Denish Wraive was a male soldier in the New Republic's 61st Mobile Infantry. During the Galactic Civil War, Wraive was selected by the New Republic pilot Wyl Lark to fly an airspeeder in a makeshift squadron, due to a shortage of pilots following an attack by Colonel Soran Keize's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing.

Biography[]

Ressignment[]

Denish Wraive was born two centuries prior to the Galactic Civil War between the rising New Republic and the fragmented Galactic Empire, flying in combat until he was around 120 years old. During the war, Wraive came to serve as part of the 61st Mobile Infantry, an infantry unit in the New Republic^[3] better known as Twilight Company.^[5] Around 5 ABY,^[1] the company teamed with the New Republic's battle group led by General Hera Syndulla aboard its flagship, the Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ship Lodestar, for a campaign against the Galactic Empire's forces in the Deep Core's Cerberon system.^[3]

Twilight Company led a ground assault across the ecumenopolis planet Troithe, but found itself scattered when the Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing arrived and decimated the battle group, destroying the Lodestar, before attacking the company. Wraive regrouped with a remnant of the New Republic forces in Troithe's Highgarden District, which was taken charge of by Sergeant Carver. The remnant's airsupport was limited to the New Republic pilots Lieutenant Wyl Lark and Lieutenant Nath Tensent, who decided to lead a makeshift squadron of available personnel with air experience. Having air experience of his own, Wraive was among the five most air worthy candidates Lark could find, the others including Sergeant Vitale, the Houk Gorgeous Su, the human Ubellikos and the insectoid Prinspai.^[3]

Traversing underground[]

As the remnant descended into a network of underground tunnels to travel to the continent Scar of Troithe on a caravan of unarmed ground vehicles, Tensent was able to retrieve a Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighter and four Humble HoverCat airspeeders, the V-wing going to Vitale, which were quickly refurbished by engineers. While the caravan traveled through the tunnels, Lark ran drills with Wraive and the rest of the squadron and discussing past encounters with the 204th. Only two pilots could take rest breaks at a time, parking their aircraft on the convoy's mining transports. At one point, Wraive discussed the villages preserved in stone through the tunnels, to which Gorgeous Su echoed rumors about ghost civilizations underground.^[3]

After Su declared it game time, the squadron members played Who? What? Where?, a game in which each contender listed who first heard of their death, what caused the death, and where the death took place. Wraive questioned Su's decision to fly her HoverCat into the 204th's command ship, doubting the capabilities of the airspeeder. He went next, and gave a detailed tale on saving his grand-children and having heart failure after near the end of the Galactic Civil War. However, the game was soon interrupted when a 204th scout passed over the caravan in a TIE/ln space superiority starfighter. Lark pursued the TIE, which attempted to collapse a tunnel onto Lark's RZ-1 A-wing interceptor but was killed in the process.^[3]

Despite the caravan having been discovered by the 204th, Carver wished for the convoy to keep travelling. Lark relayed the situation to Wraive and the other pilots, telling them that the priority was to protect their forces rather than beat the 204th or retake Troithe. Some more time passed until 204th reinforcements arrived, the TIE scout's squadron. Su spotted the squadron during reconnaissance duty, and Lark ordered Tensent and Wraive to stay with the caravan, hoping to rescue the Houk. Carver had other plans, though, and detonated the rear most ground vehicle to collapse a tunnel entrance and cut off the TIEs. Su was killed in the brief pursuit.^[3]

Hidden in the Scar[]

The caravan continued through the tunnels, stopping six hours later to attend to an overheating repulsorcar. When the convoy eventually reached the Scar of Troithe, the personnel hid in a canyon. Wraive, Vitale, Ubellikos, and Prinspai spent all of their evenings together since Su's death. Together, they reviewed Lark's combat courses and kept up to speed on gossip from their Twilight Company friends.^[3]

Lark and Tensent attended another meeting with Carver and the other senior personnel, establishing that their next target was the Core Nine mining megafacility, a facility in the Scar of Troithe where the 204th had established operations. The pair then brought Wraive and the rest of their squadron together to discuss the projected attack on Core Nine. Lark summarized the attack plan, promising more details when the ground assault plan was finalized. He then advised Wraive and the other three new pilots to get some sleep, for which the four went to bed shortly after.^[3]

Driving off the 204th[]

Siege of Core Nine[]

