Kaydel Ko Connix

"General, are you seeing this?"

- Kaydel Ko Connix, to Leia Organa during the Battle of Starkiller Base

Kaydel Ko Connix was a human female who lived during the era of the New Republic as well as the subsequent war between the First Order and the Resistance. Born on Dulathia, Connix ultimately joined the Resistance&mdash;a paramilitary organization that opposed the First Order&mdash;and was stationed at the D'Qar headquarters by 34 ABY. Serving under the command of General Leia Organa, a veteran of the Rebel Alliance and leader of the Resistance, Connix worked as an operations controller in Fleet Command, coordinating communications between T-70 X-wing starfighter pilots and their commanders.

Connix's service as an operations controller resulted in her promotion to the rank of lieutenant following the Resistance victory at the Battle of Starkiller Base. Anticipating the First Order's retaliatory strike against the Resistance, Connix was entrusted with supervising the evacuation of the D'Qar base. It was her responsibility to prioritize supplies and ensure an orderly retreat. She narrowly escaped the planet in a shuttle just prior to the base's destruction, an act carried out by First Order Navy's Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix. She then resumed her responsibilities as a sensor ops officer aboard the MC85 Star Cruiser Raddus while also retaining her new rank.

During the flight of the Resistance fleet from the First Order, Connix was one of several Resistance officers who supported Captain Poe Dameron's mutiny against Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Their efforts to secure the bridge ultimately failed, however. Dameron was incapacitated by Organa herself, causing Connix and the other mutineers to surrender. Despite their actions on the Raddus, Connix and Dameron remained in service to the Resistance during the Battle of Crait. They were among the few survivors who boarded the YT-1300 light freighter Millennium Falcon in order to escape from the forces of the First Order.

Biography
"Punch it!"

- Kaydel Ko Connix, during the evacuation of D'Qar

Kaydel Ko Connix was a native of Dulathia. As political relations worsened between the New Republic and the First Order, the latter was opposed by Princess Leia Organa, who founded a private military group known as the Resistance to monitor the First Order's activities. Connix ultimately joined the naval branch of the Resistance and was assigned to Fleet Command. By 34 ABY, approximately three decades after the Battle of Endor, Connix was serving as an operations controller under the direct command of Organa, who&mdash;in her capacity as leader of the Resistance&mdash;assumed the rank of general.

Following the Hosnian Cataclysm and the Battle of Takodana, the Resistance attacked Starkiller Base in the hope of destroying the First Order's superweapon. During the battle, Connix coordinated communications between the T-70 X-wing starfighter pilots and their commanders from the Resistance base on the planet D'Qar. After the destruction of Starkiller Base, Connix was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in recognition of her service as an operations controller as well as the need for an officer to oversee the D'Qar evacuation. In this capacity, she was tasked with prioritizing supplies and coordinating an organized retreat. She was still managing the evacuation from the planet's surface when the First Order Navy invaded the Ileenium system. The base was destroyed from orbit by the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix, although Connix managed to escape just in time on one of the last departing shuttles. After boarding the MC85 Star Cruiser Raddus, she returned to her duties as an operations controller but was allowed to retain her new rank.

While the Resistance fleet fled from the First Order warships, including Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship Supremacy, Captain Poe Dameron enlisted Connix's assistance for an unauthorized mission&mdash;to help Finn and Rose Tico escape from the Raddus so that they could ultimately disable the First Order's hyperspace tracking system. Using her position on the starship's bridge, the lieutenant ensured that their departure went unnoticed by Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. After discovering Holdo's intention to evacuate the crew of the Raddus on several transports, Connix and several Resistance officers supported Dameron's mutiny against Holdo. With the admiral and her supporters detained at the point of a blaster, Connix and Dameron seized control of the bridge but were ultimately confronted by Organa. Using the stun setting on her blaster pistol, the general shot Dameron and accepted Connix's surrender.

Despite her role in the conspiracy against Holdo, Connix continued to serve the Resistance and was among the survivors who took control of an abandoned Rebel Alliance outpost on Crait. The ensuing battle on Crait marked the near destruction of the Resistance. However, Connix was able to evacuate the outpost along with Organa, Dameron, and several other survivors who used the YT-1300 light freighter Millennium Falcon to escape from the armies of the First Order.

Connix witnessed the destruction of Tah'Nuhna during her time at the Resistance Camp on the garbage planet of Anoat and informed General Organa.

Personality and traits
"She's running away!''" "''No she isn't."

- Kaydel Ko Connix and Poe Dameron, witnessing Amilyn Holdo's sacrifice

Kaydel Ko Connix was a human female who had light skin, brown eyes, and blond hair which she wore up in two buns&mdash;one on either side of her head. Her service as an operations controller was viewed favorably by her superiors, resulting in Connix's rise to the rank of lieutenant. However, while serving under Amilyn Holdo, Connix sympathized with Poe Dameron's misgivings about the Vice Admiral's leadership style. Her support for Dameron led Connix to engage in activities ranging from conspiracy to open rebellion against Holdo. After abandoning the Raddus during the First Order's assault on the Resistance fleet, Connix watched as Holdo altered the ship's course and assumed that the Vice Admiral was trying to save herself. In reality, Holdo was sacrificing herself in order to destroy Supreme Leader Snoke's Star Destroyer, the Supremacy.

Equipment
As an officer of the Resistance, she wore a brown junior controller's uniform, a comlink headset, and was armed with a blaster pistol. After the destruction of Starkiller Base, Connix's uniform was changed to a brown officer uniform that included her lieutenant rank badge.

Behind the scenes
Kaydel Ko Connix was played by Billie Lourd in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi and the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. Lourd is the daughter of actress Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia Organa in the Star Wars saga. She originally auditioned for the main role of Rey, but lost out to Daisy Ridley. This in turn lead The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams to create Connix's character specifically for Lourd.

The character was listed as "Lieutenant Connix" in the end credits of The Force Awakens, but was identified as "Kaydel Ko" in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, a reference book written by Pablo Hidalgo and released in conjunction with the film.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens