Squalls

During the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire, Squalls was a sergeant in the Alliance to Restore the Republic's Special Forces. He was one of the 1,000 SpecForce troopers tasked with protecting Echo Base, the Alliance High Command headquarters on the ice planet Hoth, under the command of Major Bren Derlin. In 3 ABY, Squalls participated in the defense of the outpost against the Imperial assault during the Battle of Hoth, a significant defeat for the Rebels. After evacuating from Hoth, Squalls and his fellow commandos remained with the Alliance Fleet until 4 ABY, when they got their chance to retaliate.

The Alliance learned that the Empire was building a second Death Star battle station above the Forest Moon of Endor. To destroy the station, the Alliance needed to disable the planetary shield generator on Endor that protected the Death Star. Generals Crix Madine and Han Solo formed a strike team for the Endor mission, selecting the best Rebel commandos from the elite troops who had defended Echo Base, including Squalls. Madine trained these soldiers for the upcoming mission before handing them over to Solo, who placed his special tactics unit under Major Derlin's ground command. Squalls and Sergeant Junkin, the squad's demolition experts, chose the highly unstable explosives necessary to destroy the shield generator—enough to obliterate their target in one large explosion—and volunteered to carry them.

Squalls and the strike team infiltrated Endor using a stolen Imperial Lambda-class shuttle, the Tydirium. They posed as a technical group and used a secret Imperial code to pass through the heavy Star Destroyer blockade in Endor's orbit. Once on the moon's surface, the strike team began scouting the area but soon encountered Imperial scout trooper patrols. This forced Solo to instruct Derlin to lead the squad ahead to rendezvous with him at the shield generator bunker.

As they moved toward the shield generator that afternoon, Squalls and the strike team bypassed several Imperial scouts without being detected. At nightfall, they set up camp in a concealed shallow ravine, posted two sentries, and established a blanket grid using their scanning equipment. Shortly after beginning their first sleeping shift, they detected an All Terrain Scout Transport walker on patrol approaching their location.

Derlin ordered the squad to spread out without dismantling their camp, hoping the AT-ST would pass by. However, the walker continued directly toward them. With no other option, the squad quickly jammed the walker's transmissions and disabled its spotlights, circling the machine to keep it blind. The AT-ST then opened fire randomly, risking the exposure of the squad's location to other Imperials. The group's medic, Corporal Delevar, responded by firing a smoke canister into one of the walker's cockpit viewports, forcing the two pilots to abandon the vehicle and surrender. After forcing the walker pilot to make calls to explain the AT-ST's absence, the squad continued the next morning and met Solo at the shield generator as planned.

Solo and the strike team's command crew, which included Princess Leia Organa and the Wookiee Chewbacca, had allied with the native Ewoks, who showed the Rebels a route to the bunker's rear entrance. Solo led the strike team inside, where they began placing explosives to destroy the shield generator. They were soon ambushed and captured by the Imperial forces stationed on the moon. However, their capture was short-lived. The Ewoks attacked the Imperials, turning the tide of the battle in the Alliance's favor. The strike team eventually retook the bunker and successfully destroyed the shield generator, which led to the destruction of the Death Star and victory in the Battle of Endor.

Having fought in the Battle of Hoth, Squalls and his fellow Rebel commandos impressed General Han Solo with their dedication and loyalty. This prompted him to select their battle-hardened unit for the dangerous Endor mission. The defeat on Hoth had fueled a desire for revenge against the Empire in Squalls and the other men, so they eagerly accepted the risks of joining the Endor strike team.

The large quantity of explosives needed to destroy the Endor shield generator added extra danger to the mission. Despite this, Squalls and Junkin volunteered to carry the highly volatile explosives.

Squalls was one of two demolitions experts on the Endor strike team. All members were skilled in small-squad tactics, sabotage, and nighttime combat. They were also trained in cold-climate combat due to their service with the SpecForce on Hoth. Han Solo chose his strike team members for their resourcefulness and ability to find creative solutions.

Squalls and the rest of the Endor strike team were equipped with standard commando gear, including a comlink, a low-feedback scanner, a sensor scrambler, a heavily muffled blaster, and full-forest-camouflage fatigues.

Squalls and Junkin carried the team's explosives, which were sealed in ray-shielded cases and stored in thermal-resist packs for protection during a firefight. These explosives consisted mostly of thermal detonators and 7-PrG proton grenades.

Squalls was created by Michael Stern for the 1990 sourcebook Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi, a supplement for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. The character was introduced in a section describing the Rebel commandos who made up the Endor strike team.

• Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi (First mentioned)
• The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
• Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi, Second Edition
• Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 44 (END 11-14: The Battle of Endor)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 29 (4 ABY 33-40: The Battle of Endor)