The Battle of Endor: A Pilot's Perspective
Author's Note: This is not the exact story that fits the Battle of Endor, but it's close enough. As you probably know, I don't own Star Wars (though I have a pretty big collection of the novels, is that close enough?), and I am not affiliated with any sci-fi corporation in any way.
Admiral Ackbar addressed the wing of pilots aboard Home One, with a very grave expression on his face. "Pilots of the Alliance, I have very grave news to report to you. The Empire has built a new Death Star, currently under construction over the sanctuary moon of Endor. This Death Star is the most dangerous vessel in space. However, since it is still under construction, only its essential systems are operational. Our objective is to destroy the fighter screen of the few Star Destroyers defending the station, defend the B- and Y-Wing assault fighters as they make attacking runs to destroy the starship defense, then, taking plans from the Bothan Spy Networks, go into the Death Star at this," Ackbar, using the holograph projector, indicates the location of the entryway into the station, "point. When we reach the power core of the Death Star, we will attempt to destroy it, causing the total destruction of the station. Now, Gold Leader Calrissian and Rogue Leader Antilles will lead the group of pilots penetrating the superstructure of the Death Star. The pilots accompanying the two will be Golds 6 and 11, Rogues 3 and 9, and Green 6. Any questions?"
Green 6, Arvel Crynyd, asked, "With all due respect, Admiral, why'd you pick me to help with this?"
Ackbar bluntly stated, "Because General Calrissian said that you were one of the best A-Wing pilots to navigate in small places. Anyone else? No? Now, the operation will begin at ten hundred hours tomorrow morning. Be sure to get your rest, and no drinking, of course." A chorus of groans rings. "I'm serious, folks, this is a very important mission, and it will decide the fate of the Alliance and the galaxy. Dismissed."
The next morning, while Arvel was getting into his flightsuit, General Calrissian came to his room, and chimed the doorbell. Arvel said, "Come in", and Calrissian entered and asked, "Do you mind having this upcoming assignment? Because I can replace you with someone else. It sounded in the briefing that you didn't want this duty." Arvel quickly replies, "Yes, sir, I do want to do this. It's just that I didn't know why I was picked, because there are many better pilots out there than me. The general replied, "Another reason why I picked you is because of your humility. You know and will admit that you're not the best, and that you'd not put yourself first in the heat of battle." Calrissian, knowing he got his point across, turned and proceeded to the Millenium Falcon for preparation and last minute repairs.
After taking one last drink of caf in fighter bay 3, Arvel does a look over his A-Wing fighter, climbs the ladder, and enters the cockpit. He turns the fighter over, and the twin J-77 engines make their beautiful sound that stated that they were itching to fly.
"Gold Leader to group leaders. Be sure all fighters are prepared, then relay that to me."
When it was his turn, Arvel stated, "Green 6, 2 are green", and left it at that. He looked to the left side of his cockpit, and sees the planet Sullust. Arvel, thinking of home, said to himself, "I hope I make you proud, Dad."
The comm crackled, "All fighters launch" in Ackbar's gravelly Mon Calamari voice. Gold, Red, Rogue, Green, Blue, and Grey Squadrons left the hangar bays and proceeded to escort the starships. "Entering hyperspace in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, MARK!" The armada entered hyperspace, heading straight into the trap.
When the armada exited hyperspace, alarm swamped the comm frequencies as they discovered numerous Star Destroyers and the Super Star Destroyer Executor. Green Leader loudly stated in the squadron frequency, "Silence! Head for the Super Star Destroyer and vape the dupes before they can attack the starships, quickly! The eyeballs and squints are your secondary priority. Execute!"
"Green Six, this is Seven. I'm your wing!" "Affirmative, Seven. Stay tight, there's too many enemies to count out here. Watch out for the turbolasers!" "As ordered, Six." The squadron raced toward the bombers in a head-to-head confrontation.
Arvel, seeing the missiles firing toward his squad, fired at them, managing to prematurely blow up several of the missiles. "Seven, break out of secondary and dodge those missiles!" "OK, Six. Wait, I can't dodge this one! Hel-" A wave of static broke the communication.
"Six to Lead, we've lost Seven, a missile got him." Arvel could almost hear his commander grimace. "We've also lost 3 and 9, Six, we don't have time to regroup, you'll have no one protecting your tail, so watch it!" "Gotcha, sir." He dived and went into an impossibly sharp turn, coming right on the tails of three bombers. He switched to concussion missiles, locked on, and fired at each of them. The bombers, being slow and sluggish, could not dodge the missiles and are sequentially blown up. The locked-on alarm went off, and he hit the right rudder, veering off and avoiding the missile lock. A TIE fighter came into his sights, and he quickly fires a paired burst of laser fire. The eyeball, having quickly absorbed gigajoules of energy, exploded when its fuel reached a superhigh temperature. He searched for more bombers, but they were disappearing off the enemy list on his sensors, and they all were vaped before he could target one. He went after the squints immediately after. Shunting more power to recharge his shields, he juked and fired at the squints in a head- to-head, managing to destroy two of the Interceptors. He swerved to the left at just the right spot to land right on a flight of Interceptors' fuselages. He mercilessly fired missiles, destroying one before they got a chance to dodge the missiles. However, they were too late; the newly developed "Advanced" concussion missiles were too maneuverable for the Imp pilots. He punched the "Nearest Enemy" button, to find it was the SSD.
"The TIEs are gone, Commander. Should we proceed to escort the B- and Y- Wings?" "That's affirmative, Six, but keep an eye on those turbolasers, they've taken a few of us out." Arvel veered off to head toward the squadron of B-Wings, with Green Squadron on his heels. He suddenly saw a flash of green light, and he felt the shockwave of the Liberty exploding. "Commander, was that the Death Star!?!" A voice overrode the commander's reply. "Admiral Ackbar, this is Gold Leader. That blast came from the Death Star! It must be fully operational!" The Mon Cal Admiral had a badly concealed surprise in his scratchy voice, when he responded, "We saw it! Move all starships away from the station immediately!" "Admiral, your new heading is on a direct course for the Impstars! Are you sure about this, sir?" "I'm sure, General Calrissian, our Cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude!"
"Green Squad, we have new orders. We are to directly attack the SSD's shield generators. We will fly in TRD formation, one right after the other. When we reach the generators, fire your missiles at them, then break off and go evasive. Got it?" A chorus of "Yes, sir" filled the comm channel.
The A-Wing squadron, with their blazing speed, easily outran the turbolaser batteries, flying meters from the SSD's hull. With finesse, each fired missiles at the generators, those without missiles firing dual lasers as fast as they could recycle. One blew up; Green Leader swerved directly behind the starship's command tower and attacked the second generator. Under the heavy onslaught, the generator blew up easily. Arvel was just swerving in an evasive pattern when green enveloped his fighter, which shuddered and sparked under the sudden attack; "I'm hit!" Losing control, he turned toward the bridge of the Executor and, with difficulty, managed to slam right into the bridge, killing the bridge officers and locking the controls of the ship straight into a course for the Death Star.
[.]
Admiral Ackbar's voice echoed throughout fighter bay 3, which was packed with pilots, gunners, and ship personnel. "We are gathered here today to mourn the heavy losses we took at the Battle of Endor. Out of more than a hundred rebel fighters, we lost more than twenty good pilots. All of the fighters here shall receive the Kalidor Crescent, for their bravery in the face of overpowering odds. Also, we are here to commemorate the great skill of the pilot Arvel Crynyd, who managed to crash his fighter into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, which turned the tide of the battle into our favor. Because of his successful attempt, many of the remaining Imperial Star Destroyers surrendered to our smaller force, also helping us win the battle against the rest of the Star Destroyers. We are here to remember all lost here, but we also are here to especially thank Lieutenant Crynyd. A toast: to the people lost here, and the future of the Alliance in this brutal war." Hundreds of champagne glasses clinked, and "To the lost" was murmured in the fighter bay.
Author's Note: This is not the exact story that fits the Battle of Endor, but it's close enough. As you probably know, I don't own Star Wars (though I have a pretty big collection of the novels, is that close enough?), and I am not affiliated with any sci-fi corporation in any way.
Admiral Ackbar addressed the wing of pilots aboard Home One, with a very grave expression on his face. "Pilots of the Alliance, I have very grave news to report to you. The Empire has built a new Death Star, currently under construction over the sanctuary moon of Endor. This Death Star is the most dangerous vessel in space. However, since it is still under construction, only its essential systems are operational. Our objective is to destroy the fighter screen of the few Star Destroyers defending the station, defend the B- and Y-Wing assault fighters as they make attacking runs to destroy the starship defense, then, taking plans from the Bothan Spy Networks, go into the Death Star at this," Ackbar, using the holograph projector, indicates the location of the entryway into the station, "point. When we reach the power core of the Death Star, we will attempt to destroy it, causing the total destruction of the station. Now, Gold Leader Calrissian and Rogue Leader Antilles will lead the group of pilots penetrating the superstructure of the Death Star. The pilots accompanying the two will be Golds 6 and 11, Rogues 3 and 9, and Green 6. Any questions?"
Green 6, Arvel Crynyd, asked, "With all due respect, Admiral, why'd you pick me to help with this?"
Ackbar bluntly stated, "Because General Calrissian said that you were one of the best A-Wing pilots to navigate in small places. Anyone else? No? Now, the operation will begin at ten hundred hours tomorrow morning. Be sure to get your rest, and no drinking, of course." A chorus of groans rings. "I'm serious, folks, this is a very important mission, and it will decide the fate of the Alliance and the galaxy. Dismissed."
The next morning, while Arvel was getting into his flightsuit, General Calrissian came to his room, and chimed the doorbell. Arvel said, "Come in", and Calrissian entered and asked, "Do you mind having this upcoming assignment? Because I can replace you with someone else. It sounded in the briefing that you didn't want this duty." Arvel quickly replies, "Yes, sir, I do want to do this. It's just that I didn't know why I was picked, because there are many better pilots out there than me. The general replied, "Another reason why I picked you is because of your humility. You know and will admit that you're not the best, and that you'd not put yourself first in the heat of battle." Calrissian, knowing he got his point across, turned and proceeded to the Millenium Falcon for preparation and last minute repairs.
After taking one last drink of caf in fighter bay 3, Arvel does a look over his A-Wing fighter, climbs the ladder, and enters the cockpit. He turns the fighter over, and the twin J-77 engines make their beautiful sound that stated that they were itching to fly.
"Gold Leader to group leaders. Be sure all fighters are prepared, then relay that to me."
When it was his turn, Arvel stated, "Green 6, 2 are green", and left it at that. He looked to the left side of his cockpit, and sees the planet Sullust. Arvel, thinking of home, said to himself, "I hope I make you proud, Dad."
The comm crackled, "All fighters launch" in Ackbar's gravelly Mon Calamari voice. Gold, Red, Rogue, Green, Blue, and Grey Squadrons left the hangar bays and proceeded to escort the starships. "Entering hyperspace in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, MARK!" The armada entered hyperspace, heading straight into the trap.
When the armada exited hyperspace, alarm swamped the comm frequencies as they discovered numerous Star Destroyers and the Super Star Destroyer Executor. Green Leader loudly stated in the squadron frequency, "Silence! Head for the Super Star Destroyer and vape the dupes before they can attack the starships, quickly! The eyeballs and squints are your secondary priority. Execute!"
"Green Six, this is Seven. I'm your wing!" "Affirmative, Seven. Stay tight, there's too many enemies to count out here. Watch out for the turbolasers!" "As ordered, Six." The squadron raced toward the bombers in a head-to-head confrontation.
Arvel, seeing the missiles firing toward his squad, fired at them, managing to prematurely blow up several of the missiles. "Seven, break out of secondary and dodge those missiles!" "OK, Six. Wait, I can't dodge this one! Hel-" A wave of static broke the communication.
