Winter Celchu

"I never forget anything."

- Winter Celchu, to Admiral Gial Ackbar

Winter Celchu, the only child of Sheltay Retrac, was raised as a sister and companion to Princess Leia Organa during the dark years of the reign of the Galactic Empire. Like her adopted sister, Winter became a pivotal player in the Galactic Civil War, serving in various roles, most notably as a spy. As an operative of Alliance Intelligence, she served the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic. Her holographic and audiographic memory gave her a special advantage in piecing together confusing situations or even simply computing data. She was often attached to Rogue Squadron as an intelligence officer, though sometimes under false identities.

Winter also served a vital role as Leia Organa's best friend, aide and confidante. She had special relationships with Leia's children Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo, whom she raised during their first years of life. She had a long romance with Tycho Celchu, from whom she was often separated by war, but the couple would eventually marry. She was also known to be a close personal friend of Admiral Ackbar.

Early life
Winter was the only child of Sheltay Retrac, the senatorial aide of Bail Organa at the time of the Clone Wars, and an unknown Alderaanian artist (possibly Ob Khaddor). Her parents both died when Winter was still young.

She was adopted by Bail and Breha Organa, and became Princess Leia's best friend and companion. The two grew up together on the peaceful planet of Alderaan and attended the best schools, learning about art and history, as well as ladylike graces. Possessed of a natural grace and poise, she was often mistaken for Princess Leia by visitors to Alderaan's court. This impression was increased by the fact that Leia's youthful tomboy nature did not seem as regal as Winter's stately bearing.

Despite these differences in personality, however, Winter would remain a comfort to Leia, who had problems relating to the snobbish, cruel young girls at court. Though the pair's physical resemblance was tempered by Winter's stunning white hair, the two friends would soon learn to employ similar looks for tactical advantage, a practice they would continue throughout their lives. Winter would sometimes disguise herself as Leia so that Leia could escape the palace to create mischief and visit with inappropriate boys. It was probable that Winter attended the University of Alderaan with Leia, who recalled that Winter's perfect memory was very helpful when it came time to study for exams.

One way or another, Winter and Leia were both schooled in Alderaanian ideals of freedom and liberty, as well as weaponry, on Leia's insistence. A key tutor was Sabé, the former handmaiden of Leia's mother, Padmé Amidala. Also as teenagers, the young women encountered Emperor Palpatine on Imperial Center. The image of Palpatine and his eyes, which made her feel as if he would drink up her spirit, would remain with Winter forever and influence her decision to join the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Early missions
"So you were the one called Targeter. The one with the perfect memory."

- Mara Jade

In 3 BBY Winter participated in a Rebel Alliance meeting on Cloud City organized by Bria Tharen. Winter represented Alderaan alongside Hric Dalhney and a Caamasi named Ylenic It'kla. Winter, posing as Dalhney's daughter, served as the recorder for the Alderaanian delegation. Following Bria's initial speech to the attendees, Winter joined her for a cup of vine-coffeine. The two young women discussed their backgrounds, Corellian and Alderaanian culture, and the cruelty of slavery on Ylesia, forming a quick connection. Winter confided in Bria that she supported military action, despite Alderaan's traditional pacifism, and that she would try to convince Leia and Bail Organa of this truth. She also mentioned that she and Leia could accomplish much for the Rebellion, since both were trained with blaster and the prevailing galactic presumption that women were weak would make them appear harmless. Ultimately, the meeting on Cloud City would lead to the formation of the Corellian Treaty that officially formed the Rebel Alliance.

True to her promise to Bria, when the Rebellion began Winter was heavily involved with many of the operations, partly because she was unassuming and non-threatening, but mainly because of her holographic and audiographic memory. Since Winter perfectly remembered everything that happened to her, she was particularly suited to a career in intelligence. She participated in several Rebel undercover missions with various code names such as "Targeter." Her time under the alias "Targeter" may have been cut short, however, when Imperial spies discovered and eliminated the Rebel cell on Averam she was working with. As a result of her successful procurement efforts, "Targeter" gained a spot on the Imperial's "most wanted" list and was to continue to serve in this role throughout the period from the Battle of Yavin to the Battle of Endor.



