Gavyn Sykes

"Pleasure knowing you Lieutenant Sykes. You were well trained."

- Captain Panaka

Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes served in the Royal Naboo Security Forces during the Invasion of Naboo. He, alongside many other security officials, was pressed into combat when the Trade Federation laid siege to Naboo. He was responsible for single-handedly knocking out the Droid Control Ship's Shield Generator, a pivotal victory which allowed young Anakin Skywalker to destroy the ship from within and ultimately begin his fateful journey down the path to the dark side.

Youth
Idealistic and brave, Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes spent much of his youth flying local transports before joining the Royal Naboo Security Forces. Patrolling the secret tunnels and outskirts of Theed honed his military abilities. Whether driving a Flash speeder or piloting an N-1 starfighter, Sykes was efficient and resourceful, ready to defend his commander and the citizens of Naboo.

The Battle of Naboo
The planet of Naboo became a pawn in a grand chess game orchestrated by the Dark Lord, Darth Sidious, using the Trade Federation as his tool. Lieutenant Sykes found himself one of the instrumental pieces of this game as he participated in an attempt to prevent a Trade Federation droid garrison from reaching the Naboo battlegrounds, where their occupying forces engaged the Gungans.

During this mission he was responsible for protecting apparent ally Borvo the Hutt and his vessel on route to a hidden Naboo outpost. From there Captain Kael and Borvo relied on Sykes and his team to destroy the central comm satellite, thus knocking out the communications web of the Trade Federation outpost and enabling a crucial assault upon it.

Lieutenant Sykes would also later thwart a Neimoidian slaving operation on the banks of a Naboo River, but when Borvo the Hutt revealed himself to be a traitor by killing Captain Kael and attempting to sell the rescued slaves, it was left to Sykes to stop him. He took control of the Royal Naboo Security Forces when Captain Kael was killed, but was forced to hand over command to Captain Panaka when he returned.

After the Trade Federation imprisoned some of Naboo's most important leaders in the notorious "Camp 4," Sykes was sent to free them and destroy the camp. After this success, he assisted Panaka with Queen Amidala's plan to create a diversion in Theed, allowing the Queen to capture Nute Gunray.



The Space Battle
With Bravo Squadron unable to launch their fighters past the Armored Assault Tanks stationed in the Theed Hangar, the young Lieutenant succeeded in destroying them, enabling the allied ships to launch.

Sykes was one the pilots who then joined the Bravo Squadron as Bravo 6, the force which waged war with the Droid Control Ships in the Naboo Space Battle. Partnered with R2-C4 he succeeded in damaging the shield generator and tractor beams of the vessel, allowing Anakin Skywalker to land inside then destroy the ship from within with two proton torpedoes.



Considering these many victories, there were rumors that Sykes may in fact have been Force-sensitive.

35 Years On
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, he patrolled as a watchman around the Keren starport as a promoted Captain Sykes, giving missions to adventurers.

"I'm Captain Sykes with the RSF's smuggling patrol. This is a long shot, but maybe you could help me. We confiscated animal carcasses from a Gungan smuggling gang that was shipping them offworld. This violates all kinds of regulations. The leader says one smuggler is bringing more carcasses to the drop point. We're short-staffed right now, so I'm desperate. Can you try to stop the smuggler? &hellip; Our reports are sketchy, but apparently the animals in question died of some unusual disease. Maybe it's a Gungan ceremonial thing. Will you take the assignment? &hellip; Good. I suspected you were made of sterner stuff than you look. This Gungan, Zim Zam Blattis, is known to be armed, so be careful."

- Captain Gavyn Sykes

Behind the scenes
Gavyn Sykes was portrayed by Star Wars actor Christian Simpson in The Phantom Menace (1999), Simpson's likeness also featuring as Sykes in the video game Star Wars Galaxies (2003 - ).

Gavyn Sykes' name is pronounced G'vin Sikes. Actor Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker) was given his Pilot Helmet by actor Christian Simpson (Lieutenant Sykes) for his cockpit scenes in Episode I. At the time, the intrinsic role Sykes would play in Anakin's victory had not been revealed. Similar names aside, Hayden Christensen's shoes were later filled by Christian Simpson as UK Episode III Stand-in for Anakin Skywalker himself.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars: Battle for Naboo
 * Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided