The Star Wars: The Lost Workprint (* unfinished project - lots of info *) — Page 10

On the battle station, troopers worn half to death or deafened  by  the

concussion of the big guns were replaced by fresh crews. None  of  them  had

time to wonder how the battle was going, and at the moment none of them much

cared, a malady shared by common soldiers since the dawn of history.

     Luke skimmed daringly low over the  station's  surface,  his  attention

riveted on a distant metal projection.

     "Stick close, Blue Five," the squadron commander directed  him.  "Where

are you going?"

     "I've picked up what looks like a lateral  stabilizer,"  Luke  replied.

"I'm going to try for it."

     "Watch yourself, Blue Five. Heavy fire in your area."

     Luke ignored the warning as he headed the fighter straight  toward  the

oddly shaped  protuberance.  His  determination  was  rewarded  when,  after

saturating it with fire, he saw it erupt in a spectacular ball  of  superhot

gas.

     "Got it!" he exclaimed. "Continuing south for another one."

     Within the rebel temple-fortress, Leia listened  intently.  She  seemed

simultaneously angry and frightened. Finally  she  turned  to  Threepio  and

muttered, "Why is Luke taking so many chances?" The tall droid didn't reply.

     "Watch your back, Luke,"  Biggs's  voice  sounded  over  the  speakers,

"watch your back! Fighters above you, coming in."

     Leia strained to see what she could only hear. She wasn't alone.  "Help

him, Artoo," Threepio was whispering to himself, "and keep holding on."

     Luke continued his dive even as he looked back and spotted  the  object

of Biggs's concern close on his tail. Reluctantly he pulled up and away from

the station surface, abandoning his target. His tormentor was good, however,

and continued closing on him.

     "I can't shake him," he reported.

     Something cut across the sky toward both ships.  "I'm  on  him,  Luke,"

shouted Wedge Antilles. "Hold on."

     Luke didn't have to for very long. Wedge's gunnery was precise, and the

TIE fighter vanished brightly shortly thereafter.

     "Thanks, Wedge," Luke murmured, breathing a little more easily.

     "Good shooting, Wedge." That was Biggs again. "Blue Four, I'm going in.

Cover me, Porkins."

     "I'm right with you, Blue Three," came the other pilot's assurance.

     Biggs leveled them off, then let go with full  weaponry.  No  one  ever

decided exactly what it was he hit, but the small tower that blew  up  under

his energy bolts was obviously more important than it looked.

     A series of sequential explosions hopscotched across a large section of

the battle station's surface, leaping from one terminal to the  next.  Biggs

had already shot past the area of disturbance, but his companion,  following

slightly behind, received a full dose of whatever energy  was  running  wild

down there.

     "I've got a problem," Porkins announced. "My converter's running wild."

That was an understatement. Every  instrument  on  his  control  panels  had

abruptly gone berserk.

     "Eject-eject, Blue Four," advised Biggs. "Blue Four, do you read?"

     "I'm okay," Porkins replied. "I can hold her. Give me a little room  to

run, Biggs."

     "You're too low," his companion yelled. "Pull up, pull up!"

     With his instrumentation not providing proper information, and  at  the

altitude he was traveling, Porkins's ship was simple for  one  of  the  big,

clumsy gun emplacements to track. It did as its designers  had  intended  it

should. Porkins's demise was as glorious as it was abrupt.

     It was comparatively quiet near the pole  of  the  battle  station.  So

intense and vicious had been  Blue  and  Green  squadron's  assault  on  the

equator that Imperial resistance had concentrated there. Red Leader surveyed

the false peace with mournful satisfaction, knowing  it  wouldn't  last  for

long.

     "Blue Leader, this is Red Leader," he announced into his  mike.  "We're

starting our attack run. The exhaust port is located and marked. No flak, no

enemy fighters up here-yet. Looks like we'll get at least one smooth run  at

it."

     "I copy, Red Leader," the voice of his  counterpart  responded.  "We'll

try to keep them busy down here."

     Three Y-wing fighters dropped out  of  the  stars,  diving  toward  the

battle-station surface. At the last possible minute they swerved to dip into

a deep artificial canyon, one of many streaking the  northern  pole  of  the

Death Star. Metal ramparts raced past on three sides of them.

     Red Leader hunted around, noticed the  temporary  absence  of  Imperial

fighters. He adjusted a control and addressed his squadron.

     "This is it, boys. Remember, when you think you're close, go in  closer

before you drop that rock. Switch all power to front deflector screens-never

mind what they throw at you from the side. We can't worry about that now."

     Imperial crews lining the trench rudely awoke to the  fact  that  their

heretofore ignored section of the station  was  coming  under  attack.  They

reacted speedily, and soon energy bolts were racing at the  attacking  ships

in a steadily increasing volume. Occasionally one would explode near one  of

the onrushing Y- wings, jostling it without real damage.

     "A little aggressive, aren't they," Red Two reported over his mike.

     Red Leader reacted quietly. "How many guns do you think, Red Five?"

