Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

Author:Timothy Zahn [Zahn, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, SciFi, Star Wars, Imperial Era, Imperial Commando
ISBN: 0345511506
Publisher: Del Rey

Across the field came the faint boom as the factory door closed. “Now?” Winter asked.

Han clicked his comlink. “Chewie? Kell? Dozer?

“Now.”

Chapter Thirteen

Finally, finally, the order came.

Practically before that single long-awaited syllable had finished coming through his comlink, Kell had the Z-95 in the air, the combination of repulsorlifts and main engines jamming him back into his seat, the indicator lights on his control board looking like a bleed-through of the stars above and the city lights to both sides.

The waiting was over. He was going into battle. Maybe not the intensity of combat that haunted both his dreams and his nightmares, but combat nonetheless.

And with the end of the waiting came the end of at least some of the doubts.

He’d worried that he would hesitate or, worse, freeze. He hadn’t. He’d worried that he might not be able to handle a ship that, for all his earlier confident assurances, he’d had little experience with outside of game simulators. It seemed to be working fine. He’d worried that he might turn tail and abandon the mission. So far that hadn’t happened, either.

He’d worried that he might not be able to face death for the sake of his teammates. That one, unfortunately, still lay ahead. And if and when it came down to that, he still had no idea how he would react.

But he didn’t have to know. Not yet. Courage wasn’t a matter of taking the whole mountain in a single massive leap. Courage was taking it one step at a time, doing what was necessary now, preparing for the next step, and refusing to worry about whether some step in the future would be the one that would break him.

He was in the air, flying his fighter with adequate skill, and heading in the right direction. Three steps down. One at a time to go.

He keyed the Z-95’s comm. “Chewie?”

There was an acknowledging roar, wordless confirmation that the Wookiee was in position behind him.

And maybe that was the real secret to courage, Kell realized suddenly: someone at your back, and the assurance that you weren’t facing the mountain alone.

He straightened his shoulders. Enough philosophy. He had a fighter beneath him, a set of weapons at his fingertips, and teammates who needed rescuing. “Stay with me,” he told Chewie. An order or a plea, he wasn’t sure which. “I’m going in.”

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