Pharl McQuarrie / Legends Pharl McQuarrie was a captain of the Galactic Republic Navy during the Clone Wars and later a general of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War . A native of the Core Worlds planet Ralltiir , McQuarrie ' s Clone Wars military service saw him participate in the Republic defense of the vital agricultural planet Ukio in command of a " Consular " - class cruiser . Although the Republic repelled the enemy Confederate incursion from Ukio , Separatist interests captured financial control of the planet nonetheless . In the decades that followed , McQuarrie served as a respected military advisor for many years on his homeworld , until the Imperial subjugation of Ralltiir just weeks before the Battle of Yavin . After fleeing his home planet to seek assistance from the Rebel Alliance , McQuarrie returned to take command of the Ralltiiri Rebel resistance movement , helping to deliver information concerning the existence of a secret Imperial superweapon , the first Death Star battlestation , to Princess Leia Organa . McQuarrie ' s efforts directly led to the subsequent Rebel capture of the Death Star plans and the destruction of the Death Star shortly thereafter . General Carlist Rieekan later selected McQuarrie to serve as his second - in - command at the Rebellion ' s new Echo Base on the planet Hoth , where McQuarrie was instrumental in the facility ' s construction . He went on to serve in the Rebel defeat at the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY . Biography . In defense of Ukio . Pharl McQuarrie , a Human male , was a native of the planet Ralltiir , in the Core Worlds . McQuarrie served in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems , captaining a " Consular " - class cruiser . In the early years of the war , McQuarrie participated in a Republic mission to prevent the politically - divided agricultural world of Ukio , a major food - producer for the Republic ' s armies , from falling to the Confederacy . Joining a task force consisting of a " Venator " - class Star Destroyer and another " Consular " - class cruiser under the overall command of Jedi General Keelyvine Reus and Admiral Dron , McQuarrie helped form an orbital patrol of Ukio in response to intelligence suggesting the Confederacy was targeting the planet . Although Ukio boasted a powerful planetary shield system , preventing any sizable invasion or bombardment from enemy forces , the Separatists nevertheless concocted a plan to breach its defenses . The Republic task force soon detected on the far side of the planet a single " Lucrehulk " - class battleship that was releasing into the atmosphere a series of seismic tank s , which were in turn dropping a strange dark cloud over Ukio ' s shields . At Dron ' s prompting , McQuarrie reported to Reus and the admiral that his cruiser had identified the cloud to be an electrostatic soil compound with photoreactive properties from the badlands of the planet Moorja . The compound adhered harmlessly to the shield yet moved in concert with the system ' s sun , regardless of Ukio ' s rotation , thus creating an effective means of blocking out any sunlight from reaching the planet ' s crops . The Confederacy thereby succeeded in using Ukio ' s shield system against itself — as McQuarrie noted to Reus , the native Ukians would need to lower their shields for the cloud to simply dissipate into the atmosphere and save their crop fields , but by doing so they would open the planetary surface to Confederate attack . Reus quickly conceived a plan to save Ukio . The Ukians would create an opening in their shield around the cloud just long enough for the disturbance to dissipate , while McQuarrie and the Republic task force would engage the Confederate " Lucrehulk " - class battleship to keep it preoccupied and unable to launch any vessels through the shield gap . The Republic attack would have to be carefully coordinated , however , so as to counteract any complications from the Lucrehulk ' s powerful jamming signal . The attack from McQuarrie and the Republic task force succeeded in destroying the Confederate battleship , while the Ukians lowered their shields to rid themselves of the disruptive cloud . Although the Republic earned a tactical victory by eventually eliminating the enemy presence from Ukio , negative market reports of the turbulence there caused Ukio ' s stock prices to plummet , nevertheless allowing Confederate elements to purchase a controlling interest in the planet . A Ralltiiri Rebel . Following his service during the Clone Wars , McQuarrie eventually returned to his homeworld of Ralltiir , where he served as a respected military advisor for many years prior to 0 BBY . Developing galactic circumstances , however , soon forced the former Republic officer once more into combat . McQuarrie watched as , several weeks prior to the Battle of Yavin , the Galactic Empire — the Republic ' s oppressive successor state — enacted a brutal subjugation of the Ralltiir system to clamp down on the increasing numbers of Ralltiiri Rebel sympathizers . In response to the Empire ' s occupation , McQuarrie