Star Wars Missions 004 - Destroy the Liquidator

by Ryder Windham

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT

  PRELIMINARY MISSION

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  MISSION BRIEFING

  YOUR MISSION: DESTROY THE LIQUIDATOR

  THE AFTER-MISSION

  The Imperial Star Destroyer Liquidator exited hyperspace and entered the Yavin system. Admiral Termo stood on the bridge, gazing out the main viewport as the stars came into focus.

  Seeing nothing but clear starfields, Termo realized that the Death Star truly had been obliterated. There wasn’t even any sign of floating wreckage.

  Termo was the only person aboard the Liquidator who knew of the Death Star’s destruction. He assumed the Emperor wanted to delay the news so the galaxy would not immediately know of the Empire’s loss. Termo allowed the Liquidator’s crew to believe the Death Star still existed.

  But the crew was uneasy. They knew the Death Star had failed to meet them in the Delrakkin system. Furthermore, the Liquidator had suffered great losses in the battle at Delrakkin. Numerous TIE fighters and twenty-three Imperial-owned X-wing starfighters had been destroyed by a single Rebel spy.

  The Rebel had also managed to break into Termo’s private quarters and steal two holotapes. There was no telling what the Rebels might do with the stolen tapes. The second tape was especially damaging, as it described the Empire’s plan to use contaminated bacta as a weapon. It also detailed hyperspace experiments that were to be conducted on Delrakkin.

  Termo was concerned because Grand Moff Tarkin (killed with the destruction of the Death Star) had trusted Captain Skeezer with such secret plans. Why didn’t Tarkin tell me? Termo wondered. This troubled Termo even more than Captain Skeezer’s failure to return from the Yavin system.

  Termo recalled the last words Grand Moff Tarkin uttered on the second holotape: “Although it sounds unlikely, it is possible that the Death Star requires your aid. After you attack Delrakkin, Admiral Termo, you are to travel to the Yavin system and locate the Death Star.”

  Delrakkin had been attacked, but not destroyed. Although the Death Star was gone, Admiral Termo brought the Liquidator to the Yavin system to follow Grand Moff Tarkin’s final command. Termo would find the cause of the Death Star’s destruction and avenge Grand Moff Tarkin’s death.

  Tarkin had recorded a third holotape. After Admiral Termo had played the first two holotapes, he had suspected the third might be the most important of all. Instead of returning it to the safe, Termo had placed it in his breast pocket When he received an order to play the tape, he would be ready.

  Termo turned to Communications Officer Tix. “Is there any signal from the Death Star?” Termo asked, already knowing the answer.

  “No, sir,” Tix replied.

  “Do any of the planets in this system support life?” Termo inquired.

  Tix consulted a large monitor, then answered, “No, sir. But three of Yavin’s moons are capable of supporting life.”

  “Which is the nearest of the three?” Termo asked.

  “Yavin Eight, sir.”

  “Then proceed to Yavin Eight,” Termo ordered. “Launch the probes for the other moons!”

  After leaving Delrakkin, the Millennium Falcon blasted into hyperspace with a newly acquired X-wing starfighter secured to its lower hull. Princess Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker sat behind Han Solo and Chewbacca in the cockpit. The droids were in the Falcon’s central hold area. They all hoped to reach Yavin Four before the Liquidator could locate the Rebel base.

  After a long silence, Luke turned to Leia. “Do you really think the Empire might be able to control access to hyperspace?” Luke asked.

  “Consider what Grand Moff Tarkin said on the holotape, Luke,” Leia answered. “The Liquidator attempted to destroy Delrakkin City. The Death Star was prepared to finish off any survivors with contaminated bacta. The Empire was actually willing to neutralize Imperial citizens, just so Grand Moff Tarkin could conduct secret tests.”

  “But Tarkin is dead!” Luke pointed out

  “Yes, but the Emperor is still alive,” Leia explained. “If Palpatine allowed the Liquidator to attack Delrakkin, he must believe the hyperspace experiments will work.”

  “Speaking of hyperspace,” Han Solo interrupted, “we’re about to come out!” The Millennium Falcon shuddered as it slowed to sublight speed and the gas-giant planet Yavin came into view.

