Half power

“Well, then fire again with our laser,” Tol Sivron said. “Maybe we can hit one of them this time.”

“The power core is only half-charged,” Doxin pointed out.

Sivron whirled and parted his lips to show pointed teeth. “Isn’t that good enough to knock out a few little ships?”

Doxin blinked his piggish eyes as if he hadn’t considered the possibility. “Why, yes, sir—yes, it is. Ready to fire.”

“At your convenience, Division Leader,” Sivron said.

Eagerly, Doxin spoke into the intercom, commanding the gunners to fire. After a few seconds the incredible beam of light seared out; side lasers converged at a focal point and coalesced into a laser battering ram that plowed through the fringe of the oncoming cluster of fighters, vaporizing one old blockade runner in the vanguard of the left prong. Another ship was damaged by the backwash of the blast, but the attacking forces spread out and disappeared into the superstructure like parasites, firing again.

“Did you see that?” Doxin said with obvious pleasure. “We hit one!”

“Hooray,” Golanda said sourly from her seat. Her voice carried absolutely no enthusiasm. “Only about forty more to go, and you “can’t even fire the superlaser again for fifteen minutes.”

(...)

After the blaze from the Death Star’s third blast faded, Han Solo rubbed sparkles out of his eyes, seeing distorted colors. “That was too close,” he said. “The fringe of the beam fried our forward shields.”

Shana’s old blockade runner had been destroyed, and some ships now flew off in retreat. “We have to regroup,” Kithra’s voice came over the comm system.”


***

Champions of the Force Chaptet 33