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 fighter," 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.
