Corran Horn

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Corran Horn was a Force-sensitive Corellian pilot who served as a Corellian Security Force investigator, a Rogue Squadron ace and New Republic hero, and Jedi Master. Born to Nyche and Valin "Hal" Horn on Corellia, Horn lived his early life unaware that his grandfather was Nejaa Halcyon, a Jedi Master. He followed his father and adoptive grandfather into the Corellian Security Force, where he excelled. However, he came into conflict with his Imperial Intelligence liaison officer, Kirtan Loor, and eventually fled Corellia after the Battle of Endor in order to evade execution. Horn spent a year lying low on Garqi before saving several locals from the Empire and making the decision to join the New Republic.

A highly skilled pilot, Horn joined Rogue Squadron in 6 ABY and became a flight leader. He participated in the captures of Borleias and Coruscant, taking the shields of the latter down and being captured by the Empire in the process. He was incarcerated in the infamous Lusankya prison, where he resisted Ysanne Isard's brainwashing and became the first individual ever to directly escape the prison. On his return, he was hailed as a hero, but on learning that the New Republic would not allow the targeting of Isard for political reasons, he led Rogue Squadron in resigning and waging a guerrilla war against Isard's regime on Thyferra. During the course of that campaign, the Bacta War, Horn was married to Mirax Terrik, the love of his life and the daughter of his father's old rival, Booster Terrik. Horn rejoined the New Republic and continued his career in Rogue Squadron, helping defeat Zsinj and Thrawn and free the Lusankya prisoners.

When his wife was kidnapped in 11 ABY, Horn realized he had to tap his Jedi talents to save her, having learned of his family's secret past from Luke Skywalker's investigations several years earlier. He trained at Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum before rescuing Mirax, defeating the Invid pirate gang in the process. Horn balanced his careers as a pilot and Jedi until 19 ABY, when he resigned from the squadron with the rank of colonel after peace was achieved with the Imperial Remnant. Horn served as a Jedi instructor, training his two children, Valin and Jysella, before the Yuuzhan Vong War broke out. Horn served a vital role in the war, defeating Shedao Shai, the killer of Horn's close friend Elegos A'Kla, in a duel to save Ithor; the failure of the Yuuzhan Vong to live up to the terms of the duel shamed Horn and caused him to briefly take a leave of absence from the Jedi. He returned to full service after the fall of Coruscant, and was crucial to the resolution of the war, helping unlock the mystery of Zonama Sekot.

After the war, Horn was elevated to the rank of Jedi Master and became one of the leading Jedi on the Masters' Council. He argued for strong relations with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, and during the Dark Nest Crisis in 36 ABY, he was temporarily put in charge of the Jedi Order. When events on Corellia erupted into a war in 40 ABY, Horn helped steer the Jedi through the crisis as a member of the Jedi Council, even when the Jedi were declared enemies of the state, and saw the Jedi to victory over Darth Caedus.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Corellian Security 1.1.1 Formative years 1.1.2 Capturing Zekka Thyne 1.1.3 Living with loss 1.1.4 Drifting into danger 1.2 Transitional period 1.2.1 On the run 1.2.2 Becoming a Rogue 1.3 Rogue rookie 1.3.1 Activation 1.3.2 The Battles of Borleias 1.3.3 Readying to strike 1.4 New Republic hero 1.4.1 Conquering Coruscant 1.4.2 Captivity 1.4.3 The Bacta War 1.4.4 Defeating Isard 1.5 Veteran campaigns 1.5.1 Battling Zsinj 1.5.2 The Thrawn campaign 1.5.3 The return of Isard 1.5.4 Losing Mirax 1.6 Trials of a Jedi 1.6.1 Becoming a Jedi 1.6.2 Murder at the Jedi Praxeum 1.6.3 Facing Exar Kun 1.6.4 Charting a new course 1.6.5 Undercover 1.6.6 Reign of terror 1.6.7 Rescue 1.7 Relative peace 1.7.1 Jedi, pilot, father 1.7.2 The Caamas Document Crisis 1.7.3 Peacetime 1.8 The Yuuzhan Vong War 1.8.1 Encounter on Bimmiel 1.8.2 Discovery on Garqi 1.8.3 Showdown at Ithor 1.8.4 Scapegoat 1.8.5 Supply run gone wrong 1.8.6 Return to the Jedi 1.8.7 Rogue Leader 1.8.8 Discovering Zonama Sekot 1.8.9 Victory 1.9 Jedi Master 1.9.1 Killik conflict 1.9.2 Corellian crisis 1.9.3 War with the Confederation 1.9.4 Jedi resistance 2 Personality and traits 3 Powers and abilities 4 Relationships 4.1 Chertyl Ruluwoor 4.2 Iella Wessiri 4.3 Siolle Tinta 4.4 Erisi Dlarit 4.5 Mirax Terrik Horn 4.6 Leonia Tavira 5 Behind the scenes 6 Appearances 7 Sources 8 Notes and references 9 See also 10 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Corellian Security

[edit] Formative years

Corran Horn was born in 18 BBY, the son of Valin Horn, known widely as Hal, and Nyche Horn.^[2][11] Valin Horn was actually the biological son of Nejaa Halcyon, a Jedi Master, but when Halcyon was killed, Valin was adopted by Rostek Horn, a Corellian Security Force officer who was Halcyon's best friend. Rostek married Halcyon's wife Scerra as well and, as the Great Jedi Purge began, hid all evidence of Valin Horn, who now went by Hal, as he was a Force-sensitive. Corran Horn himself was raised in Coronet City, unaware of any of this history or his own Force-sensitivity.^[12][13]

As a child, Horn observed his father in some minor meditative exercises and attempted to imitate him. The elder Horn taught him these techniques, telling Horn they were part of a secret game and he must not reveal them to anyone; they were, in fact, Jedi exercises.^[8] As he grew, his father and grandfather encouraged him to always follow his hunches and to heed any internal sense of discomfort with a situation, knowing that they were manifestations of his Force abilities.^[1][14]

Horn entered the Corellian Security Force Academy immediately upon graduating secondary school, where he excelled, setting new records—many of them by beating his father's. He was in the Academy when he heard of the destruction of the Death Star and the warrant placed on Han Solo for his part in it. Horn was left feeling that the smuggler Solo was a blot on Corellia's honor, causing the world to be overly associated with smuggling and lawlessness.^[1]

