Althin Althin was a Rodian male born on the moon Jedha to Steya and Tok , owners of a shop in Jedha City . Several weeks before his eighth birthday , Althin ' s parent s were killed during an attack on the Galactic Empire by Saw Gerrera ' s partisans . Althin was found wounded after the attack by the blind Guardian of the Whills Chirrut Îmwe , who was an old friend of the Rodian ' s family . The Guardian then carried Althin across Jedha City , encountering several stormtrooper s on the way , and delivered him to an orphanage run by the sisters Kaya and Killi Gimm , who treated his physical wounds . Althin ' s psychological wounds were not so easily fixed however , and due to shock he refused to speak . Îmwe and Malbus then devised a plan to get Althin and the other orphans under the Gimm sisters ' care off Jedha and away to safety . With the aid of the Partisans , Malbus secured a " Sentinel " - class landing craft in the Jedha City spaceport while Îmwe led the orphans along with the Gimm sisters and the pilot Denic across the city , garnering much attention as they did so . Upon reaching the spaceport , the group discovered that the Partisans had had a change of heart and decided to take the shuttle for themselves . Determined to see the children to safety , Îmwe talked down several of the Partisans and forced the others to abandon their plans for the shuttle by carrying Althin onboard with the other children following behind . Kaya and Denic then stayed with the children on the shuttle and piloted it off Jedha and away from the Empire and the insurgency to safety . Biography . Growing up on Jedha . Althin was the Rodian male child of Steya and Tok , a couple who had moved from the planet Rodia prior to the end of the Clone Wars to the moon Jedha , where Althin had been born . The family lived above their storefront in Jedha City , built one block off the Blessing Way , where Althin ' s parent s sold guides and simple works on the Force and similar topics to pilgrims and tourists visiting the city . Chirrut Îmwe , a blind Guardian of the Whills and friend of Steya and Tok , knew Althin from the day the Rodian was born . The Guardian at one point overheard Althin approach a group of pilgrims in one of Jedha City ' s markets arguing over where to find the Emitter of Constant Hope and introduce himself before providing directions . When the pilgrims thanked the Rodian boy and offered him money , Althin refused to accept it and requested they give it to someone who needed it more . The Jedha insurgency . Prior to Althin ' s eighth birthday , the Galactic Empire began mining kyber crystal s on Jedha , and their presence on the world quickly led to a variety of insurgencies forming against them . These rebellious forces were eventually unified under Saw Gerrera , the leader of an offworld faction of partisans who had set up base near Jedha City . With Gerrera in charge , insurgency attacks on the Empire escalated to a point where the Imperials responded one morning several weeks before Althin ' s eighth birthday with a large scale deployment of troops from the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Dauntless " in orbit . As stormtrooper s began scouring the city for the insurgents and their allies , the partisans began attacking them across the city . Fearing for their lives , Tok and Steya hid inside with Althin ; however , the street on which they hid was rigged with explosives by the partisans . When an Imperial All Terrain Defense Pod passed through , the Partisans detonated their explosives and destroyed the walker , demolishing several homes in the process including the Rodian family ' s hiding place . Tok and Streya were killed by the explosion , but Althin survived with a broken arm . Journey to the orphanage . Îmwe discovered Althin alongside his parents ' bodies , and made him a makeshift sling with a sash torn from his robe . The Guardian then proceeded to carry the wounded boy through Jedha City toward an orphanage run by his friends the Gimm sisters , Kaya and Killi . Althin gripped Îmwe ' s arm but remained silent as he was carried other than to whimper when the guardian made sudden movements . Enroute to the orphanage , Îmwe sensed an approaching TX - 225 GAVw " Occupier " combat assault tank and backed into a doorway to avoid it , but was still spotted by a stormtrooper who approached and questioned the Guardian . Îmwe explained that Althin ' s parents were dead and that he was taking the boy for medical treatment , making the trooper uneasy and causing him to let them pass with a warning about a curfew that would be enforced that night . Twice more the pair were stopped by stormtroopers and both times they were allowed to pass without incident or empathy . Althin shifted position so that his good arm was around Îmwe ' s neck while his legs were wrapped around the Guardian ' s waist . Near the First Spire , the sound of blaster fire caused the Rodian to tense , but the pair managed to reach the orphanage safely . Kaya took Althin from Îmwe so she could treat his arm , but the boy was reluctant to let go of his protector until the Guardian