Jake Farrell Jake Farrell was a Human male starfighter pilot who served in the Galactic Republic prior to the Declaration of a New Order . Following the rise of the Galactic Empire at the end of the Clone Wars , Farrell became an instructor for the Empire , but retired from Imperial service after a series of increasingly ruthless missions . He eventually came out of retirement and joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic , teaching Rebel pilots the skills needed to fight against the Empire . Known as a top X - wing pilot , Farrell flew a modified R - 22 Spearhead during the Battle of Yavin . His experience with the R - 22 led to him being selected to help design the new RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor , which was based on the R - 22 . When the first A - wings entered service , Farrell transferred to an A - wing squadron . By the time of the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY , he was considered to be among the best A - wing pilots , and so was chosen to fly with Green Squadron in the assault on the Imperial battlestation , the second Death Star . Participating in the starfighter attack on the Death Star ' s main reactor , Farrell followed the order of Gold Leader Lando Calrissian to break off his run and head for the surface of the station , drawing off some of the Imperial TIE fighters in pursuit . Biography . Early career . In the years prior to the declaration of a New Order , Jake Farrell , a Human male , served the Galactic Republic as a starfighter pilot . When the Clone Wars ended in 19 BBY , Supreme Chancellor Palpatine transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire with himself as Emperor and Farrell went on to serve the new Imperial Navy , helping to train some of the best pilots in the Empire . However , as the Empire grew more ruthless , Farrell found himself sent on ever more destructive missions . Watching the pilots he had trained help to further Palpatine ' s subjugation of the galaxy , Farrell decided to retire , leaving the Imperial Navy and fleeing to a secret location to pass the rest of his life in peace . Alliance instructor . Years later , after the rise of the Alliance to Restore the Republic in 2 BBY , Farrell came out of retirement and joined the fledgling Rebellion as an instructor in the Alliance Starfighter Corps , in the hopes of providing young pilots with the skills they would need to fight the Empire . Farrell originally flew T - 65 X - wing starfighter s and was considered one of the Rebellion ' s top X - wing pilots . Despite this , Farell preferred the extra speed and maneuverability of the R - 22 Spearhead and spent much time upgrading the fighter to further improve its performance . By 0 BBY , Farrell held the rank of commander and was using his experience to train rookie pilots . One of his trainees was " Rookie One " , who was sent to Farrell after passing his piloting trials through Beggar ' s Canyon on Tatooine . Flying a pair of R - 22 Spearheads , Farrell led Rookie One through the Tatoo system ' s asteroid field , instructing him to dodge the rock asteroids and shoot any ice ones in his path . Impressed by Rookie One ' s performance , Farrell passed him and ordered the young pilot to report to Kolaador for the final phase of his training . Shortly after Rookie One ' s training , the Empire dispatched the Death Star , a battlestation which was capable of destroying a planet , to destroy the Rebel base on Yavin 4 . Having managed to acquire the plans to the superweapon , General Jan Dodonna devised a plan to destroy it — a direct proton torpedo hit on a small thermal exhaust port would trigger a chain reaction in the battlestation ' s main reactor . Farrell took a pair of modified R - 22 Spearheads to Yavin 4 and flew one of the fighters in the subsequent Battle of Yavin . Working alongside his former pupil , Rookie One , along with numerous other Alliance starfighter pilots , Farrell helped to fight the Imperial forces until Red Squadron pilot Luke Skywalker scored the decisive blow . Following the Battle of Yavin , General Dodonna , Adar Tallon and Walex Blissex realized that the Alliance needed a faster starfighter than the X - wing to counter the latest Imperial TIE models . The resulting starfighter , the RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor , was based on the R - 22 Spearhead , and Farrell ' s experience modifying the fighters saw him recruited to help draw up the designs . When the new starfighters entered service , Farrell transferred to an A - wing unit . The Battle of Endor . Four years later , the Alliance learned that the Empire had constructed a second Death Star , more powerful than the first . When the time came for the Rebel Alliance to attack the new battlestation , Farrell , as one of the best A - wing operators , was chosen to fly with Green Squadron with the call sign Green Four . In the initial stages of the battle , Green Squadron and other A - wing units used their jamming units to disrupt Imperial targeting computers . As the battle progressed , Green Squadron pilots scored many kills on Imperial fighters and Farrell joined Green Leader Arvel Crynyd to bring down the deflector shields protecting the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer " Executor " , leading to the destruction of the Imperial command ship . Following the Alliance battle plan , once the deflector shield around the Death Star was deactivated by Rebel operatives , the leader of the starfighter assault , Gold Leader Lando Calrissian , called for fighters to follow him into the battlestation ' s superstructure for a strike on the Death Star ' s main reactor . Farrell , among a group of others including Red Leader Wedge Antilles , Gray Leader Horton Salm , Green Three Tycho Celchu , and Red Seven Keir Santage , complied , diving into the workings of the partially - completed station . Following Antilles ' X - wing , Farrell flew ahead of the " Millennium Falcon " , which was followed by Celchu ' s A - wing , Salm ' s Y - wing , and Santage ' s X - wing . Imperial fighters — two TIE Fighters and four TIE Interceptors — chased the Rebel fighters as they flew through the Death Star , posing a threat to the success of the mission . Initially , two of the Imperial ships were destroyed when one collided with a wall . However , after Santage ' s X - wing was shot down , Calrissian ordered a number of the Alliance fighters to split up and head back to the surface , in order to draw off some of the Imperial pursuit . Farrell was the first to comply , followed by Celchu and Salm — he and the others who broke off managed to draw off two Imperial fighters , reducing Calrissian ' s remaining pursuit by half . Farrell survived