Rebel fighters continue to strafe the Death Star's surface with laserbolts.
Walls buckle and cave in. Troops and equipment are blown in all directions. Stormtroopers stagger out of the rubble. Standing in the middle of the chaos, a vision of calm and foreboding, is Darth Vader. One of his Astro-Officers rushes up to him.
ASTRO-OFFICER: We count thirty Rebel ships, Lord Vader. But they're so small they're evading our turbo-lasers!
VADER: We'll have to destroy them ship to ship. Get the crews to their fighters.
Red Leader flies through a heavy hail of flak.
RED LEADER: Watch yourself, there's a lot of fire coming from the right side of that deflection tower.
LUKE: I'm on it.
BIGGS: I'm going in. Cover me, Porkins.
PORKINS: I'm right with you, Red Three.
Luke flings his X-wing into a twisting dive across the horizon and down onto the dim grey surface. A shot hurls from Luke's guns. Laserbolts streak toward the onrushing Death Star surface. Several small radar emplacements erupt in flame. Laserfire erupts from a protruding tower on the surface. The blurry Death Star surface races past the cockpit window as a big smile sweeps across Luke's face at the success of his run. Flak thunders on all sides of him. The Death Star superstructure races past Luke as he maneuvers his craft through a wall of laserfire and peels away from the surface towards the heavens.
The thunder and smoke of the big guns reverberate throughout the massive structure. Many soldiers rush about in the smoke and chaos, silhouetted by the almost continual flash of explosions.
PORKINS: I got a problem here.
BIGGS: Eject!
PORKINS: No, I can hold it.
BIGGS: Pull up!
PORKINS: No I'm allright . . . .
Porkins' X-Wing takes a direct hit from a laser blast.
PORKINS: AGHHHHH!!!
Porkins' X-Wing disentigrates in a fiery explosion.
DEATH STAR - CONTROL ROOM: Tarkin stares intently at the countdown on the digital screen.
Luke spins his X-Wing and dives down toward the surface of the Death Star.
BEN'S VOICE: Luke, trust your feelings.
Luke pauses, taps his helmet.
Luke blasts a direct hit on one of the Death Star's laser cannons.
Inside the Death Star, the laser cannon operators are knocked back from the blast as sparks and flames erupt.
Luke dives through a forest of radar domes, antennae, and gun towers. A dense barrage of laserfire streaks by on all sides.
MASSASSI OUTPOST - WAR ROOM - CONTROL OFFICER: Squad leaders, we've picked up a new group of signals. Enemy fighters coming your way.
LUKE'S X-WING - COCKPIT: Luke looks around to see if he can spot the approaching Imperial fighters.
LUKE: My scope's negative. I don't see anything.
The Death Star's surface sweeps past as Red Leader searches the sky for the Imperial fighters. Flak pounds at his ship.
RED LEADER: Pick up your visual scanning. Here they come.
Six ferocious Imperial TIE ships dive on the Rebel fighters.
Red Leader sees a TIE figter close in on one of his X-Wing pilots.
RED LEADER: Watch it, you've got on your tail!
A TIE Fighter swoops in behind blasting it's lasers as the X-Wing pilot desperately tries to manuever his ship from the line of fire.
The X-Wing pilot turns to try to get a visual on his attacker. The TIE Fighter continues it's onslaught of blasts.
Inside the TIE Fighter cockpit, the pilot adjust controls and fires once more.
It's a direct hit. The X-Wing cockpit lights up with a blinding flash as the pilot screams.
The explosion of the X-Wing is brightly lit against the cold gray surface of the Death Star.
LUKE: If you pick one up, watch it!
BIGGS: I can't see it!
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