Star Wars: Finding The Flaw (The Imperial Viewpoint)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh, why can't I leave this alone?! A short fic set during the Battle of Yavin, showing an Imperial officer...Finding The Flaw. Some dialogue has been expanded, some corrected from editing errors - for example, Red Six couldn't see Red Five because he'd already bought it, and Gold Leader was similarly dead.
Near vicinity of Yavin Prime
As the Rebels are attacking
"All wings report in," Garven Dreis ordered.
"Red Ten standing by."
"Red Three, standing by," Biggs acknowledged.
"Red Six standing by," Porkins reported cheerily.
"Red Nine, standing by."
"Red Two, standing by," Wedge replied tensely. Kriff, the damn thing was huge.
"Red Eleven, standing by."
"Red Five standing by," Luke responded.
Once the last X-wing had reported in, Red Leader instructed, "Lock S-foils in attack position." In response the X-Wings' strike foils unfolded, the reason they'd been given their name. The craft suddenly encountered buffeting.
"We're passing through the magnetic field," Red Leader told them. "Hold tight! Switch your deflectors on, double front!"
Not really knowing how to compensate but respecting his flight leader, Luke did exactly what he should have: he remained in control and followed orders.
The Death Star loomed, large and threatening.
Some pilots such as Wedge hadn't seen the battle station. He couldn't help gasping, "Look at the size of that thing!"
"Cut the chatter, Red Two," Dreis ordered. "Accelerate to attack speed." They did so. "This is it, boys!"
"Red Leader, this is Gold Leader."
"I copy, Gold Leader," Gold Leader heard.
"We're starting for the target shaft now."
"We're in position," Red Leader told him. "I'm gonna cut across the axis and try an' draw their fire. All Reds with me!"
They swooped down.
Death Star Overbridge
As the Rebels attack
"They're doing what?!" Admiral Motti demanded in shock.
"We show 30 Rebel fighters attacking the station," a faceless functionary reported.
"Odd," he mused, "we expected them to mount a massive defence of the moon itself...for all the good it would've done them. What can they hope to achieve with fighters? Nevertheless," he sighed, "I should report it."
When he did, Grand Moff Tarkin was dismissive. "Engage our turbolasers," he ordered. "They should make short work of them."
Motti answered uneasily, "Governor, um, the battle station's defences were designed with capital ships in mind - they may not be able to cope with such small craft."
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"Heavy fire, Boss," Red Two reported, "twenty-three degrees!"
"I see it," Red Leader acknowledged. "Stay low!"
"This is Red Five, I'm going in!"
He opened fire on the battle station's surface. He was only causing trivial damage, but the Rebel tacticians had advised it so as to distract the Imperials from Gold Squadron.
But he underestimated the sheer speed of his X-Wing. As a result of his bombardment the surface section he was hitting caught fire. He realised with terror that he couldn't avoid the fireball.
"Luke, pull up!" Biggs called urgently.
But though a storm was raging outside his X-Wing, Luke passed through it safely.
"Are you all right?"
"I got a little cooked," Luke admitted, seeing his fighter's minor damage, "but I'm okay. Uh, Red Five to Red Leader: you were right, sir. It's not exactly like flying a skyhopper," he ruefully confessed.
"Told ya, Luke," the older man returned, smiling slightly, though Luke couldn't see it. "Good job, though. But give yourself more lead time."
"Copy," Luke nodded. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
As it turned out, the turbolasers couldn't deal. They were big and clumsy; even the smaller mounts were ineffective. True, a direct hit would vaporise a Rebel craft despite its shields...but first they had to hit them. Not the easiest of tasks, as they soon discovered. As per Red Leader's orders, the craft were staying low, too low for the turbolasers to reach them. A functionary reported to Darth Vader, "We count 30 Rebel ships, Lord Vader. But they're so small, they're evading our turbolasers."
Fallen Jedi though he was, Darth Vader had thoroughly absorbed the lessons taught his old master, Obi-Wan. One of them was that no enemy, no matter how small, could be underestimated. The Rebels must, he reasoned, have a good reason for risking so many ships in an open confrontation - doubtless they'd made use of the plans and discovered what they believed to be a weakness. But there might be insufficient time to ascertain their intent.
