Jal Te Gniev Jal Te Gniev was a Human pilot for the Rebel Alliance . Biography . Flying for the Alliance . At the time of the Battle of Yavin , Jal had flown 31 missions and destroyed 80 TIE Fighters . However , he did not participate in the Battle of Yavin due to measles . His X - wing was borrowed by Luke Skywalker . Gniev felt great hatred towards Skywalker because he felt as though he had been denied his rightful glory in destroying the first Death Star , especially considering he had flown thirty - one missions for the Alliance . While nearly getting into an argument with Wedge Antilles an alarm went off . Jal jumped the gun , rushed to his fighter while drunk and opened the S - foils too quickly , scraping the wings on the hangar wall , and crashed the fighter into a nearby tree . He was then brought before the Alliance High Command . General Jan Dodonna tried to get Gniev to explain his actions , but Gniev was uncooperative and angrily accepted the council ' s decision of reassignment to Dubrava as a recruiter . A new assignment . While on Dubrava , Gniev made his way to the local cantina and its array of intoxicating drinks . A young Dubravan named Bobek found the cantina and requested to join the Alliance . Gniev , drunk , blindfolded Bobek and had him walk into a trap door in the boardwalk , falling into the swampy water below . Humiliated and disillusioned , Bobek left . Also while drunk , Gniev mentioned the name " Skywalker " to Nevana , who , in turn , mentioned it to Sarma . Soon enough , Imperial forces heard of the name and began to seek its source : Gniev . A squad of stormtroopers attacked the cantina and set it ablaze , burning dozens of Dubravans alive . Gniev was barely able to escape , but reappeared some distance away , only to encounter a pair of stormtroopers . By chance , Bobek was nearby and killed one of the troopers . The second trooper shot Bobek and was then drowned by Gniev . Bobek admitted to purchasing the blaster with the intent to kill Gniev , but used it against the Galactic Empire when the chance arose . With Bobek ' s death , Gniev reevaluated himself and set out to save Luke Skywalker , whose life he had placed in extreme jeopardy . Sacrifice . Gniev then acquired a Z - 95 Headhunter which he flew to Jazbina to save Skywalker . Skywalker , meanwhile , had become entangled with Lord Prepredenko and Princess Syayna . Upon the arrival of Darth Vader and a Interdictor that prevented anyone from fleeing the planet , the situation on Jazbina looked grim . Gniev landed on the planet and joined the efforts of Skywalker and Syayna to save the planet . Using Skywalker ' s X - wing , Gniev flew into space to attack the Interdictor . Amused , the Imperial Captain ordered his crew to lower the shields and release the squadron of TIE fighters , believing the lone fighter was attempting to flee . But Gniev , who intended only to protect his comrades below , simply rushed onward through the emerging TIEs and entered the Interdictor ' s hangar bay before its crew could raise the shields again . There he released his entire supply of proton torpedoes into the heart of the warship . He was consumed by the massive explosion of the Interdictor , which crippled the Imperial effort to subdue Jazbina . Gniev ' s sacrifice , however tragic , saved the day on Jazbina .