Force and Counterforce

A voice aboard the Death Star announces that the Rebel base will be in firing range in thirty minutes, and Motti tells Governor Tarkin and Darth Vader that the prime weapon is prepared and all personnel ready for battle. Vader goes to inspect other parts of the station, leaving Tarkin and Motti alone. Motti again flatters Tarkin, emphasizing the power that he commands, now at least equal to the Emperor himself. He believes that Tarkin can now demand a position of authority in the Empire. Tarkin points to Vader as an obstacle to any such scheme; Motti says that "Vader can be dealt with." Tarkin says that he will consider Motti's suggestion after the Rebels are put down.

As the Rebels prepare to go into battle, Luke tries once more, unsuccessfully, to convince Han to stay and help. Leia also finds Luke before he mans his fighter, giving him another kiss for luck. Biggs sees this and tells Luke, "I guess you found your dream girl." See-Threepio comes to tell Luke that because of a shortage of droids, Artoo-Detoo has been selected to accompany Luke in his fighter. As the Rebel snubfighters take off to attack the Death Star, Luke hears the voice of Ben Kenobi.

In the base's operations center, General Dodonna explains the attack plan to Leia and Threepio: the Y-wing fighters of Gold Flight are the first to make torpedo runs on the Death Star's exhaust shaft. The X-wings of Red Flight will cover the Y-wings and draw enemy fire. They will make an attack run if Gold Flight fails. A direct hit on the shaft will trigger a chain reaction that will stop the space station.

At first the fighters are able to evade the heavy Imperial guns, but very soon the Death Star launches TIE fighters against them. The Rebels begin to suffer losses. All the ships of Gold Flight are eliminated before they can reach the target. With only five minutes until the Death Star is in range to fire on the Rebel base, the X-wings of Red Flight begin their attack.

Back aboard the Death Star, an aide informs Tarkin that while the Y-wings are all destroyed, a group of X-wings has evaded the imperial fighters and is attempting an attack of their own. Vader is pursuing them now, but Tarkin orders that his ship be prepared in case it should seem prudent to evacuate the Death Star. Before this can be done, Motti advises Tarkin not to leave: relinquishing his command could jeopardize his ability to hold supreme power. When an analyst approaches Tarkin and says that the Rebel attack poses a danger, Tarkin now laughs at the suggestion.

The first X-wings of Red Flight begin their own attack run. Red Leader orders Luke to remain above the trench with Biggs and Wedge. Red Leader manages to fire a torpedo, but his targeting computer fails to score a direct hit. Vader, flying a prototype fighter, shoots him down with both of his wingmen. Luke, Biggs, and Wedge then enter the trench themselves. Wedge's ship is damaged and cannot maintain speed, while Biggs is killed.

Luke again hears the spectral voice of Ben Kenobi. He tells Luke to trust the Force, prompting him to turn off his own computer. Vader's fighter damages Artoo, but before he can fire again, the Millennium Falcon appears and shoots the Imperial fighters, leaving Luke clear to fire a torpedo using the Force. It hits the target precisely and destroys the station.

Some time later, Luke, Han and Chewbacca get ready for a ceremony to celebrate the victory. Han reflects on his decision to fight for the Rebels. He also says that he does not think that he eliminated the pilot in the prototype fighter. The ceremony begins, and Leia presents medals to Luke and Han.

Motti's would-be conspiracy with Tarkin continues a subplot established in the episode "Death Star's Transit." This characterization of Motti and Tarkin was not in the film but was brought into the Star Wars canon in the 2017 short story "Verge of Greatness," written from Tarkin's point of view. The story reuses some of the exact dialogue from the radio drama, integrating it with events from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

This scheme also reframes Tarkin's decision not to prepare an evacuation shuttle during the battle. In the radio version, Tarkin has already ordered that an escape ship be prepared until Motti talks him out of it. Motti argues that Tarkin will not be able to exert his authority if he leaves the Death Star. So when Tarkin then scoffs at the suggestion that he evacuate "in our moment of triumph," he is concealing his true motives. Tarkin's death is therefore a result of his ambition and scheming rather than pure hubris.

Like the previous episode "The Case for Rebellion," this episode uses terminology that is different from other Star Wars media, identifying Red and Gold Squadrons as Red Flight and Gold Flight, and calling their weapons "photon" instead of "proton" torpedoes.

• Star Wars: The National Public Radio Dramatization
• The Making of Star Wars for Radio: A Fable for the Mind's Eye on archive.org