     Red Five, known casually to most of the rebel pilots as  Pops,  somehow

managed to make an estimate of the trench's  defenses  while  simultaneously

piloting his fighter through the  growing  hail  of  fire.  His  helmet  was

battered almost to the point of uselessness from the effects of more battles

than anyone had a right to survive.

     "I'd say about twenty emplacements," he finally decided, "some  in  the

surface and some on the towers."

     Red Leader acknowledged the information with a grunt as he  pulled  his

computer-targeting visor down in front of his face. Explosions continued  to

rock the fighter. "Switch to targeting computers," he declared.

     "Red Two," came one reply,  "computer  locked  in  and  I'm  getting  a

signal." The young pilot's rising excitement marked his reply.

     But the senior pilot among all the rebels, Red  Five,  was  expectantly

cool and confident-though it didn't sound like it from what he murmured half

to himself: "No doubt about it, this is going to be some trick."

     Unexpectedly, all defensive  fire  from  the  surrounding  emplacements

ceased. An eerie quiet clung to the trench as the surface continued to  blur

past the skimming Y-wings.

     "What's  this?"  Red  Two  blurted,  looking  around  worriedly.  "They

stopped. Why?"

     "I don't like it," growled Red Leader. But there was nothing to confuse

their approach now, no energy bolts to avoid.

     It was Pops who was first to properly evaluate this seeming  aberration

on the enemy's part. "Stabilize your rear deflectors now.  Watch  for  enemy

fighters."

     "You pinned it, Pops," Red Leader admitted, studying a  readout.  "Here

they come. Three marks at two-ten."

     A mechanical voice continued to recite the shrinking distance to  their

target, but it wasn't shrinking  fast  enough.  "We're  sitting  ducks  down

here," he observed nervously.

     "We'll just have to ride it out," the old man told them all. "We  can't

defend ourselves and go for the target at the same time." He fought down old

reflexes as  his  own  screen  revealed  three  TIE  fighters  in  precision

formation diving almost vertically down toward them.

     "Three-eight-one-oh-four," Darth Vader announced as he calmly  adjusted

his controls. The stars whipped past behind him.  "I'll  take  them  myself.

Cover me."

     Red Two was the first to die, the young pilot never  knowing  what  hit

him, never seeing his executioner. Despite his experience, Red Leader was on

the verge of panic when he saw his wingman dissolve in flame.

     "We're trapped down here. No  way  to  maneuver-trench  walls  are  too

close. We've got to loosen it up somehow. Got-"

     "Stay on target," admonished an older voice. "Stay on target."

     Red Leader took Pops's words like tonic, but it was all he could do  to

ignore the closing TIE fighters as the two remaining  Y-wings  continued  to

streak toward the target.

     Above them, Vader permitted himself a moment of undisciplined  pleasure

as he readjusted his targeting 'puter. The rebel craft continued to travel a

straight, unevasive course. Again Vader touched finger to fire control.

     Something screeched in Red Leader's helmet, and fire started to consume

his instrumentation. "It's no good," he yelled into his  pickup,  "I'm  hit.

I'm hit...!"

     A second Y-wing exploded in a ball of vaporized metal, scattering a few

solid shards of debris across the trench. This second loss proved  too  much

even for Red Five to take. He manipulated controls, and his  ship  commenced

rising in a slow curve out of the trench.  Behind  him,  the  lead  Imperial

fighter moved to follow.

     "Red Five to Blue Leader," he reported. "Aborting run under heavy fire.

TIE fighters dropped on us out of nowhere. I can't-wait-"

     Astern, a silent, remorseless enemy was touching a deadly  button  once

more. The first bolts struck just as Pops had risen high enough to  commence

evasive action. But he had pulled clear a few seconds too late.

     One energy beam seared his port engine, igniting gas within. The engine

blew apart, taking controls and stabilizing  elements  with  it.  Unable  to

compensate, the out-of-control Y- wing began a long, graceful plunge  toward

the station surface.

     "Are you all right,  Red  Five?"  a  troubled  voice  called  over  the

intership system.

     "Lost Tiree... lost Dutch," Pops explained slowly, tiredly. "They  drop

in behind you, and you can't maneuver in the trench. Sorry... it's your baby

now. So long, Dave-"

     It was the last message of many from a veteran.

     Blue Leader forced a crispness he didn't feel  into  his  voice  as  he

tried to shunt aside the death of his old friend. "Blue boys, this  is  Blue

Leader. Rendezvous at mark six point one. All wings report in."

     "Blue Leader, this is Blue Ten. I copy."

     "Blue Two here," Wedge acknowledged. "Coming toward you, Blue Leader."

     Luke was also waiting his turn to report when something beeped  on  his

control board. A glance backward confirmed  the  electronic  warning  as  he

spotted an Imperial fighter slipping in behind him.

     "This is Blue Five," he declared, his ship wobbling as he tried to lose

the TIE fighter. "I have a problem here. Be right with you."

     He sent his ship into a steep dive toward the metal surface,  then  cut

sharply up to avoid a burst  of  defensive  fire  from  emplacements  below.

Neither maneuver shook his pursuit.

     "I see you, Luke," came a reassuring call from Biggs. "Stay with it."

