Tierfon Yellow Aces
"
Hold your Gandoks, I'm goin' in!"
―Jek Tono Porkins
[src]
Jek Tono Porkins
Porkins was initially assigned to
Tierfon Rebel Outpost,
[9] serving in the
Tierfon Yellow Aces.
[10] The Yellow Aces were officially a training
squadron but were frequently involved in the less hazardous active combat missions, giving them combat experience.
[9] Porkins found the transition from T-16 to
BTL Y-wing and
T-65 X-wing starfighter pilot easy. He soon reached the rank of
lieutenant and, in under 40 hours of combat time, achieved sixteen confirmed kills.
[1] Among those in Porkins's training class was a pilot named
Wes Janson, with whom he worked well and became good friends.
[9] He and Janson also became acquainted with the young pilot
N'dru Suhlak, whom they gave some informal training.
[11] During his time with the Yellow Aces, Porkins acquired his
astromech droid,
R5-D8, who remained with him throughout his career.
[12]
On one mission, the Yellow Aces were sent to ambush an Imperial
freighter and its
TIE/LN starfighter escort as they landed at a temporary Imperial staging base. The squadron flew Y-wings and was under instruction to split into two groups, with one group strafing the base and drawing away its defenses while the other attempted to disable the freighter. The first stage of the mission went well, but when the freighter arrived with a larger escort than expected, Yellow Ace member
Kissek Doran panicked and broke formation. Knowing that if Doran was seen by the Imperials, the Yellow Aces would be compromised and potentially eliminated, Porkins and Janson were ordered to pursue him and attempt to bring him back. If they were unable to do so, they were authorized to shoot him down. Porkins attempted to use his own starfighter to force Doran to the ground. However, his attempts were unsuccessful and Janson was forced to open fire. His
laser cannon cracked Doran's cockpit and he was killed by exposure to the
vacuum outside.
[10]
In
0 BBY,
[2] with the Alliance becoming aware of the threat posed by the Empire's new
battlestation, the
Death Star, the Yellow Aces were taken to fully active status. High-security bases were given priority for the newly active pilots and, when
Red Squadron operating out of the Rebel base in the
Great Temple on
Yavin 4 needed pilots to fill an immediate shortage, Janson was scheduled for an emergency transfer to the
Yavin system. However, when Janson was taken ill with
Hesken Fever, Porkins took his place.
[9]
Red Squadron
"
That's a good-sized pot."
"
And he won a lot of credits, too."
―Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter, after losing to Porkins at sabacc
[src]
Soon after arriving on Yavin, Porkins attended a briefing by
General Jan Dodonna. The Alliance was in need of additional
starfighters and had recently learned of a number of X-wings at an
Incom Corporation assembly facility. Dodonna outlined a plan to capture the fighters by using four TIE/LN starfighters, recently brought to the Alliance by the defecting crew of the
Class II Frigate Rand Ecliptic, to draw the defending TIE fighters away from the nearby
Imperial Security Bureau base. Once the Incom facility was undefended, the
Rand Ecliptic would arrive to retrieve the X-wings. The mission was a success, with the Rebels capturing several of the new starfighters, though
Peate Kurin was killed and
Derek Klivian lost a leg during the diversionary raid. Porkins later joined
Biggs Darklighter,
Wedge Antilles, and
Cesi Eirriss in practicing in the captured fighters. After visiting Klivian in the infirmary, the group was called back for another briefing with General Dodonna.
[7]
Though the Alliance now had a supply of starfighters at Yavin 4, they still needed astromech droids to help their pilots operate the
ships. The Empire seemed to have anticipated their need and responded with strict controls over the
droids,
[7] but a source had been found when
Captain Nera Dantels of the
Starduster arranged to take a shipment of
R2and
R5 units to the Imperial stronghold of
Commenor. Porkins, along with Darklighter, Antilles, and Eirriss, was
dispatched undercover to the world to rendezvous with the
smuggler.
[8]
Porkins takes exception to a remark about his size.
After arriving at Commenor, the Rebels landed their X-wings at the
spaceport, rented a
landspeeder, and headed to a local
cantina,
[8] where they had been told to play a game of
sabacc while waiting for Dantels.
[7] While there, they watched the latest news of the dissolution of the
Imperial Senate on the
HoloNet, learning of the apparent disappearance of
Senator Leia Organa of
Alderaan. Porkins won the sabacc game, but as they prepared to play another, Antilles received a signal from Dantels telling them to meet her at
Hangar Bay 31, and the group departed. Outside, they were met by a number of local ruffians who claimed to have chased some thieves away from the landspeeder and demanded a reward. When Porkins refused to play along, one of the gang insulted him, causing the Rebel to knee the youth in the midsection. The situation rapidly descended into a brawl, before the Rebels ended the fight by pulling their
blasters and left in the speeder to head to their rendezvous.
[8]
The Rebels finally met with Captain Dantels and examined the cargo of astromechs. After confirming the cargo, they arranged to meet up with her in orbit and lead the
Starduster back to Yavin 4. However, unknown to the Rebels, one of the street gang had followed them, leading a
stormtrooper to the meeting. The stormtrooper called the
Imperial base on the nearby
moonof
Folor to warn them of the fleeing Rebels. By the time the Rebels collected their X-wings and reached orbit, the Imperials had already dispatched TIE/LN starfighters to intercept them.