Around 1 ABY, Horn was present in the Corellian city of Doaba Guerfel investigating the extremely powerful Black Sun crime syndicate as an undercover officer. During that investigation, he became aware that Chandra Conrad was willing to come forward as a witness. However, at that same time, he had to attend a vital Black Sun meeting. Horn had to recruit a trustworthy individual to escort Conrad to a later meeting with him, at which point he was able to deal with her safely. Upon finding that the individual had performed well and unable to move against Black Sun due to his undercover position, Horn engaged his new operative to bring in Obrio Caldori, a mid-level Black Sun administrator who was willing to turn state's evidence. Caldori quickly turned over major information when he saw how much Horn already knew, and with his evidence, Horn had a major Black Sun figure, Voydd Blancken, arrested.^[15]

Around 2 ABY, Horn graduated from the CorSec Academy and became a full officer of the Corellian Security Force. He frequently worked alongside his father, developing his skills as a bright young prospect, and participated in many undercover missions.^[3][16] At some point, he was part of a security detail for Imperial actress Wynssa Starflare during a visit to Corellia.^[8] The Imperial Intelligence liaison with whom Horn's division of Corellian Security had to coordinate was Kirtan Loor, and he and Horn mutually despised each other; Horn regarded Loor as arrogant, incompetent, and intrusive.^[5][1] He always tried to avoid having to actually deal with Loor in person.^[12] Loor only aggravated Horn's existing dislike of Imperial interference in Corellian affairs; he wanted the Empire's influence and presence on Corellia to be minimal. To that end, he believed in keeping a minimal Rebel presence on Corellia so that the Empire would not need to intervene strongly. He disliked the Rebellion, regarding them as a band of criminals who cloaked their law-breaking in talk of revolution.^[5]

Later in 2 ABY, Horn's mother was badly injured in a landspeeder accident with a drunken driver, and Horn and his father rushed to the hospital to be with her.^[5][3] She spoke with them about their future before passing away, leaving Horn and his father grieving together.^[13]

[edit] Capturing Zekka Thyne

In 2 ABY, Horn was partnered with his father. While surveilling Sajsh's booth on Treasure Ship Row—an outlet for the business of Corellia's top Black Sun lieutenant, Zekka Thyne—he noticed a man speak with Sajsh and ask for Borbor Crisk—a rival of Zekka Thyne. Finding this suspicious, he kept an eye on the man, who joined up with another young man, a woman, and a Tunroth. He returned to report to his father, also present in the marketplace, and while doing so noticed the group meet up with a bounty hunter Hal recognized as Jodo Kast. Realizing that the strangers would likely be investigated by Thyne and brought before him in his private stronghold, Horn suggested that he and his father should attach themselves to the group in hopes of being brought along. Hal thought it extremely dangerous, but agreed to at least see what the group was doing.^[5]

They followed the strangers and, when they became involved in trying to stop a confrontation between the Brommstaad Mercenaries and a shop owner and his daughter, both Horns drew their blasters to keep the Brommstaad leader from drawing on Kast. The mercenaries admitted that they were outmatched and backed off, leaving the suspicious group thanking the Horns. They discussed the situation of the group—Haber Trell, Maranne Darmic, Riij Winward, Rathe Palror, and Kast. The group, a freighter crew, stated that they simply had to deliver a cargo to Crisk. The Horns told them that their cargo, the contents of which they did not know, was almost certainly illegal. They introduced themselves as a pair of small-time criminals looking for a position in Crisk's organization. Horn admitted to having overheard their conversation with Sajsh and asked if they could come along to the meeting that night with the man Sajsh had said was Crisk's contact; the Horns knew it would actually be an ambush by Thyne's men. Kast, the leader of the group, said that only Hal could come along. He assigned Horn, Winward, and Darmic to offload the cargo and prepare it for delivery.^[5]

Horn headed to the freighter, the Hopskip, with the others and began subtly probing them for information about themselves. While unloading the boxes, he immediately recognized them as sleight boxes—a smuggling trick box which used small repulsors to neutralize its weight, making its contents difficult to determine. Neither Darmic nor Winward knew the boxes were sleight boxes, or even what sleight boxes were. While unloading the boxes and discussing the morality of the Rebellion with Winward, whom he suspected of harboring Rebel sympathies, Horn was surprised to see Kast return. Kast revealed that he, serving as a rearguard for Hal Horn, Palror, and Trell, had seen them captured by Thyne's thugs and done nothing; he said he had been too badly outnumbered. Kast told them to deliver the cargo to Crisk, having set up a new meeting, while he would free the others from Thyne. Horn angrily insisted on coming along to free his father—though he denied a family connection to Kast and the others. While Kast left, Horn insisted that Darmic and Winward open some of the poorly-sealed boxes to see just what they were delivering. They found glitterstim and Durindfire gems in two different boxes. Horn came up with a plan to take only those two boxes to Crisk, hiding the rest in a storage facility and only giving their location once the others were rescued from Thyne's fortress. If he and Kast failed, they were to leverage Crisk into attempting a rescue. If Crisk refused, they could use their rich cargo to ransom the captives from Thyne.^[5]

During the landspeeder ride to Thyne's stronghold, Horn and Kast happened to discuss art, with Horn finding Kast's keen interest in and knowledge of art unusual, and having to make excuses for his assumed criminal identity to be familiar with the works of Venthan Chassu. When they arrived, they were ushered into Thyne's office, where Hal, Trell, and Palror were all restrained and had clearly been beaten. He was shocked when Kast drew a blaster on him, claiming that Trell and Palror were assassins working for Crisk. They were imprisoned in Thyne's wine cellar, and Kast taunted Horn before he left. Hal, imprisoned in the same cell, realized that Kast had left them a molecular stiletto to cut their way out and had warned them, in his taunting, that most of Thyne's forces were being sent after Crisk and the others who were arranging a deal with him, leaving the fortress vulnerable.^[5]

The pair ambushed the guard outside the room and allowed Trell and Palror to cut themselves free, telling them to take an airspeeder and leave. They were going after Thyne. They stormed Thyne's office, where Horn stunned one enforcer, and Kast, inside the office, killed the other. Thyne, however, fled down his own private escape route. Kast said that he had more business to handle inside the fortress and left Thyne to the Horns. They pursued him down his escape tunnel. When it widened into a dark cave, the Horns advanced carefully. In the darkness, however, Thyne was able to get the drop on Horn—disarming him and using him as a hostage, blaster pistol to his head—and demanded Hal show himself. Hal did show himself, with a blaster carbine aimed at Thyne. He identified himself as a Corellian Security Force inspector and demanded that Thyne surrender. Thyne instead demanded that Hal drop his weapon. He pretended to remove his finger from the trigger, but actually kept it on, using his Force abilities to fool Thyne. When Thyne relaxed, he struck him with a stun bolt. Hal carried Thyne out while the younger Horn led the way out of the tunnel. There, they were surrounded by the Imperial stormtroopers raiding Thyne's fortress. They identified themselves, and Colonel Maximilian Veers allowed them to pass with Thyne. What they never learned was that "Kast" had in fact been Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, helping Darth Vader take down Thyne, and in so doing, strike at the Dark Lord's rival, Black Sun leader Prince Xizor.^[5]

[edit] Living with loss

Around a year after Thyne's capture, in 3 ABY, Horn transferred into the Smuggling Interdiction Division of CorSec.^[3] There he was partnered with Iella Wessiri, and he worked with an astromech droid he nicknamed Whistler.^[1][12] Horn's supervisor was Gil Bastra, a former partner of his father's.^[1] Horn was a relentless investigator, using brute force to push through investigations, while Wessiri preferred subtlety, making them a powerful team.^[12] Horn sometimes had to fly escort duty, which he hated.^[1] He was, however, an excellent pilot, his skills honed by space missions in his CorSec T-65 X-wing starfighter.^[14] Wessiri's husband, Diric Wessiri, often took an interest in their cases. In one, he became convinced that a suspect was innocent and badgered Horn and Iella to look for evidence of her innocence. They eventually found that Diric was in fact right, and arrested those who were truly responsible.^[12]

Around six months after joining the Smuggling Interdiction Division, Horn and his father went on a mission in which they anticipated trouble. With Horn watching from a remote as Hal met with two other men, he found little to worry him and so relaxed. However, the bounty hunter Bossk entered the room and sprayed fire across the table at which Hal Horn was sitting, killing him and his companions. Horn rushed out, but could only hold his father's body in his arms.^[1][14] Horn was impressed by his father's wake and the outpouring of respect for Valin Horn at it, so impressed that he hoped his life could be celebrated the same way.^[1] However, without his father, he felt adrift emotionally. He made only one new friend during the rest of his time in CorSec, and she left him six months later.^[14]

Horn tracked Bossk down and arrested him, but Loor turned him loose without so much as an arraignment, citing the Trandoshan lack of manual dexterity as making Hal Horn collateral damage in a valid Imperial warrant.^[1] Horn was furious, absolutely loathing Loor from then onwards and suspecting that Loor had a hand in the death itself.^[14][3] He longed to kill the man, but was talked down by Bastra, who became his primary mentor after his father's death.^[1][12] Morose and constantly reliving the past, Horn's mind was only brought back to the moment when Wessiri and Bastra got him into a cantina brawl, helping him focus himself on living in the present.^[8] Horn kept his father's lucky medallion and began wearing it as his own.^[17] It was in fact a commemorative medallion marking Halcyon's ascent to the rank of Jedi Master, a secret family heirloom the full meaning of which Horn did not understand, although he valued it highly.^[12]

When the Annual CorSec Awards Ball was gearing up in early 4 ABY, around six months after Hal Horn's death, the traditional pool system was changed. Usually, each male CorSec officer bought into a pool, the winner of which was originally given the right to take the Director's daughter to the ball. Over the years, it became a tradition in which a female officer offered herself as the prize, and the proceeds from the lottery system went to the Survivors and Orphans Fund. That year, however, the prize was, unknown to her, Chertyl Ruluwoor. A female Selonian, Ruluwoor was part of a transfer program with CorSec. No one wanted to have to take her to the ball, but Horn, miserable from his father's death, decided that there was no point in making anyone else suffer. He persuaded the significant others of all the other officers in the pool that the pool was rigged to cause that officer's ticket to win the pool. He let them sell him their tickets, eventually gaining every single ticket in the pool. He gave all the proceeds to the Survivors and Orphans Fund and went all-out to make Ruluwoor's night special, flying across the planet to pick up the proper flowers. Ruluwoor made a stunning impression at the ball, and later she and Horn, who had hit it off, made love. While Horn enjoyed the experience immensely, he proved allergic to her fur and her skin was irritated by his sweat, resulting in an uncomfortable experience for both afterward. Knowing their relationship would not work out, they parted amicably.^[14]

During one raid on a glitterstim dealer's warehouse, Horn was nearly shot in the resulting battle. Wessiri shot the man who had Horn in his sights, saving his life. Horn immediately felt grateful to Wessiri and began to think he was in love with her. In the emotional aftermath of the fighting, Wessiri reciprocated his feelings, but they were separated and debriefed before they could act on them. Horn did not see her until two days later, by which time the moment had passed and he realized their feelings were merely the result of the emotional aftereffects of battle.^[1]

At some point during his partnership with Wessiri, Horn was assigned to protect heiress Siolle Tinta. They got along very well due to their similar views on art, and during the three days they spent together in a safe house, Horn came to believe he was in love with her. In short order, however, Wessiri caught the potential kidnapper after Tinta and she no longer needed protection. Horn quickly realized that their time together had merely been an infatuation that would not have worked long-term.^[8]

[edit] Drifting into danger

Around ten months after the Battle of Endor, Horn and Wessiri were assigned to investigate the kidnapping of Fyric Fel, the two-year-old nephew of Imperial fighter ace Colonel Baron Soontir Fel. They went to the Fel estate, where Wessiri interviewed Fyric's parents, Todr and Ajai Fel. They gave up little information and were not particularly cooperative. Horn, after examining the crime scene, was convinced that the kidnappers were extremely skilled professionals. When three strangers pulled up to the estate and identified themselves as friends of the family coming for a visit, Horn was immediately suspicious of them. They were actually Wes Janson, Derek Klivian, and Isplourrdacartha Estillo of Rogue Squadron, sent to offer the Fels asylum in the New Republic, to which Soontir Fel had defected. While Horn asked Wessiri about the three, Loor arrived and took control of the investigation. After deflecting Loor's interest, Horn let the three Rogues go but asked them, if they were truly family friends, to convince the Fels to cooperate.^[18]

