Xarcce Huwla was a Tunroth who volunteered to join the Alliance of Free Planets' Rogue Squadron following the Battle of Endor. Around nine months after the battle, Huwla was recruited into the unit, by then under the New Republic, but requested to be transferred out due to the squadron's high number of casualties. Unable to be moved immediately, her first deployment was the Battle of Brentaal IV, where she and the squadron engaged in combat with the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing at a base on one of the planet's moons.

As part of the Brentaal IV campaign, Huwla also participated in battles on Vuultin and Oradin, cities on the planet. At Vuultin, the squadron supported Aggressor Wing and encountered the 181st once more, successfully forcing more 181st fighters at Oradin to leave and allowing the New Republic to capture it in the process. At Oradin, Huwla and the squadron shot down additional Imperial fighters, including those from the 181st. By the time the campaign had ended, Huwla managed to score impressive kills against the famous Imperial unit and found friends within Rogue Squadron, never speaking of transfers again.

Huwla and Rogue Squadron were later deployed to the planet Axxila on an undercover mission, where she engaged pirates in flight as well as in unarmed combat at an establishment alongside fellow Rogues Nrin Vakil and Ibtisam. Around 5 ABY, the squadron was called up for a mission to rescue Grand Vizier Sate Pestage from the world Ciutric IV. During the mission, Rogue Squadron and Aggressor Wing supported Commando Team One's extraction of Pestage but were forced to retreat to the world's surface due to the arrival of two Star Destroyers in orbit. Despite failing to rescue Pestage, they successfully defeated the Imperial forces and forced the Star Destroyers to flee.

Biography[]

Becoming a Rogue[]

Xarcce Huwla was a Tunroth from^[1] the planet^[5] Jiroch-Saloch.^[1] During the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire, in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor^[3] of 4 ABY^[6] and following the capture of Imperial General Weir, Huwla was one of several volunteer pilots for the Alliance of Free Planets' Rogue Squadron,^[3] a famous X-wing starfighter unit.^[1] The volunteers were stationed aboard a Star Destroyer, where they were briefed by Admiral Gial Ackbar, who stated that the squadron was tasked with the most dangerous assignments. Wedge Antilles, the newly appointed leader of the squadron, then entered the briefing deck and ordered the pilots to enter their ships before they departed the Star Destroyer.^[3]

Prior to joining Rogue Squadron, Huwla, a longtime veteran,^[7] had completed twenty-three combat missions and was aware of the squadron's history, such as the Battles of Hoth and Endor, recent adventures like the battle^[2] at the planet Mrlsst,^[8] and the Rebel Alliance's victory at the Battle of Yavin.^[2] Around nine months after the Battle of Endor,^[9] Huwla was one of four new recruits, which also included Standro Jcir, Avan Beruss, and Dar Keyis, for Rogue Squadron, by then operating under^[2] the successor to the Alliance, the New Republic,^[6] stationed at Base Delta-Nine. They were consulted by Antilles and fellow squadron member Tycho Celchu, the former viewing a datapad displaying the profiles of Huwla and the other recruits. After Antilles dismissed the recruits, Huwla requested to speak with him and Celchu privately.^[2] The Tunroth's first request was to be transferred out of the squadron immediately,^[7] worried about the New Republic's habit of sending the unit to impossible situations^[1] and stating that^[2] she^[1] wished not to die as a Rogue as the chances of death were much higher;^[2] the squadron had a high death count.^[7] Antilles, however, was unable to move her out immediately.^[10] After he dismissed her, she met with Lieutenant Wes Janson and was billeted in fellow pilot Feylis Ardele's quarters.^[2]

Battle of Brentaal IV[]

Meeting the 181st[]

On her first deployment, Huwla joined Rogue Squadron in supporting Colonel Horton Salm's Aggressor Wing in their fighters in an attack on an Imperial base on a moon of the world Brentaal IV, where they fought with the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing led by Baron Soontir Fel. In the battle, Huwla shot down a 181st TIE interceptor heading towards her. The New Republic successfully captured the base, after which Rogue Squadron returned to Base Delta-Nine. There, Huwla played a holotable game with Keyis before Antilles arrived and changed the hologram projection to that of the 181st TIE interceptors and identified them as such. When Celchu pointed out that the 181st was Fel's unit and that the Baron was the best Imperial pilot alive, fellow pilot Plourr Ilo stated they could "change that," to which Huwla responded they could not do so before "joining" pilots Derek Klivian, who was shot down in the battle over Brentaal IV, and Biggs Darklighter,^[2] who was killed in the Battle of Yavin.^[1]

