The B-Wing is a brutal, aggressive, and powerhouse of a machine built solely to destroy. Ion cannons, missiles and cannons it’s a beast of war and leveler of immovable objects. It’s also the perfect metaphor for Alphabet Squad pilot Chass Na Chadik.
It’s not Chass’ piloting or fighting skills that caught my attention, though. It’s her commitment to seeking out and finding new music from across the galaxy and around the Rims. The best, most driving beats fuel her flying style and energize her while burning down imps.
I first met Chass in a bar called The Bloody Gamorrean on Ord Mantell. I’d heard she was an avid collector of data chips and reached out to her several time but apparently “top secret” missions don’t allow for a lot of opportunities to simply catch a freighter and hang out.
Eventually, though, I managed to catch her on leave and wasn’t disappointed. Her knowledge of the thousands of different bands proved deep and extensive and contained veritable multitudes. Sure, it cost me a small fortune in bantha steak and gamorrean moonshine, but we traded stories and band recommendations and data chips.
At the time, I collected for the collector’s prestige and profit. Of course, there is too much music throughout the galaxy to collect every variation and represent every culture and I only sought the in-demand stuff. But how many live Max Rebo Band bootlegs or Modal Nodes albums can one own? Do we really need another Red Lines holo show? (Ok, on that last one we def do). How about Dead Rebels demos? Yeah. I even have the one with electrified version of the Ewok hunting song “Yub Nub Means Fresh Meat”.
I’d travelled across the galaxy hunting as much as I could. My transport, The Ronto’s Call, is one tough freighter. I’ve poured ton’s of credits into shields and storage. I’m a flying vault and most of my money comes from information brokering and transport for those looking to stay off open channels or who seek discretion. It’s relatively safe and my files are well protected. My droid, R4-D10, likes to broadcast some of the more impressive acts across the galaxy, but we mostly just collect.
Chass however, changed that. Chas’s explained how she met a girl who collected “lost art”. Art that the Empire deemed subversive and antagonistic. Most people think about Alderaan and Jedha, the big exterminations; they fail to recognize the Empire’s main way to grasp power was silence voices little by little: an artist here, a teacher there, here an elder, there a leader…ensure that messages die at inception. Words are viruses and ideas spread like plagues and you can’t have total control if you let anyone with a voice speak.
Chass is a violent frenzy of destruction inside her B-Wing. Outside her ship she’s intense and wry and has a heart the size of a purrgil. Just don’t piss her off.
Chass inspired me to take a look at why I collect and what I collect. It’s no longer about ownership and elitism; it’s about sharing and rebellion and memory. Many of these people on my disks aren’t around anymore: Some fled, some died, and some whither in prisons. But each artist mattered and all deserve to be remembered. In these songs their voice live on and their defiance endures.
My brokerage hasn’t much changed, but what put me on the Imp radar was my recent conversion to preservationist: Archivist of anarchic songs and preserver of people’s history. I got hooked on rally and trench-songs of the early Rebellion: Songs sung by soldiers, scoundrels, and antagonizers both amateur and professional. The rabble rousers who sang songs of bravery and heroic deeds in the face of a growing Empire.
Folk music is fight music. It’s the sound of resistance and an attack on powers often too great for blasters and bombers. As the Empire dies and its grasping hand releases, i hope these songs remind people of what freedom means and what some seek to steal. I hope they inspire you to push back. Every verse is a blow against the Emperor’s vision and the sterility he hoped for the galaxy.
I’m not sure where Chass is as we’ve lost contact over the cycles, but I wish her well and hope to one day swap songs again.
Rise up, Daring Rebel!
Yr pal.