  A blinking warning light caught Chewbacca’s attention. The Wookiee snarled as he adjusted a small computer monitor.

  “What’s Chewbacca doing?” Leia asked.

  “He’s spotted another ship on our sensor screen,” Solo answered as he glanced at Chewbacca’s monitor. “Looks like a Star Destroyer is orbiting Yavin Eight.”

  “Yavin Eight?” Luke exclaimed. “But that’s so far from our present position! How could you know the Star Destroyer’s exact location for certain?”

  “Don’t underestimate the Falcon, Luke,” Solo retorted. “We’ve got a top-of-the line sensor suite system onboard. We can detect other ships long before they know we’re around.”

  “I thought it was illegal for freighters to have such long-range sensors,” Leia stated.

  “Illegal? Really? Oh, no!” Solo gasped as if he were genuinely surprised. He turned to his copilot. “Did you know it was illegal, Chewie? I hope you kept the receipt for our sensor system. Maybe we could get a refund!”

  The Wookiee replied to Solo’s sarcasm with roaring laughter.

  Leia shook her head. “Forget I mentioned it, Han,” she said. “We’re in luck. The Star Destroyer hasn’t located the Rebel base yet. Can we get back to Yavin Four without drawing the Liquidator’s atttention?”

  “No problem,” Solo answered as the Millennium Falcon launched forward. “We’re well out of range of any Imperial scanners. All we have to do is —”

  Solo’s words were interrupted by a flash of light speeding past the Falcon.

  “What was that?” Leia shouted.

  “Looks like some kind of an Imperial probe,” Solo answered as he adjusted the controls. “It’s on a direct course for Yavin Four.”

  “We have to stop that probe!” Leia stated.

  “I’m going to the lower gunport,” Luke said as he scrambled out of his seat.

  “Punch it, Chewie!” Solo ordered.

  Yavin Eight filled the Liquidator’s viewport. The Star Destroyer had deployed a planetary assault team onto the mountainous moon, searching for any signs of Rebel activity.

  Admiral Termo looked away from the viewport and turned to Officer Tix. “What’s the report from the surface?” Termo asked.

  “Rocky terrain with rodentlike life, sir,” Tix answered. “No sign of the Rebellion so far, but we still have a lot of ground to cover.”

  “We have the entire Yavin system to cover, Officer Tix,” Termo said. “We’d best move on. Leave the primary assault team on Yavin Eight while we sweep the system with the Liquidator. Have the probes reached the other moons?”

  Tix glanced at another console. “The Yavin Thirteen probe has landed.” Tix tapped at a keyboard and new figures appeared on his screen. “The Yavin Four probe is still in transit, and will arrive shortly. If the Rebels are on Yavin Thirteen, they’re heavily concealed, sir.”

  “Hmmm,” Termo mumbled. “Take us out to Yavin Thirteen. We need to be certain.”

  Tix looked up at Admiral Termo. The commanding officer of the Imperial Star Destroyer Liquidator was biting his fingernails.

  The Millennium Falcon tore through space, racing after the Imperial probe.

  “We’re almost in range, Luke,” Solo spoke into the Falcon�
��s comm.

  “I’m ready,” Luke answered from his gunport He adjusted the sights on the quad laser cannon. “I’m getting a visual on the probe.” From the gunport, the probe resembled a sleek missile with a pointed, dart-like nosecone.

  “Okay, kid,” Solo urged, “on my mark —”

  “Wait!” Leia shouted, startling Solo. “If Luke misses, the probe might signal the Liquidator!”

  “I’ve already got that figured out, Your Observedness — we won’t miss,” Solo replied as he reached for a black button. “Okay, Luke,” Solo muttered. “On ‘three.’ One… two… three!”

  At the exact moment Luke fired the laser cannon at the Imperial probe, Solo launched a concussion missile at the same target. A split second later the probe exploded in a bright burst of energy.

  “Nice job, Luke!” Solo said into the comm. “Come on back to the cockpit.” Solo glanced over his shoulder at Leia. “Pretty smart, huh?”

  “Maybe not,” Leia answered. “Now that there’s no chance for the probe to report back to the Liquidator, Admiral Termo will be suspicious when he doesn’t receive a signal from Yavin Four.”

