"Get all Tie crews to their fighters. We'll have to go out after them and destroy

them ship by ship."

Within numerous hangars red lights began flashing and an insistent alarm started

to ring. Ground crews worked frantically to ready ships as flight-suited Imperial

pilots grabbed for helmets and packs.

"Luke," requested Blue Leader as he skimmed smoothly through a rain of fire,

"let me know when you're off the block."

"I'm on my way now."

"Watch yourself," the voice urged over the cockpit speaker. "There's a lot of

fire coming from the starboard side of that deflection tower."

"I'm on it, don't worry," Luke responded confidently. Putting his fighter into a

twisting dive, he sliced once more across metal horizons. Antennae and small

protruding emplacements burst into transitory flame as bolts from his wing tips struck

with deadly accuracy.

He grinned as he pulled up and away from the surface as intense lines of energy

passed through space recently vacated. Darned if it wasn't like hunting womp-rats

back home in the crumbling canyons of Tatooine's wastes.

Biggs followed Luke on a similar run, even as Imperial pilots prepared to lift

clear of the station. Within the many docking bays technical crews rushed hurriedly

to unlock power cables and conclude desperate final checks.

More care was taken in preparing a particular craft nearest one of the bay ports,

the one into which Darth Vader barely succeeded in squeezing his huge frame. Once

set in the seat he slid a second set of eye shields across his face.

The atmosphere of the war room back in the temple was one of nervous

expectancy. Occasional blinks and buzzes from the main battle screen sounded

louder than the soft sussuration of hopeful people trying to reassure one another.

Near a far corner of the mass of flickering lights a technician leaned a little closer to

his own readouts before speaking into the pickup suspended near his mouth.

"Squad leaders—attention; squad leaders—attention! We've picked up a new

set of signals from the other side of the station. Enemy fighters coming your way."

Luke received the report at the same time as everyone else. He began hunting

the sky for the predicted Imperial craft, his gaze dropping to his instrumentation.

"My scope's negative. I don't see anything."

"Maintain visual scanning," Blue Leader directed. "With all this energy flying,

they'll be on top of you before your scope can pick them up. Remember, they can

jam every instrument on your ship except your eyes."

Luke turned again, and this time saw an Imperial already pursuing an X-wing—

and X-wing with a number Luke quickly recognized.

"Biggs!" he shouted. "You've picked one up. On your tail…watch it!"

"I can't see it," came his friend's panicked response. "Where is he? I can't

see it!"

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