     Luke looked above, below, and to the sides, but there was  no  sign  of

his friend. Meanwhile, energy bolts from his trailing assailant were passing

uncomfortably close.

     "Blast it, Biggs, where are you?"

     Something appeared, not to the sides or behind, but almost directly  in

front of him. It was bright and moving incredibly  fast,  and  then  it  was

firing just above him. Taken completely by surprise,  the  Imperial  fighter

came apart just as its pilot realized what had happened.

     Luke turned for the rendezvous mark as Biggs shot past overhead.  "Good

move, Biggs. Fooled me, too."

     "I'm just getting started," his friend announced as he twisted his ship

violently to avoid the fire from  below.  He  hove  into  view  over  Luke's

shoulder and executed a victory roll. "Just point me at the target."

     Back alongside Yavin's indifferent bulk, Dodonna  finished  an  intense

discussion with several  of  his  principal  advisors,  then  moved  to  the

long-range transmitter.

     "Blue Leader, this is Base One. Double-check your own attack  prior  to

commencement. Have your wingmen hold back and cover for you. Keep half  your

group out of range to make the next run."

     "Copy, Base One," the response came. "Blue Ten, Blue Twelve, join  with

me."

     Two ships leveled off to flank  the  squadron  commander.  Blue  Leader

checked them out. Satisfied that  they  were  positioned  properly  for  the

attack run, he set the group to follow in case they should fail.

     "Blue Five, this is Blue Leader, Luke, take Blue  Two  and  Three  with

you. Hold up here out of their fire and wait for my signal to start your own

run."

     "Copy, Blue Leader,"  Luke  acknowledged,  trying  to  slow  his  heart

slightly. "May the force be with you. Biggs,  Wedge,  let's  close  it  up."

Together, the three fighters  assumed  a  tight  formation  high  above  the

firefight still raging  between  other  rebel  craft  of  Green  and  Yellow

squadrons and the imperial gunners below.

     The horizon flip-flopped ahead of  Blue  Leader  as  he  commenced  his

approach to the station surface. "Blue Ten, Blue Twelve, stay back until  we

spot those fighters, then cover me."

     All three X-wings reached the surface, leveled off, then arced into the

trench. His wingmen dropped farther and farther behind until Blue Leader was

seemingly alone in the vast gray chasm.

     No defensive fire greeted him as he raced toward the distant target. He

found himself looking around nervously, checking  and  rechecking  the  same

instruments.

     "This doesn't look right," he found himself muttering.

     Blue Ten sounded equally concerned. "You should be able to pick up  the

target by now."

     "I  know.  The  disruption  down  here  is  unbelievable.  I  think  my

instruments are off. Is this the right trench?"

     Suddenly, intense streaks of light began  to  shoot  close  by  as  the

trench defenses opened up. Near misses shook the attackers. At the  far  end

of the trench a huge tower dominated  the  metal  ridge,  vomiting  enormous

amounts of energy at the nearing ships.

     "It's not going to be easy with  that  tower  up  there,"  Blue  Leader

declared grimly. "Stand by to close up a little when I tell you."

     Abruptly the energy bolts ceased and all was silent  and  dark  in  the

trench once again. "This is it," Blue Leader announced, trying to locate the

attack from above that had to be coming. "Keep  your  eyes  open  for  those

fighters."

     "All short-  and  long-range  scopes  are  blank,"  Blue  Ten  reported

tensely. "Too much interference here. Blue Five, can you see them from where

you are?"

     Luke's attention was riveted to the surface of the  station.  "No  sign

of-Wait!" Three rapidly moving points of light caught his eye.  "There  they

are. Coming in point three five."

     Blue Ten turned and looked in the indicated direction. Sun bounced  off

stabilizing fins as the TIE fighters looped downward. "I see them."

     "It's the right trench,  all  right,"  Blue  Leader  exclaimed  as  his

tracking scope suddenly began a steady beeping. He  adjusted  his  targeting

instrumentation, pulling his visor down over his eyes. "I'm almost in range.

Targets ready... coming up. Just hold them off me for a few seconds-keep 'em

busy."

     But Darth Vader was already setting his own fire control as he  dropped

like a stone toward the trench. "Close up  the  formation.  I'll  take  them

myself."

     Blue Twelve went first, both  engines  blown.  A  slight  deviation  in

flight path and his ship slammed into the trench wall. Blue Ten  slowed  and

accelerated, bobbed drunkenly, but could do little within  the  confines  of

those metal walls.

     "I can't hold  them  long.  You'd  better  fire  while  you  can,  Blue

Leader-we're closing on you."

     The squadron commander was wholly absorbed in  lining  up  two  circles

within his targeting visor. "We're almost home. Steady, steady..."

     Blue Ten glanced around frantically. "They're right behind me!"

     Blue Leader was amazed at how calm he was.  The  targeting  device  was

partly responsible, enabling him to concentrate on tiny, abstract images  to

the exclusion of all else, helping him to shut out the rest of the  inimical

universe.

     "Almost there, almost there..." he  whispered.  Then  the  two  circles

matched, turned red, and a steady buzzing sounded in his helmet.  "Torpedoes

away, torpedoes away."

