Blade Squadron: Kuat Read online

  Green lights flashed up from Lieutenant Gina Moonsong’s battle computer as she watched the Kuat Drive Yards’ defenses go on alert. The yards consisted of a massive ring of steel that encircled the planet Kuat like a giant metal serpent. The dry docks, warehouse, machine shops, and immense orbital habitats made the station the premier facility for producing some of the Empire’s most fearsome weapons, among them the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the AT-AT, and new tech-monstrosities rumored to be in the prototype phase. The New Republic had decided it was time to deal with the Empire’s main supplier of arms, and had committed itself to an assault that rivaled the attack at Endor. Hundreds of laser batteries lit up as the yard’s defenses opened fire on the approaching New Republic fleet.

  Moonsong eased back on the B-wing’s throttle and checked the squadron formation. To her rear, Mon Cala cruisers and other capital ships stood ready with their massive torpedo batteries, while the X-wings in the vanguard locked their S-foils in attack position. To her right and left, dozens of other snub fighter squadrons were taking up their positions as well. Ahead, a fleet of Star Destroyers and their complement of TIE fighters moved out of the planet’s high orbit behind the ring and accelerated to engage. Three assaults so far and the Imperials were still using the same tactics. The problem was they were effective. The sheer number of forces they had committed to the yards represented a major investment. The Imperials wanted to keep this facility at nearly any cost and had dispatched more of their deep space assets than the New Republic had anticipated.

  They were only a few days into the campaign and it was clear to everybody that this battle would be neither short nor easy.

  “Look who’s come out to play.”

  “I see them, Fanty. Lieutenant Li, we’re going for the SD’s in Quadrant Four. Close up formation and wait for the word.” “Copy, Blade Leader.” Lieutenant Sandara Li commanded the new X-wing escort section that had been added to Blade Squadron. So far Moonsong’s relationship with Li had been less than warm. Moonsong figured Li would have preferred to fly with Stramm—but Stramm was back on the carrier Amalthea helping the commodore coordinate the overall fleet action.

  Explosions off to the right drew Moonsong’s attention as the New Republic’s first wave clashed with Imperial forces. Dozens of New Republic and Imperial fighter squadrons spun about in the solar winds, lighting up the darkness while capital ships launched wave after wave of proton torpedoes at each other. Yori Dahn’s taut voice crackled through Moonsong’s headset:

  “I got one on my tail! I can’t shake him.”

  Moonsong rolled her B-wing and dove at full speed on an intercept course. Just as the TIE fighter lined up for the kill, Moonsong’s lasers cut it in two.

  “Thanks boss,” said Dahn.

  “Don’t thank me too quick,” shot back Moonsong—even as flames streaked up and down a nearby Star Destroyer; the next moment it exploded, flinging debris in all directions. A piece of wayward metal smashed a B-wing in half just as its X-wing escort disintegrated from enemy fire. As Moonsong tried to issue a course correction to her people, a message from the commodore rang through every pilot’s comm-set:

  “Central command to all fighter squadrons: this is a recall order. I repeat, all squadrons return.”

  “What the hell’s going on?” Li blurted out over the comm.

  “You heard the order, Lieutenant. I’m sure command has a good reason for it. Now let’s get back to the barn.” Moonsong swung her ship around as she wondered just what that reason could be.

  Braylen Stramm stood next to Captain Tane by the holoprojector. Moonsong couldn’t help but think Stramm looked odd in the khaki and powder-blue uniform instead of his flight suit. Odd, but handsome nonetheless. Even more odd was that Moonsong was the new acting squadron leader. When command temporarily transferred Stramm to Combat Operations Planning, she figured they would have tapped one of the other squadron commanders to take over.

  So now Moonsong, Fanty, Li, and Li’s wingmate—Johan Volk—sat with the other squadron leaders from the Mon Cala cruiser Amalthea’s fighter group. Stramm stepped forward and let his baritone fill the room.

