Ryder Azadi

"I was the governor of Lothal. I supported your parents and the messages they beamed out against the Empire. It was part of the reason I was accused of treason and sent to prison with them."

- Ryder Azadi, to Ezra Bridger

Ryder Azadi was a human male who served as the Governor of Lothal during the early years of the Galactic Empire's reign over the Outer Rim planet. He supported the revolutionary broadcasts of Ephraim and Mira Bridger, leading to his arrest and imprisonment alongside the Bridgers. While in prison, he was labeled as "Prisoner X10." He escaped four years before the Battle of Yavin, after the Bridgers organized a prison break. The Bridgers were killed during their escape, so Azadi returned to Lothal to find their son, Ezra Bridger. Ezra, however, found him first after seeing him and his parents in a vision, so Azadi broke the news that his parents had been killed.

Prisoner of the Empire
"They're dead, aren't they?''" "''I'm sorry, son. They are."

- Ryder Azadi tells Ezra Bridger what happened to his parents

Ryder Azadi hailed from the Outer Rim planet of Lothal, where he served as its governor during the early days of the Galactic Empire's rule there. Despite being a member of the Imperial government, Azadi supported underground revolutionary broadcasts that were made by Ephraim and Mira Bridger. As a result of his actions, Azadi was charged with treason and incarcerated in an Imperial prison, along with the Bridgers. Azadi was given the label "Prisoner X10" while he was imprisoned.

Escape
Approximately four years before the Battle of Yavin, the Bridgers' son, Ezra, had become part of a rebel cell that fought the Empire on Lothal. He sent out a message of rebellion to the people of Lothal, one that also reached the ears of prisoners like Azadi and the Bridgers. This inspired the Bridgers to rally Azadi and fellow inmates to escape. Azadi was able to escape from the prison, but the Bridgers lost their lives during the attempt. Azadi returned to Lothal in the hopes of finding Ezra, so he could tell the boy what happened to his parents, and Ezra likewise traveled to Lothal from Garel after seeing his parents and Azadi in a vision. Ezra found the former governor in a stone circle on Lothal, though Azadi did not know who it was at first and fired a blaster rifle at Ezra and his Jedi master, Kanan Jarrus.

Ezra managed to calm Azadi down by telling him that he was the son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger. Satisfied, Azadi led Ezra, Kanan, and the astromech droid Chopper into the stone circle which served as his adobe. There, the former Governor told Ezra about his connection to his parents. He also informed Ezra that his broadcast had inspired his parents to stage an escape but that they had perished during the attempt. Azadi then stayed inside the stone circle while Ezra went out into the open to grief his parents' deaths. While Ezra was devastated by the loss of his parents, he was able to come to terms with his grief after he encountered them during a Force vision.

Helping the rebellion
Ryder stayed behind with Chopper while Ezra and Kanan traveled to the town of Jalath to greet Princess Leia Organa, the daughter of the Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa, who was delivering three Hammerhead corvettes to the rebellion. Kanan and Ezra had invited him to come along with them but Ryder did not want to expose himself to the Empire. While Ezra and Kanan were away, Ryder and Chopper were captured by a group of stormtroopers, who had orders to execute Ryder. Before the Imperials could take their prisoners into the custody, they were ambushed by Ezra, Kanan, Leia, and the other crew of the Ghost. Following a brief skirmish, Ryder and his rescuers fled aboard the Ghost; with Ezra and Kanan disguised as a kidnapped Imperial cadet and stormtrooper respectively. To hide Leia's dealings with the rebels, Ryder pretended to "kidnap" the Alderaanian princess.

Once aboard, Ryder was present when the rebels discussed their plans to "steal" Leia's corvettes from the Imperials. To hide Alderaan's support for the rebellion, Bail Organa had arranged for the cruisers to be sent to Imperial worlds where they would be "stolen" by the rebellion's agents. In response to these "thefts", the Imperials had installed gravity locks on them. Since Ryder had worked on building gravity locks during his captivity, he was able to advise the rebels that explosives would not be able to disable them. He then offered the rebels his help in escaping offworld with the corvettes.

With the help of Ryder, the rebels concocted a plan which involved using the Phantom, the Ghost auxiliary ship, to enter Supply Master Yogar Lyste's base. Still wearing their Imperial disguises, Kanan and Ezra escorted Leia back to the base and claimed to have rescued the Alderaanian princess from the rebels. While the Imperials were distracted, Ryder worked with Chopper and another rebel named Sabine Wren to disable the gravity locks on one of the cruisers. While Sabine departed on the first corvette, Ryder and Chopper moved to the next ship and proceeded to disable its locks. However, they were discovered by Lyste and several of his stormtroopers. Before any harm could befall Ryder and Chopper, Kanan and Ezra knocked the Imperials out with the Force.

During the ensuing battle, Ryder watched Kanan using his lightsaber and quickly realized that the man was a Jedi. Kanan's intervention allowed Ryder and Chopper to disable the second gravity lock; allowing Kanan to pilot the ship. Realizing that the crew of the Ghost needed help, he boarded the third ship while Chopper proceeded to disable its gravity lock. Two stormtroopers pursued Ryder but Ezra used the Force to snatch their blasters while Leia stunned them with her blaster. At the helm of the third Hammerhead corvette, Ryder forced the ship to fly despite the gravity lock by engaging the thrusters, toppling an AT-AT walker in the process. Ryder then escaped with the other rebels into hyperspace with the three stolen corvettes. After realizing that Ezra's parents had inspired a rebel movement, he agreed to join the rebellion and free Lothal to honor them and their son Ezra.

Personality and traits
Ryder Azadi was a human male with white hair, blue eyes, and copper skin. Though he served as an Imperial governor, he supported the revolutionary broadcasts made by Ephraim and Mira Bridger, a decision that led to him being charged with treason and incarcerated in an Imperial prison. Time spent in Imperial prison had wearied Azadi. Following his escape, he initially wanted no part in rebellious activities, fearing that any such involvement might land him back in prison, a fate he could not bare. He agreed reluctantly only to assist for one mission, feeling that he owed the rebels for his rescue. Participating in this rekindled his spark for resistance against the Empire's activities and he joined up to continue fighting.

Behind the scenes
Ryder Azadi first appeared in "Legacy," an episode in the second season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. He is voiced by actor Clancy Brown.

Appearances

 * Adventures in Wild Space: The Steal