By Alan B. Pechman

WedgeAntilles@worldnet.att.net

Chapter Three

Garven Dreis stood in the briefing room in front of the remnants of Red Squadron

minus the four pilots who were on their secret escort mission of Princess Leia

Organa. Not including himself and Biggs, who was still recovering from oxygen

starvation, there were seven pilots seated.

Youthful Wedge Antilles with his chip on his shoulder sat next to Elyhek Rue, a

dour faced pilot with his brown hair trimmed in a bowl cut. Rue was as dry as

they got but he was a great technical pilot. He had no creativity but because he

flew so precise and clean, he had a reputation in the Alliance as the man who

wrote the datacard on flight instruction. Before joining Red Squadron he served

as part of Griffon Squadron in their fight against the Imperial subjugation of

the Ralltiir system.

Garven's long time friend and wingman, Theron Nett, sat next to Cesi "Doc"

Eiriss. Theron was also a bit on the dry side, Garven thought. But he had a

knack of playing mind games against his enemies that resulted in more than his

share of kill markers painted on his fighter.

Cesi "Doc" Eiriss made Garven's heart flutter a bit. She held a doctorate degree

from the University of Mrlsst in political science and was very erudite. She was

quite stunning with sharp red eyes and delicate features. Doc was also exotic to

him, being a member of the Twi'lek race. Most of the Twi'leks with their twin

brain tails were noted as being hardy warriors from the harsh desert world of

Ryloth. Rumor had it that these recently joined members of the Alliance did it

purely for the glory of fighting. Garven didn't know yet if that was true but

Doc had four kills in four missions making her one of the hottest pilots this

side of Coruscant at the moment.

Jek "Piggy" Porkins, the rotund pilot from Bestine IV with the large heart to

match, sat in animated discussion with the two new pilots on loan to his

squadron from the Tierfon Yellow Aces. Both looked rather young. Their names

were Wes Janson and Wenton Chan. All he knew about them was that the flaxen

haired Chan was quite a talent that still needed refinement. He had three kills

in his first month of active duty and that alone was impressive. Janson, with

his baby-faced good looks, had the notoriety of having an expert shot and the

tag of shooting down one of his squadron mates who spooked when the Yellow Aces

encountered a much larger Imperial patrol. At least that was what he heard and

didn't know if it was totally true.

"People if I may have your attention please." Garven waited until he had their

undivided attention. "First, I'd like to update you on Biggs Darklighter's

situation. He's responding well to Bacta treatment and should be back with us

within the hour. I've put him in for a commendation for his conduct in battle.

Considering he was outmatched four to one and took them TIE fighters out while

evading the Carrack cruiser Wedge and I had left behind, took a lot. If it

wasn't for some quick repair by his astromech droid that Carrack would have got

him. As it is his X-wing is a total loss and he won't be joining us on today's

mission until a new one can be scrounged up.

"Next, I'd like to welcome Wes Janson and Wenton Chan to Red Squadron, at least

temporarily. Like Piggy, they are on loan from the Yellow Aces out on Tierfon to

help us maintain some semblance of unit cohesion. Welcome, gentlemen." Polite

applause sounded from the veterans of Red Squadron. Both young pilots beamed at

the attention.

"Last before I begin the briefing, I'd like you all to know that, unfortunately,

Lieutenant Kreg Boosian is confirmed KIA." Garven saw the pilots sober up. Rue

shook his head slowly. He and Boosian went back to their childhood together. He

caught Garven's eye to which the older pilot gave a slight nod. Elyhek Rue

stood.

"Boon and I have been friends since back on Commenor. He was my best friend and

a better pilot than I, to be sure. The fact that he did not get a shot off in

the ambush by no means measures the ferocity in which he would have fought had

he been given a chance. He will be sorely missed." As Rue resumed his seat,

Theron gave his shoulder a squeeze and Wedge said something quietly to Rue. Both

men nodded in agreement to what the young Corellian pilot said.

