{"id":1421,"date":"2026-07-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/?p=1421"},"modified":"2026-07-06T08:42:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:42:46","slug":"ashes-of-yavin-old-scars-fresh-wounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/?p=1421","title":{"rendered":"Ashes of Yavin – Old Scars, Fresh Wounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Independence<\/em> was still on alert status, even safely ensconced in hyperspace, but Mara found it was still better than the security lockdown the Rogues had suffered after Sarkli’s betrayal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puck had announced, with theatrical disappointment, that none of the lounges on the Independence<\/em> were available for a drink even after the appropriate paperwork had been filed, medical check-ins completed, and maintenance scheduled for all the X-wings. Even the mess hall in pilot country was closed, offering only burnt caf and some shelf-stable rations, and Mara was not in the mood for a potential run-in with either the air wing’s pilots or Hal. Wes and Puck had decided to make bang-corn and were implying alcohol would materialize later. I’d rather not risk my flight status and eyesight on whatever those two have been distilling. At least not the first batch, anyway.<\/em> Skywalker and Wedge had holed up in the briefing room, presumably doing command-level paperwork of the sort that never seemed to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for solitude, Mara instead made her way through the Aux Two hangar to one of the adjoining storage bays opposite the Rogues’ quarters. Weeks ago, it’d been half-filled with cold storage crates of nearly-forgotten supplies. Puck had floated an idea the first day they’d arrived on the Independence<\/em> for the space, but it wasn’t until the lockdown that several of the Rogues – Hobbie, Cesi, and Mara – actually had the free time to work on it. Crates had been moved into another storage room and equipment had been improvised until the Rogues had a small but functional weight room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She eyeballed the newest set of improvised weights. I don’t have a spotter<\/em>, she told herself reluctantly, and I don’t trust Wes Janson’s welding<\/em>. Instead, she walked over to the wall where a handful of empty duffels hung from crudely-fashioned hooks that suspiciously resembled restraint rings from an X-wing’s belly cargo compartment. She picked one of the duffels, took it over to a corner locker filled with odds and ends, some of them tools, other parts that Mara couldn’t identify. She filled the duffel partway, tested the weight, threw in another half-kilo of hydrospanners, and zipped it shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara hoisted it up on her shoulder, winced, adjusted, and began to walk, pacing along the bulkhead, circumnavigating the room at a brisk walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was stupid<\/em>, she told herself. You should have found another way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There wasn’t another way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s always another way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visibility is death, Mara.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her own justification returned. Visibility is death later, that was death right then. It was reach or die.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, visibility is death later. But when does later arrive? <\/em>She had no answer for that, which was more than a bit irritating given that she was interrogating herself. You can always run. Send Hera the message. I’d be on the <\/em>Liberty in a week or two. Back into concealment. I’m a nobody, a flight officer. I can be scrubbed off a squadron roster and vanish. Hide.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I’d be leaving Rogue Squadron behind.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She frowned at herself. So why does that matter? Visibility is death. Rogue Squadron is becoming visible. Too visible. I can’t stay.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can’t I?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That thought niggled at her. Why don’t I want to leave?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adjusted the duffel, shifting it to the other shoulder, continuing her steady pace. Unbidden, a memory from several years prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The <\/em>Ghost is not my home<\/em>, she’d told Hera flatly. I don’t belong here. I’m not Ezra. I’m not going to train and be your pet Jedi. That’s a good way to die.<\/em> And later, when Kanan tried to talk to her. You took me in out of pity. I’m not like you. Becoming a Jedi is a great way to die.<\/em> And when he’d asked her what she wanted, then. I don’t want your lightsaber, but I’d take your blaster. It’s not like you’re going to be using it.<\/em> And she remembered her own shock when he’d silently given the DL-18 to her. Now, years later, she regretted the casual cruelty of her comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She nearly stumbled in surprise when the door hissed open abruptly. Mara paused, mid-stride, to see who had interrupted her reverie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mara,” Commander Skywalker said, “can we talk?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Okay, Luke, don’t screw this up<\/em>, he told himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara dropped the duffel she’d been carrying off her shoulder to the floor of the Rogues’ makeshift gym; it clunked with substantial weight. “Commander,” she said guardedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke moved into the gym and sat down on one of the two benches. “Sorry to interrupt your workout,” he said apologetically, “but I wanted to address a few things.” He winced internally at the phrasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara’s face became even more unreadable, somehow. “Yes?