Jessika Pava

Jessika Pava was a human female who was born to parents sometime after 2 ABY and originated from the planet Dandoran. During her childhood on Dandoran, Pava and her family were taken by pirates and sold into slavery. This experience instilled in her a desire for control and an aversion to being confined later in life.

As a young girl, she looked up to the Rebel hero Luke Skywalker and considered him the greatest pilot in [the galaxy](/article/the_galaxy]. This admiration motivated her to follow in Skywalker's footsteps and join the Resistance. Although Pava initially did not achieve high enough scores on the live-fire evaluations, Temmin Wexley leveraged his influence to ensure Pava received the necessary time and attention to eventually become a pilot.

Pava became a member of the Resistance during their struggle with the First Order, roughly thirty years after the Battle of Endor. She served as a T-70 X-wing starfighter pilot in Blue Squadron, using the callsign Blue Three. She admired Luke Skywalker, the renowned Jedi Knight who served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War, and had heard stories of his experiences in the Rebellion, such as his destruction of the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin.

While performing a maintenance task at a Resistance base, Pava encountered C-3PO, a protocol droid who had served Skywalker and the Rebellion during the Galactic Civil War. Upon learning that Threepio knew Skywalker, she asked him to recount a story about Skywalker's adventures during the war. Threepio shared a tale of Skywalker's time on Devaron after the Battle of Yavin, where he trained in the Jedi Temple of Eedit. Her conversation with Threepio was interrupted when Pava was summoned to a meeting in the Resistance command center.

As a friend of Captain Poe Dameron and a member of Black Squadron, Pava was personally chosen by Dameron for a covert mission to locate the explorer Lor San Tekka. General Leia Organa had tasked Dameron with finding Lor San Tekka in the hope of finding her lost brother Luke. Pava was also joined by Galactic Civil War veterans L'ulo L'ampar and Temmin Wexley ("Snap"), and the pilot Karé Kun. Before departing, Pava informed Dameron that she had to postpone repairs to her T-70 X-wing starfighter and inquired about the details of their mission. Dameron apologized that their mission was currently classified.

For their initial mission, Pava and her team traveled to the mountainous world of Ovanis. Ovanis was home to a cult known as the Crèche, who were believed to have encountered San Tekka. While Dameron and BB-8 flew their X-wing into the Cave of the Crèche to question the Crèche cultists, Pava and her fellow pilots patrolled the skies. After establishing contact with the Crèche, Dameron contacted L'ulo to warn them that he had discovered a tracker on his starfighter. Kun then reported the presence of a First Order landing platform and other forces hovering above the Cave of the Crèche.

Following the arrival of First Order forces, Pava asked her fellow pilots what Dameron meant by his order "get me some leverage." Based on L'ulo and Kun's suggestion, the pilots decided to determine it for themselves. Wexley suggested seizing the First Order platform so they could land and refuel their starfighters. Pava then proposed eliminating the TIE/fo space superiority fighters so they could land, believing the ground forces on the platform would surrender immediately. L'ulo then used his A-wing to strafe the TIE fighters but was unable to destroy them all. The surviving TIE fighters engaged Black Squadron in a dogfight.

However, the First Order commander Agent Terex had kept the Maxima-A class heavy cruiser Ravenous and its TIE fighter complement in reserve. Black Squadron soon found itself pursued by numerous TIE fighters. Outnumbered and outgunned, Pava remarked that they needed to escape the line of fire. When L'ulo suggested buying time for Dameron, Wexley ordered his pilots to split up and head into the canyons to disperse their pursuers. Pava found herself pursued by three TIE fighters but managed to lose them by collapsing a ridge on top of them. However, her astromech droid was hit by two other TIE fighters. At Wexley's suggestion, Pava and her fellow pilots launched a head-on attack on the TIE fighters.

During the dogfight, Pava and her fellow pilots witnessed two large winged creatures fighting above the Cave of the Crèche. The dark-winged creature ultimately defeated the blue-winged creature. When Dameron turned the tables on Terex and his ground forces, he managed to force the First Order Security Bureau Agent to withdraw his TIE fighters. This allowed Black Squadron to land at the Cave of the Crèche and refuel their starfighters. After the Crèche cultists departed on the black-winged creature, Black Squadron departed. Dameron then radioed for Terex's cruiser Ravenous to pick up the stranded First Order forces. Dameron had decided not to take Terex into custody to avoid provoking war between the First Order and the New Republic.

After the mission to Ovanis, Pava and her fellow pilots returned to the base on D'Qar where they celebrated with drinks. Pava took the opportunity to chat with the mechanic Oddy Muva, thanking him for installing the new boosters on her X-wing fighter. When Muva wished he could have seen action, Pava reassured him that he would get his chance once the Resistance acquired more starfighters from the New Republic. Muva thanked her. Pava then told Muva that Dameron was planning to take the squadron on another mission. When Muva asked about the mission, Pava admitted she did not know but recalled that Dameron had mentioned a prison. The two then shared drinks.