"We'll have to destroy them ship-to-ship," he decided. "Get the crews to their fighters."
The functionary knew Vader meant his elite squadron, and nodded. Six, he thought, should be enough. He hurried off to mobilise them.
"Watch yourself! There's a lot of fire coming from the right side of that deflection tower!"
"I'm on it," Luke answered.
"I'm going in," Biggs reported. "Cover me, Porkins."
"I'm right with you, Red Three!"
No-one ever decided exactly what it was the X-Wings hit, but it was clearly more important than it looked, and blew up handily under their fire.
Then the operators in one cluster of turbolaser mounts discovered that they were, in fact, at the correct angle to hit the Rebels. They opened fire.
"I've got a problem here," Red Six reported as his instrumentation was affected despite his astrodroid's frantic efforts.
"Eject!" Biggs advised.
The laser fire continued.
"I can hold it!" Porkins protested, though he hadn't realised his fighter had dipped.
Straight into the turbolasers' firing ambit.
"Pull up!" Biggs cried, seeing the danger.
"No, I'm all ri -"
He was terminally interrupted by the turbolaser blast hitting and passing through his X-Wing, doing exactly as its designers had intended.
Porkins became the first and only casualty of the turbolaser fire.
Death Star Overbridge
"The Rebel base will be in firing range in seven minutes."
"Luke! Trust your feelings!"
Red Five tapped his headphones, unsure of what he'd heard or if, in fact, he'd heard anything at all. Then he bounced in his seat and opened fire. Below him, one of the smaller turbolaser mounts was hit and exploded. One less, he thought, pleased.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
Then a Rebel officer gave them the bad news. "Squad leaders...we've picked up a new group of signals. Enemy fighters coming your way."
"My scope's negative, I don't see anything," Luke protested.
Dreis, a veteran of too many battles, knew better than to rely on instruments - especially with the distortion fields General Dodonna had warned them about. "Pick up your visual scanning," he ordered. This was and always had been Rule One of flying combat:
Trust the most reliable instrument you have on board - the Mark One Eyeball.
"Here they come!"
And come they did. Six TIEs holding a tight formation, until they split up.
"Watch it, you've got one on your tail!" Red Leader warned Seven. But the TIE was way too close. Its pilot fired.
"I'm hit!" the young pilot cried, and his X-Wing burst apart.
Luke had no time to grieve. "Biggs, you've picked one up, watch it!"
Looking round frantically, Biggs cried, "I can't see it!" The TIE opened fire, the bolts coming way too close. "He's on me tight, I can't shake him!"
"I'll be right there!" Luke told him, rolling his X-Wing. Now the TIE was in his sights. The targeting scanner nearly had it, nearly, nearly -
Then the grid turned from green to yellow. Determinedly Luke opened fire.
His third Imperial kill blossomed into flame.
Vader, monitoring the battle, had noticed something: a number of Y-Wings were not joining the dogfight - understandable on the face of it, as they weren't as fast. But no, he felt through the Force that there was more to it.
They were up to something.
He turned to his two best pilots, already suited up. "Several fighters have broken off from the main group. I want to know why. Come with me."
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"Pull in!" Red Leader advised. "Luke, pull in!"
"Watch your back, Luke, watch your back!" Wedge cried.
"Fighter's above you, coming in," he warned.
The TIE rolled and tried for a snap shot on the rising X-Wing; it hit an upper intake.
"I'm hit, but not bad," Luke reported. "Artoo, see what you can do with it!"
As laser fire lanced out, the droid warbled worriedly. "Hang on back there!"
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"Red Two, can you see Red Five?"
"There's a heavy fire zone on this side!" Red Two answered. "Red Five - where are you?"
"I can't shake him!" Luke rapped, flying low. The TIE kept firing.
But Wedge had the range now. "I'm on him, Luke - hold on!"
Luke was doing his best, but the enemy fire was coming closer…
"Blast it, Biggs, where are you?" he groused to himself.
