The StealthX wing was a starfighter force formed by the New Jedi Order, during the Second Galactic Civil War in 40 ABY. It consisted entirely of Jedi pilots, flying almost-undetectable StealthX fighters.
Operational History[]
The origins of the wing lay in a request from Jacen Solo. Determined to preserve the unity of the galactic government against the forces of fragmentation represented by the Confederation, he had seized control of the Galactic Alliance, and secretly defected to the Sith, taking the title of Darth Caedus. Now, anticipating that a key battle would be fought at Balmorra against the Confederation fleets advancing into the Core Worlds, Jacen asked the Jedi to assign some of their StealthX fighters to the Fourth Fleet for the campaign.[1]
Although the Jedi Council initially refused the request, Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker saw an opportunity to turn the tables on Jacen,[2] and organized the StealthX wing in secret. The new Jedi fighting force revealed itself in a dramatic intervention at Balmorra,[3] launching an unexpected and devastating attack on the Commenorian fleet,[4] the most powerful of the Confederation battlegroups involved in the confrontation. This intervention proved decisive in shaping the outcome of the battle.
Somewhat reluctantly, the Jedi agreed to base themselves aboard Jacen's command ship, the Star Destroyer Anakin Solo.[5]. When the focus of the war shifted to Kuat, they were expected to play a decisive role in the Alliance plan for victory.[6]
However, when news came that Ben Skywalker had been involved in the assassination of deposed Chief of State Cal Omas, the Jedi withdrew from the Alliance, blaming Jacen for the action.[7] Flying to Kashyyyk, they declared their intention to oppose his government, a move that was instrumental in persuading the Wookiee homeworld to join the Jedi Coalition later on.[8]
The StealthX wing now based themselves in Military Hangar 15 in Rwookrrorro,[9] presumably as formal allies of the Wookiee military, with the support of local ground-crews.[10] Flying from here, they took part in the Battle of Kashyyyk, launching an all-out strike against the attacking Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet, while Master Skywalker flew in a shadow bomb attack on the Anakin Solo.[11]
The attack was met with mixed success. The Night Blades squadron lost three pilots to effective flak defense in their attack on the Victory-class Star Destroyer Vulnerator, for little obvious gain,[12] but although the attack on the Anakin Solo appeared to end with the loss of Master Skywalker and his fighter,[13] it had in fact been a feint, designed to allow Luke and R2-D2 to infiltrate the Alliance flagship.[14]
After the Confederation retreat from Kashyyyk, the wing relocated to a base on Endor, where the fighters were scattered in wing-pairs through the forest around the new Jedi base.[15] One pilot, Tahiri Veila, had committed herself to serving the Alliance, and Caedus dispatched her with her fighter in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the hidden base of the newly formed Jedi Coalition.[16]
Subsequently, Grand Master Skywalker led a small flight of fighters to attack Darth Caedus during a truce meeting with Corellian forces.[17] Their plan was to stage a sneak attack on the Sith Lord's Star Destroyer, after which Skywalker and Kyp Durron would board the ship and confront him.[18]
Finding Caedus airborne in his TIE Reconnaissance Fighter,[18] they staged a successful ambush,[19] but Skywalker's realization that Caedus had his daughter Allana with him forced him to break off the attack at the last minute.[20]
The StealthX wing later saw action during the Battle of Uroro Station. Luke Skywalker led the wing on two separate raids on the Anakin Solo. The first raid was a failed attempt to board the ship and rescue Prince Isolder who had been captured earlier by Darth Caedus. After taking losing a considerable amount of fighters Grand Master Skywalker was forced to call off the attack. After Jaina Solo killed Darth Caedus another assault was launched. With the Sith Lord dead, Darth Caedus's Sith Battle meditation was no longer a threat to the Jedi pilots. The Jedi boarded the Anakin Solo, fought through Galactic Alliance and Imperial troopers, and then negotiated a temporary partnership between the Imperial Remnant and Jedi Coalition. This forced the Confederation to surrender which ended the Second Galactic Civil War.
Organization[]
The wing included every Jedi StealthX that was combat-ready: the total number of ships available was between seventy and eighty starfighters, and it appears that the actual combat strength came close to that figure at the start of the wing's deployment.[21]
The force was divided into six squadrons, each containing about a dozen fighters.[14] Each known squadron leader was a Jedi Master, and each known squadron name was based on combining the name of a bladed weapon and an adjective indicating dark color.[5] These names implicitly combined the image of the Jedi lightsaber and the stealth-attack role of the fighters that the pilots flew.
Thus, Kyp Durron led Shadow Saber squadron, Saba Sebatyne led the Night Blades, and Kenth Hamner commanded Dark Sword squadron.[5] The other squadrons were presumably organized along similar lines: although their designations and commanders are not known, the role of Corran Horn in the discussion prior to the Battle of Kuat hints that he may have been another squadron leader.[6]
The exact position of Master Skywalker within the organization is not clear. He acted as overall commander in the briefing at Kuat,[6] but he flew a solo mission at Kashyyyk, independent of any squadron unit.[11] His fighter briefly flew with the Night Blades, but this need not indicate any permanent affiliation with that unit.[12]
The wing took combat losses at Kashyyyk—the Night Blades lost three of their pilots, and Jaina Solo feared that the figures could have been as high throughout the wing, comprising around twenty-five percent of total combat strength.[12]
During the later attempt to assassinate Darth Caedus, a unit designated Red Sword Flight was formed, led in person by Grand Master Skywalker, and consisting of six heavily-loaded fighters, crewed by three senior Jedi Masters, each with a knight as his wing-mate.[17] For this mission, one fighter, flown by the Rodian knight Twool, carried enhanced sensors: replacing some of the weapons mounted by the others, these arrays were intended to provide a pinpoint location of the Sith Lord.[17]
Appearances[]
- Legacy of the Force: Inferno (First appearance)
- Legacy of the Force: Fury
- Legacy of the Force: Invincible
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Inferno, p. 36
- ↑ Inferno, p. 41
- ↑ Inferno, pp. 102-4
- ↑ Inferno, pp. 106-7
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Inferno, p. 124
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Inferno, pp. 124-6
- ↑ Inferno, pp. 142-4
- ↑ Inferno, p. 158
- ↑ Inferno, p. 197
- ↑ Inferno, p. 217
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Inferno, p. 220
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Inferno pp. 224-6
- ↑ Inferno, pp. 227-32
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Inferno, pp. 252-6
- ↑ Fury, pp. 22-3 (also preview in Inferno, p. 312)
- ↑ Fury, p. 117
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Fury, p. 170
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Fury, p. 171
- ↑ Fury, pp. 172-178
- ↑ Fury, p. 179
- ↑ Inferno, p. 104