Hera Syndulla

Hera Syndulla was a Twi'lek female pilot and rebel leader who captained the starship Ghost and led the rebel crew known as the Spectres during the early years of the struggle against the Galactic Empire. The daughter of the Twi'lek resistance leader Cham Syndulla of Ryloth, she recruited the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and others to her cause and rose through the rebellion to become a general of the New Republic.

Daughter of Ryloth#

Hera Syndulla was the daughter of Cham Syndulla, the leader of the Twi'lek Resistance on the homeworld of Ryloth. Her father's reputation as a resistance leader was significant enough that his tactics were studied at Imperial academies. The two became estranged as Hera left Ryloth to carry the fight against the Empire across the wider galaxy, though they reconciled when Hera sought his help during a mission to steal an Imperial fighter-carrier orbiting their homeworld.

Captain of the Ghost#

As captain of the freighter Ghost, Syndulla assembled and led the rebel crew known as the Spectres. She recruited the fugitive Jedi Kanan Jarrus after working with him during the Gorse Conflict, and gathered around her the Mandalorian artist Sabine Wren, the Lasat warrior Garazeb Orrelios, the astromech droid Chopper, and later the young Ezra Bridger. Operating chiefly from Lothal, the crew struck at Imperial targets across the sector. Hera held the cell together through losses and setbacks, insisting that the Spectres were a family worth fighting for.

The larger rebellion#

Syndulla's cell joined the wider Phoenix movement and the growing Rebel Alliance, and Hera became a manager of Bail Organa's intelligence network. She flew the prototype starfighter known as the Blade Wing in person and led missions against forces commanded by Grand Admiral Thrawn. When Thrawn's Seventh Fleet was sent to crush the rebels on Lothal, Hera's leadership was central to the campaign that followed.

Lothal and after#

During the rescue of Hera Syndulla on Lothal in 1 BBY, Governor Arihnda Pryce ordered a walker to fire on the fuel pod where the rebels stood, and Kanan Jarrus, with whom Hera had formed a romantic relationship, sacrificed himself to save her and the others. After his death, Hera gave birth to their son, whom she named Jacen Syndulla. She continued to serve the rebellion and, after the fall of the Empire, the New Republic, eventually attaining the rank of general.