     Immediately after, Blue Ten let his own missiles loose.  Both  fighters

pulled up sharply, just clearing the end of the trench as several explosions

billowed in their wake.

     "It's a hit! We've done it!" Blue Ten shouted hysterically.

     Blue Leader's reply was thick with  disappointment.  "No,  we  haven't.

They didn't go in. They just exploded on the surface outside the shaft."

     Disappointment killed them, too, as  they  neglected  to  watch  behind

them. Three pursuing Imperial fighters continued up out of the fading  light

from the torpedo explosions. Blue Ten fell to Vader's precision  fire,  then

the Dark Lord changed  course  slightly  to  fall  in  behind  the  squadron

commander.

     "I'll take the last one," he announced coldly. "You two go back."

     Luke was trying to pick the assault team out of the glowing gases below

when Blue Leader's voice sounded over the communicator.

     "Blue Five, this is Blue Leader. Move into position, Luke.  Start  your

attack run-stay low and wait until you're right on top of it. It's not going

to be easy."

     "Are you all right?"

     "They're on top of me-but I'll shake them."

This and the next post are most useful for what I'm pressing.

     "Blue Five to Blue pack," Luke ordered, "let's  go!"  The  three  ships

peeled off and plunged toward the trench sector.

     Meanwhile Vader finally succeeded in hitting  his  quarry,  a  glancing

bolt that nonetheless started small, intense explosions in one  engine.  Its

R-2 unit scrambled back toward the damaged wing and struggled to repair  the

crippled power plant.

     "R-2, shut off the main feed  to  number-one  starboard  engine,"  Blue

Leader directed  quietly,  staring  resignedly  at  instruments  which  were

running impossibilities. "Hang on tight, this could get rough."

     Luke saw that Blue Leader was in trouble. "We're right above you,  Blue

Leader," he declared. "Turn to point oh five, and we'll cover for you."

     "I've lost my upper starboard engine," came the reply.

     "We'll come down for you."

     "Negative, negative. Stay there and get set up for your attack run."

     "You're sure you're all right?"

     "I think so... Stand by for a minute."

     Actually, it was somewhat less  than  a  minute  before  Blue  Leader's

gyrating X-wing plowed into the surface of the station.

     Luke watched the huge explosion dissipate below  him,  knowing  without

question its cause, sensing fully for the first time the helplessness of his

situation.  "We  just  lost  Blue  Leader,"  he   murmured   absently,   not

particularly caring if his mike picked up the somber announcement.

     On Yavin Four, Leia Organa rose from  her  chair  and  nervously  began

pacing the room. Normally perfect nails were  now  jagged  and  uneven  from

nervous chewing. It was the only indication of physical unease. The  anxiety

visible in her expression was far more revealing of her feelings, an anxiety

and worry that filled the war room on  the  announcement  of  Blue  Leader's

death.

     "Can they go on?" she finally asked Dodonna.

     The general replied with gentle resolve. "They must."

     "But we've lost so many. Without Blue or  Red  Leader,  how  will  they

regroup?"

     Dodonna was about to reply, but held his words as  more  critical  ones

sounded over the speakers.

     "Close it up, Wedge," Luke was saying, thousands  of  kilometers  away.

"Biggs, where are you?"

     "Coming in right behind you."

     Wedge replied soon after. "Okay. Boss, we're in position."

     Dodonna's gaze went to Leia. He looked concerned.

     The three X-wings moved close together high above the battle  station's

surface. Luke studied his instruments and fought irritably with one  control

that appeared to be malfunctioning.

     Someone's voice sounded in his  ears.  It  was  a  young-old  voice,  a

familiar voice: calm, content, confident,  and  reassuring-a  voice  he  had

listened to intently on the desert of  Tatooine  and  in  the  guts  of  the

station below, once upon a time.

     "Trust your feelings, Luke," was all the Kenobi-like voice said.

     Luke tapped his helmet, unsure whether he had heard  anything  or  not.

This was no time for introspection. The steely horizon of the station tilted

behind him.

     "Wedge, Biggs, we're going in," he told his wingmen. "We'll go in  full

speed. Never mind finding the trench and then accelerating. Maybe that  will

keep those fighters far enough behind us."

     "We'll stay far enough back to cover you,"  Biggs  declared.  "At  that

speed will you be able to pull out in time?"

     "Are you kidding?" Luke sneered playfully  as  they  began  their  dive

toward the surface. "It'll be just like BeggarsCanyon back home."

     "I'm right with you, Boss," noted Wedge, emphasizing the title for  the

first time. "Let's go..."

     At high speed the three slim  fighters  charged  the  glowing  surface,

pulling out after the last moment. Luke skimmed so close  over  the  station

hull that the tip of one wing grazed a  protruding  antenna,  sending  metal

splinters flying. Instantly they were enveloped  in  a  meshwork  of  energy

bolts and explosive projectiles. It intensified as they  dropped  down  into

the trench.

     "We seem to have upset  them,"  Biggs  chortled,  treating  the  deadly

display of energy as though it were all  a  show  being  put  on  for  their

amusement.