  “Termo will get a signal,” Solo assured her. “We’ll send a fake transmission saying Yavin Four is clear. That should make the Liquidator pass us by.”

  Before Leia could question Solo’s logic, Luke entered the cockpit and asked, “Why did you waste a concussion missile, Han? You know I could have shot that probe with my eyes closed!”

  Solo chuckled. “And let you have all the fun? You’re dreaming!”

  The Falcon swung hard to the starboard side and Yavin Four came into view. “Buckle up, everybody,” Solo commanded. “We’ll be landing in a few minutes.”

  Imperial Captain Skeezer sat in his white plastic cell on Yavin Four. As best as Skeezer could figure, he had been in his cell for several days. He had not said a word since his experience in the operating room.

  In the operating room, a Rebel doctor named Solo had told Skeezer he had been injured during his capture. According to Solo, the injuries required placing Skeezer in a tank filled with bacta from the Death Star. Skeezer had panicked, telling the doctor that the Death Star’s bacta was contaminated. Then a Wookiee had entered the operating room and Skeezer had fainted.

  When Skeezer had awakened, he was in this cell. He had not been injured at all. Now he realized the Rebels had lied about having bacta from the Death Star. They had tricked him into revealing what he knew of the poisoned cargo.

  Although the Rebels might have lied about removing bacta from the Death Star, Skeezer believed they were telling the truth about the destruction of the massive space station. There were two perfectly good reasons for Skeezer’s belief: the Death Star had never arrived at Delrakkin, and Yavin Four was still very much in one piece.

  Skeezer knew the Rebels would probably pursue the truth about the contaminated bacta. From Thyferra to Delrakkin, he had left a well-covered trail, and he doubted the Rebels would find anything. Still, Skeezer felt well enough to look into the matter himself.

  Time to escape, Skeezer thought.

  Captain Skeezer fell to the white plastic floor of his cell. He clutched his stomach and groaned loudly.

  Three Rebel guards entered Skeezer’s cell. “Stand up!” one of the guards commanded.

  “I… I can’t!” Skeezer wheezed through clenched teeth. “I’m sick! I think my food was p-p-poisoned!” Drool fell from Skeezer’s lips onto the floor.

  Two guards stepped over to the fallen Imperial captain while the third guard remained standing in the doorway. The two guards took hold of Skeezer and lifted him off the floor.

  As Skeezer was raised to his feet, he swung his elbow hard into one guard and grabbed the other guard’s holstered blaster. In the doorway, the third guard drew his own blaster but was too late. Skeezer fired and the third guard fell backward to the floor. Skeezer twisted sharply, fired twice more, and the other guards went down.

  Skeezer checked the still-smoking blaster. It had been set to stun. The three guards would live. The only reason Skeezer did not finish them off was because he didn’t want to waste any ammunition.

  Skeezer grabbed the other guards’ weapons and ran from the cell. He was making his way down a dim corridor when he recognized the scent of engine fuel. As he moved forward, the scent became stronger.

  In seconds, Skeezer located the Rebels’ hangar. Only a few small fighter craft were visible in the darkness, but they all appeared to be under repair. None of the crafts looked ready for flight Skeezer stuck to the shadows as he moved across the hangar, heading for the wide doorway.

  Outside the hangar, the daylight nearly blinded Captain Skeezer. Squinting, he saw a large group of Rebel technicians and repair droids working on a Gallofree Yards Medium Transport. The transport was too large to fit inside the hangar, which explained why the Rebels worked on it in the open air. Fortunately for Skeezer, the Rebels were too busy with the repairs to notice him.

  Captain Skeezer kept close to the ancient temple, moving behind some low shrubs. As he rounded an outside corner of the temple, Skeezer looked up to see another large ship. The Imperial captain’s heart skipped a beat.

  It was his Carrack cruiser… and it had been completely repaired.

  “Oh, dear,” Threepio exclaimed as the Millennium Falcon angled sharply, descending through the atmosphere of Yavin Four. “I really do hate space travel!”

  Braced against the wall of the central hold area, Artoo responded to Threepio’s comment with a flurry of electronic chirps and whistles.

