The first time Luke Skywalker met Gavin Darklighter, he caught a glimpse of destiny in the boy's eyes.

It sounded trite, cliche, but when the Rogue Squadron pilot shook his hand for the first time and introduced himself, Luke saw beyond Biggs Darklighter's scrawny cousin and saw the man who would become the scourge of the empire. Their meeting was brief because the boy was not his focus for the night, Corran Horn was, but a lasting impression was left and Luke knew the boy would do great things.

Wedge left messages for him sometimes. He would receive them at random times during the night after a restless sleep, and review them in the morning before he went for his run. Gavin wasn't always the subject of their conversations, but those few bytes about the boy revealed his transformation into a man worthy of the Darklighter heritage. Seeing the man brought back bittersweet memories of Biggs and the original Rogue Squadron, Red Squadron.

The war was long, the battles were vicious, and the friends lost were impossible to forget. Rogue Squadron lost members and gained new ones, but Gavin was constant. He was there, he survived. He grew past all expectations set by Biggs and other legends. It was no surprise to those who knew him when he became the leader of Rogue Squadron when Wedge was called away to other duties. Luke saw it from the start. It wasn't luck or chance, it wasn't the Darklighter Legacy.

It was a destiny carved by the force.