Wes Janson/Legends

"This is Major Wes Janson, and if you're not aware of his exploits, I'm sure he'll be delighted to give you the whole story."

- Wedge Antilles on Wes Janson

Wes Janson was a pilot for the Rebel Alliance and New Republic. He served as Wedge Antilles's gunner at the Battle of Hoth. He later went on to become a key member of Rogue Squadron, the Rebel Alliance's most elite fighter squadron. Later, he served in Wraith Squadron, the New Republic's pilot/commando unit. Janson eventually reached the rank of Major after years of service fighting against the Empire, including the campaigns against Warlord Zsinj, Admiral Delak Krennel, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Retiring from service after the end of the Galactic Civil War, Janson later returned and continued to serve the New Republic by leading a group of volunteers during the Yuuzhan Vong War.

In addition to his piloting skills, Janson was a deadly shot with blasters and skilled at hand to hand combat. When he wasn't fighting, he was known for his practical jokes and witticisms among his fellow pilots.

Early Galactic Civil War
"Good shot, Janson!"

- Wedge Antilles



Wes Janson, a native of Taanab, originally joined the Rebel Alliance as a member of the Tierfon Yellow Aces, a Y-wing squadron in training during the early years of the Alliance. For their first mission, the Yellow Aces were tasked with ambushing an Imperial convoy carrying supplies that the Alliance needed badly. When the convoy arrived at the system, its armed escort was larger than anticipated. One pilot, Kissek Doran, was suddenly struck with panic and tried to leave the group. With the prospect of compromising the entire ambush party if he was detected by the Imperials, Wes and Jek Tono Porkins were ordered to bring him back. Since using his ion cannon would give away their position, Wes was forced to use his lasers, vaping the fleeing pilot&mdash;it was his first kill. Janson also met Tomer Darpen in the squadron, whom he would later encounter on Adumar.

Janson, who had become good friends with Jek Porkins, was eventually transferred to Yavin. However, he was stricken with Hesken Fever and was unable to join in the Battle of Yavin.

Later, Janson joined Luke Skywalker's Rogue Squadron and took part in the First Battle of Balmorra where he and Luke destroyed an AT-AT factory, slowing the production of them down severely at the time. Janson also served as a gunner for Wedge Antilles at the Battle of Hoth. By the time he had reached Hoth, Janson had already earned a reputation for skill in combat on both the ground and in the air, having earned a True Gunner award for accuracy prior to service on Hoth. In that battle, he helped bring down an Imperial AT-AT walker with his tow cable. Wedge would later tell new recruits about him and Janson being stranded on the ice planet for months, with Janson eventually being slain at the hands of scavengers, only to have Janson emerge, alive and well.

Helping the search for Solo
During Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa's attempt to rescue Han Solo from the bounty hunter Boba Fett, Janson, as part of Rogue Squadron, was based on the moon of Kile at a temporary facility set up for them. Luke's plan had them attack two entire wings of TIE Fighters, plus two Imperial Star Destroyers in a surprise raid. The real purpose of the assault was to make a distraction, allowing the Millennium Falcon and the Outrider to reach Fett's craft and rescue Han.

When the Imperials launched more TIE fighters, Luke called for a retreat as the Rogues were beginning to take casualties. However, Wes's astromech droid suddenly took control of his X-wing. Programmed by a bribed technician, his ship began shooting at Luke's X-wing, with Wes powerless to stop it. Thankfully for Janson, Luke managed to disable Janson's rogue droid without causing any injury to him.

Later, Janson and the other Rogues participated in a space brawl over Coruscant with Black Sun forces while escorting the Millennium Falcon to safety. Ultimately, the intervention of the Imperial Navy, particularly the Executor, resulting in the destruction of the Black Sun leader's skyhook allowed the Rogues and the Falcon to escape in the confusion.

Endor and beyond
"Hey Wedge, where'd all the gnurled bandits come from?"

- Wes Janson on Cilpar.

Janson flew in the Battle of Endor, where he rendered "meritorious service" as a pilot. After the battle, Janson and Tycho Celchu were assigned to ground patrol on the surface of Endor in search of an Imperial patrol that the Ewoks had told the Alliance about. During the patrol, Janson and Tycho were attacked by a gorax&mdash;however, Janson's skill with a blaster pistol allowed him to kill the beast with a single blast to the eye. After the incident, they were recalled to base and given a new assignment under Luke Skywalker.

On this mission, Janson accompanied Luke Skywalker, Tycho Celchu, Ten Numb and Wedge Antilles to Corellia as part of the understrength Rogue Squadron. Janson and the other Rogues, having not found any trace of the Empire, were enjoying themselves in a local tapcafe when they were attacked by Imperial forces, who had come to reclaim the planet. Recovering from the assault, the Rogues counter-attacked and pursued Imperial General Weir. Weir, however, escaped Corellia after capturing Ten Numb. Janson, Wedge, and Luke pursued Weir on speeder bikes, but Weir managed to escape on a transport. Tycho and the R2 units brought the pilots their craft and the Rogues pursued the fleeing General. Distracted by a suicide fighter attack on a civilian convoy, Rogue Squadron was delayed long enough for Weir to flee to Tralus, but Luke, Janson, and the others followed them into Tralus's tunnels. With the aid of native Selonians, the Rogues tracked down Weir's base and attacked it in an attempt to save Ten Numb. Janson and Artoo, splitting up from the others, were able to find Ten, but the Sullustan pilot had already been killed. After returning from the mission to Tralus, Wedge took over the squadron, with Janson continuing to be a part of the squadron even after its reorganization.

Shot down on Cilpar
"Can you handle a blaster?" "Do garrals have freckles?"

- Tycho Celchu and Wes Janson



On a mission to Cilpar Janson was shot down by enemy TIE fighters, and crash-landed on the planet, breaking his leg and a number of ribs in the process. Tycho managed to land his fighter and find the injured Janson, and carried him to a nearby cave, tending to his wounds while waiting for rescue, though Janson was unimpressed by Tycho's cooking.

While in the cave, Tycho and Janson met up with Winter, who was disguised as Princess Leia. Winter gave Tycho a new assignment, sending him to impersonate an Imperial officer and infiltrate the local garrison while she stayed with Janson. While Wes and Winter were in the cave, Janson was able to learn Tycho's history from her.

After some time Winter left Janson for a short period, and went to check on Tycho's fighter&mdash;however, during the inspection the fighter took off with her inside of it. Having managed to return to the cave after defeating a flight of TIE fighters, Winter and Janson remained in hiding. However, a member of the local resistance who was aiding the Rogues was actually an Imperial spy. He brought the Empire to the cave and both Winter and Janson were captured and taken to the local Moff's palace, with Winter being mistaken for the real Princess Leia. Having arrived at the palace, the Imperials kept Janson in the infirmary due to his injuries rather than a cell or even in the Moff's company, as Winter was.

The successful attacks from Elscol Loro and Wedge's Rogues allowed the Rebels to capture the Moff and rescue Janson, liberating Cilpar from the Empire in the process.

Mission to Mrlsst
"C'mon, Wedge, you know me! Fighting is a way of life for me! Two days without blowing up some TIE fighters and I can't sleep properly!"

- Wes Janson to Wedge Antilles



Following his rescue on Cilpar, Janson remained convalescent in a Lambda-class shuttle while the other Rogues, with Elscol Loro newly added, were tasked with the escort of a convoy to Mrlsst&mdash;along the way they fought off an attacking Imperial fleet. During the defense, the Wookiee Groznik, in the shuttle with Wes, grew quite anxious at Elscol being placed in danger due to his life debt to her, which aggravated Janson. Spending the first few days or so in a Mrlssti hospital, Janson was present when a warrant was issued for their arrest after they were implicated in stealing the datacards of the Phantom Project, an experimental weapon desired by both the Empire and Rebellion, though the datacard was actually a fake. Breaking out of the hospital on the repulsor bed and still clad in pajamas, Janson, accompanied by several other Rogue pilots, Groznik, and Mirax Terrik, made their way out of the city, chased by Imperials. Shooting out the safety control on Janson's repulsor bed, the Rogues flew up to the top of Mrlssti's greenstalk trees, finding refuge in a treetop village, and out-distancing their pursuit.

Wes, apparently healthy enough to fight, joined Plourr Ilo and Hobbie in rescuing Wedge, who had been captured by the Empire. Little did they know that Wedge had already managed to escape from Imperial custody. The group was mostly united when the Empire decided to attack Mrlsst out of vengeance for the destruction of the Phantom Project datacards. Janson helped defend the planet from the attack, and the use of another experimental Mrlssti superweapon forced the Empire to withdraw after heavy losses.

Battle on Tatooine
"Plourr, try to remember that we're supposed to keep a low profile."

- Wes Janson to Plourr Ilo

Following their return from Mrlsst, Janson&mdash;now fully recovered&mdash;and the other Rogues went to Tatooine in support of an Alliance agent (later revealed to be Winter). Janson, Hobbie, Plourr, and Dllr Nep were sent to check out the local lowlifes and to investigate the intensity of the gang wars that had sprung up in the wake of Jabba the Hutt's death. Wes's group went to a local cantina on Dllr's recommendation, which Wes later reflected was a bad idea&mdash;the band was awful, Plourr got into a barfight, and the group was kicked out. Outside of the cantina, the group was hired by a Devaronian to cause some trouble at a local ranch, but without bloodshed, since his original employees had been beaten by Plourr. Wes agreed, for the price of eight hundred credits, over Plourr's objections, having noticed the man's military-grade blaster. Wes wanted to play along until he could determine what the Devaronian was actually planning, not knowing that the target was the Darklighter farm where Wedge, Tycho, Elscol, and Winter were. Janson's group was to be a diversion to allow Winter unnoticed access to Darklighter's safe, but another group of raiders attacked the Darklighter residence first and a pair of Rodians stole the datadisks that Winter sought. Accompanied by the Devaronian, the group set out for the farm, but stopped after they noticed that it had already been attacked. Wes attempted to interrogate the Devaronian, but he refused to answer and resisted them. Winter and Tycho flew by on a speeder in pursuit of the Rodians, but their speeder was shot down, and they joined Wes's group, where Winter identified the Devaronian as her associate, Kapp Dendo. Winter then returned to the Darklighter farm and wrested a copy of the data disk from Darklighter. The next morning, Janson and the other Rogues took flight in their X-wings, heading for the arms cache location that Winter had decrypted. The cache was actually weapons and gear pirated from the Eidolon, looted by Firith Olan, who launched TIE Interceptors after them. Handily defeating Olan's fighters, they pursued his ship into space, but the arrival of Imperial fighters, who were also after Olan, prevented them from disabling his craft, and he escaped to Ryloth.

While Wedge, Elscol, Tycho, and Winter journeyed to Ryloth on a freighter, Wes, Plourr, Dllr, and Hobbie remained behind on Tatooine. Unfortunately, the Empire retrieved Olan before Wedge could and obtained valuable information from him. Upon their return from the Twi'lek homeworld, the Rogues were reunited and gained the aid of Sixtus Quin and his ex-Imperial commandos. Pursuing the Imperials back to the location of the Eidolon, Wes and the other Rogues flew cover while Winter landed Sixtus and his men in a two-pronged attack on the Imperial forces hidden there. Despite Tycho and Plourr being shot down, the X-wing pilots destroyed the TIEs while Sixtus's men successfully secured the base and killed the Imperial leader, Captain Semtin.

