The Battle of Coruscant -- Battle for Centax-2, Top Gun

[Rom]

Centax-2, a sterile moon of Coruscant, was host to one of the first major space battles in the system. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the battle is far from over. As the fleets involved left orbit to regroup and recover, they sent their best pilots back into the fray, each side hoping to achieve superiority and prevent the other from gaining a foothold.

The space around Centax-2 has become a maze of twisted metal and debris; a graveyard. Only the most skilled and cunning starfighter pilots could ever hope to come out on top, but they must if their side is to achieve victory here.

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If this thread becomes crowded, you may split off and create a new one which takes place alongside the first. Please be sure to title the thread appropriately and post a link in the OOC discussion. If you have any questions, please contact Vencu, GABA, or Rom.

 

[Lavi]

It was easy to tell who were the veterans and who were the newbies. Seeing as the invasion was driven primarily by the Mandalorians, the fresh-out-of-the-academy Imperial pilots felt completely robbed of their chance to "do their part" or "prove themselves" in this war. The veterans grumbled about being tossed into battle. Bernogne was one of them. He was an Imperial pilot since the days of Darth Judicar, then Exodeus, then Andraste. He watched as the Imperial starfleet razed the surface of Muunilinst, taking part in small patrols here and there, mostly light years away from the frontlines. But the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing was called to the front, with Bernogne's squadron being one of the main elements to the effort to take the Coruscanti moon Centrax-2. Now, after the bulk of the fighting was done, it seemed as though bomber formations may be launched to take advantage of the weakened anti-fighter defenses. Of course, it cannot be allowed

Bernogne climbed into the cockpit of his TIE Reaver, fully suited in his flight gear, and began going through the launch procedures. The customization of the Reaver was the reason why Bernogne chose the craft over the Striker. He personally had the wings aligned to maximize forward thrust and the laser cannons lined up along the "chin" of the cockpit, opposed to the "ears." In doing so, the Reaver was just as maneuverable as his old TIE Interceptor Mk.IV, with even greater sublight speeds to outrun most enemy fighters. However, the wing alignment made the use of the starfighter's radical vector thrust system difficult to manage, especially in the heat of combat.

Once the control room officer gave him clearance to launch, Bernogne exited the hangar bay, steering the Reaver so that he could take a look at the state of the fleet for himself. The Imperial fleet looked like a mess: internal bays were exposed, power failures deactivated weapon systems, command bridges were decimated, and most of the frigates and corvettes were in hardly any shape to continue the fight: the failure to repel the Alliance starfighter assault can mean a full retreat of the remnants of the fleet. Or complete annihilation.

"Acheron One reporting," he chimed his comms, adding his voice into the monotonous pilot check-ins.

TIEs from the various different star destroyers were massing together, almost like an angry storm of flies. But, only the 181st can be picked out from the rest, with their famous (or infamous) red bloodstripes along the wings, denoting their status as ace pilots. With that, Bernogne Wael waited as the other pilots exited the bays, ready to take the battle to the Alliance.

 

[Just Matt Now]

The hangars were swarming with Galactic Alliance pilots and technicians all designated to their respected areas and crafts. It was a scene of madness, despite the inevitability of this Imperial attack. The current rush, the impending attack seemed to idealistic. A buildup of motions and hype had never caught up with anyone. They had expected this and knew it was coming for some time, though did not think it would happen this quickly. Despite their hurry and rush, they were not as far behind as they thought. Their paranoia catching them off guard because of their delusion.

Shakti was not without participation on this level. The rush had him nervous, a feeling that he had never gotten before entering a starship. His chosen ship, his Galactic Alliance issued "Razorback R-12 Starfighter", was flown by few, and mastered by even less. Yet the experienced Sluissi Rogue Wing had preferred this vessel, seeing as he would get his best results from it through his missions. Logging days upon days of simulation and real space experience, Shakti might have been the best Rogue Wing pilot when it came to the R-12. The maintenance he had put on this starfighter, to get it to perform to his very particular specifications was leaning towards a relationship with it.

Though the starfighter did not make the pilots, that he had done so himself. Climbing aboard his fighter while his R9 was being lifted into the astromech port, he sat calm, for the first time. His droid chimed in once it was locked in.

"You doin' all right there sslugger?" His droid comforted his relative and apparent uneasiness with noises that pleased the Rogue Wing.

