Star Wars: Heir to the Sith (Part 3)

Chapter 23: "Another few seconds and he'll be in my pursuit curve."

Ella fought the Nova's pull to the left and kept the ship on a straight heading. Already her arms were aching.

"I'm putting the gravity readout through to you now," Chip murmured, flicking a dial on his console. "But on our present course the TIEs will intercept us just as we pass the base of the control tower. I don't see–"

"That's exactly what I'm hoping for," Ella said quietly, her eyes squinted in concentration, focusing on a single path that cut midway between the tower's base and the ring itself.

A single point where the gravity fields of both structures met and collided.

A point where deep space suddenly became a terrestrial environment, influenced by artificial gravity fields.

"Keep your distance Manus," she said into the comm. "I need us both to have full flexibility of a deep space environment. When they get to the point of intercept they are going to find flying very different - but not for long."

"Yes Captain," the voice answered. "I'm moving into the bait position now."

The X-Wing caught up and moved to the Nova's port side, slightly in front. The TIEs would encounter that before the Nova as they passed across the installation's gravity fields.

"Angle all deflectors forward," Ella commanded in a slow tone.

"Can this really work?" Chip squealed as Sal manipulated the shielding.

The Gateway installation and control tower loomed before them.

"Turn your inhibitor chip up," Ella whispered in answer. "Sal, you ready on the front cannon?"

The wookie answered with a low growl of steely confirmation.

"Here we go!" she shrieked.

The Nova flew over the top edge of the ring, where it met the tower. Coming the other way, from below, were the three TIE fighters, seeking to intercept them, on a path that skimmed the surface of the structure.

The X-Wing stood between them, on an attack vector.

It opened up with all its cannons, too far out in a deep space environment to be accurate, giving the TIEs seconds to turn out of the way.

But they were caught in the gravitational intersection between the ring and the tower. They were fighting under a gravitational constraint, one that neither the Nova nor the X-Wing were under.

The TIEs turned sluggishly to face the fighter, loosening off a barrage of green fire which Manus avoided by a quick spin. Manus's burst clipped the inside wing of the foremost TIE and sent it into a wild spin.

Now it was the Nova's turn. Ella lined it up, trying to give Sal the best chance she could for as long as she dared. The TIEs had taken the bait of the X-Wing, but the old battered smuggler was the hook.

Sal fired as a TIE fought against the gravitational field to line up an attack run against them.

The yellow blast shattered the joint between the TIE's wing and cockpit, giving the pilot just seconds to eject before his bubble blossomed into flame.

A green trail blazed out toward them, wild and inaccurate fire from the last of the three imperial fighters. The Nova, now closer than the evading X-Wing, shuddered as Ella heaved the control away to port, taking full advantage of the starboard malfunction.

The Nova went into a spin.

"I can't pull out!" Ella screamed. The tower was before them for the tiniest moment before it spun away in the cockpit.