Ola Hest was a criminal from Ottega who existed during the timeline of the High Republic Era. For a period of thirty years, she served as an enforcer working for the Hutts. At one point, she was dispatched to collect protection money from a children's medcenter located on Novor; when the Sisters of the Ninth Plane who were in charge of the medcenter refused to make the payment, she used her frigate's thrusters to target the sanctuary, ultimately destroying it and killing everyone inside, although Hest would later claim that it was accidental.
Eventually, Hest was located at Gardulla's Palace by the Blade of Bardotta, where she was captured and then imprisoned on the Galactic Republic prison ship called the Restitution. Hest rose to a position of authority on the Restitution, and she had external connections to a network consisting of assassins and bounty hunters, in addition to fellow prisoners Muglan and Parr who acted as her personal bodyguards.
After Lourna Dee, the Tempest Runner of the Nihil marauder group, was incarcerated on the Restitution without the Republic being aware of her true identity, she and Hest found themselves in opposition. When the prison transport came under attack by former Nihil Tempest Runner Pan Eyta, who was seeking to get revenge on Dee, Hest was killed by Eyta after she tried to hand Dee over to her rival.
The voice of Ola Hest was provided by Orlagh Cassidy in the 2021 audio drama The High Republic: Tempest Runner, which was written by Cavan Scott.