Desert Son " Desert Son " is a short story in the anthology " From a Certain Point of View " . The story , written by Pierce Brown , focuses on Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter . Plot summary . Before the Battle of Yavin , Biggs Darklighter reflects on the nomadic path that took him to the Imperial Academy , to his first post aboard the " Rand Ecliptic " , and his subsequent defection to the Rebel Alliance . At Jan Dodonna ' s briefing , Darklighter hears the voice of his old Tatooinian friend Luke Skywalker , who has also joined the Rebellion . Exiting the briefing , Biggs brushes past Jek Tono Porkins , who playfully teases him . In the Great Temple ' s hangar , Biggs reunites with Skywalker . When Red Squadron leader Garven Dreis asks Luke Skywalker if he can handle the X - wing starfighter , Biggs speaks up for Skywalker and tells him that Luke is the best bush pilot in the Outer Rim Territories . Before climbing into their starfighters , Biggs promises to exchange stories with Luke . Luke responds that he told him that he would make it some day . As he boards his X - wing , Wedge Antilles asks Biggs who the kid is . Biggs tells Wedge that the kid is a friend from who said he would join the Rebellion . Biggs and his fellow pilots take - off on their X - wings from Base One . As they approach the Death Star , Biggs finds himself grappling with fear . When Garven asks the pilots to report in , Biggs replies that Red Three is standing by . Under Red Leader ' s command , Biggs and his fellow pilots lock their S - foils into attack position and switch their deflectors on double front . Descending on the space station , Biggs and his fellow pilots dodge bolts fired by the Death Star ' s heavy turbolaser emplacements , which are too slow for the nimble rebel fighters . Biggs gets Porkins to cover his starfighter from behind . However , Porkins ' X - wing is taken out by an Imperial TIE fighter . As another X - wing is destroyed , Luke warns Biggs that there is another TIE fighter closing in on him . Biggs manages to move his X - wing out of harm ' s way in the nick of time . Luke then takes out the TIE fighter pursuing Bigg ' s X - wing . Continuing the assault on the Death Star , Biggs strafes the turbolaser towers that are peppering the Y - wing Gold Squadron , which are flying through the Meridian trench to take out the Death Star ' s thermal exhaust port . Biggs , Luke , and Wedge provide covering fire for the slower and older Y - wings in the Meridian Trench . However , they are cut off by TIE fighters . The Gold Squadron Y - wings in the trench are wiped out by TIE fighters . With only six Red Squadron pilots left and the rest of the squadrons wiped out by the Imperial turbolasers , Garven directs Luke to take Biggs and Wedge into the trench in order to take out the thermal exhaust port . The three rebel pilots find themselves pursued by three TIEs including Darth Vader ' s TIE Advanced x1 starfighter . During the run , Garven ' s X - wing is clipped in the rear by a laser and crashes into the Death Star ' s surface . With the rebels down to three ships , Biggs realize that he and Luke are the Alliance ' s last hope . Biggs and Wedge resolve to buy Luke enough time to reach the thermal exhaust port so that he can drop his payload of proton torpedo es . Biggs imagines that they are racing through Beggar ' s Canyon shooting womp rat s . With Wedge ' s X - wing facing mechanical problems , he is forced to pull out . In order to save Luke and the mission , Biggs decides to sacrifice his own life and diverts power to the X - wing ' s engines . Bigg ' s X - wing is hit by laser fire , which ignite his ship . As his ship explodes , Biggs feels the wind of Tatooine sweeping across the desert as he dies ; overcoming his fear and making peace with life .