  “Don’t call me gravity bait, you tottering kettle!” Threepio replied. “You’d hate space travel too if you had as many moving parts!”

  Q-7N hovered before Threepio’s face and asked, “Do you think anyone would mind if I flew to the cockpit? I spent several centuries on Yavin Four, but I’ve never seen it from space!”

  “If anyone minds,” Threepio considered, “I’m sure they’ll tell you.”

  Q-7N flew through the narrow passageway to the cockpit. He stopped just to the side of Luke Skywalker’s head. Luke turned, surprised, to the small floating droid. Luke smiled and said, “Well hello, Q-7N.”

  “Hello, Master Luke,” Q-7N whispered. “I hope I’m not disturbing anyone, but I hoped I might see Yavin Four from space!”

  “By all means,” Luke encouraged, extending his hand to the cockpit windows. “Take in the view.”

  “There’s the Rebel base!” Q-7N remarked with great excitement One of Q-7N’s three photoreceptors spotted movement near the ancient temple. “Is that the Carrack cruiser?”

  “It sure is,” Solo replied. “The repairs must’ve been completed. Someone is taking it for a test flight.”

  The Carrack cruiser rose into the air and wobbled slightly before heading toward the Falcon.

  Chewbacca growled.

  “What’s that pilot doing?” Leia asked.

  “He’s heading right for us!” Solo shouted.

  Without warning, the Carrack cruiser blasted laser fire at the Millennium Falcon. A small explosion rocked the Correllian freighter. Solo gripped the controls, trying to correct his ship’s descent

  “The Carrack shot our main deflector shield projector!” Solo yelled. “Who’s flying that ship?”

  As if in response, the Carrack fired a second blast that struck the Falcon’s hull. Chewbacca howled, struggling with the controls as the Falcon lurched off course.

  “Hang on!” Solo yelled. “It’s going to be a rough landing!”

  The Millennium Falcon swooped low, scraping the tops of the tall jungle trees. Only Solo and Chewbacca’s combined years of flying prevented the bulky freighter from crashing. They landed the ship near the Rebel base, next to the Rebels’ medium transport ship.

  As soon as the ramp hit the ground, the Falcon’s crew and passengers piled out of the damaged ship. A Rebel technician ran from the Gallofree Yards Medium Transport.

  “Princess Leia!” the technician called out.
“Captain Skeezer escaped in the Carrack cruiser!”

  “Skeezer?” Solo said in disbelief. “But how could he—?”

  “There’s no time for wondering how he escaped!” Leia snapped. “If Skeezer manages to reach the Liquidator and alert Termo to our location, we’re doomed!”

  “Well, the Falcon’s not going anywhere without its shields!” Solo scoffed as he looked skywards. The Carrack cruiser was still within sight as it rocketed upwards.

  “I don’t mean to change the subject,” said the Rebel technician, looking at the X-wing attached to the bottom hull of the Falcon, “but I would have sworn you left Yavin Four with a Y-wing!”

  Leia shot a glance at the X-wing and the other Y-wing and A-wing starfighters nearby. Then she turned to her friends. “Of course! One of us can go after that Carrack immediately!”

  Before you proceed, you must consult the Mission Guide for the rules of the STAR WARS MISSIONS. You must follow these rules at all times.

  This is a Rebel mission.

  Imperial Captain Skeezer has escaped in his repaired Carrack cruiser. If Skeezer contacts the Imperial Star Destroyer Liquidator, he will reveal the location of the Rebel base to Admiral Termo. The Rebel Alliance lost most of their ships in the battle of Yavin (against the Death Star), and the Rebels are not ready to defend themselves against an attack from an Imperial Star Destroyer. You must prevent Captain Skeezer from reaching the Liquidator.

  The Liquidator is in the Yavin system searching for the cause of the Death Star’s destruction. It will not leave until it searches every planet and moon. If the Rebels attempt to escape from Yavin Four, they will probably be attacked by the Liquidator. You must prevent the Liquidator from reaching Yavin Four.

  You start this Mission with your MP total from your previous Mission.

  Choose your character. You can take no more than four weapons (including a blaster rifle and a laser pistol), and one vehicle (which must be a starfighter). You can use Power twice in this Mission.