"Shock, ready to roll."

The Galactic Alliance Navy would be in charge of the main defense force, however it was up to the fighters of the elite Rogue Squadrons to provide them with the support they needed. Thus they were designated to defend the moon hovering over Coruscant. The hangar bay doors had not yet opened, the Rogues did not yet now precisely what they were up against, though they knew that death was knocking them on the head.

More voices were heard over the shared comlink. His command procured to lead the team of Wings to defend the moon. The rest of Rogue Wings were in other designations of the sector, the space was so vast, they needed only the most experienced and skilled pilots to hold their key positions. And so Shakti sat there, his fighter powered up and roaring in the hangar, awaiting the order to defend their home.

 

[Lavi]

"All elements advance."

And with that, the swarm of hundreds of TIE fighters of various models pushed onwards, producing a unified, horrifying scream of the countless ion engines revved into motion. Bernogne was part of the lead element, spearheading the advance and likely among the first to get shot at when the Alliance is detected. They needed to strike the Alliance fleet while it was recovering from the recent skirmish, which meant that they would have to navigate through the freshly made graveyard of destroyed vessels.

After flying over a hundred sorties, Bernogne naturally had the instinct of whenever a seemingly good idea turned out to be downright retarded. Visibility was limited as the TIE squadrons entered the graveyard, leaving plenty of room to get ambushed by Alliance fighters. His sensors went crazy at the sheer amount of debris floating in the vacuum. Combined with the cockpit design that made looking anywhere other than in front of him difficult, Bernogne felt and knew he was vulnerable. The comms channels flickered to life every few seconds as pilots reported their findings, which was nothing of worth.

Then a sharp scream pierced his comms, making Bernogne almost jump in his seat.

"Bandit high! Ban--..." the panicky voice broke into static.

"Break formation and engage all unidentified vessels!" Bernogne instructed. "Acheron Two, cover me."

To say that the situation was complete chaos was an understatement. Because the ambushed Imperial pilot failed to identify himself, it seemed as though half of the pilots in the entire operation group was trying to peer above to see if he was the next target. And with that, colored cannon fire erupted in what seemed to be all directions. Explosions lit the graveyard every few seconds as pilots scrambled to attack, flee, or simply just try to make sense of the situation.

Bernogne entered a dive, accelerating as he dodged and maneuvered through the blaster fire and debris until he found his first victim: an RZ-5a interceptor. The A-Wing pilot had no time to maneuver as Bernogne's Reaver spat angry rounds into the cockpit. The urgency of Imperial planners costed lives, but there was no point on dwelling on it now. The battle has hardly begun.

((#itsatrap!))

 

[Just Matt Now]

With the initial attack having used the environment to ambush the incoming Imperial pilots, many more Galactic Alliance Space Fighter/a-908 Shrike's were deployed directly afterwards to punch an even bigger whole in their formation. Though the gunships were out-manuevered, the close knit squad stuck tight together, allowing them to shoot down each others pursuer. Blasts and explosions littered the black space around the debris of now ancient GA ships. A graveyard for fighter such as the ones who zoomed through the mess.

Eyeball's and Squints littered the scene, searching and seeking to destroy the nearest target. Though the Rogue Wings had yet to arrive on the battle field. Shakti and his signature Razorback zoomed forth from their hangars, watching and patiently waiting to arrive and wreak havoc on the Imperial fighters.

"Give 'em hell boyss!!" He rang over the intercom, their presence was soon to be felt. With the Razorback in front to lead them int the fray, Shakti showed no fear. He was an example to lead as a pilot, and lead he shall. His computers quickly locked onto a target as soon as it got in range, even before any enemy vessel could detect them on the radar. Though it would take time for them to lock on, the Wing's advanced. Splinting off like tree branches, they each dove and rose to pursue an Imperial fighter.

Shock locked on..."Here we go sslugger. Nice and ssmooth."

His starfighter glided through the space, not biting off of the fleeing Squint's evasive moves. Shock could tell that they were well trained, the moves he had shown were only those taught to experienced fighters. Though Shock stuck on, followed by his wingman, a Tarc names Scyther, keeping the Squint in range of his lasers. And once he got the right turn he needed, the trigger was pulled, and he unloaded on the enemy. A greenish-orange hue of an explosion clouded the area in front of him, due to the ion engine blowing up.