Trouble on Eiattu
"They're all over us, Wedge! We can't hold off the troopers and the TIES!"

- Wes Janson to Wedge Antilles

Approximately one month after the events on Tatooine, Rogue Squadron received a new recruit by the name of Feylis Ardele. Ardele was recruited by Admiral Ackbar due to her experience and proficiency in flying the TIE series fighters, and during a training simulation, she managed to shoot down Janson.

While the squadron was getting to know its new pilot, Wedge and Tycho were introduced to the Grand Duke Gror Pernon, the uncle of the Rogue's own Plourr Ilo. The Grand Duke told those gathered of the problems being experienced on his homeworld of Eiattu, and also of Plourr Ilo's royal lineage&mdash;which effectively made her a Princess of Eiattu. Pernon asked for Rogue Squadron to escort Plourr back to her homeworld so that she could try and mend the wounds of the broken world.

Janson, along with the remainder of Rogue Squadron, accompanied Plourr on her homeward trek. Once on Eiattu, Janson, Hobbie, and a number of the other Rogues decided to ride a group of trained Thuvasaurs and explore the wild countryside. During their sightseeing, Janson and the others came under intense fire from Imperial ground forces who had been in pursuit of the People's Liberation Battalion (PLB). During the firefight, Janson got in touch with Wedge and requested immediate air support&mdash;the Rogues, accompanied by Count Rial Pernon, responded to the call and drove off the Imperial air cover that was strafing Janson and the others. Following the skirmish, Janson and the other grounded Rogues were unable to be extracted, but were instead found by the members of the PLB and taken back to the rebel camp. That night, Janson met the PLB leader Harran, who was actually an Imperial spy&mdash;the real Harran was Harrandatha Estillo, a deceased prince of Eiattu and the younger brother of Plourr Ilo.

The following day, soldiers of the PLB led the Rogues back the city where Wedge and the others were. Upon arrival, Janson and Hobbie were debriefed by Wedge and Tycho on what had happened during the previous day's firefight, and what they had witnessed during their stay with the PLB. The gathered pilots came to the conclusion that there was something suspicious about the way the Imperials had acted the previous day and that they were probably hiding something in the swampy area. Janson, Hobbie, Nrin, and some of the others organized themselves into a squad and went back to the swamp to aggressively patrol the area for any signs of the Imperials&mdash;however, Janson and his patrol were ambushed by a number of Scout troopers, with Nrin appearing to have been killed. Janson and the patrol, minus Nrin, were captured and taken back to the Imperial stronghold.

While in Imperial custody, Janson learned that Harran was actually an Imperial spy and in league with Moff Leonia Tavira. Janson's and the others captivity had coincided with a PLB attack and subsequent showdown between Plourr and the spy claiming to be her long-dead brother. Meanwhile, Nrin, who had managed to survive the Imperial ambush, made his way to the prison where the captured Rogues were being detained, and set them free.

The conflict on Eiattu came to an end with the capture of the fake Harran, Moff Tavira being driven from the planet, and with Plourr assuming the royal office and deciding to stay and help fix the planet from which she came.

Search for the Starfaring
"Something's exerting an influence on us. Intellectually, I know I shouldn't be enjoying myself . . . but I am."

- Wes Janson while at the Bothan camp on Malrev 4

Returning from Eiattu, the Rogues, minus Plourr, were sent to search for the Starfaring, a ship with a crew of Bothans that disappeared somewhere in the Malrev system. Using his Sullustan hearing, Dllr guided the squadron down onto a forested planet to where the Starfaring was, but they were attacked by a group of TIEs and Wedge was shot down.



Making camp for the night with the Bothans at the Starfaring's landed site, Janson and the others planned to search for Wedge the next day. Janson and Hobbie were intrigued and attracted to the female Bothan dancers, but were distracted when they went to aid Nrin when he got in a fight with some of the Bothans. Janson and the other Rogues were beaten up, though not severely. Suddenly, the entire camp was attacked by the Irrukiine beasts wielding Imperial blasters and the Rogues and Bothans joined together to beat the beasts off. After the attack, Wes and Tycho stood first watch, though apparently afterwards Janson spent the night with one of the Bothan females. The next day, the Rogues and some of the Bothans went in search of Wedge, but were attacked by Irrukiine upon approaching a large temple that served as a focal point for Sith dark side powers. Janson and the others retreated, and were joined by Wedge, who had escaped captivity in the temple during the confusion of the fire. However, Hobbie and Herian were injured and Dllr, drawn to the "music" generated by the temple, remained behind.

Wedge took Tycho and Wes on a short flight in their X-wings to get away from the Bothans. Wedge informed them that a Devaronian named Cartariun was using the temple to control the Irrukiine and was trying to take over the world. As they approached the temple from the air, Cartariun sent Irrukiine in TIEs after them, guiding the normally-savage beasts with the Force in a manner similar to battle meditation. As the Rogues battled through the horde of TIEs, Wes told the others that he was damaged and had his astromech fake damage to the ship, but actually was duping the enemy. His gambit paid off and several TIEs were destroyed that way. The assault was broken off when Dllr managed to resist the lure of the Temple long enough to distract Cartariun. Wes and the other airborne Rogues returned to the Starfaring, only to learn that Girov Dza'tey, the Bothan commander, had betrayed them to take over the temple and that Girov was a trained military officer.

Wedge conferred with the Bothan second-in-command and convinced him to launch a ground assault while the Rogues attacked the Temple from the air. Wes helped the mostly recovered Hobbie into his fighter, and the squadron launched their airborne assault to destroy the temple. Unfortunately, Girov had taken over the temple and, as a trained officer, was more adept at controlling the Irrukiine and was using TIE Interceptors to augment his firepower. As the battle became more desperate, the injured Herian, in mental contact with Dllr, took a grounded X-wing to the temple, guided in by Dllr's mind. Arriving just in time to cover the attack, Plourr Ilo returned with a squadron of Z-95 Headhunters. Herian crashed her ship into the temple, destroying it. The Rogues and Plourr's fighters easily mopped up the remaining fighters, now un-coordinated, but both Herian and Dllr perished.

