Dark Force Rising | Chapter 28 | The Lost Holocron

Chapter 28 of Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (1992) (EU: 9 ABY) by Timothy Zahn.
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## The Story So Far ##
Grand Admiral Thrawn has an alliance with Joruus C’baoth. Multiple failed attempts by the Empire to capture Luke or Leia have left C’baoth impatient.
Han and Lando discovered a Rebel splinter cell led by Garm Bel Iblis with six dreadnaughts of the Katana Fleet. He gave them the location of the dealer who sold them their ships, but Thrawn tracks them, extracting the contact first.
Talon Karrde, freed from Imperial detainment by Luke and Mara, provides the location of the Katana Fleet to the New Republic. Fey’lya took command of the recovery mission, but anticipating the politicking, Karrde sent Mara and Leia to rally other teams.
Upon arriving, Luke directed their team towards the flagship Katana. Fey’lya’s ship Quenfis is not far behind. With the arrival of the Imperial Star Destroyer Judicator, and in a bout of verbal manoeuvring, Karrde has Fey’lya unknowingly announce his cold disposition of military lives. Captain Virgilio has him removed from command, deferring to Leia.
The Chimaera is called for backup, but the untimely arrival of C’baoth forced Thrawn to send the Peremptory in their stead.

## Chapter 28 ##
Gold Squadron joins Rogue Squadron, commencing the Battle for the Katana Fleet. Wedge leads a partially-successful engagement against the boarding assult.
Aboard the Katana, the defenders booby trapped the hallways leading out of the hangar and give ground to overwhelming Imperial numbers. Luke can sense something is amiss with the boarding party troopers. Through the Force, he senses their movements, so Luke and Han look for a way to slow their progress while Lando and Chewbacca fall back to the bridge.
From aboard the Judicator, Captain Brandei is still waiting for Peremptory to support, but the tide of the battle is not looking fortuitous. As he orders the Judicator into combat range, Karrde's smugglers drop out of hyperspace behind them.
With her specialist knowledge of Imperial hardware, Mara is able to blind the Star Destoryer, allowing the smugglers a free run at its underside. Mara radios with Karrde, morose in her assessment that a second Star Destroyer would spell disaster.
Bel Iblis arrives unexpectedly, tipping the calculations in the New Republic's favour. Leia enthusiastically accepts his aid, and Bel Iblis uses the ion cannons of his dreadnaughts to enfeeble the Judicator. Having completed a sensor scan of the Fleet, Karrde points out that there are only fifteen of the original two-hundred-odd ships left.
The Peremptory drops out of hyperspace, splitting the New Republic front, outgunned despite the six dreadnaughts from Bel Iblis. Mara is hit and forced to eject, her ejection in line with the ion bombardment. She loses all electronics, including life support, and blacks out.
Back on the Katana, Luke senses Mara is lost, frustration building. He spaces the Stormtroopers by destroying the anteroom to the bridge. Luke champs at their lack of recourse. Han makes a last ditch effort to take remote control of the a single functional dreadnaught and uses it to ram into the Peremptory, sealing victory. Acknowledging defeat, Brandei orders the retreat.

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