T - minus 10: Rogue Squadron
"In recent years, Biggs Darklighter hadn't come so often to mind - not more than once or twice a day, sometimes. Occasionally, I wonder why I stayed with the Rebellion, since it was them that took us apart. The Rebellion that made my Biggs volunteer for the Battle of Yavin, that got him killed in that raid. But it also brought me Wedge...
I was only a teenager when he died. I thought that someday the pain would go away, the years would wear it out. I know better now."
The Collected Journals of Jedi Master Leia Skywalker Antilles.
-------
The planet Raxus Prime was a junkworld. The repository for centuries worth of garbage, salvage and discarded ships, it almost rivaled the junk planet Fenris in size and scope of discarded vessels. The atmosphere was breathable... barely, but what was the most dangerous thing about the world were the toxic waste pools that dotted the surface. The results of centuries of leaking coolant pipes, fuel lines and lubricant drains of all the discarded ships throughout the entire planet... all in all, a very inhospitable world.
But for the Rebellion, it was a perfect place to hide.
In what was once an ancient Republic "Indominatable" class heavy cruiser, the new Rebel Base was even now finally coming up to full power. Small jawas helped the Rebel technicians repair much needed electrical lines and power cords. The Jawas were from a transplanted family from the Meeknu clan. Because of one of the Heroes of the Rebellion, the jawa hero Het Krex, the Meeknu clan had been convinced to join the Rebellion, and even now were invaluable to the growing rebel forces due to their knowledge of the machines that dotted the planet, and their technical skill.
In the old fighter bays, Leia Skywalker and Wedge Antilles sat around a table, talking for hours on end. They had been mostly inseperable since the Battle of Yavin all those weeks ago, which to them seemed like centuries ago, talking about the battle, the Rebellion, and all of the things that happened to them to bring them to this moment. Sleeping comfortably on Leia's lap was the little Jawa hero Het Krex, exhausted after hours of repair work, negotiation with the Meeknu clan leaders, and building some 'toys' for the jawa children that populated this inhospitable world, Leia and Wedge kept their voices down so they wouldnt wake the little guy.
Leia grinned as Wedge continued to tell his story. "So then, I swung up on my port wing, turned, and nearly flew into the TIE! If Mynock hadnt started screaming in alarm, I dont think I'd be here today." he said after a moments smile. Leia giggled softly and petted Het's head. "You sound as crazy as I am behind the stick. I used to thread the needle on Tatooine in Beggers Canyon. There's a unique rock formation there that looks like an eye of a needle... imagine taking a T-16 skyhopper directly through that!"
Wedge tried to imagine it, and nearly went into hysterics. "You have got to be kidding!"
"Nope. Been through the Eye almost a hundred times. Its the first time that's the hardest. Biggs..." She stopped at the name, and a look of sadness crossed her features. Wedge reached out and took her hand supportively. She gripped his hand and looked into his eyes. "Does the pain ever go away?"
Wedge shook his head. "No... never. It will lessen with time, but it will never be gone."
She tried to change the subject. "How did you join the Rebellion?"
Wedge sat back, and a different type of pain crossed his features. "I was sixteen at the time. My parents ran a fueling station on the Gus Treta space station in orbit of Corellia. I used to spend half a year going to a farming school, and the other half on the station, learning how to pilot, refuel ships... did you know I wanted to be an architect?"
Leia looked at the X-wing pilot and shook her head. "No... I cant see you as an architect. You need to be an a cockpit."
Wedge nodded. "Yeah... that all changed when..." He closed his eyes, and Leia could see the pain that came to him. "Im sorry... if you dont want to talk about it.."
But Wedge took her hand again. "No.. no. I want... need to tell someone. Especially you. I had just turned seventeen. My mom and dad... they were great.. . I was visiting an old friend on his ship the Pulsar Skate... his name was Booster Terrik, big, bear of a man and his daughter little Myri...when we got the terrible news."