"One down..."

"And a crap load to go..." Scyther chimed in simultaneously.

 

[Lavi]

"Gunships incoming."

"Ach One intercepting," Bernogne chimed. "Support me, Ach Two."

"Right behind you, Ach One," his wing man replied.

The two TIE Reavers altered their course, building speed to hit the Alliance gunship formation in a quick flyby, tearing lines of cannon fire along the lengths of the gunships that were unfortunate enough to be aligned to his flight path. Since he flew to avoid pursuing any one gunship in the formation, avoiding the gunfire from the gunners was not terribly difficult. His wing man followed suit, dealing damage with equal ease. Although none of the gunships were shot down on the first pass, one's shield generators failed and another suffered damage to the right engine.

As Bernogne created distance between himself and the gunships, he scanned around for threats, quickly identifying a duo.

"Abandon the next pass. Two fighters high four," he comm'd Acheron Two.

"Copy."

The Reavers turned about, readying to perform a head-on attack with the incoming Alliance fighters, arriving presumably to protect the gunships from further harrassment. Head-on attacks were dangerous, but they often indicated how experienced the enemy pilot was. Bernogne relaxed his trigger fingers, focusing on the specks of metal in the distance and centering his aimsights on where the fighters would approach him. Acheron Two hung back, ready to respond to maneuvers that could place Bernogne at risk of getting chased. The two operated together long enough to understand each others' capabilities. If the Alliance fighters were similarly experienced, this could be a long dogfight.

 

[Just Matt Now]

"Incoming, two TIE Reavers. Looks like we got their attention." Scyther said over the comlink. Shock then noticed them. They were coming in head on, directly in front of them. They didnt seem to be making any type of maneuvers, they were taking aim.

"Lookss like they want a fight. Evassive maneuver delta-b!" Both fighters, Shocks Razorback and Scyther's R-25 banked in an opposite direction. Turning their fighters swiftly so that they would both be making a single figure 8 maneuver. Their tactic was to avoid being locked on and to attack still head on.

"Lock onto their fighterss, get ready to fire!" Shock noticed that the second Reaver was well behind the first. Seemingly a tactic for a backup plan. As the two Rogue Wings grew closer and closer, their turned coming tighter, Shock aimed for the second Reaver.

Both Rogue's opened up, their laser cannons thunderous and aimed for the opposing Reavers. The initial attack was sure to either kill their opposition, or be the start of a nice dogfight.

 

[Lavi]

((The last I checked, Razorbacks and Rogues only had light and medium laser cannons, not turbolasers. >.>))

As the two fighters closed in range, Bernogne opened fire. The initial shots were obviously off, but he made slight adjustments based on the relative movement of the enemy fighters. The enemy fighters' formation made aiming difficult, but it was worth a shot. After a few seconds of fire exchange, and the warning that Acheron Two was being fired upon, he quickly broke off.

"Breaking left," he told his wing man.

Acheron Two stayed a distance away as the two Reavers went as Bernogne suggested. The action would have shown the enemy fighters the 181st's infamous bloodstripes on the Reavers' wing panels, but they had little choice against the coordinated Alliance attack.

"I'm watching lead. Keep his wing man off me," Bernogne ordered.

He checked his rear view camera, thinking of where to maneuver next. However, that depended on how the Razorback and Rogue fighters responded to the Reavers' evasion. Bernogne knew that he was on the defensive after that last maneuver that the Alliance fighters pulled, but he had no other choice.

 

[Just Matt Now]

((Sorry about that, I always mix the two up.))

Shock veered off his turn in order to avoid the shots coming from the Reaver, though this made his turn to pursue his break wider and more stable. His nimble fighter turned once the Reaver broke, showing the Rogue it's signature bloodstripes. Shock recognized the marking on the wing panel, though that would not deter hi, if anything it would only encourage him.

"Lookss like these guyss are from one-eighty-firstss." Shock warned his wingman.

Watching the Reavers break in unison, the Rogues followed and pulled their control stick hard in order to get right behind them. Shock's Razorback was nimble enough to make the sharp turn and come onto their six, though Scyther's R-25 needed a slightly wider turn radius, eventually leaving him behind Shock.

The sound of the light laser cannons opened up again, as Shock attempted to clip the Reaver's wingman.

