" I've got one on my tail! I can't see him!"
" Wedge- stay on your attack run-we'll only get one shot at the Star Destroyer's shield generator!"
Luke plunged his fighter down sharply, narrowly avoiding a glowing red spray of lasers speeding towards him. The sleek Xwing sped past a cluster of TIE fighters, weapons charged and engines blazing against the starry blackness of space. Guided by the force he could sense which laser bolts to swerve away from, and which ones would fizzle harmlessly off the forward deflector. One of the Imperials, more daring than the rest, had broken formation and was relentlessly pursuing Wedge's fighter.
"Steady boys," Luke admonished his new Green Squadron comrades through the com in his helmet, "concentrate on taking out the TIEs, I'll cover Captain Antilles." He pushed his Xwing past the Star Destroyers' defensive range, the power of the Force cresting within him. Fully recovered from Palpatine's Sith lightning at last, Luke could feel the force flowing through him. His adrenaline surged as he deftly wove the ship through a tapestry of laser fire. Luke's Jedi reflexes were now becoming second nature, and the powerful fighter felt like an extension of his body. Every rivet, every gear, every molecule of titanium alloy responded to his will. After all he had been through, trying to recover from the Emperor's assault, and then the unsavory events on Ryloth, it felt good to taste the exhilaration of battle once again.
" Watch that crossfire Luke! " Han's voice boomed in Luke's ear.
Luke fired a ferocious volley, but the TIE pilot dodged his Xwings' shots as precisely as any Jedi. This was no bluff. The pilot was planning to slam head on into Wedge. Numbers were the flimsy TIE fighter's only defense. Just a short year ago, a Star Destroyer would have boasted a compliment of 2,500 TIEs. Now the remnants of the Empire could only muster a mere 300 to defend the beleaguered Chimera. The TIE was no match for the Republic's newest Xwing model, and the Imperial pilots knew it. Yet one of them was defying the odds, trying to stop the Rebel attack, by any means necessary.
Surprised, Luke half closed his eyes and stretched out with the force. He easily found the Imperial pilot's mind. It was full of fierce determination as the two vessels hurtled towards each other. Luke frowned; self sacrifice wasn't a common Imperial trait. He reached out further, peering deeply into the pilot's mind, searching for an explanation. The 501st. Luke's stomach clenched. This pilot was from Vader's personal legion.
Through the pilot's mind he sensed a contingent from that illustrious legion onboard the Star Destroyer. His brothers Luke realized. Their cargo, a much needed weapons shipment of would replenish the tattered Imperial fleet. Touted as the most elite well trained troops in the Empire, the 501st would defend their mission to the death. Bursts of enemy fire sped toward him. Luke's hands flew effortlessly over the Xwing controls, continuing to duck the TIE's onslaught.
The TIE pilot pushed the fighter's engines to their maximum capacity, almost as if the ship could be willed to go faster. If Luke hit the TIE a moment too late the fiery wreckage would continue to ricochet, slamming into the Wedge, directly in its path. Which is just what the Imperial pilot intended. Luke touched the soldier's mind again. Fierce resolve had hardened into grim determination, fully accepting imminent death My father trained his legion well. Luke couldn't keep the errant thought from streaking through his mind. An unwelcome flash of jealousy stabbed at him.
Wedge's fighter was nearing the shield generators. Once those were taken out, it was a simple matter of hitting the Star Destroyer's engines and it would be destroyed. The mammoth vessel's point defense weapons were no match for the speed and agility of the Rebel snub fighters. The TIE pilot's window of opportunity to halt the inevitable was closing in. Within seconds Luke would be able to target the lone TIE. But the seconds ticked by too quickly and Luke realized he did not want to let go of the Imperial's mind. A treasure trove of the trooper's memories of Vader remained untouched, unexplored. And once that man died those memories, would be gone forever.
This Imperial had been trained by Vader, had fought alongside Vader; had known Vader longer and better than Luke ever could. He sighed. It had almost been easier when he still thought the father he never knew had died long ago. Luke wondered if he would ever be free of his unfortunate emotional attachment to Vader. Uncle Owen had been wise to try to shield him from the truth. Uncle Owen, who had paid with his life.
His Xwing was nearly in shooting range of the rogue TIE figther. Very soon he could fire the shot that would obliterate his enemy, allowing Wedge to deal a death blow to the Chimera. But now time slowed down and Luke felt his hands slacken, releasing their gip on the weapons controls. Luke's vision went fuzzy, and the sounds of screaming engines and heaving metal were instantly muffled. Then, like an avalanche of sand, mosaic of images and emotions swirled around Luke's consciousness, unbidden. Suddenly he drew in a sharp breath.
A dark shadowy figure materialized behind his eyes. His mind raced, analyzing the possibilities. Was Luke was seeing Vader through the other man's eyes? Was this a memory or a vision? Father! Is it you? The hulking black figure slowly turned to face him. Expressionless and unspeaking it extended a gloved black hand towards him, calling to him.
"Luke..." A deep voice emanated from inside his head, like a dream.
"Father?"
"Luke! Now! Fire now!"
Han's voice sounded small and far away but it was enough to jolt Luke out of his trance. He blinked. Automatically his fingers began fumbling, trying to catch up with the ship's flashing instruments. Through the viewscreen he saw the enemy was quickly closing in on Wedge's ship, on the brink of disaster. Luke must have already been in firing range for at the last 30 seconds while his xwing idly maintained course. While he idled long enough to put Wedge's life and the entire mission in danger.
"Luke! What are you waiting for-Shoot him!" Han was now screaming from his command ship. Cold reality slapped Luke in the face. There was no time to mine the Imperial's mind for memories of Vader. He must be killed at once. A prickly sense of unease settled in Luke's chest. Blacking out and having visions during battle was not a habit he wished to develop. A Jedi should have the utmost control over his own mind.
"Copy General Solo!"
Gritting his teeth Luke gripped the gun controls. The targeting computer narrowed in on the small craft's circular cockpit, taking only half a second to aim. But Luke didn't need the computer to tell him the optimum time to shoot. He closed his eyes and fired on the TIE once he felt the telltale nudge from the Force. Lasers hit the TIE just as it's cannons were powering up to destroy Wedg's ship. The fighter burst into flaming chunks of metal, bouncing innocuously off the Star Destroyer's impenetrable hull. A few heartbeats later, a much larger explosion wracked the Imperial ship from within.
"Bombs away!" Fire and smoke spewed from the Star Destroyer's open wound. Wedge's fighter arced gracefully up and away, avoiding the blast of flame and shrapnel caused by the explosion of the shield generator.
"Nice shot Green Leader! Now you and Luke get out of there, let's finish off this bastard for good." Luke and Wedge steered their fighters out of the morass of the battle, and glided towards the Rebel flagship. The rest of the squadron had done a good job of eliminating the rest of the TIEs and their path was clear. This battle was over. Three thick green bolts blazed out from Han's Mon Calamari cruiser, and the enemy ship burst into a thousand fiery pieces. Luke could hear cheers and hurrahs coming from Han's ship through his earpiece. No one would sense his private disappointment at killing the 501st officer. Maybe Leia would have, if she'd been near. But she was lightyears away, back on Coruscant, managing the Senate's Galactic affairs.