Liaka Atala comes from a proud family of Twi'lek freedom fighters. Her father perished fighting the droid armies of the Seperatists in during the Clone Wars and her mother died over a year ago in a raid by the Empire. From a very young age Liaka joined the struggle, first as a runner and messenger, but later as a pilot. She piloted small speeders to get messages between cells of freedom fighters, and later whatever combat worthy vehicles the fighters could get their hands on.

Her mother fell in a raid that wiped out most of Liaka's cell of fighters. Heartbroken she couldn't see how the fighters would ever be able to free Ryloth from the Empire, from the Hutts and from the slavers that plagued the world. She had heard about the exploits of the Rebel Alliance and slowly but surely formed the opinion that the only way Ryloth would ever be free was with the victory of the Rebel Alliance over the Galactic Empire, and the restoration of the Republic.

Liaka spent her last credits buying passage off world with a disreputable Sullustan smuggler. He planned to sell her into slavery rather than deliver her to the Wheel, where she had heard of a Rebel Alliance recruiter. She suspected him of treachery and left the ship as it refueled in a small space station.

Alone in the world she spent several months selling her services as a pilot to whomever would hire her, before finally getting to the Wheel, and to the contact her Twi'lek freedom fighter allies had told her about.

The next few months passed in a blur as she was accepted as a pilot in the Alliance. She went through rudimentary training on an old Headhunter before being shipped out on the frigate NBF Glorious Dawn as one of the pilots for single wing of antiquated Headhunter fighters.

The frigate’s mission was to use the fighters and a shuttle to scout possible locations for a new rebel base. The flights were mostly uneventful, until the captain of the frigate decided to help settlers in a local system that were plagued by a band of pirates. The fighter squadron and the frigate engaged the pirates. Two fighters were lost in the skirmish, and with one of them the squadron leader.

As there were no replacements available Liaka, got her wish and was promoted to squadron leader. Not long after she took over the pirates came after the frigate with revenge on their minds. They came with overwhelming force, trying to damage the frigate enough to keep her from jumping out of the system. The fighters were overwhelmed by dozens of inferior fighters piloted by the pirates. Liaka's squadron dropped like flies, but thanks to their sacrifice the frigate got away. Only two fighters managed to get back into the hangar of the frigate before it jumped out of the system. Liaka and a pilot by the name of Emer Kal.

Following the battle, the frigate was recalled by Alliance Command. The fighter squadron was deemed too damaged to rebuild. Liaka and her friend Emer were sent to the main fleet for reassignment. Once they got there Emer almost immediately got reassigned to a new squadron, while Liaka was asked to do some training with the fleet. The official reason was that since she had been flying a Headhunter until now, she needed hours in an X-Wing and Y-Wing before reassignment. She suspected that the reason might be that she was not trusted after leading her squadron to its doom.

Liaka felt like she failed her men and led them poorly, resulting in the catastrophic loss of most of the fighters and brave pilots. Every single one of them was her personal friend after spending months on the frigate and endless hours on patrols in space.

The Twi‘lek pilot spent weeks in simulators and training exercises, flying both X-Wings and Y-Wings. After what seemed like an eternity, she and a number of other pilots that had also been recalled to the fleet, or had just joined the Rebellion, were transferred to the Rebel Frigate the NBF Hope, where they were to bulk up the frigate’s squadrons once more after heavy losses. As she flew over in her Y-Wing she was put in charge of a flight of three rookie pilots, all new to the Rebellion. She had no idea if she’ll be put in charge of a wing of fighters, or it she’ll be stuck with her flight of four.

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From Liaka's military service file:

Liaka Atala is 23 years old and has been an active member of the rebellion for 7 months. She is qualified as a fighter pilot with logged hours mostly in a Z-95 Headhunter, but recently also in an X-Wing, A-Wing and Y-Wing and several types of airspeeders.

The file is sparse about her background before joining the rebellion, but apparently she acted as a messenger and pilot for the Twi'lek resistance movement on Ryloth from an early age. The resistance had helped the Rebellion to set up a base on Ryloth. About 9 months ago the Empire discovered the base and attacked in force, wiping out most of the rebels and all but destroying the Twi'lek resistance. In her reason for joining the Rebellion Liaka states that she sees the cause to rebuild the Republic as the only way to secure the freedom of her planet, and her people.

After joining the Alliance, Liaka underwent tests, mostly in simulators. Her instructor rated her as a "natural talent who has had some training“ and noted that she had the "potential to be a great pilot". He also noted that her "temperament and disposition led to her being a natural leader", and her "easy charm" helped her greatly in winning over friends in the ranks.

Liaka was assigned to an old frigate, NBF Glorious Hope, which had been converted to house a flight of 12 Z-95 Headhunters and a single shuttle. The role of the vessel was to scout out possible locations for rebel bases. The Headhunters were chosen over X-Wings since the older fighters are now a very common sight in on the Outer Rim, whereas the X-Wings are much rarer, and would draw too much attention. Liaka was assigned as a wing-man to the squad leader, and was trained to take on that role in the future.

The mission lasted for over five months, during which several promising locations were discovered. The mission came to an abrupt end during an attempt to persuade locals at a small colony to allow a small Rebel listening post on a moon orbiting the planet. The captain of the frigate decided to help the locals deal with a small band of pirates to help win their trust.

In the ensuing battle the pirates fielded several A-7 fighters and a small under gunned corvette, but they were no match for the Rebels. Two Rebel fighters were lost in the skirmish. One of them was the squadron leader. Records show that Liaka requested to be allowed to take over, and since the frigate was far from reinforcement she was given a battlefield promotion, a rank of Lieutenant and the position of Squad Leader.

Just as the captain of the frigate had signed a pact with the leaders of the colony, the pirates returned in force, eager to exact vengeance. The Rebel frigate had to wait for the shuttle with the captain and several other crewmen, and the ten remaining Headhunters were deployed to stall the pirates and keep them from destroying the frigate.

Records from the frigate show that the pirate fighters outnumbered the rebels at least three to one. The rebels attacked head on, trying to keep the fighters off the frigate. The pirates in turn tried to break through and attack the frigate before it could get far enough from the planet’s gravity shadow to jump to hyperspace. When the frigate finally managed to jump it had been heavily damaged. Only two fighters got away into hyperspace. Liaka and one other pilot got away, the rest were reported lost in action.

After this disaster the mission was aborted, and the frigate returned to the main rebel fleet. The fighter group had taken too many losses and was disbanded.

The records show that Liaka went through psychological evaluation after returning to the fleet and passed, but with several issues being reported and marked for 'further observation'. Details about the tests are classified. Her superiors decided not to make the battlefield promotion permanent and she was reverted back to Flight Officer. Liaka was kept with the main fleet for several weeks, during which she trained flying X-Wings, A-Wings and Y-Wings.

Eventually she was reassigned to the NBF Hope, where records show that she arrived five days ago.

The only addition made to her file during her stay on board the Hope is an incident logged five days ago. Apparently, there was some sort of altercation between her and a security guard where she arrived with several other new arrivals. The incident apparently involved harassment of some kind. In the altercation she drew a blaster and shot the guard, targeting a "vulnerable spot on the male anatomy", with the weapon on a stun-setting. Her superiors found that the altercation was instigated by the guard, but found the use of force by Liaka excessive and threw her in the brig for 72 hours, noting that her "disposition left something to be desired".

Type: Belief - Freedom

Liaka fought as part of the resistance movement on Ryloth because she wanted to free the planet. She now sees the Rebel Alliance and the restoration of the Republic as the only hope for a free Ryloth.

Liaka has just been assigned a new position and is currently dealing with a mix of a lack of motivation and distrust from her new superiors.

Type: Personnel
Magnitude: 0
As an officer it is part of Liaka's duties to see to the well-being of the soldiers under her command. She is devoted to her men and will do what it takes to ensure that they perform the mission they need to undertake in the safest possible way so that casualties are avoided, or at least kept to a minimum.

Type: Combat Victory
Magnitude: 0
The duty of every officer is ensuring that the mission they are assigned is completed. Liaka is a competent pilot and wants to prove she has what it takes to both take on the Empire's finest personally, and lead others to victory against the forces of the Emperor.

Age: 23
Height: 1.78 meters
Build: Slim
Eyes: Brown

Liaka Atala is a tall and graceful Twi'lek female with slim build. She is considered very attractive, even for a Twi'lek, with smooth teal-colored skin and soft zebra-patterns on her lekku. When not in her flight suit she tends to wear form-hugging clothes, an old pilot's jacked and cargo pants.

Personality:

To say that Liaka Atala has a chip on her shoulder is far from an overstatement. She has had to earn everything she has the hard way. Her parents didn’t want her to be a part of the resistance movement on Ryloth, so she fought them and won. Her fellow pilots constantly put her down, so she strove to be better than any of them. When she joined the Rebellion, she had to prove herself time and time again before they agreed to put her in a fighter and let her fly. But once they did, she made sure they never had cause to doubt her abilities as a pilot.

After growing up as part of a rebel movement on Ryloth, constantly moving, constantly on the run, she has come to appreciate the small, quiet moments before the storm. She also understands better than most the value of a whispered encouragement, leading by example and following orders. Although she has sometimes been a little sketchy about that last one.

Her fellow pilots tend to fall into two distinct groups. Most of them like the spirited Twi’lek, and many would follow her into battle, no matter the odds. If only since they don’t want to let her outshine them. But a small minority resents Liaka and some of those are not afraid to speak their mind. Some might be intimidated by her driven personality and skill in the cockpit. Others might have had their romantic advances casually ignored. Liaka doesn’t mind. She’s not in it to be loved. She’s in it to beat the Empire, and free Ryloth. And if she personally has to blast every single enemy vessel she comes across to make that happen there isn’t a force strong enough in the Galaxy to stop her.