the mission. At least we've gotten here in one piece. Now we need Karrde to do
his job.
Booster's grudging respect for Karrde counted for a lot with Wedge. He'd
actually met Karrde years earlier, back in the days before he joined the
Rebellion. Wedge had owned a freighter and was hauling cargo all over the
Empire. Karrde had inquired if Wedge wanted to move some cargo for him, but
Wedge had turned down the offer. He'd heard nothing bad about Karrde and that
had set him back a bit. No negative rumors means too little is kno wn about the
man, and I wasn't inclined to trust him as a result.
Since joining the Rebellion, Wedge had not run across Karrde, but he didn't
doubt Karrde's ability to produce the weapons and equipment they needed. The
fact that Booster went to him first is proof enough that Karrde is genuine and
can be trusted to deal straight with his clients. The munitions, launchers, and
sensor systems would give them what they needed to complete Isard's downfall.
"Lead, this is Seven."
"Go ahead, Tycho."
"Wedge, I'm getting anomalous contacts from the Graveyard on my IFF frequency."
Wedge frowned. The Identify Friend/Foe system involved the identification beacon
all ships carried. It sent out a signal that other ships picked up, telling them
the name of the ship and its identification designation. Smugglers often had two
or three IFF modules that they could swap in and out to run under clean names.
Contacts on the IFF frequency were simple rechecks of a ship's identity. And if
Imps are waiting in the asteroids it's an unbelievably stupid way to tip us to
their presence.
"Tycho, is it the same signal over and over again?"
"Seems so. You thinking an automated beacon of some sort?"
"You are running an Alderaanian code. Perhaps there is
an old system traffic satellite in the asteroids wanting to check you for
Alderaan control."
"Probably. I'll punch up the gain on my passive sensors and see if I find
anything in that direction."
"I copy." Wedge looked at his main screen as Mynock began beeping again. "Heads
up, people, we have incoming traffic."
A string of freighters entered the system, led by a ship tagged Starry Ice by
the IFF system. A half-dozen ships drifted in behind Ice, staggering their
positions so strafing runs along any one particular vector would pick up only
two targets. Because Karrde's ships were bigger than most of the freighters
Booster had collected, the smuggler only needed half as many to deliver his
goods.
A man's voice broke in on the comm channel. "This is Quelev Tapper for Karrde.
We've gotten the initial payment for this lot and you've got fifty million
credits still in your account. In another month we should have another thirty
percent of your order ready."
Booster responded to him over the comm channel. "Fine with us. Begin the
transfer."
One of the freighters began to move forward, but as it cruised in right below
the Ice, a huge patch of space went from black and star-strewn to white,
angular, and deadly. The Interdictor Cruiser's bulk eclipsed a massive slice of
the Graveyard. The sight of its quartet of domed gravity well projectors caused
Wedge's stomach to fold in on itself. The cruiser will stop us from running into
hyperspace, but it's far too weak to engage us by itself. It's going to be
carrying a dozen TIEs at best, and the freighters can maneuver out of the
effective range of its guns. Going after two squadrons of snubfighters, half of
us with proton torpedoes, means this cruiser has gotten itself into a fight it
really can't win.
Before Wedge could begin to issue orders, two things happened. The first, the
lighting-up of a red warning light on his console, was something he expected. It
told him that the Interdictor Cruiser had powered up the gravity well
projectors and that none of the ships in the system could jump to hyperspace to
escape. Not a wise move to trap us here.
The second thing squeezed an icy fist around his heart. One third larger than
the Interdictor Cruiser, the Corrupter appeared to interpose its bulk between
cannons immediately began spraying green-and-blue energy bolts out toward the
waiting freighters. Wedge knew instantly the barrage was untargeted, meant more
to inspire panic than do damage.
As TIE fighters started pouring from the Destroyer's belly, Wedge immediately
started snapping orders to his people. "Booster, scatter freighters. Move!
Tal'dira, give me a flight to orient on me and another to orient on Tycho. Use
the others to vape those TIEs, but don't close with Corrupter. Rogues, slave
your torpedo targeting to my signal. Transmitting now. Tycho, I go first, then
you follow."
"I copy, Wedge."
Wedge's droid, Mynock, shrieked furiously as Wedge punched the throttle forward
and drove straight at the Victory //-class Star Destroyer. "Shut up, Mynock.
Distract me with your screaming, and we'll both end up dead!" The droid fell
silent, and Wedge promised himself that if he survived the run, he would get
the droid's memory wiped and ; rename it something suitably heroic.
Though the droid lacked courage, his assessment of the current situation was
dead on. And worth screaming about. The Destroyer and cruiser carried, between
them, three squadrons of TIEs. Wedge's confidence in his people knew no ;
limits, but the Rogues were standing off to shoot their proton torpedoes, which
left the Twi'leks to fight against the TIEs. The chances that some TIEs would
get through to harass the freighters were overwhelming.