 

[Lavi]

"Taking fire. Shields failing," Acheron Two reported with great annoyance. Even so, Bernogne couldn't detect any anxiety in his voice.

"Hold course, I'm coming around," Bernogne instructed.

He dived beneath his wingman, performing a reverse Immelmann to come upon the two Alliance fighters from below. Accelerating to boom and zoom, he fired upon the fighter closer to Acheron Two in a quick burst, switching to the one towards the rear as he began to overshoot. After a short burst on the second fighter, Bernogne pulled back on the stick, traveling in the opposite direction that his wing man was going in order to due another turn-about.

Hopefully that would dissuade the Alliance pilots from continuing harrassing Acheron Two, though the fact that Two took hits meant that these guys were, at the very least, decent pilots. They shouldn't let this dogfight last too long.

 

[Just Matt Now]

"I'm hit, my shields are down!" Schyther called over the intercom as the enemy 181 tried reversing a second time. After avoiding the initial shots, Shock rolled away to the left so that he could still stick to his target.

"Break and purssue him. We cant let him get behind us!" The sergeant ordered. Scyther did as commanded, banking down, his turn kept on as the 181 pilot turned about once more. They couldnt let him get behind both of them, even if Shock had to risk himself, at least they would have a chance.

Swiveling his head in the canopy, Shock made sure that he had a clear vision of the pilots, especially the one still in front of him. Shock aimed the nose of his fighter at the Reaver, attempting to get a lock on his target. After wiggling his fighter in the right position for a few seconds, his navcomputer finally got a lock on the target.

"Firing Proton Torpedo-One!"

The proton torpedo launched form the 3-round torpedo silo, aiming for the lead Reaver.

 

[Lavi]

When Acheron Two reported that a torpedo was locked onto him, Bernogne knew that things were getting heated. Reavers did not have an innate defense against missile tracking, but there were methods to overcome it. Even though one of the Alliance pilots broke chase with Two to chase him, Bernogne ignored the other's efforts to get behind him and focused on getting to Acheron Two. The shot was difficult with Acheron Two trying to shake off the torpedo, though the graveyard made it difficult to determine where it is safe to try to force the torpedo to collide with an object without risking Two's life. Instead, Bernogne lined up the torpedo's path in his sights and sprayed. The ensuing explosion, due to how close he was when he actually detonated the torpedo rocked his TIE as warning sirens informed him that his shields were giving out.

"Got the torp. Two, get this guy off me!" Bernogne anxiously ordered.

With confirmation, Two's Reaver made a quick turnabout to open fire on Scyther's starfighter and protect Bernogne.

 

[Just Matt Now]

The explosion was close enough to make Shock have to pull on his control stick to avoid the debris from the blast. Though he was not yet out of danger as he needed to veer out of the way of asteroid and wreckage. Shock was not ready, nor aware of the Reavers next move.

"Sshot was off, we need to get away from thiss debris." Shock ordered as more of a suggestion than an actual command. Though what had happened next was unplanned. As the leading Reaver duplicated the seconds move in another turn-about, Scyther opened up his laser cannons on the Squint in front of him. Both he and Shock were not prepared to handle the turn-about of the first Reaver. Scyther's fighter was pelted with blaster shots. The shots hit his fighter dead on, basting passed the underbelly of the canopy, and towards the engines.

"I'm hit!! I'm hi........" Static came over the com transmisison as Shock looked back in his canopy. A greenish blue explosion was seen, with both Squints riding out of it like menacing beasts.

No Sscyther!!! Frakking ssquints! You'll pay for this. Little did Shock know that Scyther ejected form his fighter, just before sending the transmission that he had been hit. Shakti was filled with anger and a lust for revenge. Those squints would feel the wrath of this Rogue Wing and his Razorback.

"Sslugger, open a transmission to the enemy fighterss!" his droid beeped in opposition, though Shock would not have any of it. Instead, he did it himself. As he flew his fighter through the debris in intricate pathways to shake his enemies, Shock would find out who his enemies were.

"Thiss is ssargeant Sshakti Vssil of the Rogue Wing ssquadron. Know that this is not over!" His anger caught him in a loss for words.

 

[Lavi]

That last salvo that Scyther pulled off actually hit the Reaver in just the right spots, it seemed, since Acheron Two reported that he needed to head back to base for repairs.

"Can you make it back alone?" Bernogne asked, as Shock's warning entered the comm frequency. It was static ridden, but not wholly indiscernible.