Winter was not on her home planet of Alderaan when it was destroyed by Grand Moff Tarkin in 0 BBY. She was on a mission for the Rebellion's Procurement and Supply division, where she had been assigned to work by her adoptive father, Bail Organa. In this position, Winter worked to free caches of Imperial matériel for the use of the Rebellion. Sadly, Bail Organa died with his planet, leaving Winter many bitter&mdash;and perfect&mdash;memories. These memories of her home planet would haunt her forever. Yet ultimately, the destruction of her home planet only strengthened her commitment to the Rebel cause.

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Winter joined Han Solo's group of criminals to perform a heist on Black Sun official Avrak Villachor's well-secured vault on the planet Wukkar. She had been selected by Mazzic, a Myke smuggler, for her photographic memory and good knowledge of security systems. At the time, Winter had no idea if Leia was still alive, as she didn't know whether the Princess had been on Alderaan when the Death Star destroyed the planet. She eventually learned from Solo that Leia was fine, much to Winter's relief.

Around 0.5 ABY, she was in contact with Porter and Casement, two Rebel agents on Drunost. As "Targeter," Winter worked off-planet with the duo, helping to coordinate arms shipments and reported back to General Carlist Rieekan on their status.

Mission to Cilpar


In the early period after the Battle of Endor, Winter continued to serve as a Rebel agent under the name "Targeter" and several times co-operated with Rogue Squadron. Her first encounter with the squadron was on Cilpar, where she worked in defense of the planet's native resistance forces. During this mission, she was disguised as her childhood friend Leia Organa. She discovered Rogue Squadron pilots Tycho Celchu and a very injured Wes Janson in a Cilpari cave infested with ronks. After an initial misunderstanding, Winter convinced Tycho to pose as an Imperial captain to infiltrate the planet's Imperial leadership. Unfortunately, after Tycho had joined Cilpar's Imperial forces, Winter accidentally and unknowingly shot his TIE Fighter down while piloting his X-wing. Soon thereafter, Winter and Janson were captured in their hidden cave by Vance Rego, an Imperial spy posing as a Cilpari resistance member. Convinced that Winter was Leia, Rego took Winter into Imperial custody. Once transported to the Cilpari capital of Kiidan, Winter was treated as a princess and the personal guest of Governor Norquest and even given a seductive gown to wear and treated to a formal banquet. Fortunately, when Kiidan was attacked by Rogue Squadron and ground forces led by Elscol Loro, Moff Boren Tascl requisitioned Winter to pilot his shuttle. As Winter and Tascl entered the ship, Rogue Squadron arrived to save the day. Winter and Tycho then flew the Moff's shuttle back to her base. It was on this mission that sparks first flew between Winter and Tycho. Not only was Tycho personally compatible with Winter, like her he shared many tragic memories of Alderaan. However, early in their relationship, Winter often rebuffed Tycho's advances, fearing the pain that an attachment to him might cause.

The Tatooine affair


Approximately six months after the Battle of Endor, Winter was to work with Rogue Squadron again. This time, the Rogues were summoned to Tatooine. There they attended a reception thrown by Huff Darklighter to commemorate the anniversary of his son Biggs's death. Together, Winter and the Rogues were investigating the continued Imperial presence on the planet in an attempt to prevent anarchy. Winter's mission was to stage a diversion so that she could steal a data disk containing Imperial intelligence from Darklighter's safe. Winter, in disguise as Windmere Wellen, was escorted by a smitten Tycho Celchu to the party. However, Winter's planned diversion was sabotaged by a group of Rodians. She and Tycho chased the Rodians, eventually meeting up with the other Rogues&mdash;but failed to obtain the data disk. Winter intimidated Huff Darklighter into handing over his copy of the disk, which she analyzed to discover the location of an important cache of Imperial ships, including the Eidolon. Unfortunately, the stolen copy of the disk was now in the possession of Firith Olan, a crazed Twi'lek who hoped to take over Jabba Desilijic Tiure's role as the primary crimelord on Tatooine. Using Huff Darklighter's weather satellite, Winter tracked Olan's forces to their hideout. Unfortunately, while the Rogues were in pursuit of Olan, they encountered an Imperial squadron commanded by Marl Semtin and were forced to retreat, leaving Olan free to escape.

