Able

BL-1707, also identified as CT-1707, Able-1707, or unit A-1707, was one of numerous clones originating from the bounty hunter Jango Fett. These clones were created on the planet Kamino to serve as clone troopers within the Grand Army of the Republic. During the Clone Wars, he was under the command of Jedi General Shaak Ti. In 21 BBY, a LAAT/i gunship carrying Able and other clone troopers was attacked by Confederate droid fighters above Lubang Minor. Before the clone troopers could respond, the gunship was downed, crashing onto the planet. Most of Able-1707's unit perished in the crash, while the remaining troopers managed to eliminate the droids, but at a significant cost. Ultimately, Able-1707 was the sole survivor of the crash, and he buried his fallen comrades in graves marked by piles of rocks.

Stranded on the uninhabited planet of Lubang Minor, and cut off from all outside contact, Able-1707 adapted and survived for over two decades. During this time, several major events transpired. The Clone Wars concluded in 19 BBY, the Galactic Republic Able-1707 had served was transformed into the Galactic Empire, and the Jedi Order was nearly wiped out. In 2 BBY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic was established, marking the beginning of the Galactic Civil War.

Approximately seven months after a major Rebel victory at the Battle of Yavin, Able-1707, from his vantage point in the jungle, observed an Imperial strike force attacking the Rebel Red Squadron and an Alliance Intelligence shuttle. They were caught in the process of establishing a listening post on the planet. Mistaking the Imperial stormtroopers for clone troopers wearing a new type of armor, Able-1707 rushed to the wreckage of his gunship, discarded a piece of cloth he had been using to cover his aged and damaged Phase I clone trooper armor, and put on his helmet. Armed with his DC-15A blaster rifle, Able-1707 returned to the Imperial position and reported to the Imperial officer in charge, identifying himself as "Able one seven oh seven." The confused officer, suspecting a Rebel ruse, ordered his stormtroopers to open fire, forcing Able-1707 to flee into the jungle. He eventually reached a crater created by a recently crashed Imperial TIE fighter, where he discovered two Red Squadron pilots, Luke Skywalker and Commander Arhul Narra, hiding. Still unaware of the situation, Able-1707 held the two at blaster point, demanding their identities, while Narra simultaneously asked him the same question.

Narra, a veteran of the Clone Wars, recognized Able-1707's armor and inquired about how long he had been on the planet. The trooper recounted the story of his crash, and, recalling that the white-armored soldiers had been pursuing the two men, assumed they were members of the Confederacy. However, he learned that they were not Confederates, and the soldiers chasing them were stormtroopers, soldiers serving the Empire as successors to the clone troopers. Narra informed Able of the events of the past two decades, and he was overwhelmed by the news of the destruction of the Jedi, whom he remembered as generals during the Clone Wars. Following Narra's suggestion, Skywalker displayed his lightsaber and introduced himself as a Jedi Knight who had trained under "Ben Kenobi," known during the Clone Wars as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. In an attempt to secure Able-1707's allegiance, Narra falsely claimed that "General" Skywalker was one of the Rebel Alliance's most important leaders. Upon hearing this, Able-1707 declared that if the Jedi had taken up arms against the Empire, he would serve Skywalker.

After locating the survivors of the Intelligence team, Able-1707, Skywalker, and Narra donned stormtrooper armor recovered from dead stormtroopers nearby. Able-1707, Skywalker, and Narra escorted the Intelligence team to the Rebel landing site, which had been captured by the Imperials. Able-1707 informed the Imperial commander that the Rebels had planned a counterattack and had been taken by surprise. The officer was initially deceived by the Rebels' disguise, but became suspicious upon hearing Able-1707's clone-like, clipped affirmative response to his orders. Ordering Able-1707 to remove his helmet, the officer demanded to know the trooper's last commanding officer. Replying that it had been General Shaak Ti, Able-1707 removed his helmet and killed the officer with his blaster.

Skywalker, Narra, and the Intelligence team also revealed their hidden weapons, leading to a firefight. While the Intelligence team boarded the Rebel shuttle, Narra and Skywalker rushed to their X-wing starfighters to provide escort. However, the Rebels found themselves pinned down by heavy fire from an Imperial Sentinel-class landing craft. Able-1707 ordered the Intelligence team to start the shuttle's engines, while he charged the Imperial craft, disregarding the barrage of blaster fire directed at him. He quickly eliminated the stormtroopers near the craft's landing ramp, and threw a thermal detonator inside the Imperial shuttle, destroying it. Able-1707 was thrown back by the explosive blast, and upon regaining his balance, he saw the Rebel forces retreating. He was then surrounded by a large number of stormtroopers with no means of escape. However, Skywalker, unwilling to abandon the trooper, returned to the planet's surface, blasted the Imperial soldiers, and scooped up Able-1707 with his fighter's front landing skid. Able-1707 was later transferred aboard the Rebel transport.

The Rebel forces successfully returned to the Rebel fleet, and Able-1707 was taken to the Rebel flagship Home One, where he finally had the opportunity to cut his hair and shave after many years. He soon discovered that he had been misled by Narra and Skywalker. Aboard Home One, Lieutenant Camax offered Able-1707 a position in Alliance Intelligence. The former clone trooper accepted, along with the apologies of Narra and Skywalker for exaggerating the latter's role to gain his participation, satisfied that even though Skywalker was not a general, he was still a Jedi. The trooper joined Alliance Intelligence, adopting the more personalized name of "Able." Despite knowing of Skywalker's deception, he continued to address Skywalker as "General," becoming the target of friendly teasing among his teammates. Reports of Able's reappearance also reached Imperial agents, and the resurgence of long-lived Fett clones like Able became a growing concern for the Empire.

One month later, Able joined Skywalker and a group of Rebels during the infiltration of an Imperial prison on Kalist VI in an attempt to rescue an Alliance mathematician named Jorin Sol. Sol had been captured during a recent battle on Jabiim and possessed knowledge of the coordinates of the Rebel fleet and its hyperspace protocols. The Alliance also aimed to secure essential fuel supplies from the facility. Going undercover, the Rebel team, led by Captain Harran and Skywalker, hijacked an Imperial fuel tanker, Nuna's Twins. As part of their cover, they arrived at Kalist VI under fire from Red Squadron. Red Squadron allowed themselves to be driven off, and Nuna's Twins landed on Kalist VI, where the prison's commanding officer, General Noils, confined its crew to the ship, despite protests from Harran and Skywalker, who posed as the fictitious Lieutenant "Jundland." Noils assigned a detachment of stormtroopers to guard the ship, but Harran signaled Able and the rest of the Rebel troops led by Sergeant Basso, who were disguised as stormtroopers, to deal with them. Able and the others killed the stormtroopers and hid their bodies inside the tanker to assume their positions.

A meeting was convened inside Nuna's Twins, where Harran outlined the responsibilities of each member during the mission. Most of the Rebels were to remain near the tanker to maintain the illusion of it being guarded, while Harran, Skywalker, and Lieutenant Deena Shan would continue to pose as Imperial officers. Meanwhile, the Duros agent Mouse would attempt to rescue Sol, and Skywalker's astromech droid R2-D2 would drain fuel from the facility and pump it into the tanker. Able's and Basso's task was to plant explosive charges at the facility to create a distraction during the Rebel team's escape. While carrying the charges through a factory inside the base complex, Basso noticed a large number of Jabiimi slaves working there and decided that the Rebels needed to rescue them as well. Able questioned the necessity of endangering the mission to rescue the slaves, but complied with Basso's decision to inform Harran after they had planted the charges, which they did.

Later, during a meeting on Nuna's Twins, Harran, Able, and Basso informed Skywalker of the new development. They realized that rescuing the thousands of slaves held in the facility would require a massive airlift and a larger distraction than their team could provide. Able still questioned the need to go to such lengths to rescue the slaves, but when Basso stated that he would not abandon the people, remembering how the Empire had slaughtered his own people on his homeworld of Ralltiir, the former clone trooper changed his mind. The Rebels then decided to hijack the Acclamator-class assault ship that had transported the slaves to the planet, intending to use it in the evacuation. Able and the Rebels needed to time their actions perfectly to be ready for takeoff when Red Squadron arrived to provide cover for their extraction, as planned.

With less than eleven hours remaining until Red Squadron's arrival, Mouse moved out to set the remaining charges and rescue Sol. However, R2-D2 received information that Sol was already being escorted to Landing Pad 7-B for transport to the galactic capital of Coruscant, where he was to be interrogated by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader himself. Harran ordered Able and the rest of the ersatz stormtroopers to intercept Sol, whose rescue was their primary objective, while Skywalker would rescue the slaves. As Mouse detonated the explosives—sacrificing his life and causing widespread panic throughout the base—Basso, Able, and the Rebel team found Sol under escort near the landing pad. They eliminated the Imperial troops and attempted to return to Nuna's Twins, but a blast door blocked their path. Basso then decided to meet with Skywalker, who had rescued the slaves and was overseeing their escape from the factory to the Imperial transport.