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The engagement today,” Luke said, forcing himself to pace the words. “First, I wanted to tell you that you did well. You and Tycho flew great together. Wedge and I were reviewing the flight data from the battle for everyone, and you two did the best with the new flight doctrine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That earned him a wry smile. “We had all of a couple hours learning it and a comm channel where we could hear maybe every fourth word we were saying. It was ideal testing conditions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Exactly,” Luke agreed dryly, “so the real test will be an engagement that’s not so well-planned and trained for.” He sobered. “I also owe you an apology.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That<\/em> statement clearly wrong-footed her. “An apology?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke grimaced. “I made a bad call after Tycho took that hit. I ordered him back to the hangar and I ordered you to hold position. Alone.” He shook his head. “I’m learning the new squadron formation, too, and in the heat of battle I guess I was still thinking in three-ship elements. In a three-ship, Tycho getting hit and being ordered to withdraw would mean…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“…that I was still flying with someone, not alone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke nodded. “I didn’t immediately register it as Mara is flying unsupported<\/em>. Not until the TIEs had you isolated.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara’s face closed up again. “You and Wedge got me out,” she said. “Though if you’ll record this as It’s Commander Skywalker’s fault<\/em>, so I can point the mechanics to you<\/em> when they’re rebuilding that s-foil tomorrow, I’d appreciate it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke offered a small smile. “That’s what a squadron leader does, right? Takes care of the squadron. That includes the threat of a hostile maintenance crew.” The smile faded again. “There’s something else, too.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was completely inscrutable now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke braced himself. “Mara, Wedge and I just spent a couple hours looking over the telemetry from the ambush. And when you were isolated, when Wedge and I were trying to get to you, you should have died.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I didn’t,” she said flatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No, you didn’t. But there was a critical moment, when you were pinned with your shields collapsed. And then you broke toward a gap in the TIEs coming toward you that didn’t exist yet.” He tried to read something, anything from her hard green eyes. “Like you knew it was going to be there, before it appeared.” He swallowed. “For a few seconds, you started flying like I do.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara didn’t speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Are you a Jedi?” he finally asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She didn’t answer his question, and her posture was statue-still. “Who knows?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Me. And Wedge. He saw it first, before I did, or I wouldn’t have even known what I was looking at. He showed me how I’d done something similar at Ralltiir, acting with certainty a few seconds before it actually happened.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m sorry. I can’t stay.” Mara said suddenly, her voice cold. “I’m putting in for transfer to the Liberty<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke rocked back. “Is that what you want?” he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No. But I’m not going to stay here and be your good little student and…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Student?” Luke blurted. “Mara, I barely know anything<\/em>. I’m not trying to teach<\/em> you.” The words fell out of his mouth faster than he could think to stop them. “I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here with Rogue Squadron. You’ve already flown with me into hell on Ralltiir, followed me into the Great Temple on Yavin, painted the X-wings<\/em>. I’m trying to understand<\/em> you.” He grimaced. “When we saw the telemetry, Wedge figured that was why Hera was so protective of you. And I realized that General Rieekan’s security inventory had been accurate. You have a lightsaber. He and I both thought it was an error.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara was stock-still again, and her green eyes were fixed on Luke as if evaluating him. “I’m not a Jedi,” she finally said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke nodded. “Neither am I.” He hesitated. “If you want to transfer to the Liberty<\/em>, I won’t try to stop you. But I’d rather you stayed with the squadron.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She’s calculating something, but I don’t have any idea what it is<\/em>, Luke thought as he met her hard gaze again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Promise me.” Her tone was unyielding durasteel now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Promise you what?” Luke hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Promise me that you won’t push this on me. Nothing about the Force. Nothing about the Jedi. Nothing about lightsabers. Visibility is death<\/em>, Skywalker. The Empire hunts people like me. Like you. Promise me you won’t push me<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for the first time, Luke recognized what was in her eyes. It wasn’t cold determination or indignant anger; it was fear<\/em>, fear that burrowed all the way to the core of her being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I promise,” Luke said. “You stay as a Rogue. As a pilot.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No reports to Rieekan,” she warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke shook his head. “Wedge won’t be happy, but it goes no further than us. You have my word.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara studied him for long moments, her eyes flicking over his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Then I’ll stay,” she said finally, her voice very quiet and very uncertain. “When…if I decide I want to talk about it, I’ll come to you. Not before.