Grunta Grunta was a male Dug podracer who resided on the planet Muunilinst . In 0 ABY , a few months after the Battle of Yavin , Grunta encountered the Rebels Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa , who were accompanied by Han Solo , Chewbacca , and Tobin Elad , on the outskirts of the city of Pilaan . As the Rebels were trying to find a way to meet with the Muun Nal Kenuun , Grunta offered to arrange a meeting with Kenuun for a payment of 100 credits . Instead , Grunta led the group into an ambush by four of his Dug companions armed with blasters and riding swoops . Grunta died when one of the swoops crashed on him after Solo blasted its starboard engine . Biography . Grunta was a short and scaly Dug who resided in the city of Pilaan on the planet Muunilinst . Like most of his species , Grunta was barely a meter high , though Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker thought that Grunta was even shorter than most Dugs when he first met him in 0 ABY , a few months after the Battle of Yavin . Along with Skywalker were fellow Rebels Princess Leia Organa , Han Solo , Chewbacca , and X - 7 , the latter of whom the Rebels were unaware was actually an Imperial assassin secretly using the alias Tobin Elad . Inside a local cantina , the Rebels were trying to find information on how to contact the Muun gambler Nal Kenuun but were unsuccessful , as the locals refused to cooperate . Grunta offered to arrange a high - stakes game — with a 10 , 000 - credit buy - in — with Kenuun for a hundred - credit fee . Solo agreed to the proposition , and the group began to follow Grunta deep into the city ' s outskirts . Instead , Grunta led the group into an ambush by four of his fellow Dugs flying swoops and armed with blasters . When Grunta demanded that they hand over all of their credits , the Rebels decided to fight back . After a short skirmish , the Dugs chose to retreat after one of their members was killed by Solo when he successfully shot the swoop ' s starboard engine , crashing it with a fiery explosion . Grunta himself also died in the melee when the swoop ' s remains crashed on him , killing him instantly . After the ambush , the Rebels were captured by Imperial stormtroopers under the employ of Kenuun , who , upon meeting them in his home , revealed that Grunta was a podracer pilot in his employ . Knowing Grunta ' s penchant for trouble , Kenuun had a homing droid shadowing him as a precaution , which enabled Kenuun ' s stormtroopers to capture the Rebels . Kenuun offered the Rebels a deal in which one of them would take Grunta ' s place in an upcoming podracing event in exchange for a datacard that Kenuun took from Mak Luunim , a Rebel Alliance contact on the planet . The datacard contained a set of secret financial accounts that the Rebellion badly needed , as most of their funds had been lost when the planet Alderaan was destroyed . As retrieving the datacard was their mission in the first place , Skywalker agreed to take Grunta ' s spot , eventually winning the race . Personality and traits . Nal Kenuun described Grunta as someone possessing a talent for trouble , which was why he had a homing droid keeping track of the Dug . When he was not racing , Grunta engaged in armed robbery of individuals with the help of his Dug companions . Despite being an excellent podracer , Grunta was disliked by his podracing colleagues . When Han Solo admitted to having a part in Grunta ' s death , a gathered crowd of podracing pilots and crewmen inside a large tent near the racetrack , where they passed time before the race , cheered the news . Haari Ikreme Beeerd , who was a crewman for another podracer , even befriended Solo and treated the crowd to another round of drinks . With Grunta ' s death , all of Kenuun ' s fellow Muuns who were competing against him were overjoyed at the news . One Muun in particular , Chenik Kruun , was known to be cold - blooded and emotionless , yet it was said that he almost smiled when he heard of Grunta ' s demise ; delighted at the prospect of finally being able to beat Kenuun in a race . Behind the scenes . Grunta was a character created by author Alex Wheeler for the 2008 novel " " , the first volume in the " Rebel Force " series .