Upon reaching the transport, Able and his group found Skywalker with an Imperial officer, his childhood friend Janek Sunber, whom Skywalker had encountered during the mission. Despite his cover being blown, Skywalker managed to convince Sunber to release the slaves. However, when Sunber saw Sol, he accused Skywalker of lying to him solely to rescue the mathematician. Sunber attempted to shoot Skywalker, but the latter deflected the shot with his lightsaber, wounding the officer. Able and his team then boarded the transport Skywalker, as the Rebels had named the stolen starship, and the ship moved to escape from the planet, followed by Nuna's Twins. At that moment, Red Squadron, led by Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles, arrived with a number of Y-wings and attacked the Imperial base, creating a distraction that allowed all the Rebel forces to successfully escape from Kalist VI. Unbeknownst to the Rebels, Sol had been brainwashed by the Empire and allowed to be taken away to help the Empire track down the Alliance fleet.

Nine months after the Battle of Yavin, while Sol was recovering in a bacta tank after his rescue, the Alliance received intelligence from the spy Wyl Tarson about an Imperial cargo convoy that would be passing near Per Lupelo. Hoping to secure much-needed supplies, the Alliance launched a raid on the convoy. After Rebel starfighters under the command of Skywalker and Antilles destroyed the convoy's fighter escort, a Rebel strike team led by Able and Basso used a YM-2800 limpet ship to dock with the lead transport. Able and the Rebels assaulted the ship's bridge, securing the ship and capturing the surviving crew members. The remaining three transports were also captured, and the vital supplies were obtained for the Alliance. Soon after the raid, Jorin Sol's Imperial conditioning led to a devastating attack on the Rebel fleet, resulting in the loss of many ships, and the remaining ships had to jump blindly into hyperspace, scattering throughout the galaxy. Able found himself aboard the Providence-class carrier/destroyer Rebel One, which was randomly jumping from one location to another to evade pursuit.

Eventually, a hyperdrive malfunction brought the ship to Bannistar Station, a crucial Imperial refueling station that the Alliance had been planning to destroy for months. Rebel One was initially undetected by the fleet surrounding Bannistar Station, and the Rebel ship blended in with the rest of the traffic. Realizing that they would not have another such opportunity, the crew of Rebel One decided to destroy the station, fully aware that it might be a suicide mission due to the complete lack of support from the Alliance. All civilian personnel were evacuated from the ship, while Able and a small team led by Princess Leia Organa boarded a limpet ship to execute a stealth attack on the station. Only a skeleton crew commanded by the Alliance tactician Tungo Li remained aboard Rebel One, bringing it close to the Imperial fleet and then self-destructing it, creating an opening for Able and the Rebel forces to eject from the limpet ship and use jetpacks to reach the station.

The team split up: Skywalker and Shan were tasked with disabling the station's cooling and fire-retardant systems, while Basso and his men were to destroy the communications array and attempt to capture a ship for the Rebels to use in their escape. Able, meanwhile, was to accompany Organa and damage one of the fuel tanks, hoping to initiate a chain reaction that would destroy the entire station. Able, Organa, and another Rebel used straps to scale the outer hull of one of the tanks, setting detonators along the way. However, they soon discovered that the tank was empty, rendering its destruction less effective than they had hoped. The team then attempted to retrieve the detonators and move to another tank. At that moment, they were attacked by stormtroopers, who threatened to cut their straps and let the Rebels fall to their deaths if they did not surrender. With no other option, Able and his companions surrendered and were taken to the Imperial control room, where they were tied to chairs. Skywalker and all of his men except Shan had also been captured and were held in the same room, while the Imperials believed that Basso's team had been eliminated; in reality, Basso had survived and stolen an Imperial shuttle. Inside the control room, Able and the captured Rebels were held by the station's commander, Arno D'Vox, who planned to turn Skywalker and Organa over to Galactic Emperor Palpatine. Following D'Vox's orders, the station's security chief, Captain Rishyk, left the control room to find Shan.

