Gabrial Atanna was a male from the planet Esseles in the Core Worlds. He served as Esseles' senator in the senates of both the Galactic Republic and its successor state, the Galactic Empire, until Emperor Palpatine dissolved the body in 0 BBY. Retiring to his estate in the city of Calamar on his homeworld with his wife, Atanna spied on Esseles' defense industries for the Alliance to Restore the Republic. After Atanna was compromised and arrested by the Empire, Alliance teams were dispatched to rescue him as well as his wife and grandchildren.
Gabrial Atanna was a male native of the Core World planet Esseles and was appointed as senator of Esseles to the Galactic Republic Senate. As senator, Atanna was provided with the Esprix Estate, the official residence of Esseles' senator. In 19 BBY, the Republic was reformed into the Galactic Empire following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, and Atanna continued to represent Esseles in the new Imperial Senate. In 0 BBY, Emperor Palpatine dissolved the Imperial Senate, handing control of the Imperial bureaucracy to the regional Imperial governors. Atanna's responsibility for Esseles was taken over by Moff Jander Graffe, who set about replacing the bureaucracy that Atanna had built.
Atanna and his wife retired to a suburb in the city of Calamar on Esseles, where the former senator kept a low profile, avoiding attention from the Empire and local political parties. During this time, he worked as a spy for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, secretly passing on information regarding defense industry programs on Esseles. While on an off-world business trip during the Galactic Civil War, Atanna was compromised and arrested by the Empire.
An Alliance extraction team was dispatched to rescue Atanna from Imperial incarceration, while a second team headed to Esseles, where his wife and grandchildren were being held under house arrest at the former senator's estate. The team successfully rescued the family, neutralizing around fifteen guards and several security devices to do so. Smuggling them off-world was harder, as Esseles Governor Griff Takel had ordered all starships leaving the planet to be thoroughly searched due to Moff Graffe's indication that he would be very displeased if Atanna's family escaped. However, the Alliance team was able to exfiltrate the planet and take Atanna's family to a secret rendezvous point, where they were to be transferred to an Alliance safe world.
Gabrial Atanna was a competent senator, serving in the position as Esseles' representative for two governments. However, Atanna held no loyalty to the Empire and willingly served as a spy for the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Atanna's service to the Alliance was valued, and when he was captured by Imperial authorities, the Alliance devoted resources to rescuing both him and his family.
Gabrial Atanna was first mentioned in Galaxywide NewsNets, which was published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 3 by West End Games in 1994 and written by Paul Sudlow.