Battle for Brentaal IV
"Always the glutton for punishment, eh, Tycho?"

- Wes to Tycho during a recon mission to Brentaal IV

Following the events in the Malrev system, the Rogues were tasked with performing a reconnaissance sweep in Imperial space of Brentaal IV of the Bormea Sector&mdash;Wedge, Nrin, Plourr, Tycho, and Wes were tapped for this mission. Following a short squirmish with a flight of Imperial TIE fighters, Nrin managed to get the information that had been requested on the planets defences, The sweep was a considered a success.

Once Janson and the others had returned to the Rebel base, Wedge and Tycho were presented with four new pilots to replace the Rogues' depleted ranks. Dar Keyis, Standro Jcir, Avan Beruss, and Xarcce Huwla were all added to the Rogues' roster. After the new pilots were introduced to the other Rogues and shown to their quarters, Admiral Ackbar advised Wedge and Tycho that Rogue Squadron would be supporting Colonel Salm and Aggressor Wing in the upcoming offensive in the Bormea Sector. The plan called for a foothold to be gained by capturing one of Brentaal IV's two moons and using it as a staging area for the larger attack against Brentaal IV itself.

Janson and Rogue Squadron, along with Aggressor Squadron, attacked their objective in the Bormea Sector, but were encountered by an unidentified Imperial fighter squadron which began to harry the attacking Rebel starfighters. Shortly after the confrontation began, Hobbie's X-wing was unexpectantly hit and he crash-landed on the moon's surface, though not before ejecting from his doomed craft. For the most part, the attack went off without any other trouble and Alliance troopers were able to capture the Imperial hangar on the moon. Once the Rogues and Aggressors had pulled back to the Rebel base at Delta-Nine it was discovered that the unidentified Imperial squadron was actually the 181st Imperial Fighter Group which was under the command of Baron Soontir Fel.

Following a short rest on Delta-Nine, Janson and the Rogues were transferred to the newly captured Brental Moonbase, and were provided a briefing for the upcoming battle. During the briefing it was reported the Fel had recently been spotted on Brentaal IV, and that it was imperative that the Rogues engage and prevent Fel and the 181st from hitting the Alliance ground troops. Not long afterwards, Rogue and Aggressor squadrons flew to Brentaal IV and began the attack&mdash;although the spaceport of Oradin was captured, Fel and the 181st managed to cause the Rebel forces severe damage. Both Wes Janson and Ibtisam were shot down, and Aggressor Squadron was hit badly, losing a number of its pilots.

Once on the ground, Janson and Ibtisam were recovered by Alliance Intelligence agents led by Kapp Dendo. They were taken to the Intel agents' hidden base and shown the plans for the upcoming attack on Vuultin. Not long after, the attack began and the Rogues and Aggressors were once again on the offensive. Fel and the 181st engaged the Rebels, and during the fight Standro was shot down and killed. Meanwhile, Kapp, Wes, and Ibtisam led a ground assault against a massive air-defense network that Admiral Lon Isoto had had constructed. During the assault, Janson received a minor shoulder wound from stormtroopers who were defending the complex. Even though Janson was wounded, he and the others managed to set a number of explosive devices at key points and destroy the air defenses, thus taking pressure off of the attacking Rebel starfighters and allowing Rebel assault ships to land with ground forces. The Rebels managed to capture Brentaal IV and drive the Imperials from the sector&mdash;following the battle, Janson and Ibtisam were reunited with Rogue Squadron. Additionally, the Rebellion captured Baron Soontir Fel, and he agreed to fly for the Rebellion.

Mission to Corellia
Shortly after Fel joined the Rogues, Wedge sent Wes, Hobbie and Plourr to Corellia to try and retrieve Fel's wife, Wynssa Starflare. The three successfully reached Corellia and made their way to the Fel estate, where they learned that two-year-old Fyric Fel had been kidnapped earlier in the day from CorSec Captain Corran Horn. They left the Fel Estate and returned to their ship, only to have Fyric's mother Ajai Fel approach and ask them to help her find her child in exchange for the location of Wynssa.

Plourr took charge, arranging a meeting in an alley with the kidnappers. Their leader told her that if she beat his Weequay, they would trade the money for the child. Plourr defeated the Weequay, but the kidnappers double-crossed them and captured the three Rogues, planning on executing them. Luckily, CorSec agents Horn and Iella Wessiri arrived and helped the Rogues defeat the kidnappers, but Post got away.

Returning to their ship, the Rogues and CorSec agents planned a raid on Post's estate to retrieve the child. The assault easily defeated Post's guards, but Post appeared at an upper-story window with a gun to Fyric's head. Todr Fel, armed with a blaster rifle, shot Post through the head and Plourr caught Fyric as he fell. Wes and the other Rogues then retrieved all the Fels from Corellia, departing in their freighter, as Horn promised to delay filing his report. As they left, their freighter was attacked by Ugly starfighters, and though Wes tried to evade them, their escape was made possible by Corran Horn's skill in an X-wing fighter, shooting down three of the four attackers.

Escort on Axxila
"Hobbie, if you can't shake a T-wing, you deserve to be vaped."

- Janson to Hobbie during space combat.