Horn and Wessiri were able to find a source within the kidnapping gang who informed them that the kidnappers would be at an alley, where they waited. The Rogues arrived there for a meeting with the kidnappers, having been enlisted by Ajai Fel to aid them, but were attacked. Horn and Wessiri drew their blasters and entered the fight, but the ringleader of the plot, Ilir Post, fled. Estillo argued that Post was likely working for the Empire, as Loor had seemed keen to pull the pair of investigators off the case. Horn found that unlikely until Estillo suggested that Soontir Fel had defected, leaving Horn strongly suspicious that the group was from the New Republic. Though not happy about working with these agents, Horn was committed to rescuing Fyric and decided that, with the Empire against them, he would have to take what allies he could get.^[18]

When they received word from their informant as to where Post was hiding, they raided his estate. They had to shoot their way across an open, guarded lawn, but before they entered the manor, Post appeared on a balcony holding Fyric and a blaster. He ordered them to withdraw, or else he would kill the child. Horn and the others were caught in a bind with no shot at Post, but knowing that if they withdrew, Post would likely open fire on them. Their dilemma was solved when a shot caught Post in the head, killing him. Fyric dropped several stories from the balcony, saved by Estillo in a diving catch. Horn was confused as to the source of the shot, but as they left, they found Todr Fel in the woods with a blaster rifle. He had shot Post knowing that Fyric would be killed if Post lived, and that there was a chance Fyric might live if Post were shot. Horn allowed the Rogue pilots to leave with the Fels and put off filing his reports on the incident as long as possible so that the Imperials would not be tipped off. When the Rogues departed the planet, their transport came under attack by TYE-wing uglies. Horn, having shadowed the ship in his X-wing, destroyed three of the fighters, allowing the ship to escape.^[18]

Horn's division wished to focus on spice smugglers and other serious criminals, but around the beginning of 5 ABY, Loor ordered them to pursue Rebel shipping.^[1][3] When they preferred to focus on what they felt were criminals actually hurting Corellia, Loor threatened to bring them up on charges of treason, his ability to do so amplified by the Imperials fleeing to Corellia in the aftermath of the defeat at Endor. Bastra, feeling they were in danger, worked up false identities for himself, Horn, and the Wessiris. In order to be clear of suspicion, Horn and Bastra made up files on a group of dangerous smugglers, which Bastra then accused Horn of murdering. They staged an argument and pretended that their friendship had been destroyed. With Loor convinced they hated each other, they were freer to meet outside the office and set up their escape routes. Loor threatened to bring murder charges against him for the smugglers if Horn ever crossed him.^[1]

With Horn knowing he was about to escape, he began openly defying Loor more often. Eventually, Loor sent Horn to investigate smuggler activity that was supposedly occurring in the system. Horn took his CorSec X-wing, with Whistler in the astromech socket, to investigate but found two flights of TIE fighters waiting for him, an ambush set up by Loor. He shot down a few of the TIEs and jumped into hyperspace.^[1]

[edit] Transitional period

[edit] On the run

Whistler had the complete files for the cover identities set up by Bastra, and Horn moved through several of them. Whistler encouraged him to join the fledgling New Republic, but Horn insisted that he simply wanted to lay low. During his time on the run, he always managed to fly once a week. He spent the majority of his time as "Eamon Yzalli" on Garqi—over a year—as the confidential aide to a succession of governors on the Imperial world.^[1][19] As the last governor he worked under was frequently absent, he worked most closely with the military prefect, Mosh Barris. He hid his X-wing with Whistler in an abandoned building but visited the droid and took the fighter for night flights frequently, easily evading the local patrols. When his centrifugal debris extractor was damaged by a rdava-bird striking the intake, Captain Lai Nootka of the freighter Star's Delight brought Horn parts as well as a shipment of proton torpedoes for the fighter. However, the freighter's cargo was found by the Imperial authorities, creating fears of a Rebel presence on Garqi. Minor slicing attacks displaying New Republic crests inflamed those fears, though Horn knew they were only the work of dissatisfied students at Garqi Agricultural University. One of them, Dynba Tesc, had been arrested and was interrogated by Barris. Horn was convinced that when Barris realized she knew nothing, he would let her go, but Barris seemed convinced that Tesc was a genuine Rebel. Feeling guilty over the imprisonment of Nootka and his crew, Horn wanted to free them, but felt unable to without his X-wing in working order.^[19]

As Yzalli, Horn spoke with Barris about Tesc's case, suggesting she might know no more than the little she had said. Barris was convinced that she was holding out, and that he could revive his dismal career by rooting out Garqi's Rebel cell. Barris mentioned that Kirtan Loor had been dispatched to Garqi. Already convinced by the Imperial attention to the world that it was time for him to move on, this development only alarmed him more; Horn knew that even despite the fact that he had grown a beard and dyed his hair blond, Loor would recognize him. Further driving him to action was Barris's intent to publicly execute Tesc as an example and in so doing drive her Rebel confederates to reveal themselves as they dispersed. Horn immediately hit upon a solution to his problem, and proposed to Barris that he schedule Tesc's execution for one week later. Horn would tell Tesc that he would arrange her escape, playing on his false identity's Alderaanian origins to convince her that he had decided to oppose the Empire. Gathering her, her Rebel friends, and the crew of the Star's Delight together, they would attempt to escape on the restocked freighter, gathering all the Rebels together where Garqi's TIE complement could destroy them as they fled, ensuring a kill by sabotaging the ship's shields ahead of time. Horn would deliver the parts to the freighter, but in order to keep him from actually being on it, Barris would enter a notation of his execution in the Imperial system. The Rebel slicers, assuming that Yzalli had been found out, would alert their confederates to flee at once. As their slicers could access the Imperial system, neither Horn nor Barris could enter any information on the plan into the computer system. Delighted, Barriss approved the plan. In fact, Horn would use the parts to repair his fighter and use the supposed Rebels' escape to cover his own, allowing him to escape and free those he had brought into danger.^[19]

Horn spoke with Tesc and told her of the escape plan, though he did not reveal his true identity or plans. He removed her from prison and had her pass herself off as "Kirtana Loor" in order to take the Delight's crew out of custody and to the Delight. Using only the TIE pilots he planned to shoot down as workers, he had the ship's cargo restored to it, minus the debris extractor he needed. He also had a duplex circuit in the shield system replaced with a triplex one—sabotage which could be repaired by giving the freighter's crew the proper codes. Everything was in place for an escape attempt the next day, around the time Loor would be arriving.^[19]

