Ryland

Ryland originated from an underground mining settlement located on a moon in the Outer Rim. Due to the lack of an atmosphere on the asteroid, many colonists never ventured to the surface or witnessed the stars. Eventually, Ryland married a woman named Fiona, whom he considered a much better mechanic than himself, possessing an understanding of machines that surpassed even their original creators. Ryland and Fiona had a daughter named Laina. Their foreman, Corbin, who had no family prior to his employment at the mine, developed jealousy towards the new family. He imposed extra work shifts on them, forcing them to leave their child unattended during work hours. Subsequently, The Empire dispatched a contingent of soldiers and officers to the colony. The Empire had taken control of the company managing the colony under the false pretense of enforcing safety regulations. The Empire's true motive for seizing the company was to exploit the substantial reserves of doonium present in the mines.

Corbin falsely accused Ryland and Fiona of being secret rebel spies to one of the officers, despite their lack of involvement in the rebellion at that time. An officer named Duggan then executed Fiona after coercing them into confessing to being rebel spies. Following this tragic event, Ryland enlisted in the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

In time, Ryland became a sentry stationed in Gold Tower, responsible for authorizing ships to jump to hyperspace. Before the destruction of Alderaan, while stationed at the Rebel base on Yavin 4, Ryland created a recording documenting his life with Fiona for his daughter to listen to when she matured. Eighteen hours later, he communicated to the transport Echo Delta One that it had cleared the atmosphere and was prepared to initiate the jump to hyperspace. Ryland's daughter, Laina, was a passenger on board that ship, and Ryland hoped it would carry her to safety on Alderaan to live with her Aunt Rhee and Aunt Eron.