"That all being said, there will be a memorial service given at 2000 hours

tomorrow in the main hanger. All are strongly encouraged to attend." Garven

switched on the holoprojector behind him.

A starscape filled the back two-thirds of the room, drawing attention to it by

the thousands of asteroids in view. The perspective was recognizable as coming

from an astromech droid's onboard recorder. The tail end of an X-wing fighter

slowly emerged from the bottom of the image as the R2 unit moved its recorder

down. It then panned off to the left about ten degrees and stopped. A sliver of

white was moving into view and as it got closer, the discernible form of an

Imperial Carrack cruiser loomed larger as it bore down on the stricken fighter.

Garven could hear muted whispers, as it became readily apparent that the

datafeed was from Biggs' X-wing. Like a bad horror holodrama, the Carrack

lumbered in for the inevitable doom of the snubfighter. The Imperial warship was

coming around and in moments it's tractor beam projectors would come to bear.

Being an older design, the Carrack had to be facing a target for its tractor

beam projectors to be fully effective.

The Carrack had almost fully come up behind the fighter at very close range when

it suddenly shrunk to nothing and the starlines streaked themselves into the

realm of hyperspace.

There were howls of laughter and cheers and whistles at the fact that they all

realized how close one of their own almost became a victim of the Imperial

torture chambers.

Garven shook his head ruefully. He and Wedge had rocketed out of the asteroid

field well ahead of the Imperial warship and had assumed Biggs was also clear

due to the fact that, although he had TIE fighters in pursuit, he was travelling

faster then them. Had he known he was going to stop and fight he would never

have left the Tatooine native behind. He'd rather have made a stand against the

Carrack than run, but he knew his limits and those of his Corellian wingman.

Wedge still looked miffed at him. He knew much of it was the youth's bravado and

chip on his shoulder, but Garven Dreis hadn't survived 80 sorties during the

Clone Wars and 28 sorties to date during the current Alliance against the Empire

by not knowing his limits. He tried to remember to have a chat with Wedge after

the briefing.

"As you can see, that was the best part of the footage, but not all of it. I

figured we all could use that after the last bit of news. Okay, people, here's

the rub." Garven advanced the holoprojector back past the escape scene to one

depicting a panorama of asteroids. Square in the middle of a rather large one

were the remains of a Corellian Blockade Runner. Her front one-third of hull was

embedded in the asteroid in question. "She's the Anoat Pride and she was on her

way back after a mission to steal some much needed proton torpedo warheads that

were enroute to the Cygnus Corporation. They were probably intended for use on

their new Imperial Assault Gunboats but I think we all can agree that we'll put

them to better use." Garven switched the projector off and moved back to stand

in front of the pilots.

"We're going in and our job is too take out the Carrack." He could see eager

anticipation in their eyes now. It was a thirst for revenge they all shared

since joining the Alliance. "Dutch's Y-wings are going in to run cover for the

Renderra. She's the only ship around that can carry any sort of payload and

obviously she won't be able to carry all of it. So, whatever she can't carry

will have to be destroyed."

"That's gonna make a lot of sand out there when that rock goes boom." Wes

Janson's observation brought some chuckles.

"It sure will, Janson. But we all should be safely away by then. A Demolitions

expert will be co-piloting the shuttle and he's to make sure no one gets what we

can't take."

Wedge raised his hand. Garven acknowledged him and the youth stood. "Excuse me

for asking, sir. But why don't we all just go in after we finish off that

Imperial scrap and pick up what's left in our belly holds. We can probably carry

three or four warheads, sir."

Garven nodded at the lad's question. "Maybe that'll happen. I'll bring it up to

Command but lets worry about that Carrack first. It should be apparent that a

force of Y-wings escorting a shuttle should draw it out but Command wants no

slip-ups, so here's the plan.

