Profiles Of Heroism: Kes Dameron And Shara Bey
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Poe Dameron is not Cassian Andor’s son. No ifs, ands, or buts. With that out of the way, this genuinely baffling theory that emerged after the finale of Andor Season 2 does prompt one’s interest in Poe’s actual parents, Kes Dameron and Shara Bey. Established very early into the Star Wars canon with the comic miniseries Shattered Empire, this crack A-wing pilot and commando fought for the Alliance for many years before they retired from the front lines before the Battle of Jakku. Today, we’ll explore their history and key roles they played across the franchise’s lore, and affirm their connection to Poe as their biological son.
Background
We know little about Shara Bey and Kes Dameron’s early lives, though we do know how they met. Roughly four years before A New Hope, Kes attended a trip for a friend who was getting married. While he and his friends spent some time gambling with money they had to spare, he spent his last few available credits betting on Shara Bey in a form of high-speed boat racing. A dangerous sport, Shara nonetheless was able to come out on top and win, earning Kes a considerable sum of credits. Wanting to go meet this mysterious pilot and thank them, the two quickly formed a connection, with Shara asking him to use the funds to buy her a drink.
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Sometime over the next few years, the pair married, and later, had Poe. But they made another choice, and both joined the Rebel Alliance. Exactly when, where and how is unclear, but they were members by the time of the Rebel relocation to Hoth, where they played a part in the base’s construction. Shara remained skilled as a pilot, and while versatile in her knowledge, mainly flew an A-wing, while her husband became part of the Pathfinders, a unit of Rebel commando operatives.
Abilities/Skills
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Both Kes and Shara are incredibly skilled individuals, though they are not perfect. Kes Dameron had extensive command training and was a leading member of the Rebel Pathfinders. They were an elite strike force composed of various members prepared for covert missions in the name of the Rebellion. He was a good leader, inspiring a great deal of loyalty in those who followed him to the point they sacrificed their lives for the survival of Kes and others, but also for the sake of the mission. Kes himself was a great fighter, surviving multiple engagements across the second stage of the Galactic Civil War, in some truly harrowing situations. This means he must also be a good shot, and always lead from the front.
Shara, by contrast, did have some combat training, but instead excels behind the controls of a starfighter. Her fighter of choice, an A-wing, was a fast, maneuverable vessel which was nevertheless vulnerable to heavy fire. She flew many missions with this ship, but wasn’t restricted to just this vessel. She was able to quickly learn the controls of new starships under her control, like the N-1 starfighter she flew alongside Princess Leia and the Queen of Naboo in defense of the planet from Operation Cinder. But perhaps her biggest skill, somewhat developed on the job, was her espionage abilities. Trapped aboard Tarkin’s Will, she scavenged information, food, armor, and other supplies for weeks, going unnoticed until Commander Zahra realized they had a stowaway on board. Shara’s plan of escape as she determined her time was up was also quite skillful, but Zahra’s intuition proved one barrier too much, and Shara was captured before she could escape. Even so, she was a rather personal black mark on the crew and ability of Tarkin’s Will due to her resourcefulness and drive to support the Alliance even while in such dire straits.
Acts Of Heroism
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Shara Bey and Kes Dameron had many adventures in the name of the Rebel Alliance, and played critical roles in the aftermath of The Empire Strikes Back. Initially the ball was in Kes’ court, when his Pathfinders helped the Rebels secure an ancient droid to rebuild their communication network after the Empire cracked the Rebellion’s codes. This involved going to Coruscant itself, and the loss of one of their own, but it was successful, and the Rebels were able to formulate a new code based on an extinct language.
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She remained there for weeks afterward, feeding the Rebellion intelligence she was able to scrape together, always in grave danger but benefitting from the scarred and abandoned sections of Tarkin’s Will. She did a lot to help her allies in this time, though she never forgot her husband, and their son, pushing forward as she saw her actions as for their benefit and that of the wider galaxy. Eventually though, Zahra caught her, and while she might have cracked under torture as Zahra revealed she knew of where Poe was, Kes came in to save the day. Cornered by the combined remnants of the Rebel Fleet, Zahra executed a savage defense of her vessel, taking out a number of Rebel ships despite her limited resources. But she allowed herself to become distracted, with Kes and the Pathfinders infiltrating Tarkin's Will. They rescued Shara before crippling the ship, sending it plummeting to the planet far below.