For their subsequent mission, Black Squadron traveled to Megalox prison on the planet Megalox Beta. Dameron wanted to question Grakkus the Hutt, who was an inmate at the prison. Megalox was considered one of the harshest prisons for the worst criminals. The prison was surrounded by a gravity field projected by an orbiting space station. Upon arriving, Black Squadron was greeted by Warden Luta, who had been bribed by Organa to allow her pilots to visit the prison. Luta's prison guards transported Pava and her comrades on a shuttle into the prison.

However, the guards then abandoned them at the landing port. Pava and her fellow pilots were forced to fight their way through the crowd to Grakkus' fortress. After arriving, they were accosted by Grakkus and his Hutt posse, who allowed Dameron to enter Grakkus' quarters. While Dameron met with Grakkus, Pava and the others waited in the courtyard. Since Terex had already arrived, Grakkus offered to reveal the information to whoever could free him from the prison. Pava and her fellow pilots were shocked to see Terex but allowed him to leave the fortress.

Shortly later, Dameron exited Grakkus' quarters and briefed the squadron about their change in plans. To gain leverage, Dameron ordered BB-8 and the other astromech droids to disable Megalox's gravity shield. Pava's astromech droid O-R10N participated in the operation but was destroyed by a security droid. While waiting, Pava expressed frustration at not having a ship or weapons. Dameron expressed empathy for her situation but promised they would soon be back in action. At that point, Terex returned with an army of gangsters he had recruited to storm the fortress and kill Grakkus' guards and Black Squadron.

When the mob breached the gates, Pava and her fellow pilots joined the Hutts in fighting off the gangsters. As the crowd surged, Dameron told his Squadron to fall back, but Pava countered that Grakkus had sealed his gates. Black Squadron gathered outside the door to Grakkus' house. Shortly later, BB-8 contacted Dameron to inform them that the gravity shield had been deactivated. Under Dameron's orders, Pava and the others donned their gravity belts. With the gangsters incapacitated by Megalox Beta's gravity, Black Squadron rescued Grakkus.

After Dameron contacted Luta and secured a deal to leave the prison with Grakkus, Pava and her fellow pilots returned to the space station's hangar. Pava soon learned that O-R10N had not survived the mission. After BB-8 transmitted back the control codes for the prison to Luta, Pava and her fellow pilots and Grakkus prepared to jump into hyperspace. However, Terex had escaped Megalox in his starship Carrion Spike and launched an attack on the station. At Temmin's urging, Black Squadron turned back and bombarded the Carrion Spike, stopping Terex from destroying the station's shuttles and allowing Luta to attend to the prisoners. The squadron returned to D'Qar where Organa instructed Dameron to delay their search for San Tekka to investigate whether the First Order had a spy within the Resistance.

Due to the presence of a spy, Poe found himself unable to trust his fellow Black Squadron pilots including Jess Pava. He did not bring them along during his solo missions to Pheryon and Kaddak. During the Kaddak mission to recover a Resistance droid spy who had purportedly obtained valuable intelligence on the First Order, Poe brought BB-8, C-3PO, and the technician Oddy Muva along instead, choosing to leave Jess and the other pilots at the Resistance base on D'Qar. Unknown to them, Oddy Muva had been blackmailed by Terex into becoming a First Order spy. Terex had taken his wife Sowa Chuan hostage to ensure his compliance.

Later, Jessika and her fellow Black Squadron pilots flew to a desert planet to rescue Poe and the droids, who had been pursued there by Terex and the Ranc Gang. Upon arriving, Jess remarked there were too many "Uglies" which would make it hard for them to rescue Poe. Temmin reassured her that they could do it since their opponents were leftovers made from discarded Rebel and Imperial technology. During the dogfight, Jess expressed surprise when Terex's flagship Carrion Spike suddenly opened fire on the Ranc Gang's "Uglies." After learning that Oddy had evacuated the slaves and sabotaged the Carrion Spike's computers, Jess and the rest of Black Squadron escorted the escape pods.

Despite their best efforts, one of the escape pods was destroyed and L'ulo was killed in combat. After the escape pods had entered the desert planet's atmosphere, Jess and her fellow pilots regrouped for an attack on the Carrion Spike and the remaining "Uglies." Shortly later, a First Order Maxima-A class heavy cruiser exited hyperspace and began destroying Terex's fleet. Jess and her comrades expressed surprise, not knowing that Terex had embarked on an unsanctioned mission against the First Order's directives. Jess and her fellow pilots flew over Poe and a First Order landing party led by Commander Malarus to ensure that hostilities did not take place. Fortunately for the Resistance, Malarus was only interested in apprehending Terex.

Pava and the rest of Black Squadron then went on a mission to obtain critically needed fuel supplies by meeting with the freighter Romary.

The Squadron's next mission had them split up, with Kun flying escort for Pava and the journalist/agent Suralinda Javos to Spalex aboard a BTL-S3 Y-wing Starfighter. Once there, they witnessed First Order troops harassing the natives. Kun and Pava intervened, but were captured. Javos managed to free them, and they reunited with Dameron and Wexley, who had escaped the First Order with the help of Muva.

