Merrick Simms Merrick Simms was a Human male starfighter pilot in the Alliance Starfighter Corps who commanded Blue Squadron at the battles of Yavin and Endor . Simms joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic early in the Galactic Civil War and , following a victory near Dantooine in 1 BBY , was quickly promoted to captain . The following year he was stationed at Anchorhead Base on Tatooine and fought against Imperial forces who attacked the base in 0 BBY , though he was unable to prevent its destruction . After fleeing to Yavin Base on the fourth moon of Yavin , Simms led Blue Squadron in the Battle of Yavin against the Empire ' s Death Star battlestation . Four years later , he once again took command of Blue Squadron in the Battle of Endor , fighting against the second Death Star . During the battle , Simms joined General Lando Calrissian , Wedge Antilles and " Green Wing " in an assault on the Empire ' s main communications ship . Though the group eliminated the vessel , Simms ' B - wing starfighter was caught in the resulting shock wave and he was killed when he collided with another Imperial starship . Biography . Early career . The Human male Merrick Simms joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic early in the Galactic Civil War , serving as a starfighter pilot in the Alliance Starfighter Corps . In 1 BBY , Simms was involved in a highly - acclaimed victory near Dantooine . As a result , he was quickly promoted to captain , despite his young age . By 0 BBY , Simms was assigned to Green Squadron and stationed at Anchorhead Base on Tatooine , where he flew under the call sign Green Leader . Among his duties was helping to train rookie pilots by conducting trials through the nearby Beggar ' s Canyon and the surrounding area . Pilots were required to follow two members of Green Squadron through the treacherous canyon in a T - 16 skyhopper . At one point in the course , the two more experienced pilots would split up , each taking a fork in the canyon . The rookie pilot was given the choice between taking the easier path or following Simms on the more difficult route . After the paths merged , the group would leave the canyon for the second trial — the rookie was required to keep formation while engaging target drone s and navigating through rocky terrain . Among the trainees at Anchorhead Base was the pilot nicknamed " Rookie One " , who passed his trials under Simms shortly after the Battle of Toprawa , in which Rebel agents acquired the plans to the Galactic Empire ' s Death Star battlestation . Soon after Rookie One completed his trials , the CR90 corvette " Tantive IV " arrived at Tatooine , carrying Princess Leia Organa , custodian of the stolen Death Star plans . When Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader arrived aboard the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Devastator " to capture it , Organa dispatched the plans to Tatooine in the care of the droids R2 - D2 and C - 3PO . Realizing that the plans were no longer aboard the " Tantive IV " , Vader ordered his forces to begin searching Tatooine . This search eventually led the Imperials to discover Anchorhead Base . The Rebels were quick to call for help from their Pilot Training Center on Kolaador , but the reinforcements — three T - 65 X - wing starfighter s led by Commander Ru Murleen — arrived too late to prevent Anchorhead Base ' s destruction by TIE / LN starfighter s . Attempting to defend the base in his own X - wing , Simms escaped Anchorhead Base ' s destruction and joined up with Murleen ' s group after their arrival . Murleen soon detected that Imperial ground forces were being deployed at the nearby Mos Eisley spaceport . Though he knew that the Rebels would soon be outnumbered , Simms suggested that they do what they could to halt the Imperial advance on Mos Eisley before regrouping at the Alliance ' s Gamma Base on the ice - world of Hoth . Murleen agreed and sent Rookie One and Thurlow Harris to help Simms in Mos Eisley , while she moved to cut off the Imperial supply lines . Simms led the three X - wings to Mos Eisley and the group engaged All Terrain Scout Transports and Imperial landing craft until Simms detected TIE fighters and interceptors approaching and gave the order to withdraw . Though the TIEs followed the Rebels out of the atmosphere , Simms led his group into the nearby asteroid field , losing their pursuers before escaping to hyperspace . Battle of Yavin . Following the subsequent evacuation of Gamma Base , Simms was assigned to Yavin Base on the fourth moon of Yavin . However , though the stolen Death Star plans were