Star Wars:
The Battle of Yavin


The battle took place when the Empire was still strong.
The Rebel Alliance was a nuisance, but they thought, "not for long."
Their ultimate weapon, the Death Star, had the power to destroy a world.
If it destroyed the Rebels' main base, then its power in the galaxy would be hurled.

The Death Star headed for Yavin, the system's gas giant.
On one of its moons was where the Alliance was being defiant.
It went into orbit, to the moon it went around.
It discovered the Rebel moon, but that wasn't all it found.
30 Rebel fighters, classes X-Wing and Y-Wing,
Went to accomplish their suicidal mission: destroy that Imperial thing.

Before the battle, the Rebels stole valuable data, and they discovered a defective factor:
A small exhaust port that connected to the Death Star's main reactor.
If they could shoot Proton Torpedoes into that exhaust port,
It'd cause a chain reaction, and the Death Star would be no more.

The X-Wings opened their S-Foils, giving their wings an X-shape.
They and the Y-Wings continued on to their possible fate.
The Y-Wings would head for the trench, the location that was dire.
The X-Wings' job was to draw away the enemy fire.

As the battle began, the surface guns began to erupt.
The fighters kept formation, but their spreading out was abrupt.
The X-Wings began their attack, destroying guns and towers.
They had to accomplish their mission in a quarter of an hour.

The fighters were so small they could avoid almost every shot.
The turbo lasers fired many times, many blasts missing by a lot.
The commander of the Death Star thought of the Rebel attack as futile.
He thought, "This station is invincible! Destroy it no one will!"

Because of his arrogance, he refused to launch his TIEs.
Darth Vader sent his squadron, for he thought it'd be wise.
The TIEs matched the Rebel fighters in speed and power.
Now the Alliance had only 5 minutes of an hour.

Many TIE and Rebel fighters were destroyed before the battle was done.
Luckily for the Rebels, 3 Y-Wings had started their attack run.
These fighters were heavily armored, but they weren't very fast.
They could take a lot of punishment, but for long they wouldn't last.

The fighters flew through the trench, avoiding walls and gun shots.
Just then, to their amazement, the laser fire stopped!
The leader checked his targeting computer, the others scanning the sky.
Suddenly Darth Vader arrived in a modified TIE!

While his two wingmen stayed behind to watch out for a sneak attack,
Vader fired his lasers, shooting a Y-Wing in the back.
As the fighter exploded, the leader started to panic.
His last wingman encouraged him to continue for the target.

As Vader destroyed the leader, the other Y-Wing flew out of the trench at a fast rate.
Unfortunately, that pilot met his comrades' fate.
There was only 1 Y-Wing left, but there were 6 X-Wings still about.
3 minutes were left - time was running out!

The leader of the squadron organized another attack.
Three would head for the exhaust port; the others would watch their backs.
The three X-Wings traveled through the trench, again the laser fire ended.
They watched out for TIE fighters, hoping their comrades' lives could be amended.

Right on cue, the TIEs began their assault.
The X-Wing leader kept to his computer. If his wingmen died, it wouldn't be his fault.
The closer they were to the exhaust port, the closer the TIEs got.
Vader fired his lasers, destroying an X-Wing with only a few shots.

They were only seconds to the target, just a bit further to go!
Once again, Vader fired, and the 2nd wingman blew.
At the right moment, the leader fired, the torpedoes zooming to the target with a hiss.
As he cleared away, there was an explosion, but the torpedoes missed!

Vader chased the X-Wing, firing left and right.
The X-Wing maneuvered quite well, but try as he might,
One of his engines was destroyed, and the fighter was going to crash.
He ordered a final attack, passed command, and then exploded into a pile of ash.

The 3 remaining X-Wings knew what they had to do.
They began their attack run, with one minute left to go.
Their avoided the laser fire, going as fast as they could.
If they couldn't pull off this last attack, then no one would.

Again, the fire ceased, and the fighters continued to fly.
Once again, the 3 TIE Fighters flew in from behind!
One of the TIEs fired, causing a fighter's engine damage.
The new leader ordered the fighter to escape from the barrage.

As the X-Wing left the trench, a TIE was encouraged to follow.
But Darth Vader said, "Stay on the leader, let the other one go."
The two remaining X-Wings continued on, trying to avoid fire from the back.
Unfortunately, the other wingman was destroyed by Vader's next attack.

The leader was all alone, with no other means of escape.
All he could do now was fly on and wait for the exhaust port gape.
Suddenly, a voice of an old friend told him to use his power.
He would be the one to light the Alliance's darkest hour.

The X-Wing maneuvered with ease, destruction he tried to avoid.
Vader opened fire again, damaging the fighter's Astromech Droid!
Now the X-Wing had no other means of repair.
At that exact moment, the Death Star's main weapon was being prepared.

Only seconds remained, and Vader readied to destroy the X-Wing right on target.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, one of his wingmen was destroyed with one hit!
All in the trench heard a happy shout, and then with a jolt,
A new ship, using Yavin's sun for cover, continued its assault.

"Look out!" the TIE pilot cried, crashing into Vader's fighter like a punch in the face.
As it was destroyed, Vader's TIE was hurled into deep space.
The X-Wing fired its torpedoes, using the distraction as his chance to go.
The torpedoes went into the exhaust port: the station was going to blow!

The four Rebel craft escaped from the station, not looking back.
Oblivious to the torpedoes, the Imperials readied their ultimate attack.
For a split second it looked like the Empire would win this fight.
Then the Death Star exploded in a flash of white light.

The Empire's ultimate weapon was destroyed by two proton torpedoes.
For the first time in a while, they lost to their greatest foes.
The Rebels celebrated their victory over the Empire, for it was a key win.
If they continued to fight like this, a new dawn of peace would soon begin...