fled his home planet to seek aid from the Rebel Alliance . Coincidentally , the Alliance had just learned that a local Ralltiiri Rebel cell had come into possession of information concerning the existence of the Empire ' s new secret superweapon , the first Death Star battlestation . Working in tandem with his close friend and fellow Ralltiiri Jeroen Webb , McQuarrie sneaked past the Imperial blockade of the planet , back onto Ralltiir , where he took command of the local resistance . McQuarrie helped stage a diversionary raid that allowed the Death Star information to reach Rebel leader Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan . The success of the Ralltiir mission directly led to the subsequent capture of the Death Star plans at the Battle of Toprawa as part of the Rebellion ' s Operation Skyhook . Thanks in part to McQuarrie ' s contributions , the Rebel Alliance proceeded to utilize the Death Star schematics to formulate an assault that ultimately destroyed the battlestation at the Battle of Yavin . Later , General Carlist Rieekan personally selected McQuarrie to serve as a general and his second - in - command at the Rebellion ' s secret headquarters , Echo Base , on the Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth , where he would once more serve alongside Webb . McQuarrie was instrumental in the construction of the ice facility , which was finished in 2 ABY . Just prior to the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY , Echo Base deck officer Commander Tamizander Rey suggested to McQuarrie that no ship be allowed to leave Hoth until the base ' s shield generator was activated , a plan ultimately approved by Rieekan . McQuarrie went on to participate in the staggering Rebel defeat in the face of Imperial invasion at the Battle of Hoth . Personality and traits . Pharl McQuarrie was a talented military tactician , serving with the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars and later as a respected advisor to Ralltiir ' s military forces for years until the Imperial occupation of his homeworld . He employed his tactical prowess against the Empire by taking over Ralltiir ' s Rebel underground in order to help pass along details of the first Death Star to the Alliance leadership . His abilities earned him assignment at Echo Base as second - in - command to General Carlist Rieekan . McQuarrie had brown hair , which grayed with age ; blue eyes ; and light skin . Equipment . As a Republic Naval captain serving in the Clone Wars , McQuarrie wore the standard Republic officer ' s uniform , sans cover , during the battle of Ukio . Later , during his time on Hoth , McQuarrie wore the insulated Rebel uniform jacket and command gauntlet s , both reserved for Echo Base ' s command staff , including General Carlist Rieekan and Major Bren Derlin , In addition , he donned other articles of the Rebels ' standard - issue cold - weather armor , including the set ' s headgear , anti - glare goggles , scarf , belt , leggings , and boots . McQuarrie armed himself at Echo Base with a DH - 17 blaster pistol , which he wore holstered at his right hip . He also preferred a blaster rifle as his weapon of choice . Behind the scenes . The character of Pharl McQuarrie first appeared in the film , portrayed by none other than " Star Wars " conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie . Indeed , the name " Pharl " is an anagram of " Ralph . " McQuarrie appears in the film fleetingly as an Echo Base extra , barely visible as he moves from right to left across camera with his sketch clipboard in hand . Appropriately enough , McQuarrie passes in front of a large , self - created matte painting of several GR - 75 medium transports . All of the extras appearing in McQuarrie ' s scene are , in fact , fellow " Star Wars " matte artists , including Joe Johnston , Harrison Ellenshaw , and Michael Pangrazio . The character was first introduced by last name and rank , and provided a brief backstory in the November 1998 " Special Edition Limited " expansion set of the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game . McQuarrie ' s backstory was again expounded on in the 2004 " Star Wars Insider " 74 article " Who ' s Who in Echo Base " , written by Josh Radke , which identified his first name . Although the article claims that Ralph McQuarrie is not seen in the film and that Decipher , the creators of the " Star Wars Customizable Card Game " , created a card for the artist as a nod to him , McQuarrie himself confirmed his appearance in the film in an interview on his website . Lucasfilm did not officially confirm McQuarrie ' s appearance in the film until the 2007 " Star Wars Insider " 94 article " The Empire Strikes Fact ! " The McQuarrie character was again featured in a minor role in the StarWars . com webcomic " " , published serially from September 2009 through May 2010 , which established the character ' s role as a one - time Republic naval officer during the Clone Wars . The " " toy line featured an action figure of the Pharl McQuarrie character as part of its 2007 " The Empire Strikes Back " series , the toy line ' s sixth wave .