High Heavens (Star Wars - Luke Skywalker)

XXII - Victory

Mara's ship sputtered and shook as she lead Strata to the rendezvous point where the Red Squadron would be waiting. She had taken a couple of good hits during the battle, but hopefully she was still in good enough shape to keep flying for a bit longer. They were going to need each and every fighter left to pull this off. 

In the distance, she spotted what was left of the Red Squad flying in their direction - Luke, Biggs, and Wedge included. They had lost a few men, also, but not as much as her squadron, as far as Mara could tell. 

"Red Leader, this is Base One," came Dodonna's voice from ground control. "Keep half of your group out of range for the next run. Blue Squadron, stay behind as well."

"Copy, Base One," Red Leader said. "Luke, take Red Three and stay close to Blue Leader. Blue Leader, hold up here and wait for my signal to start your run."

"Good luck down there, boys," Mara told them, watching as the quarter of Red fighters broke away from the group and made their way into the trench, Wedge among them.

Mara and the others watched as the Red Leader zoomed through the trench, his companions sticking as close to him as possible. It wasn't long until they were being targeted by remote-controlled canons, but luckily, they evaded any fatal blows. 

A few minutes passed, until Red Ten commented, 

"We should be able to see it by now."

Mara would have thought so, too. It was taking painstakingly long, and during the time they had all spent waiting, anxiety had only grown. It would be only a matter of minutes until the Death Star had it's chance to fire, and if it did, then Leia, Dodonna, and the others would die, and everything they had fought so hard for for years would be obliterated. 

"Keep your eyes open for those fighters," Red Leader advised his teammates.

Mara took up the order as well, looking around for any sign of enemy fighters. Maybe from her vantage point, she would be able to spot them first and give her companions some warning. 

"There's too much interference," Wedge stated, sounding like he was fiddling with his computer. "We're blind down here."

"Red Five and Blue Leader, do you see anything from where you are?"

Luke replied first: "No sign of any... Wait. Three marks coming in point-three-five."

"Looks like two standards, and an advanced, so watch it," Mara added on, recognizing the alternate shape of one of the TIE-fighters.

"I see them," Red Ten said.

"I'm in range," Red Leader said. "Target's coming up... Just hold them off for a few seconds."

The two TIE-fighters and the TIE advanced entered the trench in a tight formation, rapidly closing in on the three Rebel starfighters. Time was beginning to run out for the Red Leader to make his shot. 

"We should be helping them," Strata said, her voice thick with worry. 

Mara shook her head. "I know you want to." Truthfully, Mara had to fight the urge to spring forward and help, as well. "But we stand a better chance at winning this if we come in waves."

"Almost there...," Red Leader mumbled.

Not soon after he said this, the TIE-advanced locked onto the x-wing at the back of the formation, taking it out with a flash of precisely-aimed laser blasts. The x-wing exploded into flames against the wall of the trench.