Chiffonage was a human who fought for the Rebel Alliance's military as a commander during the Galactic Civil War. During 3 ABY, this individual was stationed at Echo Base on the ice planet of Hoth. There, they participated in a strategy meeting with other members of Alliance High Command to develop plans for achieving victory in the conflict.
Later, Chiffonage worked in the command center, at one point sitting beside Princess Leia Organa. When the Galactic Empire invaded Hoth, the command center took enemy fire. The commander, Organa, and communications officer Toryn Farr decided to remain behind while others evacuated. After Captain Han Solo arrived to assist Organa, the princess gave instructions to Chiffonage, who was at the last operational comm station, before they evacuated alongside Solo and their protocol droid.
During the Galactic Civil War, Chiffonage held the rank of commander within the Rebel Alliance's military branch, fighting against the forces of the Galactic Empire. In the year 3 ABY, Chiffonage found themselves stationed at the Rebel Alliance's Echo Base, located on the ice planet of Hoth. Chiffonage was in attendance at a strategy conference, lasting for several days, alongside a number of members from Alliance High Command, where they debated possible courses of action that would lead to the Rebel Alliance's triumph in the war as swiftly as possible. Base sentries discussed the attendance of Chiffonage, General Carlist Rieekan, and Princess Leia Organa's attendance in the conference over comms. The attendees were able to come up with a plan thanks to intel provided by Imperial defector Everi Chalis, and Chalis was pardoned for her prior actions as an Imperial governor in return.
Later, Chiffonage was watching a screen in Echo Base's command center while seated next to Organa when rebel Captain Han Solo informed Rieekan of his intention to leave the Rebel Alliance to deal with personal matters. After the Viper probe droid XJ9-CS14 discovered the base's location and transmitted the information to the Empire, the rebels initiated a mass evacuation. Most of the base's personnel managed to escape Echo Base while its personnel fought off the invading Imperial forces.
During the battle, the command center was soon struck by AT-AT fire from the enemy, causing considerable damage to the area and prompting some personnel to leave. Those who remained were Chiffonage, Organa, her protocol droid C-3PO, and communications officer Toryn Farr. After Solo arrived to check on Organa, the princess instructed Chiffonage, who was at the last comm station, to direct troops from Sector Twelve to the south slope. Organa was interrupted as Echo Base took more fire, and after enemy troops were reported to have entered the base, the princess told Chiffonage send an evacuation signal and get to their transport. Besides Organa's orders to send out a signal, Chiffonage also verbally gave an order for all rebel troops to retreat from the battlefront.
Chiffonage's initial appearance was as a background character, played by an uncredited actor, in the 1980 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. The scenes featuring Chiffonage in the Echo Base control room were filmed on Stage 1 at Elstree Studios between March 26 and 28, 1979.
Within the Star Wars Legends continuity, the character Beryl Chiffonage was created for West End Games' 1988 board game Assault on Hoth. He was retconned into Empire Strikes Back in the article Who's Who in Echo Base, authored by Josh Radke and published in Star Wars Insider 74 on February 24, 2004. The name was partially brought into canon when the character was mentioned in Alexander Freed's 2015 novel, Battlefront: Twilight Company.