After their return from Corellia, Wes and the Rogues responded to a distress call, fending off a group of pirates during a training mission. While Tycho and Fel accompanied Princess Leia (actually Winter in disguise), Han Solo, and Chewbacca to a diplomatic conference on Eiattu and Wedge and the real Leia went to meet with Sate Pestage in a secret lair on Axxila, Janson and the other Rogues were elsewhere on Axxila. Recognizing a group of pirates in a cantina as ones they had fought earlier, they followed them back to their hangar, but the encounter turned violent when the pirates realized they were there. Also, a different group of the same pirate organization captured Tycho and Winter on Eiattu and brought them to Axxila also, but Tycho and Winter eventually escaped in a Y-wing. This was not to be the last time the Rogues encountered Kavil's Corsairs, who were in fact led by Leonia Tavira, the Moff they had encountered on Eiattu.

Responding to Tycho's call for help, Janson and the some of the other Rogues scrambled in their fighters and cleared the pirate fighters off of Tycho while the other pilots fought with some of the pilots on the ground. They were still heavily outnumbered, but the arrival of the Millennium Falcon with Han and Fel onboard helped even the odds and the entire group was reunited at the Rogue Squadron hangar on Axxila. However, the arrival of Admiral Krennel and the Reckoning disrupted their plans, forcing them to go to ground. Fel and Tycho captured a TIE fighter and a secure Imperial comlink, and Fel gave Krennel an AT3 directive to withdraw from Axxila long enough for them to escape. With Krennel gone, the Falcon and the Rogues left Axxila, their mission completed.

Extraction from Ciutric
"Got her on my scopes pal. Why don't you go sit out of the way and watch a master work."

- Janson telling Hobbie of his intentions towards Reina Faleur



After their mission to Axxila, the Rogues earned some R&R, during which Wes tried to solicit the attentions of an attractive female officer named Reina Faleur, only to find that she already had a date&mdash;with Wedge. However, their vacation was cut short by an urgent mission to rescue Sate Pestage, who had been compromised by Ysanne Isard for his deal with Leia. Admiral Ackbar assigned Rogue Squadron to work with Winter and Kapp Dendo to retrieve Pestage from Ciutric. Janson and the other Rogues, along with Aggressor Wing, entered the space around Ciutric and targeted the local fighters while Dendo's men retrieved Pestage. With friendly ground troops taking fire, the Rogues also provided close air support to the commandos. As they were making their escape, they were trapped by the Reckoning and the Interdictor Binder. The Rogues, Dendo's troops, and Pestage fled to the night side of Ciutric while Aggressor made their escape to get help.

Pinned down on groundside, Wedge had Dendo's men take an Imperial communications outpost so he could get a message out. However, they still had to fend off TIE fighters hunting them, and Ibtisam was shot down and killed during a dogfight, which also informed Krennel of their location. The Rogues were swarmed by TIEs from the Reckoning, but some help arrived in the form of Mirax Terrik in the Pulsar Skate and Aggressor Wing with General Horton Salm, and though Janson's R2 unit was shot out in the fight, no other pilots were killed or shot down.

Mirax and Wedge planned an assault on Binder and Reckoning to allow Dendo's men to escape with Pestage, and used the Pulsar Skate as a decoy. While the pilots dealt with the capital ships and fighters, Dendo's team fled from Imperial ground troops pursuing them, but Pestage deserted them for the Imperial forces and Krennel. He paid for his treachery when Krennel crushed his throat and became a new warlord.

Wraith Squadron
"Oh, wonderful. I killed his father. He hates me. He knows how to make bombs. Come on, Wedge, how does this story end?"

- Wes Janson talking about Kell Tainer



Eventually, Wes and his good friend Hobbie left frontline combat duty and were tasked with building and training new starfighter units, resulting in the creation of both Corsair Squadron and Gauntlet Squadron, as well as the ill-fated Talon Squadron.

When Wedge Antilles and the rest of the reformed Rogue Squadron left the New Republic to hunt down Ysanne Isard, the New Republic needed a Rogue Squadron to keep up appearances of the famous X-wing unit. In response, they created a temporary Rogue Squadron led by Hobbie and Wes and filled by former Rogues. After Wedge's return from Thyferra, this squadron was disbanded, and some of its members incorporated into the returning Rogues.

Shortly after, Wedge put Rogue Squadron under the command of Tycho Celchu and Hobbie while he and Wes formed the infamous Wraith Squadron, with Wes as the executive officer. Wraith Squadron was an experimental group comprised largely of rejected pilots and wash-outs that doubled as both a commando unit and a starfighter squadron. Wes served as Wedge's second in command of Wraith Squadron and helped select the squadron members. One of the great ironies of the Wraiths came to fruition when a man by the name of Kell Tainer was selected for the squadron, with a specialty in demolitions. He was the son of the late Kissek Doran and had changed his name when word reached him that his father had turned coward in the middle of battle. There was much angst between Wes and Kell at first, but as the campaign against Zsinj and his affiliates wore on, the two came to terms with one another, especially when Janson and Kell both realized that the stiffness around each other wasn't a sign of aggression, but of fear. The two pilots resolved their differences and dropped their long-standing hostility and mistrust of the other.

Night Caller
"Why isn't Hobbie here to take this abuse?"

- Wes Janson, being pranked by his fellow Wraiths

The Wraiths were originally based at Folor, but were forced to evacuate when Admiral Apwar Trigit attacked. The Wraiths, having barely finished their training hastily evacuated. Janson helped escort the straggling freighter Borleias, shooting several TIEs off of it. However, they were pulled out of hyperspace by an Empion mine which also disabled their X-wings. Thanks to some unorthodox tactics and improvised weaponry, the Wraiths were able to capture a mine-laying vessel, the Night Caller. Posing as the actual crew of the vessel, Janson and the other Wraiths used the ship to gather intelligence on Trigit's and Warlord Zsinj's activities. A rendezvous with New Republic forces allowed them to become officially commissioned as a squadron, but Wes and Wedge grew concerned about the lack of emotional and personal stability among some of the pilots, such as Kell Tainer and Tyria Sarkin. It seemed to Wes that this group of rejects and wash-outs might be headed for disaster.

