A Rebel Soul
By Professor La'rya Rayne
○The lives of the four men behind Rogue and Wraith Squadrons○
Foreword by H.H. Leia Organa Solo, Princess of Alderaan and New Alderaan.
25 ABY, Coruscant
When the highly acclaimed historian, La'rya Rayne asked me to write a foreword for one of her works, I felt honoured by the invitation.
Upon discovering this holobook will dwell over the lives of four of my most trusted friend, men I hold close to my heart as family, I decided this wouldn't be another lauding of their achievements on the service of the Rebellion and, later on, the New Republic.
All of their exploits, adventures and even tall tales are well known to all.
The mythos of the warriors, the notoriety…
It is all public knowledge.
But they are more than the stereotypes that have been built around them. Much more.
I remember the moment I met each one of them…
General Wedge Antilles was, like myself, a young person, a twenty-year-old boy. Orange flight suit on, exchanging words with other pilots, getting ready for the fateful Battle of Yavin.
From that moment on, he saw himself become one of the greatest pilots in the Alliance. Respected by everyone, he spent his entire career in the service of this Galaxy and its inhabitants.
Commander of the two paramount squadrons of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic, Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, he proved time and time again his value.
But for me? He was a dear friend, a confidant and, to my delight, he also became my brother-in-law.
More than the brash Corellian, the pilot who looked the odds in the face and crushed them, Wedge Antilles was first and foremost a loyal friend, someone who respected everyone and went to great lengths to protect his pilots, to make sure they had the best chance at coming back alive!
On his private side, I saw him become a loving and supportive husband and father. Conciliation of work and family life isn't always easy, when you spend your whole adult life in the military, but Wedge always made it look effortless.
I always called him 'dear heart'...
And his heart as always been true and pure throughout the years!
General Tycho Celchu…
That is a whole different story!
One I wouldn't have shared all the details, hadn't he decided to do so himself long ago.
When I was adopted into the Organa house, I didn't just gain two loving parents.
I gained a big, wonderful family that included the Celchus.
Tycho and I grew up together. He was my best friend, my playtime companion. Back then he was my cousin Lylah. I was the one he came to bring the news, when he finally began the process that would see him become Tycho.
Tycho, myself, Winter and Nyiestra were a tight unit, always together, came high or low!
His defection to the Alliance brought to me the last surviving relative I had…
People always seemed to pin that stoic and formal image that became known to the outside public. And though the extreme loss we, as Alderaanians, suffered did change him, Tycho is actually quite different from the air he gives off!
Over the years, I saw him become the quintessential Executive Officer. Wedge's right hand man. Exceptional pilot and strategist.
He was the example to follow, not climbing the ranks faster on his own choice.
Many times I heard other officers saying how rare it was to see him smile… but few people were counted on his group of friends. Tycho is first and foremost, a pondered person. He changed much. His soul and temper refined throughout the years, he went from the short-fused young man to a cautious and observing one. But on his private life, he's lively and someone with an easy laugh. Devoted to his children, he became a family man seamlessly.
And when the time came to make a choice, he took his family to Taanab where he embraced a new challenge as the Commander and Director of the NR Flight Academy in the Taanabian capital of Pandath!
Which brings me to Colonel Wes Janson… A Rogue at heart for sure!
The Taanabian and I go a long way back, when he still donned the Y-Wing pilot's grey flightsuit. A member of the Tierfon Yellow Aces, he crossed my path on many missions.
Over the decades, everyone was fast to pin the tag of Prankster-King, Joker, amongst others. I'm afraid he can't blame anyone else but himself for it…
And he was so, on many occasions. His reasons for doing so are still private and only spoken about in a family setting. But beyond his reputation, there's the polar opposite at times. Observant as no one I've ever met, he has always been the team analyst when it came to character judgements. And he rarely was wrong. Suspicious, serious and bad-tempered aren't words one would think could be attached to Wes Janson, and yet he is all that.
Overprotective and loyal to a fault, many times he was the union point when the Rogues were decommissioned and later on regrouped with new members, and also when he founded the Wraiths with Wedge.
The last person anyone would consider a good father, nevertheless he became an exceptional one! To me it came as no surprise, since the Jansons have always been extremely family oriented.
On a more personal note, I'll always thank him for loving my cousin Tycho, for giving him a reason to persevere.
Nowadays, my good friend, my cousin by marriage, divides his time between the family, the farm and aiding Tycho in the Academy.
He still finds time for an occasional prank…
The last, - but in no way the least! - is someone who I believe, has been unjustly seen as a kind of sidekick in the story of these extraordinary warriors. Colonel Derek Klivian, known as Hobbie to the majority, acted more as a voice of reason within the group. He was the one who took a plan apart and accurately pinpointed the weaknesses and faults in them. That gave him a reputation as pessimistic and dour. But the other three knew better than that!
The errors in people's characterization of Hobbie Klivian, came from a deep lack of knowledge of him, since he was indeed the most private of the gang.
Instinctive flying and an innate ability to keep going against all odds, made him complementary to Wedge's brash commanding style, to Tycho's cold, analytical ways and to Wes' expertise as gunner and marksman.
In the same way, he was the one who brought his friends into the 'Now', whenever more euphoric or dark moods afflicted them.
Married to my good friend Winter, he turned to a more academic life, writing holobooks that became highly sought school manuals around the Galaxy! Ranging from the more technical works such as "Astrogation - the redefinition of precision flying" and "From the Old Republic to the New. - Engineering throughout the years.", to the history books, like his acclaimed compendium "The Galactic Civil War" and the collection of firsthand reports of the war, "We, the beings of the Rebel Alliance…".
Though officially retired, one can seldom find him either on the Senate, standing by as the Senator of New Alderaan, Winter Retrac-Klivian, gives one of her flawless speeches, or touring the universities giving presentation after presentation!
But his preferred activity is to spend time with his wife and children…
You see, dear readers, these four exceptional men, whose military deeds will be thoroughly analyzed in this historical work, are a whole lot more than the heroes most people see. They're more than the holo-images in heroic poses on the Hall of Heroes.
They are flesh and blood, like us. They love, live and laugh, like us. And sometimes they even fail, like us…
They are first and foremost people. And though they should be forever remembered for all they did for this Galaxy, we should all remember that, in the end, they are More Than Rogues!