Syal Antilles

"No. I want to be doing something I think will help bring the war to an end. My captain's insignia&hellip;it's not worth the metal it's stamped from without that. I'm not going to dishonor my uniform&hellip;but the way things are going, I can't seem to bring honor to it."

- Syal Antilles

Syal Antilles was the eldest daughter of Wedge Antilles and Iella Wessiri Antilles. She was born in 17 ABY on Corellia, and though her father was often away due to his New Republic Defense Force obligations, she inherited his love of piloting. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Syal, her mother, and her younger sister Myri were forced to flee their home on Coruscant when it fell to the Yuuzhan Vong. While Iella Wessiri Antilles returned to active service as an Intelligence officer, Syal and Myri were sent to a Jedi sanctuary in The Maw for their safety.

Years after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Syal and the rest of her family moved back to the Antilles homeworld of Corellia. She completed school there and eventually joined the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet as a starfighter pilot, training under her father's old wingman, Tycho Celchu. However, she did so under the name Lysa Dunter, in an effort to keep away unwanted attention concerning her famous lineage. In the Second Galactic Civil War, Syal was part of the Galactic Alliance Operation Roundabout, and the resulting clashes between Corellian forces and the Galactic Alliance Fleet saw her engage in combat, which on two occasions brought her into conflict with her father, who was flying for the Corellians. After her identity was revealed, Syal was forced to change squadrons, and served in the Battle of Tralus. She continued to serve in the Galactic Alliance military throughout the war, and also began romantically seeing another pilot, Tiom Rordan; the two began considering marriage as their relationship developed.

Toward the latter stages of the war, after her father broke with the Corellians and joined up with the renegade Jedi Coalition, Syal lost her fiancé and, although she was promoted to captain, suffered the loss of her entire squadron when the Corellians used the Centerpoint Station weapon on the Second Fleet. After these personal losses, she was attached as an aide to General Celchu, and accompanied him on a covert diplomatic mission to the Jedi Order. Following Celchu's negotiations, Syal and Celchu briefly flew in Rakehell Squadron as part of the Jedi plan to destroy Centerpoint Station. While Celchu returned to the Galactic Alliance Fleet during the battle, he ordered Syal to remain with the Jedi and her father, and she took orders from Wedge throughout the battle, which led her to shoot down at least one member of Rogue Squadron. She remained with Wedge after the battle was complete and Centerpoint Station was destroyed, on an extended assignment.

Early life and childhood
Syal Antilles was born as the eldest child of General Wedge Antilles and New Republic Intelligence Service agent Iella Wessiri Antilles. Though she was born on Corellia, at some point around 20 ABY, her family was living on Coruscant. At some point early in her childhood, Syal and her younger sister Myri attended the Wedding of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, as both of their parents were invited. Along with the other children, including the Solo children and Valin Horn, for much of the ceremony they were placed under the watch of Booster Terrik, who found their rambunctiousness hard to handle. He eventually got the children, including Syal, calmed down, and protected them during a swoop gang attack aimed at disrupting the wedding. The swoop gang was unsuccessful and Skywalker and Jade were married despite several attempts to disrupt their union.

Yuuzhan Vong War
"Except for Wedge's kids, who'll probably just subvert the administrators here to get whatever they want."

- Leia Organa Solo

In 27 ABY, Syal and Myri, along with their mother, were on Coruscant when the planet fell to the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong invaders. As Coruscant's defenses crumbled, the three escaped the galactic capital and made their way to the New Republic garrison on Borleias, which was under the command of Wedge Antilles. After a happy reunion with their father, Syal and Myri were sent to The Maw on the Millennium Falcon, along with several Jedi children. Syal, ten years old at the time, was reluctant to leave, but Wedge insisted that it was for her own safety, as well as for his peace of mind. Han Solo, the pilot of the Millennium Falcon, was able to cheer her up by having the protocol droid C-3PO give Syal a piggyback ride to the ship, while Solo in turn carried Myri in the same fashion. Han and his wife, Leia Organa Solo, then delivered the children to the Maw Installation safely without incident, where they remained.

After the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated by the Galactic Alliance, the governing body that had replaced the New Republic, Syal returned to her homeworld, Corellia, to go to school. She took a job flying a freight speeder to help pay for her education; her father agreed to match every credit she placed in her education fund with four of his own, but only if she earned some of her own money. He also taught her how to fly starfighters, and his lessons would remain with her years later. Syal would later go to an academy and graduate as a starfighter pilot under the watchful eye of her father's old friend and wingman, General Tycho Celchu.

Operation Roundabout
"What's more important, Ten? A frigate silhouette on your fighter, or knowing that you're responsible for keeping units on your own side alive?"

- Syal Antilles

Following the Swarm War, which saw the Galactic Alliance defeat the Killik Dark Nest, Syal joined the Galactic Alliance Defense Force as an ensign. She legally changed her name in a Ralltiir courtroom to "Lysa Dunter" to escape the fame of her surname and of her father. Under her new name&mdash;and still watched carefully by General Tycho Celchu&mdash;Syal chose to pilot swift Eta-5 interceptors and was assigned to VibroSword "V-Swords" squadron as VibroSword Seven. However, as a junior officer, she had several nervous tendencies, including a constantly twitching right leg, and her squadron commander harassed her about it. She had yet to see combat when VibroSword Squadron was deployed on the Galactic Alliance carrier Dodonna on a mission to the Corellian system as part of Operation Roundabout, her first combat assignment. The Corellians had been advocating increased independence from the Galactic Alliance, and Operation Roundabout was intended to be a show of force to the Corellians.

Not long after VibroSword Squadron was launched, a Corellian fleet reverted from hyperspace and took up positions between the Galactic Alliance ships and Corellia. The two fleets continued to jockey for position as they approached each other's position. At one point, a squadron of Corellian attack fighters began to fly straight through the VibroSword Squadron formation. Syal and a Corellian attack fighter flew right past each other, but when her squadron leader announced hostile action on the part of the Corellians, Syal maneuvered her fighter so her engines' backblast hit the Attack Fighter less than three meters away from her, which unintentionally destroyed it. The Corellians and Vibrosword Squadron then faced off in a dogfight.

During the skirmish, Syal and the VibroSwords broke though the Corellian unit, but Syal's wingman sustained damage and had to return to Dodonna. Syal then noticed a lone X-wing starfighter and decided to intercept it. To her surprise, she found that despite her own skill in a starfighter, she was unable to get a target lock on the other craft, which eluded her. When the other pilot broadcast a low-powered signal to her congratulating her on a maneuver, she recognized his voice as that of her father. In the increased tensions between the Corellians and the Galactic Alliance, Wedge had been detained by Galactic Alliance Intelligence as a potential security risk, but had escaped; the result of the episode had pushed him into the Corellian camp. For a brief moment, she and the elder Antilles ceased firing, vectoring their respective fighters so they could look at each other through their cockpits. They had a brief conversation, with both pilots expressing concern for each other's welfare. Wedge Antilles subsequently returned to Corellia, and Syal rejoined her squadron, participating once more in the larger battle.

Flying with a temporary wingman, VibroSword Ten, Syal and the rest of her unit were ordered back to Dodonna as the fleet prepared to withdraw to Tralus, one of the other four habitable worlds in the Corellian system. However, seeing an opportunity to engage a Corellian Nebulon-B frigate, Syal stalled for time so she could attack the larger vessel. Syal ordered VibroSword Ten to engage the frigate's shield generators with their missiles, and they did so, over Ten's objections. The other pilot would have preferred to attack the frigate's hangar bays in hopes of landing a critical hit, but Syal did not want to take a chance with a risky missile run that might cost the lives of her squadmates. However, Syal's choice of target allowed VibroSword Leader to destroy the weakened frigate instead. The squadron then linked up with Dodonna again and transited to Tralus, which the commander of the Galactic Alliance Fleet, Admiral Matric Klauskin, had ordered occupied.

Tralus
As the Galactic Alliance set up a base on Tralus, Syal was kept busy flying patrols around the system. Little did she know that not only had Tycho Celchu put her up for selection into a test squadron, but that Corellian politician Thrackan Sal-Solo had been trying to arrange for her forced involvement in sabotage missions against the Galactic Alliance. On Dodonna, the chief mechanic approached her and asked to discuss some things in private, saying he had messages from home. The man then tried to compel her to aid the Corellians discreetly. He further implied that her family would be harmed if she didn't cooperate. Syal refused to be suborned and drew her blaster pistol in an attempt to take him into custody. When the mechanic lunged for her pistol, she shot him and was later brought into a hearing with a Galactic Alliance Intelligence officer and her squadron leader.