"We jump in and assume normal attack formation in three flights. Me and Wedge

will be One flight. Doc, Piggy, and Janson will be Two flight. Janson, you'll be

Red Five until Aimes Norax, our regular pilot, gets back from his mission. Nett,

Rue and Chan will be Three flight. Chan, you are permanently Red Eleven. You're

taking Boon's spot, so welcome to Red Squadron. I'm sure you'll do rather well,

son." Garven saw Janson give Chan a good natured backslap. "Also, Jek Porkins

will now officially be Red Six, finally filling Behlix's spot. I don't know why

it wasn't filled sooner, but I guess we're so short of pilots nowadays it's not

funny. Congrats, Piggy, you're our consolation prize."

Piggy grinned at Garven's good-natured jibe. "Thank you, sir."

Garven gave him a good-natured shrug, drawing some more chuckles. "Now. We jump

in and take out the Carrack in the old classic frontal assault. Our first pass

will be one right after another in Flight order. One flight will drop two torps

each, followed by Two flight doing the same. Three flight will only fire their

torps if we didn't finish her off. If we didn't we'll form up into a Corellian

Pincer formation and finish her off under guns. What is it Wedge?"

"Excuse me, sir, but why don't we do the Pincer first?" Wedge's tone was

challenging and as if to emphasize his point the young pilot folded his arms

across his chest. "I mean, sir, frontal assaults usually get more people killed,

don't they?" Wedge shifted his weight in expectance of Garven's answer.

Garven looked down at his feet before answering quietly. "I'm well aware of

tactics, Antilles. I've been flying fighters since well before you were born,

son." Garven stepped forward. He wanted to wait until they were in private but

he felt now was as good a time as any to make a point. "And," he said louder,

"I've watched my share of good boys like you and Boon, and Behlix and lots more

die because of both good tactics and bad. The point is son, war is hell and

people die. But they hopefully die believing in a good cause or else it wasn't

worth fightin' for in the first place." He stabbed a finger into Wedge's chest.

"I know it sometimes doesn't make sense, Wedge, but we have a job to do and that

job was ordered by High Command. And that job says to take out that Carrack as

quick and expeditiously as possible at whatever the cost! A Corellian pincer is

the last resort because it takes time to set it up right. And time is something

we won't have. If that Carrack slips past us and hits Renderra and Dutch's boys,

they'll be sitting targets!"

Wedge looked like his ego was badly vaped but Garven stepped back and looked at

each pilot in turn. "We go in and go in fast. We make our torpedo runs by

flight. If we do our job right, it won't matter how many shots that Imperial

cruiser gets off because nothing in the universe will save it from ten or

sixteen proton torpedoes. Do I make myself clear?"

Nothing but the roaring sound of silence reached his ears.

"Good. If no one has any questions, you are all dismissed. We leave in two hours

so do what you have to do before then."

The pilots all got up and filed out of the briefing room except for one.

"Garven, you were a little rough on the kid there, you know?"

Garven let out a tired sigh that felt like the weight of his hundred sorties was

landing on his back. "I know, Theron, boy do I know. But the kid had it coming.

Ever since Boon died and Biggs' near miss with death the kid thinks we should

have stayed and fought that beast."

His long time friend nodded. "I know, Boss, but he was just asking a question a

lot of those boys had. They don't have time to sit in a classroom and learn the

art of tactics the way we did, especially a kid like him."

Garven sat heavily in one of the chairs his pilots had been sitting in moments

before. Theron walked over to the holoprojector and switched it on, letting it

run through. He and Garven watched it in silence.

When it was over, Theron said, "That was an incredibly lucky turn of events for

Darklighter."

Garven broke his stare of the far wall where the projection had been running and

focused on his friend. "It could have easily gone different out there. I thought

those boys would view that ending as a wake up call, instead they cheered like

it was some cheap Garik Loran Imperial holothriller."

"Boys will be boys, I guess. We were that way once too, if you recall."

"Yeah well, the Battle of Mandalore was a long time ago my friend, a long time.

Heck these boys are different then we were back then." He stood up and started

for the door.

Theron caught up and put his arm around Garven's shoulder. "How so?"

Garven paused before answering. "Well, the difference is we were boys becoming

gentlemen-warriors. Now they're boys becoming rogues."

