Ensign Syl was an alien officer serving aboard the USS Enterprise in the 2260s. She had multiple cranial appendages like crab's legs that folded around the back of her head.
When Krall attacked the Enterprise in 2263 to acquire a piece of a weapon called the Abronath, Syl was shocked to see one of her fellow crewmembers fall, so she helped him up, unknowingly watched by Captain James T. Kirk. She was assigned by him to hide the artifact, which Syl did by placing it within the clutch of her cranial appendages. Syl was subsequently captured by Krall's drones and imprisoned at his base alongside other Enterprise crewmembers.
Syl opening her cranial appendages
After Krall publicly threatened to drain Hikaru Sulu's life unless he obtained the rest of the Abronath, Syl surrendered it despite Sulu's repeated objections.
Later, Krall unleashed the Abronath on Syl as a demonstration of its power to Nyota Uhura. The weapon painfully disintegrated Syl's entire body. (Star Trek Beyond)
Syl was played by actress Melissa Roxburgh.
Syl was named after the daughter of Star Trek Beyond co-writer Doug Jung. [1]
According to make-up artist Joel Harlow, the design was an homage to the facehugger from the Alien franchise. [2]