Xarcce Huwla

Xarcce Huwla was a Tunroth hailing from the planet of Jiroch-Saloch. During the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire, in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, and following the capture of Imperial General Weir, Huwla stood out as one of the many pilots who volunteered to join the Alliance of Free Planets' Rogue Squadron, a well-known unit of X-wing starfighter pilots. These volunteers were stationed on a Star Destroyer, where they received a briefing from Admiral Gial Ackbar. He informed them that the squadron was assigned the most hazardous missions. Subsequently, Wedge Antilles, the newly appointed leader of the squadron, entered the briefing room and instructed the pilots to board their ships before departing the Star Destroyer.

Huwla, a seasoned veteran with twenty-three combat missions under her belt, was well-versed in the squadron's history, including events such as the Battles of Hoth and Endor, recent engagements like the battle on the planet Mrlsst, and the Rebel Alliance's triumph at the Battle of Yavin. Approximately nine months following the Battle of Endor, Huwla, along with Standro Jcir, Avan Beruss, and Dar Keyis, became one of the four new recruits for Rogue Squadron. By then, the squadron operated under the New Republic, the Alliance's successor, and was stationed at Base Delta-Nine. Antilles and Tycho Celchu, another squadron member, consulted with them, with Antilles reviewing a datapad that displayed the profiles of Huwla and the other recruits. After Antilles dismissed the recruits, Huwla requested a private conversation with him and Celchu. The Tunroth's initial request was an immediate transfer out of the squadron, expressing concerns about the New Republic's tendency to assign the unit to impossible missions and stating her desire to avoid dying as a Rogue due to the significantly higher risk of death. However, Antilles was unable to accommodate her request immediately. After her dismissal, she encountered Lieutenant Wes Janson and was assigned to the quarters of fellow pilot Feylis Ardele.

In her first deployment, Huwla joined Rogue Squadron to support Colonel Horton Salm's Aggressor Wing and their fighters in an attack on an Imperial base situated on a moon of the planet Brentaal IV. There, they fought against the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing, led by Baron Soontir Fel. During the battle, Huwla successfully shot down a 181st TIE interceptor that was approaching her. Following the New Republic's successful capture of the base, Rogue Squadron returned to Base Delta-Nine. There, Huwla engaged in a holotable game with Keyis before Antilles arrived and altered the hologram projection to display the 181st TIE interceptors, identifying them as such. When Celchu pointed out that the 181st was Fel's unit and that the Baron was the most skilled Imperial pilot alive, fellow pilot Plourr Ilo declared that they could "change that," to which Huwla responded that they could not do so before "joining" pilots Derek Klivian, who was shot down in the battle over Brentaal IV, and Biggs Darklighter, who was killed in the Battle of Yavin.

Huwla later participated in another holotable game, this time with Mon Calamari Rogue Ibtisam. By that point, she had heard a rumor that the Sith Lord Darth Vader had his personal starship created to prevent Fel from killing him in battle, which she shared with the squadron while they discussed a future engagement with Fel and the 181st. She went on to state that while Celchu spoke of fear to alleviate it, Ilo was concealing her fear. Huwla called her a fool when Ilo stated she was not a coward and explained that only a fool would not seek to learn about a deadly enemy. Huwla and the squadron later donned their flight suits and attended a briefing at the Brentaal IV moonbase.

The unit was assigned the task of feigning an attack on Vuultin, a city located on the planet, and engaging the 181st to prevent them from reaching the New Republic assault troops who were targeting another city, Oradin. As planned, they engaged in a dogfight with the 181st at Vuultin. Although Rogue Squadron was subsequently ordered to return to the Star Cruiser Independence, the feint compelled Imperial Admiral Lon Isoto to command the 181st pilots at Oradin, including Fel, to abandon the city and reinforce Vuultin instead, thus opening Oradin up for capture by the New Republic.

Later, in Oradin, Huwla and Klivian were inspecting the pots and cups of a merchant, admiring and picking up one of them. When Klivian expressed his desire to purchase it, the merchant claimed it was a very old heirloom and would not sell it for less than one thousand credits. Huwla noticed that the ultraviolet reflectors resembled those manufactured on the planet Sullust in the past decade, thus identifying the cup as a fake. Despite the merchant's attempts to bargain, the pair then left. Rogue Squadron was later briefed on another attack on Oradin, this time to provide cover for Aggressor Wing's Y-wings as they disabled ships carrying wealthy Imperial citizens fleeing the city.

The squadron shot down numerous Imperial TIE fighters over Oradin before the 181st arrived and engaged the Rogues once more. Huwla herself shot down a TIE interceptor that was targeting Klivian. By the conclusion of the Battle of Brentaal IV, Fel had been captured following a dogfight with Antilles, and Imperial forces had withdrawn from Brentaal IV. At the MC80 Star Cruiser Home One, the Rogues discussed their victory, with Huwla expressing her satisfaction to Klivian for shooting down the interceptor that was targeting him. With the campaign's end, Huwla had accumulated numerous kills against the 181st. She had also befriended members of the squadron, subsequently withdrawing her transfer request and ceasing any further discussion of transfers out of the unit.

Approximately ten months after the Battle of Endor, Huwla, Rogue Squadron, and other New Republic personnel attended a funeral held on the deck of a Star Cruiser's for the Rebel and New Republic pilots who had perished at Brentaal IV and in previous battles. Following the funeral, in a briefing room, when Antilles announced that Fel would be joining Rogue Squadron, Quarren Rogue Nrin Vakil attempted to charge towards the former Imperial pilot in a fit of anger, but Huwla and Ilo restrained him until Fel exited the room.

Around eleven months after the Battle of Endor, Huwla and Rogue Squadron raided a group of pirates in a region of space. The squadron destroyed several fighters before Antilles ordered them to allow the remaining pirates to escape. During an undercover operation on the planet Axxila, Princess Leia Organa and Captain Han Solo of the New Republic met with Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, who offered to leave the Imperial capital planet of Coruscant undefended from a New Republic attack in exchange for control of several worlds. Huwla, Vakil, and Ibtisam later discussed this news at a building with Organa, Solo, and other Rogues who had recently arrived.

The trio later sat at an establishment on Axxila, enjoying drinks, with Huwla opting for a lomin ale. They then discussed a group of pirates seated at another table, with Huwla praising Vakil's deduction that the group consisted of pilots. She then revealed to Ibtisam that Vakil used to worry about her while she was on the ground, indicating that they had grown close as friends. As Vakil ordered the two to return to Antilles, the pirate group began to leave the establishment. However, Ibtisam decided to join Vakil in tailing the pirates.

Huwla, pointing out that this was not the original plan, confronted the pirates herself, leading to a fight between them and the three Rogues. The trio successfully incapacitated the pirates before departing the establishment to report their encounter. The trio, along with Janson, rendezvoused with Antilles and Beruss before the Rogues boarded their fighters to rescue Celchu and Winter, a New Republic operative, who had both been captured and were attempting to escape in a Y-wing on Axxila. Rogue Squadron engaged in a dogfight with the pirate fighters that were pursuing the Y-wing and emerged victorious. After escorting Celchu and Winter, Huwla and the pilots landed in a hangar, where she complimented Ibtisam on her wing cover.

The group was alerted to the presence of Imperial ships entering Axxila, led by Admiral Delak Krennel, and subsequently prepared to depart. During this time, Huwla offered to assist the Wookiee Chewbacca in mounting 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, compelling the admiral to withdraw his forces from the system. This action allowed Huwla and the group to depart Axxila safely.

Around 5 ABY, Rogue Squadron was on rest and recreation at an unidentified location. Huwla went to a gym, where she adjusted the gravity compensator for a weightlifting machine to a setting of three. Later, when Celchu trained at the gym, he quickly gave up on a weightlifting exercise after attempting to use the equipment due to the excessive weight. Huwla and Ilo later engaged in a sparring match, exchanging blows and knocking each other off balance. Both were rendered unconscious at the end of the fight. Later, while Huwla was drinking with Ilo at an establishment, Rogue Squadron was ordered by Admiral Ackbar to report for a mission briefing concerning the rescue of Pestage from the world of Ciutric IV.

Rogue Squadron, including Huwla, Aggressor Wing, and Commando Team One, gathered in a briefing room where Antilles explained their mission: the Rogues and Aggressor Wing were to support Commando Team One during their rescue of Pestage. Following the briefing, the units embarked on an eighteen-hour journey to the Ciutric system and scouted it before executing a microjump to Ciutric IV. Subsequently, they engaged TIE fighters over the planet and enemy forces on the surface. After Commando Team One successfully extracted Pestage, they prepared to leave the system when the Star Destroyer Reckoning and the Interdictor Binder intercepted them, cutting off their escape route and forcing them to retreat to Ciutric IV's surface for the night while Aggressor Wing separated and fled. Later during the day, with the assistance of the commandos and several 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 a rescue team later brought it to their location.

