Peshk Vri ' syk Peshk Vri ' syk was a male Bothan pilot who served in Rogue Squadron , the New Republic ' s elite starfighter unit , in 6 ABY . Born on Bothawui , Vri ' syk was trained in flight combat at the Bothan Martial Academy . His performance earned him an appointment to Rogue Squadron when the unit was reconstituted in 6 ABY by Commander Wedge Antilles . Vri ' syk ' s assignment was also politically motivated ; the Bothans wanted a member of their species represented in the New Republic ' s flagship squadron because their spies had uncovered the location of the second Death Star , which Rogue Squadron subsequently assisted in destroying . The New Republic assented to the request . Although inexperienced , Vri ' syk was an excellent pilot , and his training scores — along with the rest of the squadron ' s new recruits — were better than those of many front - line combat units . Vri ' syk saw action at Chorax , and served in the effort to extract New Republic assets from the planet Hensara III . He survived a covert stormtrooper attack against the Rogue Squadron base on the planet Talasea , and participated in a retaliatory strike against Admiral Devlia , the Imperial officer who had ordered the assault . Vri ' syk was killed during the First Battle of Borleias when a heavy ion cannon blast destroyed his X - wing starfighter . His legacy was later exaggerated by the Bothans to advance their political achievements . Biography . Early life . Peshk Vri ' syk was a male Bothan born on the planet Bothawui . Educated at the Bothan Martial Academy , Vri ' syk was trained in starfighter operations and combat . He was a year ahead of the female , Asyr Sei ' lar , and the two were considered to be equally skilled during their training . In 6 ABY , the New Republic ' s elite starfighter unit , Rogue Squadron , was in the process of being reconstituted by Commander Wedge Antilles . Vri ' syk ' s skills earned him a posting to the squadron , although his assignment was partly spurred by political motivations . The Bothans wanted their species represented in the New Republic ' s foremost starfighter squadron as Bothan spies had been responsible for locating the second Death Star , which Rogue Squadron had subsequently taken a role in destroying during the Battle of Endor . The New Republic agreed to the request as a way of showing the Bothans that their contributions were valued . Although the political pressure benefited Vri ' syk , Antilles assured Admiral Gial Ackbar , the Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force , that none of the pilots selected for political reasons — which included the Thyferrans Bror Jace and Erisi Dlarit to appease the competing Bacta Cartel s on their homeworld , Thyferra — was inferior to any other candidates . Along with the rest of the newly formed squadron , Vri ' syk was posted to the training base on Folor , a moon of the planet Commenor , where he was given the call sign Rogue Two , a placement in One Flight , and assigned as Antilles ' wingman . Rogue Squadron . Alongside the rest of the squadron , Vri ' syk participated in training exercises while stationed on Folor as Antilles sought to mold his new recruits into a viable squadron . During an exercise on the base ' s gunnery range , Antilles ordered one of the Rogues , the Corellian Corran Horn , to make the first run and complete a series of flying and targeting challenges . The Corellian complied , and aimed to score a target that the other members of the squadron would not be able to match in an effort to impress the Commander . However , Antilles felt that Horn needed to learn a lesson in humility and teamwork , and ordered Horn ' s astromech droid , Whistler , to transmit the pilot ' s sensor data to the rest of the squadron so that they would benefit from Horn ' s run . Horn subsequently scored 3250 out of a possible 5000 , and was ordered back to base with no knowledge that the rest of the squadron would be using his data . Vri ' syk tackled the exercise using Horn ' s data as ordered , scoring 4200 . Antilles then privately revealed to Vri ' syk what he had done to Horn and ordered the Bothan not to mention it to Horn , but to simply inform the Corellian of his score . Upon returning to base , the Bothan took pleasure in reporting his success to Horn , who had no idea why the rest of the squadron was beating his score until he figured out what Antilles had done . Following the exercise , the squadron gathered in DownTime , the base ' s cantina , where most of the members considered presenting a formal protest over Antilles ' actions towards Horn to General Horton Salm , the base commander . When Horn arrived after confronting Antilles over the commander ' s actions , Vri ' syk was apathetic to his presence while the rest of the squadron were pleased to see him . Later during their training , Vri ' syk and the squadron participated in a simulated attack on Defender Wing , a unit of three BTL Y - wing starfighter training squadrons led by General Salm . The assault ended with the Rogues registering thirty simulated kills for the loss of four of their own . A month after the Rogue Squadron roster was finalized , the unit was declared operational . Antilles believed that the unit was still green , however . He had expected between four - to - six months of advanced training before taking the squadron into combat , but he could not deny that his pilots were superior fliers and that their training scores were better than those of operational line units . As part of the New Republic ' s campaign to advance into the Core Worlds in an attempt to liberate the galactic capital of Coruscant , Rogue Squadron was moved to the planet Talasea in the Morobe system . During the transfer , the Rogues were pulled out of hyperspace in the Chorax system by the Imperial interdictor cruiser " Black Asp " , which was attempting to apprehend the smuggler Mirax Terrik and her ship , the " Pulsar Skate " . The Rogues engaged the Imperial ship and its squadron of TIE starfighters , driving them off with no losses to the Rogues . Vri ' syk and his squadronmates ' first official action