Sila Kott, a human woman hailing from Toprawa, served as a pilot within the ranks of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Despite possessing the skills required to operate a starfighter, she showed a preference for flying transports due to her aversion to taking lives. However, following the Battle of Hoth, Commander Wedge Antilles successfully persuaded Kott to enlist in Red Squadron and become a starfighter pilot. She later piloted an A-wing as Red Three during the Battle of Endor, where she was ultimately shot down by a pair of Imperial TIE Interceptors while attempting to draw them away from her fellow pilots.
Sila Kott's upbringing occurred on the Outer Rim world of Toprawa. While her memories of her mother were faint, Kott resided in Toprawa City with her three elder brothers—Gave, Set, and Corl—where they were raised by their father. They operated a family business as transport pilots throughout the era of the Galactic Empire's rule. A girl named Lante, who was slightly younger than Sila, lived nearby, and much to Sila's annoyance, the locals often drew comparisons between the two.
When Sila Kott reached the age of thirteen, her father visited the local tavern and overheard Lante singing with the band one evening. While preparing caf the following morning, he remarked to Sila that Lante "just jumped on stage, grabbed the mic, and improvised five minutes' worth of gliz. Not half bad, unlike someone else under the sonics."
At seventeen, Lante began working for the local Imperial Research Station. Some months later, Lante invited Sila Kott to assist her research as a test pilot, telling Kott that she was the "best pilot I know." Kott declined, citing its connection to the Empire. Her brother Set took on the testing role instead. Two months later, Sila offered to do the flight testing. She was amazed by the experience at the helm of a starfighter and told Lante that "it's the best ship I've ever flown." Lante placed her hand on Sila's shoulder and thanked her. At eighteen years of age, Sila fell in love with Lante.
Later, Sila Kott and Lante ventured outside the city together to realize Kott's childhood aspiration of seeing the Ansharii Caverns. They bickered about who would drive their speeders and eventually arrived at the caverns. The pair hiked, snacked on sweet starfruits they had packed, and then viewed the sunset; the moments engraved in Kott's memory, isolated yet as real as a Jedi temple's ruins. Lante held her arms tight around Kott's waist; they laughed after succumbing to a slippery boulder; Kott took Lante's hand to cross a river and forgot to let go.
Sila Kott eventually became a member of the Starfighter Corps of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebel group dedicated to overthrowing the dictatorial Galactic Empire. In her early days with the Rebel Alliance, she flew troop transports. Commander Arhul Narra attempted to recruit her into a starfighter squadron, back when he made every pilot do simulator runs, but she refused and did not explain her unwillingness to fly fighters.
Not long after the evacuation of Hoth in 3 ABY, Kott was enlisted by Commander Wedge Antilles into the newly re-formed Red Squadron. She purposely sabotaged her simulator training, before revealing to Antilles that being responsible for the lives of the troops she transported was difficult enough, but she had never killed anybody in all the years she had been with the Rebellion and she would not take someone's life. Antilles explained to her that they "pulled the trigger" to help to create a galaxy where no one has to do it, which meant killing people and that the Alliance and her loved ones needed her.
Kott was given the callsign Red Three and piloted a T-65B X-wing starfighter as Antilles' wingmate, alongside Tomer Darpen, in an attack on a nearby pirate base, that threatened the safety of the Alliance's rendezvous point. When Antilles was under fire from one of the bandits, Kott initially hesitated but ultimately shot down his assailant to save his life.
The Alliance Fleet gathered in the Sullust system in 4 ABY as they prepared for the Battle of Endor, where the rebels anticipated delivering a decisive blow to the Empire. Overlooking the planet Sullust from the rebel flagship, Home One, Sila Kott felt as though she had nowhere to go while her fellow pilots discussed a future in which the Rebellion wins the war—Wedge Antilles expressed his desire to become a flight instructor, either on his homeworld Corellia or along the Trade Spine.
Sila Kott piloted an A-wing interceptor with Red Squadron to the Endor system. Upon exiting hyperspace, the rebel ships were caught in an ambush by the Imperial Death Squadron and hordes of TIE fighters. Wedge Antilles instructed Red Three and Red Two to stay close to him, and Red Three—Sila Kott—acknowledged "got it" yet disobeyed the order. Believing that her comrades needed a diversion instead, Kott led two TIE/IN interceptors away from the other fighters and died under enemy fire. She died thinking of Lante, filled with joy. The Rebel Alliance managed to destroy the second Death Star battle station and freed the galaxy from the Imperial regime.
To recognize her contribution to liberating the galaxy, the Sila Kott flight school was established in her honor on her home planet.
Sila Kott, a human woman, held deep affection for her three brothers and their father, and although her memories of her mother were vague, she had heard many positive stories about her. Sila aspired to be a transport pilot and anticipated assuming control of her father's business alongside her brothers. She developed romantic feelings for Lante, a girl who was just a few months younger than her. Despite Lante's support for Sila following the accident that claimed the lives of her brothers and father, Sila was angered by Lante's expectation that they return to the Imperial Research Station and left Toprawa to join the Rebellion.
After ending her relationship with Lante, Sila Kott reflected that she was angered by Imperial authorities' failure to acknowledge the lethal accident that killed her family and the continuation of research into developing more lethal weapons for the regime. The rebel cause resonated with her sense of justice, though she did not want revenge.
Sila Kott made her first appearance, though unnamed, in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. While the character is female and was portrayed by English actress Poppy Hands, her lines were dubbed by a male American actor in post-production. Within the Star Wars Legends continuity, the character was first given the name Sila Kott in Hasbro's Star Wars: Shadows of the Dark Side toy line; the name is reintroduced to the current canon by the StarWars.com Databank. While the Databank erroneously identifies Kott as Red Two, the 2017 activity book Star Wars: A-wing Deluxe Book and 3D Wood Model by Michael Kogge confirms her callsign as Red Three.