Not long after, it was reported by allied forces that the 204th's squadrons were all diverting towards Core Nine. Carver produced a plan, and the New Republic forces began travelling to the megafacility. Less than two hours later, Lark's squadron, Wraive included, approached Core Nine on their aircraft, and Wraive and the other pilots reported in upon their squadron commander's request. Lark gave some motivational words that Nath humorously translated to make the rest of the pilots laugh. With his commander taking the lead, Wraive and his comrades trailed behind as they reached a system of canyons converging on the Core Nine facility.^[3]

When the 204th's available TIE fighters at Core Nine prepared to deploy, Lark ordered the others to stay with him and scatter the enemy with laserfire, Wraive remarking that the challenge was to keep the TIEs from catching Lark's squadron. The pilots subsequently followed Lark's lead in releasing a barrage on deploying 204th fighters, breaking the enemy's formation. After Tensent made a crack in Core Nine's wall, the 61st forces began charging from the canyons. Under Lark's orders, Wraive and the squadron scattered downwards, drawing TIEs with them and away from the ground forces.^[3]

Wraive was asked by Lark if he could support the infantry, but the soldier-turned-pilot, having two TIEs on his tail, turned down the request. Thus Lark flew towards Wraive's flight path and shot down a pursuing TIE, freeing Wraive momentarily. The battle continued, and Wraive and the other squadron members received more orders from Lark as time went on. By the time every squadron of the 204th had joined the battle, Lark's squadron took the fight into the open, advancing into the swarm of TIEs, Ubellikos and Prinspai perishing during in the subsequent fighting.^[3]

Victory on Troithe[]

However, the New Republic forces were soon reinforced by General Hera Syndulla, the leader of the Barma Battle Group. Syndulla arrived aboard the MC75 Star Cruiser Temperance with the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron. The Temperance rained down turbolaserfire to disperse the 204th's TIEs. Wraive's airspeeder engine soon overheated, forcing him to withdraw. Regardless of his absence however, the New Republic forces drove the 204th from Core Nine, the fighter wing escaping on a bulk freighter from the facility.^[3]

Within the next few days, much of Troithe was taken by the New Republic. Wraive, Vitale and Lark later mourned the loss of Su, Ubellikos and Prinspai one night. The next day, many New Republic personnel celebrated their victory over Imperial forces on Troithe, with a ceremony and an ensuing social gathering. Wraive, Vitale and the soldier Twitch wagered on when rioting in the Old Skybottom District would end, Lark attempting to involve his comrade Chass na Chadic in the conversation.^[3]

The hunt[]

Formation of Wild Squadron[]

After Troithe, the Wraive and Vitale, as the remnants of Lark's squadron, formed Wild Squadron, a squadron of R-22 Spearheads, modified X-wing starfighters and two V-wings flown by Vitale and one of the new additions Lieutenant Itina. Wild Squadron flew as part of a starfighter wing led by now Starfighter Commander Wyl Lark aboard Syndulla's new flagship, the New Republic refitted Star Destroyer Deliverance, which also included the BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers of Hail Squadron and the X-wings of Flare Squadron. Wraive served as Wild Squadron's commander, under the callsign Wild Leader, with his own starfighter.^[4]

Some months after the Cerberon campaign, Syndulla's forces defeated Imperial blockades in the location Nythlide Array. After, the forces traveled to the Croynar sector, where Tensent had been informed that the 204th had traveled to. Wild, Hail, and Flare Squadrons, led by Lark, exited hyperspace near the celestial body Midgor finding an Imperial convoy, which served under a faction that had broken away from the Empire's loyalists, that had been crippled by the 204th.^[4]

The chase[]

The Deliverance followed a series of communications signal bursts leading Syndulla's to encounter the 204th in a number of star systems. Wild Squadron was involved in the encounters, although it did not directly engage the fighter wing in all of them. During a pursuit in the G'Tep'Noi system, where both forces traveled between moving stone walls. Lark called to Wraive and Vitale, reminding them of the caverns under Troithe. As the engagement continued, one TIE fighter targeted Wraive, firing on and shattering a nearby asteroid to released shrapnel on Wild Leader. The squadron commander survived, and the TIE passed on the 204th soon escaping again.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

Denish Wraive first appeared in the 2020 novel Shadow Fall, the second installment of the Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron trilogy written by Alexander Freed.^[3]

Appearances[]

• Shadow Fall (First appearance, simultaneous with Shadow Fall audiobook)
• Shadow Fall audiobook
• Victory's Price
• Victory's Price audiobook

Notes and references[]