  “All right, people, we’ve been analyzing the enemy, and it’s become clear that we need to change our tactics. We simply do not have the firepower to overwhelm the target’s defense fleet with a single strike. Therefore we have decided to focus on strategic bombing of key parts of the yard’s infrastructure. Fuel dumps, supply monorails, and sensor arrays will be the primary targets, going forward. This means our timetable will change, but all our simulations validate the new strategy.” Li raised her hand, and Stramm acknowledged her with a nod of his head; Li stood up to her full height and tossed her long black hair out of her eyes. Moonsong couldn’t help but notice that every eye in the room locked on Li’s imposing figure. Heck, the lady looked like one of those tough heroines from a Coruscant holodrama.

  “Commander, does this mean that the X-wing elements will now be equipped with proton torpedoes so we can participate in the bombing?”

  “That’s a negative. So far the addition of X-wing elements to the B-wing bomber group has been successful in the escort capacity, but our B-wings will still rely on you X-wing pilots to keep the TIE fighters off their backs.”

  Li’s wingmate Volk stood up next. He was a huge bald man with a tremendous beard and a bigger smile. Scuttlebutt was that he and his wife Vira were legendary guerilla fighters on the backwater world they came from.

  “Excuse me, sir, but who is going to keep those Star Destroyers off us?” Captain Tane waved at the holo display of the yards, and zeroed in on a cluster of Star Destroyers.

  “Elements of the fleet will engage the enemy, here, here, and here... forcing them to commit the bulk of their destroyers and support ships against us, thus allowing you pilots to make your strikes. We’ll take some damage...that’s for sure—but if you pilots are able to cripple their supply depots and command centers it will be worth it.” Then, as if sensing the general tension in the air: “Look, we know we’ve asked a lot of you; and frankly we’ll be asking for more. This fight is critical—if we lose, the stability of the New Republic will be threatened.” Tane stepped back and allowed Stramm to wrap things up.

  “Squadron leaders will receive their new mission packages and will be responsible for making that data available to their pilots. If there are no more questions...Ok, then. Good luck out there and good hunting. Dismissed!”

  Moonsong tried to focus past the chaos around her as the squadron rocketed towards the supply monorail. In theory, if they destroyed enough of the yard’s capability to move supplies and ammunition, certain areas would become far more vulnerable. A shrill scream filled her headset as Blade Nine’s ship indicator disappeared from Moonsong’s heads-up display.

  “They got—”

  “I know, Fanty!” Yori Dahn’s B-wing pulled up next to her. Her voice broke as it came over the channel.

  “Lieutenant, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  On top of the ring in front of the monorail stood a cluster of AT-ATs and AT-ACTs, an older Clone Wars–era AT-TE or two... along with several unfinished AT-ATs that looked like giant skeletal troop transports with just the heads and powerful cannons functioning. The Imperial walkers spat searing plasma up at them. Li’s voice rang out.

  “X-wings, we’re attacking those walkers!”

  “Stay in formation,” said Moonsong. “We need you to deal with those TIE fighters.”

  “This will only take a minute and there’s no way you’ll get to the target if we don’t clear them! Save your bombs for the target. Let’s go!”

  “I’m with you, boss,” Volk said with no hesitation.

&
nbsp; “Hold your formation,” snapped Moonsong. But it was too late; the X-wings were already peeling off and diving for the goliaths. For a moment Moonsong actually thought they might pull it off...until several cargo freight elevators rose up, carrying more partially completed AT-ATs and armored Star Destroyer laser turrets. Moonsong saw two X-wings take fire. One blossomed into a radiant fireball, while the other spun out of control and impacted against the side of the shipyard. Even more alarming was the fact that the X-wing lasers weren’t powerful enough to penetrate the walkers’ heavy armor in a single shot. Moonsong knew that if they didn’t concentrate their fire on the makeshift gun emplacements, the chance of any of her group getting out alive would be exactly zero—and the only way to knock off those walkers was with the torpedoes earmarked for the monorail.

  And that meant the monorail would just have to wait.