The gathering of the crew and Tesc's cell of slicers went smoothly, and the Star's Delight began its escape. Horn's final act as Eamon Yzalli was to send a report to Loor stating that Barris had arranged the escape as part of a plot to turn Garqi over to the New Republic. With Yzalli's vague death report filed by Barris, Loor had Barris arrested. Horn wanted to send a message to the Delight with the shield codes, but Barris had deactivated his message account when he declared him dead. Now forced to intervene actively, he made his way to his freshly-repaired X-wing. There, he was shocked to have Whistler reveal to him that the droid, through HoloNet contact, had been the mysterious leader of Tesc's slicing ring, known as "Xeno" to the students. Horn launched, caught up to the freighter, and gave Nootka the shield code. He then quickly shot down two of the TIEs with proton torpedoes but had to dogfight with the last two. After shooting one down, he still had the best of the pilots on his tail. A trick maneuver using his repulsorlifts to bounce off the Star's Delight was able to put him in position to destroy the final TIE fighter and escape.^[19]

Horn followed Nootka to a New Republic base, where the New Republic's Captain Dromath was extremely impressed upon hearing of Horn's performance over Garqi. He urged Horn to join the New Republic, but Horn, wary of becoming involved in the galactic struggle, maintained that he just wanted to be left alone. Dromath and Tesc told him that the New Republic needed him, and that he was better off fighting the Empire with others than on his own. When Dromath told him that the elite Rogue Squadron was being re-formed and was seeking pilots, Horn was intrigued. He realized that he missed having companionship, and that he would never be able to truly escape the Empire without the New Republic. He decided to join the cause.^[19]

[edit] Becoming a Rogue

In 6 ABY, Horn tried out for a position in the elite Rogue Squadron, which was being re-formed under the famous Commander Wedge Antilles. He trained for several months at Folor, where his roommate was Ooryl Qrygg, a Gand who always spoke in the third person. Used to being on his own, he was relatively distant from the rest of the trainees. Horn strongly disliked Bror Jace, a pilot generally considered his rival for the top position among the trainees, considering him arrogant and egotistical.^[1]

Near the end of the training regimen, he flew his final iteration of the Redemption scenario, a classic piloting simulation in which he and three other pilot-candidates were required to protect the frigate Redemption while it was evacuated to the vulnerable corvette Korolev. The Imperial frigate Warspite meanwhile harassed them, deploying fighters and bombers. In an earlier simulation, Horn had flown one of the bombers, successfully destroying the Korolev. Horn, flying with Qrygg, Nawara Ven, and Rhysati Ynr, was now in command of the flight, and decided that he would operate by convention wisdom, ranging ahead to engage the fighters himself while the other three provided a backstop that prevented Korolev from deploying fighters even closer. Horn was able to shoot down the first three TIE bombers, but as he engaged the last three, he found that one of the TIE fighters from the first wave was killing his companions. He had to use the desperation tactic of bouncing the last TIE bomber, which he suspected was piloted by Jace, off his shields, dealing it crippling damage, before he was able to engage the final TIE fighter. He engaged the fighter, launching a proton torpedo, which it dodged. As the TIE settled in behind Horn, he became convinced that the pilot had to be the legendary Antilles. He was able to break free of the pursuit and came around for a head-to-head pass. The other pilot's fire was able to distract his targeting sensors, keeping him from getting a lock, and Horn was rendered dead in space. He won the scenario, however, as his earlier proton torpedo finally caught up with the TIE and destroyed it. After the mission, he was approached by the other pilot, who was not Antilles at all. He congratulated Horn and departed, leaving Horn impressed by his skill but wondering as to his identity. He was in fact Captain Tycho Celchu, a former Rogue whom Antilles had brought in specifically to defeat Horn, as there was no other trainee significantly above Horn's flying level. Horn's run of the Redemption scenario turned out to be the highest of all the candidates'.^[1]

After the simulation, Horn went to perform maintenance on his X-wing, where he was approached by pilot-candidate Lujayne Forge. She confronted him over his separation from the rest of the candidates, accusing him of holding the fact that she was from Kessel against her. He explained that he was merely used to isolation and found it difficult to trust others after his time on Garqi, and she invited him to drinks with the other cadets at the DownTime cantina, which he accepted. She also aided him with his maintenance, leaving him owing her a favor.^[1]

In short order, Horn received a message telling him to report to the squadron briefing room. He had been selected for the squadron. At the briefing, he learned that the mystery pilot was Celchu, who would be the unit's executive officer. During the introduction, it was mentioned that two of the pilots had death marks against them. Horn, Qrygg, Ynr, and Ven speculated about who might have them, correctly identifying Riv Shiel as a likely candidate for the Empire's enmity. Horn was amused to learn from "Emtrey", the unit's military protocol droid and quartermaster, that he was the second recipient, Loor having followed through on his threat to use the smuggler incident against him. During Emtrey's search of records to confirm his story, however, the droid came across an Imperial report that Bastra had died. Horn was distraught at the loss of his mentor, but believed it might be a false report by Loor aimed at goading him.^[1]

Horn was given the callsign Rogue Nine, and Qrygg served as his wingman. The next day, he and the rest of the Rogues were sent in to fly through a shooting range in the so-called Pig Trough, a Folor canyon. Horn flew it well, hoping to set a high score, but upon returning to the base and waiting as others completed the exercise and returned, he found that all the others had performed better than he had. Horn was puzzled, knowing the others should not be beating him so consistently. Eventually, he realized that Antilles had ordered Whistler to feed his telemetry back to the rest of the squadron, giving them information about the run and allowing them to score better. Horn was furious, feeling that he had been humiliated.^[1]

When Antilles and Celchu entered the hangar, Horn angrily confronted his commanding officer. Antilles lectured him in return, telling him that he had learned a lesson about teamwork. His own score in the training exercise was immaterial; what was important was the cohesion of the squadron. He was a more talented pilot, but was no more important than anyone else. Chagrined, Horn accepted the truth of Antilles's argument. Afterward, he was approached by Celchu, who told him that his loner tendencies were keeping him apart from the squadron, and advised him to rectify them. Horn was surprised, however, when a guard escorted Celchu away after the conversation, leaving him wondering if the man was some sort of security risk. With the conversation over, he was approached by Rogue Erisi Dlarit, who told him the rest of the pilots were in DownTime and wanted to apologize. Horn attended, and told them not to feel bad for him; that it had been an important lesson for him to learn.^[1]