Soon thereafter, Winter, along with Wedge, Tycho, and Elscol Loro followed Olan to his homeworld of Ryloth. There they met with Cazne'olan, the head of Olan's clan hoping to purchase his capture with valuable transparisteel. However, the Imperials had beaten the Rogues to Kala'uun and were also negotiating for Olan's release. Cazne'olan and his associate Koh'shak had devised a competition between two Rebels and two Imperials to determine who would obtain Firith. After a brief debate, it was decided that Wedge and Winter would represent the Rogues. The two participated in a race for a gold "Globe of Victory," encountering strange beasts and a deadly heat storm along the way. Because Wedge protected Winter during the race (despite the fact that she ordered him to abandon her), the Imperial naval commando Sixtus Quin reached the Globe first. When the dust cleared, however, the race participants realized that their experiences had been an illusion created by headband monitors which created a sort of virtual reality. Koh'shak congratulated Winter and Wedge for their courage and teamwork during the race, but refused to grant them victory. Meanwhile, Marl Semtin had bribed his way through the Twi'lek compound and fled with Firith Olan. Angered by his commander's lack of honor, Sixtus Quin defected to the Rogues.

The group, now accompanied by Quin and his companion Septaas, rejoined the other Rogues on Tatooine, hoping to take Olan by force. Marl Semtin and Olan, who now occupied the hidden Eidolon base, were engaged by the Rogues. In the ensuing firefight, several Rogues were shot down, Firith Olan was stabbed by Semtin and captured by Bib Fortuna's brain walker, and Sixtus Quin killed Semtin. Thanks in part to Elscol's heroic attack on an Imperial Star Destroyer, the Rogues successfully captured the Eidolon.

By the end of the Tatooine affair, Winter's relationship with Tycho had reached a new level. Throughout the mission, Tycho had flirted with Winter, but she had continually spurned him. At one point, it seemed that Tycho might even give up on Winter, stating that she seemed to have "ice water in her veins" when she informed him that she would have abandoned Wedge in order to obtain the Globe of Victory. During the final battle for the Eidolon, Winter was convinced that Tycho was killed when his X-wing crashed into several TIE Fighters. Previously hesitant about giving into her feelings for Celchu, Winter broke into tears, only to be informed by Wedge Antilles that Tycho had used a code phrase, "going out with a bang," to indicate that he was about to eject from his craft. Finally putting aside her trademark stoicism, Winter shared a kiss with Tycho as their mission concluded.

The defection of Sate Pestage
"Why a two-seater? I thought you liked the idea of snuggling."