The TIE threat was the least of the problems they faced in the system. The only
way to counter the Corrupter's threat was for the X-wings to hit it with a
spread of proton torpedoes. The squadron, firing double shots, could pump out
twenty-two proton torpedoes. If they hitand missing a nearly kilometer-long
ship was toughthey could blow through the shields and do some damage. Wedge
would fly in close to target the ship for the first volley, then have Tycho
follow up for a second, hopefully catching the Corrupter without shields in
place. If the second spread hits the Star Destroyer in an unshielded area, it
could rip it apart. We'll get damage on the first spread, but it will be the
second that knocks it out.
Wedge pushed all power to his forward shields as he hit a wall of TIE fighters
six kilometers out from the Corrupter. Once past them he evened his shields out
with a flick of his thumb and then started draining his lasers of energy and
pumping it into his shields. At two and a half kilometers he would get a firing
solution for the Corrupter. He'd hold it until his squadron had launched, launch
himself, then pull up and out. "Coming up on targeting. On my mark. Five, four,
three, two, one. Get ready."
The targeting reticle on his head-up display went red. "Mark!" Wedge pulled the
trigger on his stick, launching two proton torpedoes. Launch report after launch
report from his squadron scrolled up on his screen. Hey, even the Gands got off
two concussion missiles.
Preparing to break off and run, Wedge glanced at his sensors and saw four TIEs
in his rear arc. Realizing that pulling up and away would allow them to pounce
on him, Wedge rolled his X-wing to port, then took the snubfighter down in a
long loop that would carry him below the Corrupter's hull. If they want to come
after me, they get to brave their own fire, too. Juking right and left, Wedge
bounced the fighter back and forth between streams of turbolaser fire.
A brilliant incandescence blossomed above him. The proton torpedoes slammed
into the Corrupter's shields all along the ship's length. The shields acted like
huge, invisible parasols to ward off the fierce energy unleashed by the proton
torpedoes' detonations. Roiling plasma curved up and around, following the arc
of the Corrupter's port shields as if some energy creature were trying to take a
bite out of the ship. Then several torpedoes arrived late and pierced the shield
at its heart, causing it to collapse. The tardy torpedoes and two concussion
missiles pounded the destroyer's hull, blasting apart armor plates and crushing
turbolaser batteries.
"Beginning my run now!"
Wedge felt a moment's joy at the collapse of the Corrupter's shields, but it
died as the big ship began to maneuver. It rotated in space above him, executing
a roll that swapped up for down and presented the squadron with its undamaged
starboard shields as a target. Convarion knows we have a limited supply of
proton torpedoes. If he survived this salvo, we've got one last shot to take him
down. If he repairs his shields and rolls again, we're done, because then he can
take all the time he wants to come after us.
Wedge keyed his comm unit. "Corran, set up for the third run."
"I copy, Wedge. Lots of eyeballs out here."
"Here, too." Wedge pulled back on his stick and brought his X-wing up between
the Aggregator and the Corrupter. He got a good look at the damage the torpedoes
had done to the Destroyer and saw fire in the ship's interior. He knew
bulkheads had already been sealed and the fires would go out as soon as the
atmosphere drained away. So it's time to see if I can add to the problem. He
started to angle in at the Corrupter, but green laser bolts slashed past him
from behind, causing him to break off the run, roll, and dive.
Tycho's voice boomed over the comm unit. "On my mark. Five, four, three, two,
one. Get into firing position."
Right. The pair of TIEs on Wedge's tail had no intention of letting him set up
on the Corrupter. Wedge chopped his throttle back, then reversed his thrust and
ran it up to full. The TIE fighters immediately closed and snapped off quick
shots, then bypassed him. Hitting the right rudder pedal, Wedge brought the
X-wing's nose around on the track of one of them. Switching over to quad-fire
lasers, he hit the trigger. Three of the bolts hit the TIE. Two lanced through
the cockpit while one boiled away a corner of a solar panel. The fighter
immediately went into a flat spin and arced out toward the system's outer
orbits.
More rudder brought the X-wing around to point back up at the Corrupter. Wedge
killed his reverse thrust and started it forward as Tycho said, "Mark! Fire
now!" Wedge thumbed his fire contr ol over to missiles and got a lock, but never
pulled the trigger. Sithspawn! What is that?
A ship the size of a Carrack-class light cruiser ranged up from the Graveyard,
cutting in past the Aggregator's stern and in at the Corrupter's bridge. The
ship's white nose was separated from the bloodred after portion by a big black
stripe slashed on the diagonal across it. Wedge realized he'd seen that color
scheme on a ship before, but he didn't connect it with Tycho's X-wing until the
cruiser opened up on the Corrupter with its weaponry.
Five heavy turbolasers and ten laser cannons poured scarlet energy into the
Destroyer's unshielded hull. The laser cannon shots skittered across the white
surface, stippling it with black marks and exploding turbolaser batteries. The
heavy turbolasers concentrated their fire on the Destroyer's tower, burning
through the hull on deck after deck.