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Wedge’s dissatisfaction only grew as he sat in the security briefing with Colonel S’man, Captain Verrack, General Rieekan, and a handful of other on-board officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s just a comedy of errors around here,<\/em> he thought ruefully. Except we’re not laughing. We’re paying in blood.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The new long-range communications protocol clearly wasn’t secure,” Rieekan commented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Unless there’s another infiltrator on the Independence<\/em>,” S’man commented, throwing a pointed look at Wedge. “The long-range comms coming online would have given a spy the window he or she would need to call in the location of the Independence<\/em> and bring an Imperial task force down on our heads.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mon Calamari officer, Verrack, was already shaking his bulbous head. “No. We checked all outgoing messages. All queued messages were held, and only a handful of senior staff even knew we were reestablishing the long-range comm network with the other task forces. There was no transmitted traffic that wasn’t fully vetted and encrypted. The Empire detected us when we brought the system up. Likely they did a long-range sweep with a small patrol ship or probe droid to confirm our location so they could put a task force directly on our heading.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rieekan’s gaze shifted to Wedge. “Where’s Commander Skywalker?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Meeting our last new pilots,” Wedge said. “I do have notes on behalf of our squadron.” He flicked the appropriate file open on his datapad. “The first is about training protocols. Respectfully, General, given our long-range comm problems, Rogue Squadron shouldn’t have been training in open space without torpedoes or long-range hypernav capability given the danger. If we’d have known you were risking long-range comm, we’d have insisted on it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S’man snorted. “Skywalker’s vanity squadron doesn’t get classified information briefings because of one unexpected ambush, Captain.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You should be grateful, Colonel,” Wedge retorted, “because that vanity squadron<\/em> kept the Empire off the Independence<\/em> long enough for you to get your squadrons into space. And we did it without<\/em> proper combat loads.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The air wing commander was clearly feeling antagonistic. “Barely. If you’d have been flying the standard starfighter doctrine of the last twenty-five years, you wouldn’t need special training in the first place. As it is, your understrength flight elements were struggling to hold their part of the screen.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wedge contemplated hurling his empty caf mug at the colonel. “The Rogues more than carried their weight in the fight,” he said, acid slipping into his voice in spite of his best efforts, “and<\/em> we brought all our pilots back in spite of new tactics and no torpedoes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rieekan intervened before S’man could retort. “This meeting isn’t about Rogue Squadron,” he said sternly, “nor is it about the air wing. This meeting is to ensure we don’t have a repeat of this ambush.” He met eyes with Colonel S’man. “First, I’d like to say that your standing procedures for keeping all starfighters armed and ready to fly kept the Independence<\/em> and her support ships alive. In spite of the losses suffered by the squadrons both here and off the Battle Dog<\/em>, thousands of Rebels are alive because of those efforts.” Then he looked at Wedge. “I would be remiss if I also didn’t credit Rogue Squadron for buying the air wing time to launch. The Imperial ambush was precisely sprung, and without the Rogues already in space on a training exercise, there’s a good chance that most of the air wing would’ve been destroyed in the hangar when TIE bombers breached the standing fighter screen.” He looked back to S’man. “Moving forward, if we’re going to undertake a secure operation that may endanger the task force – like bringing long-range communications online again – we’ll make sure the air wing is on full alert status and ready.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S’man looked mildly placated, though still unhappy with Wedge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the meantime, Rogue Squadron will run any training missions with full combat capability,” Rieekan continued. “Colonel S’man, Rogue Squadron is attached directly to High Command and answers to me. I understand you are unhappy with the way Commander Skywalker has chosen to run his unit. You are allowed your opinion, but until you are part of High Command yourself, your opinion will remain yours.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wedge tried his best to hide a satisfied smirk, and wasn’t sure he succeeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Given the losses the air wing suffered during the ambush,” S’man spoke up, “We’ll be requesting the support of Skywalker’s unit to fill gaps to maintain our operations tempo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rieekan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Wedge. “We’re beginning a training cycle,” Wedge said flatly. “We’re not available for anything less than critical operations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You don’t get to decide what’s critical, Antilles,” S’man said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rieekan raised a hand again. “Submit requests to me and I’ll consider them on a per-operation basis,” he said. “If there’s nothing else, you’re dismissed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wedge rose, gathering his datapad and empty mug. Rieekan is covering for us, yes, but for how long? How long until someone else on High Command steps in and puts us under S’man’s thumb? Will we even be able to complete a training cycle?