Wedge and Wes, as senior officers, stayed somewhat aloof from the other pilots, interacting with them only in an official manner. After several infiltration and intelligence gathering missions on Zsinj-allied businesses, the Wraiths suffered their first casualty, Jesmin Ackbar, when a group of pirates attacked them. However, their missions continued, despite the loss. On one infiltration mission to Storinal, Janson posed as an expatriated Bakuran Senator, helping infect an Imperial shuttle with Bunkurd Sewer Disorder and the mission resulted in the Wraiths stealing two TIE fighters to equip the Night Caller with. The Wraiths even ambushed another corvette and a frigate belonging to Zsinj, and were able to maintain the charade of being Zsinj's crewmen. The culmination of their Night Caller escapades was the ambush and destruction of the Star Destroyer Implacable, commanded by Apwar Trigit. In that battle, Janson scored several combat kills, but was unable to rescue Wraiths Grinder or Falynn Sandskimmer, who had flown into a hole in the Star Destroyer's power cells to destroy it from within, and both perished, though the Star Destroyer and Admiral Trigit also were destroyed.

Hawk-Bats
"Bad news: I'm back. Bad for me, because I was enjoying my rest, and bad for you, because if some of you had been a little quicker, I wouldn't have been shot."

- Wes Janson briefing the squadron upon his recovery.

Returning to Coruscant for some downtime, the Wraiths narrowly escaped capture by a group of impostors posing as military police after they got into a bar fight, and Janson suffered a blaster graze along his ribs in a brawl with the impostors, but the wound was not serious. After their successful use of the Night Caller, the Wraiths decided to pose as a pirate group, the Hawk-Bats, to cause further damage to Zsinj as well as gather more information. In their first mission, they stole several TIE Interceptors from an Imperial base to complete their squadron's complement of starfighters&mdash;they had not received replacements since sustaining losses and they needed craft for their piratical charade. In between missions, Janson returned to Coruscant to pick up cargo and orders for the Wraiths, and also a stuffed Ewok doll that would play heavily into his tricks.

In their next mission, Janson, paired with Dia Passik, joined in a dogfight with a large group of starfighters from the recently arrived Iron Fist, Warlord Zsinj's flagship. The Wraiths largely escaped, save for Ton Phanan who was shot down and later died, and destroyed a refueling tanker that Iron Fist had tractor beamed, causing damage to the hangar bay. This action also caused Zsinj to offer employment to the Hawk-Bats. However, the grueling missions, coupled with recent casualties, wore the Wraiths down. Wes was kept busy working with Wedge to maintain stability among the unit and interpreting data to use against Zsinj. While analyzing the defenses of Zsinj's target, Wes believed that the target was Coruscant, but Wedge correctly determined that it was actually Kuat, and Zsinj was trying to steal the newest Super Star Destroyer. Janson also helped set Dia Passik, his wingmate, up with Face Loran at a formal dance, and the two later developed a romantic relationship.

During Zsinj's attempt to steal the craft, Janson and several of the Wraiths stayed on Mon Remonda in their X-wings to ambush Zsinj in their escape attempt while other Wraith pilots infiltrated the new battleship and served as pirates flying for Zsinj. The mission and subsequent ambush, which Janson took part in, was largely a success, with the Razor's Kiss destroyed, although Iron Fist escaped.

Defeat of Zsinj
"Yub, yub, Commander."

- Wes Janson teasing Wedge Antilles with an Ewok joke.

With the Razor's Kiss destroyed, the Wraiths abandoned their Hawk-Bats scheme temporarily and rejoined Han Solo's flagship, the Mon Remonda, while continuing their intelligence and sabotage missions. Wraith Squadron at this point was reorganized, with Face Loran being promoted to the commander of the unit. Although Janson was the senior officer of the two Lieutenants, he had never wanted (or intended) to stay with the Wraiths past their initial formation period, and was perfectly at ease taking orders from the much younger officer, remaining XO of the unit. And although Wedge technically rejoined Rogue Squadron at this point, it did not even slow down Wes from his continuous teasing and practical jokes against the commander. In a fleet battle against a large part of Zsinj's fleet, including Iron Fist, Janson, the Wraiths and the Rogues destroyed two Carrack-class cruisers, but Janson's craft was disabled by an ion cannon. He was rescued, and Solo's fleet escaped to fight another day.



On an intelligence gathering mission, the Wraiths investigated Binring Biomedical, but were ambushed by Zsinj's forces. Janson was burned when the Wraiths fell through a trapdoor into a crematorium, but they escaped, capturing Dr. Edda Gast, a top scientist for Zsinj, in the process, despite moderate injuries to most of the pilots. Janson later earned a commendation for bravery for his actions, which he received after finishing bacta therapy. After Wraith Tyria Sarkin was forced to shoot down a brainwashed A-wing pilot trying to kill Han Solo, Janson was able to talk with her and help her recover, due to his own experience of shooting down a friendly pilot.

On a mission to Kidriff 5, Janson and three other pilots flew TIE Interceptors to ascertain the security of the planet, and later linked up with the decoy Millennium Falsehood and the other Wraiths and Rogues on their egress from the planet, pursued by enemy starfighters. During the last stages of the battle, Myn Donos deliberately fired on a fellow Wraith. He was placed on probation, and eventually sought advice from Janson, who convinced him to have fun and let himself go more often. The advice helped, and Donos eventually returned to active flying status. Janson was also the target of Wedge's revenge for his many pranks when he was tricked into walking naked into a room with all the Wraiths inside.

Janson, still in a TIE Interceptor (his X-wing being used by members of Wraith Squadron who did not have their own fighter, nor TIE fighter experience), and the Wraiths would later fly escort missions for Nova Squadron's B-wing starfighters in attacks on Iron Fist in the Battle of Vahaba and the subsequent Battle of Selaggis, the latter made possible by the efforts of Lara Notsil, who had forcibly left the squadron after being fired upon by Donos and had pretended to join Zsinj so she could sabotage and kill him. In the battles, Janson destroyed several more TIE Interceptors.