Back at base, Pava had to deal with the fact that among the Resistance astromech droids, she was known as the "Great Destroyer" for losing so many droids. Zari Bangel tried to change that, but the droids ran away when distracted. Then, the Resistance got a lead on their search for San Tekka.

Shortly afterward, as Pava tried to install a stand-alone navicomputer aboard her X-wing, Ivee agreed to fly with her. They then departed to Cato Neimoidia to retrieve San Tekka, where as a distraction Black Squadron engaged in a lengthy dogfight with Baron Paw Maccon's droid starfighters. However, agents Terex and Malarus abducted San Tekka from them.

Later, the squadron rendezvoused at the Raddus, where they were given orders to launch at a moment's notice to recover San Tekka. Pava ran a mathematical simulation to tell when Terex's vessel may run out of fuel in hyperspace, leading her to deduce that the tracker aboard had been discovered or destroyed.

Once Terex dropped a line to the Resistance informing them of San Tekka's location in the Great Forveen Nebula, Black Squadron is deployed. Dameron lead the team on a strike on the light cruiser, where it was destroyed. However, a shot hit and disabled Pava's X-wing, crippling it and leaving it vulnerable to an incoming concussion missile. Ivee sacrificed herself to save Pava, telling her it is was not her fault.

After recovering San Tekka, they returned to D'Qar for Snap and Karé's wedding. Pava comforted BB-8, having found a processor left behind by Ivee.

When the First Order targeted the Resistance base with the Starkiller, a planet-destroying superweapon, Pava, along with numerous Resistance pilots, engaged the First Order's forces in an attempt to destroy the weapon. After Dameron successfully crippled the weapon's thermal oscillator, destroying the Starkiller, Pava and the other surviving pilots returned to their base and celebrated. Her astromech droid copilot during the battle was R0-4L0.

Following the battle, Organa sent Pava and several other pilots, including Wexley, to gather the New Republic's surviving commanders, after the Hosnian Cataclysm had wiped out most of the New Republic's fleet. They departed while the rest of the Resistance was evacuating the base. She flew with the astromech droid 6G-66. She recorded a message that was transmitted by a com sat and picked up by the surviving Resistance fighters aboard the Millennium Falcon. Their first mission was to Pastoria, where they failed to convince King Siroc to aid their cause.

Their next stop was at Ikkrukk, where the Squadron responded to the distress call. Pava crashed trying to get through the city's shields. They were then trapped by Ikkrukk First Order sympathizers, but Pava and Javos managed to rendezvous with Grist and restore the city defenses.

Jessika Pava was a human female with black hair and light skin. She was a dedicated member of the Resistance and an admirer of Luke Skywalker, having heard that he was the best star pilot in the galaxy. Jessika was a trusted and loyal friend of Poe Dameron, earning her a place in his Black Squadron. She was a skilled and competent starfighter pilot. Jess also knew how to wield a blaster. Pava was not used to fighting without any weapons or a starship. She also did not like being unable to control her fate and surroundings, given her history of being captured by pirates. Still, Pava held herself well against a mob of criminals hired by Terex on Megalox Beta.

Pava's unwavering dedication to Poe motivated her, along with the other pilots of Black Squadron, to journey to a desolate desert planet for the purpose of rescuing him. Initially, she felt overwhelmed by Terex's massive collection of "Uglies," however, Temmin provided reassurance, stating that they were capable of defeating those "junk" fighters. L'ulo's passing deeply affected Jess, leading her to pledge vengeance against Terex's Ranc Gang.

The death of L'ulo hit her particularly hard; Dameron's inspirational speech, which spoke of their luminous nature, aided her recovery. Furthermore, Pava gained a certain notoriety among the base's astromech droids, who referred to her as "the great destroyer," resulting in their reluctance to fly alongside her. When Pava intended to select a new astromech droid for her X-wing, every single astromech droid in the pool immediately scattered upon seeing her, except for BB-8, who raised his lighter in what Pava interpreted as a gesture lacking in friendliness.

Jessika Pava's flight helmet displayed the inscription "NAO" in the Aurebesh alphabet.

Jessika Pava's introduction to the Star Wars universe occurred in the 2015 novel The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure, penned by Jason Fry. In Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, she was brought to life by Jessica Henwick. Henwick was among the finalists considered for the role of Rey in The Force Awakens, and participated in auditions for a period of six months. Despite not being ultimately selected for that role, director J.J. Abrams expressed a desire to include her in the film, leading him to create the character of Jessika Pava specifically with her in mind. The actress voiced her interest in reprising the role for the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, however, the character did not appear in the final cut.

The decals present on the Resistance pilot flight helmets were conceptualized and designed by costume designer and concept artist Glyn Dillon. The name "Nao," which is visible on Pava's helmet, alludes to the central character in Dillon's 2012 graphic novel titled The Nao of Brown.