     "This is fine," Luke commented, surprised at the clear view  ahead.  "I

can see everything."

     Wedge wasn't quite as confident as he studied  his  own  readouts.  "My

scope shows the tower, but I can't make out the exhaust  port.  It  must  be

awfully small. Are you sure the computer can target it?"

     "It better," Biggs muttered.

     Luke didn't offer an  evaluation-he  was  too  busy  holding  a  course

through the turbulence produced by exploding bolts. Then, as if on  command,

the defensive fire ceased. He  glanced  around  and  up  for  signs  of  the

expected TIE fighters, but saw nothing.

     His hand went to drop the targeting visor into position, and for just a

moment he hesitated. Then he swung it down in  front  of  his  eyes.  "Watch

yourselves," he ordered his companions.

     "What about the tower?" Wedge asked worriedly.

     "You worry about those fighters," Luke snapped. "I'll worry  about  the

tower."

     They rushed on, closing  on  the  target  every  second.  Wedge  stared

upward, and his gaze suddenly froze. "Here they come-oh point three."

     Vader was setting his controls when one of  his  wingmen  broke  attack

silence. "They're making their approach too fast-they'll never  get  out  in

time."

     "Stay with them," Vader commanded.

     "They're going too fast to get a fix," his other pilot  announced  with

certainty.

     Vader studied several readouts and found that his sensors confirmed the

other estimates. "They'll still have to slow down  before  they  reach  that

tower."

     Luke contemplated the view  in  his  targeting  visor.  "Almost  home."

Seconds passed  and  the  twin  circlets  achieved  congruence.  His  finger

convulsed on the firing control. "Torpedoes away! Pull up, pull up."

     Two powerful explosions rocked the trench, striking harmlessly  far  to

one side of the minute opening. Three TIE fighters shot out of  the  rapidly

dissipating fireball, closing on the retreating rebels. "Take  them,"  Vader

ordered softly.

     Luke detected the pursuit at the same time as his  companions.  "Wedge,

Biggs, split up-it's the only way we'll shake them."

     The three ships dropped toward the station, then abruptly raced off  in

three different directions. All three TIE fighters turned and followed Luke.

     Vader fired on  the  crazily  dodging  ship,  missed,  and  frowned  to

himself. "The Force is strong with this one. Strange. I'll take him myself."

     Luke darted between defensive towers  and  wove  a  tight  path  around

projecting docking bays, all to no avail. A  single  remaining  TIE  fighter

stayed close behind. An energy bolt nicked one wing, close by an engine.  It

started to spark irregularly, threateningly. Luke fought to  compensate  and

retain full control.

     Still trying to shake his persistent assailant, he dropped back into  a

trench again. "I'm hit," he announced, "but not bad. Artoo, see what you can

do with it."

     The tiny droid unlocked himself and moved to work on the damaged engine

as energy bolts flashed by dangerously close. "Hang  on  back  there,"  Luke

counseled the Artoo unit as he worked a path around projecting  towers,  the

fighter spinning and twisting tightly through the topography of the station.

     Fire remained intense as Luke randomly changed direction and  speed.  A

series of indicators on the control panel slowly changed color; three  vital

gauges relaxed and returned to where they belonged.

     "I  think  you've  got  it,  Artoo,"  Luke  told  him  gratefully.   "I

think-there, that's it. Just try to lock it down  so  it  can't  work  loose

again."

     Artoo beeped in reply while Luke studied the whirling  panorama  behind

and above them. "I think we've lost those fighters, too. Blue group, this is

Blue Five. Are you clear?" He manipulated several controls  and  the  X-wing

shot out of the trench, still followed by emplacement fire.

     "I'm up here waiting, Boss," Wedge announced  from  his  position  high

above the station. "I can't see you."

     "I'm on my way. Blue Three, are you clear? Biggs?"

     "I've had some trouble," his friend explained,  "but  I  think  I  lost

him."

     Something showed again, damnably, on Biggs's screen.  A  glance  behind

showed the TIE fighter that had  been  chasing  him  for  the  past  several

minutes dropping in once more behind him. He swung down toward  the  station

again.

     "Nope, not yet," Biggs told the others. "Hold on, Luke. I'll  be  right

there."

     A thin, mechanical voice sounded over the speakers.  "Hang  on,  Artoo,

hang on!" Back at the temple headquarters, Threepio  turned  away  from  the

curious human faces which had turned to stare at him.

     As Luke soared high above the station another X-wing swung in close  to

him. He recognized Wedge's ship and began hunting around anxiously  for  his

friend.

     "We're goin' in, Biggs-join up. Biggs, are you all right? Biggs!" There

was no sign of the other fighter. "Wedge, do you see him anywhere?"

     Within the transparent canopy  of  the  fighter  bobbing  close  by,  a

helmeted head shook slowly. "Nothing," Wedge told him over the communicator.

"Wait a little longer. He'll show."

     Luke looked around, worried, studied several instruments, then came  to

a decision. "We can't wait; we've got to go now. I don't think he made it."

     "Hey, you guys," a cheerful voice  demanded  to  know,  "what  are  you

waiting for?"