He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "There was a pirate by the name of Loka Hask... him and his crew aboard the ship called the Buzzzer were being pursued by Corellian Security, and before the Security force could arrive, they pulled away from the station while the fuel lines were still attached. The resultant fireball would have killed everyone aboard the station... but my mom and dad, they grabbed fire suppression packs and charged right in, not even thinking about themselves. They fought their way to the center of the fuel section, and detached it from the station... they saved hundreds of lives...but not their own."
Leia looked at Wedge sympathetically, holding his hand tight. Wedge took a drink from his mug, and smiled a small bitter smile. "I borrowed a Z-95 headhunter from Booster, tracked the Buzzzer... and blew it straight to hell."
Leia nodded. "You did what was right."
Wedge shrugged a little. "The insurance money let me buy my own ship, and I started smuggling supplies for the Rebellion.. it was only after there was an open call for pilots that I started piloting X-wings. And they rest, they say, is history."
Leia looked at him intently. "Im sorry for your loss. I never knew my parents. I only had My Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and my Unca Ben... Owen was a little rough, but always there was Aunt Beru.. who was the soft spot that always made Owen listen. And as for Unca Ben.. he's always gonna be my hero. He saved my butt more times than I can remember."
Wedge nodded, and looked up at her. "On to bigger and better subjects. That Squadron you proposed to Bail Organa... the one composed of top notch pilots and survivors of the Battle of Yavin... you pick a name yet?"
Leia shook her head. "Unfortunatly no. I cant come up with a good one. One that signifies all that we are."
Wedge looked at her for a moment. "Why not name it after Biggs?" he suggested.
"Dark Squadron? No, I already looked. Some hotshot pilot named Stryder already has a Dark Squadron." She thought about it for a few moments. "Tell me something. How did you meet Biggs?"
The Rebel pilot's eyes nearly shut as he stared off into space. "I flew with Biggs before Yavin and he was really good. It seemed like he could read the minds of TIE pilots. he knew when to break, when to shoot, and did everything necessary to stay in their ion exhausts and blast them to bits. He was proud of his record and his skill, but not arrogant."
Leia smiled, remembering the more pleasant memories. "He had that smirk, the one he'd give you when he'd done something you couldnt."
Wedge chuckled. "I used to hate that smirk, but I didnt have it directed at me all that often. In ihs first mission we went against an Imperial convoy, right after they'd started assigning Nebulon-B frigates to jump cover for the convoys. It launched two dozen TIEs at our squadron. Biggs lit and vaped five, making him an ace, but another pilot claimed his number three kill. That kill made the other pilot an ace - I think he was on his fifteenth mission at the time. Biggs gave the guy the smirk and let him have it. And thereafter when Biggs got five of something, he'd give this guy the third one. He wasn't nasty about it, but he didnt let the guy forget."
Leia nodded. "Biggs was like that - he'd needle you with your own little problems until you did something about it, or it didnt bother you anymore."
"It was his way of making everyone toe the line and push themselves to be the best they could. That's why he used to get to me and Deak and Tank about going to the Academy. He didnt want to see anyone waste themselves when they could be doing more." Leia petted the still gently snoring little jawa on her lap. She looked up at Wedge and had to ask. "Did the third-kill guy ever redeem himself?"
The curve of Wedge's half smile flattened out. "The guy, Karsk was his name, Amil Karsk, took the third of five scheduled patrols for Biggs. It was an easy job - nursemaiding a blockade runner on a courier mission. It even promised a couple of days of rest and recreation. It was a plum assignment, but Biggs let him have it and was willing to call it even. That mission and that courier took Karsk to Alderaan. He was on the ground when the Death Star showed up."
Leia and Wedge sat in silence after a few moments... each of them thinking long lost thoughts.
Finally, Leia looked up with a small half smile. "Biggs was always a charming rogue..." She smiled again as the thought hit her. "Why not call it Rogue Squadron?"
Wedge lit up with a big smile. "I like the sound of that... Rogue Squadron. It fits perfectly."
He lifted his cup, and Leia did the same. "To Rogue Squadron." They both said in unison.