- Winter to Tycho, on their escape from Axxila

In hopes of spending more time with Tycho Celchu, Winter voluntarily participated in further missions with Rogue Squadron, including the squadron's rescue of Imperial defector Sate Pestage. Winter's role involved standing in as a double for Princess Leia. Successfully testing her disguise, Winter discussed the relationship between Tycho and herself, without him catching on to the deception. After arriving on Eiattu 6, Han Solo sent Tycho up to Leia's room, where he finally met the disguised Winter and shared several kisses. However, the two were interrupted when Rayt and his thugs, agents of Leonia Tavira, knocked out and captured the couple, bringing "Leia" and her "aide" to their boss on Axxila. Under the cover of their capture, the real Princess Leia met with Sate Pestage. In exchange for his life, along with ten worlds for himself and fifteen worlds for four friends, Pestage offered to leave Coruscant virtually undefended from attack. He also arranged for his agent Kavil to arrange the release of Winter and Tycho from Tavira. Yet Tycho and Winter managed to escape on their own, breaking out of their separate cells, fighting past the guards, stealing a Y-wing, and out-flying the pursuit offered up by Kavil's corsairs. Fortunately, they managed to send out a distress call, and Rogue Squadron and the Millennium Falcon cleared the way back to base for Tycho and Winter. However, an Imperial Star Destroyer, the Reckoning, arrived in the system at the same time. The ship under command of Admiral Delak Krennel was sent by Ysanne Isard to capture Leia. After have recovered Pestage, the Admiral launched his TIE fighters on the planet and began orbital bombardment. The New Republic agents situation was critical when Krennel was stopped by an AT3 Directive issued by Soontir Fel. Delak Krennel was forced to obey at the behest of Sate Pestage and left the system. Winter and Tycho then shipped back home aboard the Falcon.

Back on base, Winter enjoyed walking among the gardens, as well as dining and dancing with Tycho, Wedge, and Reina Faleur at the officer's club. One of their nights at the club was cut short, though, when Rogue Squadron was called back to headquarters. There, Winter participated in the rushed planning of Pestage's extraction from Ciutric IV, accompanying the ground intrusion team to rescue Pestage. Along with Kapp Dendo's commandos, they broke Pestage out of prison, but were trapped on the surface of Ciutric IV by Delak Krennel and his Reckoning, reinforced by the Interdictor Binder. The intrusion team and Rogue Squadron fled to the night side of the planet, and Wedge ordered an attack on an Imperial outpost. Once it was seized, Winter helped rig a HoloNet communication for Wedge so he could send a message out, though he did not tell her who he was calling. As it turned out, Wedge had called Mirax Terrik, who arrived in the Pulsar Skate and helped sneak the commandos, Winter, and Pestage out of Ciutric, escorted by the Rogues and aided by Aggressor Wing, who had arrived with Terrik. However, Pestage turned his back on the Rebels during the mission and deserted them, leading to his death at the hands of Krennel. Following the mission, Winter attended the funeral of Ibtisam, the one Rogue Squadron pilot killed during the fight.

Throughout the post-Endor period, Winter piloted a freighter that was perfectly designed for her profession as a spy. Though it had no consistent name, it possessed such technological innovations as surveillance equipment, slicer droids, an advanced storage module, powerful deflector shields, and Aurum thrusters for speed.

Expanding the New Republic
Later, after Rogue Squadron re-formed in 6 ABY, Winter was instrumental in the New Republic capture of Coruscant. She and Iella Wessiri initially infiltrated the planet and set the stage for the Rogue Squadron commando team to arrive. During this period Winter used the pseudonym "Rima Borealis" as well as her standard "Targeter" alias. She served as a contact for Corran Horn and Erisi Dlarit while Iella worked with Wedge Antilles and Pash Cracken. While leading Corran and Erisi on reconnaissance missions (disguised as tourists), Winter inquired about Tycho. Horn was wary of Tycho after his capture by Ysanne Isard, who was known for brainwashing her prisoners and sending them out as covert agents. Suspicious of his fellow Rogue, Horn picked a fight with Winter about Tycho's tragic losses on Alderaan. Winter, however, won the argument when she fully revealed Tycho's personal history, leaving Corran chagrined. Corran and Winter soon reconciled, however.

While working on Coruscant, Winter's slicing skills came in handy when breaking into the planet's Imperial computers to deactivate the planetary shields. An initial plan to insert a sliced computer core into the main center was foiled by spies inside the Rebel organization. Surviving the following ambush, Winter was one of the few trustworthy people remaining to aid the Alliance. Winter was then part of the raid on a subsidiary computer center and a EVS Construction Droid that allowed the planetary shields to be deactivated. Working with Wedge Antilles, her quick-thinking and speed on a datapad helped to coordinate the Rogue Squadron pilots in their fight to take the planet. Winter, aiding Wedge, was able to slice into a TIE Interceptor's controls and send it crashing into a power station, and also took over OSETS 2711 to destroy an Imperial Golan space defense platform.