The TIE pilot was just lining up for a perfect shot, when suddenly another X-Wing appeared - not off to one side, but right in front of him.
It opened fire.
The TIE was hit and split in two, exploding, just as its pilot had realised what had happened.
Red Two flew through its remnants and executed a victory roll.
"Thanks, Wedge," Luke acknowledged gratefully. Wedge's tactic had been unusual, but extremely effective for that precise reason. Then again, Wedge knew Imperial pilots because not too long ago he'd been one. He'd known exactly what the TIE pilot would do: wait for a perfect alignment and then fire. It was this knowledge which made him so valuable to the Rebellion. If the Empire ever woke up and realised that fighters were dangerous, Wedge would become a primary target for Imperial assassination, and so would every defector.
"Good shooting, Wedge."
Then came the report they'd been waiting for.
"Red Leader, this is Gold Leader. We're starting our attack run."
As he said it, the Y-Wings were heading down towards the D-Quadrant.
"I copy, Gold Leader. Move into position."
TIE Fighter squadron, not far away
Once launched, the two standard TIEs and the Advanced X-1 Interceptor Vader himself had designed assumed formation and flew rapidly to where the Y-Wing squadron was attacking.
"Stay in attack formation," Vader ordered his wingmen.
"The exhaust port is marked and locked in," Gold Leader reported confidently as his and the other two Y-Wings with him rolled and dropped into the target trench.
The trench defences detected them and opened fire, uselessly - even a Y-Wing was too small and fast. Still, it was best to take precautions.
"Switch all power to front deflector screen," he ordered, "switch all power to front deflector screen."
The turbolasers kept firing.
A futile exercise, the operators knew, but orders were orders - especially from the likes of Grand Moff Tarkin.
"How many guns do you think, Gold Five?" Gold Leader asked of his most experienced pilot.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"I'd say about 20 guns," Gold Five reported, "some on the surface, some on the towers."
"Death Star will be in range in five minutes," an unseen voice warned.
Five minutes, Leia thought. Will it be enough?
Death Star Trench, D-Quadrant
"Switch to targeting computer," Gold Leader ordered.
"Computer's locked," Gold Two confirmed. "Getting a signal."
Then abruptly the turbolaser fire ceased.
"The guns," Gold Two frowned, puzzled, "they've stopped!"
It was Gold Five who deduced the reason for this apparent tactical oversight. "Stabilise your rear deflectors! Watch for enemy fighters!"
Then the report came in that he and the others were dreading.
"They're coming in!" Gold Leader told them. "Three marks at two-ten!"
Darth Vader's TIE X-1
"I'll take them myself," Vader told his wingmen. "Cover me."
"Yes, sir," one answered. The two TIEs pulled back slightly, allowing Vader's craft, the TIE Advanced X-1 Interceptor, to take the lead.
Gold Two showed clearly on Vader's targeting scanner. As the scanner locked on, he fired.
The young pilot never saw his murderer. The Y-Wing began coming apart around him; his body ruined, he slumped forward.
His Y-Wing exploded spectacularly.
Gold Leader looked back in panic. The trench, he knew, was far too tight for evasive manoeuvres.
A fact Vader knew all too well.
"It's no good, I can't manoeuvre!"
"Stay on target," Gold Five advised.
"We're too close!"
"Stay on target!" Pops told him, louder for emphasis.
The TIEs closed in.
Losing it, Gold Leader panicked. "Loosen up!"
But he was too late. A single shot from Vader's interceptor destroyed his ship.
Realising the overwhelming odds, Gold Five started to pull up...too late, had he but known it. "Gold Five to Red Leader! Lost Tiree, lost Hutch!"
"I copy, Gold Five," Red Leader responded.
"They came in at us from behind -"
He was interrupted by Vader's inhumanly precise shot. It carved off his port engine; sparking, the Y-Wing plunged down and was obliterated on the surface.
Now what? Luke wondered soberly.
Death Star Overbridge
The same question now concerned Commander Feron Romodi. Puzzled, he was analysing the Rebel attack from a tactical standpoint. One group of fighters was apparently distracting them, whilst another was - what? What were they doing? Attacking a trench in the D-Quadrant, nowhere near the dogfight?