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Luke sat in his quarters, late that night, Wedge’s concerns running through his brain. Luke, Rieekan wants the Rogues to succeed, but the air wing is short pilots and fighters. He has to balance what we need against what we can do, and right now, there are gaping holes the Rogues could fill. And the moment we start doing that, we give up any chance of training on the new doctrine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He rubbed his eyes. New pilots are settled in their quarters. Both of them have finished basic combat training, but neither one is a veteran. And they definitely haven’t trained on two-ship elements.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then his concerns about Mara, the deep-seated fear he’d seen in her eyes. Promise me<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn’t regret the promise. He still believed, bedrock-certain, that she belonged with Rogue Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training. We need time to train.<\/em> Not the Force<\/em>, he reminded himself, though that<\/em> was certainly on his mind, but pilot training. Wing pairs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to train, we need time and space.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He powered up his datapad, found the appropriate file he could access at his rank, and looked over the list of training facilities. There’s not enough<\/em>, he told himself. Some of these bases have already been evacuated. Everything else is already running at full capacity without dropping a dozen more pilots and fighters in to do advanced training on a new doctrine. What we need is a new headquarters.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke snorted at that thought. Yes, I’m sure I can just trust my feelings and pick a star in the galaxy and we’ll set up shop there. <\/em>He frowned as he reconsidered. Maybe that’s something a Jedi could actually do. But I’m not a Jedi.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent some time, then, looking through star system listings idly. The Empire’s reach was expansive but not all-encompassing, but ultimately, a fundamental problem remained: I don’t know enough about these systems and planets. And I don’t know if anyone in the Alliance does. The worlds the Rogues are from are all Imperial-occupied or monitored: Corellia, Chandrila, Tanaab, Ralltiir, Ryloth, Huulia, Bestine, Denon.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conclusion was inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sat down at the little prefab desk in his quarters, smaller than the one in his makeshift office, and opened a fresh new message to General Rieekan and began to write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

General Rieekan,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As previously reported, Rogue Squadron is experimenting in new fighter tactics based on a two-ship element. During the recent engagement with Imperial forces around the cruiser Independence<\/em>, the new tactics showed promise, but Rogue Squadron needs time and training to work out technical and logistical issues and drill new habits into our pilots.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I propose a three-month training period to forge Rogue Squadron into the weapon the Rebellion needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to ongoing shortages of manpower and supplies, as well as security concerns after the Ralltiir incident, I also propose Rogue Squadron departs the Independence<\/em> for the duration of the training window.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Necessary supplies for the training period will be sent in a separate message. In short, Rogue Squadron will need our X-wings, pilots, astromech droids, fuel, munitions, and sufficient spare parts for our training window. I request a single GR-75 medium transport for logistical use; a droid crew will suffice. We also will need temporary shelters, camouflaged netting, rations, and other personnel requirements. Additionally, any other supplies as you see fit to approve would be considered.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I propose to set up a small, temporary training base on Tatooine for the squadron’s training window.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatooine is remote and, while it has a small Imperial presence, is largely controlled by the Hutt syndicates. No major military or militia forces operate out of Tatooine. The squadron will maintain a low profile, and the chance of encounters with either Imperial or Hutt forces are very low for the duration of the training window.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, my personal experience with the planet will allow me to interpret any indications of Imperial interest or security compromise. The Empire will not be looking for us there, but if they do come, I will see the signs and allow us to evacuate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do not make this proposal lightly. I make this proposal because I believe it is necessary to build the squadron the Alliance needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Commander Skywalker<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Luke reread his proposal, tweaked it, and considered sending it to Wedge for review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. Time is short.<\/em> Act.<\/em> He submitted the proposal to Rieekan, turned off his light, and crawled into his bunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking about the Force. Thinking about Rogue Squadron. Thinking about the fear in Mara Jade’s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep did not come quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Independence was still on alert status, even safely ensconced in hyperspace, but Mara found it was still better than the security lockdown the Rogues had suffered after Sarkli’s betrayal. Puck had announced, with theatrical disappointment, that none of the lounges … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ashes-of-yavin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p52rlt-mV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1422,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions\/1422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}