A Good Kiss

"A Good Kiss" is a short story that was published in the 2020 anthology book From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. It was written by C.B. Lee and focuses on Chase Wilsorr. The audiobook version of the story was read by Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes.^[2]

Plot summary[]

A useless job[]

Chase Wilsorr, a kitchen boy and runner for the Rebel Alliance, is feeling underappreciated and lonely without a "truly important" job to do. Wilsorr thinks that he is not participating in the Rebel Alliance to his full potential and sends numerous requests for sentry duty to Major Bren Derlin but is denied due to his unsatisfactory work in the Alliance Corps of Engineers. Feeling upset, Wilsorr continues his runs as usual, delivering caf, food, and information to people that cannot leave wherever they are currently stationed.

Most notably, he delivers caf to Jordan Smythe, a young rebel who works at the tauntaun pens. Smythe immediately thanks Wilsorr and tells him he had done a great job, but Wilsorr brushes off the compliment. Smythe insists that it was genuine and says that nobody else could have done it, though Wilsorr disagrees and feels that it was simple, confessing that he feels unimportant; he says it was not fair and that he could handle a blaster. Smythe lightheartedly teased him at this, throwing a blaster and showing Chase's incompetence before both are forced to go back to work.

The next day, Wilsorr makes a run to the command center to deliver a holoprojector and bantha milk for Toryn Farr, a rebel who would commanded the ion cannon. Farr's warm response makes Wilsorr feel as though he is a valued member of the Alliance until he tries to speak with General Carlist Rieekan, who shoots down his request for sentry duty and instead sends Wilsorr to move supply crates, where he is made fun of by other rebels.

Battle of Hoth[]

Afterwards, Smythe attempts to make Wilsorr feel better, telling him that he is great the way he is. Wilsorr then changes the subject, noticing how Smythe is not wearing a jacket and asking how he is not cold. Smythe responds that moving all of the ice fungus made him hot, then placing his hands on Chase's shoulders and asking him if he was cold, playfully calling him a "Yavin baby." Chase's awkwardness is multiplied with his flustered attempts to answer Jordan's questions, fleeing back to his work.

While working, Wilsorr watches a flirting attempt between Han Solo and Leia Organa, where his annoyance, jealousy, and longing for love grow. In response to Solo yelling after the princess that she could "use a good kiss," Wilsorr thinks that he could use one too.

When the Galactic Empire attacks and the Battle of Hoth begins, Wilsorr shows Harlize Dana, a fellow kitchen worker, a quicker way out of the kitchens and to the main hangar bay, where the personnel of Echo Base are boarding transports and starfighters. Wilsorr hesitates to board the transport, searching for Smythe in the crowd. Upon hearing about a cave-in that blocked Doctor Tristan Melthabi and several other staff from reaching the transports, Wilsorr, who knew all the tunnels in the base due to his job as a runner, volunteers to find another way to get them out.

Wilsorr ends up not only finding and saving the doctor but also three soldiers, two communications officers and a group of refugees. Once the power to the base is cut, Wilsorr is able to lead the group through the tunnels in the dark and bring them to the GR-75 medium transport Bright Hope. Smythe, however, is still missing, so Wilsorr runs to find him at the tauntaun pens, where he is stubbornly standing by with the tauntaun Sunshine in case anybody else needs to fight. The two ride Sunshine through the tunnels with Wilsorr navigating. When they reach the hangar, which is blocked by a cave-in, Wilsorr uses his ability to mess up weapons, causing Jordan's blaster to malfunction and explode, leaving a way for them to get through and to the Bright Hope just before takeoff.

Chase and Smythe share a kiss at the very end, and Wilsorr realizes that he has always had the power to be somebody important and that his job as a runner was one of the most useful jobs that he could have had, allowing him to save many lives.