing a gray pilot's suit and a cold-weather mask but lacking the extra equipment of a pilot, covered them with a blaster rifle.

Veyn and his partner raised their hands.

The man with the rifle said, "There's bad news and good news. The bad news is that we're the Hawk-bats, and we're going to take your starfighters and blow up some ground facilities with them. But the good, news is that we really do have fresh caf for you in the mess. He gestured with a flick of the rifle tip toward the main exit.

"Let's go."

When the rifleman and his captives had gone, Tyria activated her comlink.

"Five, the pilots are on their way. We're going to need Two to get through any security on the TIE fighters?

"He's on his way, too."

"How's the wiring going?"

"Bastion's ready to blow. She's going to make a big mess."

The Hawk-bats, in tight formation, dropped toward Halmad in the narrow corridor they knew to be unprotected by the planer's sensor arrays. Their own sensors told them that Bastion was making its own approach to the planet, via a government-approved course, theoretically on the return leg of its regular refueling mission. But they would not be communicating with Bastion, could not get updates on the other team's progress.

Within minutes, they were cruising at just above sea level and on a course for the port city of Fellon - or, more accurately, for a small, hidden Imperial base just south of the city. It wa.s.still before dawn in Fellon and points west, and several of Halmad's moons shone down upon the Hawk-bats.

At the head of the Hawk-bats' formation were Face and Phanan. Face, playing the role of Hawk-bat Independent s.p.a.ce Force founder Kargin, had to be in charge of the mission; their broadcasts were certain to be intercepted and recorded, and it would not do for Hawk-bat One to be heard issuing orders to Hawk-bat Leader. Wedge had few worries about Face, but Face's wingman, Phanan, was not as skillful a flier in either X-wings or TIE fighters.

Behind Face and Phanan were Wedge with his temporary a.s.signment of two wingmen, Lara and Shalla. Lara, low pilot on the rank ladder, had been a.s.signed one of the squadron's two TIE fighters, a less formidable starfighter than the interceptors, but she seemed to be handling it with uncommon grace and skill. Nor had Wedge any worries about Shalla's skill with her interceptor. In fact, between her flying skill, her ability to work with the other pilots, and her ease with planning and a.n.a.lysis, he had placed her high on his list of candidates for lieutenant's rank. She had yet to demonstrate leaders.h.i.+p qualities, but Wedge was certain they lay within her.

At the rear of the formation were Janson, the unit's second-most-experienced pilot, and Dia, who had made two kills during the escape from Lavisar, equaling Wedge's total. No, Wedge was accompanied by a skilled team. This should be an easy run for the Hawk-bats.

Not that he ever put his trust in the promise of an easy run.

11.

"About to enter atmosphere, on final approach for Hullis," Runt said. He occupied Bastion's pilot's seat. He looked uncomfortable in a chair built for a much shorter human.

"Five minutes until the break to the east."

Kell, in the command chair, typed another diagnostics command into the oversized comlink-equipped datapad in his lap. It was the type of unit an infantry squadron used for reliable long-distance communications.

"Have you got the new navigational program in place?"

"We do."

Kell activated the comlink in his glove. "Nine, how's the shuttle?"

"Ready to lift."

"Stand by to lift." Kell patted Runt on the back and rose.

"Run the nav program. Then we run."

"Initiating."

Tyria and Piggy in the TIE-fighter escorts needed no further orders.

Their task was simple: Pace Bastion as the ancient tanker dropped toward Hullis, then diverted east toward the second fighter base the military forces of Halmad were building. Protect the tanker from the starfighters that would inevitably rise against it, at least long enough for Bastion to get within a couple of kilometers of the base. And then be far, far away when Kell activated his comm unit and detonated Bastion and all the fuel remaining within her. At two minutes before detonation, safely away on the shuttle Narra, Kell would communicate with the base, recommending an evacuation. The base's destruction was their aim, not the needless murder of base personnel.

With the nav program activated, Runt rose and Kell folllowed suit.

Then the sensor board lit up like a fireworks display. Kell and Runt stared, disbelieving, at the flurry of activity it showed in the west, the enormous signal from the east.

Kell dropped into the communications officer's chair an, activated Bastion's comm unit.

"Five to One, do you read?

There was no answer, just the ominous hiss of sudden overloaded airwaves.

"Five to One, we have a problem. Do you read?"

Forest, with occasional rivers and lakes, had replaced wave beneath the Hawk-bats. Wedge was sure, in fact, that he'd fe] a treetop sc.r.a.pe the underside of his c.o.c.kpit a moment ago. All around him, the squadron's fighters and interceptors bobbed and weaved like fighters in an arena as they adjusted to changes[ in the terrain below.

The range meter put them at twenty seconds from their target. Ten, five-and then Face and Phanan were firing just as the Imperial base came into Wedge's view.

It was a landing platform, one long, durable landing deck suitable for shuttles or starfighters, supported by two ma.s.sive columns containing turbolifts and crew quarters. Beneath the deck was an enclosed crossover walkway providing easy pas. sage from one column to the other, and there should have been nothing other than the support columns to the ground.

But with this design, below the crossway, almost out of sight below treetop level, was an enclosed hangar deck as large as the landing deck.

Wedge noted these details without taking out time for a.n.a.lysis. He brought the interceptor's aiming brackets around his target of preference, the standard landing platform's tractor beam emitter up on the landing deck, and fired. Then he was past, following Face's lead in 1ooping around for another run.

"Good shooting, Hawk-bats." That was the gravelly voice of Face's persona.

"Leader, this is Four. We hit s.h.i.+elds."

"Four, what did you say? There were no s.h.i.+elds."

"Not as we were approaching, sir. They came up as we opened fire. The platform has sustained no, repeat no, damage."

Their arc was nearly complete, and it was obvious that Dia's report was correct: the landing platform was solidly in place, and the Hawk-bats'

sensors now showed s.h.i.+elding protecting the facility.

Then TIE fighters and interceptors came up out of the trees, easily a score of them, from points all around the Hawk-bats and the landing platform.

More than a score. The second flight of TIEs emerged.

Wedge checked the sensor board. Thirty-six unfriendlies, three full squadrons.

Shalla spoke next, her voice subdued even in its distorted form: "We are so dead."

Bastion shuddered.

Runt looked over the diagnostics board. "Are we hit?"

"No, we're tractored. By that." Kell tapped the sensor board and the huge shape on it. "Look at this. We're gaining alt.i.tude."

Donos's voice came over the intercom. "What's happening?"