Winter Celchu

Winter, the only child of Sheltay Retrac, was raised as a sister and companion to Princess Leia Organa during the dark years of the Galactic Empire. Like her adopted sister, Winter became a pivotal player in the Galactic Civil War, serving in various roles but most notably as a spy. As an operative of Alliance Intelligence, she served the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic admirably. Her holographic and audiographic memory gave her a special advantage in piecing together confusing situations or even simply computing data. She was often attached to Rogue Squadron as an intelligence officer, though sometimes under false identities.

Winter also served a vital role as Leia Organa's best friend, aide and confidante. She had special relationships with Leia's children Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo, whom she raised during their first years of life. She had a long romance with Tycho Celchu, from whom she was often separated by war, but the couple would eventually marry. She was also known to be a close personal friend of Admiral Ackbar.

Early life
Winter was the only child of Sheltay Retrac, the senatorial aide of Bail Organa at the time of the Clone Wars, and an unknown Alderaanian artist (possibly Ob Khaddar). Her parents both died when Winter was still young.

She was adopted by Bail and Breha Organa, and was Princess Leia's best friend and companion. The two grew up together on the peaceful planet of Alderaan and attended the best schools, learning about art and history. Possessed of a natural grace and poise, she was often mistaken for Princess Leia by visitors to Alderaan's court. This impression was increased by the fact that Leia's youthful tomboy nature did not seem as regal as Winter's stately bearing. Though the pair's physical resemblance was tempered by Winter's stunning white hair, the two friends would later employ their similar looks for tactical advantage. Winter and Leia were both schooled in Alderaanian ideals of freedom and liberty, and were early members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Early missions
When the Rebellion began, Winter was heavily involved with many of the operations, partly because she was unassuming and non-threatening but mainly because of her holographic and audiographic memory. Since Winter perfectly remembered everything that happened to her, she was particularly suited to a career in intelligence. She participated in several Rebel undercover missions with various code names such as Targeter and Windmere Wellen. In 3 BBY Winter participated in a Rebel alliance meeting on Cloud City organized by Bria Tharen. Winter represented Alderaan alongside Hric Dalhney and a Caamasi named Ylenic It'kla.

Winter was not on her home planet of Alderaan when it was destroyed by Grand Moff Tarkin in 0 BBY. She was on a mission for the Rebellion's Procurement and Supply division, where she had been assigned to work by her adoptive father, Bail Organa. In this position, Winter worked to free caches of Imperial materiel for the use of the Rebellion. Sadly, Bail Organa died with his planet, leaving Winter many bitter&mdash;and perfect&mdash;memories. These memories of her home planet would haunt her forever.

The post-Endor years


In the early period after the Battle of Endor, Winter continued to serve as a rebel agent under the name "Targeter" and several times co-operated with Rogue Squadron. Her first encounter with the Squadron was on Cilpar, where she worked in defense of the planet's native resistance forces. During this mission, she was disguised as her childhood friend Leia Organa. She discovered Rogue Squadron pilots Tycho Celchu and a very injured Wes Janson in a Cilpari cave infested with ronks. After an initial misunderstanding, Winter convinced Tycho to pose as an Imperial captain to infiltrate the planet's Imperial leadership. Unfortunately, after Tycho had joined Cilpar's Imperial forces, Winter accidentally and unknowingly shot his TIE fighter down while piloting his X-Wing. Soon thereafter Winter and Janson were captured in their hidden cave by Vance Rego, an Imperial spy posing as a Cilpari resistance member. Convinced that Winter was Leia, Winter was taken into Imperial custody. Once transported to the Cilpari capital of Kiidan. Winter was treated as a princess and the personal guest of Governor Norquest and even given a seductive gown to wear and treated to a formal banquet. Fortunately, as Kiidan came under attack, Moff Boren Tascl requisitioned Winter to pilot his shuttle. As Winter and Tascl entered the ship, Rogue Squadron arrived to save the day. Winter and Tycho then flew the Moff's shuttle back to her base. It was on this mission that sparks first flew between Winter and Tycho. Not only was Tycho personally compatible with Winter, like her he shared many tragic memories of Alderaan.

Approximately six months after the Battle of Endor, Winter was to work with Rogue Squadron again. This time, the Rogues were summoned to Tatooine. There they attended a reception thrown by Huff Darklighter to commemorate the anniversary of his son Biggs's death. Together Winter and the Rogues were investigating the continued Imperial presence on the planet in an attempt to prevent anarchy. Winter's mission was to stage a diversion so that she could steal a data disk containing Imperial intelligence from Darklighter's safe. Winter, in disguise as Windmere Wellen, was escorted by a smitten Tycho Celchu to the party. However, Winter's planned diversion was sabotaged by a group of Rodians. She and Tycho took chase, eventually meeting up with the other Rogues&mdash;but failing to obtain the data disk. Yet Winter intimidated Huff Darklighter into handing over his copy of the disk, which she analyzed to discover the location of an important cache of Imperial ships, including the Eidolon.

Winter participated in other Rogue Squadron missions, including the Tatooine affair and the squadron's rescue of Imperial defector Sate Pestage. During this period, Winter piloted a freighter that was perfectly designed for her profession as a spy. Though it had no consistent name, it possessed such technological innovations as a surveillance equipment, slicer droids, powerful deflector shields, and Aurum thrusters for speed.



Spreading the New Republic
Later, after Rogue Squadron re-formed, she was instrumental in the New Republic capture of Coruscant; she and Iella Wessiri initially infiltrated the planet and set the stage for the Rogue Squadron commando team to arrive. During this period Winter used the pseudonym "Rima Borealis" as well as her standard "Targeter." She served as a contact for Corran Horn and Erisi Dlarit, while Iella worked with Wedge Antilles and Pash Cracken. While leading Corran and Erisi on reconnaissance missions (disguised as tourists), Winter inquired about Tycho. Corran Horn, unsure if Tycho might be an agent of Ysanne Isard, picked a fight with Winter about Tycho's tragedy. Winter, however, won the argument when she fully revealed Tycho's personal history, leaving Corran chagrined. Corran and Winter soon reconciled, however.

While working on Coruscant, Winter's slicing skills came in handy when breaking into the planet's Imperial computers to deactivate the planetary shields. Working with Wedge Antilles, her quick-thinking and speed on a datapad helped to coordinate the Rogue Squadron pilots in their fight to take the planet.

After the conquest of Coruscant, Winter's love interest, Tycho, was arrested for the murder of Corran Horn. Winter paid Tycho many visits while he was imprisoned, and even served as a witness in his trial, hoping to defend him. Tycho, who had been framed, was freed when Corran escaped from the Lusankya. Winter joined Tycho at an award ceremony for the ceremony at which Mon Mothma awarded the Rogue Squadron members the Coruscant Star of Valor.



Following these events, Winter assembled intelligence on Thyferra. The members of Rogue Squadron had left the Alliance military in order to invade this politically sensitive planet, the main supplier of the precious bacta was needed to stem the tide of the horrific krytos virus released by Ysanne Isard. She presented this information to the Squadron in a special meeting immediately before their departure for their new base at the Yag'Dhul space station, where she was to join them. Her findings, including several Imperial supply dumps, would prove crucial to the Rogues' success. At this time, Winter also alerted Wedge Antilles to a store of X-Wings and parts on Rishi. Also at Tycho Celchu left a memorial for his fiancée Nyiestra (who perished during the destruction of Alderaan) at the Graveyard. His memorial gift, suggested by Winter, was in some senses symbolic acknowledgement of both his own personal transformation and his new love for Winter. Soon thereafter, when Rogue Squadron was ambushed by the Imperial Interdictor cruisers Corruptor and Aggregator, Winter's holographic memory helped the Rogues to discover more information on the mysterious ship which came to their rescue. It was the Valiant, an Alderaanian ship that was the escort of the famed Another Chance. The Rogues eventually gained control of the Valiant, and after their success on Thyferra, brought it to the New Republic military under the command of Aril Nunb.

Provisional Council aide
As the New Republic established itself as a legitimate government, Winter moved from her work in intelligence to more diplomatic functions. While her friend Leia served on the Provisional Council, Winter worked as her aide. With her perfect memory, Winter was a natural choice as the recorder for the Council's crucial meetings.

During the Thrawn crisis, Winter worked with Leia to discover the nature of Delta Source.

Protector of the Solo children
"Tycho's wife used to babysit Jaina, in fact."

- Wedge Antilles to Zekk



Upon the conclusion of the Thrawn crisis, Winter became the caretaker of Leia Organa Solo's newborn twin children, the twins Jacen and Jaina. Luke Skywalker was concerned that the Force-sensitive children would be particularly vulnerable to attack (Imperial or otherwise) during their first two to three years of life. Therefore, the decision was made to sequester the children for several years, at the same time freeing their parents, Leia and Han Solo, for important New Republic duties. Initially, Winter kept Jacen and Jaina on New Alderaan with the protection of the Noghri. However, the depredations of the resurrected Palpatine and the birth of the twins' younger brother Anakin necessitated a change in both locations and strategies.

Thereafter, Winter and the children moved to the planetoid Anoth, where a special base had been constructed for them. Besides having cutting-edge security, this base was designed to be stimulating and educational for small children. Winter was one of three people (along with Luke and Admiral Ackbar) who knew Anoth's actual location, and she served as the primary caregiver of the children until they returned to live on Coruscant with their parents. Every few months, Winter would pick up Han and Leia and shuttle them to Anoth to visit with their offspring.

In 11 ABY, Winter dropped off Jacen and Jaina on Coruscant, the twins now being three years old and deemed strong enough to live with their parents. That evening, Winter and Leia discussed Han's disappearance during a scheduled mission to Kessel; Winter advised Leia to contact authorities on that planet to determine if Han had arrived safely. The two then contacted Moruth Doole, whose evasiveness raised the suspicion of both women. (Indeed, Doole had kidnapped Han and Chewbacca and set them to work in his spice mines.) A few days later, Winter left to return to Anoth and baby Anakin, much to the Solo twins' dismay. Indeed, even the typically stoic Winter seemed sad to leave the children behind on Coruscant.

Soon thereafter, Winter entertained Admiral Ackbar on Anoth. Ackbar, disgraced by his inadvertent destruction of the Cathedral of Winds, intended to pay Winter a visit and then return to his homeworld of Mon Calamari to live in seclusion. The two shared a brief meal and discussed Ackbar's scandal. Winter invited Ackbar to stay with her and care for Anakin, but he declined. Little did Winter realize at the time that Ackbar had been tracked&mdash;and that she would soon face the aftermath.

Several months later, Winter and baby Anakin came under attack on the secret planet of Anoth. Anoth's location had been betrayed by the brainwashed Terpfen (who had tracked Ackbar's ship) to the Imperial Ambassador Furgan. After deploying her station's FIDO against an attack by Furgan's fearsome MT-ATs, Winter fought bravely, hoping to lead the stormtroopers away from Anakin. Through her ruse, she was able to draw some troops into a trap, leaving them vulnerable to assassin droids. Then, in the nick of time, Leia and Ackbar arrived on-planet to provide assistance and rescue Anakin. However, in years to come, Winter's role in the Battle of Anoth would be remembered as decisive. At the conclusion of the Sun Crusher crisis, Winter would attend the rededication of the Cathedral of Winds on Vortex. There, Ackbar encouraged her to once more take an active role in New Republic politics.

Following these events, all the Solo children returned to Coruscant to live with their parents, since Anoth was no longer safely hidden. The children found it difficult at first to adjust being raised by someone other than Winter, although Winter still played a large role in their lives.

Later life


In 17 ABY, following the Almanian Uprising, Winter finally married her longtime love, Tycho Celchu of Rogue Squadron.

In her later years, Winter had taken to aiding former New Republic Admiral Ackbar in his pursuit to bring safety and recovery to the aquatic world of Mon Calamari. Ackbar had long been a special friend of Winter's, from at least the time the two were privy to the secret location of Anoth.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Ackbar was found to be in declining health. Winter cared for her friend during his final years, and was present when he passed on.

Winter's perfect memory made her a useful spy for the New Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Eventually, however, this ability would cause her some emotional difficulty, as she remembered every experience, even the most painful, in complete detail.



Personality and traits
Winter was noted for her stoicism, causing many to remark that her name well-suited her chilly personality. However, Winter's emotional control was both a coping mechanism for dealing with the destruction of Alderaan and a useful technique she employed in her career as a spy. It also may partly have been a result of her royal upbringing and was in stark contrast to Leia Organa's more emotive style. In her personal life, her stoic nature was also helpful, as it allowed her to spend long periods away from her partner Tycho Celchu while both were involved on missions across the galaxy. It also made her a very reasonable and composed nanny for the often-mischievous Solo twins.

Her most unique trait was her memory, which was both holographic and audiographic. She had perfect recollection of everything that had ever happened to her, and all information that came to her. Across the galaxy, this trait is highly uncommon. Ironically, one other individual who possessed this trait, Imperial officer Kirtan Loor, was a contemporary and an enemy of Winter's. Winter's memory proved useful time and time again in her service to the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic.

Winter also was a very skilled slicer and a master of disguise, often impersonating her adoptive sister Leia.

Behind the scenes

 * Winter was created by Timothy Zahn for the Thrawn trilogy.
 * Winter's purpose in the novels is often to serve in capacities that Leia would when Leia is otherwise occupied due to plot or continuity concerns. She also functions as a foil for the more excitable Leia.