Star Wars Missions 001 - Asault on Yavin Four

by Ryder Windham

  For many years, the evil Empire tried to control the galaxy. The Empire was battled by the Rebel Alliance. The Rebels hoped to bring an end to the Emperor’s rule.

  The Empire’s most fearsome weapon was the Death Star, a giant space station that could destroy entire planets. The Death Star was created by an Imperial officer named Grand Moff Tarkin.

  When Grand Moff Tarkin learned that the Rebels were hiding on a moon called Yavin Four, Tarkin tried to use the Death Star to destroy the entire moon.

  In an incredible battle, a young Rebel pilot named Luke Skywalker fired two proton torpedoes from his X-wing starfighter. The torpedoes caused the entire Death Star to explode. Yavin Four was saved.

  One of the few survivors of the Death Star was Darth Vader. After the Death Star exploded, Vader’s TIE fighter went spinning into deep space. For a short while afterward, Vader did not reach an Imperial station, and the Empire did not yet know that the Death Star had been destroyed.

  The day after the great battle, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca the Wookiee, and the droids See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo were still celebrating their victory on Yavin Four.

  On the other side of the galaxy, an Imperial warship waited for a secret message from Grand Moff Tarkin. Its crew did not know that Tarkin perished on the Death Star…

  On the far side of the galaxy, an Imperial Star Destroyer hovered near the multiringed planet Delrakkin. The Star Destroyer was a gigantic wedge-shaped ship, carrying thousands of stormtroopers and six squadrons of TIE fighters.

  Admiral Termo entered the bridge of the Star Destroyer, and the stormtroopers stepped out of his way. Termo walked over to Communications Officer Tix. In a low voice — almost a whisper — Admiral Termo asked, “Where is the report from the Death Star?”

  Officer Tix nervously turned to meet Termo’s gaze. No one liked to look into Termo’s eyes. Tix tried not to sound scared as he replied, “We have not yet received any message from the Yavin system, Admiral.”

  “You confirmed the frequency of the hyperspace transponder?” asked Termo. The hyperspace transponder allowed messages to be sent at faster-than-lightspeed.

  “Yes, sir. There’s nothing wrong with our computers,” Officer Tix answered. “If you wish to contact the Death Star, I am prepared to send a message…”

  “If I wanted to send a message, I would have told you to send a message,” said Termo. His voice remained calm, but Tix knew the admiral was angry. Admiral Termo hated officers who said anything unless he asked them a question.

  Tix kept his hands on his keyboard and tried to keep his fingers from shaking. He was very scared.

  “Our orders were most clear,” Termo continued. “We are to wait at Delrakkin until we receive the signal. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Admiral,” rasped Tix.

  Termo turned his gaze to the starboard viewport, and Tix exhaled a thin sigh of relief. Beyond the viewport, the green planet Delrakkin rotated slowly on its axis. Termo noticed a dark, cloudy spiral that churned on the planet’s western hemisphere. He watched the spiral for several seconds. “Would a planetary storm cause any disruption for the transmission?” he asked.

  “No, sir,” Tix responded. “Not at this range.”

  “This is most unusual,” said Termo thoughtfully. Tix thought Admiral Termo sounded unsure of himself. Tix was so surprised by this that he almost didn’t hear what Termo whispered next

  “Something must have happened to Grand Moff Tarkin.”

  Admiral Termo turned to a brightly lit console and spoke into a comm unit “Admiral Termo to Captain Skeezer. Report to forward launch bay, and prepare the long-range assault shuttle for immediate departure to the Yavin system.”

  On the moon Yavin Four, the celebration was still going strong. The Death Star had been destroyed, and the Rebels were joyous in their victory over the Empire.

  The Rebels had transformed the ruins of an ancient temple into a hangar for the Rebel fleet But the hangar was eerily empty. Most of the Rebels’ ships had been destroyed the day before, during their battle with the Death Star.

  “Hey, kid,” said Han Solo as he entered the hangar. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

  Luke Skywalker stood beside his X-wing starfighter. He had been working on his proton-torpedo launcher. He glanced up to see Solo and Chewbacca the Wookiee walk toward him.

  “Hi, Han,” said Luke. “Hey there, Chewie.”

  “What’re you doing here?” asked Solo. “Why aren’t you at the victory party with the rest of us Rebels?”

  “I’m making some special changes to my X-wing’s weapons system,” Luke replied.

  “Oh, like you need help firing a proton torpedo?” said Solo with a grin. Just the day before, Luke had fired the incredible shots that destroyed the Death Star. Chewbacca growled and gave Luke Skywalker a friendly pat on the back. Luke smiled.

  “Sure, Chewie, give all the credit to him,” joked Solo. He turned to Luke. “Kid, if I hadn’t seen you make those shots, I would’ve said it couldn’t be done.” Han shook his head. “I mean, take it from a guy who’s toasted a few womp rats himself. You did real good up there.”

  “Thanks, Han,” Luke said. “I really can’t believe it, either. I just hope I never have to do something like that again!”

  “Something like what?” asked Princess Leia Organa as she entered the hangar.

  “Haven’t you heard?” asked Solo, wrapping an arm around Luke’s shoulder. “We’re the guys who destroyed the Death Star.”

  “Oh, you’re still bragging about that?” joked the princess. “How does it feel, Solo, being a hero for a change?”

  “It’s not so different… from the usual me,” Han replied with a mild shrug. “But on the other hand,” he smiled, “I kind of like the effect it has on princesses.”

  “Sure,” said Leia. “It makes us all want to run away.”

  Chewbacca let loose with a loud roar that alarmed everyone but Han, who knew that the Wookiee was laughing at him.

  “Laugh it up, furball,” said Solo. “Just remember who pays you.”

  Leia turned her attention to Luke. “Trouble with your X-wing, Master Skywalker?”

  “Huh?” Luke said, feeling himself blush at the princess’s pretend formality. “No, I was, um, just making a few adjustments to the armaments. It was Wedge’s idea” Wedge Antilles was another Rebel pilot, and a friend of Luke’s.

  “It’s wise to be prepared,” Leia said. “We lost too many brave pilots in this last battle. I don’t want to lose any more.”

  A mournful silence fell across the group as they remembered the Rebel Alliance’s losses. But soon the sound of metal footsteps approached from the darkness. In moments, a gleaming, golden figure emerged.

  “Thank goodness I’ve found you!” said See-Threepio. He waved his arms grandly in a gesture to Luke and the others. “These ruins are so vast, it’s a wonder that anyone can find anything at all!”

  “What’s wrong now?” Solo groaned. “Did you lose your little pal?”

  “What? Who?” asked Threepio. Threepio prided himself in his fluency in over six million languages. But he sometimes had great difficulty understanding Han Solo. “Oh! You mean Artoo-Detoo?”

  “No, I meant the technician that got you perfectly polished in time for the victory ceremony.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not looking for her,” said Threepio. “But she did do an excellent job, didn’t she?”

  “Han is joking with you, Threepio,” said Luke. “Are you looking for Artoo?”

  “Artoo? No, I know where he is. Oh, you’ve got my circuits all confused! I was looking for all of you.
Artoo is in the briefing room, and he’s discovered something that may be of great importance!”

  “Then we better get to the briefing room,” said Leia, already on her way with Luke beside her. Solo began to move with them, but Threepio stepped before him.

  “Excuse me, Master Solo,” he said, “but I wonder whether you could explain to me why you… joke with me?”

  “Sure, I’ll explain it,” said Solo, aiming an index finger at Threepio’s sternum. As Threepio lowered his chin to see Solo’s finger on his chestplate, Solo brought his finger up fast so that it rapped against Threepio’s olfactory sensor. Threepio jerked his head back in surprise.

  Solo grinned. “It’s because I like you.”

  “You like me?” said Threepio. “Really? How very generous of you, Captain Solo!”

  Chewbacca growled at Solo. The Wookiee thought Solo was being mean, teasing Threepio like that. Chewbacca stepped forward and wiped away the smudge that Solo’s finger had caused. Then he and Solo left the hangar.

  “Oh!” said Threepio. “I guess that means you like me too, Chewbacca. How wonderful!… Oh, dear! Wait for me!”

  Captain Skeezer stood at attention in the forward launch bay of the Imperial Star Destroyer. Behind him, four crewmen, three stormtrooper squads, and three Imperial pilots prepared to board the downsized Carrack light cruiser. At nearly half the length of the typical Carrack, Skeezer’s modified vessel carried only three external TIE fighters. Still, it boasted a powerful hyperdrive engine.

  Admiral Termo strode into the launch bay and crossed directly to Skeezer. As always, Termo’s voice remained low and calm.

  “We have lost contact with Grand Moff Tarkin,” said Termo. “Go to the Yavin system and investigate, but do not attempt to contact the Death Star. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Skeezer. His face was completely blank. Skeezer never showed emotion.

  “Do not attempt to transmit any hyperspace comm from Yavin,” added Termo. “It is possible that the transmissions are being intercepted by the Rebellion. You will return here when you have determined the status of the Death Star… and have dealt with it”

  “Yes, sir,” said Skeezer.

  Admiral Termo turned on his heel and walked out of the launch bay. It wasn’t until the sliding doors had sealed behind the departed admiral that the chief gunnery officer approached Captain Skeezer.

  “May I ask the nature of our mission, Captain Skeezer?” the gunnery officer asked. He noticed that Captain Skeezer looked concerned. Captain Skeezer never looked concerned.

  “Lieutenant,” said Skeezer, “our mission is to find out whether we are in a whole world of trouble.”

  The hologram of the Death Star was suspended in the front of the briefing room. Artoo was jacked into the holo-projector’s computer, and he adjusted the rotation of the three-dimensional image. Artoo removed the exterior hull, revealing the Death Star’s interior design.

  “I know the Death Star is gone,” said Leia, “but the sight of its hologram makes my blood run cold.”

  “Relax, Princess,” said Solo. “That thing ain’t ever coming back.”

  Luke kept his eyes on the hologram. “Why did Artoo dredge up the Death Star plans?” he asked Threepio.

  “Oh, you know Artoo,” Threepio replied. “He can’t leave anything alone until he’s looked at it from every angle. I thought his experience in the Death Star battle would have cured him of his curiosity. But it didn’t. After his repairs were made, he couldn’t wait to have another look at the plans.”

  Solo rolled his eyes. “Why’re we wasting our time, looking at the floor plans of a place that doesn’t even exist anymore?”

  “Well,” said Threepio, “when we were onboard the Death Star, Artoo plugged into its computer network to locate Princess Leia. While searching the network, Artoo noted the Death Star was carrying an extremely large amount of bacta.”

  Everyone knew about the chemical compound called bacta. Bacta was regarded as a miracle of modem science. Bacta could heal almost any wound. Injured people could be put into bacta tanks and the bacta would make them better almost immediately.

  “What a waste,” said Solo. “You wouldn’t believe how much people along the Outer Rim will pay for bacta!”

  Leia shot Solo an icy glance. “Don’t you ever stop thinking about money? That bacta could have saved a lot of lives!”

  “Yeah, well there’s no use arguing about it, your worshipfulness,” said Solo, “because it’s gone!”

  “Wait a minute,” said Luke. “Bacta is used to heal people. Why would the Death Star be carrying so much?”

  Artoo-Detoo let out a flurry of beeps and whistles.

  “That’s precisely what Artoo-Detoo was wondering!” exclaimed Threepio. “According to the plans, the Death Star’s medical stations were equipped with their own sufficient supply of bacta. It would seem that this extra bacta was cargo.”

  “Maybe they were expecting heavy casualties somewhere,” said Solo. “And if there’s one thing I don’t care about, it’s dead Imperials.”

  Leia ignored Solo’s bravado. “It just doesn’t make sense,” she said. “The Imperial Navy isn’t even sympathetic to their own wounded.”

  “And once the Empire built the Death Star,” added Luke, “they probably didn’t expect to lose any battles…”

  “Oh, dear!” said Threepio suddenly, raising a hand to his head. “My broadband antenna has received a relay signal from our beacon satellite! A ship of unknown origin has entered the Yavin system!”

  Although he did not know what awaited him in the Yavin system, Captain Skeezer thought he would be glad to be out of hyperspace. The mere thought of the faster-than-light travel gave Skeezer a headache. But he felt even more uncomfortable as the Carrack’s sensors searched for the Death Star.

