Chapter 19 – Valiant Squadron
The cockpit of a starfighter was a small, lonely place. For those with even the slightest claustrophobia, it was surely a nightmare. Leia, of course, had no such qualm. She felt secure in the space. She always had. Even so, the X-Wing cockpit was unfamiliar to her. She was used to the spherical pod of the TIE, which offered a bit more space and comfort. The X-Wing's cockpit in comparison was compact and haphazardly designed.
During the trip through hyperspace to Scarif, Leia distracted herself with the controls. By and large, they were similar to those of the TIE. She paid special attention to the proton torpedo gauge, as that was something she had never before operated. The weapons were fully charged and ready to go, as indicated by an electric blue light which blinked at her in anticipation. Ready whenever you are, it seemed to say.
The navcom was another source of distraction. It plotted out her journey through the hyperlanes from Yavin to Scarif. The galaxy was filled with thousands of habitable systems. It had always been a subject of fascination for Leia, ever since she was a little girl. Had anyone visited them all, she wondered? Doubtful. Perhaps she could be the first.
After today, that seemed unlikely.
In order to quell such macabre thoughts, she plugged in coordinates at random, exploring the galaxy from her navcom. At one point, against her better judgment, she chose to look up something specific.
"Dagobah," she muttered.
It, like Scarif, was in the Outer Rim. It seemed to be roughly equidistant from Scarif as Yavin, just in the opposite direction. In fact, it was along the same hyperlane route. She could easily skip by Scarif and head onward to Dagobah should she feel so inclined.
A strange line of thinking. Leia quickly dimmed the navcom to black, shaking her head.
The minutes passed by, stretching slowly into hours. Leia gripped the control sticks and tried to regulate her breathing. She stared out the viewport, watching the vibrant eddy of hyperspace pass her by. It was hypnotic, in a way, keeping her mind blissfully blank.
She felt herself compress, the telltale sign of deceleration, and soon hyperspace was melting away into star flares. A moment later, she had arrived. Leia exhaled slowly, taking a long look first at the ship's sensors – nothing in the short or medium range – then looking up to scan the viewport. In the long range, the sensor and her eyes confirmed concurrently, there was quite a lot of activity.
What she saw first, of course, was the Death Star. It took Leia's breath away. It was enormous. From this distance, she easily could have been forgiven for thinking it was a small moon, or perhaps more aptly, a large chunk of debris. Leia grimaced. She had approached on a tangential vector to the planet, limiting her view of the damage. Now she adjusted the yaw slightly to get a good look.
Scarif looked not unlike an apple which had been bitten into. The exposed core was a dull red, what had once been hot magma now frozen by the extreme cold of space. Great clouds of dust and ash as well as meteorite-sized rocks circled the planet, obscuring the surface. Perhaps, in a thousand years or so, that debris, under the influence of gravity, would coalesce into beautiful rings, a literal silver lining of a horrible atrocity. But for now, there was no beauty. There was nothing but carnage and barbarism.
Leia forced herself to look away, adjusting her ship's vector once more to face the Death Star. In between her and the massive battle station were a smattering of smaller Imperial ships, corvettes, frigates, and a few bulkier cruisers. They were sifting through another sort of debris farther away from the planet itself. The glinting of metal against the sunlight confirmed to her what it was: the remains of the Rebel fleet.
Leia swallowed hard. A small voice in her head told her this was her doing. The destruction of Scarif, the evisceration of the Rebel fleet. None of this would have happened had she not been involved. Because it was her presence which led Vader to the Imperial facility, dooming Jyn and Cassian's mission.
She made herself quell the thought. Not like she could do anything about it now. At the moment, she needed to focus on the task at hand. How was she going to navigate her way through the minefield of debris and Imperial ships? Fortunately, it seemed as if her arrival had gone undetected, but if she approached any further, no doubt the Imperials' sensors would go off.
Right on cue, Leia's own sensors sounded. She squinted at the flashing screen. Something was emerging from hyperspace. Multiple somethings. Her heart leapt in her throat. Were they Imperials arriving to assist the scanning effort? If so, she was in exactly the wrong spot, and there was no time for her to escape, not without being detected.
But when the ships emerged from hyperspace right behind her, Leia realized what was going on. It wasn't Imperials at all. But that revelation was hardly a relief. The comms system crackled to life and a familiar voice greeted her.
"Funny seeing you here, Captain."
Vexed, Leia activated the comm on her end. "Biggs, I told you not to follow me," she said. "And I'm not a captain."
"Sure you are!" Biggs replied. "You're our captain. We're here to help you. Isn't that right, boys?"
A chorus of affirmation flooded the comm. Determined voices, vengeful voices. Dedicated pilots, dead set on fighting beside her, even if it led to their deaths.
"Hey, Captain," came Biggs' voice. "What's our squadron name?"
"There isn't one," Leia said.
"I've got an idea. Want to hear it?"
Leia rolled her eyes in response. Somehow, Biggs must have heard it over the comm. He laughed.
"Valiant Squadron," he said. "Has a good ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Not really," Leia said. "Too many syllables."
"Val for short."
Leia felt her throat constrict. "Oh," she managed to say.
"All wings of Valiant Squadron report," Biggs requested over the comm.
And they did. Val 8 standing by. Val 12 standing by. Val 7 standing by. All in all, there were 15 wings, herself included.
"What are your orders, Val Leader?" Biggs, or rather, Val 3, asked.
Leia looked out the viewport toward the debris field. With a full squadron of X-Wings behind her, it would be easy to blast through the dispersed and distracted Imperial vessels. But doing so would sacrifice the element of surprise which was so critical to the success of this operation.
"Here's what we're going to do," she said. "Break formation, put as much space between each wing as possible while maintaining operational cohesion."
If any of the pilots were confused by this order, nobody expressed it. They broke formation and flew away. As they assumed a new formation in accordance with her instruction, Leia expounded on the plan.
"We're going to cut our engines and drift toward the debris field," she said. "Our approach needs to be slow and gradual so as not to set off any alarms. I also want you to turn off all battery power except for steering."
"What about our weapons?" one asked.
"Power them down."
"It's going to get frosty without the batteries," another said.
"You'll be fine. We just need to get through the debris field undetected."
"This won't work," a chagrined pilot said. "Even if our fighters appear dead, their scanners will be able to detect life forms."
"I don't think they'll be looking for that," Leia said. "It's been over a day since the battle. They likely already scanned the whole area for survivors. And besides," she added with contempt, "the Empire doesn't care much for prisoners."
"I don't like it," the same pilot said.
"Then you can shut up and fly back to Yavin," Biggs snapped. "The rest of us are ready when you are, Val Leader."
Leia couldn't help but smile. Despite her reservations, she had to admit it was nice to have Biggs in her corner again.
"All right, Valiant Squadron," she said. "We'll approach at half throttle to gain momentum. At my command, cut off engines and battery power."
"Copy that, Val Leader," Biggs said.
Valiant Squadron took off toward the debris field, and toward the Death Star.
Toward annihilation, perhaps.
Toward destiny, certainly.
Δ Δ Δ
In a way, it was sacrilege. They drifted along through a graveyard. Leia tried not to think about the dozens of dead Rebels out there, floating in space, their bodies cold and bloated. Luckily, she did not see any. What she did see was crumpled metal, charred fuselages, and shimmering clouds of shattered glass.
Space was placid and silent, but it was also merciless. With the batteries powered down and the cold creeping into the cockpit, a chilling sensation suffusing her fingers and toes and working up her limbs to her core, Leia was acutely aware of this. Just an inch or so of metal and glass separated her from the void.
She exhaled shakily, her breath condensed into a frigid cloud. How long had it been? Ten minutes? They had to be almost through. But Leia had no way to know for sure. Her sensors, along with nearly all other systems, were down.
The comms, however, were still active. And hers suddenly spoke.
"Val Leader, this is Val 6. We've got a problem."
"Expound, Val 6," Leia demanded. She'd learned from Colonel Roth that the best, decisive leaders were succinct, especially in high pressure situations such as this.
"Imperial frigate closing in, maybe half a kilometer away at most," Val 6 said. "Permission to adjust course?"
"Denied," Leia said. "Stay the course."
"I think they've scanned me." The pilot's voice, previously staid, now revealed panic. "I have to power up."
"You will do no such thing, Val 6."
"I'm sorry, Val Leader. I –"
Abruptly, the feed cut out. Leia's head jerked to the left where she saw a flare of orange in the viewport.
"Val 6!" she said. "Val 6, come in!"
"We're compromised!" came another pilot's voice.
"No we're not," she said, struggling to stay calm. "Stay the course. That was just an isolated –"
"Too late, Val Leader. We're powering up."
"No!"
They didn't listen to her. Horrified, Leia watched as on either side of her, Valiant Squadron's ghost formation sprang to life. It was too soon. The element of surprise was lost.
"Dank farrik!" Leia bit out.
"Sorry, Captain," came Biggs' voice. "They're jumpy."
"They're insubordinate," Leia growled.
Grudgingly, she flicked a few switches. The battery powered up and the engine roared. With her sensors coming back on, she saw a diamond formation approaching.
"TIEs incoming," she said.
"A lot of them," Biggs said.
"Nothing we can't handle," Leia said.
Her thumb hovered over the trigger for the laser cannons. It had been too long since she had been here. All her fears and doubts melted away, replaced by glacial calm.
"Val 7 and I have got your flanks," Biggs said.
"Belay that," Leia said. "Give me space."
"Copy that, Val Leader." She could hear the smile in his voice. He knew just as well as she did.
This was her moment.
Bracing herself, Leia maxed the throttle and took off toward the diamond formation at top speed. She always preferred taking on a vastly superior foe to a simple one on one dogfight. Their numbers gave them a false sense of security. They became slower and dumber. Leia could manipulate them, contorting her fighter in and out of the fray, allowing the enemy to do all the dirty work for her. She could never explain how she did it – she had been asked to do just that many times before; all she could do was shrug and say it was just a feeling.
Now she knew it was more than that. Now when she saw what the enemy was going to do moments before they knew themselves, Leia knew it was the Force speaking to her, acting through her. The power at her fingertips was intoxicating. Amidst the maelstrom of blaster fire, Leia felt invincible.
A sudden jolt to her starboard side startled her back to reality. She was stunned. Had she really been hit? The X-Wing was a sturdier fighter, better armed than the typical TIE, but less maneuverable as a result. She must not have taken that into account. Luckily the damage was not too bad. The X-Wing's modest shields had taken the brunt of the blow; that was another benefit of this fighter. The TIEs offered no such protection.
"Are you okay, Val Leader?" Biggs asked.
"Affirmative, Val 3," Leia said as she steered her fighter away from the fray. In her wake, at least half of the initial wave of TIEs were destroyed or otherwise out of the fight. But Leia knew there would be more. The Death Star likely had hundreds of TIE squadrons ready to deploy. In just a few minutes, they'd be hopelessly overwhelmed.
"We've got to make our attack run now," Leia said. "Valiant Squadron, disengage the enemy and head toward the Death Star."
This time her order was followed. Valiant Squadron assembled behind her in two staggered rows, one above and one below, providing her with the best possible cover. She hadn't told them to do that. That must have been Biggs. He had told her back on Yavin that he thought she was their best hope. Somehow he must have convinced these few Rebels of that as well. She was hardly surprised. Biggs had always been convincing.
They flew as fast as their fighters would allow while still in attack configuration, with the wings spread in that classic X shape. The Death Star grew in her viewport until she could see nothing else. If its size had awed her before, it terrified her now. How could the Empire possibly justify this monstrosity? How many planets had been stripped of resources, how many lives had been squandered for the sake of this project? Only now could Leia fully appreciate the extent of Galen's quandary.
"All right, Valiant Squadron," she said over the comm, fists clenched on the control sticks as she urged her fighter on even faster. "This is it."
"We've got company, Val Leader."
Sure enough, a new squadron of TIEs was screeching toward them from the port side. Leia eyed the approaching formation in her sensor screen. She was itching to peel off and confront them head on like she had done with the previous threat, but Leia knew she couldn't do that. It was much more important for her to reach the thermal exhaust port and blow the Death Star to smithereens. Her supporting entourage would have to deal with the TIEs on their own.
They wouldn't be able to give her much time, however. Behind the rapidly approaching TIE squadron was two more, and Leia had no doubt there were dozens more to come. She estimated they had ten minutes, at most, to make this insane plan work.
"Val 3, Val 4, Val 11, you're my escort," Leia said, reading off the call signs for the closest wings to her. "The rest of you, distract those TIEs for as long as you can."
The squadron dissembled in accordance with her order. Now Leia was careening toward the Death Star's polar hemisphere with Biggs and two others at her flanks. Momentarily, space was calm. In the distance, the dogfight ensued, providing them with necessary cover. But as they got closer to the surface of the Death Star, the surface cannons opened fire, spewing flak and blaster fire at them.
"Don't slow down," Leia said. "Our fighters are too fast for them to hit us." In that moment, the universe must have felt like taunting her, because just as she said it, flak grazed the rear deflectors. The only damage it caused, fortunately, was to her own ego. Rolling her eyes, Leia pushed on.
Δ Δ Δ
"There's too many of them!"
Leia was tempted to turn off the comm. No good news would come from it. Leia knew that Valiant Squadron's cause was, if not futile, almost certainly fatal, herself included in that grim assessment. But hearing it unfold was horrible.
She hadn't asked for this. For responsibility, yes, but not for leadership. She had told Biggs not to come. Because the guilt was too much for her. Death and disappointment followed her every step. She couldn't bear it, having so many people sacrifice themselves for her.
But stubborn as she may be, Leia knew she couldn't do this without them. She would have been killed long ago without Valiant Squadron to shield her from the Imperial counter attack.
She had to finish this. Stow away your guilt and finish the job.
"Approaching the trench now," she said over the comm, her voice steady. "Descending now."
"Watch out for those towers, Val Leader," Biggs told her.
"Acknowledged, Val 3." Her fighter, followed closely by the three escorts, plunged toward the trench, screaming past the towers which spewed blaster fire harmlessly at the sky.
Leia took a breath and activated the computer targeting system. A schematic of the trench appeared on the screen.
"We're close," Leia said, glancing at the proton torpedo gauge. "30,000 feet to the target."
"How close do you want to be for the shot?" Biggs asked.
"Not sure," Leia said. "I'll know when I know."
"You don't want to be too close, or you won't be able to escape the blast," Biggs said.
This, to Leia, seemed like a pointless hypothetical, but she didn't say so.
"Incoming TIE fighters," said Val 11.
Leia glanced over her shoulder, and sure enough a formation of half a dozen TIEs were surging toward them.
"Hold formation!" Biggs said. "Don't let them get a shot at Leia."
"Belay that," Leia said.
"I belay your belay," Biggs retorted. "We're with you until the end."
Leia gritted her teeth, but she didn't argue. Biggs was right, of course. The success of this operation hinged upon her ability to get a clean shot.
20,000 feet.
Leia.
"I'm hit!" Val 4 cried, and the feed went to static.
"Stabilize rear deflectors!" Biggs said.
"They're too close!" Val 11 said. "Deflectors are useless at this range."
Leia had to drown out their conversation. She squinted at the targeting computer.
10,000 feet.
Listen to me.
"Val 11, come back!" Biggs said.
"Sorry, Val 3."
In her sensors, Leia saw Val 11 break formation, peeling off into the night sky away from the danger. Biggs remained her last line of defense, one against six hostile TIEs.
He was her shield. And Leia knew he wouldn't last long.
"Biggs!"
She grabbed the control sticks, ready to pull up and take the enemy group head on.
"Stay the course!" Biggs said.
5,000 feet.
Use the Force.
She recognized that voice, but couldn't quite place it. Speaking to her not over the comms, but all around her, permeating her thoughts and instilling within her a stoic calm.
Let go.
She couldn't. Biggs would die if she did.
Leia, let go.
2,500 feet.
"You're in range! Fire now, fire now!"
Leia looked out the viewport. She couldn't see it, but Leia knew it was there. The thermal exhaust port. She could sense it. The targeting computer was useless to her, and Leia aptly deactivated it.
Now.
"Now!"
She closed her eyes. And fired.
The torpedoes sailed true. She had no doubt they would find their mark. She opened her eyes, glanced at the sensor display, and saw the icon for Val 3 flicker and disappear.
"Biggs?"
He was gone, she knew it.
But before she had time to contemplate it, a massive explosion propelled her fighter upward. Survivalist instinct kicked in, and Leia leaned down on the throttle to escape the ensuing fireball. Her rear deflectors were quickly fried, and the thrusters were scorched as well. The fighter careened out of control, corkscrewing and plummeting into an infernal abyss.
She was lost. Alone and powerless.
The voice spoke to her.
The Force will be with you.
Always.