When asked about why she specifically was singled out for subversion, Syal admitted her real name. Her squadron leader was outraged and told her that she would soon be discharged from the Galactic Alliance military. The Intelligence officer dismissed him and then told Syal that she could remain in Galactic Alliance service, but would have to change squadrons to a unit test-flying Aleph-class fighters or serve as a sensor officer on a larger ship. Syal accepted the squadron transfer, but asked the Intelligence officer why she had so much faith in her. The Intelligence officer replied that she had once flown with her father, but advised Syal to change her name back from Lysa Dunter, as her secret was out.

Flying in the larger, heavier Aleph as part of her new squadron, Syal was paired with a Sullustan copilot named Zueb Zan. Syal was glad to see that Zan didn't have a problem with her identity, but was displeased with the lack of agility inherent in the Aleph. Now stationed aboard the Mon Calamari heavy carrier Blue Diver, Syal quickly tried to make the best she could out of her new job as a test pilot, flying missions in both space and atmosphere to test the handling of the new starfighter.

When Corellian craft were detected en route to the Galactic Alliance base on Tralus, Syal's squadron was launched to intercept. She and her new unit, Gray Squadron, were ordered down into the skies over the city of Rellidir, and quickly defeated a Corellian squadron sent to engage them, without losses. The Corellians were trying to attack the Galactic Alliance base and deny them a foothold in the system, and Syal participated in the subsequent defense of the base.

She and her unit briefly fired on a pair of YT-5100 Shriek bombers inbound toward the Galactic Alliance base, which returned fire. Syal managed to get on the tail of the two bombers, which, unbeknownst to her, were flown by Han Solo and Wedge Antilles. Pursuing Solo's bomber, Syal fired upon his craft, while Solo, keyed into her identity by his wife aboard the Galactic Alliance flagship, tried to avoid inflicting lethal damage on her Aleph. As Syal took up a firing position from where Solo couldn't return fire, she noticed the bomber beginning to release some of its payload. To her surprise, Solo had jettisoned a pair of spotter droids, which collided with her fighter. With her fighter damaged, she managed to regain control and realized that the bombers were going to fly through a nearby building's large underground hangar, which would allow them a free run at the Galactic Alliance base. Syal then discerned that the Corellians also intended to fly a large salvo of missiles through the hangar in the wake of the two bombers and guide them onto the Galactic Alliance position with the spotter droids. She continued pursuit and, after advising Galactic Alliance forces of her realization, ordered Zan to destroy the building to keep its hangar from being used a transport route by the Corellians. Solo also saw her craft and determined her course of action. In response, he fired a concussion missile right under her low-flying craft, which threw her off-course and into a ballistic arc back toward the ground. Syal managed to regain control of her badly damaged fighter, but it was too late to prevent dozens of missiles from streaking through the underground hangar and plummeting into the Galactic Alliance base. Somewhat disheartened, she and Zan nursed her craft back to Blue Diver.

Later, Syal visited the resort ship Errant Venture for recreation purposes, gambling in the Maw Casino and accompanied by a pilot, Tiom Rordan, who was about her age. She continued to serve on Blue Diver, which was part of the Galactic Alliance Second Fleet. Syal was promoted to lieutenant and earned command of Dancer Squadron, but was estranged from her parents and family, who were allied first with the Corellians. Her family later joined with the breakaway Jedi Coalition after the Corellian government fired and attempted to assassinate Wedge Antilles and the Jedi Order broke with the Galactic Alliance over the seizure of power by Jedi Knight-turned-Sith Lord Jacen Solo, now co-Chief of State. Also during this time, she furthered her relationship with Rordan, a fighter pilot aboard the frigate Mawrunner, and the two decided to get married after the end of the war, which had escalated to the point where the Galactic Alliance was battling an alliance of planets dubbed the Confederation.

Personal loss
"Captain Antilles. I thought that was a glitch when I saw it on the rescuee roster.''" "''A field promotion. I shot at Luke Skywalker and they decided I warranted a raise in grade. A consolation prize for losing my entire command. My fiancé."

- Tycho Celchu and Syal Antilles

When the Second Fleet, including Blue Diver, was deployed to assist Jacen Solo's flagship, the Anakin Solo, which had come under attack by Confederation forces during a pretense of negotiation in between Corellia and Coruscant, Syal was part of Blue Diver starfighter contingent. Solo took a personal fighter, a Blur reconnaissance craft, to escape a Jedi infiltration team aboard the Anakin Solo, but was pursued by Jedi in StealthX fighters. Solo called for fighter support, and Syal, operating under call sign Dancer One, was among the pilots launched from Blue Diver to assist him. She helped fend off the Jedi attackers, which, unbeknownst to her, included the Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, even landing a direct hit on Skywalker's shields. Skywalker and the other Jedi withdrew in the face of the Galactic Alliance starfighters and the realization that there was a young girl, the Hapan Chume'da Allana, in the fighter with Solo. After the Jedi withdrew, Solo personally congratulated Syal on chasing off Skywalker and promoted her to captain.

Shortly afterward, the Corellians fired the Centerpoint Station superweapon and devastated the Second Fleet. The blast also killed the rest of her squadron and took the life of her fiancé, greatly saddening Syal. The remaining Galactic Alliance forces withdrew, and Syal was temporarily stationed aboard the Anakin Solo. Not long after the Galactic Alliance withdrawal, Syal was summoned to the hangar bay of the Anakin Solo by the recently arrived General Tycho Celchu, her mentor and a personal friend. Celchu, having first swept his shuttle for listening devices, invited her in and asked how she was doing. When she told him, he consoled her over the loss of her fiancé and squadron. Celchu then told her that he had come in an official capacity, as he was now serving as an analyst to the other co-Chief of State, Cha Niathal. He asked her about the fleet morale, the state of the war, and Solo's leadership, from her standpoint, and she expressed her lack of happiness and direction in all three. In response, Celchu told her that she would be receiving what would be considered unorthodox orders and told her not to fight them. He also ordered her to contact her father, saying that doing so would not be treason since a superior officer ordered it.

Envoy and Rakehell Squadron
"This assignment is no milk run, Antilles. This is a tricky diplomatic mission with a lot at stake, and just trying to keep up with the Jedi can get you killed. But if you help keep the Alliance and the Jedi in touch, if you keep them talking, you'll be making a big difference in this war."

- Tycho Celchu, to Syal Antilles, on her new assignment

Not long after her discussion with Celchu, Syal was ordered to serve as his aide on a covert diplomatic mission to the Jedi Order in exile, which, through her father, she had learned was on Endor. Taking the shuttle Reveille, Syal flew Celchu and scientist Toval Seyah to the remote moon. She was happily reunited with her father there. However, Celchu's mission was also official; he had been sent by Niathal, without Solo's approval, to discuss the possibility of the Jedi Order returning to the Galactic Alliance. After meeting with several leading Jedi Masters, including Luke Skywalker, he was turned down, as Skywalker refused to subject the Jedi Order to the purview of Jacen Solo. Skywalker did detail a mission to Celchu that included both denying Centerpoint Station to the Confederation and rescuing the daughter of the Hapan Queen Mother, Tenel Ka Djo, who had been kidnapped by Solo and held as a political hostage to prevent Hapes from joining the Jedi. Celchu initially objected to the idea, saying that as an officer of the Galactic Alliance, he could not aid the Jedi, despite his own personal feelings sympathetic to the Order. As part of the Jedi plan, Celchu agreed to a formal surrender of himself, Syal, and his ship&mdash;albeit one compelled by Wedge Antilles with an imaginary blaster&mdash;allowing the Jedi to appropriate Reveille for use in infiltrating Solo's flagship to exfiltrate the Hapan Chume'da, Allana. Celchu suggested that he be placed in a starfighter and allowed to return to Galactic Alliance forces, which Skywalker agreed to, but Celchu also detached Syal on extended assignment as a diplomatic liaison to the Jedi.

As such, Syal and Celchu became part of an impromptu squadron formed by Wedge Antilles, Rakehell Squadron, to conduct part of the Jedi operation. Flying as Rakehell Four, Syal was placed in an X-wing for the first time in a combat situation, though her father had taught her how to fly one in her youth. However, to prevent her and Celchu from alerting Galactic Alliance forces to the intentions of the Jedi, their comm boards were slaved to those of the squadron leader, Wedge Antilles. As Solo moved in on Centerpoint Station with a task force on his own mission to seize the weapon, Rakehell Squadron, ostensibly chasing Reveille and its Jedi boarding team toward the Anakin Solo, moved in.

Syal was ordered to remain with the Rakehell formation by her wingman, Celchu, who made his own approach toward the Anakin Solo to land in its hangar bay right behind Reveille, returning to Galactic Alliance service. Syal then formed up with her father and the two joined the rest of the squadron in a facsimile chase of another transport, Broadside, which also contained a Jedi boarding team, to Centerpoint Station. En route, they were engaged by Rogue Squadron, and the following clash saw Syal shoot down at least one member of the Rogues, though she was initially reluctant to do so. Her starfighter also sustained minor damage, but she was still capable of jumping to hyperspace. However, Rogue Squadron withdrew when Confederation reinforcements arrived, allowing Syal and the Rakehells to escort Broadside, its crew's mission to destroy Centerpoint Station successful, away from the combat zone. They also protected the Jedi-allied light freighter Millennium Falcon, which carried the Jedi team from the Anakin Solo and Allana, out of the engagement zone. The two freighters and their escort departed for a refueling station in orbit around the desolate world of Gyndine. From there, they returned to Endor, which the Jedi planned on evacuating in favor of a new sanctuary. Ultimately, the Second Galactic Civil War was resolved with the death of Jacen Solo and the reunification of the Galactic Alliance under a new Chief of State.

Personality and traits
Early in her youth, Syal Antilles was reprimanded on more than one occasion by her mother for complaining. She also found her little sister, Myri, annoying, as she tended to be messy as a toddler. During the wedding of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, her minder, Booster Terrik, found her and the other children to be rambunctious. As young as the age of ten, Syal had been taught by her parents to think and to analyze a situation rather than just voicing her emotions. She was reluctant to leave her parents on Borleias, but accepted it as necessary. Leia Organa Solo later commented that Syal and her sister Myri were capable of subverting the administration at the Maw shelter to get what they wanted.

As an adult, Syal was a capable combat pilot, standing up against the likes of her father and Han Solo in starfighter combat. She was skittish, though, and easily upset. She had nervous tendencies, such as a constantly rocking leg, which other pilots gave her grief over. Syal also was known for sometimes disregarding her orders if she thought them improper. Her care for her family, though, led to her breaking off a dogfight when she realized she was flying against her father. Otherwise, she was dedicated to completing her mission, repeatedly trying to engage Han Solo's bomber at Tralus even after her starfighter had been damaged twice.

However, the conduct of the war, and, in particular, the leadership of the Galactic Alliance, disheartened her and reports of atrocities committed by both sides in the Second Galactic Civil War made her feel that there was no honor in service. She also felt that the war lacked meaning, as it had forced her to fire on two of her personal heroes, Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker. The loss of her squadron and fiancé only exacerbated her emotional burden. Though she had been dating Tiom Rordan for less than a year, they had unofficially decided to get married after the conclusion of the war, and his death greatly pained her. She was relieved to be allowed to join with her mentor, Tycho Celchu, on a mission to the Jedi Order, and Celchu cleared her of duties to the Galactic Alliance by placing her on detached diplomatic duty. She was then free to fly alongside her father, for whom she had great affection&mdash;calling him "Daddy" as an adult&mdash;and admiration, even shooting down a member of Rogue Squadron on his orders, albeit reluctantly and in self-defense.

Behind the scenes
Syal Antilles was first introduced into the Star Wars canon in Star Wars: Union by author Michael A. Stackpole as a child. Although she has been mentioned in other works, her subsequent direct appearances have all been written by Aaron Allston. Allston expanded Syal's character in the Legacy of the Force series, specifically the novels Betrayal and Fury, where she serves as a fighter pilot in the Galactic Alliance Navy. In Betrayal, Syal's alias, Lysa Dunter, is misspelled four times as "Lysa Dunton." The misspellings appear exclusively in chapter twenty-four. Syal is also listed twice in the Dramatis Personae of Betrayal, as herself and as Lysa Dunter.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Union
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * The Unifying Force
 * Betrayal
 * Tempest
 * Exile
 * Fury
 * Outcast
 * X-wing: Mercy Kill
 * X-wing: Mercy Kill