Star Wars: Lightforce

Chapter 27

The narrowest alleys were intersected by larger streets, making it impossible to stick to the shadows completely. The main streets all led back to the square and, as such, were often haunted by a squad of troopers or security forces, the better to catch their quarry. They managed to negotiate quite a number, dodging laser fire, until they ended up in a more residential area at the north end of the square, the more spacious and less adorned buildings offering much less cover than the cluttered trading areas.

"I think our speeder is parked near here. I recognise the area." Han looked at Chewie, who growled in agreement. "We might be able to reach it if we cross the next two streets, past these houses."

"Are you sure?" Leia questioned.

"No, I'm not sure," he snapped, turning to glare at her, "but what choice do we have?" He leaned out into the next main street to check if it was clear. It wasn't. Four stormtroopers spotted his movement and blaster fire hit the ground and the wall by his head. He fired back.

"They've got this whole place surrounded. Where did they all come from anyway." He was getting really concerned about the whole situation. If they'd been here all along, Maz would have heard something. He fired off another couple of wild, frustrated shots up the street.

"Someone must have called them in," Leia assumed. Or maybe they'd been here the whole time just not making their presence known. That would presume a hidden base and one not too far away explaining the speed of their arrival on the scene. She didn't bother discussing this idea with Han.

She crouched down and fired round him. As she did so, the smell from her vision hit her nose, followed by blackness, which blotted out the view of her immediate environment, and then fire and smoke. It was gone again in a second and she put her hand on the floor to stop from falling over. The vision had gone unnoticed and she was thankful it wasn't like it had been on Chandrila. This was not the time to be incapacitated. Han ducked back in to the alley, turning to Chewbacca.

"Let them have a couple of shots from your crossbow, will ya. Then we'll make a run for it." He gestured to the alley opposite theirs. Chewbacca leant the bowcaster round the edge of the building and fired a few shots. It caused a crater in the street and scattered the nearest troopers, allowing time for them to dash for cover unnoticed.

The next street was no better. Coming out between two mud houses, their route continued across the last wide street but that meant crossing the path of the stormtrooper's laser cannons, two of them set on tripods at the end nearest the square. Calculating their route, the troopers from the previous street had joined their colleagues, anticipating the appearance of the trio, and the cannons were firing at regular and alternate intervals, ensuring that their route was completely blocked. Debris from the blasts flew out of nearby walls and the noise was deafening.

"This is insane! We're completely pinned down!" Han exclaimed as another laser bolt hit the ground, throwing up clouds of dirt. "We need to get across there." He indicated the alley opposite about fifty yards from their current position. It would only be a matter of time before they were blocked in from behind as well and then it would be all over.

Leia leant round the wall and fired off a couple of shots randomly. There was no time to aim as the volley of bolts from the troopers was unrelenting.

"I told you, we needed to wait for backup!" Han shouted at her above the noise.

"We didn't have time to wait," she yelled back. Their proximity to each other in the alley as they jostled to fire at their attackers meant that they were shouting in each other's faces. "Those children can't wait!"

"You always want to save everybody. You can't always do that. You haven't thought this through. We're going to die here!" He waved his finger in her face. "When I say we need to wait for back up, I mean it."