After the conquest of Coruscant, Winter's love interest, Tycho, was arrested for the murder of Corran Horn. Winter paid Tycho many visits while he was imprisoned and even served as a witness in his trial, hoping to defend him. Tycho, who had been framed, was freed when Corran escaped from the Lusankya. Horn also revealed that Isard had never broken Celchu, permanently ending the cloud of suspicion over his loyalty. Winter joined Tycho for the award ceremony at which Mon Mothma awarded the Rogue Squadron members the Coruscant Star of Valor.

Following these events, the members of Rogue Squadron left the Alliance military in order to invade the politically sensitive planet Thyferra, the main supplier of the precious bacta that was needed to stem the tide of the horrific Krytos virus released by Ysanne Isard. Winter assembled intelligence on Thyferra and presented this information to the squadron in a special meeting immediately before their departure for their new base at the Yag'Dhul space station, where she was to join them and serve as part intelligence officer, part quartermaster. Her findings, including several Imperial supply dumps, proved crucial to the Rogues' success. At this time, Winter also alerted Wedge Antilles to a store of X-wings and parts on Rishi. Also around this time, Tycho Celchu left a memorial for his fiancée Nyiestra (who perished during the destruction of Alderaan) at The Graveyard. His memorial gift, suggested by Winter, was a symbolic acknowledgment of both his own personal transformation and his new love for Winter. Soon thereafter, when Rogue Squadron was ambushed by the Imperial Interdictor cruiser Aggregator and Victory I-class Star Destroyer Corrupter, Winter's holographic memory helped the Rogues to discover more information on the mysterious ship which came to their rescue. It was the Valiant, an Alderaanian ship that was the escort of the famed Another Chance. The Rogues eventually gained control of the Valiant, and after their eventual success on Thyferra, brought it with them when they returned to the New Republic military under the command of Aril Nunb.

Provisional Council aide
As the New Republic established itself as a legitimate government, Winter moved from her work in intelligence to more diplomatic functions. While her friend Leia served on the New Republic Provisional Council, Winter worked as her aide. With her perfect memory, Winter was a natural choice as the recorder for the Council's crucial meetings, though apparently not all of the Council members were aware of her special gift.

During the Thrawn campaign, while Han and Leia traveled through the galaxy attempting to escape capture by the Noghri, Winter served as their Coruscant liaison and covertly passed information on to them regarding the inner politics of the Provisional Council. In particular, she kept them informed about the ongoing smear campaign implicating Admiral Ackbar for treason, and on the machinations of Borsk Fey'lya.

Later, while Luke Skywalker conducted research on Jorus C'baoth, Winter provided assistance by using her perfect recall to provide Luke with a physical description and other pertinent information about C'baoth. Winter was familiar with this due to C'baoth's role in mediating an ascendancy flap on Alderaan, which led to the Organa family ascending to the position of viceroy.

In this period, Winter also served as hostess to Mara Jade while the woman recovered from her injuries at the Imperial Palace. Mara was to eventually become a close friend of Winter's, joining the intimate circle of highly-placed New Republic women including Leia, Winter, Mara, Iella Antilles, and Mirax Horn. (Interestingly, over time, Mara and Leia became closer, while Winter and Leia grew apart, to the point where Leia eventually acknowledged that Winter's best friend was Iella.) Winter was the one who informed Mara of the current state of the Thrawn crisis; Mara had been unconscious for a month as she healed. During the course of their conversation, Mara expressed her wish that Winter could help her obtain a ship on which to depart Coruscant. At their introduction, Winter was piqued that after an inquiry about Winter's activities during the Rebellion, Mara was able to identify her as "Targeter."