     Luke turned sharply to his right, in time to see  another  ship  racing

past and slowing slightly ahead of him. "Don't ever give up on  old  Biggs,"

the intercom directed as the figure in the X-wing ahead looked back at them.

 

     Within the central control  room  of  the  battle  station,  a  harried

officer rushed up to a figure studying the great battle screen and  waved  a

handful of printouts at him.

     "Sir, we've completed an analysis of their  attack  plan.  There  is  a

danger. Should we break off the engagement or make plans to  evacuate?  Your

ship is standing by."

     Governor Tarkin turned an incredulous gaze on the officer,  who  shrank

back. "Evacuate!" he roared. "At our moment of  triumph?  We  are  about  to

destroy the last remnants of the Alliance, and you call for evacuation?  You

overestimate their chances badly... Now, get out!"

     Overwhelmed by the Governor's fury,  the  subdued  officer  turned  and

retreated from the room.

 

     "We're going in," Luke declared as he commenced  his  dive  toward  the

surface. Wedge and Biggs followed just aft.

     "Let's go-Luke," a voice he had heard before sounded inside  his  head.

Again he tapped his helmet and looked around. It sounded as if  the  speaker

were standing just behind him. But there was nothing, only silent metal  and

nonverbal instrumentation. Puzzled, Luke turned back to his controls.

     Once more, energy bolts reached out for  them,  passing  harmlessly  on

both sides as the surface of the battle station charged up  into  his  face.

But the defensive fire wasn't  the  cause  of  the  renewed  trembling  Luke

suddenly experienced. Several critical gauges  were  beginning  their  swing

back into the danger zone again.

     He leaned toward the pickup. "Artoo, those  stabilizing  elements  must

have broken loose again. See if you can't lock it back down-I've got to have

full control."

     Ignoring the bumpy ride, the energy beams and explosions lighting space

around him, the little robot moved to repair the damage.

     Additional, tireless explosions continued to buffet the three  fighters

as they dropped into the trench. Biggs and Wedge dropped behind to cover for

Luke as he reached to pull down the targeting visor.

     For the second time a peculiar hesitation swept through him.  His  hand

was slower yet as he finally pulled the device down in front  of  his  eyes,

almost as if the nerves were in conflict with one another. As expected,  the

energy beams stopped as if on signal and he was barreling  down  the  trench

unchallenged.

     "Here we go  again,"  Wedge  declared  as  he  spotted  three  Imperial

fighters dropping down on them.

     Biggs and Wedge began crossing behind Luke, trying to draw  the  coming

fire away from him and confuse their pursuers. One TIE fighter  ignored  the

maneuvers, continuing to gain inexorably on the rebel ships.

     Luke stared into the targeting device-then reached up slowly to move it

aside. For a long minute he pondered the deactivated instrument, staring  at

it as if hypnotized. Then he slid it sharply back in front of his  face  and

studied the tiny screen as it displayed the  shifting  relationship  of  the

X-wing to the nearing exhaust port.

     "Hurry, Luke," Biggs called out as he wrenched  his  ship  in  time  to

narrowly avoid a powerful beam. They're coming in faster this time. We can't

hold them much longer."

     With inhuman precision, Darth Vader depressed the fire control  of  his

fighter again. A loud, desperate shout sounded over the  speakers,  blending

into a final agonized scream of flesh and metal  as  Biggs's  fighter  burst

into a billion glowing splinters that rained  down  on  the  bottom  of  the

trench.

     Wedge heard the explosion over  his  speakers  and  hunted  frantically

behind him for the trailing enemy ships. "We lost Biggs," he  yelled  toward

his own pickup.

     Luke didn't reply immediately. His eyes were watering, and  he  angrily

wiped them clear. They were blurring his view of the targeting readout.

     "We're a couple of shooting stars, Biggs," he whispered  huskily,  "and

we'll never be stopped." His ship rocked slightly from a near  miss  and  he

directed his words to his remaining wingman, biting down hard on the end  of

each sentence.

     "Close it up, Wedge. You can't do any more good back there. Artoo,  try

to give me a little more power on our rear reflectors."

     The Artoo unit hurried to comply as Wedge pulled  up  alongside  Luke's

ship. The trailing TIE fighters also increased their speed.

     "I'm on the leader," Vader informed his soldiers. "Take the other one."

     Luke flew just in front of Wedge, slightly to port side.  Energy  bolts

from the pursuing Imperials began to  streak  close  about  them.  Both  men

crossed each other's path repeatedly, striving to  present  as  confusing  a

target as possible.

     Wedge was fighting with his controls when  several  small  flashes  and

sparks lit his control board. One small panel exploded, leaving molten  slag

behind. Somehow he managed to retain control of the ship.

     "I've got a bad malfunction, Luke. I can't stay with you."

     "Okay, Wedge, get clear."

     Wedge mumbled a heartfelt "Sorry" and peeled up out of the trench.

     Vader, concentrating his attention on the  one  ship  remaining  before

him, fired.

     Luke didn't see the near-lethal explosion which burst close behind him.

