Gael Antilles was a loyal son of Corellia. Born to an Alderaanian father who built ships for the Corellian Engineering Corporation, and a Corellian mother who flew starships for the same, he seemed destined to fly. He spent most of his childhood in the cockpit of his mother's Cloakshape fighter,and by the time he turned 16 he had more flight hours than pilots twice his age. He became a professional pilot at 21, and his skills were matched only by his bravado and arrogance. When the Rebellion was declared, he found the cause to his liking, and left behind his promising (and lucrative) future. The nascent Rebel Alliance was glad to have his skills, and he quickly rose to lead his own flight of snubfighters. When, shortly, thereafter, his squadron was activated for combat, his excitement was almost unbearable. As he and his comrades launched into flight, he was ready to show the Empire, and the galaxy at large what he could do.
Unbeknownst to them, the fledgling Rebel Fleet had stumbled into an Imperial ambush, and within minutes, Gael's flight was dead, and he found himself careening downward, his ship badly damaged and corkscrewing into the rocky planet surface below. Somehow, through his skills or just plain luck, Gael managed to crash land. Barely conscious, he dragged to himself from the wreckage, but his luck ended there. His left side had taken the brunt of the damage from the crash, leaving his leg broken, his eye gone, and his arm a mangled mess. A local tinkerer who had seen the battle above and followed the smoke found the wounded pilot, hiding him from Imperials long enough for the Rebels to recover their comrade.
Gael spent weeks recuperating and adjusting to his new prosthetic eye and arm. His confidence and naivete died with his comrades, and it was months of struggle and fear before he could allow himself to even think of flying again. He eventually became a dedicated mechanic for the Rebellion, occasionally even getting behind the stick again. Recently, a friend in the fleet approached him about an opportunity to make use of his skills, and Gael reluctantly listened...