Blade Squadron: Kuat by David J. Williams and Mark S. Williams
"Blade Squadron: Kuat" written by David J. Williams and Mark S. Williams, illustrated by Chris Trevas
So we continue our journey with Blade Squadron, the Rebel...now New Republic... B-wing pilots, in this short story from issue #168 of the Star Wars Insider released in October 2016. Check out my review of "Blade Squadron: Zero Hour" which shows the Blade Squadron crew directly after the Battle of Endor. "Blade Squadron: Kuat" takes place after the New Republic has been around for a little while (still less than a year), but the battle against the Empire rages on. More specifically, this short story ties in with Aftermath: Life Debt (a fabulous book written in an intriguing present tense format that breeds immediacy and is the second in a post-Endor trilogy) and takes place the same year as Return of the Jedi.
Moonsong is now in charge of Blade Squadron with Stramm having been transferred to Combat Operations Planning. Her and her crew are tasked with attacking the Kuat Drive Yards to prevent the crippled Empire from producing any more large military vehicles such as AT-ATs, AT-ACTs, and AT-STs. Once Blade Squadron gets there, they even spot a couple of AT-TEs from the Clone Wars! Kuat Drive Yards is not a factory on a planet but is an orbiting space station around Kuat. It has an extensive bridge that Trevas does a beautiful job illustrating--see the image on the left.
Blade Squadron now has X-wing escorts for their B-wings and these escorts are commanded by Lieutenant Sandara Li. But Li has a bit of an attitude when it comes to Moonsong. How will they work together to make a difference in the fight against the Empire?
The main drive of this story is in fact the relationship between Moonsong and Li. We go through a powerful character progression with them starting as near enemies and after a tension-filled confrontation become well...you'll have to read it to find out. There's also a tense moment between Stramm and Moonsong that helps to further elevate the character development in this series of short stories.
I was quite pleased with this short story what with its action, character development, and digging deeper into post-Endor history. I'm looking forward to seeing where it all goes in "Blade Squadron: Jakku"...but am sad that it's coming to an end because I've grown to care about Moonsong and Blade Squadron. But I guess, after the Battle of Jakku, the Empire was done for so there's really no more story to tell. Hmmm...maybe "Blade Squadron: Jakku" will wrap up some of those loose ends.
Blade Squadron now has X-wing escorts for their B-wings and these escorts are commanded by Lieutenant Sandara Li. But Li has a bit of an attitude when it comes to Moonsong. How will they work together to make a difference in the fight against the Empire?
The main drive of this story is in fact the relationship between Moonsong and Li. We go through a powerful character progression with them starting as near enemies and after a tension-filled confrontation become well...you'll have to read it to find out. There's also a tense moment between Stramm and Moonsong that helps to further elevate the character development in this series of short stories.
I was quite pleased with this short story what with its action, character development, and digging deeper into post-Endor history. I'm looking forward to seeing where it all goes in "Blade Squadron: Jakku"...but am sad that it's coming to an end because I've grown to care about Moonsong and Blade Squadron. But I guess, after the Battle of Jakku, the Empire was done for so there's really no more story to tell. Hmmm...maybe "Blade Squadron: Jakku" will wrap up some of those loose ends.
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