Star Wars: Lightforce

Chapter 42

"Get down!" Leia yelled at her unit, flattening herself on the ground as low as possible behind the hillock she had been crouching near. The rest of the unit did the same. She braced herself for the inevitable pelting of laser bolts and heard the expected rapid gunfire. No bolts hit where they were sheltered however. She looked up, hearing a familiar roar of engines just as the Millennium Falcon swept across the edge of the jungle, so low it's down draft bent the vegetation tips, firing it's underside guns and obliterating the cannon, its operators and the accompanying troopers who had been brave or foolish enough to make an appearance.

"All clear, Sweetheart," Han's confident voice sounded in her earpiece.

"Honey, excellent timing as usual," she replied in a relieved voice.

"I hate to be late for a party," he said jubilantly.

Not wanting to waste an opportunity or hang around for another round of cannon fire, Leia decided to go on the offensive. She gathered the unit round her, crouching down behind the rise while she briefed them.

"We're not going to wait for that to happen again. We're going to do what we do best. Spread out and move into the trees. Make yourselves invisible and use stealth to pick them off one by one." Looking up at the faces to make sure they were clear as to what was expected, she received a collection of understanding nods. This was what they were trained for. This is what they were good at.

As she rose and came to stand on the top of the hillock to lead her team into the jungle, she glanced sideways at Luke, less than half a mile away. He was standing on a similar rise, his unit all around, engaging their group of enemy. He looked impressive, his robes flowing as he wielded his lightsaber in smooth sweeping movements, blocking laser bolts and sending them back where they had come from. She imagined what it must have been like many years ago, during the Clone Wars, battlefields full of Jedi as impressive as her brother. This is how the Jedi would have fought then, on the ground, a formidable and awe inspiring sight. He paused, breathing hard and held his saber vertically a moment, then he turned and looked through the dust at his sister, heading her skilled stealth combat unit, weapons in hand. The twins against the Empire. A shared understanding of destination carried between them, and Leia knew it was an image she would remember for a long time to come.

In the Falcon, Han kept one eye on Leia's tactical holo-display, watching her position. He wanted to keep the Falcon close in case she needed him again. He didn't like her in the field. They had fought side by side many times but all the time he couldn't see her, he felt unsettled. It was unnecessary and he knew it; she was more than capable, he was just happier in the comfort of her presence.

He wondered how the battle was going above. He could hear the radio chatter over the comms, but with everything else coming in on several channels, distinguishing one from the other was tricky. He put in a direct call to Lando for an update, even though Blake would be co-ordinating everything from her base.

"We've got them on the run, old buddy," Lando's jolly voice informed. "If you ask me, it was a foregone conclusion. They are out-gunned from Ackbar's warship. Turning up with one small star destroyer though seems odd. I don't know what they had planned for Takodana had we not been here to mess it up." He sounded thoughtful, like it had been playing on his mind. He was a shrewd businessman and could usually tell when something didn't smell right. Then he laughed. "We all seem to be back in the thick of it. When I was doing the accounts for the mine last week, I didn't think I would be using tie-fighters as target practice a few days later. The princess is very good at putting all her pieces into play. Have you ever thought of introducing her to Sabaac?" Han and Chewbacca exchanged a look.

"Funny you should say that," Han returned sardonically "There's a story to tell you later. I wouldn't suggest it to her though if I were you," he warned. Lando laughed again.