vultures, fat with the explosive buzz droids, flying straight at the Star Destroyer.
“Try to keep them off the
Perilous
,” the squadron commander said to the rest of the pilots, understanding the implications right away.
Vader slammed on his stick, whirled his ship around, and headed back in the direction of the
Perilous
, but he could see he was already too late. Dozens of the droids had been vaporized in the withering fire from the Star Destroyer, and the more maneuverable V-wings locked on and destroyed many, too, but many would get through.
Meanwhile, clouds of buzz droids that had survived the destruction of the vulture droids carrying them floated free in space, legs and eyestalks waving. Vader saw several latch on to a V-wing as it flew through them. They scurried onto the wings and canopy and exploded, shearing a wing, shattering the canopy, and destroying the fighter.
Vader accelerated and flew directly toward a cloud of them, using his free hand to focus his use of the Force as he approached. A gesture, an exercise of will, and he slammed several of the free-floating buzz droids into one another, where they exploded, clearing his way. He locked on to another vulture droid before it could reach the
Perilous
, followed it as it veered left, then right, fired, and turned it to a cloud of flames.
As he’d expected, the vulture droids fired as they approached the Star Destroyer, but they did not reduce speed to increase maneuverability. Instead they stayed at maximum acceleration, obviously intending to crash into the ship and release their cargo. Vader destroyed another, then another. But he couldn’t get them all, and the surviving vultures slammed into the ship at full speed.
Enormous towers of flame rose from the
Perilous
’s superstructure.Vader veered hard left and wheeled around, cutting down another vulture droid as he turned. He could imagine that the damage to the interior of the Star Destroyer was worse than he could see, as the vulture droids would have ejected their buzz droids into the corridors. The tiny bombs would run deeper into the ship and explode.
Two vultures headed directly for the shield generator. He destroyed one and then another, but the buzz droids they carried floated out of the fire of the vultures’ destruction, glommed on to the shield generator, and there exploded into flame. Another vulture crashed into the flight deck; another hit adjacent to the bridge. Many crashed into or near the ship’s gun turrets and destroyed them. Secondary explosions rocked the ship. The Star Destroyer was bleeding fire and debris and bodies from scores of wounds.
Vader flew under the ship, looking for more targets, and saw another wave of vultures streaking toward the
Perilous
.
Curses and exclamations of shock carried over the comm from the V-wing squadrons.
“Stay focused,” the squadron commander barked. “And destroy as many as possible before they reach the ship.”
Vader wheeled back around, accompanied by the bulk of the V-wing squadron, and opened fire on the vulture droids. He destroyed one, another. A V-wing to starboard caught droid fire and exploded.
—
Kallon had stopped muttering and even he was grinning as they watched the
Perilous
burn. Gobi could no longer sit, but paced the floor in excitement, eyes on the screens, a smile fixed on his face.
But Cham had a better understanding of the ship’s ability to withstand damage than did his comrades. They’d wounded it, killed hundreds, maybe thousands of Imperials, but they were nowhere close to destroying it.
“Her guns are out of commission!” Gobi exclaimed. “She’s defenseless! Let’s finish her!”
“The second wave, Kallon,” Cham ordered, and Kallon sent thecommand to the second wave of vulture droids Cham had held in reserve. He resumed muttering to himself the moment he sent the signal.
Another hundred or so vulture droids, all of them heavy with explosive buzz droids, powered up and accelerated out of
“Try to keep them off the
Perilous
,” the squadron commander said to the rest of the pilots, understanding the implications right away.
Vader slammed on his stick, whirled his ship around, and headed back in the direction of the
Perilous
, but he could see he was already too late. Dozens of the droids had been vaporized in the withering fire from the Star Destroyer, and the more maneuverable V-wings locked on and destroyed many, too, but many would get through.
Meanwhile, clouds of buzz droids that had survived the destruction of the vulture droids carrying them floated free in space, legs and eyestalks waving. Vader saw several latch on to a V-wing as it flew through them. They scurried onto the wings and canopy and exploded, shearing a wing, shattering the canopy, and destroying the fighter.
Vader accelerated and flew directly toward a cloud of them, using his free hand to focus his use of the Force as he approached. A gesture, an exercise of will, and he slammed several of the free-floating buzz droids into one another, where they exploded, clearing his way. He locked on to another vulture droid before it could reach the
Perilous
, followed it as it veered left, then right, fired, and turned it to a cloud of flames.
As he’d expected, the vulture droids fired as they approached the Star Destroyer, but they did not reduce speed to increase maneuverability. Instead they stayed at maximum acceleration, obviously intending to crash into the ship and release their cargo. Vader destroyed another, then another. But he couldn’t get them all, and the surviving vultures slammed into the ship at full speed.
Enormous towers of flame rose from the
Perilous
’s superstructure.Vader veered hard left and wheeled around, cutting down another vulture droid as he turned. He could imagine that the damage to the interior of the Star Destroyer was worse than he could see, as the vulture droids would have ejected their buzz droids into the corridors. The tiny bombs would run deeper into the ship and explode.
Two vultures headed directly for the shield generator. He destroyed one and then another, but the buzz droids they carried floated out of the fire of the vultures’ destruction, glommed on to the shield generator, and there exploded into flame. Another vulture crashed into the flight deck; another hit adjacent to the bridge. Many crashed into or near the ship’s gun turrets and destroyed them. Secondary explosions rocked the ship. The Star Destroyer was bleeding fire and debris and bodies from scores of wounds.
Vader flew under the ship, looking for more targets, and saw another wave of vultures streaking toward the
Perilous
.
Curses and exclamations of shock carried over the comm from the V-wing squadrons.
“Stay focused,” the squadron commander barked. “And destroy as many as possible before they reach the ship.”
Vader wheeled back around, accompanied by the bulk of the V-wing squadron, and opened fire on the vulture droids. He destroyed one, another. A V-wing to starboard caught droid fire and exploded.
—
Kallon had stopped muttering and even he was grinning as they watched the
Perilous
burn. Gobi could no longer sit, but paced the floor in excitement, eyes on the screens, a smile fixed on his face.
But Cham had a better understanding of the ship’s ability to withstand damage than did his comrades. They’d wounded it, killed hundreds, maybe thousands of Imperials, but they were nowhere close to destroying it.
“Her guns are out of commission!” Gobi exclaimed. “She’s defenseless! Let’s finish her!”
“The second wave, Kallon,” Cham ordered, and Kallon sent thecommand to the second wave of vulture droids Cham had held in reserve. He resumed muttering to himself the moment he sent the signal.
Another hundred or so vulture droids, all of them heavy with explosive buzz droids, powered up and accelerated out of
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