Return to Rogue Squadron
"I'm coming back to Rogue Squadron. That was the deal." "Wes, the Wraiths don't want you anyway." "That's right. You're unlucky." "I hate how serious he is all the time." "We don't like the way he chews his food." "But we'll miss his rear end."

- Wes Janson, Wedge Antilles, and fellow Wraiths Elassar Targon, Dia Passik, Runt, and Shalla Nelprin



Upon his return to Rogue Squadron, Wes participated in the Thrawn campaign, culminating in the Battle of Bilbringi. Shortly before the Bilbringi mission, he, Wedge, Hobbie, and Tycho were part of a New Republic disinformation attempt to convince the Empire that Tangrene was the original target. They encountered Aves, a member of the Talon Karrde organization, and convinced him that their target was Tangrene. Janson believed that Aves was going to sell the information to the Empire, but little did they know that a massive smuggler force was going to hit Bilbringi also. The cooperation of the two sides and the death of Thrawn allowed the New Republic to be successful in the battle.

With Thrawn's assassination and the Empire again retreating, the New Republic decided to launch an offensive against Prince-Admiral Delak Krennel's Ciutric Hegemony as an example to the other Imperial warlords. Following the Thrawn campaign, Admiral Ackbar insisted on promotions for several members of the squadron, including Wes to Major along with Hobbie, assuming command of Two Flight of the Rogues. As preparations for the Ciutric campaign geared, Wes also participated in a raid on Commenor to help free some of the Lusankya prisoners after a prisoner named Urlor Sette showed up at a Rogue Squadron victory celebration and was gorily killed by a device planted in him. Janson and the Rogues were able to easily defeat the meager resistance on the ground, and intelligence garnered from the rescued prisoners revealed that Ysanne Isard, believed to be dead over Thyferra, was still alive.

Wes flew in the Battle of Liinade III, helping engage Krennel's TIEs in space and then making runs against ground targets in preparation for the New Republic's occupation of the world. Upon learning of the possibility of a Death Star-like superweapon being constructed near or inside nearby Distna, the Rogues and Nrin Vakil were assigned to reconnoiter the system, with Janson predicting that they would later finish the job by killing the superweapon. However, the entire superweapon was a hoax designed to kill the Rogues. Upon arrival, they were ambushed by six squadrons of TIE fighters. In the ensuing battle, Wes acquitted himself well, as did the rest of the squadron, but was shot down, and left drifting in vacuum. While the rest of the surviving Rogues were rescued by a group of TIE Defender pilots, Janson was stranded, fated to die of exposure. The timely arrival of the Errant Venture saved him, as Booster Terrik's crews rescued him and he recovered with the aid of bacta. However, Wedge and the other Rogue pilots were rescued and taken elsewhere by the Defender pilots. They assumed Janson had died.

After the Battle of Ciutric and defeat of Krennel, Wes was happily reunited with the other Rogues, who had covertly infiltrated Krennel's forces posing as TIE Defender pilots. Wedge, in particular, was quite pleased to see his long-time friend alive and well.

Following his recovery, Wes continued to serve in Rogue Squadron, helping in the fight against the Invid pirate group. Janson helped disable the Booty Full after it tried to attack the liner Glitterstar and was likely present at the Battle of Xa Fel.

Mission to Adumar
"I am so glad the people of this planet like to wave and shake hands." "Why is that?" "Well, what if their usual greeting for visiting dignitaries was to throw paint?" "Point taken."

- Wes and Wedge.

In 13 ABY, Wedge was selected by the New Republic to be sent as an ambassador from the New Republic to Adumar. Wedge was instructed to bring along three of the New Republic's best starfighter pilots. Tycho, Hobbie and Wes were chosen to accompany Wedge. The four soon, under the designation of Red Flight, landed in the largest nation of Adumar, Cartann, where they met with Tomer Darpen, their diplomatic liaison, and their local guide Cheriss ke Hanadi. Janson had known Darpen from his days in the Tierfon Yellow Aces, jokingly referring to him as "Ejector" Darpen from an ejection seat mishap during Darpen's combat days. Janson was quick to adopt local customs, such as the blastsword, and wild clothing tastes, including cloaks that glowed and had flatscreen panels sewn onto them.



The mission was quickly complicated when the New Republic pilots learned of the Adumari fascination with death duels, on ground and in the air, and of the presence of Imperial 181st pilots competing with them for the Adumari's regard. The Red Flight pilots were also hampered by the subversion of Darpen, who was trying to manipulate them. Although they had initially been honored guests of Adumar, showered with gifts, attention, nicknames, (Janson was "the darling one") and participating in simulated duels in the local fighter craft, that relationship was ruined when the perator of Cartann announced that he was creating a planetary government, annexing all other nations of Adumar. While the Imperial pilots agreed to join him, Wedge, Wes, Tycho, and Hobbie declined the offer. Darpen then betrayed the Rogues, goading the perator to send them to their deaths and cutting off communications with the Star Destroyer that had brought them to Adumar. Wes and the other Rogues had to dodge the blasters of over a hundred people, escaping down the streets of Cartann's capital to a local airbase, where Blade-32s awaited them to take them to their orbiting Star Destroyer, Allegiance. Janson's skills with a blaster pistol were valuable in their running of the gauntlet of mob fire, killing or injuring many of their attackers. Boarding their Blades, Red Flight engaged in a desperate 4 on 30 dogfight, emerging victorious, but with all of their craft too badly damaged to reach space. Janson was shot down, but ejected and he and Hobbie escaped on the ground. The intervention of sympathetic Adumari pilots allowed the other Rogues to escape, the help of New Republic Intelligence agent Iella Wessiri (recently engaged to Wedge), allowed them to escape to a friendly nation threatened by Cartann.

