Kaplan ( colonel ) Kaplan was a human male who served as a colonel in the First Order . In the year 34 ABY , Kaplan was posted in a control room in Hangar Six on board the " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer " Finalizer " when it traveled to the planet Jakku in order to try and recover a portion of the map showing the location of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker . After the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was brought on board the " Finalizer " for questioning , he and the defecting First Order stormtrooper FN - 2187 stole a TIE / sf space superiority fighter from Hangar Six in an attempt to escape . As the starfighter was still connected to its support cable , it was unable to leave the hangar after taking off , and Kaplan was alerted to the escape attempt by Petty Officer Thanisson . While Dameron attempted to disconnect the support cabling , FN - 2187 blasted the main control room where Kaplan and Thanisson were standing , forcing the officers present to scramble for cover . However , the TIE fighter sustained damage while escaping and crashed on Jakku . Biography . Mission to Jakku . Kaplan was a human male who served in the military branch of the First Order during their conflict with the Resistance , an offshoot of the New Republic . In the year 34 ABY , Kaplan held the rank of colonel and was stationed on board the " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer " Finalizer " , where he was posted in the main control room for Hangar Six . Kaplan was on board the " Finalizer " when it traveled to the planet Jakku in search of the retired explorer Lor San Tekka , who held a piece of a map to the location of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker . After the First Order deployed forces to San Tekka ' s home village of Tuanul , the explorer was killed and the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was captured ; however , the map was spirited away by Dameron ' s astromech droid BB - 8 , whom the First Order failed to capture . An unauthorized departure from Bay Two . Dameron was brought on board the " Finalizer " for interrogation , but as the hunt for BB - 8 began , the pilot was freed by FN - 2187 , a stormtrooper hoping to defect from the First Order . The trooper brought Dameron into Hangar Six under the pretense of escorting the prisoner and then hurriedly boarded one of the TIE / sf space superiority fighter s in Bay Two of the hangar . When the pair attempted to take off , they discovered the starfighter ' s support cabling was still attached , preventing their escape and drawing the attention of Petty Officer Thanisson in the control room . Thanisson immediately reported the unsanctioned departure to Kaplan , who ordered that the TIE be stopped from escaping while General Armitage Hux , head of the First Order ' s military , be alerted . Squad s of stormtroopers carrying F - 11D blaster rifle s and FWMB - 10 repeating blaster s then attempted to shoot down the starfighter , but were unsuccessful as FN - 2187 used the vehicle ' s Lb - 14 dual heavy laser turret to blast many of them . The trooper then turned the turret on the control room , shattering the windows in an explosion and throwing Thanisson from his seat while Kaplan and the other officers present tried to cower away from the blast . Once Dameron managed to disconnect the support cabling , the fighter escaped from the " Finalizer " and headed for Jakku , but was shot down by the battlecruiser en route and crashed on the planet ' s surface . Personality and traits . Kaplan was fair - skinned and gray - eye d . He shared his surname with a famous warlord of the Galactic Empire whose name First Order colonels wore on commemorative bands . Equipment . Kaplan wore a teal First Order military uniform including a cap . Behind the scenes . Kaplan was portrayed by Pip Torrens in , which was released on December 18 , 2015 . He was not named in the film itself but received identification in its credits . He also appeared in the of the film written by Alan Dean Foster and released in conjunction with the film , in which his single line of dialogue is slightly altered .