[8]
Seeing the incoming fighters, Antilles and Darklighter broke formation to intercept, leaving Porkins and Eirriss to provide cover for the
Starduster. Nevertheless, some TIEs made it through and were able to get on Porkins's tail. Eirriss eliminated his pursuers and Porkins soon reciprocated, but more TIEs came and attacked the
Starduster. Though Dantels was able to shoot them off, some of the debris struck Eirriss's X-wing, damaging her
shield generator and
hyperdrive. With no time to eject before the next wave of TIEs arrived, and no way to leave the system, Eirriss set a collision course for the incoming fighters, telling her comrades to leave without her. Her X-wing was destroyed in a head-on collision with the Imperial fighters.
[8]
Porkins, Antilles, and Darklighter jumped to
hyperspace, leading the
Starduster back to Yavin 4. After landing in the Great Temple, and learning that the Death Star was already en route to Yavin to destroy the Rebel base, the Rebel pilots agreed to dedicate the destruction of the
superweapon to their fallen comrade.
[8] On Porkins's recommendation, Yellow Ace pilot
John D. Branon was selected to take the place of Eirriss for the upcoming
battle.
[13] Soon after returning, Porkins met Darklighter's old friend,
Luke Skywalker, who had himself just arrived on Yavin 4 and was also to join Red Squadron.
[8]
Battle of Yavin
"
I've got a problem here."
"
Eject."
"
I can hold it."
"
Pull up!"
"
No, I'm all—Aargh!"
―Porkins talks to Darklighter, moments before his death —
Listen (
file info)
[src]
Jek Porkins during the Battle of Yavin
Soon, the Death Star arrived in the system, but the Rebels believed they had found a weakness in the battlestation.
Plans provided by Leia Organa after her rescue from Imperial capture had revealed a small
thermal exhaust port leading to the main
reactor core. With the Death Star's defenses geared towards defending the station from a large-scale attack, the Rebels believed it would be possible for their starfighters to navigate down a narrow trench on the Death Star's surface, and fire a
proton torpedo into the exhaust port, triggering a chain reaction that would destroy the station. After General Dodonna outlined the mission, the Rebel pilots prepared for battle.
[4] As the Rebels rushed to get ready for the battle, the X-wing assigned to Porkins missed its final inspection of
computer and flight control systems.
[14]
Porkins flew under the
call sign Red Six during the Battle of Yavin. After arriving at the approaching battlestation, the Rebels initiated strafing runs in the area around the trench.
[4] Porkins's skill with strafing played an important part in the success of the early runs,
[14] but the Rebel fighters came under heavy fire from a
turbolaser emplacement near one of the surface's many
deflection towers. Darklighter moved to attack the tower, telling Porkins to provide cover. The two pilots dived towards the surface, opening fire on the tower and scoring a direct hit.
[4] However, as the tower exploded, Porkins was caught by debris from the blast, causing instruments throughout his fighter to malfunction.
[15] Though his X-wing fighter was generally maneuverable enough to avoid the Death Star's sluggish turbolasers, incorrect readings from his instrumentation left him unable to judge his altitude and he found himself too low and an easy target for enemy fire.
[16]Darklighter attempted to warn his friend that he was too low and advised him to eject, but Porkins felt that he could control the problem. Before he was able to regain control, however, he was hit by enemy turbolaser fire and was killed as his X-wing exploded around him.
[4]
Legacy
Porkins dies as his X-wing disintegrates around him.
"
You are elite pilots and you are more than just that, but no matter who you are, or how good you are, you'll never be considered as good as Biggs Darklighter or Jek Porkins or anyone else who has died in service to Rogue Squadron. They are legends, this unit is a legend, and none of us are ever going to be able to be more than they are."
―Wedge Antilles addresses members of Rogue Squadron
[src]
A
holographic memorial to Porkins, along with the other pilots killed during the mission, was installed in the Great Temple following the battle
[17] and he was still included in the
Rogue Squadron memorial as late as
5 ABY.
[18][19] His actions during the Battle of Yavin saw him posthumously awarded the
Kenobi Medallion, a medal created specifically to remember the sacrifices of those who fought at Yavin. His Kenobi Medallion was hung with those of his comrades in the pilots' lounge at Tierfon Rebel Base.
[1] Red Squadron survivors Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles later founded Rogue Squadron
[9] and, though Porkins died before Rogue Squadron's formation, Antilles always considered him and the other members of Red Squadron to be among the first Rogues.
[20] Rogue Squadron named one of their maneuvers
Porkins' Formation in his memory.
[21] After Antilles and Janson formed
Wraith Squadron, following the
New Republic's capture of
Coruscant, they informed the
Gamorrean Wraith recruit
Voort saBinring that they did not see his nickname of "Piggy" as an insult—instead it was a mark of respect as the same nickname had once belonged to Porkins.
[10]
Listen (file info)[src]