Wedge kicked his thrust in at full and rolled his X-wing so he put the Graveyard
over his head and the Destroyer's hull beneath his fighter. Off his starboard
S-foils a silvery glow built as the first of the proton torpedoes hit. The
energy storm they created splashed up and around the edges of the shield. Wedge
pushed the X-wing lower, skimming it along the Destroyer's hull. Just like being
back in the trenches.
Wedge jinked the ship as turbolasers and the starfighter behind him tried to
target him, then hauled back on his stick. The aiming reticle for his proton
torpedoes had burned red for the entirety of his flight, but Wedge held back
until his true target sank down into the reticle. He saw one Imperial officer
standing in the middle of the bridge viewport and watched his mouth open in
surprise.
Wedge hit the trigger.
A pair of proton torpedoes stabbed through the transparisteel viewport, filling
the bridge with blue fire, then detonated. The bridge's blocky outline plumped
and softened for a second before the aft port corner blew out, vomiting golden
fire. Backblast sent smaller golden geysers back out through the forward
viewports, but Wedge pulled up between them, then rolled and dove past the
Destroyer's aft.
"Tycho, hit the cruiser!"
"I copy. On me, Rogues. Beginning my run now."
Coming up over the belly of the Destroyer Wedge got a
good look at the battle. Sporadic turbolaser and ion cannon fire came from the
Corrupter, but far more numerous were the escape pods exploding from its hull.
The Aggregator tried to shoot at the snubfighters, but most were using the dying
Destroyer as a shield as they approached, and the Aggregator's commander seemed
reluctant to shoot in that direction.
The light cruiser came back around and made a run across the Aggregator's stern.
The ships exchanged fire, but the Interdictor Cruiser could only bring a few of
its weapons to bear on the other ship. Neither ship did significant damage to
the other, though the Aggregator's starboard shields did go down.
"On my mark, launch torpedoes. Mark."
On Tycho's command the X-wings launched their missiles. Blue pinpoints of fire
blossomed from various points around the Graveyard and shot in at the
Interdictor Cruiser. The red light on Wedge's console went out as the ship's
commander shunted power from the gravity well projectors to his shields. That's
the move to make, but did he do it in time?
Most of the proton torpedoes, beginning with the two Tycho launched, slammed
into the port shield. They exploded into a silvery firestorm that billowed up
and out, then pressed in on the shield. Unlike the Corrupter's shield, however,
the Aggregator's did not collapse all at once. Gaps appeared at a couple of
points, allowing a handful of torpedoes to skip through and blast into the
ship's hull. Armor plates peeled away like dead, dry skin and secondary
explosions ripped gaping holes in the Interdic
tor's hull.
Without waiting to pick up TIE fighters or escape pods, the Aggregator suddenly
jetted forward. On Wedge's console, the range finder scrolled off numbers; then
the cruiser vanished into hyperspace. Running was his only choice.
Wedge glanced at his sensors and saw no hostile fighters near him. Safe for the
moment, he keyed his comm unit. "Tapper, don't run very far. Booster, report on
your fleet."
"We're all still here, Wedge. We took some hits from TIEs, but shields mostly
held so we're all operational."
"I copy, Booster. Rogues and Chir'daki, protect yourselves, but hold back from
killing anyone who isn't being
actively hostile for a moment." Wedge glanced back over his shoulder. "Mynock,
scan comm frequencies and get me the command frequency the TIEs are using. I
also need the escape pod frequency."
The droid's muted beep acknowledged the command, and data began to scroll up on
the main screen.
"Thanks." He punched up the frequency for the TIE fighters. "Imperial pilots,
this is Wedge Antilles. You have a choice get killed here, stranded here, or
surrender. If you want to surrender, power down your weapons and engines. If
you're moving under power we will consider you hostile. We've got no more reason
to want you dead than I would hope you have to be dead."
A lone male voice came back over the comm unit. "Captain Ardle from Corrupter
here. We're Thyferran Home Defense Corps pilots. Does that make a difference in
your offer?"
"Is Erisi Dlarit flying with you?"
"No, sir. I was in her command, but was picked to head up one of the two
squadrons coming here with the Corrupter. Mostly trainees. I've got eight left.
The Aggregator's squadron only has four left and they're THDC, too."
"I copy, Captain Ardle. Follow the instructions I gave you and you'll not be
hurt."
"What about the escape pods?"
"We'll recover them, too."
"And the Corrupter?"
Wedge switched his main screen to a plot of ship positions in the system over
time and set his viewpoint from within the Graveyard. "The Corrupter is
currently not under power and is drifting down into the Graveyard. Inside two
hours the Graveyard's asteroids will chew it up into unrecognizable bits."
"Oh." Ardle sounded subdued. "Alderaan has its revenge on the Empire."
"And exacts revenge for Halanit. We don't have the tractor beams to pull it