Helena Mastaire pulled back hard on the turret control, pressing her body into the seat as the TIE rocketed by. The red bolts of energy that pulsed from her dual cannons lagged behind the quick TIE as it disappeared from her sight. Dropping her hand from the firing mechanism, she got a quick lock on the Imperial fighter as it rocketed away. Swiping the moisture from her head with the back of her hand, she bit her lip, pushing the turret lever forward.

The stars whirled again as Helena was forced back into her seat by the turret’s quick spin. Her eyes traced the space outside of the two curved triangular viewports. The entire frigate rocked underneath her. Helena knew there was a Star Destroyer in pursuit. And that last blast had not felt like a starfighter hit. Cranking her head around, she swore as her chin hit the hard edge of her gunnery suit.

"What the-"

A small chunk of asteroid whirled by outside of her rear viewport.

"No way in hell we are going into an aster-"

Explosions lit up the outside of her armored turret. Cranking the turret control back, Helena gritted her teeth. The turret whined, the sound of stressed metal shivering up her spine as it whirled in place. One TIE dead center. She fired. The thick bolts clipped the TIE’s wing joint, spinning it into another one of her shots. The Imperial fighter exploded in a blossom of flame.

"Light that up and smoke it!"

Helena grinned teeth, wondering if Grennis was shooting down more TIEs than she was. Just under an hour ago, they had destroyed an Imperial supply platform that was interdicting freighters over Spiar. Helena remembered what the platform had looked like as it had fallen in flames into the atmosphere of the planet. Their Alliance strike team had escaped before Imperial reinforcements had arrived, but were pulled out of hyperspace by a gravity beacon. The Empire had been on top of them within seconds.

Sparks erupted from her panel, forcing her to shield her eyes. Beating the panel with her palm, Helena’s other hand scrabbled for the fire extinguisher. Turning over her helmet on the deck, she swore again. Her fingers found it. Gripping the top of the small canister, she tucked it into her leg pocket.

"Just in case."

Eyeing her scope again, Helena smiled as she tore the thick handle of the turret control back towards herself. The stars scrawled again as she lit up her turbolasers. All her mind registered was a split second of TIE wing, then an expanding ball of flame.

Scanning her scope for her next target, Helena’s heart plunked into her stomach. Both gunships no longer appeared on her scope, nor any of the four X-wings. Her jaw tensed until she heard her teeth grit together. Static erupted in her ear, followed by frantic screams. The voices sounded like the bridge crew.

"-reach! Go to your own life support! Hull-"

The deck rocked again, a sharp jolt. Another hit almost made her bite her tongue. Her cramped turret was shaking. Helena’s breath came ragged as she reached for her helmet. It fell out of her slippery hands, hitting the deck again. Her hand caught on the thick strap clamped to her chest. She swiped the tether out of the way.

"Dammit!"

Fear blossomed in her chest as she swiped at her helmet again, only to be stopped by her chair restraints. Slapping the thick buckle, she nearly fell out of her curved chair as the restraint let her loose. Another explosion hit just outside of her cockpit. Her toplight went out, leaving her with the light of the stars and explosions to find her helmet by. Grabbing the obstinate helmet, she pulled it over her head. Her fingers raced to clamp it down.

Taking a breath as she heard the double click, she rolled back into her chair. Checking her diagnostic, her mouth dropped. The cannons power levels were dropping like a stone. Yanking the thick turret lever back towards herself, Helena dropped her helmeted head back onto the rest The entire ship was shaking.

The turret started a slow turn, whined and ground to a dead stop.

"No!"

One last shot. All she needed, she had the power for one last shot. Her eyes flicked up.

Cannons blazing at her, a TIE was dead center in her guns.

"Yes."

Helena fired. The TIE’s green energy bolts exploded on the outside of her armored turret. Helena felt the roar as the vacuum of space tore the air from her turret, freezing her exposed hands. She should have been wearing her gloves. She felt three massive vibrations; the last one whipped her into the durasteel walls. Helena heard a sickening crunch. Before she passed out, her brain was burned with one last thought.

She had hit the TIE.