Wedge made the long walk back to his quarters in silence by himself. He had

shrugged off any attempts by the other pilots to console him after getting his

tail vaped by Red Leader.

Other base personnel, sensing the glowering thunder behind his visage, made no

attempts to say anything to him either. He entered the main hanger and briefly

stopped to survey it.

The main hanger in the massive, ancient temple was a hive of activity. About two

dozen fighters, one each of X-wing and Y-wing sat as if they were steeds

awaiting their master's return. Dozens and dozens of techs swarmed the fighters

making sure everything was in preparation for the upcoming sortie. Wedge looked

back down and skirted the east wall until he was almost over half way back.

There he found the entrance of a small tunnel that led to the pilot's quarters.

He walked into his quarters and noticed that Piggy and Biggs weren't there. He

didn't really expect Biggs anytime soon but wished he could see the older pilot.

He was only a few years older than Wedge but had been through a lot more than

him in those few years and he always seemed to say the right things.

He figured Piggy was off with his old friends somewhere and that was fine too.

Piggy was even older than Biggs by a few years and didn't really share the same

interests as Wedge so they really never talked much. He liked the older pilot's

outlook on different things when they did converse, and Wedge had been making

more of an attempt to get to know him better.

He flopped onto his bunk and lay on his stomach with his chin on his pillow and

his hands in front of him. He was still a little upset about being dressed down

in front of the others, especially the new pilots, but he still felt like a

frontal assault wasn't the only way to take that cruiser down.

He knew the real reason he had challenged Red Leader was because of what had

happened in the Graza belt when Boon died. Boon had been like an older brother

the same way Biggs was, only a little different. Where Biggs had had a family to

go back home to, Boon didn't. The Empire had killed his family when their

homeworld of Commenor had been ruthlessly subjugated. That's where, in a way, he

and Boon had a shared heritage.

Wedge's parents, Jagged and Zena Antilles, had raised him and his older sister,

Syal, on an orbiting fuelling station in the Gus Treta system near Corellia. He

was very close to his sister. When Wedge was barely a teen she unexpectedly left

to go back to their homeworld of Corellia seeking fame and fortune. That had

hurt Wedge badly and he had always felt resentment. He felt as if he was

abandoned by her and was jealous because she was old enough to go on her own to

look for adventure.

A few years went by and they would occasionally hear from Syal. She then stopped

communicating with them altogether after a time. She never said why and it broke

the Antilles family's hearts.

Wedge had a hard time with it but what happened to him in the last year changed

his life forever.

A scoundrel named Loka Hask was taking on fuel at his parent's station when

Corellian Security, or CorSec, jumped in system to apprehend him on piracy

charges. With wonton disregard for the safety of anyone else, Hask fled the

station without properly disengaging from the fuel lines attached to his ship.

The resultant accident caused a fire on board the station.

A good friend of the Antilles' named Booster Terrik had also been docked and

helped evacuate the station personnel including Wedge, but not his parents.

Jagged and Zena stayed behind because they were going to try and put the flames

out to save the station that was both their livelihood and their home.

It became readily apparent to Wedge, Booster, and Jagged and Zena that the

station could not be saved. It was all Booster could do to keep Wedge from going

back and saving his parents from the inferno that was consuming the fuelling

station.

Wedge received one last radio transmission from his parents before the flames

consumed them. They said that they loved him and to find his sister.

He was devastated and all but alone. His blood burned for vengeance.

Wedge had asked Booster if he still had the hyperspace modified Z-95 Headhunter

in his possession that he had let him fly on many occasions. Booster said it was

still docked underneath his own ship, the Pulsar Skate, and let the lad borrow

it.

Before CorSec could catch Hask, Wedge caught up to the pirate on the edge of the

system. Hask was running at reduced power trying to fix his ship, which was also

damaged in his escape.

Wedge opened fire and ruthlessly destroyed the ship.

