Solo Command (Star Wars, X-Wing #7)

This is a fast-moving and exciting installment in the X-wing series, the third by Aaron Allston. Once again, Wedge Antilles, "Face" Loran, and the other pilots of Rogue and Wraith squadrons are up against the Warlord Zsinj, who this time is trying to foment mistrust and fear between the human and non-human allies of the New Republic. A series of assassinations by Twi'leks and Gotals has led to the Provisional Council withdrawing all members of these races from active duty. Wedge suspects the aliens have been brainwashed, but it won't be easy to prove. To defeat Zsinj, the Rogues must destroy his flagship--the super star destroyer Iron Fist--but first they have to persuade Zsinj to risk it in battle. In an attempt to draw him into the open, they mock up a copy of the Millennium Falcon and use it to attack Zsinj's many business interests. Featuring a guest appearance by General Han Solo, this is a well-written addition to the X-wing series. Allston develops excellent camaraderie between the pilots as they play elaborate practical jokes on one another between missions. And there are plenty of missions, with at least half a dozen set-piece engagements, some in space, some planetside, all described in loving and convincing detail. --Elizabeth Sourbut From the Inside Flap ron: they are the Rebel Alliance's ultimate strike force. Sleek, swift, and deadly, they are the first in battle, the last line of defense. Now they must find and destroy a wily enemy more powerful than the Empire itself.Their covert mission has been a success. The enemy has been vanquished. Or so they thought. The Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist somehow escaped destruction and with it the New Republic's greatest threat, the infamous warlord Zsinj. To defeat him, Wraith Squadron must join a combat task force led by the only man crafty enough to beat Zsinj at his own game: Han Solo. But Zsinj knows the X-wing fighters' indomitable courage is both their greatest strength--and their greatest weakness. For even against the most overwhelming odds, the Rebels will fight to the death. And that will leave Zsinj the galaxy's unchallenged master! ron: they are the Rebel Alliance's ultimate strike force. Sleek, swift, and deadly, they are the first in battle, the last line of defense. Now they must find and destroy a wily enemy more powerful than the Empire itself.Their covert mission has been a success. The enemy has been vanquished. Or so they thought. The Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist somehow escaped destruction and with it the New Republic's greatest threat, the infamous warlord Zsinj. To defeat him, Wraith Squadron must join a combat task force led by the only man crafty enough to beat Zsinj at his own game: Han Solo. But Zsinj knows the X-wing fighters' indomitable courage is both their greatest strength--and their greatest weakness. For even against the most overwhelming odds, the Rebels will fight to the death. And that will leave Zsinj the galaxy's unchallenged master! Aaron Allston was the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen Star Wars novels as well as the Doc Sidhe novels, which combine 1930s-style hero-pulp fiction with Celtic myth. In addition to being a writer, he was a game designer, and in 2006 he was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame. Allston died in 2014. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Starfighters swarmed from the sides of the Mon Calamari cruiser Mon Remonda like insects from a deep-space nest.xa0xa0They formed up in four groups--two X-wing, one A-wing, one B-wing--and descended toward Levian Two, the world Mon Remonda now orbited.xa0xa0From this altitude, it seemed stony and orange and impossibly inhospitable, but the comm chatter the pilots were picking up suggested otherwise."Entering Delta Sector.xa0xa0More of the same.xa0xa0I'll map-flag locations of survivors." "Ravine Six here.xa0xa0Repulsorlift is out.xa0xa0I'm going to have to attempt a high-speed landing." "Ravine Six, switch to ten-oh-three.xa0xa0You've got your own controller standing by." "Beta Sector Base, this is Beta Ten.xa0xa0I read unknowns descending, four groups." "Beta Ten, this is Base.xa0xa0There are some TIEs in the unknowns but they're mostly friendlies."Wedge sighed and activated his comm unit.xa0xa0"Beta Sector Base, this is Rogue Leader.xa0xa0You've got Rogue, Wraith, Polearm, and Nova Squadrons in descent to your position.xa0xa0Looks like we're a little late to the party.""'Fraid so, Rogue Leader.xa0xa0You've missed a Raptor raid.xa0xa0They blasted out of here half an hour ago.xa0xa0We've got settlements and facilities hit all over this hemisphere.xa0xa0Could we interest you in some