As Leia recuperated from the delivery of her twin children Jaina and Jacen, Winter began probing the old Rebel Alliance archives for information about possible Imperial agents within the government. Suspicious of Mara Jade's recognition of her as Targeter (thought to be known only to a few Imperial agents on Averam), Winter informed Leia that Mara might have Imperial connections. This information led Leia to confront Mara about her past. Soon thereafter, Winter was present for the attempted kidnapping of Leia and her children. Mara Jade's timely rescue helped to ease Leia and Winter's minds about Mara's allegiances. As a result of this event and concerned for the safety of the infant Solo twins in the face of continued danger, Leia invited ten Noghri bodyguards to Coruscant to protect her, the twins, and Winter. This proved to be a fortuitous decision&mdash;when Coruscant came under attack a few days later, Leia's political duties called, and it fell to Winter and the Noghri to defend the twins. This presaged a pattern that would hold for most of the twins' childhood.

As the Thrawn crisis escalated, Winter worked with Leia and the slicer Zakarisz Ghent to discover the nature of Delta Source, which had been leaking key information to the camp of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Winter's memory proved itself useful once again as she used surveillance holos to track who in the Imperial palace was privy to particular pieces of gossip or diplomatic conversations. Though she was stumped as to who Delta Source could be, Winter was soon able to discover that the Grand Corridor of the Imperial Palace was likely the site where Delta Source was obtaining its information. Luckily, Leia was able to deduce that Delta Source was actually a complex organic microphone embedded in one of the Grand Corridor's monumental ch'hala trees.

Winter continued serving the Provisional Council through the end of the Thrawn crisis, conveying the location of the planet Wayland to them, and babysitting the Solo twins when Leia traveled with Talon Karrde to assist Han, Luke, Mara, and Lando there. Following the conclusion of the Thrawn crisis, Winter would leave politics to pursue other duties for Leia.

Protector of the Solo children
"Tycho's wife used to babysit Jaina, in fact."

- Wedge Antilles to Zekk

Upon the conclusion of the Thrawn crisis, Winter became the caretaker of Leia Organa Solo's newborn twin children, Jacen and Jaina. Leia's brother Luke Skywalker was concerned that the Force-sensitive children would be particularly vulnerable to attack (Imperial or otherwise) during their first two years of life. Therefore, the decision was made to sequester the children for several years, at the same time freeing their parents, Leia and Han Solo, for important New Republic duties. Initially, Winter kept Jacen and Jaina on New Alderaan with the protection of the Noghri. However, the depredations of the resurrected Palpatine and the birth of the twins' younger brother Anakin necessitated a change in both locations and strategies.

Thereafter, Winter and the children moved to the planetoid Anoth, where a special base had been constructed for them. Besides having cutting-edge security, this base was designed to be stimulating and educational for small children. Winter assisted Admiral Ackbar with the planning and construction of the base, and with him and Luke, Winter was one of the three people who knew Anoth's actual location. On Anoth, Winter served as the primary caregiver of the children until they returned to live on Coruscant with their parents. Every few months, Winter would pick up Han and Leia and shuttle them to Anoth to visit with their offspring.

In 11 ABY, Winter dropped off Jacen and Jaina on Coruscant, the twins now being two years old and deemed strong enough to live with their parents. That evening, Winter and Leia discussed Han's disappearance during a scheduled mission to Kessel; Winter advised Leia to contact authorities on that planet to determine if Han had arrived safely. The two then contacted Moruth Doole, whose evasiveness raised the suspicion of both women. (Indeed, Doole had kidnapped Han and Chewbacca and set them to work in his spice mines.) A few days later, Winter left to return to Anoth and baby Anakin, much to the Solo twins' dismay. Indeed, even the typically stoic Winter seemed sad to leave the children behind on Coruscant. Though she remained proud to do her duty, the lonely days on Anoth had taken their toll on her, and the twins' departure brought on a brief bout of depression.