One screen showed the pattern of the Rebel attack. The other displayed a schematic of the section in question. Odd, there was nothing of any significance there. In fact the battle station had no critical external features at all, such was its spherical design. There was no breach in the defences…
Hold on. There was a small breach. A small thermal exhaust port, a mere two metres in diameter, at the end of a trench filled with turbolaser cannons. But surely, even in the unlikely event that the Rebels could hit a target that small, particularly under fire, an explosion there would cause little damage, he thought.
But then he saw how deeply the shaft went. Two metres in diameter, almost too small to show on the schematic at all...but, he saw in horror, it went all the way down to the main reactor.
Why, he wondered, was such a thing there?
He soon found out. There was a series of memos exchanged between the Chief Designer and the Engineering Operations Manager. Routine stuff, dealing with heat and radiation problems. But...there was something about Galen Erso's memos, about the way they were worded. It seemed almost...manipulative.
As if he wanted them to build that shaft.
He recalled uneasily that before the Death Star had fired on and destroyed the Imperial Data Centre on Scarif, Orson Krennic had been going through every communication Erso had ever sent, on the suspicion that he'd somehow incorporated a weakness into the design.
A weakness we all missed, he realised now. So that's why the Rebels fought so hard for the plans! They took heavy losses at Scarif, including the loss of an entire ground team. Now we know WHY! Kriff, Tagge was right!
He checked his facts - he didn't dare report to the Grand Moff until he was sure of them. It was an extraordinarily difficult shot, he saw. Difficult...but not impossible.
Now he was sure.
He walked up to Tarkin and reported in a low voice, "We've analysed their attack, sir, and there is a danger." Then, instead of explaining his rationale, which might have convinced Tarkin to listen to him, he suggested, "Should I have your ship standing by?"
Tarkin turned to him, irritated. "Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!"
As if to emphasise the odds against the Rebels, an operator announced, "Rebel base, three minutes and closing."
"Red boys, this is Red Leader," Dreis said, trying not to think about the death of his old friend.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"Rendezvous at mark 6.1," he finished.
"This is Red Two, flying towards you."
"Red Three, standing by."
Dodonna addressed the pickup. "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. Hold up here and wait for my signal to start your run."
Though Red Leader couldn't see him, Luke nodded.
The X-Wings - Red Leader with Ten and Twelve - cruised down towards the trench. "This is it!" he told them.
Sure enough the defences opened fire, proving unable to hit the X-Wings, which were travelling too low and fast.
"We should be able to see it by now," Red Ten doubted.
The turbolaser fire ceased. Red Leader knew what that meant. "Keep your eyes open for those fighters."
"There's too much interference," Red Ten reported.
Above them, Red Two, Three and Five were maintaining formation as ordered, and therefore had a better view. So Red Ten called:
"Red Five - can you see them from where you are?"
Luke scanned, but at first there was nothing.
"No sign of any - wait!"
Then they showed.
"Coming in point three-five!"
Red Ten looked up. "I see them,"
Sure enough, the three TIEs were dropping down.
"I'm in range," Red Leader reported, intent on his targeting scanner. "Target's coming up. Just hold 'em off for a few seconds!"
I hate to second-guess you, Garven, Red Ten thought, but we only have a few seconds.
Vader's X-1
"Close up formation."
His wingmen complied.
"Almost there," Red Leader reported, looking at the scanner.
In fact they had less time than Red Ten thought. Vader almost didn't even bother with the targeting scanner - Red Twelve was an easy target. The laser fire drifted starboard as his interceptor did, and the X-Wing erupted in flame.
Scared now, Red Ten warned, "You'd better let 'em loose! They're right behind me!"
"Almost there…" Dreis murmured at the same time.
The TIEs closed in.
"I can't hold them!" were Red Ten's last coherent words.
An Imperial pilot took the initiative and opened fire.
Red Ten's last utterance wasn't even words, just "Aaah!"
His fighter also exploded.
But now Red Leader was in range. He fired his torpedoes.
