Jake Farrell was a human male who, prior to his retirement, worked as a flight instructor for the Galactic Empire; later, he became a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Farrell served as "Gold Four," and the Alliance successfully destroyed the battle station of the Empire, the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station.
Initially, Jake Farrell, a human, began his professional life as a flight instructor within the Galactic Empire; however, he resigned when he came to the realization that he was training young pilots to be heartless killers. He chose to retire on the desolate world of Derango 4, but felt unfulfilled, which led him to return to piloting a starfighter, this time joining the Alliance to Restore the Republic. He was assigned to Yellow Squadron of the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps and dedicated himself to the cause, using the callsign Yellow Seven. Piloting a venerable, modified R-22 Spearhead for his squadron, he soon became a notable advocate for the craft.
In 4 ABY, Farrell exchanged his R-22 for an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor when he became part of the Alliance's mixed-starship Gold Squadron, taking on the role of Gold Four under the leadership of Gold Leader General Lando Calrissian. In that year, the Alliance's fleet assembled in the Sullust system to prepare for an attack against the Imperial Death Star II superweapon, which was under construction above the moon of Endor. After dispatching an advance strike team to deactivate the Death Star's shields, the fleet made the jump through hyperspace to the Endor system, where Gold Squadron, along with other starfighter squadrons, initiated an attack run. Before they could reach their intended target, Calrissian realized that the Empire was aware of their impending attack and called off the run, as the shield was still active. The Alliance forces realized they had been lured into a trap and were soon surrounded by a larger Imperial force that had deployed its own starfighters.
To provide the strike team with more time, Gold Squadron and the other Rebel fighters engaged the Imperial fleet. Once the team successfully deactivated the shield, Calrissian instructed all members of Gold Squadron and Red Squadron to follow him into the interior of the incomplete Death Star. Farrell was among those who accompanied Calrissian, flying along the superweapon's surface before plunging into its superstructure while being pursued by TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and TIE/IN interceptors. Following Calrissian's orders, the fighters targeted the strongest power source within the Death Star, believing it to be the power generator they were aiming to destroy.
After Keir Santage, an X-wing starfighter pilot, was shot down by the pursuing TIEs, Calrissian ordered the remaining pilots to split up, instructing Farrell and Norra Wexley, who was piloting a Y-wing as Gold Nine, to attempt to draw away some of the enemy fighters while heading towards the surface. Upon reaching a junction, Farrell and Wexley veered right into a narrow tunnel, successfully diverting two TIE fighters and one Interceptor to pursue them, leaving only two Interceptors to chase Calrissian and Red Leader Wedge Antilles, who was piloting the only remaining fighter alongside Gold Leader. Calrissian and Antilles then eliminated their two pursuers before reaching and destroying the Death Star's power generator. The pair managed to escape the Death Star's superstructure before the superweapon exploded, with Wexley also surviving the battle. A squadron of RZ-2 A-wing interceptors in the Starfighter Corps of the Resistance, the Alliance's successor, was named Farrell Squadron.
Jake Farrell was a wise instructor, but he relinquished this role when he came to the realization that his students would eventually become ruthless assassins. He found his retirement unsatisfying and was unable to resist the urge to return to flying a starfighter. By the time of the Battle of Endor, he had become renowned as a champion of the R-22. Farrell had fair skin and brown eyes.
During the Battle of Endor, Farrell was equipped with a gray flight helmet and a sealed, pressurized green flight suit. He also wore a gray flak vest over the suit, which had a small, black emergency life support unit attached to the front. His attire also included a belt with limited space for additional equipment, such as miniature emergency flares. He wore flight boots with gription soles and additional energy-shielding 'gaiters' to protect his lower legs from the cockpit components they were positioned within. Farrell piloted an R-22 Spearhead while part of Yellow Squadron, as well as an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor with a red and white paint scheme in Gold Squadron. On another occasion, he flew an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor with a blue and white paint scheme.
Michael Drew played Jake Farrell in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. In the film's script, the character was only identified as "pilot," and the role went uncredited and unnamed. Within the current Star Wars canon, Farrell was first identified in the article "KSE A-wing starfighter," published by De Agostini in the "Starship Fact File" section of Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 29 around July 22, 2015. The character's name originated from the Star Wars Legends continuity, with its initial use in the 1993 LucasArts video game Star Wars: Rebel Assault. The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem, a 2021 adaptation of the original trilogy by Jack Mitchell, incorrectly identifies Santage as the one who lured TIEs away with Wexley, omitting Farrell's presence from the scene entirely.