Everything we know about what Hera Syndulla was up to after the Battle of Endor

Though Hera Syndulla doesn’t appear in any of the live-action Star Wars films (she’s mentioned briefly in Rogue One), she has become a key figure in the universe through her role in Rebels and other media.

She fought for the Rebellion and then the New Republic, so while we don’t know a ton about what she was up to after the Battle of Endor, let’s look at what we do know.

Aftermath on Endor

General Hera Syndulla fought in the Battle of Endor, and in the aftermath of the Battle, she remained station on the forest moon of Endor. At one point, the Ewoks were cleaning up from the fight and were taking stormtroopers and preparing to eat them. Leia Organa saw this and instructed Han Solo and Chewbacca to go to Hera’s camp and retrieve some ration sticks to give to the Ewoks in order to keep them from eating the enemy. Han knew what this would cost him, and when he showed up, Hera playfully said she would give the supplies on one condition: Han had to admit the Ghost was a better ship than the Millennium Falcon. Han reluctantly did so, since Leia wanted the supplies. When Solo arrived back at Leia’s camp with the supplies, the Ewoks feasted on the ration sticks, while Leia told him that no one actually thought the Ghost was a better ship.

At another point shortly after the Battle of Endor, a few remaining Imperials were spotted flying TIE Fighters toward the Ewok village. Hera rushed to the Ghost to intercept them, joined by Chopper – who recruited a couple of Ewoks to join them for help. As Hera flew in the skies of Endor in a dogfight with the TIEs, Chopper and the Ewoks manned the guns and managed to defeat the enemy fighters.

Alphabet Squadron

As the Rebellion transitioned into the New Republic, Hera continued to fight for the cause as a General in the New Republic forces. She was in command of a group that included Alphabet Squadron, Hail Squadron, and Meteor Squadron, operating from her flagship, the Lodestar. This cruiser was an old Clone War-era Republic ship that had been heavily repurposed and repaired for service in the New Republic.

At one point, Hera was approached about the possibility of Alphabet Squadron operating from the Lodestar, and she agreed, provided it was understood that she was in command of the forces that used her ship. So Hera assumed command of Alphabet Squadron as well, and she took a vested interest in helping them grow as people and pilots – specifically their squadron leader, Yrica Quell.

Project Starhawk

Sometime in the year following the Battle of Endor, General Hera Syndulla was helping to oversee Project Starhawk at the Nadiri Dockyards (along with her trusty droid, Chopper). The Starhawk was the secret weapon of the New Republic, as it was a ship capable of going head-to-head with Imperial Star Destroyers, equipped with an incredibly powerful tractor beam. The Starhawk could help the empowered Republic put an end to the war once-and-for-all, and it was in production at the Nadiri Dockyards. Vanguard Squadron arrived at one point to aid the efforts, having helped capture a Star Destroyer that would be used for the Starhawk‘s construction. But the Empire was also determined to destroy this ship, with Captain Terisa Kerrill leading Titan Squadron and the efforts to find it.

Kerrill and Titan Squadron eventually discovered the location of the Project and launched an attack. Syndulla was left to desperately order a defense, but it wasn’t enough. True to form, Hera pleaded with Kerrill to allow the innocent people to flee the station, but the request was denied, forcing Hera to evacuate the Dockyards and attempt to escape with the Starhawk. This escape attempt was foiled, but Lindon Javes (who oversaw Vanguard Squadron) arrived to save Syndulla and the remaining New Republic members. With their ships disabled, the Republic attempted to flee, but under the command of Syndulla, ultimately wound up sacrificing the Starhawk to defeat the Empire, ensure the Republic forces’ escape, and preserve future construction of the Starhawk-class ship.

That future was indeed preserved, as more Starhawks came to be built, and with the help of three Starhawks at the Battle of Jakku, the New Republic emerged victorious in the Galactic Civil War, finally bringing an end to the conflict.

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Check out more in the “What were they up to after Endor?” series:

Wedge Antilles | Admiral Ackbar | Mon Mothma | Lando Calrissian | Luke Skywalker | Han Solo