Iron Fist by Aaron Allston

Author:Aaron Allston
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Tags: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Star Wars Fiction, General, Fantasy, American, Imaginary wars and battles, Adventure, Fighter Pilots, Fiction, Adult
ISBN: 9780553578973
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 1998-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

More than a score. The second flight of TIEs emerged.

Wedge checked the sensor board. Thirty-six unfriendlies, three full squadrons. Shalla spoke next, her voice subdued even in its distorted form "We are so dead." Bastion shuddered.

Runt looked over the diagnostics board. "Are we hit?"

"No, we're tractored. By that." Kell tapped the sensor

board and the huge shape on it. "Look at this. We're gaining altitude." Donos's voice came over the intercom. "What's happening?" "They've got us. Our mission is scrubbed, and so are we, if we can't figure out a way to get clear of them. Hold on a sec-ond. Runt, fire up the comm system and put all the power you can into our signal." "Done."

"Five to One, do you read? Over."

His reply was a static hiss.

"Five to Eleven, do you read? Over"

"-leven, read-you. Sig-breaking up."

"Abort mission. Repeat, abort mission. Over."

"Neg-ve. Standing-your departure. Over."

"Do not stand by. This is a direct order. Abort mission.

Acknowledge. Over."

There was no reply.

"We have incoming starfighters from the capital ship,"

Runt said.

"Of course we do. Our day wouldn't be complete without them, would it?" Tyria's voice came back, "Ack-ed. Aborting. Over." On the sensor screen, the blips representing her TIE fighter and Piggy's veered off on an escape vector.

Kell took a deep breath. He wanted to make one final transmission. I love you. But he couldn't give the enemy forces any clue, any extra information to help them pry into the Hawk-bats' identities. He shut down the comm system. As he settled on his next course of action, he felt his body, his spirit, grow heavy.

Donos's voice came over the intercom again. "What's the plan, Five ?"

"Runt joins you in the shuttle. At a time of my choosing, probably when we're as close as we're going to get to that capi-tal ship without being trapped inside, you launch and get a few seconds of acceleration before another tractor beam grabs you. In that time, I set off our explosive charges." Runt's eyes went wide. Kell saw them flicker, a sign that Runt was flipping between personalities, looking for the one with the most pertinent skills to add to the situation.

Donos's voice came back. "Uh, you need to be aboard the shuttle to do that."

"Can't do it, Nine. The transmitter I have and the one in the shuttle won't be able to cut through their jamming."

"Then use a timer."

"Then we can't count on it being precisely positioned to

do the most damage to the capital ship." "Use Bastion's proximity sensors."

"Bastion's proximity sensors, at anything under two klicks, are called human eyes, Nine. We're lucky this crate had refreshers."

"Wait a second, I think Castin and I can work out some-thing." Donos paused a moment. "Yes. I can set off the explo-sives at a distance."

"Without a comlink?"

"Without a comlink."

"How?"

"Because I'm special and you're not. Now, I need you to set Bastion's comm system to pick up tight-beam transmissions across the electromagnetic spectrum."

Kell felt the heaviness leave him as he grasped what Donos was planning. "I read you. We'll be right there.

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