From New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Wein (Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire), this middle-grade novel is all about the pilots and technicians of the Resistance's very own Cobalt Squadron. New characters from The Last Jedi, including mechanic Rose Tico and her gunner sister Paige, get the chance to shine in this hardcover adventure. Featuring illustrations by Phil Noto (X-23, Black Widow), Cobalt Squadron goes on sale December 15 from Disney Lucasfilm Press.
Rose and Paige Tico are sisters working on a bomber ship for the Resistance: Paige mans the gun turret while Rose is a mechanic who is testing out a new stealth tech. The two lost their homeworld when the First Order destroyed it, and one of the few tokens they share from their planet is each has one half of a medallion carved with their planet's symbol.
During their mission to deploy and recover probe droids to the Atterra System, they spot a ship being chased by the First Order. Before they can leave the system with the recovered probes, the quarry crashes into their recovery bay and they blast off into FTL while carrying the smaller vessel. The ship has two people on board: Casca Panzoro and her grandson Reeve, refugees from Atterra searching for help. The First Order has been squeezing the system and its people are dying of thirst. The two Panzoros convince the crew of their need and are brought back to the Resistance base to General Leia Organa and Admiral Holdo.
Leia hears them out and agrees to offer aide, but says they first must come up with a plan. Rose, Paige, and Reeve are sent back to Atterra Bravo on a retrofitted spy ship to gather reconnaissance and devise a method to deliver aide. They determine the place is too far from the rebel base on D'Qar to make direct supply runs and decide on a nearby planet, Refnu, to serve as an intermediate base. The ship heads to Refnu to prepare accommodations and a cover story. Speaking to a few locals, they determine that Refnu Corporation is hiring ice breakers and the bomber ships of the Cobalt Squadron would be a perfect fit. They devise to have a portion of the squadron work jobs for Refnu while the remaining ones can freely use the base in order to deliver supplies to Atterra.
The first supply run does not go off without a hitch—First Order TIE fighters spot them due to a failing stealth module. The heavy bombers manage to kill all but one of the First Order fighters and suffer no casualties themselves. During the second run they are not nearly so lucky. The First Order prepared an ambush for the Resistance and manage to take out four bombers before the rest can get away.
In desperate need of a new plan, Paige realizes that the First Order is expecting them to fly as a regular squadron, but that they might stand a better chance if they instead fly a decoy ship to draw fire while the slower burdened bomber makes their supply drop. Once the drop is finished, that ship can then fly decoy for the next and so on. Rose's commander asks that she work on one of the ships experiencing intermittent stealth issues so that she can handle them, but she is reluctant to fly without her sister. Another mechanic offers to take the post, relieving Rose of needing to deal with the anxiety of being away from Paige.
The plan works a charm, but in hyperspace on their way back to the Resistance a great disturbance in the galaxy is felt by everyone in the squadron. Meeting back up with Holdo, the squad is informed that the disturbance was in fact a super weapon used by the First Order to destroy the entire Hosnian star system. It will now be all out war between the First Order and the Resistance. Holdo says she needs a mechanic to work on board her ship, the Ninka, and asks Rose if she's willing to take the post. Rose accepts because even though her sister won't be there with her physically, as long as they are both wearing the medallions of their homeworld then they are never apart.
- ISBN 9781368008372; December 15, 2017; Disney–Lucasfilm Press; US hardcover
- ISBN 9781368013239; December 15, 2017; Disney–Lucasfilm Press; US eBook
- ISBN 9781405286787; December 15, 2017; Egmont UK Ltd; UK paperback