  “Where is it?” asked the gunnery officer. “It’s got to be… somewhere.”

  Skeezer squinted at Yavin, the giant gas planet. His headache was not getting any better. “Which of Yavin’s moons can support human life?” he barked to the gunnery officer.

  “Yavin Four, Eight, and Thirteen,” responded the gunnery officer.

  “Four’s closest,” said Skeezer. “We’d better take a look.”

  “I’m sorry to have to say this,” said General Dodonna, “but our victory celebration has come to an end.” General Dodonna was the Alliance officer who planned the attack on the Death Star.

  Luke, Leia, Solo, Chewbacca, and the droids were assembled in the war room. Wedge Antilles and the other surviving starfighter pilots were also present

  “Thirty-five minutes ago,” said Dodonna, “our satellite beacon picked up an unidentified vessel.” On a large monitor behind Dodonna, a small white rectangle slowly appeared against a star field.

  Dodonna pointed to the slowly moving rectangle. “Sensors indicated the vessel’s length at one hundred fifty meters. Its entrance into our system indicates that it emerged from hyperspace. We hoped it might be an Alliance ship, but if you look at our computer’s enhancement of the vessel, you’ll see something very interesting.”

  The screen flickered, and the white rectangle became larger. It was still difficult to see. But several seconds later, the white rectangle passed in front of the brightly illuminated Yavin, becoming a more distinct silhouette.

  “That vessel’s carrying TIE fighters!” exclaimed Luke.

  “Three, to be exact,” Dodonna confirmed. “Because they’re mounted on the exterior of the ship, we think the vessel is a modified Carrack assault cruiser. Besides the TIE fighters, it probably carries landspeeders and laser cannons. It might have been expecting to meet the Death Star.”

  “Or,” offered Leia, “the Empire sent it here to find out why they haven’t heard from Grand Moff Tarkin.”

  “Either way,” said General Dodonna, “it confirms that our battle with the Empire is far from over. But rather than fight this one out, our best strategy is to wait and hope for the cruiser to pass by. Then we can c
ontinue our —”

  “Hope for it to pass?” Luke yelled. He startled everyone, including himself, with his outburst “But General… There are enough of us! We can take out that cruiser right now!”

  Leia put her hand on Luke’s arm. “Please, Luke,” she said. “You’re our best pilot, and one of the few we have left. We can’t afford to lose you!”

  “I… I guess you’re right,” Luke agreed.

  “Well, folks, this is great fun,” said an annoyed Solo, “but instead of waiting around here, I should do some spring cleaning on the Falcon. Come on, Chewie.” The Wookiee and Solo left the briefing room.

  General Dodonna addressed the remaining audience. “We will continue to monitor the vessel with our sensors, and will keep you posted of any developments. This concludes our meeting.” Dodonna stepped away from his podium, and the large monitor screen went blank.

  Luke turned to Wedge Antilles. “I can’t believe they’re making us sit this one out, Wedge!”

  “Believe it, Luke,” Wedge replied. “It’s lousy, but the general’s right. We can’t risk losing any pilots right now, especially in a minor skirmish.”

  Suddenly, from the direction of the hangar, the sound of a distant, familiar roar reached the meeting room.

  “Hey!” said Luke. “Those are the Falcon’s engines!”

  Leia thought of the reckless Han Solo. “Oh, no!” she cried, her eyes wide with fear. “He wouldn’t disobey orders … would he?”

  The Millennium Falcon rocketed out of the makeshift hangar and rose swiftly above the green trees that surrounded the Rebel base. From his copilot seat, Chewbacca uttered a whimpering howl.

  “Oh, stop your whining,” said Solo. “You could’ve stayed.”

  Chewbacca howled again.

  “No, I’m not trying to impress the princess!” snapped Solo. “I just don’t like waiting around for a fight!”

  The Falcon blew through the atmosphere and stars filled the view from the cockpit Han adjusted the navicomputer, then climbed out of his seat “Okay, Chewie, stay on target! We’ve got to hit ’em fast and hard!” Solo ran to the aft laser cannon.