After Wedge agreed to take command of an alliance formed by the other nations of Adumar not allied with Cartann, Janson joined him in a massive airstrike on Cartann. The pilots were still in local craft, which placed them at a competitive disadvantage to the Imperial pilots, flying TIE Interceptors. Though the Adumari Union achieved the element of surprise, they were outnumbered and outgunned. However, a group of commandos and Intelligence personnel located the New Republic X-wings and Red Flight quickly blasted open a tunnel access of the perator's palace before taking to the skies to challenge the Imperial pilots. Having shot down three of the four TIEs, Red Flight also accepted the surrender of numerous Cartann squadrons after their perator was captured.

Only days after Cartann was defeated and Adumar united and preparing to join the New Republic, Wes and Red Flight again took to their craft, this time to defend against an Imperial attack force. Janson fought in the battle, shooting several TIE Interceptors off of Wedge. The New Republic and Adumari force was victorious over the Empire, and, mission accomplished, the pilots returned to the New Republic.

The end of the war
"I wouldn't get too overconfident if I was you."

- Janson discussing the state of the Empire.

Janson, still with Rogue Squadron as of 19 ABY, was present under Garm Bel Iblis's command during the Caamas Document crisis, and was one of the first to learn of the Bothan role in the attack on Caamas on Morishim, as he knew a little Morish. A native speaker was telling the public about the Bothan involvement and Janson translated the man's speech for the others. Janson, Tycho, Wedge, and Lando Calrissian went to the place of the Old Recluse&mdash;said to be the source of the information&mdash;only to find a fully equipped Imperial communications center that had fallen into local hands. Before they could fully investigate it, they were summoned back to their craft to intercept an Imperial Star Destroyer chasing a corvette. Despite the Rogues' efforts, the Star Destroyer captured the corvette and fled, though Lando did manage to intercept part of a transmission from the ship. Unbeknownst to them, the corvette was carrying Colonel Meizh Vermel, an aide of Gilad Pellaeon's who was carrying a meeting request for Bel Iblis, though Janson figured it was a simple theft-and-defection on the part of the corvette.

Sometime after the end of the Galactic Civil War, Janson, along with many other Rogue pilots, retired from active duty.

The Yuuzhan Vong War
"Sithspawn, I was flirting with a nine-year-old." "Nineteen. And she has more kills than the three of us put together at the same age."

- Wes Janson and Tycho Celchu referring to Jaina Solo

Wes later went on to found the volunteer squadron of A-wings and E-wings called the Taanab Yellow Aces during the Yuuzhan Vong War. This squadron arrived to help Wedge Antilles and his New Republic forces in the defense of Borleias in 27 ABY. Wes and the Aces acquitted themselves well in the New New Republic military as an elite starfighter squadron along with Twin Suns, Vanguard, Blackmoon and Rogue Squadrons during the siege. During his time on Borleias, Wes accidentally flirted with Jaina Solo. The Yellow Aces fought with distinction at Borleias and withdrew with the rest of the New Republic forces after covering Operation Emperor's Spear. . At Selvaris, some five years into the war, Janson and the Yellow Aces helped the New Republic liberate captured troops and also participated in the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar.

Personality


Wes was regarded as the joker, despite being a lethal opponent, being particularly accurate with blaster pistols and starfighter-grade weaponry. Luke Skywalker said that he had only seen Janson happy when he was the gunner of a Y-wing or a snowspeeder. Luke also said that he had a short temper, often having to pull him out of cantina fights.

Wes enjoyed playing pranks on his fellow squad mates. He believed in having fun today, because tomorrow might not come. During his time in Wraith Squadron, he developed the character Lieutenant Kettch who was supposed to be an Ewok starfighter pilot. Kettch became a recurring theme in Janson's pranks. This originated when he claimed that a candidate for Wraith Squadron was an Ewok, and then it circulated among the Wraiths, including the time Castin Donn reprogrammed Wedge's TIE Interceptor to make his voice sound like an Ewok. This led to Wedge being forced to fly into battle, against Imperial forces, while wearing a stuffed Ewok in his lap. When the stuffed Ewok doll started showing up everywhere and appeared to move on its own, Wedge attached a transponder to it, leading to the discovery that Janson was placing the doll in those places. The Wraiths got back at Janson by convincing him that the real Kettch had gotten loose and he had to strip naked and cover himself in Ewok food to find and recapture it. The joke only ended when Lara Notsil found a real Ewok that fit Kettch's description exactly. She found this hilarious.

Janson did have a serious side though, that exhibited itself through grim, angry determination. It didn't come out often, but Janson apparently was in this mood when fighting or flying against an enemy of his.

Portrayal
Wes Janson was portrayed by Ian Liston in The Empire Strikes Back. During filming of The Empire Strikes Back, a call was put out for an actor, not an extra, to play an AT-AT gunner; Liston filled in the role. Thus he ironically played both an Imperial and a Rebel, and in one sequence of the film is in effect trying to shoot himself down. In Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Janson is voiced by Terence McGovern.

Continuity errors


Janson's non-canon death was written in Marvel Star Wars 78: Hoth Stuff, which contains several glaring continuity errors. The story was later retconned to be a tall tale that Wedge would tell new recruits, only to startle them with Janson's appearance. Also, Janson's helmet, like most, is modeled from A New Hope, where it is worn by Theron Nett. However, Nett's regular helmet is a different one: Janson's type of helmet can only be seen when Nett gets shot down, as seen here. In West End Games' first edition of Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, in Wedge's entry, his gunner is named "Derit Janson." Any other mention of Janson in the book uses the name "Wes." The error was corrected in the second edition. In Requiem for a Rogue, Janson's homeworld is incorrectly listed as "Taanad."