Huwla later participated in another holotable game, this time with Mon Calamari Rogue Ibtisam. By that point, she had heard a rumor that^[11] the Sith Lord^[12] Darth Vader had his personal starship created to prevent Fel from killing him in battle, which she pointed out to the squadron while they discussed a future engagement with Fel and the 181st. She proceeded to state that while Celchu spoke of fear to relieve it, Ilo was hiding her fear. Huwla called her a fool when Ilo stated she was not a coward and explained that only a fool did not wish to learn about a lethal enemy. Huwla and the squadron later donned their flight suits and attended a briefing at the Brentaal IV moonbase.^[11]

The unit was tasked with feinting a strike on Vuultin, a city on the planet, and encountering the 181st to prevent them from reaching the New Republic assault troops hitting another city, Oradin. At Vuultin, they engaged in a dogfight with the 181st as planned. Although Rogue Squadron was later ordered to return to the Star Cruiser Independence, the feint forced Imperial Admiral Lon Isoto to command the 181st pilots at Oradin, including Fel, to leave the city and reinforce Vuultin instead, opening Oradin up for capture by the New Republic.^[11]

Attack on Oradin[]

Later, at Oradin, Huwla and Klivian inspected a merchant's pots and cups, picking up and admiring one of them. When Klivian wished to purchase it, the merchant claimed it was a very old heirloom and would not give it for less than one thousand credits. Huwla noticed that the ultraviolet reflectors resembled those made on^[14] the planet^[5] Sullust in the past decade, thus identifying the cup as a fake. The pair then left the merchant despite the latter wanting to bargain with them. Rogue Squadron was later briefed on another attack on Oradin, this time to cover Aggressor Wing's Y-wings while they disabled ships that carried wealthy Imperial citizens fleeing the city.^[14]

The squadron shot down multiple Imperial TIE fighters over Oradin before the 181st arrived and engaged the Rogues once more. Huwla herself shot down a TIE interceptor targeting Klivian. By the end of the Battle of Brentaal IV, Fel was captured following a dogfight with Antilles, and Imperial forces withdrew from Brentaal IV. At the MC80 Star Cruiser Home One, the Rogues discussed their victory, with Huwla stating to Klivian that she was pleased to down the interceptor targeting him.^[13] With the campaign's end, Huwla had racked up multiple kills against the 181st.^[7] She had also befriended members of the squadron, later withdrew her transfer request,^[10] and ceased talk of transfers out of the unit completely.^[7]

Around ten months after the Battle of Endor,^[9] Huwla, Rogue Squadron, and other New Republic personnel attended a funeral held aboard a Star Cruiser's deck for the Rebel and New Republic pilots lost at Brentaal IV and previous battles. Following the funeral, at a briefing room, when Antilles announced that Fel would be joining Rogue Squadron's ranks, Quarren Rogue Nrin Vakil attempted to rush towards the former Imperial pilot in a state of anger, but Huwla and Ilo held him back until Fel exited the room.^[15]

Action on Axxila[]

Around eleven months after the Battle of Endor,^[9] Huwla and Rogue Squadron raided a group of pirates in an area of space. The squadron shot down multiple fighters before Antilles ordered that they allow them to escape.^[16] In an undercover operation on^[17] the planet^[18] Axxila, the New Republic's Princess Leia Organa and Captain Han Solo met with^[17] Grand Vizier^[12] Sate Pestage, who offered to leave the Imperial capital^[17] planet^[6] of Coruscant undefended from a New Republic attack in exchange for a few worlds of his own. The news was later discussed by Huwla, Vakil, and Ibtisam at a building with Organa, Solo, and other Rogues who had just arrived there.^[17]

The trio later sat at an establishment on Axxila and had drinks, with Huwla drinking a lomin ale. They then discussed a group of pirates seated at another table, with Huwla complimenting Vakil's deduction that the group consisted of pilots. She then revealed to Ibtisam that Vakil used to worry about the Mon Calamari while the latter was on the ground;^[4] they had become close friends by that point.^[1] The pirate group began leaving the establishment just as Vakil ordered the two to report back to Antilles. However, Ibtisam decided to join Vakil in tailing the pirates.^[4]