search-and-rescue action?""Glad to oblige.xa0xa0Give us vectors for twenty search pairs and we'll get on it.""Ships dropping out of hyperspace!" It was Mon Remonda 's sensor officer, Golorno, a human young enough not to be able to keep his voice level in times of stress.xa0xa0"I count four, five, six capital ships!"Han Solo abandoned his armature-mounted chair and moved to stand behind Golorno.xa0xa0He turned to his communications officer.xa0xa0"Recall the starfighters now." Then he leaned over Golorno's shoulder.xa0xa0"Details, I need details," he said."Uh, uh, two Star Destroyers, one Imperial -class, one Victory -class.xa0xa0One heavy cruiser, a Dreadnaught, I think.xa0xa0Two light cruisers--telemetry says probably Carrack -class.xa0xa0At the back of the formation .xa0xa0.xa0xa0." The young officer's voice dropped.xa0xa0"One Super-class Star Destroyer."" Iron Fist. " Solo straightened and slapped his hands together.xa0xa0"He's finally decided to come in for a scrap."He calculated unit strengths.xa0xa0His flagship was Mon Remonda, one of the most powerful of the Mon Calamari cruisers, and its pilot complement, led by Wedge Antilles, couldn't be better.xa0xa0Also in this portion of his fleet were Mon Karren, a Mon Cal cruiser of more normal strength, Tedevium, a frigate recently converted from a training ship back to a combat vessel, and Etherhawk, a Marauder -class corvette that was just one restoration job ahead of being dilapidated.xa0xa0Not nearly enough strength to handle the fleet Zsinj had assembled against him . . . but Zsinj didn't know that Solo's Group 2 was standing by outside the Levian system.xa0xa0One holocomm call and Solo's strength would be doubled, making this more of a fair slugging match.xa0xa0"Call in Group Two," he ordered.xa0xa0"How long before Zsinj's force reaches us?""Three minutes, sir.""How long before the starfighters return?""They're grouping.xa0xa0Four or five minutes, sir."Solo sighed.xa0xa0"Slugging match" was to be the correct phrase for it.An impulse caused him to turn back to the door out of the bridge.xa0xa0As he'd suspected, Chewbacca was there, just outside, standing by.xa0xa0The Wookiee, who chose to have no official role in the anti-Zsinj group, but preferred to stay near the bridge and Solo, had come up as soon as the tenor of voices from the bridge sounded different.xa0xa0Solo gave him a confident grin."A second group is dropping out of hyperspace, sir!"Solo whipped around to stare at the sensor screen again.xa0xa0It was broadening, updating--the data stream at the bottom indicated that the sensor screen was being supplemented by information from Tedevium. It showed another force of capital ships appearing on the far side of Levian Two.xa0xa0Telemetry indicated that the new force included two Star Destroyers, two Dreadnaughts, a light cruiser, and a Lancer -class frigate--a vessel designed especially to assault swarms of starfighters."We're in trouble," Solo said.Golorno turned to look up at Solo.xa0xa0He wasn't able to mask his fear.Solo gave him a reassuring half grin.xa0xa0"Don't worry.xa0xa0I know when to dump my cargo and run." He turned to the navigator.xa0xa0"Set us a course out of here.xa0xa0What's the closest path to get us out of Levian Two's gravity well?"The Mon Calamari navigator consulted his board.xa0xa0"Directly through the Super Star Destroyer's force, sir.""Figures.xa0xa0Make that our primary course.xa0xa0Pass it on to our group.""Done, sir.""Communications, revise my order to Group Two.xa0xa0Tell them to be on course and ready for a jump at any second, but to stand by.""Yes, sir."He turned to Captain Onoma, a Mon Calamari male with salmon-colored skin.xa0xa0"Captain, take us out.""Yes, sir.""Third hostile group dropping out of hyperspace!"Solo turned to look, disbelieving, at Golorno.xa0xa0"You have got to be kidding." * * * Wedge Antilles stood his X-wing on its tail and blasted toward the sky.He'd sent Polearm Squadron, the A-wing unit commanded by Captain Todra Mayn, on ahead.xa0xa0There was little tactical sense in keeping the faster craft back with the X-wings and B-wings.xa0xa0Now Wedge led Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron in escorting Nova Squadron, the B-wing unit.Sensor data arriving from Mon Remonda showed Solo's group closing slowly on a unit of six capital ships.xa0xa0The Mon Cal cruiser was already swarming with enemy starfighters, and defenders from Mon Karren and Tedevium. Wedge added up the numbers on that.xa0xa0Those two ships could field five squadrons of starfighters between them.xa0xa0The enemy force ahead could field nearly twenty-two squadrons.xa0xa0And then there were enemies coming up from behind--as Wedge's squadrons cleared the atmosphere, his sensors picked up two additional