"It's away!"
He angled up, just barely missing the end of the trench. There was a tremendous explosion. Imperial officers and troopers alike lost their footing as the station shook.
"It's a hit!" an enthusiastic voice cried.
But Dreis had bad news for them. He'd missed by the diameter of the shaft. "Negative. Negative," he reported bleakly. "They didn't go in. Just impacted on the surface."
Luke looked down. He saw Red Leader climbing...and an unusual TIE Fighter pursuing him. "Red Leader, we're right above you! Turn to point -" he checked, "- oh-five, we'll cover for you!"
"Stay there," Dreis contradicted, "I just lost my lower starboard engine."
With his long experience he knew too well what was coming. He couldn't have outpaced this - what was it, an interceptor? - even with a fully-functioning X-Wing.
Which his ship was not, not any more.
He gave his final order.
"Get set up for your attack run!"
Then Vader opened fire. It was a glancing shot, but it took out Red Leader's upper starboard engine. The X-Wing was crippled.
All it could do, all it did, was to fall towards the surface.
It did, and Red Leader died in the spectacular conflagration.
Death Star Overbridge
"Rebel base, one minute and closing."
On the graphic depicting Yavin Prime and, in outline, Yavin 4, the moon was just starting to show. Once the Death Star had a clean line of fire, it would do so. Tarkin hadn't ordered Yavin Prime itself to be blasted out of the way for the simple reason that it was a gas giant, with little or any solid matter to destroy, unlike a solid, rocky planet such as Alderaan.
Or Yavin 4.
Besides, it would require more power. The Empire was nothing if not frugal.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"Biggs, Wedge," Luke ordered with a professional calm he wasn't feeling, "let's close it up. We're goin' in, we're goin' in full throttle, that oughta keep those fighters off our back!"
"Right with ya, Boss!" Red Two reported eagerly.
"Luke, at that speed, will you be able to pull out in time?" Biggs doubted.
"Be just like Beggar's Canyon back home," Luke declared confidently.
Biggs didn't say anything. He especially didn't point out that Beggar's Canyon hadn't been filled with bad guys firing at them (okay, the odd Tusken Raider, but they were lousy shots).
The X-Wings entered the trench and the turbolasers opened fire uselessly.
"We'll stay back far enough to cover you," Biggs reported.
"My scope shows the tower," Wedge said worriedly, "but I can't see the exhaust port! Are you sure the computer can hit it?"
The fire intensified.
"Watch yourself!" Luke warned. "Increase speed, full throttle!"
"What about that tower?" Wedge fretted.
"You worry about those fighters," Luke retorted, "I'll worry about the tower!"
Still the turbolasers fired. Still no TIEs.
Luke noticed an anomalous reading. "Artoo, that - that stabiliser's broken loose again, see if you can't lock it down!"
Artoo beeped and complied.
Then the turbolasers ceased fire.
Biggs looked around and up uneasily.
So did Wedge - then he saw them. "Fighters!" he confirmed. "Coming in point three!"
An Imperial pilot opened fire on his X-Wing, tracking to port. It hit.
"I'm hit!" Wedge reported. His controls fought him, and he knew he had no other option. "I can't stay with you!"
Pragmatic, Luke accepted it. Hits had a tendency to mess up an X-Wing, he knew from his studies. "Get clear, Wedge, you can't do any more good back there!"
"Sorry," Wedge apologised sincerely as he angled up and out of the trench, hoping to draw off at least one TIE Fighter.
But Vader saw through his desperate strategy. With his finely honed sense of priorities, he ordered harshly, "Let him go! Stay on the leader!"
Come on, come on, Luke thought frantically.
As if for emphasis, Biggs called urgently, "Hurry, Luke, they're coming in much faster this time, I can't hold them!"
"Artoo, try and increase the power!" Luke ordered in desperation.
With what little room there was to manoeuvre, one X-Wing was attempting to shield the other, weaving to port and starboard.
But Vader did not allow himself to be distracted.
"Hurry up, Luke! Quick!" Biggs cried.
The TIEs closed in.
"QUICK -!"
Vader fired.
