Blade Squadron: Jakku by David J. Williams and Mark S. Williams

     "Blade Squadron: Jakku" written by David J. Williams and Mark S. Williams, illustrated by Chris Trevas is a short story in issue #172 of the Star Wars Insider, released May of 2017. It was a wonderful mashup between the last of the Aftermath novel trilogy and the "Blade Squadron" short story series.
     We get to see some of what Temmin Wexley dealt with after his X-wing went down in Aftermath: Empire's End. I didn't remember there being a gap in time in that novel but apparently there was...and this short story fills that gap. Moonsong's B-wing also goes down and the two meet up and team up as they try to find a way off of Jakku. They then run into another regiment of New Republic troops and help them bring down an Imperial supply convoy.
     The descriptions of how Moonsong gets pulled down in the tractor beam with the Star Destroyer are fantastic. And I love seeing the collateral damage as it brings a strong reality to the moment.
     This short story is fairly cut and dry but I loved that they included more of Temmin a.k.a. "Snap" Wexley. We see him in Force Awakens but his character gets fleshed out so much more in the Aftermath trilogy...at least at the very young age of, I believe, fifteen. Temmin is such a great character with so much heart and I love seeing him so vulnerable and cock-sure, ready for whatever the war brings him. He is worried about his mother and makes that clear, but Moonsong reassures him that if she flew through the second Death Star and made it out alive, she must be a fighter. <3
     A good short story overall, though we don't get to see much more development of Moonsong's character besides her being a motherly figure for Temmin to look toward. Maybe that is her character progression...becoming someone for others to look up to. With that in mind, I like it.