Ibtisam

Ibtisam was a female Mon Calamari pilot who flew for the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Driven by a refusal to stand by and watch as her people were destroyed by the Empire, she joined the Alliance Starfighter Corps around 4 ABY. Ibtisam volunteered to fly a modified B-wing starfighter at the Battle of Endor, but was shot down during the massive fleet action and spent twelve hours adrift in space.

After spending several months recovering from trauma, Ibtisam joined Rogue Squadron, though to her immense annoyance she was forced to pilot an X-wing starfighter. She initially clashed with fellow Rogue Nrin Vakil; the Mon Calamari and the Quarren species were traditionally hostile towards each other, though the two beings overcame this animosity. They flew alongside each other during missions to Eiattu 6 and Malrev IV as well as at the Battle of Brentaal IV. Ibtisam and fellow pilot Wes Janson were shot down over Brentaal IV, though they evaded Imperial forces and returned to their unit.

In early 5 ABY, Ibtisam and Rogue Squadron were sent to the planet Ciutric IV to retrieve former Imperial Grand Vizier Sate Pestage and return him safely to the New Republic. By this point, she and Nrin Vakil had grown very close, and their friendship was bordering on romance. Their relationship reached an end on Ciutric, though, when Ibtisam was shot down by Imperial TIE fighters. She was mourned by her fellow Rogues at her funeral on Ciutric, and years later, the news of her relationship with Nrin helped to promote interrelations between the two species.

Text and facts from the “Ibtisam” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.