Realizing the search for Shan would not occupy the Imperials for a prolonged duration, and observing the inattentiveness of the stormtroopers guarding them, Able discreetly shared his escape strategy with Organa. He had almost freed himself from his restraints and was devising a plan to liberate the Princess, enabling her to seize Skywalker's lightsaber from a nearby console and launch an assault on their captors. Able also intended to seize D'Vox as a hostage, using him as a human shield until the Rebels could evacuate the station. However, D'Vox preemptively grabbed the lightsaber and approached Organa, informing her that she and Skywalker would soon be delivered to Palpatine. Simultaneously, Shan successfully eliminated Rishyk and sabotaged the fuel tanks. As the station began to shake from explosions, Able capitalized on the chaos, attacking the stormtroopers nearest to him, while Skywalker reclaimed his lightsaber.

After strangling one stormtrooper and seizing his blaster, Able single-handedly eliminated all the Imperials except the unarmed D'Vox. Following the liberation of the other Rebel captives, Able raised his weapon to eliminate the commander, deeming him too dangerous to be left alive. Organa intervened, asserting that executing an unarmed opponent constituted murder. While Able engaged in a dispute with her, D'Vox obtained a blaster from a fallen stormtrooper and attempted to assassinate Organa. However, Skywalker swiftly reacted, severing D'Vox's arms with his lightsaber. Subsequently, Organa's comlink activated, relaying a transmission from Basso, who instructed the Rebels to proceed to Platform 13-B, where he awaited them with the commandeered Imperial shuttle. After Able and the others boarded the shuttle, Skywalker and Organa opted to search for Shan, despite the impending arrival of Imperial forces summoned by D'Vox. They soon located Shan suspended by a cable attached to a damaged walkway. Able and Skywalker ventured onto the walkway, hoisted Shan up, and brought her into the shuttle. At that precise moment, Dagger Squadron, a Rebel squadron composed of B-wing starfighters, arrived, dispatched by Rebel command to rescue the survivors of Rebel One. Under the protective fire of Dagger Squadron, Able and the Rebels withdrew, leaving Bannistar Station ablaze and D'Vox mutilated but alive.

Skywalker later led a mission that included Able, with the purpose of investigating a clandestine Imperial weapon situated on a deserted moon. Unbeknownst to the Rebels, Darth Vader orchestrated the mission as a trap, utilizing the captured spy Wyl Tarson to disseminate misleading information to the Alliance. Able, Basso, Shan, Skywalker, and Organa, accompanied by several other Alliance soldiers, embarked on an Alliance shuttle destined for the moon, escorted by the freighter Millennium Falcon, piloted by former smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca. Upon landing on the moon, the Rebels discovered only a collection of wrecked Imperial landing craft, devoid of any bodies. Shan and Able then ventured out to survey the surrounding area. Able, noticing falling rocks from a ridge, chose to investigate, leaving Shan behind. However, upon reaching the ridge, he was ambushed and overwhelmed by rakghouls, savage and unthinking creatures who were formerly Imperial soldiers. They had been transformed by the ancient Jedi Master Celeste Morne with the assistance of the Muur Talisman, an ancient Sith artifact crafted by the Sith Lord Karness Muur. Morne, possessed by Muur's spirit, sought a means to evacuate the planet with her army of rakghouls.

Although Able suffered a broken ankle, a head injury, and unconsciousness, he survived the assault. Meanwhile, the remaining Rebels, besieged by rakghouls, retreated aboard the Millennium Falcon, with the exception of Able, Skywalker, and Organa. Skywalker engaged Morne in a lightsaber duel inside a cave, while Organa, sensing his peril, went to assist him. Upon regaining consciousness, Able observed Organa's silhouette vanishing into the cave and followed her, determined to safeguard the Princess at all costs. Upon entering the cave, Able witnessed Morne preparing to kill Organa and unleashed a barrage of blaster fire at Morne to rescue the Princess. Enraged by Able's attack, Morne utilized the Muur Talisman's power to transform the former clone trooper into a rakghoul. Sensing Skywalker and Organa's strong connection to the Force, Muur's spirit released the Muur Talisman from Morne, attaching it to Organa. However, Morne, unwilling to remain a victim, decided to imprison Muur and reclaimed the Talisman. She departed, leaving Skywalker and Organa inside the cave, and proceeded toward the abandoned Rebel shuttle, with Able trailing closely behind.

Morne, Able, and the other rakghouls boarded the shuttle and fled the moon, destroying an Imperial Star Destroyer in the process, while the returned Millennium Falcon evacuated Skywalker and Organa. Upon returning to the Rebel fleet, Skywalker pondered Able's demise, wondering if the clone trooper had foreseen his future by addressing him as "General." Five years later, Skywalker indeed became a general in the Special Forces of the New Republic, the Rebel Alliance's successor state, although he resigned from the military following the disastrous Battle of Mindor. Accompanied by her rakghouls, Morne explored the galaxy, reappearing more than a hundred years later and aiding Skywalker's descendant, Cade, in defeating the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Krayt.