Having pointed out that that was not the original plan, Huwla herself confronted the pirates as a fight broke out between them and the three Rogues. The trio successfully incapacitated the pirates before they departed the establishment to report their encounter. The trio, along with Janson, rendezvoused with Antilles and Beruss before the Rogues entered their fighters to rescue Celchu and New Republic^[4] operative^[1] Winter, both of whom had been captured prior and were attempting an escape in a Y-wing on Axxila.^[4] Rogue Squadron entered a dogfight with the pirate fighters tailing the Y-wing and emerged victorious. Escorting Celchu and Winter, Huwla and the pilots then landed in a hangar, where she complimented Ibtisam flying wing cover.^[19]

The group was alerted to the presence of Imperial ships entering Axxila led by Admiral Delak Krennel and subsequently prepared to leave, during which Huwla offered to help the Wookiee Chewbacca mount a tractor beam to his starship, the Millennium Falcon. Fel, using the secrecy of his defection from the Empire as a cover, contacted Krennel and issued him an AT3 Directive, which compelled the admiral to withdraw his forces from the system. The action allowed Huwla and the group to depart Axxila safely.^[19]

Rescuing the Grand Vizier[]

Around 5 ABY,^[21] Rogue Squadron was engaged in rest and recreation at a location. Huwla visited a gym, in which she changed the gravity compensator for a piece of weightlifting equipment to a setting of three. When Celchu later trained at the gym, he quickly gave up a weightlifting exercise when he attempted to operate the equipment due to the overbearing weight. Huwla and Ilo later had a sparring match, where they traded blows and knocked each other off balance. They were both rendered unconscious at the end of the fight. When Huwla later drank with Ilo at an establishment, Rogue Squadron was ordered by Admiral Ackbar to report for a mission briefing regarding Pestage's rescue from^[22] the world^[23] Ciutric IV.^[22]

Rogue Squadron—Huwla included—Aggressor Wing, and Commando Team One all sat in a briefing room while Antilles explained their mission; the Rogues and Aggressor Wing were to support Commando Team One while they rescued Pestage. Following the briefing, the units undertook an eighteen-hour journey to the Ciutric system and scouted it before performing a microjump to Ciutric IV. They subsequently engaged TIE fighters over the planet and enemy forces on the surface. After Commando Team One successfully extracted Pestage, they were prepared to leave the system when the Star Destroyer Reckoning and Interdictor Binder intercepted them, cutting off their escape route and forcing them to retreat to Ciutric IV's surface to stay the night while Aggressor Wing separated from them and fled.^[20] Later during the day, with the help of the commandos and a number of Rogues, Antilles sent out a call for reinforcements via the HoloNet before the squadron intercepted a group of TIE fighters in their X-wings. However, Ibtisam was shot down and killed. Huwla and the others watched Vakil mourn over her body when it was later brought to their place of stay by a rescue team.^[24]

Rogue Squadron subsequently attacked the two Star Destroyers and TIE fighters above Ciutric IV, with Huwla operating under the call sign Rogue Four. They were soon reinforced by the starship Pulsar Skate and^[25] its captain,^[26] Mirax Terrik, as well as Salm and Aggressor Wing, who were waiting at the edge of the system. Thanks to their intervention, the Imperial forces in the area temporarily retreated before the New Republic pilots returned to Ciutric IV's surface. Both squadrons then commenced a direct assault on the Reckoning and Binder. The Rogues covered Aggressor Wing's Y-wings as they attacked the Reckoning. When the Binder's artificial gravity generators were destroyed after the ship suffered serious damage, Huwla reported the fact to the rest of the pilots while she fired upon a TIE interceptor. Both Star Destroyers fled the system, allowing Commando Team One to leave Ciutric IV's surface. However, Pestage's rescue ended in failure when the advisor abandoned his rescue team, stayed behind on the planet, and leaked the New Republic's plans to Krennel,^[25] who proceeded to murder him and seize his personal territory.^[6] Afterward, Huwla was present at a funeral for Ibtisam as one of the Rogues standing over her coffin.^[25] By 6 ABY,^[27] the Human^[1] Bror Jace operated as Rogue Four.^[28]

Personality and traits[]

Xarcce Huwla had black eyes and yellow skin. She had learned patience before learning frustration, stating the fact after Wedge Antilles apologized to her and other recruits for keeping them waiting at Base Delta-Nine.^[2] Despite volunteering to join Rogue Squadron^[3] and later feeling honored to be a squadron member, Huwla requested a transfer out of the squadron to Antilles.^[2] While she never avoided duty, she spoke logically to him regarding Rogue Squadron's high death count. By the end of the Brentaal IV campaign, however, Huwla had made friends with the squadron and never spoke of transfers again.^[7]