groups of capital ships chasing Solo's force.This was not going to be good.Wedge wondered if Baron Fel was among the starfighter pilots assaulting Mon Remonda. Soontir Fel was one of the greatest pilots ever to emerge from the Imperial Academy, one of the greatest to have flown with Rogue Squadron--and a man who shared a secret with Wedge Antilles.They were brothers-in-law.xa0xa0Only they and a very few others knew that famous Imperial actress Wynssa Starflare was also Wedge's sister Syal Antilles.xa0xa0Since the disappearance of Fel and Syal several years ago, Wedge had had no news whatsoever of his sister.xa0xa0Now Fel was back, but flying for the wrong side, and there was still no word of Syal.xa0xa0It was a secret Wedge kept very close.xa0xa0One of his own pilots, Face Loran, had even starred in a holodrama with Wynssa Starflare, but Wedge had never confided the secret to him, even to obtain Face's reminiscences about his sister.And now, once again, Wedge was rushing into battle with a force that might include Fel, leading to the grim possibility that he might have to shoot down his own brother-in-law .xa0xa0.xa0xa0.xa0xa0and perhaps lose any clue Fel might offer to Syal's fate.Sensors showed that the Iron Fist force had, since the last communication from Mon Remonda, turned about and was now retreating before Han Solo's force.xa0xa0Wedge nodded.xa0xa0If Zsinj maintained a course toward the planet, his force and Solo's would blast past one another in a matter of split seconds, exchanging one low-accuracy barrage, and then Zsinj would have to turn his force around to pursue.xa0xa0By retreating before Solo on the shortest course to an area of space where the New Republic fleet could engage their hyperdrives, he prolonged the engagement.Wedge's squadrons caught up to Mon Remonda, but circled around several kilometers from the Mon Cal cruiser.xa0xa0At this distance, the swarming dogfight between starfighters near the cruiser looked like twinkling stars.xa0xa0A grim simile--Wedge reminded himself that some of those twinkles were explosions that had once been friends and allies."S-foils to attack position," he ordered, and suited action to words by toggling the appropriate switch above his line of sight.xa0xa0His S-foils split and locked into the familiar profile that gave the X-wing its name.xa0xa0"B-wings, you may arm your weapons."His sensors showed Zsinj's force spread out before the approaching Mon Remonda. Straightforward tactics; it meant Mon Remonda couldn't expect to make a minor course change to elude a tight group of ships even temporarily.xa0xa0Any minor course change would still send Mon Remonda into the umbrella of enemy ships; any major course change would allow the pursuit ships to catch up.But this tactic was about to work in Wedge's favor.They dove in toward Iron Fist 's stern.xa0xa0Sensors showed no starfighter response from the Super Star Destroyer--either the remaining squadrons were being slow to scramble, or all squadrons were engaged with Mon Remonda. Then flashes of light emerged from the destroyer's stern, congregating on Wedge's force, and the ball-like detonations of concussion missiles began to fill the space around them.xa0xa0Wedge was rocked by a near miss.xa0xa0"Begin evasive maneuvers," he said.xa0xa0"X-wings, ready torpedoes.xa0xa0Remember, port engines only."Pair by pair, his X-wings began a dance, juking and jinking to throw off the aim of the Imperial gunners they so rapidly approached.xa0xa0The B-wings hung back, allowing the X-wings to draw the initial fire.Wedge's range meter scrolled down below two kilometers, the maximum effective range for his targeting computer.xa0xa0Enemy turbolaser fire increased in intensity--and proximity.At fifteen hundred meters, he said, "Launch one, launch two." He fired, sending paired proton torpedoes toward one of Iron Fist 's stern engines.xa0xa0More blue streaks than he could count emerged from his X-wings, instantly crossing the distance to the destroyer, which was suddenly and brilliantly illuminated by their detonations against the port side of the stern.He looped to port.xa0xa0"Novas, your turn.""Acknowledged, and thanks, Rogue Leader." That was the voice of Nova One.xa0xa0"Novas, launch one and begin ion fire."Blue streaks leaped from the B-wings.xa0xa0Then the ungainly-looking craft continued their dive toward Iron Fist 's engines, their ion cannons sustaining fire against the destroyer's stern.Wedge wished them success.xa0xa0They were designed to hurt capital ships; their pilots knew what they were doing.xa0xa0But if Iron Fist called back its starfighters and the Novas didn't notice in time, the entire squad could be lost.Now it was time to meet the weak link of this force: Zsinj's light cruisers. Read more