"Affirmative."

As Acheron Two's Reaver left the battlefield, Bernogne turned his gaze towards the remaining pilot of Rogue Wing. He never actually fought pilots of that fighter wing, though he certainly heard stories of their prowess in the pilot's seat, from all the way back to their humble beginnings as Red Squadron of the Rebel Alliance. His wing mates compared themselves and the Rogues to the Sith and the Jedi, but Bernogne only brushed it off as propaganda until now.

Bernogne was almost certain that the Rogue pilot was trying to tap into his frequency, given that the other went through the trouble of sending a personal message after shooting down the Rogue-class fighter.

"This is Captain Bernogne Wael of the 181st. Fight me," he said into his comm, hoping that he isn't actually talking to himself.

 

[Just Matt Now]

Shock saw as his enemy was cut in half by a damaged ship. The fact that either he or his wingman would have flown with damaged parts proved that these guys either werent as resilient, or wanted the pride of fighting a one on one without much assistance. Either way Shakti was definitely not in the best state of mind to pilot a fighter, though he would do anything in his power to finish off his enemy.

"Well Captain Bernogne, hold nothing back!" his response was the last before he turned off the transmission. He knew the name of his enemy and he cursed it in vain.

Shock pulled on his control stick, swerving in and out of thick debris, into thicker and more cluttered space. This gave him a better chance to avoid being locked on, Shock would fly straight for an asteroid field if he could, though this would do all the same. As he turned he pulled on the trigger, his light laser cannons lighting up the debris in front of him giving Captain Bernogne a more difficult path to avoid.

 

[Lavi]

Although Vssil went into the debris to block enemy fire, Bernogne had no great desire to pursue him. Not only was his ability to aim weakened with the space junk floating about, but his fighter was not very well suited for making the tight turns due to his personal modifications to the Reaver. However, he can certainly outrun Vssil if he ended up being the prey of an exchange. At least, that was the assumption. It was entirely possible that his Reaver was completely outclassed, but the TIE pilot had no reason to believe it. The performance of Rogues and Razorbacks are well documented within Imperial archives; if not the exact specifications, but at least what could be discerned from combat reports. However, Vssil probably has studied the Reaver enough to understand its strengths and weaknesses too.

"I said, 'fight me,'" Bernogne repeated himself, regardless of whether his opponent heard him or not.

But because Bernogne did not pursue Vssil's Razorback, he lost contact with the Alliance pilot on his sensors. It became was a matter of whether he could detect and evade an incoming attack in time. Bernogne circled the debris cloud in a wide arc, like how a Sith may pace back and forth in wait for the assassin he sensed.

His sensors wailed and the TIE ace slammed down on his thrusters, outrunning the cannon fire of the ambusher. Once he had enough time, Bernogne pulled around and peppered the offending Alliance fighter with his own cannons. As it was destroyed, Bernogne noted that the model was a Rogue, not a Razorback: Vssil was still hiding. Did he run?

 

[Just Matt Now]

Continuing his intricate evasive maneuvers, Shock soon realized that his radar showed no sign of his enemy. When he looked back he could see the TIE Reaver splitting his direction to avoid the cloud of debris. The Reaver didnt want to play, he didnt want to pursue in the thick and difficult environment. Shock merely figured that some pilots were not meant for such type of flying. His nimble and agile Razorback outclassing the maneuverability of the Reaver. Well, if he wanted not to follow then Shock would find a way to use this as an advantage.

Shakti cut down his thrusters. If the fight was still on, and he hoped as much, then Bernogne would have been around the perimeter of the debris, though where was the main question. The Razorback slowly flew towards the edge, waiting for the moment that his radar and scanner picked up something, anything.

"Come on...come on!!!" He muttered to himself, eagerly waiting to find his enemy and catch him off guard, hoping that he didnt run away instead.

Not moments later his radar chimed to life, as the red blip matched that of the Reaver that had been on it previously.
"Gotcha!"

Shock pulled up his throttle, still dodging through the thick debris. Shooting out of the thick cloud right behind Bernogne, the Rogue Wing turned on point o get behind him. Aiming the nose of his fighter to the back of the Reaver, Shock was fighting with his own shop to get a lock on. Jagging and jerking his controls in order to steady his ship, the evasive Reaver posing as something of a problem, Shock still managed.