She believed that while Tycho Celchu spoke of fear for relief, Plourr Ilo was a fool as she spoke against fear to hide it and did not wish to understand a lethal enemy like Baron Soontir Fel. However, when Derek Klivian mentioned the fact that he and his colleagues could never defeat Fel in a flight simulation during their time at the Imperial Academy, Huwla, struck with fear like the other Rogues around her, brought up her transfer to Antilles again.^[11] As a Rogue, Huwla developed friendly relations with Nrin Vakil and Ibtisam in the unit^[4] and complimented her fellow Rogues' good actions; she complimented Ibtisam's wing cover during a mission^[4] and enjoyed her workout with Ilo, calling her a "good fighter."^[20]

Skills and abilities[]

As a starfighter pilot, Huwla was skilled enough to shoot down Imperial craft, racking up impressive kills against Fel's^[7] legendary^[6] 181st Imperial Fighter Wing during the Battle of Brentaal IV^[7] and cover her allies in the process.^[13] According to Ibtisam, she was "hard to keep up with" in flight.^[19] Aside from piloting, she could identify a merchant's cup as a fake by examining its make.^[14] Huwla was also skilled in hand-to-hand combat and could take on multiple opponents with little to no challenge.^[4] Vakil considered her a strong individual and informed Ilo about the fight in Axxila, which she called Huwla "tough" for when the two engaged in a sparring match that rendered both of them unconscious by the end.^[22]

Equipment[]

As a Rogue Squadron pilot, Huwla flew a T-65 X-wing and wore an orange flight suit under a white flak vest and a flight helmet emblazoned with the Alliance Starbird. When not flying, she wore a red vest accented with gold, light brown pants, brown boots, and a gold covering wrapped around her left arm,^[2] and occasionally a bracelet on the other arm.^[11][13]

Following the Brentaal IV campaign, while aboard Home One, she wore a light brown outfit under a red vest.^[13] While on Axxila, Huwla donned multiple sets of clothing at different occasions; a green shirt and brown pants when meeting the other Rogues at a building,^[17] green pants and a green shirt at an establishment prior to combatting pirates,^[4] and a green crop top and green shorts at a hangar following a dogfight with pirates.^[19] When sparring with Ilo, she wore a teal-colored outfit that included a headgear, a vest, gloves, and pads for the arms, elbows, knees, shins, and feet. The pads were secured onto the body with a gray material.^[22] At two separate funerals, Huwla wore a New Republic officers' dress uniform.^[15][25]

Behind the scenes[]

Xarcce Huwla was created for Dark Horse's Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic-book series, first appearing in the twenty-first issue^[2] published on August 6, 1997.^[29] The issue was written by Michael A. Stackpole and illustrated by John Nadeau.^[2]

The twenty-eighth issue misspells the character's first name as "Xarcee,"^[16] while the article "Who's Who in Rogue Squadron," written by Jason Fry and published in the Star Wars Insider magazine's fifty-ninth issue,^[1] Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game supplement Ultimate Alien Anthology,^[5] Peet Janes' Star Wars Handbook 1: X-Wing Rogue Squadron—a companion piece for the Rogue Squadron comic series^[7]—Bill Slavicsek's 2000 reference book A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded, and 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia spell it as "Xarrce."^[10] This article follows the spelling provided with Huwla's first appearance.^[2]

Huwla's left arm covering's length is inconsistently depicted between panels of the twenty-third issue of Rogue Squadron.^[14] Huwla's skin color is also incorrectly depicted as red in the third issue of the X-Wing: Rogue Leader comic series^[3] and gray in the thirthieth issue of Rogue Squadron.^[4]

Appearances[]

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• X-Wing: Rogue Leader 3
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 21 (First appearance)
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 22
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 23
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 24
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 26
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 28 (as Xarcee)
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 29
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 30
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 31
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 32
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 33
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 34
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron 35

Sources[]

• Star Wars Handbook 1: X-Wing Rogue Squadron (as Xarrce)
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded (as Xarrce)
• "Who's Who in Rogue Squadron" — Star Wars Insider 59 (as Xarrce)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 14 (ROG 1-2: X-Wing Rogue Squadron) (Picture only)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 61 (TIE 7-8: TIE Interceptor) (Starfighter only)
• Ultimate Alien Anthology (as Xarrce)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 130 (RIT 5-6: Galactic Rituals) (Picture only)
• Star Wars: The Comics Companion
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (as Xarrce)

Notes and references[]