Kierah Koovah

Kierah Koovah, nicknamed "Gunny," was a Mimbanese pilot who served as squadron leader of the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron. During the Galactic Civil War and following the Battle of Endor, Koovah fought against the Galactic Empire's Titan Squadron. She flew a UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft and sported a cybernetic arm.
==Biography==
===Fighting in the Clone Wars===
During the Clone Wars, she assisted the Galactic Republic's 224th Clone trooper unit in fighting Separatist Droid Army forces in the Nanth flatlands during the Battle of Mimban. She became cut off from the rest of her squad after a battalion of B2-series super battle droids were dropped in the area and thunderstorms prevented communications. She took a skyhopper to rendezvous with the unit and rally reinforcements but was shot down halfway to her destination. Despite her referring to it as a fine crash landing, her left arm was trapped in the wreckage, and, whilst she was able to escape, she sacrificed her arm in doing so. She figured she would rather live her life with one arm than sit around and wait for the droids to find her and reckoned she only needed one hand to carry a blaster. She dragged herself out of the flatlands with only one arm and a sour disposition and thought her Clone unit had never seen anything like her before. They were able to provide her with medical attention and, eventually, they would win the battle. She was saddened that only three years following the battle, the Clone troopers would be replaced by stormtroopers. Following the Empire jamming communications during the Mimban Campaign, Koovah learned to shoot a blaster, but she lost many friends in the skirmishes that followed. She had wished to train the young pilots in the squadron before retirement.
===Leading Vanguard Squadron===
Before the Battle of Endor, she was the leader of Vanguard Squadron, piloting a UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft. Her squadron at that point consisted of Gracalia Vatara Sienar, Keo Venzee, and Feresk Tssat (Frisk). Following the battle in 4 ABY, the squadron was assigned a new unit leader, Commander Lindon Javes, who assumed command of the New Republic MC75 Star Cruiser Temperance, and also received a new starfighter pilot who was assigned the callsign Vanguard Five. Koovah was not able to meet the new commander in person as she was flying patrols and identifying a communication blackout. When Javes delivered his introductory speech to the squadron, Sienar said she had heard rumours of a secret project the New Republic had been working on, Koovah told her that if it helped to end the war, she did not care what the project was.
===Stealing a Star Destroyer===
Following the identification of communication blackouts, Koovah, along with Venzee, were dispatched to Cavas to fend off Imperial forces jamming communications. Javes had provided brief details of Project Starhawk to the squadron and insisted that the communications be restored to aid the secret project. Before they set off for the mission, she told the squadron’s newest recruit Vanguard Five to stay sharp and to keep their nose clean. The best advice she could impart was to stick with the squadron, she knew it was simple but she believed that hotshots and lone wolves needed to hear it.
Upon arriving at Cavas, Koovah and Venzee were met with heavy Imperial resistance which they were able to keep at bay until they were joined by Sienar and Frisk. Together, they destroyed the Imperial jammers and restored communications across the sector. Koovah believed the Empire would not push into their territory any time soon following the victory and compared Venzee’s skills during the mission to those of Delan Vook, a multiple-time winner of the Dragon Void Run. She wanted to head to the cantina aboard the Temperance to celebrate, but Javes informed them that they had a visitor and a mission.
They were briefed by Wedge Antilles, who had helped Talus Group chase the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Victorum away from a medical convoy near Yavin 4. He requested Vanguard’s assistance in commandeering the Star Destroyer to aid in the completion of Project Starhawk. After successfully helping in the theft of the Victorum, Koovah said she wanted to see the Empire try to reclaim the ship. The mission reminded her of the time she stole an armored transport hauler full of scout walkers after the Empire invaded Mimban - an experience she described as a good time after she and her squad turned the walkers against the Empire, and she assumed Javes had a similar plan for the Victorum. She commended Antilles for selecting the right team for the job, believing Alphabet Squadron would have been less successful, and jokingly called them slackers.
===Attacking the Overseer===
The Victorum emerged from hyperspace behind enemy lines, ensuring Vanguard had to engage the enemy and prevent them from recapturing the ship. Being behind enemy lines reminded Koovah of the incident that caused her to lose her arm. Vanguard was able to hold off Imperial forces whilst a boarding team repaired the Star Destroyer’s damaged hyperdrive. When the repairs were successful, the Victorum and Vanguard jumped to hyperspace to the location of Project Starhawk in the Ringali Nebula. Javes confirmed the reason for stealing the Victorum was to help build the Starhawk.
After a convoy of engineers en route to the nebula from Hosnian Prime were intercepted and destroyed by Titan Squadron, Vanguard was sent to Esseles to destroy an old Imperial listening post that Javes had sent a decoy message to lure out his former protege-turned-nemesis Terisa Kerrill, a mission they completed successfully. Following the mission, Koovah begrudgingly agreed with Frisk that the New Republic should have commandeered the post rather than blowing it up, saying that once you had stolen a Star Destroyer, anything Imperial looked tempting.
Vanguard Squadron was tasked with luring Kerrill's Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Overseer into the Zavian Abyss, which they successful in doing. In the Abyss lay a debris field of ships that previously failed to navigate the zone and Koovah noted they had probably been there for a long time. She knew somewhere in the Abyss, Captain Kerrill lay in wait and that the Imperial wanted them all dead, but she called on the squadron to not panic and to stick with the plan. The Overseer was badly damaged after coming into contact with the Starhawk, and Koovah was pleased with the result, believing the Imperials deserved payback with interest.
===Restoring communications over Galitan===
After the Overseer later struck back at the Starhawk, damaging it in return and wiping out its defence fleet, Koovah and Vanguard escorted Chief Engineer Zerelda Sage to an old broadcast hub near Galitan to repair and send a distress call to the New Republic. Before setting off for the mission, Koovah spoke to Vanguard Five, saying she knew things seemed tough but they had stared down death more times than she could count. She said whilst they were stranded in a nebula, it was nothing compared to the danger they survived in the Zavian Abyss. She was also dismissive of Titan Squadron, believing if they could stop Vanguard then they would have already done so. She knew they were in a war and everything would be tough, but the New Republic had entrusted the mission to them, and, regardless of how hard things got, Vanguard never gave in. Arriving at the moon, Koovah continued to believe the Abyss was worse than the shattered moon. After Sage successfully restored the broadcast hub, Koovah praised her and said they could not have gotten the message out without her. Following the message, Anvil Squadron arrived to assist, with Javes joining the squadron - though he was shot down defending the Starhawk shortly after.
===Aiding the Starhawk’s demise===
General Hera Syndulla tasked Koovah and Vanguard with holding off Imperial squadrons whilst the dying Starhawk was piloted into the shattered moon near Galitan - the resulting shockwave would then destroy all nearby Imperial ships and allow the New Republic to escape. As they entered the fray, Koovah reckoned the Starhawk was built to stop Imperial fleets and that is exactly what it was going to do with its last act.
During the battle, Javes emerged from the battered starship and aided Vanguard with their mission. Eventually, the Starhawk crashed into the moon and the New Republic forces escaped the resulting shockwave to fight another day.
==Personality and traits==
Koovah was a veteran pilot with a lot of experience after seeing combat in the Clone Wars as well as the Galactic Civil War. She was a gruff but pragmatic person who was committed to helping her fellow pilots, particularly the younger ones.
==Behind the scenes==
Kierah Koovah appeared in the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons, voiced by Rebecca Wisocky.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Squadrons 
==Sources==
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*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Cyborgs with prosthetics
Category:Freedom fighters
Category:Individuals of unspecified gender
Category:Individuals with lost limbs
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Mimbanese
Category:Vanguard Squadron personnel