Nor did he have time to examine the smoking shell of twisted metal which now

rode alongside one engine. The arms went limp on the little droid.

 

     All three TIE fighters continued to chase the remaining X-wing down the

trench. It was only a matter of  moments  before  one  of  them  caught  the

bobbing fighter with a crippling burst.  Except  now  there  were  only  two

Imperials  pursuing.  The  third  had  become  an  expanding   cylinder   of

decomposing debris, bits and pieces of which slammed into the walls  of  the

canyon.

     Vader's remaining wingman looked around in panic for the source of  the

attack. The same distortion fields that confused rebel  instrumentation  now

did likewise to the two TIE fighters.

     Only when the freighter fully eclipsed the  sun  forward  did  the  new

threat become visible. It was a Corellian transport,  far  larger  than  any

fighter, and it was diving directly  at  the  trench.  But  it  didn't  move

precisely like a freighter, somehow.

     Whoever was piloting that vehicle must have been unconscious or out  of

his mind, the wingman decided. Wildly he adjusted controls in an attempt  to

avoid the anticipated collision. The freighter swept by just  overhead,  but

in missing it the wingman slid too far to one side.

     A small explosion followed as two huge  fins  of  the  paralleling  TIE

fighters intersected. Screaming uselessly into  his  pickup,  the  wing  man

fluttered toward the near  trench  wall.  He  never  touched  it,  his  ship

erupting in flame before contact.

     To the other side, Darth Vader's  fighter  began  spinning  helplessly.

Unimpressed by the  Dark  Lord's  desperate  glower,  various  controls  and

instruments gave back readings which were brutally truthful. Completely  out

of control, the tiny ship continued spinning in the opposite direction  from

the destroyed wingman-out into the endless reaches of deep space.

 

     Whoever was at  the  controls  of  the  supple  freighter  was  neither

unconscious nor insane-well, perhaps slightly touched, but fully in  command

nonetheless. It soared high above the trench, turning  to  run  protectively

above Luke.

     "You're all clear now, kid," a familiar voice informed him.  "Now  blow

this thing so we can all go home."

     This pep talk was followed by a reinforcing grunt which could only have

been produced by a particularly large Wookiee.

     Luke looked up through the canopy and smiled. But his smile faded as he

turned back to the targeting visor. There was a tickling inside his head.

     "Luke...trust me," the tickle requested, forming words  for  the  third

time. He stared into the targeter. The emergency exhaust  port  was  sliding

toward the firing circle again, as it had once before-when he'd  missed.  He

hesitated, but only briefly this time,  then  shoved  the  targeting  screen

aside. Closing his eyes, he appeared to mumble to himself, as if in internal

conversation with something unseen. With the confidence of a  blind  man  in

familiar surroundings, Luke  moved  a  thumb  over  several  controls,  then

touched one. Soon after, a concerned voice filled the cockpit from the  open

speakers.

     "Base One to Blue Five, your targeting device is switched  off.  What's

wrong?"

     "Nothing," Luke murmured, barely audible. "Nothing."

     He blinked and cleared his eyes. Had he been asleep? Looking around, he

saw that he was out of the trench and  shooting  back  into  open  space.  A

glance outside showed the familiar shape of Han Solo's ship  shadowing  him.

Another, at the control board, indicated that he had released his  remaining

torpedoes, although he couldn't remember touching the firing stud. Still, he

must have.

     The cockpit speakers were alive with excitement. "You did it!  You  did

it!" Wedge was shouting over and over. "I think they went right in."

     "Good shot kid." Solo complimented him, having to raise his voice to be

heard over Chewbacca's unrestrained howling.

     Distant, muted rumblings  shook  Luke's  ship,  an  omen  of  incipient

success. He must have fired the torpedoes, mustn't he? Gradually he regained

his composure.

     "Glad... you were here to see it. Now let's get some  distance  between

us and that thing before it goes. I hope Wedge was right."

     Several  X-wings,   Y-wings,   and   one   battered-looking   freighter

accelerated away from the battle station, racing toward the distant curve of

Yavin.

     Behind them small flashes of fading light marked the receding  station.

Without warning, something appeared in the sky in  place  of  it  which  was

brighter than the glowing gas giant, brighter than its far-off  sun.  For  a

few seconds the eternal night became day. No one dared look directly at  it.

Not even multiple shields set on high could dim that awesome flare.

     Space filled temporarily with trillions of microscopic metal fragments,

propelled past the retreating ships by  the  liberated  energy  of  a  small

artificial sun. The collapsed residue of the battle station  would  continue

to consume itself for several days, forming for that brief span of time  the

most impressive tombstone in this corner of the cosmos.

Would you be offended if I tried to throw in a few of my ideas and see what you think?  I have the trial version of some fancier software, and I'd like to try a few ideas out and send them your way.

Interested to know your thoughts on the Battle of Yavin, BTW.

is there any news from the making?new videos?

Ryan McAvoy said:

benduwan said:

is there any news from the making?new videos?

