X-Wing Rogue Squadron 5, also labeled as "The Phantom Affair, Chapter 1", is the fifth issue in the Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron series of comics. It was released by Dark Horse Comics on February 13, 1996.
Publisher's summary
The Battle of Endor (from Return of the Jedi) was never fought -- it was just so much Alliance propaganda. At least, that's the lie being spread by members of the AEA (Ante-Endor Association). But Wedge Antilles and his Rogue Squadron comrades know the truth. They were at Endor when so many of their friends and colleagues gave their lives to destroy the second Death Star. And so, for those lost friends, this is a battle they will not fail.
Plot summary
Over Mrlsst, Rogue Squadron leads a battle against an Imperial Interdictor cruiser while escorting a convoy to the planet. Wedge Antilles and recent Rogue Squadron recruit Elscol Loro execute a synchronized proton torpedo attack on the cruiser, disabling it, but decide not to destroy it outright to focus on safely escorting their convoy. Landing on Mrlsst's surface, the squadron reunites with Groznik and an injured Wes Janson while Antilles meets with Noss Prisht, the Mrlssi aide to Gyr Keela, the President of the Mrlsst Trade and Science Academy.
Antilles meets with Keela to discuss a "phantom ship" developed by the academy, a cloaking device that requires little energy and resists gravity well projectors. Keela affirms that the Mrlssi have not decided to give the device to the Alliance just yet, citing a new point arising in the negotiations, and that the council will meet later in the week for a final decision.
After being escorted to his quarters by Keela's Myke aide Gade Yedan, Antilles encounters Mirax Terrik, a smuggler and old friend of Wedge's. Booster Terrik, Mirax's father, smuggled arms for the Rebellion and has since given Mirax the Pulsar Skate, their old ship. Antilles introduces Terrik to the rest of the squadron as they leave to find "The Soundmound" at Terrik's recommendation. The two trade details about their business on Mrlsst; Terrik explains that she is scavenging for cultural items such as art and music to trade, while Antilles' own "scavenging" business is "top secret". After parting ways, Antilles finds Loro crying in her quarters viewing a holorecording of herself and her late husband, Throm. She sadly reminisces how they met and married in the springtime, and she found his body in the spring, covered in scavenging lipi flowers. Antilles tries to comfort Loro, who thanks him but asks him to leave. As Antilles departs, a figure watches him from elsewhere through security footage.
In the city, the rest of Rogue Squadron encounter a speech being given by the Ante-Endor Association, or AEA, an organization that claims the Emperor's death at the Battle of Endor never happened. Tycho Celchu confronts the orator with his own personal experience of the battle to little effect. Later that night, Celchu is ambushed by four members of the AEA (two human men and two aliens) but is rescued by the ghostly visage of a masked, lightsaber-wielding figure. The figure blinds one of Celchu's attackers and vanishes before Celchu can thank them.
Media
Cover gallery
Collected in
- Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair trade paperback
- Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron Volume 1
- Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic Vol. 2
- Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus Vol. 1
Appearances
| Characters | Organisms | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
|
Organisms
Droid models
Events
|
Locations
|
Organizations and titles
|
Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
|
Weapons and technology
|
Miscellanea
|
