Chapter Sixteen

Everyone had boarded their ships. The 12 Venators were being reinforced with several Mon Cal cruisers. In the lead ship, Admiral Ackbar sat on the bridge.

"All ships, prepare to jump on my mark." The admiral said. After a moment, the lead Mon Cal jumped into hyperspace, followed by the rest of the participating fleet. In the lead Venator, which now the Alliance has dubbed Fearless, Obi-wan, Ahsoka, and Siri stood at the bridge. The Padawans were in the hold, sparring.

"I don't like the idea that we are attacking a vital point of the Empire with this convenience." Siri said, being doubtful. "I have a feeling that we're being led into a trap."

"I don't like the idea either, but it's our only chance." Obi-wan said. An officer came up to the Jedi Masters.

"Sir, we're about to exit lightspeed." He said.

"Good. Prepare all batteries to open fire once we are out of hyperspace." Obi-wan ordered.

"Yes sir."

Then, the Rebel fleet jumped out of hyperspace. There were several completed Star Destroyers there, who were about to jump into hyperspace. The Rebel fleet opened fire the moment they got in range of the Imperial ships and shipyard. The battle was on! Ahsoka turned to Obi-wan.

"Master, I'm going to my fighter. We will be facing enemy fighters." Ahsoka said.

"Go ahead. I'll stay here and coordinate our forces from here." Obi-wan said.

"I'll be going with Ahsoka." Siri said.

"Alright. Be careful." Obi-wan said.

"When have I never been?" Siri said, smirking.

"Oh, about several times already." Obi-wan said.

"Whatever." Siri replied and gave Obi-wan a swift kiss. Then Ahsoka and she went to the hangar. Obi-wan smiled in amusement.

'Oh Siri.'

Once the two Jedi Masters reached the hangar, the Padawans were waiting for them.

"Hey Masters." Luke said. "Are we going now?"

"Yes. The battle has begun. Get to your ships." Siri said. The three Padawans nodded and went to their X-wings. Luke was the commander of Rouge Squadron, while Siri lead Shadow Flight. Rouge Squadron was equipped with X-wings, while Shadow Flight had several different starfighter types that were on the Venators.

"Rouge Squadron, form up on me and report in." Luke said. All of the pilots reported in. Then, TIE Fighters bounce Rouge Squadron and Shadow Flight. A heated dogfight begins immediately. Meanwhile, the Rebel cruisers had already destroyed several of the Imperial Star Destroyers. They were slowly closing in on the Kuat shipyards, firing their cannons at the remaining Star Destroyers.

-o0o-

Aboard one of the Star Destroyers, the captain aboard had contacted Vader.

"Lord Vader! The Kuat Shipyards are under attack! We can't hold them off!" He cried. Suddenly, a Rebel cruiser scored a direct hit on the Star Destroyer's bridge, blowing it up and cutting communication from Vader. Meanwhile, Vader had watched the man disappear in the explosion. He turned to his commander.

"Commander, set our fleet on a course to Kuat. The shipyards must not get destroyed." He said.

"Yes, my lord." The commander said. He motioned the crew for the jump to hyperspace. They acknowledged and Vader's fleet blasted away.

-o0o-

TIE fighters were being shot down left and right, with no hope of reinforcements. Eventually, there was only a handful left. Luke decided that it was over.

"Rouge Squadron, form up on me. It's time to take out the shipyards." He said. "Master Siri, take care of the rest of the fighters, will you?"

"Will do." Siri said. She and the rest of Shadow Flight chased after what was left of the TIE fighter squadron. Rouge Squadron formed up behind Luke.

"Rouge Squadron, prepare proton torpedoes for launch." Luke commanded.

"Roger, wilco." They said. Luke pressed a button on his cockpit. Then, a few minutes later, they were in range.

"Release torpedoes!" He shouted. Rouge Squadron fired all of their torpedoes at the same time. Just as they pulled up and away, the explosive armament hits a section of the shipyard. There was a brilliant explosion and the shipyard broke apart.

"Ben, the shipyard is all yours." Luke said. Obi-wan, standing in the bridge of the Fearless, looked at his men.

"Concentrate all batteries on the shipyard." He ordered. The Venators and the Mon Cal cruisers fired their cannons on the ring around the planet. The lasers ripped through the shipyard. Explosions shook the structure. And then, in a finale, the ring broke apart into sections and those sections exploded, leaving pieces of it and unfinished Star Destroyers floating around.

"Mission accomplished." Siri said. "Shadow Flight, let's go home."

The pilots cheered in celebration. Rogue Squadron followed Shadow Flight to the Fearless. They landed with victory at last. In all, they lost a total of 8 fighters. But everyone knew their fallen pilots' lives were not in vain. Suddenly, before they knew it, Vader's fleet jumped out of hyperspace, just after the nick of time. Imperial fire rocked the ship. Obi-wan stumbled.

"Get the fleet into hyperspace. Our job is done and we are not sticking around to fight that fleet." Obi-wan ordered. The ships started to turn around, their deflector shields straining against the onslaught. Then, they jumped, leaving Vader behind, furious.

-o0o-

Sami met up with Luke in the cafeteria.

"Well, that was a lot of fun." She said. "The enemy fleet was too late to save their shipyard."

"Yeah. I liked the explosions. Reminds me of the fireworks show after the Death Star was destroyed." Luke said. He went to the line and picked up lunch.

"Me too. The end of the battle is always the best part." She replied.

"Except when we lose." Luke pointed out.

"Except when we lose." Sami repeated. She gave Luke a kiss before leaving for her quarters.

'Man, I don't know how not to love her." Luke thought as he ate his lunch….

TBC…