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 its captain, 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 this fact to the rest of the pilots while firing 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, remained on the planet, and leaked the New Republic's plans to Krennel, who proceeded to murder him and seize his personal territory. Afterward, Huwla was present at a funeral for Ibtisam, standing over her coffin alongside the other Rogues. By 6 ABY, the Human Bror Jace was operating as Rogue Four.

Xarcce Huwla possessed black eyes and yellow skin. She had cultivated patience before experiencing frustration, a fact she stated after Wedge Antilles apologized to her and other recruits for making them wait at Base Delta-Nine. Despite volunteering to join Rogue Squadron and later feeling honored to be a member, Huwla requested a transfer out of the squadron to Antilles. While she never shirked duty, she logically explained to him the high death rate within Rogue Squadron. However, by the end of the Brentaal IV campaign, Huwla had formed friendships within the squadron and never mentioned transfers again.

She believed that while Tycho Celchu spoke of fear to find relief, Plourr Ilo was foolish for speaking against fear to conceal it and for not wanting to understand a deadly enemy like Baron Soontir Fel. However, when Derek Klivian mentioned that he and his colleagues could never defeat Fel in a flight simulation during their time at the Imperial Academy, Huwla, overcome with fear like the other Rogues around her, brought up her transfer to Antilles once more. As a Rogue, Huwla developed friendly relationships with Nrin Vakil and Ibtisam in the unit and complimented her fellow Rogues' positive actions; she praised Ibtisam's wing cover during a mission and enjoyed her workout with Ilo, calling her a "good fighter."

As a starfighter pilot, Huwla was skilled enough to shoot down Imperial craft, achieving impressive kills against Fel's legendary 181st Imperial Fighter Wing during the Battle of Brentaal IV and providing cover for her allies. According to Ibtisam, she was "hard to keep up with" in flight. In addition to piloting, she could identify a merchant's cup as a fake by examining its construction. Huwla was also proficient in hand-to-hand combat and could take on multiple opponents with little to no difficulty. Vakil considered her a strong individual and informed Ilo about the fight on Axxila, calling Huwla "tough" for when the two engaged in a sparring match that resulted in both of them losing consciousness by the end.

As a pilot for Rogue Squadron, Huwla piloted a T-65 X-wing starfighter. Her attire included an orange flight suit, covered by a white flak vest, and a flight helmet displaying the Alliance Starbird symbol. When she wasn't flying, her typical clothing consisted of a red vest with gold accents, light brown trousers, brown boots, a gold wrap on her left arm, and sometimes a bracelet on her other arm.

After the Brentaal IV mission, while on the Home One ship, she was seen wearing a light brown outfit underneath a red vest. During her time on Axxila, Huwla wore different outfits depending on the occasion: a green shirt paired with brown pants when she met the other Rogues inside a building, green pants and a green shirt while at a location before fighting pirates, and a green crop top with green shorts at a hangar after a dogfight with pirates. When she sparred with Ilo, she wore a teal outfit, complete with headgear, a vest, gloves, and protective padding on her arms, elbows, knees, shins, and feet. A gray material held the pads in place. At two separate memorial services, Huwla was dressed in a New Republic officers' dress uniform.

Xarcce Huwla's creation was for the Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic-book series from Dark Horse's. Her initial appearance was in the twenty-first issue, which was released on August 6 of 1997. Michael A. Stackpole wrote the issue, and John Nadeau provided the illustrations.

The character's first name is misspelled as "Xarcee" in the twenty-eighth issue. However, the article "Who's Who in Rogue Squadron," which was penned by Jason Fry and featured in the fifty-ninth issue of Star Wars Insider magazine, as well as Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game supplement Ultimate Alien Anthology, Peet Janes' Star Wars Handbook 1: X-Wing Rogue Squadron—a companion piece for the Rogue Squadron comic series—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, all spell the name as "Xarrce." This article uses the spelling from Huwla's original appearance.

The length of Huwla's left arm covering is inconsistent across panels in the twenty-third issue of Rogue Squadron. Additionally, her skin tone is incorrectly shown as red in the third issue of the X-Wing: Rogue Leader comic series and as gray in the thirthieth issue of Rogue Squadron.