Of Love and War Book 5: The Tragedy of Hope

Chapter 11: Blitz

Zelina trailed near the back of the group of X-Wings since she didn't belong to any one squad, and she wanted to take these last few seconds to readjust to being in a fighter. The ship swayed from side to side, tilting, accelerating, slowing down—just basic things to help her acclimate.

The X-Wings rounded the other side of Yavin where the Death Star had come out of hyperspace, and Zelina's attention snapped away from her jittery actions and idle thoughts back to the present and what was outside the numbing haze she'd allowed to linger over her mind to try and hold back the nerves.

Now she felt the tension, the hum of dread and fear that seemed to cloister around almost every X-Wing like a dark nebula. Their anxiety only made her hand tremble again on the controls, a slight shudder in her ship's flight mirroring the action.

"All links report in."

Zelina listened to the Red Squadron number off in no particular order, making a mental note that Luke's was Red Five. She wanted to keep tabs on him, have some way to keep track of him in the fight, but she had no astromech to give that kind of a command to.

Keeping track of him in the Force would have to be enough.

"Red Rogue, standing by," Zelina announced after she'd heard Luke's call sign, tentatively reaching out to him in the Force to start keeping tabs on the young Skywalker. Considering her lack of experience flying X-Wings, she'd made a request that she not be put in any squads that would be doing trench runs, for everyone's sake. Instead, she wanted to help cover those that were going to try to make the one in a million shot—she felt that was where she'd be more useful.

And she was Red Rogue because she was also acting on her own judgments, not on the directions of the Red Leader. No, she didn't have extensive knowledge in an X-Wing, but she knew what she was doing in a firefight, and had always flown under her own directions. She was the one who knew her true capabilities—the only one here who knew what she could do in a cockpit once she tapped into the Force.

The Death Star loomed into Zelina's view, and she felt a quiet chill seep into her insides at the sight. They had fifteen minutes to destroy the station—fifteen minutes before Yavin 4 was within firing range. Fifteen minutes before the rebel base and every other living being on that moon was destroyed.

Fifteen minutes before Zelina failed to protect one of the only two members of Anakin's family that was still alive, before she broke one of the most important promises he'd ever asked her to keep, again.

Zelina's grip tightened around the controls as her X-Wings S-foils shifted into attack position at her command, her gaze turning to cold steel as she glared out at the Death Star, an old fire sparked inside her and rapidly being stoked into a raging inferno.

She felt Luke sense the shift inside her, felt his concern for her through the Force, but she didn't spare any attention for his reaction.

She was up here for two reasons: to protect Luke in the fight, and protect Leia on the ground.

"Look at the size of that thing!" one of the other pilot's exclaimed over the communications.

"Cut the chatter Red Two," Red Leader admonished sharply. "Accelerate to attack speed."

Zelina didn't hesitate to comply, putting on a burst of speed that easily helped her catch up to the front lines of X-Wings as they collectively raced towards the Death Star like a small but angry swarm descending on an enemy hive.

The flight leaders shared a brief exchange over who would be making the first attempt at firing on the trench, something Zelina largely ignored except for the bit about Gold Leader being the one to make the first run. Which meant all of Red Squadron was the distraction for now.