Galaxy: A STAR WARS Collection

Blackwing Squadron

Endor's Orbit

4 Years After the Battle of Yavin

. . .

The cockpit of his TIE Interceptor shuddered as the enormous green laser blast tore through the dark space above his head. The super laser struck its target, piercing the stone-grey hull of the Rebel Alliance's cruiser which burst into a ball of orange and white flame. The explosion quickly subsided as the remnants began sheering away and drifting into space; it was now presenting new obstacles for the fighters currently engaged in combat.

He quickly turned his attention back to the battle at hand.

Bolts of red laser fire grazed past his wing; he quickly manoeuvred out of the way of the oncoming fire with a sudden jerk of his controls. His fighter lurched and strained with a high-pitched whine as he pulled a tight curve, swinging around to catch the much slower X-Wing off-guard. He pressed the buttons on his control stick and let loose a volley of fire in return, striking the enemy fighter several times before the small white ship exploded in front of him.

Within moments, he was quickly on the tail of another enemy fighter. He took aim at one of the Y-Wing bomber's dual thrusters glowing through his octagonal viewport. As the laser blasts hit, the fighter began an uncontrolled spiral, diving out of his view and towards the hull of a Rebel cruiser below.

"These Rebels just won't quit!" The gravelly voice of Blackwing Delta cut through the comlink and directly into Alpha's ear.

"It's just more target practice," Alpha encouraged. His keen eyes picked out Delta's Interceptor in the distance with a Rebel A-Wing fighter coming up on him. "Careful, Delta. You've got one on your tail."

"I see him." Delta's fighter swung and rolled out of the way as a volley of laser fire barely missed the hull. The A-Wing pulled a tight turn to keep up. "He's on me pretty tight."

Without warning, a pair of green laser blasts impacted with the rear of the small Rebel fighter which then burst into a fireball, a TIE Interceptor flying at full speed tearing through the space where the opposing A-Wing once was.

"Thanks, Gamma," Delta sighed. "I owe you one."

"You already owe me one for Tygon," he replied. Alpha could tell by his voice that he was wearing his trademark mischievous grin.

A warning began chirping in the cockpit of Alpha's Interceptor indicating that an enemy fighter had locked on. Alpha regained his focus. "Enemy fighter has a lock. Can anyone see it on me?" He twisted his control stick hard to the left and spun away before jerking the controls back towards himself to bring the ship around.

"X-Wing coming in hot at point-twelve," Beta reported. "Keep that fighter moving, I'm almost there."

Alpha couldn't see Beta but he had full confidence that she was close by. He knew that his fighter could easily outspeed the much slower X-Wing but the proton torpedoes the ship was about to let loose would catch up to him with no effort. He was throwing the Interceptor around in all directions trying to break the lock but to no avail. All he could do was zigzag back and forth in order to buy time for his wingmate.

On cue, Beta's TIE Interceptor screamed by overhead and destroyed the enemy craft that was trailing him. "Threat neutralised, Alpha."

"Nice shot, Beta," Alpha said.

"Anytime," she replied. "I got your back, Alpha."

The voice of an Imperial Officer cut into the comlink channel, his commanding voice reporting the situation directly into the ears of the pilots. He didn't shout but his voice was stern. "The Death Star's shield has been disabled. Engage and wipe out those fighters before they can do any damage to this battle station."