The Rogues continued training, including an attack on General Horton Salm's training wing of Y-wings, in which the Rogues had an eight-to-one kill ratio. After one month of training as a squadron, the Rogues were assigned an astronavigation exercise. Horn was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and given command of the squadron's Three Flight, including Qrygg, Forge, and Andoorni Hui, and the Rogues were required to pack their gear, all of which made Horn think that their trip was more than an exercise. Their trip would have three legs, with One Flight plotting the first, Two Flight plotting the second, and Three Flight plotting the third. Each had various beginning and ending points with which to work, requiring them to work up multiple courses; however, Horn was able to eliminate most of them by the course of the first and second jumps, leaving him only two routes to refine. He decided to trim some time off the jump to the Morobe system by plotting a course nearer to the center of the Chorax system.^[1]

This turned out to be the course they used, but it resulted in the squadron's being pulled out of hyperspace in the Chorax system due to the presence of an Interdictor cruiser, which was in the process of capturing a smuggling ship. Horn was nervous at the prospect of combat but engaged the TIE interceptors escorting the cruiser. He destroyed one fighter before he was struck by an ion cannon blast from the Black Asp, disabling his fighter. He was able to bring up emergency power and stop the spin he had been thrown into but was left floating and vulnerable. When the other Rogues drove off the Black Asp, it fled past Horn, with several interceptors in its wake. Tycho Celchu, flying the squadron's shuttle Forbidden, was able to get a missile lock on two of the interceptors, feeding Horn the targeting data and allowing him to shoot both down with proton torpedoes. The smuggler craft, which was affiliated with the New Republic, clamped Horn's X-wing and carried him on to Talasea in the Morobe system, Rogue Squadron's new base; the squadron had been put on active duty.^[1]

Upon reaching Talasea, Horn debarked and found that the ship which had ferried him was the Pulsar Skate, captained by Mirax Terrik, the daughter of his father's old nemesis Booster Terrik, whom Hal Horn had sent to Kessel. Antilles, an old friend of Terrik's, had to defuse the situation. Walking away with Antilles, Horn asked why Celchu was flying an unarmed shuttle, had never had full-power weapons on his training Z-95 Headhunter, and had appeared to be under guard on Folor. Antilles told him that he had complete faith in Celchu, and that the matter was Celchu's business. Horn would have to ask Celchu if he wanted an explanation. However, since airing the matter could damage squadron morale, Antilles asked Horn to keep everything private, to which he agreed.^[1]

[edit] Rogue rookie

[edit] Activation

Horn's fighter took two weeks to repair, at the end of which he was once more flying fighter missions escorting New Republic ships moving along the edge of the Core. Eventually, they were assigned to cover the repair and extraction of the frigate Battle of Yavin in the Hensara system. The Pulsar Skate and the CR90 corvette Eridain were also present for the mission. Horn was left flying air patrol over Hensara III while the other two flights covered the Battle of Yavin on the ground, where Imperial walkers were searching for it. However, duty Horn expected to be monotonous soon turned anything but when the Strike-class cruiser Havoc arrived and began deploying TIEs. Horn led Three Flight against thirty TIEs while the others rushed back up to aid him. He destroyed six fighters in the battle, becoming an ace, and Havoc was forced to withdraw.^[1]

The pilots returned to Talasea, where they celebrated their victory. Jace, however, began hazing sixteen-year-old Gavin Darklighter, who had acquired no kills in the engagement. The squadron decided that a joking punishment was in order, and Ven presented the case to Antilles, Celchu, and Captain Afyon of the Eridain for a judgment. Celchu suggested that Darklighter be apprenticed to the best pilot, and the others agreed. It was assumed that Horn, by virtue of having one more kill than Jace at the Battle of Hensara and four more kills overall. Jace, however, argued that he was the best pilot by virtue of shooting down more of the targets he had faced. While Antilles dismissed an argument of percentages as irrelevant, Horn decided to show confidence in Darklighter. He offered to concede the title of best pilot to Jace and average his own kills with Darklighter's, leaving all three tied at five kills overall. Thereafter, he and Jace would compete head-to-head or with Darklighter averaged with Horn, whichever Jace preferred. Jace agreed to continue averaging Darklighter's kills—favorable terms for him—but had both himself and Horn share the title of best pilot. However, in a trick maneuver by Horn, the averaging eliminated Darklighter's position as worst pilot, forcing Ven to serve as Horn's and Jace's errand boy.^[1]

One night, Horn was awaken from sleep by a distinct sense of unease. He was sleeping in an outlying, poorly-maintained hut, the result of a windstorm knocking a kaha tree into his and Qrygg's room at the main building. Horn crouched at the doorway, and when a stormtrooper entered, the unarmed Horn tackled him and used the Imperial's sidearm to kill him. He searched the man and found that the Imperials had been setting explosives in the base. With Qrygg returned from a walk in which he had killed another stormtrooper, Horn took the stormtrooper's weapons and set out for the main building with Qrygg. On their way, Qrygg killed another sentry and Horn took that man's breastplate. The pair slipped into the building, where they awoke and armed Darklighter and Shiel. Stormtroopers entered the hall, and Horn emerged from the other pilots' room firing. Darklighter emerged too soon, however, and took a shot. Horn left him to be tended to by the other pilots, who were awakened by the commotion, while he left to secure the hangar. He scattered a knot of troopers with a grenade, then began firing at the numerous troopers in the hangar while Qrygg and Shiel provided support from outside. His luck did not last and Horn was shot in the chest. Though the other Rogues were able to drive the stormtroopers off and disable the explosives, they had to evacuate the base, and Horn required an extensive session in a bacta tank.^[1]