the battle and , due in part to his success in lessening the number of pursuers , Calrissian and Antilles were able to complete their mission of torpedoing the reactor , destroying the Death Star and winning the battle for the Rebel Alliance . Personality and traits . Farrell was a serious officer with a no - nonsense attitude and little time for pilots who showed off during training . Though he could seem grumpy , this was largely a way of teaching control and discipline to his students , qualities that he believed were vital if Alliance pilots were to defeat their Imperial opponents . Only those that demonstrated these skills would impress the commander and pass his training . Farrell favored the speed and maneuverability of the R - 22 Spearhead and modified his own fighter to improve its performance by upgrading its systems and removing any non - essential components . Farrells skills saw him brought into General Dodonna ' s team to work on the design of the RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor . Already considered among the top X - wing pilots in the Rebel Alliance before the introduction of the A - wing , Farrell transferred to an A - wing unit when the new craft became available . By the time of the Battle of Endor , he was already considered to be one of the best A - wing pilots as well , and so was chosen to fly in Green Squadron alongside such notables as Arvel Crynyd and Tycho Celchu . When Calrissian asked for fighters to join him in his assault on the Death Star ' s reactor , Farrel was among the first to answer the call ; when the general gave the order for a number of fighters to break off the assault on the Death Star ' s main reactor in order to draw off pursuit , he complied , allowing his fellow pilots to complete the mission , for which they received accolade . Behind the scenes . The character of Jake Farrell was created for the 1993 LucasArts video game " " and his backstory was expanded in the game ' s manual . In making " Rebel Assault " , the developers used characters and scenes from the " Star Wars Trilogy " as a basis for those in the game . Farrell ' s appearance was based on a pilot played by actor Michael Drew who can be seen briefly in , in which he acknowledges Lando Calrissian ' s order for the Rebel fighters to split up in order to draw off Imperial pursuers during the Death Star assault . In the script for " Return of the Jedi " , he is simply credited as " Pilot . " Decipher , Inc . also fleshed out the character ' s backstory , with the release of the " " Death Star II Limited " " set for the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game in 2000 , which established him as a top A - wing and former top X - wing pilot . " The Essential Guide to Warfare " ( 2012 ) further expanded the character ' s history , describing his part in the development of the RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor . In December 2008 , Hasbro confirmed that they would be releasing a Jake Farrell action figure as part of their " " toy line . Farrell is included in the Rebel Pilots Series III Evolutions pack , along with John D . Branon and Shira Brie , and is depicted in his role as an A - wing pilot in Green Squadron during the Battle of Endor . Battle of Yavin . In " Rebel Assault " final level , set during the Battle of Yavin , Blue Squadron attempt to destroy the Death Star by undertaking a trench run which contradicts the events depicted in . The trench run in the game is almost identical to that of the movie — only the persons involved are different . In the game , Merrick Simms enters the trench first while Ru Murleen joins Rookie One and Thurlow Harris in providing cover . As they negotiate down the long trench the group is pursued by three TIE fighters , including a TIE Advanced x1 which was presumably intended to be the one used by Darth Vader in the movie . The TIEs open fire , killing Harris and forcing Murleen to pull out , echoing the fates of Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles in the movie . Simms finally reaches firing range but his torpedoes impact on the surface , leaving Rookie One next to make an attempt . With the TIEs closing fast , Rookie One appears to be in trouble when Farrell ' s R - 22 arrives and destroys the TIEs , leaving Rookie One free to take his shot . This again parallels Han Solo ' s last minute rescue of Luke Skywalker from the film . Finally , it is Rookie One ' s shot that is depicted as destroying the battlestation , as opposed to Skywalker ' s . In December 2006 Leland Chee commented on the StarWars . com Message Boards that Rookie One ' s trench run was non - canon . " The Essential Guide to Warfare " later confirmed that Blue Squadron were assigned to attack the Death Star ' s superlaser while Red and Gold Squadrons attacked the trench . Although Sue Seserman ' s " Star Wars Insider 27 " article " " Excerpts from the Journal of a Rebel Pilot " " confirms that Farrell was present with Murleen and Rookie One for the Battle of Yavin , since his only appearance during the battle in the game is during the non - canon trench run , the exact nature of his involvement in the battle is unclear . " " Excerpts from the Journal of a Rebel Pilot " " incorrectly refers to the character as Captain Ferrell . Inconsistencies . Farrell ' s role in the Battle of Endor has been depicted by a number of adaptations of the movie without change ; however , in some versions , his line is given to other characters . In the of " Return of the Jedi " , Farrell does not appear , and his role is instead assumed by Green Leader — Arvel Crynyd — who follows Calrissian into the Death Star . The " Return of the Jedi " audio drama and " " script combine the roles of Farrell and that of Red Two , a Y - wing pilot seen in the film . In the radio drama , Red Two follows Calrissian into the Death Star and responds to a command to head back to the surface in order to draw TIE fighters away . Fan misconception . For a time there was fan speculation as to the identity of the pilot who appears in " Return of the Jedi " , as author Michael A . Stackpole had established Tycho Celchu as an A - wing pilot who survived the Death Star run in the Battle of Endor in his 1996 novel " " . However , Stackpole confirmed on his website that Farrell ( then - unnamed ) is not Celchu , stating that Celchu does not look like Farrell , and that while Farrell flew the first A - wing into the Death Star , Celchu piloted the second . Furthermore , other cards released by Decipher for the card game indicate Celchu as the pilot of the second A - wing in the chase sequence and as one of the background characters during the Alliance briefing before the battle , who does not look like Farrell .