 Not quite yet but soon in the new year, hopefully.

 sounds good.thanks

So I again did a super rough draft of the Battle of Yavin with two runs.  Again, it mostly uses OCP's version with subtitles remaining in a few spots, but I made a few more changes.  Nothing that special or different, but to me it shows that the idea is plausible and worthwhile, considering the aims of this edit and the original source material.

http://vimeo.com/118162701

Password: Yavin

No worries.  I figured you'd say that, though I wish you could make it work.  I don't know why, but it just feels right to me.  But hey, I know you are not just trying to replicate, but also make an interesting movie to watch, so I agree with your methodology.  Thanks for the reply.  Glad you at least liked the ideas. :)

To be truthful, and I hope this does not offend, but I thought your last opening was (visually) perfect.  As simple an aspect as it was, it was one of my favorite points of the edit, as it felt like how so many movies did back in the day, fading from one matte to the next till we found ourselves face to face with our hero.  I like how it opened just like the official movie as well, panning down to Tatooine, but instead of seeing the corvette and destroyer, we pan further, then zoom in on the planet.  And when Luke looked up, we saw the battle, exactly overhead as we had just previously seen the planet.  I don't know what it is, but I really, really loved the way you had it previously.

Yes, that's the one, though I wish you had included a bit more in the beginning.  The pan down from the scroll is part of what I love about it.  It almost takes you by surprise, since we're all familiar with the original opening, and might expect the same thing.

Glad you're back to working on this, and I hope you don't mind my constant badgering ;)

I have to be honest, that is a really cool shot, and it's especially cool that it is primarily derived from original artwork!  Well done!

If I were to make a recommendation, I would still do the fades as I suggested before.  I would probably have the opening scroll ultimately fade to this shot, then fade to a the original opening matte, then from there have it pan down and continue fading as you originally had.  Again, just my thoughts.

Personally I see no problem with cutting the shot altogether.  However, since I know you want a couple of seconds to fill the gap, I have a couple of thoughts to create effects:

1) If there is an internal shot of just Chewy in his seat looking out the window, perhaps you might be able to replace the external matting with something of your own, making it look like the Falcon is taking off from an internal POV.  With the skills you have at your disposal, this seems like something you could easily achieve.

2) Jaitea makes Millennium Falcon models for fun.  Perhaps he could film a short green screen shot that you could again add matting to.

As for your opening, I still can't help but prefer the previous for the reasons I've cited before, but this is extremely cool, and I love the work you've done and would be plenty happy if this is what stays in the final release.

Had a couple more thoughts on the scene in question:

In the opening menu portion of the DVD bonus material there is a good shot of the Falcon's cockpit when empty.  If your interest and dedication are up to it, you probably could probably edit Chewie into the shot without Han, then do the same for the external material through the window.  Probably a bit of a challenge, so I'm not sure if it's feasible.  Another idea: I was at Walmart a couple of days ago and saw a rather easy-to-assemble model of the Falcon that looked surprisingly accurate.  Biggest error that I could see was color, and since the movie is black and white and the clip so short that you want, I thought it probably wouldn't be noticeable if you wanted to go that route.

I also have taken the liberty of putting together a few clips into your last draft.  Most of them are lower quality (though some are SD at least).  They are brief but do well to enhance what you are going for, I feel.  I know you want decent quality, but you have also included low rez stuff that does nothing for the story.  I feel it should be worth considering.  Of course it's your edit and I don't want to sound pushy.  I just want to make suggestions that may be helpful.  When I'm done splicing in ideas, I can send you a copy with notes on where to skip to the relevant stuff.  If you like even one idea, it would be worth the effort.

Thanks for all you've done on this edit.  It's rough, but it's literally my favorite version of ANH to watch. :)

I haven't watched your whole edit since I posted that long review on it.  I've only seen pieces here and there.  So I have been looking at all the little clips I could find of potentially missed bits, but as I've checked everything I can find, I can't help but admire how well you've integrated practically everything I can find so amazingly well.  You did a fantastic job squeezing so many pieces in there, and so flawlessly.  Once the audio is complete and the material made to look older, the integration will be seamless.  I'm amazed once again at how well you've done here!

I'm sure you're tired of hearing from me, but here's another thought:

I can't find where you see that the original Tusken Raider shout just after knocking Luke down was not originally present.  All I can find is that originally the actor simply held up the club for a moment and pressed his attack.  Later, when re-cut (in other words, after the Lost Edit was abandoned), the editors ran his motions back and forth to create the familiar shaking of the club in the air.  What if you simply removed the back and forth, showing only the brief wave of the club with some shorter Tusken yell?  It seems like it wouldn't look as odd as what you did put, and would possibly be closer to the original cut.

I had another thought.  I love your crawl, and if you keep it as is, I won't complain.  I really enjoy the logo you utilized as well.  And you did use the same text as shown in an early script and actual crawl:

My idea, which really is a take it or leave it idea, would be that in order to be closer to an earlier actual crawl, you try to use the format as shown in the above picture.  My understand is that GL showed this actual crawl to Brian DePalma, who helped him shorten it down.

http://www.slashfilm.com/original-star-wars-opening-crawl/

It's all just a thought.  I like the Star Wars logo you used better personally, but I would hate to not mention it.