VI: The Battle Among the Clouds
"Bespin's a lot closer than I had expected." It had taken Dax and F3 less than an hour to make the trip to the gas giant. "Get me the coordinates for Cloud City." F3 immediately complied, showing the coordinates on the targeting computer.
A green laser suddenly impacted with his right wing. He looked up and barely saw a pair of TIE Interceptors closing in. He flipped the switch to open the S-foils, turned and tried to line up a shot. The Interceptors were too fast; they nailed a few more solid hits and passed right by him before he had the chance to fire. Their speed worked to his advantage, as he was able to turn and target them before they could. He blasted the one on the left into scrap metal, and turned on the second one to watch it flee behind a small asteroid. He decided it wasn't worth it to give chase, and continued to Cloud City.
As he re-entered, F3 began feeding GPS data to the targeting computer, notifying Dax of where both allied and hostile installations, defenses and the like were. Volk contacted him again and sent extra data dealing with specific targets. Dax would have to first take out anti-aircraft turrets on a platform just outside the city.
Dax came up to the platform, and immediately came under fire from the turrets. Only two blasts had hit, but the X-wing already took moderate damage from them. He flew under the platforms, where the turrets couldn't hit. "Alright, we'll have to do something about that damage." He rerouted power from the engines to the shields and flew to the half of the platform under Rebel control. He came back above the platform, turned 180 degrees. He slowed and used part of one structure to keep himself hidden from one of the turrets. It was looking almost entirely the wrong way when he came out from behind the structure; 14 laser blasts put it out of commission.
A second turret had noticed him. Dax launched a pair of proton torpedoes and barrel rolled to the right. He started the roll too early; only one torpedo hit. 8 lasers downed the second turret. It managed to nail one solid shot to the tip of the X-wing's nose. F3 beeped wildly: the targeting computer was offline. "Oh, hell…can you repair it?" F3 confirmed. He would need 45 seconds to repair the computer. "Okay. I'll see if I can take out the other turrets without the computer."
Dax flew as fast as his damaged fighter would go; the other two turrets wouldn't let up anytime soon. He hid behind the structure again, slowed as he turned, and brought the third turret into his line of fire. He fired another pair of proton torpedoes. They severely damaged the turret, but it was still functioning. The remaining turrets turned and fired at him again, though 3 more lasers from Dax blew the third turret to oblivion. Dax sped up again, turned and fired 5 shots into the last turret, flew past it, and dropped down under the platform again. He continued his circle, going back up above the platform again and hitting the turret 7 more times in the back.
F3 beeped: he had repaired the targeting computer, and he was ready to tell the Rebel Y-wings that they could fly to Cloud City. Dax established a COM link with Volk. "Sergeant Major, sir, I destroyed the Imperial turrets."
"Good. I'm updating your objectives now. Good luck, over and out." The computer showed the tactical data F3 had received earlier, though there was a major difference, in that the map had focused on Cloud City. Dax immediately noticed a large concentration of Imperial troops in the center of the combat area. Y-wings appeared from the southwest; they had flown through the hole Dax punched in the Empire's anti-aircraft defense ring.
The Y-wings dropped bombs into the midst of the stormtroopers. The explosions sent a shockwave of energy through the ranks, sending most spiraling through the air, and some knocked over. When their movement ceased, a number of the troopers managed to bring themselves back to their feet. They returned fire when Rebel soldiers began smothering their position with blaster bolts, scattering and hiding behind any structure or piece of terrain they could. An officer raised a mortar launcher, angled it towards the Rebels and fired. His aim was spot-on; 6 Rebels were thrown through the air by the explosion. Not one of them stood back up.
The targeting computer showed a row of Imperial armored vehicles beginning to surround the city. Y-wings began fanning out to attack different segments of the circle. Dax spotted an area that had few allies attacking and began turning towards it. When F3 realized where he was going, he alerted Dax to the heavier starships unloading the vehicles. Dax nearly lost control of the X-wing, then quickly turned to support a pair of Y-wings attacking part of the convoy.