The two had a less intense time in the wake of this event, though the war was not over yet. Shortly before the Battle of Endor, the two were called up for a secret mission by Admiral Ackbar. Intrigue and espionage abounded, with Mon Mothma’s life at stake, putting Shara and Kes on a mission to uncover a possible threat against the Rebellion’s political leader. They were just barely able to successfully stop an assassination plot against the Rebel leader, and barely had this threat passed then were both involved in Endor. Shara flew in the spacebattle, while Kes and the Pathfinders engaged the Imperials with the aid of the Ewoks on the forest moon’s surface. Both fought bravely, and then, celebrated in the conflict’s aftermath, though the real fighting had just gotten started.
Final Act
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The final months of activity for both Kes and Shara were incredibly taxing, and saw them at some very significant events in galactic history. Shortly after the Battle of Endor, Kes and the Pathfinders led an attack on Imperial remnants stationed on the far side of the Forest Moon, while Shara would pilot Leia Organa to a critical meeting on Naboo with the reigning queen. Unfortunately, this meeting took place just as Operation Cinder was put into effect, but Shara was able to help fight off the attacking Empire and destroy their satellites which had intended to devastate Naboo.
While Kes fought on against the Empire in various battles, Shara was also essential to a mission of Luke Skywalker. Looking to reclaim lost relics of the Jedi Order, and learning that the ISB were storing saplings of the Jedi Temple’s Uneti Tree, Luke and Shara infiltrated a hidden base but were ultimately discovered. Despite this, Luke fought his way out as Shara transported the two Uneti samples, protecting these links to a Jedi Order now long gone for the sake of a future Luke wanted to build.
But then came the end of their service. Pushed into considering this retirement from the fight by their longtime friend L'ulo L'ampar, they did not see the Battle of Jakku. They instead retired to Yavin 4, now a colony of veterans from the Rebel Alliance, and planted part of the Uneti tree on the farm they lived at with their son, finally reunited with him. However, their joy was short-lived. Shara Bey became ill with a unique disease and passed away several years after the Battle of Endor. She was specifically remembered by Leia, who wrote kind words after her passing. Despite this early death, Shara instilled in her son Poe his love of flying, but this generated unfortunate friction with Kes.
Growing extremely protective of his son, and bitter about his wife’s death, Kes drastically restricted Poe and refused to let him fly as he wanted, causing the young man to act out. L'ulo L'ampar tried to foster peace between them, but as he was still a pilot and flew in defense of Yavin, his arrival would constantly stoke Poe’s inner fire. Eventually, though, the conflict between father and son became too much. Running away from home with the first starship crew that would have him on, Poe didn’t realize he’d joined up with the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Despite regretting his decision, he’d found camaraderie with the vicious crew, and when his father eventually tracked him down with L’ulo’s help, Kes left empty-handed without his son. Poe spent just around a year with the Runners before he left their ranks, and returned to his father, but with a renewed desire to be part of the New Republic Military. Poe did join that organization, and later the Resistance, but we unfortunately lose track of Kes Dameron’s fate at this point. While not the oldest figure in the galaxy, likely in his 50s by the time the First Order rose to power, it is possible he had passed away by the time of The Force Awakens. Hopefully, if he did so, it was peaceful and not in some First Order strike. Both he and his wife were ultimately heroes to the Alliance, and helped raise, with some struggles, one of the best pilots who would later join the Resistance.
Notable Appearances
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Below is a list of the stories in which Shara Bey and Kes Dameron have appeared. We encourage people to check them out if they have any interest in these freedom fighters and parents!
Star Wars: Shattered Empire
Empire Ascendant #1
Star Wars (2020)
Return of the Jedi – The Rebellion 1
Poe Dameron: Free Fall
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Source(s): Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Empire Ascendant 1, Star Wars (2020), Return of the Jedi – The Rebellion 1, Poe Dameron: Free Fall
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