eventually delivered to Yavin Base , the Imperials learned of the Rebel base ' s location and the Death Star was dispatched to destroy it . The plans revealed a weakness in the battlestation which General Jan Dodonna formulated a plan to exploit ; a direct proton torpedo hit on a small thermal exhaust port would trigger a chain reaction in the Death Star ' s main reactor and destroy it . Simms was given command of Blue Squadron , a group of four X - wings which also included Murleen , Rookie One and Harris , and charged with attacking the Death Star ' s superlaser directly , in an attempt to both damage it and divert attention away from Red and Gold Squadrons while they attacked the exhaust port . After a briefing by Dodonna , the pilots were split into their assigned squadrons for exercises that would prepare them for the Death Star ' s arrival . Blue Squadron ' s training exercise required them to destroy target drones while navigating through a narrow river bed on the jungle moon . By the time the group finished the exercise , the Death Star had arrived in the system , and Simms took Blue Squadron to rendezvous with the other Rebel fighters . As Blue Squadron approached the Death Star , a Star Destroyer in its support fleet launched TIE fighters to intercept them . The group battled their way through the incoming TIEs , but three of the Imperials were able to get on Simms ' tail . Harris , acting as Simms ' wingman , was unable to get a lock , but Simms managed to evade the TIEs long enough for Rookie One to come to his aid . After the Rebels made it past the perimeter , Simms instructed Murleen and Rookie One to commence strafing runs on the Death Star ' s turbolaser batteries . The thermal exhaust port was located in a trench along the surface of the battlestation , but before any of the Rebels could enter the trench , they needed to eliminate a heavy cannon situated near the exhaust port . Simms dispatched Murleen and Rookie One to attack the cannon — the pair opened a gap in its shielding and flew into the superstructure , destroying several power relays and disabling the weapon . With the threat of the heavy cannon neutralized , the way was clear for the Alliance forces to begin their trench runs . Though the initial attempts failed , Red Squadron pilot Luke Skywalker ultimately succeeded in delivering a killing blow to the Death Star . Death at Endor . Four years later , the Alliance learned that the Empire was constructing a second Death Star in orbit of the forest moon of Endor . Believing that the battlestation was not yet operational and protected only by a deflector shield projected from Endor , the Alliance planned an assault on the station , timed to coincide with a visit to the construction site by Emperor Palpatine . General Han Solo was to lead a strike team to the forest moon to neutralize the deflector shield , while Admiral Gial Ackbar led the Alliance Fleet against the battlestation itself . Simms was again selected to lead Blue Squadron , one of the Alliance ' s battle wings for the mission . The Rebels emerged from hyperspace to find the Death Star ' s protective shield still in place and the Imperial Navy awaiting them . When the Death Star opened fire with its supposedly unfinished primary weapon , destroying the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser " Liberty " , General Lando Calrissian realized that the Rebels ' best hope of survival was to engage the Empire ' s Star Destroyers at point - blank range while they waited for Solo ' s team to bring the shield down . As the battle progressed , the Empire ' s main communications ship , which had been jamming the Alliance forces ' sensors to prevent them detecting the status of the deflector shield , was disabled by heavy fire from a Rebel cruiser , which was subsequently destroyed . With the Imperial crew beginning to repair the damage , the Rebels had to move quickly to destroy the communications ship . Simms joined up with Gold Leader Lando Calrissian , Red Leader Wedge Antilles and " Green Wing " to launch an assault on the crippled vessel . Calrissian led the group in at an angle that kept them out of range of the bigger ship ' s weapons and left them virtually invisible to its crew . Increasing power to their front deflectors and closing formation , the group began a dive perpendicular to the communications ship ' s axis , before making a right - angle turn to race along its hull . The Rebels came under heavy fire as they began their attack , focusing their assault on a damaged section . Green Wing was soon hit by enemy fire and drove his damaged fighter into the forward