A familiar roar joined the hum of the Rebel fighters' engines. One Y-wing alerted his wingmate and Dax, "Gray Two here, they're sending TIEs." He struggled to find Dax's callsign, but when he realized he was fruitless, his astromech showed him the name. "Corporal Urland, is it? Get those fighters. Our copilots can take care of any Interceptors, and if we need to fight Bombers, we have plenty of time."
"Roger, Gray Two." He turned to face the TIEs and opened fire, destroying one pair before they could shoot him. He spotted a trio of Interceptors going for the Y-wings, and at the same time he saw the swiveling turrets atop the Y-wings chew through the attackers. That couldn't have been more than 30 rounds. He examined the area and found where TIEs were launching. "Gray Two, I found where the TIEs are coming from."
"Copy that, Corporal. Cover us on our way in and we'll make short work of it." They fell in formation behind Dax, dodging laser fire from TIEs and some deployed turrets. "We're coming into range. Commence bombing run." They dropped bombs on the structure. Its roof almost immediately gave way, allowing most of the bombs to go inside. TIEs and personnel inside were crushed by the debris or blasted by the bombs. The explosions ripped through the supports. What was left of the building crushed the remaining TIEs and their pilots. "Structure destroyed."
The Imperial convoy followed suit through the bombardment of the rest of Gray Squadron. "Okay, Gray Squadron, form up and follow me. We're going to destroy the Imperial transports."
A single X-wing appeared, shooting down a TIE Interceptor Dax didn't notice behind him. "Rogue Three here. I heard there's a mess needing to be cleaned up." He smirked when he realized who was in the other X-wing. "Dax, I thought you were one of us."
Dax chuckled. "Yeah, me too." He addressed Gray Squadron. "What's the current situation, Gray Leader?"
"A pair of transports are all that's left of the Imperial forces near Cloud City. We're bombing all we can out of them, but I don't know if it'll be enough."
Rogue Three reassured them. "Don't worry, I've got a full load of proton torpedoes. I'm sure Dax here does too. We'll finish off what you can't." He and Dax pulled up behind the flight of Y-wings and watched as their bombs pounded into the transports. The first gave in and exploded. The second suffered severe external damage from the bombs. F3 soon found out Gray Leader's prediction was right: the number of bombs in the air at once was decreasing too soon. Dax and Rogue Three would have to kill this one.
Gray Six realized this, too. "We're running out of ordnance; I don't think this thing's going to blow before we run dry." Within two seconds the bombs stopped dropping. "You'll have to take this one, Rogues."
Rogue Three smirked again. So he thought Dax was one of us, too. "Okay, Dax, follow me in and launch every torpedo you have. The transport, while still functional, took very heavy damage from the proton bombs. The last of Dax's torpedoes tore through the hull and detonated on the inside, bringing it down. "Yeah! That did it!"
Rogue Three nodded. "Congratulations, Dax. Let me think… that would mean you've killed two transports on each side now, wouldn't it?"
The question took Dax by surprise. He hadn't expected one of the Rogues to know about his earlier kill at Orion IV or the other transport he failed to protect alongside Rogue Flight when they were ambushed in the Ison Corridor. "...H-how do you know about...?"
"The other battles you've flown in? You have a record on-board the Redemption. It mentioned a downed transport you were escorting from Yavin and another Imperial transport you destroyed near Orion IV. Combine that with your most recent kill, and the other transport outside Hoth..." Dax was stunned. There was no way Rogue Squadron would have known he was the one defending that specific transport so quickly. "You're becoming quite famous through the Rebellion, Dax. I bet you'll be just as surprised as I was with how quickly the story of that transport at Hoth has been passed around. Nearly half of the fleet knows your name now."
Dax shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Just who are you, anyway? And how do so many people know about me all of a sudden?"
"I'm Wedge Antilles of Rogue Squadron. Just about everyone in the squad knows you too. We're considering letting you join someday."
A transmission for Dax came, which would have interrupted Dax's response if he could think of anything to say. "Sergeant Volk to Corporal Urland, do you copy? I know you've been through a lot since the battle on Hoth, but we need you for one more mission. Don't worry, you can have a long rest afterwards."
F3 set a course for the Vulpine again. Dax, making sure F3 would wake him when they exited hyperspace, took the chance to get a short bit of rest before his fourth mission in a row.