Gira was a Jedi Knight of the Human male variety. He lived through the initial period of the Great Jedi Purge, an event initiated by the Galactic Emperor Palpatine following the conclusion of the Clone Wars. Tasked with the protection of a group of Padawans, Gira's efforts were thwarted when the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader discovered him and his charges aboard a starship. This ship's commander had been assisting them in their attempts to escape the clutches of the Galactic Empire. As Imperial stormtroopers assaulted Gira's vessel, the Jedi valiantly defended against them, only to be caught off guard by Vader, who bested him in a lightsaber combat duel. Vader offered a cruel bargain: the Padawans, then fleeing in an escape pod, would be spared if Gira pledged allegiance to the Sith Lord. Gira agreed, but Vader betrayed him, ordering the ship's commander, who had also turned against Gira, to detonate explosives planted on the Padawans' escape vessel. After explaining to Gira that he had broken the Jedi's spirit, Vader watched as Gira chose to end his own life via suicide.
A Jedi Knight named Gira, a male of the Human species, remarkably survived the opening phase of the Great Jedi Purge. This purge was ordered by Palpatine, the former Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and current Emperor, at the close of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY. Sometime during this tumultuous period, Gira took on the responsibility of safeguarding a group of Jedi Padawans, aiming to shield them from the reach of the Galactic Empire.
Ultimately, the Dark Lord of the Sith, known as Darth Vader, tracked down Gira and the Padawans to a ship. The commander of this vessel was assisting the Jedi in their flight from Imperial forces. Vader, accompanied by his Imperial stormtroopers, successfully seized control of Gira's ship. During the battle, Gira used a comlink to instruct the ship's commander to get the Padawans to the escape vessel. The commander then informed Gira that his assistance was needed at the southern airlock. After Gira dealt with the stormtroopers at the airlock, the commander revealed that Vader had boarded the ship and was approximately 700 meters away. While investigating, Gira noticed that some of the dead Imperial [troops](/article/troop-legends] on the ground, who he hadn't killed, had been shot in the back. When Gira questioned the commander about this, Vader launched a surprise attack. During the lightsaber combat with Vader, Gira found himself drawn to the dark side of the Force. Vader offered to spare Gira's life if he would join him, but Gira refused, declaring that his own life was insignificant and vowing to continue the fight.
Eventually, Vader managed to disarm Gira and offered to spare the Padawans' lives, but only if the Jedi joined him. Gira accused Vader of deceit, but the Dark Lord repeated his promise, and Gira finally swore his loyalty to Vader after the latter reiterated his promise once more. Vader then directed Gira's attention to a group of monitors, which showed the Padawans' escape vessel fleeing the scene. The ship's commander contacted Gira through the Jedi's comlink and asked to speak to Vader, who asked the commander whether the explosives that had been put on the Padawans' escape vessel were charged, which the commander confirmed. Gira watched in horror as Vader ordered the escape ship's destruction. Vader then revealed to Gira that the ship's commander had joined Vader after the commander realized that Gira would not be able to fend off Vader's forces. Gira asked Vader why he had decided to break his will rather than kill him, and Vader replied that while the Emperor preferred to possess rather than destroy, Gira served only to save the Padawans, which Vader felt was unworthy service to his Master. As Vader left, he told Gira that he had successfully broken his spirit and that whatever Gira did would serve Palpatine, because the Jedi had completed his duty to the Emperor. After Vader departed, Gira took his lightsaber and ignited it into his chest, killing himself.
Gira, a red-haired Human male, displayed a willingness to go to extreme measures to safeguard the Padawans under his care. As a Jedi, Gira believed that service was his primary duty, and he considered his own life less important than his responsibility to the Padawans. When Darth Vader confronted Gira, the Dark Lord worked to weaken the Jedi's resolve, tempting him to embrace the dark side. He agreed to join Vader on the condition that the Dark Lord would spare the Padawans' lives. After Vader betrayed Gira's trust and destroyed the escape ship containing the Padawans, Gira became enraged, realizing that it was his destiny to not only fail at his duty, but to fail himself as well. With the deaths of the Padawans, Gira felt that since he had failed his duty, he was finished. As such, after Vader left Gira, the Jedi proceeded to take his own life.
Gira demonstrated considerable skill in lightsaber combat. He wielded a lightsaber powered by a blue crystal. The Jedi was capable of defeating multiple stormtroopers and was even able to hold his own against Darth Vader for a brief time. He could use the Force to push multiple opponents, and also used it to lift and move objects, such as his lightsaber.
Gira's debut occurred in the short comic entitled "The Duty," featured in Star Wars Tales 12 and penned by Christian Read. John McCrea provided the artwork for the comic. The story was later collected into a trade paperback and republished in Star Wars Tales Volume 3. Stories within Star Wars Tales 1–20 were originally considered S-canon until referenced in a non-Tales source, at which point the subject matter was elevated to C-canon status. Gira later received his own entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, thus elevating the character's appearance in The Duty to C-canon.