reassured him he would be close by . March across Jedha City . The Gimm sisters managed to set Althin ' s arm , but the boy still refused to speak as he was in shock . Killi managed to get the Rodian to take a few sips of juice and then stayed with him and the other children , whose presence the sisters hoped would help calm him . Knowing that there were now too many children for the orphanage to hold , and likely more on the way , Baze Malbus , a former Guardian of the Whills and friend to Îmwe and the Gimm sisters , proposed that they move the orphans off world to a safer location . With arrangements made for an Imperial " Sentinel " - class landing craft to be acquired by Gerrera ' s partisans , it was decided that Kaya and the pilot Denic would accompany the children once they were onboard the shuttle . After much discussion , it was decided that the easiest way for the children to reach the shuttle in Jedha City spaceport was for them to walk across the city , as a group of mostly children was unlikely to incur the wrath of the Empire . As Malbus secured the shuttle with the aid of the Partisans Wernad and Leevan Tenza , the procession from the orphanage set out at midday . Îmwe led the group of thirty - four children , with Althin walking beside him holding his hand and Kaya , Killi and Denic all guiding the large group . Occasionally the group who have to stop when Killi had a coughing fit , but otherwise they kept moving , through the Old Market and onto the Blessing Way , at which point other residents of the city , curious as to what was going on , began to follow them . Trouble at the spaceport . By the time the procession reached the Square of Stars , fifty people were following , a figure that doubled by the time they reached the end of the Blessing Way and then doubled again by the time they turned onto the Pilgrim ' s Path . The Empire carefully watched the procession as it progress , but were unsure of how to respond , and by the time they realized the group were headed to the spaceport there were five hundred people following the Guardian and the orphans . Upon reaching the spaceport , Althin spotted stormtroopers ahead and tightened his grip on Îmwe ' s hand ; however , the Imperials let the children and their guardians pass without incident . The crowd following the orphans became stuck at the archway entrance into the port due to their number . Hearing the commotion as they tried to get through , Îmwe asked Althin what was happening , but as the boy was still yet to speak due to shock , the orphan Togruta B ' asia answered him instead . Escaping Jedha . Upon reaching bay eighteen , where the shuttle they were stealing was located , Îmwe met with Malbus who warned him that the Partisans had made a change of plans and decided to use the shuttle to bomb the " Dauntless " instead . After a moment ' s thought , the Guardian carried on toward the shuttle , followed by Althin after some hesitation and then the other children . The Partisans Kullbee Sperado and Wernard pleaded with Îmwe to stop , and then the Twi ' lek Partisan Beezer Fortuna halted him at the entry point to the shuttle , giving a speech to those present about how Gerrera would bring hope to Jedha by destroying the Star Destroyer . Unconvinced , Îmwe and Malbus briefly argued with Beezer and convinced Sperado and Wernard of their cause . Îmwe then picked Althin up to carry him and walked aboard the shuttle , followed by Malbus and B ' asia , and then the other children . Beezer tried to stop them , but stood aside , realizing that Gerrera would not want the Partisans to be seen stopping children from being saved by the crowd of hundreds that had followed Îmwe . Onboard the shuttle , Îmwe sat Althin down in one of the seats and then crouched beside him to speak as Sperado and Wernad began to remove Tenza and the partisans ' explosives from the starship . The Guardian then gave the Rodian a hug , and Althin whispered something to Îmwe that made him smile . Once the others had all said their goodbyes , Îmwe got off the ship and Denic piloted the shuttle up out of the spaceport and out from under the shadow of the " Dauntless " and then away to safety . Personality and traits . Althin was a well behaved child who loved to read and draw . He helped strangers when they were lost and refused payment for the aid , requesting it be given to the more needy instead . After the death of his parents , Althin suffered from shock , refusing to speak to anyone for quite some time as he was deeply psychologically wounded by the event . He finally broke his silence to say goodbye to Îmwe , who he had become very attached to after the guardian saved him , often gripping onto him for reassurance when scared and not wanting to be parted from him . When hearing that the partisans were taking the shuttle , Althin understood enough to be shocked , his black - colored eye s nearly doubling in size . He had long slender fingers tipped with soft suction cups . Behind the scenes . Althin first appeared in the novel " Guardians of the Whills " , which was written by Greg Rucka and released on May 2 , 2017 .