Chapter 12
Cover Me
Don was ready to leave the Jupiter when Judy padded into the lounge, disheveled from a restless night of sleep. She placed her coffee mug on the navigator console and crossed the room to bid him good-bye.
"Don?" She placed her warm hand on his shoulder. "Like Dad said, no risky heroics."
"I'll do what I gotta do, Judy, but believe me, I'm a survivor… in more ways than one."
"Are you referring to me and Luke?"
Don shook his head. It would be just like Judy to bring up such a serious topic five minutes before he had to leave. "Look, I like Luke. He's a good man. A better man than I could ever be. If you're falling in love with him, then… let it flow."
"Don, I'm not…"
"Stop." He sighed. He couldn't deal with this now. "Don't throw me a crumb and then turn around and slap me in the face. Let's leave things as they are." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She turned her head and her lips brushed against his. It took every ounce of his strength to pull back and walk away from her… he hoped not for the last time.
Leia clung to Han before opening the hatch and leaving the Falcon. They had little to say, as all that could be said had already passed between them the night before. They walked off the ship hand in hand. The moment they stepped off the ramp, they retreated into their public roles, Leia as a council member and Han as the leader of this military expedition. Judy had been watching from the sidelines as Leia and Han gave their final words to the troops.
Leia joined Judy as they watched the men enter their ships. The Falcon was the first to depart, followed by the x and y-wings and finally the b-wings as the escorts. Judy had never been in the position to see men and women off to war. The realization that some would not be coming back hit her in the gut, and she crossed her arms over her belly. Leia, despite the hundreds of times she had done this said, "It never gets any easier."
Superior General Delvardus had been surprised at being contacted by an individual who had no ties to the New Republic or the Empire. He didn't trust the information enough to devote all of his forces to Fondor's defense, so he had diverted part of his forces to Thyferra, believing that the information may have been a diversion and Thyferra was the true target. When Solo and his forces arrived in the Fondor system from hyperspace, Delvardus smiled, realizing that he now had a contact within the New Republic itself that could serve him well.
Solo cursed when they emerged from hyperspace and were confronted by the small defensive fleet off Fondor. "How in the hells did they know we were coming, Chewie?"
["Doesn't make any difference, cub. We're here and they're here."]
Solo gave his commands. "B-wings, go after that star destroyer. Aim for the two generator domes for the deflector shields first then you're on your own. Here come the ties. Let's do some damage!"
Major West braced himself for the assault. They hadn't expected to face a star destroyer, but he had studied each piece of imperial weaponry in great depth to be prepared for whatever might be thrown at them. Star destroyers were noted for their invincibility, but a well-placed ion cannon shot could paralyze it long enough for him to take aim on the generator. The shot was off, but missed its target.
Don let out an epithet as two ties came in to distract him. He circled around with his laser blasters firing and they were gone. He lined up his ion cannon again and this time, hit his mark. Don circled his b-wing around the right generator dome with a volley of proton torpedoes in a perfect circle around its waist. The generator blew.
He dropped a proton torpedo on the communication tower on his way to the second generator dome, but it had already been taken out by a b-wing buddy. His next goal was to disable the star destroyer's targeting system at its tip, which he knew would place him in the direct line of fire, but if he was successful, the star destroyer would be neutralized. Luke immediately saw Don's strategy and flew alongside him. The x-wing's maneuverability gave him an advantage over the b-wing and Luke's use of the Force would enable him to hit the exact target.
"Cover me! I'll take the targeting system!" Luke commanded.
"Go for it," Don replied.
Success…
Delvardus, not one to fight to the end in a losing battle, ordered an immediate retreat for his own ship, leaving the ties to be captured or die. He would save himself for another day and another battle. Before making the jump to hyperspace, one lone transport was released from the star destroyer carrying payment for their newfound spy and orders to enact the back-up plan that would place Fondor back under Delvardus' control.
… The New Republic had its shipyard… for now…
