Free Star Wars Missions 001 - Asault on Yavin Four by Ryder Windham

On the far side of the galaxy, an Imperial Star Destroyer hovered near the multiringed planet Delrakkin. The Star Destroyer was a gigantic wedge-shaped ship, carrying thousands of stormtroopers and six squadrons of TIE fighters.
    Admiral Termo entered the bridge of the Star Destroyer, and the stormtroopers stepped out of his way. Termo walked over to Communications Officer Tix. In a low voice — almost a whisper — Admiral Termo asked, “Where is the report from the Death Star?”
    Officer Tix nervously turned to meet Termo’s gaze. No one liked to look into Termo’s eyes. Tix tried not to sound scared as he replied, “We have not yet received any message from the Yavin system, Admiral.”
    “You confirmed the frequency of the hyperspace transponder?” asked Termo. The hyperspace transponder allowed messages to be sent at faster-than-lightspeed.
    “Yes, sir. There’s nothing wrong with our computers,” Officer Tix answered. “If you wish to contact the Death Star, I am prepared to send a message…”
    “If I wanted to send a message, I would have told you to send a message,” said Termo. His voice remained calm, but Tix knew the admiral was angry. Admiral Termo hated officers who said anything unless he asked them a question.
    Tix kept his hands on his keyboard and tried to keep his fingers from shaking. He was very scared.
    “Our orders were most clear,” Termo continued. “We are to wait at Delrakkin until we receive the signal. Is that understood?”
    “Yes, Admiral,” rasped Tix.
    Termo turned his gaze to the starboard viewport, and Tix exhaled a thin sigh of relief. Beyond the viewport, the green planet Delrakkin rotated slowly on its axis. Termo noticed a dark, cloudy spiral that churned on the planet’s western hemisphere. He watched the spiral for several seconds. “Would a planetary storm cause any disruption for the transmission?” he asked.
    “No, sir,” Tix responded. “Not at this range.”
    “This is most unusual,” said Termo thoughtfully. Tix thought Admiral Termo sounded unsure of himself. Tix was so surprised by this that he almost didn’t hear what Termo whispered next
    “Something must have happened to Grand Moff Tarkin.”
    Admiral Termo turned to a brightly lit console and spoke into a comm unit “Admiral Termo to Captain Skeezer. Report to forward launch bay, and prepare the long-range assault shuttle for immediate departure to the Yavin system.”

    On the moon Yavin Four, the celebration was still going strong. The Death Star had been destroyed, and the Rebels were joyous in their victory over the Empire.
    The Rebels had transformed the ruins of an ancient temple into a hangar for the Rebel fleet But the hangar was eerily empty. Most of the Rebels’ ships had been destroyed the day before, during their battle with the Death Star.
    “Hey, kid,” said Han Solo as he entered the hangar. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
    Luke Skywalker stood beside his X-wing starfighter. He had been working on his proton-torpedo launcher. He glanced up to see Solo and Chewbacca the Wookiee walk toward him.
    “Hi, Han,” said Luke. “Hey there, Chewie.”
    “What’re you doing here?” asked Solo. “Why aren’t you at the victory party with the rest of us Rebels?”
    “I’m making some special changes to my X-wing’s weapons system,” Luke replied.
    “Oh, like you need help firing a proton torpedo?” said Solo with a grin. Just the day before, Luke had fired the incredible shots that destroyed the Death Star. Chewbacca growled and gave Luke Skywalker a friendly pat on the back. Luke smiled.
    “Sure, Chewie, give all the credit to him,” joked Solo. He turned to Luke. “Kid, if I hadn’t seen you make those shots, I would’ve said it couldn’t be done.” Han shook his head. “I mean, take it from a guy who’s toasted a few womp rats himself. You did real good up there.”
    “Thanks, Han,” Luke said. “I really can’t believe it, either. I just hope I