Bodhi Rook

"This is for you, Galen."

- Bodhi Rook during the Battle of Scarif

Bodhi Rook was a human male from Jedha who served as a cargo pilot for the Galactic Empire prior to the Galactic Civil War. After defecting to the Alliance to Restore the Republic he fought alongside a group of rebels during the Battle of Scarif.

Background
Bodhi Rook was born and raised on Jedha. As a youth, he had two run-ins with the law. One was for unlawful wagering on sporting events and the other was unsafe operating of an airspeeder. He enlisted in the Empire and had aspirations to become an Imperial starfighter pilot. He entered Terrabe Sector Service Academy in 7 BBY and studied flight training for two years, but due to insufficient test scores Rook did not qualify for admission into the starfighter programme. Two years later, Rook was granted the rank of Ensign and eventually cleared to work in cargo shuttles for the transport of Imperial documents and artifacts.

Joining the Rebellion
Rook defected from the Galactic Empire after being entrusted with an important message by Galen Erso, an Imperial scientist who worked on the Death Star project. Erso told him to seek out Saw Gerrera, a resistance fighter. Although he found Gerrera, the rebel was initially distrustful of Rook's motives, believing the message was meant to lure him into a trap. In an attempt to discover if Rook was being truthful or not, Gerrera subjected him to a torturous experience involving a creature that could sense if he was telling the truth, at the cost of a temporary loss of Rook's sanity.

Rook subsequently met the rebel operative Cassian Andor, who managed to help him regain his composure. Rook also met with Galen's daughter, Jyn Erso, who after seeing the message sent by her father learned of the truth of Rook's defection. Together with Cassian, Jyn, the blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe, and the assassin Baze Malbus, Rook escaped Jedha as the Death Star destroyed Jedha City with its superlaser. While traveling aboard Cassian's U-wing ship, Bodhi told Cassian and Jyn that Galen was at the Imperial flight station on the stormy planet of Eadu.

Despite the stormy conditions, Cassian and his reprogrammed Imperial security droid K-2SO managed to land their U-wing near the Imperial flight station. Bodhi along with Chirrut, Baze, and Kaytoo stayed aboard while Cassian went to assassinate Galen. Jyn followed Cassian in an attempt to stop him and the two were caught up in the Rebel Alliance's raid on the Eadu flight station. Bodhi and his companions managed to find the Imperial cargo shuttle SW-0608 and used it to save Jyn and Cassian from being killed by stormtroopers. The rebels then fled offworld to the rebel base on Yavin 4.

Stealing the Death Star plans
Bodhi attended a meeting of the Alliance High Command to discuss the threat posed by the Death Star. Bodhi also listened to Jyn's impassioned speech urging the rebels not to give up. Later, he accompanied Cassian, Jyn, K-2SO, Chirrut, and Baze along with several Rebel Marines on an unsanctioned mission to steal the Death Star plans from the Imperial security complex on the planet Scarif. For that mission, the rebels used the Imperial cargo shuttle they had stolen on Eadu. Rook and K-2SO served as the team's pilot. When the Alliance air traffic control requested their call sign, Rook replied Rogue One but was told there was no such unit. K-2S0 then responded that there was one now and took the ship into space.

After arriving above Scarif, Rook and his Rogue One comrades found the planet enveloped by a deflector shield generated by a Shield Gate. Scarif was also defended by two Imperial Star Destroyers. Rook notified gate control and requested a landing pad. Since their arrival was not scheduled, Rook told the gate officer that they had been rerouted from Eadu and ordered K-2SO to transmit the clearance codes. After the Imperials accepted their clearance code, the rebels landed their shuttle at the Imperial security complex's landing pad 9.

When an Imperial inspection crew consisting of an officer, technician, and two stormtroopers boarded the cargo shuttle, Bodhi and K-2SO greeted them. They led them down into the cargo bay where they were taken out by the other rebels. While Cassian, Jyn, and K-2SO infiltrated the security complex in order to reach the data vault and steal the plans, Rook remained aboard the cargo ship SW-0608 to stay in contact with the Rebel Alliance command on Yavin 4. Baze, Chirrut, and the Rebel Marines then staged a diversionary attack to draw the base's garrison away from the data vault.

During the Battle of Scarif, Rook contacted Admiral Raddus's fleet to tell them that they needed to destroy the Shield Gate in order to transmit the Death Star plans to them. During the battle, a shoretrooper threw a grenade at the cargo hold of the ship, near where Rook was at a console, and thus killed him instantly.

Legacy
Thanks in part to Bodhi's efforts and sacrifice, Jyn was able to use the Imperial security complex's satellite to transmit the Death Star plans offworld. Despite Grand Moff Tarkin's efforts to destroy the Scarif base, the rebels managed to transmit the plans offworld to the rebel flagship Profundity. Princess Leia Organa then fled Scarif with the plans aboard the rebel corvette Tantive IV, setting the stage for the events leading up to the Battle of Yavin.

Personality and traits
Bodhi Rook was a human male with brown eyes, black hair and tan skin. Though he was a very experienced pilot, he had a tendency to be tense and anxious.

Behind the scenes
Bodhi Rook is portrayed by Riz Ahmed in the Star Wars Anthology Series film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Ahmed's casting in the film was first announced on August 15, 2015. As this time, the first photo of the character was released as well. His name was revealed by a preview of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: The Official Visual Story Guide in the Edelweiss catalogue on May 17, 2016. His first name "Bodhi" is Sanskrit and Pāli for "enlightment" or "awaking". In Buddhism, Bodhi is the final enlightment that ends transmigration and leads to Nirvana.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Force Arena
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novel
 * Star Wars: Rogue One: A Junior Novel
 * Star Wars: Rogue One: Secret Mission
 * Rogue One, Part I
 * Rogue One, Part II

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes