Well, that was quick. Today was the first day of school. HELL ON EARTH.

Disclaimer: Gee, what do you think?

Chapter 9: Death Star Goes Boom!

Lila's eyesight was streaked with green as enemy fire from the Death Star erupted all around her. She spiritedly returned the laser beams, manipulating the controls of her X-wing as she followed Luke.

He had created a fireball by shooting something, but he apparently couldn't pull out in time. "Pull up, dammit! I do not want your death on my conscience!" yelled Lila.

"Luke, pull up!" said Red Three, a man named Biggs who seemed to be one of Luke's friends from Tatooine. Lila barely made out the shape of Luke's ship emerging from the explosion. "Are you alright?"

"I got a little cooked, but I'm okay."

Red Leader's voice crackled over the headset. "Luke and Lila, tell me when you're going in."

"We're going in now . . ."

"Watch yourselves, there's a lot of fire coming from the right side of the deflection tower!"

"I'm on it!" Luke zoomed away. As the tower exploded into nothingness, a voice from the planet was broadcast to the X-wings. "Squad leaders, we've picked up a new group of signals. Enemy fighters coming your way."

Lila looked around. "My scope's negative, I don't see anything!"

"Pick up your visual scanning. With all this jamming they'll be on top of you before your scope can pick them up."

"Here they come!" Four TIE fighters came at them. "Biggs, you've picked one up! Watch it!" said Red Leader.

"I can't see it! Where is it?" Several lasers were fired at Biggs' ship, but they missed. "I can't shake him!"

"Hang on, I'm coming in," said Luke. While he went to go rescue Biggs, Lila was having troubles of her own. A TIE fighter was following her. "Shit . . . R3, can you do anything about that?" she asked the droid as a small burn hole appeared on her wing. "Crap! Crapcrapcrap, oh goddammit, why now?" she screamed as R3's head was blown away and her controls began shutting down. Cursing under her breath, she analyzed the damage: she could steer and shoot, but that was it. Deflector shields—gone. Astrodroid—gone. TIE fighter—still trailing her. Looking around, Lila noticed that Red Two, Wedge, was just watching the battle.

Red Leader's voice sounded. "Red Two! Make yourself useful and help Red Four!" Wedge quickly flew over and took care of the fighter in a matter of seconds. "Thank you so much," she said weakly. "Red Leader, I took some . . . well, a lot of . . . damage. All I can do is steer and fire, my deflector shields and astrodroid are gone. If I get hit, I'm dead."

"Stay out of the battle. Fire from a distance. We need the help."

"Understood."

"Watch it, Luke! Fighter above you, coming in!" Wedge had apparently gone on to help fight. Lila hovered above the Death Star, feeling completely and utterly useless. She also decided to shoot the TIE fighter following Luke. With Lila's and Wedge's combined efforts, a blazing white explosion successfully blinded everybody.

"This is Gold Leader. We're starting our attack run." Three Y-wing fighters flew along the trench as the Gold Team attempted to destroy the Death Star. "The exhaust port is marked and locked in! Switch power to front deflector screens."

"The guns! They've stopped!" said Gold Two.

"Stabilize your rear deflectors. Watch for enemy fighters!"

"They're coming in! Three marks at 210."

Three fighters in close formation were indeed speeding towards the Y-wings. In a mater of minutes Gold Two and Gold Leader were dead. Gold Five was stunned. "They came from behind . . . ." Two seconds later he went spiraling down towards the surface of the Death Star and exploded. Lila let out a shaky breath. Three men dead in as many minutes. Someone in that fighter was good.

"Okay, let's think about this rationally. If I shoot at them, they shoot at me. That is bad. I don not want them shooting at me, so I'll just stay here."

Red Leader's commands brought her out of her musings. "Red Group, this is Red Leader. Rendezvous at mark six point one. You too, Lila."

"Red Leader, this is Base One. Keep half your group out of range for the next run."

"Copy, Base One. Luke, take Red Two and Three. Lila . . ."

"I'm going," she said. "If I get hit, it's my problem, not yours."

"Alright. Luke, take Red Two Three and Four. Hold up here and wait for my signal."

Luke, Lila, Wedge and Biggs flew along the Death Star's surface. They sped down the trench.

Red Leader was almost at the exhaust port. He concentrated on his targeting computer as Red Ten was blasted out of existence. "Almost there . . . It's away!"

"It's a hit!" yelled Red Nine.

"Negative. It didn't go in, just impacted the surface," said Red Leader disappointedly. "I just lost my starboard engine. Get set for your attack run."

The TIE fighters fired; Red Leader was gone. "Biggs, Wedge, Lila, we're going in full throttle."

"Right with you, boss," said Wedge.

"Remind me why you're in charge?" asked Lila, not expecting a reply. She didn't get one.

"Luke, at that speed will you be able to pull out in time?" asked Biggs.

"It'll be just like beggar's canyon back home," said Luke confidently.

"We'll stay back far enough to cover you," said a not-very-reassured Biggs.

"I suppose its up to me to make sure none of you get killed," Lila said, resigned to her eternal role as babysitter.

"Watch yourself! Increase speed full throttle!"

"What about that tower?" asked Wedge.

"You worry about those fighters, I'll worry about the tower!"

"No, I worry about the fighters, they worry about the tower, and you worry about finding that exhaust port! I'm only here because you're all going to get yourselves killed!" retorted Lila.

The three TIE fighter ships closed in on them. The center ship fired, and scored a direct hit on Wedge. "I'm hit! I can't stay with you!"

"Get clear, Wedge. You cant do anything else back there," ordered Luke. Wedge pulled his ship away from the Death Star.

Biggs was worried. "Luke, they're coming in much faster this time. I can't hold them! Hurry up!"

Lila reached out with the Force and felt one of the enemy fighters preparing to fire at Biggs. She quickly intervened and fired. The fighter fired just as Lila destroyed it. the laser beam missed Biggs by half a foot. "Thanks, Lila."

"You owe me."

The three of them flew in the trench as fast as their engines would allow. Nevertheless, the TIE fighters were gaining.

Luke suddenly consulted Lila. "I swear I just heard Ben telling me to use the Force."

"Well then you'd better listen to him, dammit!"

A voice from the Rebel Base came over the headset. "Luke, you've switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm alright."

A TIE fighter fired. Artoo's head became a jumbled mass of burnt wires.

Lila watched in terrified exhilaration as Luke approached the exhaust port. Just as he got in range, an enemy fighter prepared to fire at him, only to be shot at from apparently nowhere. One fighter exploded, the other spun into space. Lila looked around.

"Yahoo!" yelled a very familiar voice.

"Han Solo, I am going to KILL you!" shrieked Lila.

He ignored her. "You're all clear, kid, now lets blow this thing and go home!"

Luke smiled and fired the torpedoes.

They went straight down the exhaust port.

A very confused Lila and Biggs suddenly realized what was happening and got the hell away from the Death Star. Luke and Han followed.

For a moment, all was quiet.

Then the Death Star was reduced to rubble in an extremely bright and painful to watch explosion.

Haha! That took FOREVER to write, but whatever.

Cowgirl4Christ: Hells yes!

jedimasterobi-wankenobi: soon enough?

I can't really think of anything else to say, except: One more chapter, then on to ESB!