Soon thereafter, Winter entertained Admiral Ackbar on Anoth. Ackbar, disgraced by his inadvertent destruction of the Cathedral of Winds on Vortex, intended to pay Winter a visit and then return to his homeworld of Dac to live in seclusion. The two shared a brief meal and discussed Ackbar's scandal. Winter invited Ackbar to stay with her and care for Anakin, but he declined, much to Winter's disappointment. Little did Winter realize at the time that Ackbar had been tracked&mdash;and that she would soon face the consequences.

Several months later, Winter and baby Anakin came under attack on the secret planet of Anoth. Anoth's location had been betrayed by Ackbar's brainwashed aide, Terpfen (who had tracked Ackbar's ship), to the Imperial Ambassador Furgan. Furgan had arrived to Anoth on his Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser Vendetta captained by Colonel Ardax in an attempt to kidnap Anakin and raise him as the new Emperor. After deploying her station's FIDO against an attack by Furgan's fearsome Mountain Terrain Armored Transports, Winter fought bravely, hoping to lead the stormtroopers away from Anakin. Through her ruse, she was able to draw some troops into a trap, leaving them vulnerable to assassin droids. Then, in the nick of time, Leia and Ackbar arrived on-planet to provide assistance and rescue Anakin aboard the Galactic Voyager. However, in years to come, Winter's role in the Battle of Anoth would be remembered as decisive. At the conclusion of the Sun Crusher crisis, Winter would attend the re-dedication of the Cathedral of Winds on Vortex. There, Ackbar encouraged her to once more take an active role in New Republic politics, hoping that he might be able to spend more time with her in such a capacity.

Following these events, all the Solo children returned to Coruscant to live with their parents, since Anoth was no longer safely hidden. The children found it difficult at first to adjust being raised by someone other than Winter, although Winter still played a large role in their lives, often traveling with them as a nanny and assistant. In 12 ABY, she accompanied the Solo family and Luke Skywalker to Ithor to attend the Herd Meet. After the deranged Drub McKumb staged an attack on the Solos there, she escorted the children to protection. She was still attending the Solo children when Leia was kidnapped by Seti Ashgad, and most likely looked after them when Han and Chewbacca left in search of Leia. Meanwhile, one of the tricks Winter had learned from an outlaw on Coruscant&mdash;lock picking&mdash;and passed on to Leia allowed Leia to escape imprisonment on Nam Chorios.

Ironically, Winter was away attending a conference on runaway children when Hethrir kidnapped the Solo kids in 14 ABY. The very runaway children Winter was investigating had been abducted by Hethrir for use in his Empire Youth indoctrination program.

By 17 ABY, Winter continued to spend time with the Solo children, giving C-3PO a hard-earned break every once in a while. On one occasion, Anakin Solo, upset by C-3PO, ordered a TDL nanny droid, TDL-3.5, to come replace the protocol droid. Winter, however, with a bit of persuasion, convinced the droid to go back to the warehouse, much to C-3PO's relief. Yet soon after, Kueller's bombing of the Senate Hall forced Winter to temporarily bring Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin back to the safety of the rebuilt Anoth shelter.

Later life


Following the Almanian Uprising in 17 ABY, Winter finally married her longtime love, Tycho Celchu of Rogue Squadron. Winter was also present for the nuptials of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade in 20 ABY. She joined Mara's group of friends, including Leia, Iella Wessiri Antilles, Mirax Terrik Horn, and Tionne Solusar in helping the bride with her preparations, including a spa visit and a slingball match versus Champion Squadron.

Subsequently, Winter had taken to aiding former New Republic Admiral Gial Ackbar in his pursuit to bring safety and recovery to the aquatic world of Dac. Ackbar had long been a special friend of Winter's, from at least the time the two were privy to the secret location of Anoth. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Ackbar was found to be in declining health due to his old age. Winter assisted her friend and cared for him as he prepared the plans for the climactic Battle of Ebaq 9. Winter was present when he passed on during the midst of the retaking of Coruscant, informing Galactic Alliance command of the Mon Calamari's death. She told her husband after the Recapture of Coruscant and the end of the war that she'd leave him if he didn't retire.