against the Empire was at the Rout of Hensara , a mission to protect the " Battle of Yavin " , a modified customs frigate . Assigned to Coreward scouting missions , the " Battle of Yavin " had encountered the " Strike " - class medium cruiser " Havoc " in the Hensara system . Forced to go to ground to avoid capture , the ship ' s crew sank the vessel in a deep lake on the planet Hensara III . The " Havoc " had landed ground forces to search for the ship and crew , then left the system , giving the New Republic a chance to effect a rescue mission . During the operation , the " Havoc " returned , having been retrofitted with starfighter hangars and carrying thirty - six TIE Series craft — six TIE interceptors , six TIE bombers , and twenty - four TIE starfighters . The Rogues engaged the Imperials , and Vri ' syk killed at least two enemy fighters . The New Republic won the battle , destroying thirty - four craft with no losses . On Talasea after the battle , Rogue Five , Gavin Darklighter , who secured no kills during the engagement , was jokingly named " worst pilot in the squadron " rather than the Bothan , a fact that Vri ' syk was visibly relieved about . One night on Talasea , a platoon of Imperial stormtroopers was dispatched to the base by Admiral Devlia , commander of Imperial forces in the Rachuk sector , based on information provided by Imperial Intelligence agent Kirtan Loor who was actively hunting the Rogues . Vri ' syk survived the covert attack , which claimed the life of Rogue pilot Lujayne Forge and left his squadronmates Horn , Darklighter and Andoorni Hui seriously injured . Vri ' syk attended Forge ' s funeral and , later , participated in a retaliatory strike against Devlia and his forces at Grand Isle , their base on the planet Vladet . Once again , the battle proved to be a victory for the New Republic with no losses to Rogue Squadron . Death . As part of the New Republic ' s offensive towards the Core , a task force was assigned to capture the planet Borleias , a target codenamed " Blackmoon . " The New Republic intended to use Borleias as a staging point for the assault on Coruscant . The mission was commanded by the Bothan General , Laryn Kre ' fey , and the Bothan Spynet indicated that Borleias was poorly defended . Rogue Squadron was assigned to the task force , charged with escorting assault shuttles to the surface once the larger capital ships had breached the planetary shield and subdued its defenses . However , the Imperial commander , General Evir Derricote , had extra defenses hidden on the planet of which the Bothans were unaware . During the engagement , Derricote allowed the New Republic to believe that they were weakening his shields with their assault by gradually reduced power to them , lulling them into a false sense of security . Once the shields had dropped and no defensive fire came from the surface , General Kre ' fey ordered General Salm ' s Defender Wing away from the engagement — the unit had originally been slated to sweep the planet ' s defenses with a bombing run , but Derricote ' s actions had convinced the Bothan General that such an action was unnecessary — and ordered the Rogues to escort the shuttles in . Vri ' syk and his squadronmates formed up on the shuttles , escorting them to their target . As they approached , Derricote sprung his trap , re - establishing his planetary shield and firing surface based ion cannons at the task force . The first barrage of ion fire struck the " Modaran " , Kre ' fey ' s command shuttle , and sent it slamming into the shield . Vri ' syk ' s starfighter , positioned between one of the other shuttles and the shield , was struck by another ion blast , which vaporised him and his craft . The New Republic task force effected a retreat from the battle , while the Rogues also lost Andoorni Hui to enemy fire . Despite Vri ' syk ' s brief career with Rogue Squadron , the Bothans exaggerated his accomplishment and hailed him as a hero in order to advance their political achievements , comparing him to the Martyrs who secured the second Death Star plans . More than three years later , Wedge Antilles still regretted the loss of Vri ' syk , and would remember him while recalling other close friends who had perished in battle , including Biggs Darklighter , Jek Porkins , Dak Ralter and others . Personality and traits . Peshk Vri ' syk was a ruddy - furred Bothan who was considered to be an excellent pilot . While not as impressive as fellow Rogues Corran Horn or Bror Jace , Vri ' syk stood out among his classmates at the Bothan Martial Academy . Vri ' syk possessed a great amount of pride in his abilities ; while his colleagues felt guilty for excelling in a Folor training run at Horn ' s expense , Vri ' syk took great delight in bragging about his score . He was also relieved to not be regarded as the worst pilot in the squadron following the Battle of Hensara , a distinction that fell on Gavin Darklighter . Vri ' syk was also the most socially detached of the Rogues . He seldom engaged in conversation with his fellow pilots , and he reacted apathetically to Horn after the Folor training session , while the other pilots were happy to see him and apologetic for benefiting at his expense by the use of his targeting data . Vri ' syk ' s given name , Peshk , meant " handsome " in Bothese . His family name , Vri , translated as either " groundskeeper " or " caretaker " . The " ' syk " honorific suffix indicated that he belonged to either Clan Asyk , or Clan Isyk . Behind the scenes . Peshk Vri ' syk was created by Michael A . Stackpole and first appeared in " " , the first novel in the " X - Wing " series published in 1996 . He was first illustrated in the language edition of the " Rogue Squadron " novel . Vri ' syk garnered mentions in other entries in the X - wing series , including " " , " " — both also published in 1996 — and " " , which was released in 1999 . He later received entries in both the " Star Wars Encyclopedia " in 1998 and 2008 ' s " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , and was mentioned in the fourteenth issue of " The Official Star Wars Fact File " .