Able's rigorous training on Kamino made him a skilled soldier capable of surviving alone on an uninhabited planet. However, this isolation left him unaware of the changes that transpired during that time, until Narra informed him. The news of the Jedi Order's destruction deeply affected Able, as his clone trooper training instilled in him unwavering loyalty to the Jedi, who had commanded the Grand Army of the Republic as generals during the Clone Wars. Due to this loyalty, Able pledged his service to Luke Skywalker after the latter identified himself as a Jedi General. Even after Skywalker confessed to his deception, Able harbored no resentment and remained willing to serve the Jedi, whom he continued to address as "General" out of habit, despite Skywalker's objections. Able's skills were instrumental in single-handedly disabling an Imperial shuttle, enabling the Rebels to escape the planet that had become his home.

As with all clone troopers, Able stood 1.83 meters tall, possessing fair skin and brown eyes. Although his hair turned gray during his involuntary exile, Able later dyed it black. During the Kalist VI mission, he expressed concern that rescuing the Jabiimi slaves would unnecessarily complicate the mission, arguing that the Alliance did not need more mouths to feed. Consequently, Able unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade Basso from doing so. However, upon learning that the Empire had murdered Basso's people, Able began to empathize with his desire to prevent further civilian suffering. When Able and the Rebels encountered a blocked door after rescuing Sol, he became pessimistic, believing their mission had failed, until Basso decided to relocate to Skywalker's position instead. Able also displayed a sense of humor, occasionally exchanging jokes with Basso. While imprisoned on Bannistar Station, he swiftly formulated an escape plan, which involved taking D'Vox hostage, although he feared he might "accidentally" kill the Imperial.

On Bannistar Station, Able demonstrated his proficiency in martial arts and marksmanship, efficiently dispatching the stormtroopers guarding him and the Rebels. Upon finally breaking free, he intended to shoot D'Vox, whom he deemed too dangerous to be left alive, but Leia Organa intervened. However, when Skywalker disarmed D'Vox, Able believed the matter was resolved. Able felt alienated in the Rebellion era, as if he were a "ghost of the past," and identified more with the Clone Wars period. Due to the clones' accelerated growth, Able was already quite old by the time of his last mission—in fact, the Empire considered him atypically long-lived for a clone—and he sensed that his age was catching up to him, making him more of a liability than an asset to his friends, although he hesitated to admit it. He also regretted being brusque with Deena Shan, who only sought to aid the Rebellion. After joining the Alliance, Able displayed unwavering loyalty to his comrades, particularly Organa, and his attempt to rescue her resulted in his transformation into a rakghoul.

Able's debut occurred in Star Wars: Empire: "General" Skywalker, a 2004 story arc comprising issues twenty-six and twenty-seven of the Star Wars: Empire comic book series. Ron Marz authored the comics, while Adriana Melo and Nicola Scott provided the illustrations. Able subsequently appeared in four of the five issues of The Wrong Side of the War story arc, penned by Welles Hartley and illustrated by Davidé Fabbri. Following the continuation of Star Wars: Empire's storyline in Star Wars: Rebellion in 2006, Able continued to make appearances in that series, briefly appearing in issues zero—penciled by Michel Lacombe—and two, with art by Brandon Badeaux. Able later played a significant role in the Small Victories story arc, written by Jeremy Barlow and illustrated by Colin Wilson. His most recent appearance was in the two-issue Rebellion part of the 2008 Star Wars: Vector crossover event, where Able was transformed into a rakghoul. In this final appearance, Dustin Weaver provided the illustrations.

Notably, Able has been referred to by several alternate names. In his initial appearance, he was known as "Able-1707," which was also the name used for his Databank entry on StarWars.com and in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. However, the Databank also referred to Able as "unit A-1707" and clarified that "Able" was a personalized name adopted by the trooper, rather than a shortened version of his designation. The Hyperspace-exclusive article Underworld Appendix: Swoops, Spice, and Wretched Rogues, authored by Abel G. Peña and Ryan Kaufman, identified him as "CT-1707." Finally, Rebellion 15 referred to the trooper as "BL-1707." Consequently, this article uses the latter name as the title, but assumes that all of his designations are interchangeable.