Biggs had no chance.
We're a couple of shooting stars, Biggs, Luke had time to think sadly, echoing their boyish cries on the sands of Tatooine, and we'll never be stopped.
Except Biggs had been.
Time to grieve later. Let's do this!
Death Star Overbridge
"Rebel base, thirty seconds and closing."
"I'm on the leader," Vader told his wingmen.
Artoo whistled.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
Threepio heard him over the comnet, and pleaded, "Hang on, Artoo."
Vader adjusted his targeting scanner.
So did Luke.
Almost there…
And then:
"Use the Force, Luke," a ghostly voice urged him.
Now he knew he hadn't imagined it before.
"Let go, Luke."
"The Force is strong with this one," Vader noted thoughtfully.
"Luke, trust me."
He was almost in range, as Red Leader had been.
But Red Leader had missed.
He knew he had time for one run, one shot. His attackers wouldn't allow another.
"There will be a great deal of distortion in and around the trench," he half-remembered Dodonna saying.
Luke made his choice. He didn't know much about the Force yet...but he would trust it.
For Ben.
He pressed a panel. The targeting scanner powered down and retracted.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
"His computer's off," an operator reported, puzzled. "Luke - you've switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Luke's voice rang out confidently, startling Leia and Threepio. "I'm alright!"
Two Rebel operators looked at each other uneasily. The shot was incredibly difficult with a targeting computer. Without it…
He has to be kidding! A two-metre target, at max speed, at right angles - and under fire?!
Vader might have argued Luke's status, but his X-Wing was proving strangely hard to lock onto.
He closed in and fired. The shot carved straight through Artoo's dome; the droid shrieked and powered down, trailing sparks.
"I've lost Artoo!"
As if that wasn't bad enough, the display showing the Death Star's approach changed - more specifically, the zone of affect narrowed sharply.
Covering Yavin 4.
"The Death Star has cleared the planet," the operator reported. "The Death Star has cleared the planet."
Leia and Threepio looked at each other.
Death Star Overbridge
"Rebel base in range," came the report.
"You may fire when ready," Tarkin told an officer with satisfaction. Whatever the Rebels' desperate strategy had been, it had clearly failed.
"Commence primary ignition."
The operators began manipulating controls, as they had earlier with Alderaan.
But what Tarkin had neglected to consider was that the Rebels weren't finished yet.
Luke gathered himself and prepared to fire.
But Vader finally succeeded in getting a target lock.
"I have you now," he gloated.
He began firing.
A wingman suddenly burst apart, distracting him. His shot missed.
"What?!"
Overhead, somehow, there was a light freighter coming down out of the sun, far larger than any fighter - and, apparently, far faster.
"Yahoo!" Han Solo cried.
The remaining wingman panicked. "Look out!" he warned. But he moved too far to port. His port solar panel collided with Vader's starboard. There was a small but significant explosion, propelling the two apart. The wingman crashed against the trench and exploded. Vader's ship was thrown clear of the trench, gyrating wildly, out of control.
Yavin 4 Command Centre
The very last voice Leia had ever expected to hear again rang out over the speakers. "You're all clear, kid, now let's blow this thing an' go home!"
Luke did just that. He felt, somehow, that the right time to fire the torpedoes was -
NOW!
He did.
The torpedoes passed the blackened section where Red Leader's useless shot had hit and, exactly as planned, went straight down the shaft.
Death Star Overbridge
"Stand by."
The Rebels - Red Two, Red Five and the only surviving Y-Wing - accompanied the Millennium Falcon, making tracks.
"Stand by."
But they never had a chance to fire.
The torpedoes entered the main reactor and detonated, severely damaging it. Containment failed utterly.
Exactly as Galen Erso had planned.
The resulting hypermatter explosion was vast, and expanded with terrifying rapidity.
No-one saw it. All they saw was the Death Star exploding suddenly.
The Rebel base was safe.
"Great shot, kid," Han enthused, "that was one in a million!"
And in the cockpit of his X-Wing, Luke heard, "Remember...the Force will be with you. Always."
Now he knew it was true.
THE END