Part 28 (1/2)

At any rate, the formation looked impressive, and that was most of the point.

”-uke, come in, Lu-” It was Lando on the line-of-sight laser corn system.

The best that could be said about the system was that it worked, which was a great deal more than could be said about any other corn system available to the fleet. However, it did not work welL It just about sufficed for conversation between a fighter and his wingman.

Anything else, and it was hopeless. ”Still breaking up a bit, Lando,” Luke said. ”What's up?”

”mine re-ibrate this -ing again. There we go. I just wanted to know if you had any better idea what we're looking for out there.” In other words, Lando wanted to know if Luke had sensed anything through the Force. ”Not really,” he said. ”I don't feel anything much from the other side, besides the emotions you might expect before a battle.

My guess is that they don't have any more idea than we do. The bra.s.s knows, but the troops don't.”

”Great,” Lando said. ”How about leia and Han?”

”They're still Out there. I can sense the two of them together now-and someone else, too, now that I know where to focus my awareness.

Mara Jade. I think they're on her s.h.i.+p now, and if I'm matching up my Force sense with the tracking data properly, they are on the shortest, fastest course that will get them clear of the battle zone.”

”Can't blame them for -at,” Lando said, still breaking up just a trifle. ”But I sure wish Mara had decided to join in the fun. Her s.h.i.+p packs some serious firepower.

We could use the help.”

”Not really,” said Luke. ”Ossilege was right. The enemy formations are all wrong for fighter4o-fighter battle. II that was what this was about, we'd wipe them out in a minute. They have to know that. They aren't going to offer battle. Not unless they're suicidal.”

” what are they going to offer?” Lando demanded.

”Musical entertainment?”

Luke shook his head. ”I don't know,” he said. ”But we're about to find out. Here they come.”

A wave of Corellian PPBs came in from sunward, trying to stay hidden in Corell's glare. They went straight for the Watchkeeper but broke off their attack almost before it had started, only getting off a few token turbolaser shots before s.h.i.+fting course and diving away. A flight of Selonian light attack fighters came in right behind the PPBs and performed almost the identical maneuver, coming in just a trifle closer-and being rewarded by a series of rapid bursts from the Watchkeeper's main battery. The Watchkeeper scored two direct hits on the IA'Fs. Luke had to hand it to Ossilege, who was flying the Watchkeepu by remote. That was some pretty fair shooting.

The surviving LAFs moved off on the same heading as the PPBs, on a bearing that would take them just over the limb of Selonia. Luke reminded himself that they were coming up on the planet. It would be downright embarra.s.sing to get preoccupied with the dogfight and crash into it. More PPBs came in from directly above the Bakuran s.h.i.+ps, diving straight into the center of the wedge formation to come up behind the Watchkeeper and give her a dose of firepower from the rear.

The other big Bakuran s.h.i.+ps opened fire on the interlopers, but they were restrained by the fear of firing on their own s.h.i.+p. Shooing them away was a job for the fighters, and several flights of Bakuran fighters took up the task.

Luke decided to join them. ”Lando, let's encourage those PPBs to go on about their business,” he said.

”Form on my port wing and follow me in.”

”I'm with you, -uke,” Lando replied.

Luke brought his fighter's wings to attack position and lit the engines. The X-wing dove into the center of the flying wedge, the Lady Luck off her port wing. Luke spotted a pair of PPBs below and off to starboard. He swooped in on them, locking his guns-but both PPBs blew up before he could even fire.

”Score two,” Land announced. ”At least I think it was me. Lot of shooting going on. Luke! Coming up from the rear and below!”

Luke had his X-wing in a diving barrel roll before he could see the threat. You had to trust your wingman.

And sure enough, there was a PPB and an LAF coming straight for him. Both of the light fighters opened up on him, and the X-wing took a glancing hit to the portside lower wing. Artoo bleeped protestingly but recalibrated the s.h.i.+elding to compensate.

Luke fired two short bursts. The first hit the LAF and blew it sky-high. The second burst only caught a piece of the PPB, sent it tumbling out of control and out of the fight. Luke forgot about it and pulled the X-wing's nose up, heading back toward the Watchkeeper coming up under her keel.

”That's it,” Lando said. ”They've broken off.”

”Yeah,” Luke said. ”And they're heading for that same piece of sky as all the other flights bugged out toward. That's where they want us to go.”

”And that's where we are going,” Lando replied.

”Watchkeeper's changing course to pursue. Just what Ossilege said they'd want him to do.”

”Great,” Luke said. ”But I'm not sure who's outsmarting who in all this. I'm going to fly formation on the Watchkeeper high and to the rear.

Stay with me.”

”Received and understood,” Lando said. ”Don't get too close to her, though. If Ossilege is flying into a trap on purpose, I don't want to go along for the ride.”

”Agreed. Double standard formation distance.”

The Watchkeeper broke formation with the other big s.h.i.+ps and lumbered toward the ma.s.sed formations of PPBs and LAFs.

The Watchkeeper was very definitely not moving fast. Whatever propulsion they had managed to patch together for her wasn't anything much, that was for sure. But she was moving, for all of that.

Luke slowed his X-wing to match her velocity and took up station keeping five kilometers behind and three above her stern.

”Luke, another -ight of LAFs coming in fr--low the Watchkeeper”

Lando warned.

”Let em come,” Luke said. ”s.h.i.+elds at maximum, but don't respond or return fire.”

”But-”

”Just do it,” Luke said. ”I want to see how they respond.

But be ready to drop s.h.i.+elds and fight if they come back for a second pa.s.s.”

The LAFs came up from behind, six of them. Four turned to take a firing pa.s.s right over the topside of the Wztchkeeper, doing a strafing run across her upper deck.

Explosions flickered and flared over the decks of the Watchkeeper but her s.h.i.+elds held. The main batteries swung about and poured fire at the LAFs. Thro of them flew right into the battery fire before the others peeled off and headed for that same slice of sky.

But Luke had very little time to worry about that. The other two LAFs were on them, sweeping past in a blaze of turbolaser fIre, catching both s.h.i.+ps with repeated hits; but with s.h.i.+elds at maximum, the small lasers on the LAFs weren't able to do any appreciable damage.

Of course, with the s.h.i.+elds maxed up, neither s.h.i.+p could fight back, either, but that scarcely mattered just at the moment. The two LAFs swooped past, unmolestedand followed their fellows down the same vector, toward the limb of the planet, which every other enemy fighter had taken.

All of them were rendezvousing there now, coming together in a ma.s.s formation.

”Now I get it,” Lando said. ”That clinches it for me.