With his inheritance money and sizeable insurance settlement, Wedge, at only

sixteen years of age, made a go of it as a free trader. He bought a small ship

and headed for the stars looking for profit and his sister. Booster had offered

to let him in with him as a trader/smuggler but the young man was determined to

make an honest living.

It was a lot harder than he thought and it wasn't long before Wedge was running

guns for the Alliance. The pay was good and the company better.

One fateful day Wedge was making a drop at the Rebel headquarters on Yavin IV

when General Carlist Rieekan asked Wedge to fill in as a fighter pilot in a

Y-wing on a raid. They were short some pilots due to an outbreak of Hesken fever

and apparently Booster had put in a good word.

Wedge went on the raid and upon return, was offered a pilot slot flying for the

Alliance. He quickly accepted and became a member of Red Squadron. That was not

more than a month ago.

"If you're trying to bore holes into that rock with your eyes it looks like

you'll succeed."

Wedge looked back over his shoulder. Cesi "Doc" Eiriss, the female Twi'lek

pilot, stood in the doorway. She wore her flight suit already and her brain

tails were arrayed like they usually were: her "lekku," or brain tails, as they

were called were wrapped around her neck in an intricate fashion that did not

let them dangle as other Twi'lekki females did. She was exotic to the young

Corellian, and attractive.

Sensing his unease, she asked, "Should I leave you alone, Wedge?"

"No, no," he stammered. "Not at all. Won't you come in?"

She walked in and sat on the bunk opposite Wedge. She let a faint smile play on

her lips. "I just wanted to see if you were okay after that vaping the Boss gave

you."

Wedge sat up and threw his pillow down where it belonged. He tried to affect a

cavalier attitude about it. "Sure, I'm okay. I just wanted to get that off my

chest. It was no big deal, really."

She nodded and placed a hand on his knee. He immediately felt the blood rush to

his cheeks. He heard a loud roaring in his ears and had a hard time

concentrating on her words. He did catch the end of them, however.

"-And if there's anything you ever need to get off your chest, I'm a good

listener. So, feel free and come to me if you want. I won't bite, contrary to

opinions floating around the base. Wedge, did you hear anything I said?"

"Huh?" Realizing he was staring he quickly rose and grabbed his flight suit off

the rack. He tried to compose himself, quite embarrassed. He heard her stand up

and half turned to face her. She smiled warmly at him and he thought his heart

skipped a beat.

"Well, I had better go since you need to get ready." She placed a hand gently on

his forearm. "I'm serious, you know. I can tell you sometimes feel out of sorts

here and I was a Xenopsychology minor at university."

"S-sure, thanks, Doc. Um-"

She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, Wedge, I'll

see you on the flight line." As quickly as she entered, the female pilot left,

leaving Wedge standing there holding his flight suit, mouth agape.

Biggs watched the eight X-wings head out of the hanger and blast off for space.

As a show of support he had changed into his flight suit and walked the line

giving words of encouragement to his fellow pilots and friends. He could sense

their spirits lift as he walked by and caught the eye of Garven Dreis, Red

Leader.

Dreis had shouted down to Biggs over the growing whine of engines. "We'll nail

that bugger for you Biggs, don't you worry now!"

Biggs had saluted him and Red Leader gave him a thumbs up as he eased power into

his repulsorlifts. He watched as the veteran of countless campaigns eased his

fighter out of the hanger followed by Wedge Antilles in Red Two. The young pilot

wagged his wings in salute as he roared past Biggs, much to the chagrin of the

techs that scattered for cover.

As he started to turn away he noticed some commotion over by the departing

Y-wings. One of the pilots had his canopy up and was retching over the side of

the fighter. Biggs felt a smile grow from ear to ear and despite his own wobbly

knees from his time spent in oxygen starvation, ran over to help.

As he approached, medical personnel pulled the pilot from the old fighter. A few

techs were climbing up the ladder to shut the Y-wing down as he finally arrived.

He tugged on one of the tech's sleeves.

"Excuse me, may I be of assistance here?" He said, flashing his most

ingratiating smiles.