  “Blade Squadron, follow me, and concentrate ion cannon fire on those emplacements.” The group of snubfighters wove an impressive pattern as they changed their trajectories, increased their speeds, and zeroed in on the enemy. “Use your torpedoes on those walkers!”

  “But what about the primary target?” Dahn asked.

  “This is the primary target now, so open up!” The B-wings leveled out in front of the walkers and unleashed a rain of deadly fire on the behemoths below. Moonsong’s B-wing swooped in over the main ring of the yard as the AT-ATs loomed ahead. While the armored beasts’ weapons could punch though most snubfighters, they were not as effective at tracking them at high speeds. Moonsong lined up her shot and let loose a pair of torpedoes that annihilated an AT-AT crew compartment and sent the walker toppling over onto a half-built scout model. Unfortunately the pilot behind her was hit by an attacking TIE, and clipped the walking tank as he went down—sending his own craft spiraling out of control and crashing into another walker’s legs. The explosion knocked the massive vehicle right off the ring and down towards the planet below. Everywhere the armored giants were getting turned into piles of spare parts. Pieces of shattered walkers floated away into space. The ring itself cracked in multiple places from the barrage of torpedoes the B-wings fired as they shot past. Moonsong cursed under her breath—what a waste. What a diversion.

  “OK, people, let’s get out of here. The target isn’t going anywhere.”

  Li climbed down out of her battered X-wing and found herself face to face with a furious Moonsong. The mechanics and hangar crew gave them a wide berth while the other pilots remained at a respectable distance...but close enough to be within earshot of the fireworks.

  “What in the blazes did you think you were doing out there?”

  “I was doing my job,” Li responded evenly.

  “Your job was to protect us from TIE fighters, not engage the bombing targets. I lost a good pilot. The only reason you aren’t dead too is because I scrubbed the main mission to pull your fat out of the fire. That was reckless—”

  “Oh, that’s rich coming from you, Gina. You think I haven’t heard about you?”

  “Heard about me?”

  “Word travels. You think I don’t know the only reason you got named acting squadron leader was because your boyfriend handed you the command?”

  “You’re out of line, Lieutenant.” Li snapped to attention and clicked her heels together. Moonsong stepped back, rubbed her eyes, and let out a long sigh.

  “You know what your problem is, Lieutenant?”

  “No, ma’am, I do not. Perhaps the acting squadron leader will enlighten me.”

  Moonsong cracked a smile and lowered her voice. “First of all I got this command in spite of Stramm’s recommendations. Truth be told he wasn’t sure I was up to it, but they needed him planning ops and somebody had to step up. I stepped up. But the real issue here is the fact that you’re just like me, only a few months back. See, it took me too long to realize that the only way any of us make it out of this war alive is if we work together. You’re a damn fine pilot, Li, maybe even as good as me, and with a little discipline you could be one of the best. And I’m not just saying that. You spotted those emplacements; you just lacked the experience to know that your armament wouldn’t scratch them. So yeah, you just might be that good, and yeah, maybe I feel a little threatened by you, but I’ll tell you what: if anybody can find a way to smash these imp pigs out of the sky, it’s you and me. What do you say?”

  Moonsong pulled off her flight glove and stuck out her hand. Li looked down at it in amazement. And then she shook it.

  The chaos and intensity of the campaign blurred days into weeks until the New Republic fleet and its pilots were stretched beyond thin. Moonsong fought fatigue as her targeting computer screamed out the coordinates for the command hub. Moonsong had to hand it to Stramm; he and his little band of rear-echelon planners had discovered the hub by studying the combat footage brought back by a dozen fighter squadrons. At this very moment the fleet was engaged in a spectacular battle against the Imperial’s main defense force and had baited them into a close-quartered slugfest over the planet’s northern pole. The maneuver should have allowed a trio of B-wing squadrons to strike the command hub virtually unnoticed. Unfortunately, the Imperials managed to scramble a makeshift group of TIEs that outnumbered the B-wings three to one.

  “Have your ships hold their positions and cover us.”

