Star Wars Missions 001 - Asault on Yavin Four

For many years, the evil Empire tried to control the galaxy. The Empire was battled by the Rebel Alliance. The Rebels hoped to bring an end to the Emperor’s rule.

The Empire’s most fearsome weapon was the Death Star, a giant space station that could destroy entire planets. The Death Star was created by an Imperial officer named Grand Moff Tarkin.

When Grand Moff Tarkin learned that the Rebels were hiding on a moon called Yavin Four, Tarkin tried to use the Death Star to destroy the entire moon.

In an incredible battle, a young Rebel pilot named Luke Skywalker fired two proton torpedoes from his X-wing starfighter. The torpedoes caused the entire Death Star to explode. Yavin Four was saved.

One of the few survivors of the Death Star was Darth Vader. After the Death Star exploded, Vader’s TIE fighter went spinning into deep space. For a short while afterward, Vader did not reach an Imperial station, and the Empire did not yet know that the Death Star had been destroyed.

The day after the great battle, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca the Wookiee, and the droids See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo were still celebrating their victory on Yavin Four.

On the other side of the galaxy, an Imperial warship waited for a secret message from Grand Moff Tarkin. Its crew did not know that Tarkin perished on the Death Star…

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 never have to do something like that again!”

“Something like what?” asked Princess Leia Organa as she entered the hangar.

“Haven’t you heard?” asked Solo, wrapping an arm around Luke’s shoulder. “We’re the guys who destroyed the Death Star.”

“Oh, you’re still bragging about
that
?” joked the princess. “How does it feel, Solo, being a hero for a change?”

“It’s not so different… from the usual me,” Han replied with a mild shrug. “But on the other hand,” he smiled, “I kind of like the effect it has on princesses.”

“Sure,” said Leia. “It makes us all want to run away.”

Chewbacca let loose with a loud roar that alarmed everyone but Han, who knew that the Wookiee was laughing at him.

“Laugh it up, furball,” said Solo. “Just remember who pays you.”

Leia turned her attention to Luke. “Trouble with your X-wing, Master Skywalker?”

“Huh?” Luke said, feeling himself blush at the princess’s pretend formality. “No, I was, um, just making a few adjustments to the armaments. It was Wedge’s idea” Wedge Antilles was another Rebel pilot, and a friend of Luke’s.

“It’s wise to be prepared,” Leia said. “We lost too many brave pilots in this last battle. I don’t want to lose any more.”

A mournful silence fell across the group as they remembered the Rebel Alliance’s losses. But soon the sound of metal footsteps approached from the darkness. In moments, a gleaming, golden figure emerged.

“Thank goodness I’ve found you!” said See-Threepio. He waved his arms grandly in a gesture to Luke and the others. “These ruins are so vast, it’s a wonder that anyone can find anything at all!”

“What’s wrong now?” Solo groaned. “Did you lose your little pal?”

“What? Who?” asked Threepio. Threepio prided himself in his fluency in over six million languages. But he sometimes had great difficulty understanding Han Solo. “Oh! You mean Artoo-Detoo?”

“No, I meant the technician that got you perfectly polished in time for the victory ceremony.”

“Oh, no, I’m not looking for
her
,” said Threepio. “But she
did
do an
excellent
job, didn’t she?”