Hahrynyar Hahrynyar was a male Wookiee who worked as a slave for the Galactic Empire during the construction of the first Death Star , where he served as the shift chief on a subsector of Sector N - One on the armored battlestation . In 0 BBY , during the construction , Hahrynyar ordered an extra exhaust port installed , which led him into a confrontation with Teela Kaarz , a Mirialan architect , over the placement of the port . Although the Wookiee took ill with a suspected parasitic infection before any change to the station ' s blueprints could be made , the exhaust port was ordered and installed as he had planned , a development that presented the Rebel Alliance with the means to destroy the Death Star . Biography . Hahrynyar was an enslaved Wookiee construction worker whom the Galactic Empire assigned to the first Death Star , a massive battlestation that was to be used against the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War . He served as a shift chief on a subsector of Sector N - One . In 0 BBY , during the station ' s construction , Hahrynyar installed a secondary thermal exhaust port below the main port , and afterward was involved in an argument with Teela Kaarz , a Mirialan architect who specialized in encapsulated arcology , concerning the port ' s placement . Kaarz told the Wookiee that she had the authority to change the blueprints ; Hahrynyar demanded to see that authority in writing . After the confrontation , Hahrynyar returned to his duties and ordered a crew to unpack and install equipment . At a later point during the construction , Hahrynyar was involved in a decompression accident that required a heart - lung transplant , which was performed by Doctor Kornell Divini . The Wookiee was placed on immuno - suppressive drugs , which caused him to develop a suspected parasitic infection . Plagued with a cough and a high fever , Hahrynyar was unable to return to work . He expressed his concerns over his absence in a brief conversation with Divini , which was translated by the droid C - 4ME - O . As such , the work on the exhaust ports continued , as Kaarz had never obtained the authorization to remove them . During the Battle of Yavin , the ports became the target of the Rebel Alliance , as they led directly into the main hypermatter reactor core . A precise shot with a proton torpedo would allow the projectile to enter the port , trigger a chain reaction , and destroy the Death Star . The Alliance used this weakness to their advantage during the Battle of Yavin and fired the decisive shots that eliminated the superweapon . Personality and traits . In 0 BBY , Hahrynyar was an elderly Wookiee male , whose pelt had turned gray with age . He was a natural - born leader , and due to the Wookiee ' s attitude , Teela Kaarz suspected that Hahrynyar would have volunteered to join the Death Star construction crew even if he had not been enslaved . Grizzled and stubborn , Hahrynyar intentionally forgot how to understand Basic so that he was able to avoid communicating with his superiors . He had a sense of humor and once made a remark concerning Emperor Palpatine ' s personal hygiene . Behind the scenes . Hahrynyar was created by authors Michael Reaves and Steve Perry for the novel " Death Star " , first published on October 16 , 2007 , by Del Rey . Aside from an entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , released on December 9 , 2008 , " Death Star " has been Hahrynyar ' s only appearance to date .