weapons , destroying them in the resulting explosion — Simms quickly offered his thanks for his comrade ' s sacrifice . With the way now clear of enemy fire , the remaining Rebels proceeded to the cargo bay which housed the ship ' s reactor core . Under the combined fire of all three Rebels , the reactor was soon destroyed and the Rebels attempted to pull away before the vessel exploded . However , Simms ' B - wing starfighter was caught in the shock wave that followed the resulting explosion , and he was thrown against the hull of another Imperial ship , killing him and destroying both vessels . Though the Death Star ' s shield was still active , the communications ship ' s destruction allowed the Rebels to detect when Solo ' s team finally succeeded in destroying the bunker which powered it . Calrissian and Antilles led Rebel fighters into the battlestation ' s superstructure and destroyed its main reactor , giving victory to the Alliance . Personality and traits . Merrick Simms was a skilled pilot , who always kept his cool and was promoted to captain at a young age following his involvement in a Rebel victory near Dantooine . He believed life should be entertaining and found combat against the Empire to be particularly enjoyable . Outside of combat , he was willing to allow pilots under his command to show off their skills and perform stunts during training missions . However , he also understood that discipline was needed to confront Imperial forces . If pilots chose to follow him on the more difficult route through the Beggar ' s Canyon training flight , he would talk them through it and ensure that they emerged in one piece . In combat , he was professional and ensured that his pilots stayed focused on their task and cut any unnecessary conversations . Behind the scenes . Merrick Simms was created for the 1993 LucasArts video game " " and his backstory was expanded in the game ' s manual . His appearance in the game was based on LucasArts artist Peter Chan . Simms is a non - player character in the game , who serves in the same squadron as the player ' s character , Rookie One . In the game ' s twelfth mission , " TIE Attack " , Simms comes under attack from three TIE fighters . The player must move quickly to eliminate the threat — if Simms is killed , the mission is a failure . " Rebel Assault " depicts Simms , as part of Blue Squadron , taking part in a trench run at the Battle of Yavin which contradicts the battle as depicted in . The trench run in the game is almost identical to that of the movie — only the persons involved are different . The game depicts Blue Squadron attempting a trench run with Simms entering first while Rookie One joins Murleen and Harris in providing cover . As they negotiate down the long trench the group is pursued by three TIE fighters , including a TIE Advanced x1 which was presumably intended to be the one used by Vader in the movie . The TIEs open fire , killing Harris and forcing Murleen to pull out , echoing the fates of Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles in the movie . Simms finally reaches firing range but his torpedoes impact on the surface , leaving Rookie One next to make an attempt , mirroring Garven Dreis ' s failed attempt . In the game , it is Rookie One ' s shot that is depicted as destroying the battlestation , as opposed to Skywalker ' s . In December 2006 , Leland Chee commented on the StarWars . com Message Boards that Rookie One ' s trench run was non - continuity . " The Essential Guide to Warfare " ( 2012 ) later confirmed that Blue Squadron were assigned to attack the Death Star ' s superlaser while Red and Gold Squadrons attacked the trench . The character was retcon ned by 1998 ' s " Star Wars Encyclopedia " as being Blue Leader as depicted in the of . This retcon was later repeated in " " and the third edition of " A Guide to the Star Wars Universe " . All three sources misspell the character ' s name as " Merrick Simm . " The first and second editions of " A Guide to the Star Wars Universe " featured information on the characters as " Blue Leader " , as did the " Star Wars PocketModel TCG " . Simms ' entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " established that he " believed life should be entertaining and could think of no more enjoyable place to be than engaged in combat with the Empire . " This description had been previously used to describe Ace Merrick , a character from " Rebel Assault " sequel , " " . Despite their similar names , the two are different characters — Merrick dies in combat with TIE Phantoms during 3 ABY while Simms is killed later at the Battle of Endor .