When Horn and Darklighter emerged from their bacta tanks, Antilles greeted them and informed them that Lujayne Forge had been killed in the attack. Horn attended Forge's funeral, and was well in time for the retaliatory attack on Vladet, from which the attack force had come. The Rogues escorted Salm's Defender Wing in an assault on the Imperial base there, but as Three Flight had lost Forge and had Hui still recovering, it was assigned to escort Warden Squadron, which would only be performing cleanup. However, while orbiting and waiting to go in, a Carrack-class cruiser and Lancer-class frigate arrived in the New Republic forces' exit vector. The Lancer-class was designed to present an intense challenge to starfighters, meaning that fleeing Vladet would be extremely dangerous. Horn, inspired by his experience at Chorax, suggested he fly against the Lancer, having the Y-wings of Warden Squadron, which would stand off out of the Lancer's range, target his homing beacon. By interposing the frigate between himself and the proton torpedoes at the correct time, they would strike the capital ship. Salm refused to assent to the plan, but Horn proceeded with it anyway. He successfully weaved through the Lancer's heavy fire, but two late-launched torpedoes maneuvered around the explosion which claimed the Lancer. Only Whistler's timely cutout of the homing beacon saved Horn from being killed.^[1]

However, Salm remained incensed at Horn's defiance of orders. Horn was confined to quarters and was threatened with a court-martial. He was visited in his cabin by squadron-mates and friends. One of them was Erisi Dlarit, who explained that she felt immensely grateful to Horn for destroying the Lancer and saving her life. Horn rebuffed her romantic overtures, telling her that she was merely feeling the emotional aftereffects of combat. Immediately after she left, Mirax Terrik entered. She had heard Horn was in trouble and brought him a small care package of Corellian goods to cheer him up, including the traditional Corellian ryshcate. They shared the ryshcate and some of the Whyren's Reserve whiskey she had brought, and when she left Horn realized that he enjoyed her company and the ability to share their Corellian heritage.^[1]

[edit] The Battles of Borleias

The Rogues' next mission was to assault a planet known by the codename "Blackmoon" in order to secure a stepping-stone to Coruscant. Salm's Defender Wing was to be involved, and both he and Antilles thought that the mission was likely to go wrong and that General Laryn Kre'fey, the mission planner, was far from thorough in his research and overconfident in his planning. As a result, Salm dropped all charges, deciding that it was more important that Horn be flying for the mission.^[1]

His flight status restored, Horn participated in the battle. His Three Flight, still missing a replacement for Forge, was assigned to escort Warden Squadron in a bombing run to soften up the defenses after bombardment from Emancipator brought the Imperial base's shields down. However, Kre'fey called off the bombing run when the shield came down, citing the lack of heavy resistance. The Rogues were assigned to escort the assault shuttles in, leaving Horn with an extremely bad feeling. He was proved right when the base began firing its ion cannon, renewed its shields at twice their previous strength, and began launching fighters. Horn flew against the fighters, protecting the shuttles as they withdrew. Hui was killed in the dogfight, though Horn destroyed the interceptor which killed her. Horn and Qrygg saved the shuttle Devonian from a TIE attack, but in the process Qrygg was shot down and forced to eject. Horn and the few other remaining Rogue pilots had to hold off two more squadrons of TIE interceptors which had arrived from a previously unknown base on Blackmoon. They were only saved by the return of Defender Wing, which had been ordered out when the bombing runs were aborted. With all the extravehicular Rogues rescued, they retreated.^[1]

The squadron returned to base on Noquivzor, where Lieutenant Judder Page, one of the commandos who had been on the Devonian, bought him a mug of lum in gratitude. While they spoke, Whistler reported that his information-gathering programs had been able to discover the actual location of Blackmoon—Borleias. Horn and Page had already realized that the extra power and reinforcement squadrons likely came from an additional base that the Imperials did not know about—a side operation by the proper base's commander. With Whistler's data, they confirmed that the side operation was likely the abandoned Alderaan Biotics facility, which the base commander, General Evir Derricote, had revived to sell Alderaanian goods on the black market. They also discovered that the power conduit between the two bases was exposed when it crossed a rift valley, giving them the ability to destroy it and cut the power. Horn and Page presented this information to Antilles and Salm, who took it to Admiral Ackbar and received permission for another strike. Rogue Squadron would destroy the conduit, while Page's Katarn Commandos would enter the conduit and capture both facilities. The position of the moon, however, would block any quick escape and, due to the timing of the strike, anyone left behind would run out his life support before reinforcements arrived. With Rogue Squadron depleted, it would be a volunteer mission.^[1]

For operational security reasons, all the pilots other than Horn were told that they were striking a different planet. Horn volunteered for the mission, though he insisted that he fly as Antilles's wingman in the first run on the conduit. During the long rounds of simulations, Horn's tension with Jace came to a head, and Jace, who was one behind Horn in kills but winning their competition due to Darklighter's averaging, reverted to a head-to-head competition for the upcoming battle. The evening before they were to depart for Borleias, Dlarit invited him to sleep with her. Though he found her extremely attractive, Horn declined, stating he needed to be rested for the mission. When he returned to his quarters, he found Mirax Terrik sleeping in Qrygg's bunk; Qrygg was in the medical bay due to losing his arm to debris while extravehicular. Terrik expressed relief that Horn was not sleeping with Dlarit, but when Horn pressed her on the issue she denied any feelings for him. Horn was hurt, but suspected she might have denied them so strongly because the accusation was more true than she wanted to admit. They chatted and apologized for hurting each other's feelings, and Terrik, an expert in collectibles, noted that Horn's good-luck medallion was in fact a Jedi Credit, a commemorative medallion struck when a Corellian Jedi reached mastery. When Horn turned in to his own bed, Terrik began hinting that she might like Horn to sleep with her by asking if he was warm enough. Horn, however, said he was warm enough, feeling he would be using Terrik. She, in turn, asked him to hand her his spare blanket.^[1]

The next morning, Terrik wore Horn's flight jacket and kissed him goodbye as he entered his fighter, but both maintained that they were only friends. They launched from Noquivzor and headed towards Borleias, approaching through canyons along Borleias's moon before they made their way to the surface under the cover of a meteor shower. During the approach, the fuel pump which would replenish his fuel tank from the auxiliary fuel pod attached to his fighter failed, meaning it would take longer to empty the pod and detach it. He and Antilles began their run through the rift canyon while the other four pilots held off the TIEs. They were pursued by a pair of TIE fighters, and misses by one pursuer led to debris striking his fuel pod and beginning a leak. Horn jettisoned it, with the explosion taking out the fighter. This left him dangerously low on fuel. Horn made his run against the conduit, but missed, as did Antilles. While Antilles returned for another pass, he ordered Horn out, as he had barely enough fuel to head back to base.^[1]

