Rik Duel Rik Duel was a brash , egotistical Corellian smuggler who lead Chihdo and Dani from one get - rich - quick scam to another , most often not according to plan . Duel was a thief and a double - crossing , swindling ladies ' man who knew Han Solo in his youth , and later would cross paths with Solo , Luke Skywalker , and Princess Leia Organa on Stenos . Biography . As a smuggler , Duel encountered Solo on Nar Shaddaa years before the Battle of Yavin . He fought in the Battle of Nar Shaddaa , joining with other denizens of the Smugglers ' Moon as the Galactic Empire attempted to crack down on the criminal activity centered there . At some point , Duel became partners with the Rodian Chihdo and a Zeltron woman named Dani . The Stenax Shuffle . A few years after the Battle of Nar Shaddaa , Duel made a deal with Quorl Matrin , Imperial Governor of the planet Stenos , to uncover the statue of the Stenax god Vol to expand the former senator ' s collection . The statue had been buried during an earthquake years earlier , causing the winged Stenaxes to stop flying in disgrace . Rik , Dani and Chihdo began digging for the statue in an old temple that had served as a Rebel Alliance base commanded by Colonel Pejanes Kindar . Their search was interrupted when Princess Leia arrived , along with Solo , Chewbacca , Skywalker and his droids . Always ready for a con , Duel claimed that he and his partners had actually joined the Rebellion and were left behind by Kindar to find the Vol statue . Solo was immediately suspicious of his old " friend " , but agreed to help find the statue . Once they uncovered Vol , Rik took the statue for himself and betrayed the Rebels to Matrin . As stormtroopers arrived to capture Solo and the others , Duel and his friends made their escape , hoping to keep the statue for themselves . The Rebels were saved by the timely arrival of the now - flying Stenaxes , who demanded Vol . Solo referred them to Duel . Duel and friends arrived at Rik ' s ship , the " Moonshadow " , only to find Matrin and a contingent of stormtroopers waiting to take the statue and kill them . Suddenly , the Stenaxes arrived , attacking the group . Rik cursed Solo as the attack began , but then the quick - thinking smuggler shouted that Matrin was dishonoring Vol . The governor and his troopers were torn to pieces by the Stenaxes . Rik , Dani and Chihdo escaped in the confusion . Bounty on Stenos . Three years later , Duel encountered Luke Skywalker on Stenos where recent Imperial crackdowns were making life harder for a simple criminal . Skywalker and Lando Calrissian were searching for bounty hunters Bossk and IG - 88 , hoping they could lead them to Han Solo , still frozen in carbonite . They ran into Duel and Dani , who were searching for Chihdo , who had recently gone missing . Duel asked for Skywalker ' s help , but the Rebel was called away by Calrissian reporting he had found Solo . He led Skywalker to a figure frozen in carbonite only to find that it was actually Chihdo . Bossk , IG - 88 and other bounty hunters had set up their own carbon - freezing chamber there . The hunters were closing in on the Rebels before Rik and Dani appeared for an almost - successful rescue . Rik and Skywalker escaped , but Dani and Calrissian were captured . Eventually , with the help of a number of Stenaxes recruited by Chewbacca , the bounty hunters were defeated . Rik remained on Stenos , eventually finding out how to free Chihdo from the carbonite after Skywalker and Calrissian moved on to their next stop , along with stowaway Dani . After Endor . Within weeks after the Battle of Endor , Rik , Chihdo and Dani began looting worlds left in ruins after the Empire ' s retreat in the chaos following Palpatine ' s death . One of their stops was water - world Iskalon ' s abandoned surface facility , Pavillion . The trio was soon interrupted by the arrival of Luke Skywalker , who had come to offer the Iskalonian s a place in the newly forming government . Luke scolded them , but Rik explained that everyone in the galaxy does what they have to do to survive , and the weak were out of luck . Rik ' s speech was cut short by a hungry chiaki sea creature and a sudden attack by the Iskalonians . The natives no longer wanted anything to do with offworlders , and after a brief protest , Rik acceded to Skywalker ' s suggestion they all leave . Only an Iskalonian named Kiro — an old friend of Luke ' s — decided to go with them . Skywalker recruited Duel and his partners to give Kiro passage in the " Moonshadow " . This would also give Skywalker a chance to keep Rik and the others out of trouble . The group continued on to Skywalker ' s next diplomatic mission on Shawken , where Rik , Chihdo and Dani explored the planet ' s ruins while Luke and Kiro met with local officials . While searching for priceless artifacts to steal , they accidentally trapped themselves in an underground chamber and triggered the countdown of an ancient weapon that could theoretically destroy the entire universe . Skywalker and Plif the hoojib eventually freed Duel and the others , while Kiro ' s near - fatal sacrifice destroyed the machine . The " Moonshadow " then followed Skywalker back to the Alliance ' s temporary base on Endor . After an altercation with Rebel soldiers over a card game , Rik stayed on Endor a short time longer before realizing there was little profit to be gained there . He and Chihdo soon departed though Dani chose to stay with the Alliance in the wake of the supposed death of Kiro , whom she had fallen in love with . Behind the scenes . Rik Duel was created by Mary Jo Duffy , Kerry Gammill and Tom Palmer . Gammill based Duel ' s appearance on the likeness of his friend , visual effects legend Rick Baker .