  Moonsong balked at that. “That’s too dangerous, I can’t—”

  “Hey, it’s not like we haven’t had people shooting at us from the front and back before. At least this way we can follow your shots in and confuse their sensors. If you’ve got a better plan, I’d love to hear it.”

  “You want a better plan?” asked Moonsong. “Okay. All B-wings cut power and hold positions. Set laser cannons to rapid fire and target your Ion cannons past the target. We’ll wait for you to start our bombing run, Lieutenant Li.”

  “That sounds worth a shot...”

  As the B-wings let loose their devastating barrage against the TIEs, Li threaded her X-wings through the friendly fire and into the heart of the enemy formation. Moonsong couldn’t help but smile as she watched a pathway clear on her targeting computer. Her smile grew wider as she spotted an even better way to nail the command hub.

  “OK, boys and girls; follow me in on the following trajectory. Let’s go.” The B-wings formed up on Moonsong and sped toward the ring, where they all saw the huge hangar open, its energy blast shields still down. The B-wings entered the hangar; as they flew under the command hub section, they targeted their laser-guided bombs and torpedoes deep into its heart. Moonsong’s craft glided above the flight deck, firing on enemy craft that had not been quick enough to launch. As the squadron exited the hangar on the other side of the ring Moonsong heard Fanty and Dahn scream in triumph as the hub erupted behind them. She grinned and keyed her comlink.

  “Way to go people! Now that’s how you do it!”

  Moonsong checked her watch; she had less than an hour before the squadron launched on another strike mission. She’d lost track of how many mission hours she’d flown. For Blade Squadron, it seemed like every time they kicked over a rock, more Imperials would scurry out from under it. Her people, like everybody else, were tired and stretched thin. As she made her way through the hangar she passed Volk’s badly mauled X-wing. Volk had managed to pilot the ship back, and he was now in the infirmary, though his bird would never fly again. But it was the ship next to his that contained the real surprise.

  “Braylen—I mean Commander Stramm; what are you—” She trailed off as Stramm climbed down from the X-wing cockpit and faced Gina with an awkward smile.

  “We’re short on X-wing pilots and we need every fighter out there for the strike,” he said simply.

  “I didn’t know you could fly an X-wing.”

  As Stramm’s smile broadened, it seemed to lose its awkwardness. “I may not be as good a pilot as you, but there’s not a snubfighter built that I can’t fly. Besides, things were getting a bit boring up on the bridge.”

  I’ve misse
d you, she wanted to say. But when she opened her mouth, all she heard herself saying was just:

  “Well... Your squadron is ready.”

  “You mean your squadron,” he replied without missing a beat. “You’re still the boss. Technically I’m still with planning ops. Since Volk is in the infirmary, I’ll be slotted in as Lieutenant Li’s wingman.”

  “Seriously?” she said.

  “Affirmative.”

  There was a long pause.

  “So let me get this straight,” she said. “You broke up with me because you didn’t want to have to order me into battle, or put me at risk. And now you’re asking me to do the same to you?”

  “Do we have to have this conversation now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” Stramm hesitated. “It’s really pretty simple. I trust your judgement more than I trust mine.”

  “This is our last mission together,” she said.

  “You sure about that?”

  “I’m not sure about anything,” she said. “Not anymore.” She turned and walked away.

  “Hey Gina,” he called after her. “Good luck out there.”

  “Luck’s the least of my problems,” she replied.

  “Bandits coming in, lieutenant.” Stramm’s voice was strained, and with good reason. It seemed like he and Moonsong had spent the last day or so in constant combat. Her torpedo launchers were empty, and her B-wing’s maneuver drive redlined every time she engaged the thrusters. The X-wings and their pilots were just as battered and just as exhausted. But somehow the squadron was holding it together.

  “We’ve got them,” Moonsong answered. “Lock your S-foils in attack position and hold your fire until they get close.” Common sense told her she should turn her bird around, re-arm, maybe even grab twenty winks on the flight deck... but this wasn’t a time for common sense. It was time to push all the way through to the end.