"Six to Lead, we've lost Seven, a missile got him." Arvel could almost hear his commander grimace. "We've also lost 3 and 9, Six, we don't have time to regroup, you'll have no one protecting your tail, so watch it!" "Gotcha, sir." He dived and went into an impossibly sharp turn, coming right on the tails of three bombers. He switched to concussion missiles, locked on, and fired at each of them. The bombers, being slow and sluggish, could not dodge the missiles and are sequentially blown up. The locked-on alarm went off, and he hit the right rudder, veering off and avoiding the missile lock. A TIE fighter came into his sights, and he quickly fires a paired burst of laser fire. The eyeball, having quickly absorbed gigajoules of energy, exploded when its fuel reached a superhigh temperature. He searched for more bombers, but they were disappearing off the enemy list on his sensors, and they all were vaped before he could target one. He went after the squints immediately after. Shunting more power to recharge his shields, he juked and fired at the squints in a head- to-head, managing to destroy two of the Interceptors. He swerved to the left at just the right spot to land right on a flight of Interceptors' fuselages. He mercilessly fired missiles, destroying one before they got a chance to dodge the missiles. However, they were too late; the newly developed "Advanced" concussion missiles were too maneuverable for the Imp pilots. He punched the "Nearest Enemy" button, to find it was the SSD.
"The TIEs are gone, Commander. Should we proceed to escort the B- and Y- Wings?" "That's affirmative, Six, but keep an eye on those turbolasers, they've taken a few of us out." Arvel veered off to head toward the squadron of B-Wings, with Green Squadron on his heels. He suddenly saw a flash of green light, and he felt the shockwave of the Liberty exploding. "Commander, was that the Death Star!?!" A voice overrode the commander's reply. "Admiral Ackbar, this is Gold Leader. That blast came from the Death Star! It must be fully operational!" The Mon Cal Admiral had a badly concealed surprise in his scratchy voice, when he responded, "We saw it! Move all starships away from the station immediately!" "Admiral, your new heading is on a direct course for the Impstars! Are you sure about this, sir?" "I'm sure, General Calrissian, our Cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude!"
"Green Squad, we have new orders. We are to directly attack the SSD's shield generators. We will fly in TRD formation, one right after the other. When we reach the generators, fire your missiles at them, then break off and go evasive. Got it?" A chorus of "Yes, sir" filled the comm channel.
The A-Wing squadron, with their blazing speed, easily outran the turbolaser batteries, flying meters from the SSD's hull. With finesse, each fired missiles at the generators, those without missiles firing dual lasers as fast as they could recycle. One blew up; Green Leader swerved directly behind the starship's command tower and attacked the second generator. Under the heavy onslaught, the generator blew up easily. Arvel was just swerving in an evasive pattern when green enveloped his fighter, which shuddered and sparked under the sudden attack; "I'm hit!" Losing control, he turned toward the bridge of the Executor and, with difficulty, managed to slam right into the bridge, killing the bridge officers and locking the controls of the ship straight into a course for the Death Star.
[.]
Admiral Ackbar's voice echoed throughout fighter bay 3, which was packed with pilots, gunners, and ship personnel. "We are gathered here today to mourn the heavy losses we took at the Battle of Endor. Out of more than a hundred rebel fighters, we lost more than twenty good pilots. All of the fighters here shall receive the Kalidor Crescent, for their bravery in the face of overpowering odds. Also, we are here to commemorate the great skill of the pilot Arvel Crynyd, who managed to crash his fighter into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, which turned the tide of the battle into our favor. Because of his successful attempt, many of the remaining Imperial Star Destroyers surrendered to our smaller force, also helping us win the battle against the rest of the Star Destroyers. We are here to remember all lost here, but we also are here to especially thank Lieutenant Crynyd. A toast: to the people lost here, and the future of the Alliance in this brutal war." Hundreds of champagne glasses clinked, and "To the lost" was murmured in the fighter bay.