After Lux Bonteri requested assistance on behalf of the Onderonian rebels from the Jedi Council, a small envoy consisting of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano and Clone Captain Rex secretly arrived on the jungle world. Steela Gerrera was the first rebel to greet the newcomers, intercepting their jungle trek while riding on dalgo-back.

Steela brought the Jedi and Rex back to the camp the rebels had built out of ruins in the jungle. She was skeptical about the involvement of offworlders in Onderonian affairs. That was, after all, how the current dispute on Onderon started -- the Separatist Alliance usurped the throne of Onderon and installed the despicable Sanjay Rash as king.

Steela was quite close to Lux, so she was surprised and unsettled to learn that Padawan Ahsoka Tano had a connection to the Senator. Given Ahsoka's own confused feelings towards Lux, this led to a tension between Ahsoka and Steela.

Anakin and Captain Rex began training the rebels in techniques to overcome the Separatist droids that patrolled the Onderonian city of Iziz. Steela had difficulty getting the hang of rolling a droid popper with just the right speed to penetrate a droideka's shields. She preferred the simple methods of blasting droids with her sniper rifle.

When the rebel camp was suddenly beset by battle droids, Steela's sharpshooter skills saved the day. She blasted the retaining gates on the camp's animals pens, causing a stampede of creatures that knocked over the droids, giving the rebels the opening they need to blast the Separatist forces.

Led by the Jedi, the rebels snuck into the walled city of Iziz and established a safe house. The rebels would randomly attack the droid patrols, but Steela was quick to notice that such strikes frightened the citizens. Unlike her more aggressive brother, Saw, Steela recognized the need to win the hearts and minds of the Onderonian subjects while also striking at the Separatists.

After a successful strike at Iziz's central power generator, the rebels recognized Steela's natural command skills. They elected her leader. Steela accepted this position, though Saw was at first resentful of his sister.

Under Steela's direction, the rebels broadcast holographic images of her directly addressing the citizens of Onderon, and explaining the rebel cause. This helped offset the claims by King Rash that the rebels were a terrorist threat to the peace of Iziz. Rash's next move was to announce a public execution of the former king, Ramsis Dendup, believing the ousted monarch to be behind the insurgency.

Steela's brother Saw impulsively set out to rescue Dendup, and ended up captured by the royal guards. Steela refused to launch a rescue for Saw, however, recognizing that the rebels lacked the resources to both rescue him and stop the king's execution.

King Rash marched Dendup in shackles into a public square, as was to have him beheaded when the rebels struck. Steela blasted the MagnaGuards holding Dendup, and freed her brother who was also to be executed.

Kind Dendup appointed Steela general of the combined forces of his royal guards and the rebels, as the prepared for battle with reinforced Separatist droids. Before soaring into battle atop a ruping, Steela gave Lux a kiss -- declaring that she shared the romantic feelings the Senator had for the young rebel.

Sadly, Steela did not survive the coming battle. She risked her life saving King Dendup from a crashing droid gunship that, ironically, was shot down by her brother Saw. The crash caused Steela to tumble from an escarpment, and she died in the fall. She was mourned by Onderon, and her death symbolized the high price paid for the independence of the planet.