Target Locked

Red sensors and blinking all over his HUD told Shock that he was ready to fire. And another Torpedo shot out of the missile silo of the Razorback, this one hopefully would catch Bernogne off guard, though he still stuck on him as if he would escape the torpedo.

 

[Lavi]

Bernogne quietly cursed to himself as his computers started screaming at him. He spent too much time being the hunter who reaps his kills without fear of reprisal. The pilot forgotten the feeling of being the prey. The tinge of fear snaked through his fingers as he maneuvered his fighter to not only avoid getting in the crosshairs of Vssil's Razorback, but to maintain distance from the torpedo that creeped ever closer. His heart felt like it was pounding twice as hard and twice as fast each time he checked his rear-view cameras.

He was going to die at this rate. Bernogne's heavy breathing echoed in his mind as he fought not only his ships controls, but the growing sense of panic in his mind. Drastic times took drastic measures. As his hands began to shake, Bernogne looked down at one of the smaller sticks on his dashboard: the thrust vectors. Although standard-equipped for Reavers, his fighter's speed-oriented configuration meant that thrust vectors would get in the way more often than it would help; screwing up its use meant that he'll either be caught by the torpedo or blasted by the Razorback (without shields to soak up the damage). Not using it meant that the torpedo would hit him. Bernogne chose getting blasted.

Quickly tapping a vertical thrust, Bernogne's Reaver did a wobbly-looking flip, tighter than any fighter could turn, and the sights of his guns were almost perfectly on the path of the torpedo. The ace pilot only gritted his teeth, slapping rearward thrust to zero and slamming his fingers down on the triggers. The torpedo exploded prematurely as Bernogne adjusted his aim with the thrust vectors and the pilot quickly slammed his thrust back to 100% to avoid being caught almost stationary by the Rogue ace. Because of where his nose was pointing, Bernogne was again on a head-on attack against Vssil. He let off another quick burst of fire at the other before disengaging, aiming to come around for another pass before Vssil could fire another torpedo by diving down upon the Razorback from a higher position.

Bernogne exhaled as he pulled his fighter up into position. His maneuver probably wouldn't work a second time: both on the technical basis of his craft and the other pilot learning to counter it. But he was reminded of the farewell that his father always gave him before leaving for work.

'The Force will be with you, always.'

 

[Just Matt Now]

Both impressed and astounded with the move the Reaper had pulled, Shock guided his fighter away from the peppering that now had faced him head on. Flying his ship to try to again get on Bernogne's six o'clock, the turn was tighter than expected, and Shock was not able to complete it. This opened up his own position, and if Bernogne could make a tight enough turn, then he would be behind him shortly. Making adjustments, the Razorback searched for his enemy, his head on a swivel to make sure where they both were on the battlefield.

Now was not the time to make any mistakes, though his enemy was clearly an ace pilot, and a great one at that. Having had already escaped two torpedoes without being scathed, he was certainly a tricky fighter. Shock noted all of his maneuvers, thinking up ways to counter. Most pilots used moves over and over again, though it was the pattern that they used them in that made the difference of recognizing them or not.

Spotting Bernogne's fighter, he knew that he was going to be on his tail soon. The Rogue Wing searched for the cloud of debris, slanting towards it's perimeter as he did not want to be too far from what safety it had harbored. Worse comes to worse and Shock was locked on, he could turn to the debris as a shield. Or maybe attempt one of the moves that this enemy fighter had done. Either way, he prepared for the worst. At times like these, he could only think of his brother. By now he was a Jedi Knight and well established in the order. Shock smiled at the thought, he loved his brother more than anything and would be devastated to hear if anything happened to him. Which only made it more dire for him to succeed, to see his brother again with his family. The thought raced through his mind, though did not distract him, but made him more focused instead.

 

[Lavi]

As Bernogne finished his turnaround, he barreled towards the Rogue ace at great speed. This was what he customized his Reaver to do: to be able to attack enemies and retreat without reprisal. Of course, it's not entirely foolproof: clever maneuvering can turn the tables, especially in zero-gravity environments, but the TIE pilot was not worried. He focused his aim as the Razorback grew larger in his viewport, planning to let out a concentrated burst of cannon fire before breaking away and use his speed to disengage before the other could return fire.

"This is it," he murmured to himself as he approached firing range.

The pilot fired.