[Chapter Nine]
Slave moved at tenth light speed, while a swarm of TIE fighters sprayed shots from behind. Boba pulled the controls back; his ship swooped upward in a wide curve. The enemy followed.
Slave's engines strained to decrease speed. The ship then dropped among the TIE's before they could all make the roller-coaster curve. Most of them responded quickly, rotating about or down at an angle to face Boba's new position, but he had already slipped away.
Computers locked onto targets it calculated to be most vulnerable. Aft cannons blew them away. Boba checked diagnostics to find his ship's armor and equipment battered, but functional. He understood this to be his last dogfight. The ship zipped and whirled out of blaster fire, its shield generators too damaged to take the brunt. He picked off the last of the TIE's.
Scanners located a spy probe from Blood Shard. He came to link range with the spherical instrument and uploaded encrypted coordinates. It was ultimately destined for the Alliance.
Probe launched, Boba set a new course and opened a channel to his comrades. "We're going in."
Dozens of mercenary ships appeared on radar, and then a TIE cloud. Boba had ordered them to leave as many of the enemy units intact as possible.
"Open fire." They brought their attacks to focus at a point on Blood Shard's outermost deflector shield.
The resultant energy caused the radar to brighten like a small sun. Entire ships exploded on the shield, while some made it through. TIE's contributed to the breech. Slave flew inside, aimed at the base's cargo bay, and shot forward at highest speeds allowable for survival.
Boba programmed a timer on the console. The dreadnaught became more visible as the seconds ticked by, and then seemed to rush at him. His seat launched at the exact nanosecond dictated. The ship impacted with the blast doors and exploded. Shrapnel pelted Boba's armor while he floated in vacuum at impact's edge. He switched on his jet pack and zoomed into the receding flames.