By 40 ABY, Winter and Tycho were firm supporters of the Galactic Alliance in the Second Galactic Civil War, leading to their alienation from their best friends, Wedge and Iella Antilles. Tycho, suspicious that the so-called Chasin Document was actually a revision of General Garm Bel Iblis's Operation Blue Plug (which dated from the Galactic Civil War), enlisted Winter to conduct an investigation to determine if the still-classified Blue Plug documents had been sliced into. Winter discovered that the Alliance's backup code had indeed been sliced using a Galactic Alliance Guard (GAG) passcode and had been altered so as to send files to a spy. Winter scrubbed the military network of the spy's code and turned over her findings to Galactic Alliance Intelligence. Tycho was to present Winter's findings to a group of Galactic Alliance military personnel, including Admiral Cha Niathal and Jacen Solo, who was infuriated about the implication of GAG in the security breach and refused to believe his former nanny's discovery. Later, however, when Jacen needed to send a message from Uran Lavint to his parents, he enlisted Winter's help to initiate direct contact with the Solos, who had essentially disowned him.

In 43.5 ABY, Winter became a member of the secret Darkmeld organization, and assisted in the Raid on the Armand Isard Correctional Facility. She later aided Jaina Solo in attending a dinner date with Jagged Fel.

Personality and traits
"I'm beginning to see where you got your name. Agent Winter, you've got ice water running in your veins."

- Tycho Celchu

Winter was noted for her stoicism, causing her future husband Tycho to remark that her name well-suited her chilly personality. However, Winter's emotional control was both a coping mechanism for dealing with the destruction of Alderaan and a useful technique she employed in her career as a spy. It also may partly have been a result of her royal upbringing and was in stark contrast to Leia Organa's more emotive style. In her personal life, her stoic nature was also helpful, as it allowed her to spend long periods away from her partner Tycho Celchu while both were involved on missions across the galaxy. It also made her a very reasonable and composed nanny for the often-mischievous Solo twins.

In terms of her personal style, Winter could best be described as elegant and stately. Growing up, Winter had better fit the role of "princess" than her friend Leia did, and though Leia eventually grew out of her tomboy phase, Winter retained her regal bearing. Though Winter's line of work often required her to wear practical clothing such as jumpsuits, her tastes were never as functional as Leia's. Indeed, at different times in their adulthood, Leia would remark that Winter seemed fashionable and distinguished even in an old robe and that she favored expensive, impractical clothing made out of materials such as vine-silk.

Her most unique trait was her memory, which was both holographic and audiographic. She had perfect recollection of everything that had ever happened to her, and all information that came to her. Across the galaxy, this trait was highly uncommon. Ironically, one other individual who possessed this trait, Imperial officer Kirtan Loor, was a contemporary and an enemy of Winter's. Winter's memory proved useful time and time again in her service to the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic. Eventually, however, this ability would cause her some emotional difficulty, as she remembered every experience, even the most painful, in complete detail.

Winter also was a very skilled slicer and a master of disguise, often impersonating her adoptive sister Leia.

Behind the scenes
Winter was created by author Timothy Zahn for the early 1990s Thrawn Trilogy. There, and in many subsequent Expanded Universe novels, Winter's purpose is to serve in capacities normally filled by Leia when Leia is otherwise occupied due to plot or continuity concerns. She also functions as a foil for the more excitable Leia.

There is a slight discrepancy in the sources regarding Winter's alias "Targeter." In The Last Command, Winter tells Leia that she only used this alias for "a few weeks" and only on Averam. However, in numerous other sources such as X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Rebel Opposition and X-wing: Wedge's Gamble, Winter uses this alias in other locations and on other missions. Even Timothy Zahn, Winter's creator, appears to contradict his earlier work when, in Allegiance, "Targeter" is mentioned as active on Drunost.