ITOD Home > PSG Tour A1 (XW) > PSG Xa113: Harassment

A-Wings were the most agile starfighters in the Rebel arsenal, though Hermus Dogan generally didn't care for them. This time around, however, he was quite thankful for the added speed. Fighting nearly three whole squadrons of TIE Advanced, or 'brights' was not an easy task in any fighter, but an A-Wing could keep up with them far more easily than an X-Wing or bomber could. Even the Corellian Corvette he'd destroyed earlier in the mission wasn't too bad for an A-Wing to handle, so long as its turbolasers could be evaded. The Nebulon-B Frigate lurking near the supply dump was a much nastier target, unleashing sheets of turbolaser fire whenever Dogan strayed too close.

This mission was one of many meant to disrupt the Star Hammer project. The supply dump was apparently meant for use in that project in some way, though the handful of containers seemed fairly insignificant to Dogan. But, if enough harassment was accomplished, Kedrin and the unknown overseer of the project might make a tactical blunder the Rebel Squadrons could capitalize on. That was the story offered in the briefing, at least. Dogan wasn't sure what to think yet.

A green bolt streaked past his canopy, causing Dogan to reflexively roll out of the line of fire. A TIE roared past him, pouring green fire into the spot its pilot expected the A-Wing to be in. The pilot's error offered Dogan an irresistible window of opportunity to pump a few shots into the TIE's aft section. The first few bolts pierced the shielding, allowing the rest to hammer into the vulnerable hull of the fighter. One of the TIE's twin ion engines exploded, ripping the fighter apart.

Dogan breathed a quick sigh of relief. That had been the last bright attacking him. He'd already fought and destroyed nearly three entire squadrons of the blasted things, and he was starting to run out of steam. The mission wasn't over yet, so he settled in and searched within for a fresh burst of energy as he glanced at the A-Wing's displays. The shield indicator drew his eye in time to see the outer layer flash from red to yellow. He shunted partial laser power over to the shields, pushing them up to dim green.

Two containers remained in the supply depot, as did the Nebulon-B Frigate. Dogan had no idea if more TIEs were hidden within the ship's hangar, but hoped its supply had tapped out by now. Easing his A-Wing toward one of the two remaining containers, Dogan pushed the throttle to full and swooped in. As he neared his chosen container, the frigate opened up on him with every turbolaser it could bring to bear. Weaving between the shots without too much trouble, Dogan scanned the container and found it was another hangar. As he veered away from it to put distance between his A-Wing and the Nebulon-B, another TIE Advanced erupted from the container and clawed for some distance of its own. Dogan groaned, but was nonetheless happy to see that it was only a single TIE. Pulling his A-Wing around in a long arc, he charged after the enemy fighter.

The TIE pilot was good. Every time Dogan lined up for a shot, the target veered away in a random direction. Dogan hadn't landed more than a couple hits on the TIE, and both of those from snap shots. Gritting his teeth, he shifted shield power to the engines and shot away from the TIE. Head to head passes weren't wise, but he figured the TIE pilot might not be able to resist. As the distance indicator passed two clicks, Dogan pumped power back into the shields and wheeled his A-Wing around to face the approaching TIE.

Pumping partial laser power into the shields, Dogan lined up for the run on the TIE. As he suspected, the enemy pilot couldn't resist a head to head pass and came straight at him. Shifting all shields forward, Dogan waited for the TIE to come into range. As soon as the target reticule turned green he gripped the trigger and sent a stream of red death at the TIE. Holding course for another moment, Dogan released the trigger and dove beneath most of the TIE's return fire. The TIE pilot jinked his fighter to one side, but not soon enough to evade the stream of laser fire unleashed from the A-Wing. All but the last handful of bolts slammed into the TIE's shields, blinding the pilot for a few precious seconds.

Dogan lined up for another run on the TIE as its pilot recovered, stitching another string of bolts into the starboard solar paneling before the TIE could react. Its shields were unable to hold off another salvo, allowing most of the shots to vaporize the TIE's starboard wing and pierce the cockpit. Though it didn't explode, the TIE and its pilot were definitely out of action.

Dogan studied the Nebulon-B Frigate's patrol pattern for a couple minutes as his shields recharged. While it never left turbolaser range of the containers, it did wander far enough away for Dogan to get close enough to them to destroy the hangar module and identify the second container. Taking a deep breath, Dogan kicked in the engines and moved in on the supply depot. He still couldn't believe he was the only pilot sent on the mission.