"Tatooine Ghost" need help with translation

OK, guys. Actually, these is the lasy sentences. With them I got just a little troubles. I'd even say very very tiny doubts. I'll try to explain.

Han pointed at the tiny silhouette of the Chimaera, which had started an edgeward drift across the canopy *as the Falcon eased past it toward the planet*. (what I don't like here: before Han told that "Imperials left their Star Destroyer out in the open like that", so it means that every one who wanna land the planet we'll see them. And then he tells "as the Falcon eased past it toward the planet", so it means that if Falcon wanna get the planet Han and Lea will ease past it toward the planet, I mean Falcon would miss the Imperials. There's what I don't like here.)

The argument was all too sensible, and though Chewbacca clearly did not realize this?one that made it all the more imperative that Leia attend the sale herself. (Does it mean everything that has been done makes Lea be on that auction?)


She set her lead ahead of the TIEs an *extra length, then another one. She added another half length* to be certain, and squeezed the triggers.

Yeah, what about "canopy". Is it some kind of window, cuz all my dictionaries give me other minnings such sky, valence, awning and etc.


I hope I didn't puzzle you.

 

Canopy - It's all those windows in the cockpit that let Han, Chewie, and whomever else is in the cockpit see what's out in space in front of them.

Being an avid computer game player, with space sims like Star Wars: X-Wing and TIE fighter being personal favorites, I think I can explain what's happening with the lead. Think for a moment that you're in the gunnery chair instead of Leia. On the display in front of you there's a crosshair and it lights up when you're on target. When the target is stationary (not moving), all you have to do is swing the turret around until the crosshair lights up, then fire. Enemy fighters, however, are always moving, and it takes time for the shots you fire to travel a distance. Do the following to visualize the situation. Draw on a piece of paper a 30-60-90 right triangle. The TIE fighter is at the 90-degree angle and you are at the 30-degree angle. The TIE fighter is moving along the side of the triangle connecting the 90-degree and 60-degree angles heading for the 60-degree angle. This is the situation the moment the crosshair lights up and you fire. By the time your shot travels up the length of the side of the triangle connecting the 90-degree and 30-degree angles, the TIE fighter will have reached the 60-degree angle and you will have missed your target. The targeting computer takes into account the speed of the target and calculates a "lead indicator" - a point some distance in front of the moving TIE fighter that you need to fire at in order to hit the TIE fighter. By firing in the direction of the "lead", you're firing in the direction of the hypotenuse, firing at the 60-degree angle from the 30-degree angle, rather than in the direction of the 90-degree angle from the 30-degree angle. The distance between the lead indicator and the target depends on the speed of the target and how far the target is from you.

What Leia's doing is this: she knows from experience how far in front of the TIE fighter she needs to point the turrets so that her shots will hit the TIE fighter. This distance is the "lead" in the sentence. I'll refer to this "lead" as the "normal lead" for convenience. Neither she nor Han wants to hit the TIE fighters when they fire, so she wants to make certain that her shots will miss. In order to do this, she programs the targeting computer to set the lead twice the "normal lead", then three times, then settles on three and a half times the "normal lead". At this programmed setting, her shots will cross the path of the TIE fighters, but will be too far ahead of the crafts to actually hit any of them.

Hope that clears it up.