Admiral Ackbar

Gial Ackbar is a Mon Calamari statesman and admiral, renowned as the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic. Born by 41 BBY in Coral Depths City on the oceanic world of Dac, Ackbar grows up in Foamwander City within a prominent merchant clan. Fascinated by science and the sea, he earns a seat on the Calamarian Council and rises quickly as a civic and military leader.

During the Clone Wars, Ackbar serves as Captain of the Mon Calamari Guard, advising King Yos Kolina and later mentoring Prince Lee-Char. He leads Mon Cala’s defense during the Second Battle of Mon Calamari, demonstrating tactical skill and pragmatism—even ordering strategic retreats when necessary against overwhelming Separatist threats like the Hydroid Medusas.

After the Republic falls, Ackbar briefly supports the Galactic Empire, hoping for peace. Instead, the Empire invades Dac, enslaving both Mon Calamari and Quarren. Ackbar helps organize a resistance but is captured during the Imperial counterattack. He is presented as a "gift" to Grand Moff Tarkin, who uses Ackbar as a personal valet. While in servitude, Ackbar covertly studies Imperial doctrine and fleet strategy, learning Tarkin’s methods firsthand and memorizing key military secrets.

Ackbar secretly communicates with the Rebel Alliance and supplies vital intelligence on the Death Star project, though his knowledge of the superweapon remains limited. When the Alliance intercepts Tarkin’s shuttle en route to the Death Star, Ackbar is liberated—though Tarkin escapes. Ackbar immediately pledges himself to the Rebellion, returning to Mon Cala to reignite the revolt.

Despite initial setbacks, including resistance from a demoralized population and interference by the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing, Ackbar leads the Rebellion’s first naval victory at the Battle of Turkana. Recognizing the threat of Imperial Nebulon-B frigates to Alliance supply raids, he spearheads Project Shantipole in the Roche system, collaborating with Verpine shipwrights from Slayn & Korpil to develop the B-wing starfighter, specifically designed to combat capital ships.

Ackbar later works with Senator Bail Organa and Juno Eclipse to unify the Mon Calamari and Quarren resistance. Disguises, explosives, and a strategic deception involving the droid PROXY allow them to cripple the Imperial presence in Heurkea City. Though Ackbar fails to capture Tarkin, the operation succeeds in rallying both species, securing Mon Cala’s full commitment to the Rebellion.

As the war escalates, Ackbar is promoted to Admiral and becomes instrumental in directing Alliance strategy. He leads evacuations, coordinates fleet deployments, and oversees major campaigns across the galaxy. He commands from the Home One, a heavily modified MC80A Star Cruiser—originally a deep-space explorer retrofitted for war. The vessel boasts enhanced shields, twenty hangars, modular escape pods, and bridge controls adapted for Mon Calamari physiology. It becomes the centerpiece of the Rebel Fleet and a mobile command center for critical battles.

Though not Force-sensitive, Ackbar possesses extraordinary intelligence, discipline, and diplomatic tact. He trains in kar-shak, a Mon Calamari combat art, to remain physically sharp, and often arms himself with a blaster pistol. His uniform is specially designed to retain moisture, preserving his aquatic physiology aboard dry starships.

Appearance: Gial Ackbar is a male Mon Calamari with a tall, slightly hunched frame and salmon-hued skin. His head is large and dome-shaped, featuring pronounced brow ridges and wide, domed eyes that sit high on either side of his head, typical of his amphibious species. His face is lined with folds and ridges, and his mouth is a subtle horizontal slit located beneath his nasal flaps. His hands are large and webbed, ending in long, splayed fingers with multiple joints.

He wears a simple, functional uniform consisting of a white long-sleeved undershirt and matching white pants with a gold side stripe. Over this, he dons a sleeveless beige tunic with a high collar and a Rebel Alliance-style rank insignia on the left breast. His footwear is a pair of clean white shoes.

The Mon Calamari (also known as Mon Calamarians) were a humanoid, aquatic species native to the planet of Mon Cala. They shared their home planet with the Quarren. The Mon Calamari were a bipedal, amphibious species with high-domed heads, webbed hands and large, goggle-like eyes, which stuck out from the sides of their head. In addition to being webbed, the Mon Calamari hand presented three suction-cup like holes on its palm, and featured five claw-tipped fingers: one opposable thumb, two long middle fingers, and two very short outer fingers. Although they were shaped like flippers, their feet could nevertheless fit into boots designed for humanoid feet. The females were distinguished from the males by their more prominent chest areas.

The Galactic Civil War, also referred to as the revolution or the Rebellion, was a galactic power struggle in which the Alliance to Restore the Republic waged a rebellion against the ruling Galactic Empire in an attempt to restore democratic rule to the galaxy. The origins of rebellion could be traced to the Clone Wars, when rebel cells were equipped by the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order to fight against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, transformed the Republic into the Empire and destroyed the Jedi Order, many rebel cells began fighting the Empire. A number of these cells eventually joined together and became the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

The Alliance to Restore the Republic, also known as the Alliance to Restore Freedom to the Galaxy, the Rebel Alliance, or informally as the Rebellion, was a loose alliance of planetary, system, and sector-level insurrectionist factions. They were generally united in common cause, against a common enemy in the form of the Galactic Empire. In order to achieve their primary goal in restoring the former Galactic Republic, the Alliance aimed to remove Emperor Palpatine from power, and his hegemonic New Order from the galaxy. Members of the Rebellion were known as "Rebels," "Rebs," or "Rebel scum" by stormtroopers and other Imperials.