Jedi under Siege

16

Laser blasts from the pursuing TIE fighters spanged against Jaina’s stolen Imperial ship. One blast sizzled off a corner of the hexagonal power array, sending up a shower of sparks.

She fought to maintain control as her ship began to spin. She lost power, but still her ship flashed onward, propelled by its stealth drive. The silent engines had been made for covert action—not for all-out speed. Behind her, the furious TIE fighters closed the distance.

Jaina flew a frantic evasive action, up and down, diving toward the jungle treetops and then pulling up, hoping the Imperial pilots would make a mistake—slam into a tree branch or collide with each other or something.

No such luck.

The three pursuers had reached point-blank firing range, and Jaina had to take one last gamble. Using the mental speed given to her by Jedi training, she spun the TIE fighter about like a rotating ball, up and over, so that an instant later she headed not away from them, but straight toward them! The distance closed in a flash. Jaina had time for only a single shot.

And she didn’t waste it.

The blast from her laser cannon ripped open the bottom of one of the TIE fighters, severing its controls, breaking the cockpit’s airtight seal. The pilot fell through the hole and tumbled toward the jungle.

Jaina roared between the other two TIE fighters, heading as fast as she could in the opposite direction. They wheeled about, taking longer to complete a three-hundred-sixty-degree turn in the air, but within moments they were following again in hot pursuit.

Jaina flicked her gaze across the control panels, searching for anything that might help her, some secret weapon this TIE fighter might have. She doubted she would find anything that her pursuers couldn’t counter.

Then her eyes fixed on a small button: twin ion engine shunt. Suddenly she realized this would add the TIE fighter’s normal engines back to the low-powered stealth drive her fighter had been using.

Without hesitation, she toggled the button off, deactivating the shunt—and with a screech of power, her TIE fighter leaped forward. The roar of acceleration slammed her back against the seat, jolting her lips into a grimace. The ship pulled forward faster than anything Jaina had ever felt.

If she could gain enough of a lead and head straight up into orbit, if she could swing around the jungle moon out of visual range, she could cut her engines for a while and drift out into black space. The stealth coating on this ship’s armor would be an enormous advantage. If she could just get out of sight, she could make her ship invisible … and she would be safe.

Making use of the ship’s acceleration, working with her hands against the increased gravity from the thundering flight, Jaina tilted upward on a straight-line course through the atmosphere, up into space.

The remaining pair of Imperial fighters streaked after her. She didn’t know if her acceleration allowed her to fly much faster than the TIE’s normal power, but she knew she had to gain distance and use all of her wits.

The atmosphere thinned to a deeper purple, and then the midnight blue of space. To her dismay, she saw that the remaining TIE fighters had closed the distance again, not as much as before, but to within visual range. Her plan wouldn’t work—she could never dodge them and disappear against the silent blackness. Her stealth armor would be useless now.

She wondered if she should fight them head-on again. There was a chance that she could take out both Imperial ships before they shot her down … but she doubted it.

She was done for.

Just at that moment of despair, Jaina saw a glimmering in the blackness as new ships emerged from hyperspace—reinforcements! New Republic warships! Her heart leaped. It was a small fleet, but well armed, ready to take on the Shadow Academy. Her brother’s distress signal must have gotten through.

With a whoop of delight, Jaina adjusted course and shot like a projectile straight toward the fleet of Corellian gunships and corvettes, the quickest bunch the New Republic had been able to muster for the Jedi academy.

Her stolen TIE fighter vibrated as she pushed the acceleration far beyond the red lines. She was still losing power from her damaged side array. “Come on, come on,” Jaina said, biting her lip. The ship had to last only a few moments longer. Just a few moments.

The front Corellian corvette loomed closer and closer. But the enemy TIE fighters clung right behind her, still shooting.

Jaina spun and dodged until finally she came into range of the New Republic ships. They began firing huge turbolaser bolts that streaked so close to her ship that the crackling beams dazzled her eyes.

It took Jaina a moment to realize that the gunships were shooting at her!

She quickly understood her folly. Here she was in an Imperial ship diving toward the fleet with two more TIE fighters right behind her, laser cannons blasting. It must have looked like all three craft were on some sort of a suicide run.

She grabbed the comm system, toggled it to an open channel, and broadcast at full power. “New Republic fleet—don’t shoot, don’t shoot! This is Jaina Solo. I’ve commandeered an Imperial fighter.”

More ships appeared at the side, heavily armed hodgepodge vessels bearing the insignia of GemDiver Station, Lando Calrissian’s Corusca-gem processing facility that orbited the gas giant Yavin.

“Jaina Solo?” Lando’s voice came over the comm system. “Little lady, what are you doing out here?”

“Turning into space dust, if you guys don’t take care of the two TIE fighters on my tail!”

Admiral Ackbar’s voice broke in. “We’re targeting now,” he said. “Do not fear, Jaina Solo.”

“I’m in the front one,” she reminded him nervously. “Don’t hit the wrong TIE fighter! Well, what are you waiting for?”

A flurry of turbolaser strikes lanced out around Jaina in a pattern so dense that space became a web of deadly weapons fire. Dozens of bolts shot from the Corellian gun-ships and Lando Calrissian’s private fleet. Within moments the two TIE fighters were vaporized, and Jaina let out a long sigh of relief.

Sending a signal from the front Corellian corvette, Admiral Ackbar guided her to the forward docking bay. “Please come aboard, Jaina Solo,” he said. “We will offer you sanctuary for the time being while we combat the Shadow Academy. We believe that is the best way to protect personnel on the surface.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jaina said. “But as soon as it’s clear, I want to get back down to fight next to my brother and friends.”

“If we do our job well,” Ackbar said, “there won’t be much of a fight left.”

After docking, Jaina climbed out of the stolen TIE fighter, perspiring heavily and glad to be free of the Imperial ship. She no longer felt a great desire to fly one of the craft. Her first experience had been exciting, but not necessarily one she wanted to repeat.

Greeting some of the New Republic soldiers, Jaina quickly ran her fingers through her long, straight brown hair and then rushed to a turbolift. When she arrived on the bridge, she stood beside Admiral Ackbar and watched the fleet attack the ominous spiked station.

New Republic warships pummeled the Dark Jedi training center in orbit over Yavin 4. The Shadow Academy’s powerful shields remained up, but the constant bombardment took its toll.

Lando Calrissian’s ships swooped closer, adding their weapons fire. Under the combined onslaught, the Shadow Academy would surely be destroyed before long, Jaina thought.

Ackbar sent out a transmission. “Shadow Academy, prepare to surrender and be boarded.”

Jaina didn’t have time to relax, though. The Shadow Academy did not bother to answer, and one of the tactical officers suddenly shouted, “Admiral Ackbar, we’re detecting a surge in hyperspace, off to starboard. It appears that an entire—”

As Jaina watched the viewscreen, a group of terrifying Imperial ships appeared, Star Destroyers that looked as if they had been hastily assembled and modified. Hasty or not, their weaponry was new and lethal.

“Where did that fleet come from?” Lando squawked over the comm channel.

Ship after Imperial ship arrived, an entire, fully armed fighting force that owed allegiance to the Second Imperium. Before even orienting themselves, the Imperial ships opened fire on the New Republic fleet.

“Shields up!” Admiral Ackbar ordered. He turned to Jaina, his round, fishy eyes swiveling in alarm. “It appears that we may experience some difficulty after all,” he said.