Cha Niathal was a female Mon Calamari and senior Admiral of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force, serving as an advisor to Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon. After Pellaeon's resignation, Niathal assumed the post of Supreme Commander, and soon formed a political alliance with Colonel Solo. Throughout the Second Galactic Civil War, Niathal's influence grew, as did the unrest within the Galactic Alliance, to the point that she was instrumental in a coup against Chief of State Cal Omas.