Horn began flying back to base, but on his way out of the atmosphere, he noticed two TIEs making a run against the Devonian, which was landing Page's commandos. Horn turned back and destroyed one of the interceptors on his first pass, but had to dogfight with the second one, burning up enough fuel to make it impossible for him to return to Noquivzor. With nearly two more squadrons of TIEs launching, the others had to flee, and Horn was told to land on the moon's surface, where his life support system could concentrate the thin atmosphere, and wait for New Republic forces to arrive. He holed up in an inactive volcanic tube, and when a squadron of interceptors began a search pattern for him, he realized they would find him before reinforcements could arrive. He accepted that he would die, but prepared to take as many enemies as possible with him. When one flight passed over his hole, Horn ambushed them and flew out to begin engaging the other fighters. However, as he prepared to make his last stand, he was caught in a tractor beam. He found that Terrik and Celchu, concerned that operational security had been breached by Emtrey's listing of Alderaanian items on the squadron's sell list, had taken the Pulsar Skate to Borleias in an attempt to warn the squadron. When no ambush seemed forthcoming, they settled in on the moon, and when Horn emerged they flew to his rescue, with Celchu shooting down several of the interceptors around Horn as they fled.^[1]

Rescued by the speedy Pulsar Skate, Horn arrived at Noquivzor before the rest of the Rogues. When they did arrive, he decided to play a prank on his squadron-mates, sending a live message to the Rogues as if it were a message pre-recorded in case of his death, but quickly broke the deception. He, Terrik, and Celchu had a small party ready for the others when they touched down. However, Jace had beaten Horn's tally of twenty-one kills by just one.^[1] Jace did not have long to enjoy the victory, as he was presumed killed not long after when his disappeared on his way home to Thyferra.^[1][14]

[edit] Readying to strike

The Rogues were transferred to Borleias, where they spent the next month guarding the world. There, Horn and Qrygg were given a suite of rooms—a private bedroom for each opening onto a small living room which Horn attempted to furnish as best he could. When Horn was patrolling over the world one month after its conquest, he felt deeply unnerved by the arrival of the Vengeance Derra IV over the world, a freighter which appeared to be unremarkable. Flying with Champion Five and Champion Six, Horn let the Y-wings handle the challenge to the ship as he made a pass to inspect the ship. When Champion Five reported that the ship had given the correct code on the second try, Horn was immediately suspicious, recalling a series of burglaries he had investigated in which the thief, who worked for the company which made the ROMs used in the locks, had built in a password which, when sent the first time, would send the actual password back to the thief for use on the second try. Horn thought that a similar capability might have been built into some of the Y-wing comm components by Imperial Intelligence agents. Horn ordered the freighter to stand by for boarding, but the ship would not stop. Instead, it released four TIE fighters and two TIE bombers. Horn let the Y-wings deal with the bombers as he engaged the starfighters, shooting down one. The Y-wings quickly eliminated the bombers, but Horn kept them from joining the dogfight, worried that the inexperienced pilots would only get in the way. However, when the TIEs took his shields down, Horn had to break away. The TIEs began attacking the Y-wings, and Horn had to shoot down one to save Champion Five. He expected to die, given that another TIE was on his tail, but Champion Six shot that fighter down with a proton torpedo. The Vengeance Derra IV fled.^[14]

After returning, Horn met with Celchu. Celchu had recruited him to investigate Emtrey's odd functions. When told to shut up three times in succession, he entered a state in which all his memories could be accessed. He also had an odd skill in acquiring parts through the black market. Horn presented Celchu with the results of his inquiries, stating that Emtrey had been rebuilt at Echo Base on Hoth in 3 ABY by an officer of the Quartermaster Corps and given special commodities-brokering software. Due to Losca, the builder, dying at Hoth, no one else had been aware of Emtrey's abilities until Horn accidentally reactivated them by instructing the droid to "scrounge" a part on Talasea. Horn concluded that the droid did not seem to be a security risk. He did mention to Celchu that he had tried to slice the captain's file while having Whistler slice information on Emtrey. Celchu told Horn that if he wanted to know anything, he could have asked him, and explained that he had been captured while on a spy mission to Coruscant in 5 ABY. He was imprisoned in the notorious Lusankya prison, where Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard turned prisoners into unknowing agents for the Empire. Not remembering their time in the prison, they were capable of being suddenly reactivated and causing great harm. Celchu, however, actually remembered his time in the prison and was adamant that he had not been broken. After transfer to a prison on Akrit'tar, he escaped and rejoined the New Republic, but few other than Antilles trusted him, leading to the security precautions around him. After considering Celchu's apparent sincerity and his repeated saving of his life, Horn decided to trust the man.^[14]

Later, Horn received two bad pieces of news. The first was that the wreckage from Jace's fighter had been found; with an Interdictor operating in the area, it was presumed he had been pulled from hyperspace and destroyed. The second was confirmation of Bastra's death report, with the explanation that he had been killed at Loor's hands in an interrogation mishap. Shortly thereafter, Terrik relayed a report of the Vengeance Derra IV being in the GaTir system. Rogue Squadron departed to investigate. With the unit still short on pilots, Horn flew as the wingman to Captain Aril Nunb, a new transfer and the temporary squadron leader, as Antilles was absent at a conference on Noquivzor. Upon arriving, Horn recognized that the ship Contruum's Pride was moving in tandem with the Vengeance, transferring cargo. Numb ordered the two ships to surrender, but they responded by launching TIEs. The Rogues shot down all the fighters and disabled both capital ships. The Battle of Mrisst was a clean victory for the New Republic.^[14]

The reason for Antilles's presence at Noquivzor was that Rogue Squadron had been assigned to scout Coruscant for conquest, though this was revealed to no one beyond Antilles. First, however, they were assigned to travel to Kessel in order to free several Black Sun prisoners there. They would be inserted onto Coruscant, where they would cause disruption and serve as an auxiliary force for the New Republic. By taking the most dangerous inmates off the hands of warden Moruth Doole, they would be able to trade for the release of various political prisoners. Horn was extremely uncomfortable with the plan, especially when he realized Zekka Thyne would be one of the prisoners they would free. Horn suggested they simply leave Thyne and falsify records to state that he had died, but Antilles pointed out that the most dangerous Black Sunners would be the most effective against Isard's regime on Coruscant.^[14]

Horn agreed to the plan, and Rogue Squadron took Kessel