Diblen Harleys Diblen Harleys was a Human male from the planet Coruscant . The son of an Imperial bureaucrat , Harleys grew up believing that the Galactic Empire stood for order and justice , so he wanted to join the Imperial Survey Corps . Following the death of his mother around his fifteenth birthday , his father revealed the true nature of the Empire to him , explaining that a career in the Imperial Survey Corps would result only in the discovery of worlds that the Empire could exploit . Angry at being lied to all his life , Harleys joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic , serving in the capacity of a starfighter pilot and tactician . Harleys ' s tactics later proved effective during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY , when he assisted in the Alliance victory over the Empire . By 9 ABY , during the Thrawn Crisis — a military campaign against the New Republic led by the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn — Harleys was a Wing Commander and spent much of his time out of the cockpit planning missions . The Wing Commander was later involved in a scheme headed by Princess Leia Organa Solo and New Republic Intelligence agent Winter to search for Delta Source — a highly effective Imperial spy within the New Republic ' s highest echelons . Biography . Early life . Diblen Harleys , a Human male , was born on the galactic capital of Coruscant around 19 BBY , during the days of Emperor Palpatine ' s rise to power . His father was an Imperial bureaucrat , and Harleys was brought up to believe that the Galactic Empire stood for justice and order ; he was insulated from any reports of atrocities committed by Imperial forces or authorities . In his youth , Harleys planned to join the Imperial Survey Corps and to explore both Wild Space and the Unknown Regions . When Harleys was fifteen , his mother died . Shortly thereafter , his father told Harleys what life in the Imperial Survey Corps was really like : he would spend his career searching out primitive worlds for the Empire to ruthlessly exploit . His father advised him to remain quiet rather than be seen as a dissident ; however , Harleys was outraged at being lied to for many years . He believed that he had been " brainwashed " to believe in the Empire and what it stood for . Aware of the truth of the Empire for the first time , Harleys joined the fledgling Alliance to Restore the Republic . Alliance / New Republic service . Harleys served the Alliance with distinction as a starfighter pilot , and later , a starfighter tactician . At the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY , Harleys was part of the planning staff , where his tactical skill helped the Alliance win a crucial victory . Following the engagement , Harleys was steadily promoted within the rank structure of the New Republic , the political entity that succeeded the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Following the liberation of Coruscant in 6 ABY , the New Republic relocated its headquarters to the galactic capital , taking over the former Imperial Palace as the base of operations for the government . Harleys was among the personnel assigned to Coruscant , and shortly before the Thrawn Crisis in 9 ABY , he was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander . In that capacity , he enjoyed easy working relationships with Colonel Bren Derlin of the Coruscant Defense Force and Supreme Commander Admiral Gial Ackbar . During the Thrawn Crisis — a military campaign against the New Republic led by the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn — the New Republic ' s war effort was being hampered by the presence of Delta Source , an exotic recording device installed in the Grand Corridor of the Imperial Palace on the order of Emperor Palpatine so that he could spy on the members of the Imperial Senate . In an effort to locate Delta Source — believing , at the time , that it was a spy within either the New Republic ' s government or military hierarchies — Princess Leia Organa Solo and New Republic Intelligence agent Winter began reciting scripted conversations in the Grand Corridor . It was their hope that Zakarisz Ghent , a slicer in the employ of the smuggler Talon Karrde , would be able to use the conversations to determine Delta Source ' s identity by working out who had heard the dialogue , then correlating it with outgoing Delta Source transmissions for which Ghent had managed to break the encryption by using sophisticated computer programs and decrypting software . One such conversation indicated that Harleys was being placed in charge of drawing up a plan to confirm that three " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers under construction at the shipyards of Ord Trasi were within one month of completion . Personality and traits . Standing 1 . 6 meters tall , Diblen Harleys possessed blond hair and blue eyes . Growing up , Harleys held a deep belief that the Empire was fundamentally right , and stood for order and justice in the galaxy due to his father ' s position as an Imperial bureaucrat . Shortly after his fifteenth birthday , Harleys learned the truth about the Empire when his father described what life would be like if he followed his goals and joined the Imperial Survey Corps . Angry at having been lied to for years , Harleys felt that he had been " brainwashed " to believe in the Empire . That feeling galvanized him to join the Rebel Alliance . Harleys was a popular commander , well liked by the troops serving under him due to his sense of humor — which was considered to be outrageous — and his dedication to protecting those under his command . He could , however , be intimidating when the need arose , or persuasive if the situation demanded it . Although Harleys wore a standard New Republic flight suit while on duty , he chose to augment it with a single blue gemstone earring , and a pair of glareshades . Despite having a love of flying , Harleys often found that his duties kept him from the cockpit more often than he would have liked . In addition , he was a relatively young officer to hold a high rank , and as such he was often treated as an inexperienced subordinate by his peers , despite working closely with both Colonel Derlin and Admiral Ackbar . Harleys was trained in unarmed combat and how to use a blaster , and he carried a blaster pistol along with a comlink . As a pilot , he was trained to fly both starfighters and space transports , and navigate them safely through hyperspace . He could also repair starfighters . In addition to flight training , Harleys was capable of driving ground and repulsorlift vehicles . In his role as a tactician and Wing Commander , Harleys understood the inner workings of the New Republic ' s bureaucracy , and he had knowledge about planetary systems . A skilled commander , Harleys was capable of leading starfighter groups and Coruscant - based personnel , and he was well versed in starfighter tactics . Behind the scenes . Diblen Harleys was first mentioned in " The Last Command " by Timothy Zahn , which was published in 1993 . Referred to only as " Wing Commander Harleys , " he nonetheless received an entry in the " The Last Command Sourcebook " by West End Games in 1994 , a book that gave him a first name and a biography . This information was subsequently reprinted in " The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook " . In " The Last Command " , Wing Commander Harleys is referenced in relation to a plan to determine whether or not " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers under construction at Ord Trasi are nearing completion . However , this mention comes during the scene where Leia Organa Solo and Winter are playing out scripted conversations in an effort to reveal who or what Delta Source is . Because of this , it is unclear whether or not Harleys was involved in such a mission , or if it was false information . However , " The Last Command Sourcebook " does confirm that Star Destroyers were being built at Ord Trasi .