Ello Asty

"Direct hit!''" "''But no damage."

- Bastian and Asty during the Starkiller Base battle

Ello Asty was a talented but reckless and singular male Abednedo T-70 X-wing fighter pilot who worked for the New Republic's precision air team. When Senator Leia Organa founded the Resistance years after the Battle of Endor, the pilot was recruited into it as he felt it was important work. Asty, who came from the planet Abednedo, went on to fly with Red Squadron in 34 ABY during the assault on Starkiller Base, but was shot down trying to destroy the superweapon, although the battle was ultimately a victory for the Resistance. During his final battle, he flew under the callsign Red Six.

New Republic service
"Traveling all over the galaxy like that, taking care of business&mdash;it sounds important.''" "''More important than an air show, that's for sure."

- Zari Bangel and Asty talking to fellow precision team pilot Joph Seastriker

Ello Asty was an extremely skilled, though occasionally reckless, Abednedo T-70 X-wing fighter pilot approximately twenty four years following the Battle of Endor. The male pilot was known for his superb abilities in the cockpit&mdash;and for his trouble remembering that a squadron relies on teamwork. He came from the planet Abednedo.

During that time, Ello Asty was a member of the New Republic Starfleet's precision air team alongside pilots Joph Seastriker, Zari Bangel, Ledaney and "Snap" Wexley, which flew mostly patrol missions and air shows. Stationed in the Galactic Senate complex's main hangar on the capital planet Hosnian Prime, Asty and the others grew bored with the assignment. When it became clear that Seastriker was involved in a greater cause, Asty and the other pilots expressed a desire to become part of it as well.

First Order-Resistance conflict
"I'm hit!"

- Asty's final words before his X-wing's destruction

Months later, when Senator Leia Organa organized the burgeoning Resistance movement after foreseeing the secession of many Centrists systems, Asty and other precision air team pilots were in attendance at the movement's first meeting in Organa's newly-leased hangar on Hosnian Prime.

Asty flew with the Resistance's Cobalt Squadron during the First Order–Resistance conflict. During that time, he managed to log the highest ratio of combat hours to total flight time. The conflict came to a head thirty years after the Battle of Endor when the First Order revealed their new Starkiller Base superweapon by destroying the Republic capital in the Hosnian system in 34 ABY.

After the destruction, Asty joined in the briefing about Starkiller Base with the other pilots and General Leia Organa's handpicked staff at their D'Qar headquarters. During the battle against the superweapon before it could fire at the Resistance base, Asty flew with Red Squadron with the callsign Red Six. At one point, he saved Blue Nine from a pair of seekers by redirecting the missiles. Asty then joined in the final run against the superweapon's thermal oscillator led by Black Leader Poe Dameron and escorted the lead craft through the trench, firing at weapons emplacements and base defense walkers. Asty's craft was subsequently shot down during the run by ground fire. Although he was killed, the Resistance succeeded in destroying Starkiller Base.

Personality and traits
As a pilot, Asty was skilled at the controls, but acted recklessly and without the support of his teammates, since he preferred to fly by himself. When his fellow precision air team pilots commented on how Seastriker appeared to be doing important work, Asty added that whatever it was, it was more important than the team flying air shows.

The starfighter pilot zealously attacked First Order patrols during the leadup to the First Order conflict, earning a reputation as someone who "shoots first and questions second." At the time of his death, he had the highest ratio of combat encounters to total flying time among the Resistance as a result of this aggression.

Despite Asty's preference for flying solo, during the attack on Starkiller Base, he responded promptly to Black Leader Dameron's orders to form up alongside Red Four, Bastian. Following their initial bombing run on the oscillator, Asty commented that their barrage had produced no effect.

He stood 1.88 meters tall, and spoke with a low and sonorous voice. As an Abednedo, he was a member of a gregarious and creative species, and had brown fur lining the sides of his face.

Equipment
Asty wore the standard Resistance pilot flightsuit, with flight vest, Guidenhauser ejection harness, boots, and life support equipment, and gauntlets. The letters on the Resistance's flight harness read "pull to inflate." His specially-modified helmet sported the Resistance symbol, yellow-and-black checkerboard pattern, and Abednedish lettering. The checkerboard pattern was part of the Resistance's practices of honoring the heroes of the Rebel Alliance. The phrase "Born to ill" was written on the side in Aurebesh alongside the unit insignia for Cobalt Squadron. He also carried a Glie-44 blaster pistol.

Portrayal
"This character here is an animatronic character, so he can blink, his eyes can move, he can sniff his nose. Obviously it is worn by a performer and his head's inside."

- Creature Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan describes Asty's animatronic mask in the "Crafting Creatures" featurette

Ello Asty appears in the 2015 Star Wars saga film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The character was performed physically by Paul Kasey and voiced by veteran Star Wars voice actor and technician Matthew Wood. For his portrayal, Kasey, also a member of the motion capture section, wore an animatronic mask and costume. The masks used in the film helped, in Neal Scanlan's words, to help the performers "...tell a thousand words." The pilot was created based off concept art entitled "Bullhead Pilot." The actor can also be seen in costume during the Resistance briefing scene during a behind the scenes look at the making of documentary Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey.

Asty is one of the pilots to appear in the "X-wings Prepare for Lightspeed" deleted scene, which features the Resistance pilots taking off for the Starkiller Base battle.

Asty also features in the 2016 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He is present at the Resistance base during an incident that started "a small fire" and led to the closing of the blast doors. Unlike his canon appearance, he survives the battle of Starkiller Base and has additional lines, including informing the player of damage. His figure can be bought at the D'Qar base.

Background
"Roger, lightspeed."

- Asty during the deleted scene

The character was first revealed in his StarWars.com Databank entry, released in advance of the film. The action figure for the character was also released beforehand. His name is a reference to the album Hello Nasty by the hip hop group Beastie Boys, and the inscription on Asty's helmet, "Born to Ill," references their debut album Licensed to Ill.

The film's director J.J. Abrams said the name was a suggestion from the creature department, which he approved for both the Beastie Boys reference, having previously featured their song "Sabotage" in Star Trek and "Body Movin'" in Star Trek Into Darkness, and the fact it served as a phonetic reference to his television show Lost.

Asty's costume was re-used for another Abednedo pilot, who was seen at the Resistance base during the celebration scene after the assault on Starkiller Base. The pilot was later identified as C'ai Threnalli in the "Escape from Starkiller Base" DLC expansion for LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens video game.

In initial sources such as the character's Databank entry, it says the pilot is part of Blue Squadron, but in the film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens his call sign is Red Six. Later sources including Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Flight Log clarify that he is part of Red Squadron.

Star Wars: On the Front Lines, a 2017 canon reference book by Daniel Wallace, expands his backstory in a Tales of Valor profile. It introduces a minor continuity error when it says that Asty was shot down by a missile and not turbolaser fire.

Appearances

 * The Chewbacca Story
 * Bloodline
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel
 * The Force Awakens: Rey's Story
 * The Force Awakens: Finn's Story
 * The Force Awakens storybook
 * The Force Awakens Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * The Fight in the Forest
 * The Force Awakens, Part VI
 * Captain Phasma, Part I

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens video game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DK Readers)
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Scholastic)
 * William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken