Star Wars: X-Wing I: Rogue Squadron Read Free Page A

the only pilot in the unit who could have stayed with him.
Except for our leader
. Corran smiled broadly.
Coming to see how good I really am, Commander Antilles? Let me give you a clinic
. “Make sure you’re in there solid, Whistler, because we’re going for a little ride.”
    Corran refused to let the R2’s moan slow him down. A snap-roll brought the X-wing up on its port wing. Pulling back on the stick yanked the fighter’s nose up away from the original line of flight. The TIE stayed with him, then tightened up on the arc to close distance. Corran then rolled another ninety degrees and continued the turn into a dive. Throttling back, Corran hung in the dive for three seconds, then hauled back hard on the stick and cruised up into the TIE fighter’s aft.
    The X-wing’s laser fire missed wide to the right as the TIE cut to the left. Corran kicked his speed up to full and broke with the TIE. He let the X-wing rise above the plane of the break, then put the fighter through a twisting roll that ate up enough time to bring him again into the TIE’s rear. The TIE snapped to the right and Corran looped out left.
    He watched the tracking display as the distance between them grew to be a kilometer and a half, then slowed.
Fine, you want to go nose to nose? I’ve got shields and you don’t
. If Commander Antilles wanted to commit virtual suicide, Corran was happy to oblige him. He tugged the stick back to his sternum and rolled out in an inversion loop.
Coming at you!
    The two starfighters closed swiftly. Corran centered his foe in the crosshairs and waited for a deadshot. Without shields the TIE fighter would die with one burst, and Corran wanted the kill to be clean. His HUD flicked green as the TIE juked in and out of the center, then locked green as they closed.
    The TIE started firing at maximum range and scored hits. At that distance the lasers did no real damage against the shields, prompting Corran to wonder why Wedge was wasting the energy. Then, as the HUD’s green color started to flicker, realization dawned.
The bright bursts on the shields are a distraction to my targeting! I better kill him
now
!
    Corran tightened down on the trigger button, sending red laser needles stabbing out at the closing TIE fighter. He couldn’t tell if he had hit anything. Lights flashed in the cockpit and Whistler started screeching furiously. Corran’s main monitor went black, his shields were down, and his weapons controls were dead.
    The pilot looked left and right. “Where is he, Whistler?”
    The monitor in front of him flickered to life and a diagnostic report began to scroll by. Bloodred bordered the damage reports. “Scanners, out; lasers, out; shields, out; engine, out! I’m a wallowing Hutt just hanging here in space.”
    With the X-wing’s scanners being dead, the R2 droid couldn’t locate the TIE fighter if it was outside the droid’s scanner range. Whistler informed Corran of this with an anxious bleat.
    “Easy, Whistler, get me my shields back first. Hurry.” Corran continued to look around for the TIE fighter.
Letting me stew, are you, sir? You’ll finish the
Korolev
then come for me
. The pilot frowned and felt a cold chill run down his spine.
You’re right, I’m no Luke Skywalker. I’m glad you think I’m not bad, but I want to be the best!
    Suddenly the starfield went black and the simulatorpod hissed as it cracked open. The canopy lifted up and the sound of laughter filled the cockpit. Corran almost flicked the blast shield down on his helmet to prevent his three friends from seeing his embarrassed blush.
Nope, might as well take my punishment
. He stood and doffed his helmet, then shook his head. “At least it’s over.”
    The Twi’lek, Nawara Ven, clapped his hands. “Such modesty, Corran.”
    “Huh?”
    The blond woman next to the Twi’lek beamed up at him. “You won the
Redemption
scenario.”
    “What?”
    The grey-green Gand nodded his head and placed his helmet on the nose of