Jedi’s Honor – 22

Luke activates his throat mike. “Gideon, cover my port flank. I’ll break for the starboard TIE when we close to medium range. Have you got that?”

“Yep. Don’t worry about nothing, son.”

Luke deactivates his throat mike and turns his attention to his targeting computer. Despite Gideon’s reassurances, Luke’s stomach chruns uneasily. Even with his X-wing’s superiority over the TIE fighters, the odds are stacked against him. He must quickly destroy at least two Imperials, or the TIE force will soon wear him down.

Four energy bolts flash from the TIEs, dying well ahead of the X-wing. Luke grins; the Imperial pilots are being careless. At this range, they should be targeting, not firing. He continues to hold his own fire, occasionally confirming his targeting coordinates visually. The TIEs now appear to be tiny, double-winged balls with burning tails. They remind Luke of the firebees back on Yavin’s jungle-moon – the ones that harassed Wedge the time they sneaked out…

The TIEs fire again. This time, Luke can clearly identify two shots coming from each fighter’s double laser cannon. The bolts explode on all sides of the X-wing, knocking it around like a raft at sea. The Imperial fighters have reached his medium range!

Luke banks the X-wing hard to starboard, accelerating at maximum output. His target panics and begins firing blindly; Luke calmly increases the power to his forward deflector shields. The other TIEs hesitate before responding to his maneuver, uncertain as to the extent of the threat posed by the scow protecting Luke’s flank.

Despite the urge to fire, Luke keeps his finger off the trigger. He believes in concentration, not raw firepower. When his computer locks onto the target, he will unleash his weapons, and not a moment earlier. The TIE, on the other hand, shows only enough discipline to hold formation. The pilot continues firing blindly, churning the emptiness in front of Luke into a storm of fiery clouds. Although the tempest batters Luke’s shields, no shot is well-enough aimed to do him any damage.

At last, Luke locks onto his target. He presses the trigger and four bolts flash from his fire-linked laser cannons. The energy streaks meet just to the TIE’s port, erupting into a magnificent red billow. The TIE lurches wildly, then drops into a wild corkscrew dive, no longer concerned with formation. Luke groans at the near-miss, then follows with his laser cannons blazing.

Meanwhile, the other TIEs finally decide to support their wingmate. By the time they turn, Luke is already pursuing his target in a wild dive. As the TIEs cross Gideon’s path, the scow’s unimpressive-looking batteries unleash a surprisingly vicious salvo. A line of firey clouds erupts along a hundred-meter-long pattern at the bottom of the TIE diamond.

When the hurricane fades, all three TIEs still pursue Luke. His suddenly precarious position does not escape his notice. “You call that covering fire!” the Rebel pilot exclaims. The first energy bolts from his pursuers flash past the cockpit. He fires his own weapons again. This time, the target flares brightly for an instant, then dissolves into a million glittering shards.

“Sorry, I’m a mite rusty,” Gideon answers. “They’re pushing you out of my range. Double back!”

Luke considers his situation. If he turns back, he must face all three enemy fighters head-on. On the other hand, if he continues in his present direction, he might or might not be able to outrun his pursuers, but at least he won’t be facing them at full strength. Of course, running will put him out of Gideon’s range and beyond any hope of help. The question is, how much help can he expect from an old man in a beat-up prospecting scow?

If Luke runs, Click Here
If Luke doubles back, Click Here