Nera Dantels Nera Dantels was a Human female smuggler and captain of the freighter " Starduster " who joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War . In 0 BBY , the Alliance had a critical shortage of astromech droids , and Dantels arranged to rendezvous with members of Red Squadron on Commenor to deliver a dozen R2 and R5 - series astromech droid s to the Rebels . The group came under attack from Imperial TIE fighters as they attempted to leave the Commenor system , but Dantels managed to take the " Starduster " to hyperspace and followed Red Squadron to the Rebel base on Yavin 4 . While there , Dantels helped Red Squadron pilot Biggs Darklighter to find a rare plant in the jungle , an extract from which was used to treat pilot Derek Klivian , who was suffering from an unknown infection . Dantels and Darklighter began a brief relationship , but Darklighter was killed in combat against the Empire ' s Death Star battlestation soon after . Seven months later , Dantels was part of a diplomatic team sent to Jabiim to negotiate an alliance with the Jabiimi Loyalists . When the Jabiimi realized that Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker was the son of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker , who had abandoned them during the Second Battle of Jabiim in the Clone Wars , Dantels and the other Rebels were taken into custody . Escaping during a subsequent Imperial attack on the Loyalist base , Dantels and Princess Leia Organa reached the " Starduster " and returned to rescue Skywalker . Unable to help the Loyalists as the Imperials began an orbital bombardment of the planet , Dantels and the other Rebels were forced to flee . Two months after the Jabiim mission , Dantels joined Dagger Squadron in a raid to rescue a Rebel team that had been stranded on the Imperial refueling and supply depot Bannistar Station . Biography . Rebel smuggler . The early life of the Human female Nera Dantels was shrouded in mystery , but by the early Galactic Civil War she was an experienced smuggler and captain of the freighter " Starduster " , with contacts on most of the major galactic trade worlds and a reputation for being able to obtain almost anything . Around this time , the Alliance to Restore the Republic was in desperate need of weapons and ships for their fight against the Galactic Empire . Choosing to abandon her neutrality , Dantels decided to assist the Rebellion by helping to acquire the necessary supplies . Shortly before the Battle of Yavin , the Alliance acquired a number of T - 65 X - wing starfighter s from an Incom Corporation assembly facility , but a critical shortage of the astromech droids used for hyperspace navigation and systems management left them unable to use the new starfighters . Aware of the Alliance ' s supply problems , the Galactic Empire placed strict controls on astromech droids in order to keep them out of Rebel hands . The Alliance contacted Dantels and recruited her to obtain and deliver a cargo of astromech droids . Dantels managed to acquire some droids and attempted to make a delivery to the Rebels , but she was almost caught when Imperial Intelligence broke the Rebel underground on Averam while she was on the planet . Although she managed to get her people to safety , her cargo was lost in the process . By calling in favors from some of her contacts and bribing others , Dantels managed to acquire a dozen more R2 and R5 - series astromech droid s , and once again attempted to smuggle them to the Alliance , arranging to meet with Rebel operatives on the Imperial stronghold world of Commenor . A Rebel team consisting of Red Squadron pilots Wedge Antilles , Biggs Darklighter , Cesi Eirriss , and Jek Porkins proceeded to Commenor , where they were told to play sabacc in a local cantina until Dantels made contact . Shortly after they arrived , Dantels initiated an override tap into the flux field of one of Antilles ' s cards , changing the image on the card to direct the Rebels to meet her at Hangar Bay 31 , where she was waiting with the " Starduster " . After meeting with the Rebels , Dantels agreed to meet them in orbit and follow them back to their destination . Upon leaving the planet ' s atmosphere , however , Dantels detected TIE fighters approaching from a secret Imperial base on Commenor ' s moon , Folor . Antilles and Darklighter moved to intercept the oncoming TIEs in their X - wings , leaving Eirriss and Porkins to defend the " Starduster " . With help from Dantels , using the laser cannons aboard her vessel to destroy two Imperial fighters that made it past her escort , Red Squadron soon eliminated the first wave . However , Eirriss ' s fighter was damaged in the dogfight . Antilles instructed Eirriss to eject so that Dantels could pick her up in the " Starduster " , but Eirriss instead set a collision course for the oncoming second wave of Imperial fighters , telling the other Rebels to leave without her . Dantels and the others jumped to hyperspace moments after Eirriss ' s starfighter collided with the Imperials , and proceeded to the Rebel base on Yavin 4 . The Battle of Yavin . After personally delivering the astromech droids to General Jan Dodonna , the head of the Alliance ' s Starfighter Command , Dantels remained on Yavin 4 and agreed to go on a date with Darklighter , spending the evening walking the parapets of the ancient Massassi Temple that served as the Alliance base . Sensing that Darklighter was distracted , Dantels asked what was wrong , and he explained that his friend and fellow pilot Derek Klivian was dying from an unknown disease that was resistant to bacta therapy . A few days later , she offered to accompany Darklighter and Doctor Shae Polikex into the Yavin 4 jungle in search of a plant extract that had cured members of the original survey team who had fallen victim to a similar infection . As the three Rebels proceeded through the jungle , Darklighter was attacked by a swarm of viper wasp s , but Dantels was able to repel the insects with a smoke grenade . Soon after , however , a large mamien attacked the group , taking Darklighter by surprise and knocking him to the ground . As it moved in for the kill , Dantels opened fire with her blaster pistol . The creature survived her attack , but as it turned its attention on her , Darklighter was able to reach his vibroblade and use it to kill the predator . Pressing on once more , the group eventually came across the plant they needed and were able to retrieve an extract . They were still in the jungle when Darklighter received a call on his comlink ordering him back to base — the Empire ' s Death Star battlestation had entered the Yavin system and was moving to destroy the Rebel base . After returning to base , Darklighter prepared to participate in a Rebel attack on the approaching battlestation . Dantels promised that , if anything happened to him , she would take care of Luke Skywalker , his old friend from Tatooine who had recently joined the Alliance . Before he left , she approached Darklighter in the base ' s hangar and told him to come back safely , kissing him and leaving without waiting for an answer . The Rebels suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Yavin , and Darklighter was among those killed before Skywalker succeeded in destroying the Death Star . Following the battle , Dantels visited a holographic memorial to Darklighter with Klivian , who had recovered from his infection after treatment with the plant extract . Diplomacy on Jabiim . Dantels continued to work with the Alliance over the following months , putting her piloting skills at their disposal and earning the respect of her fellow pilots , including Vin Nothos , whom she saved when they were ambushed on a supply run through the Momansi Belt . Seven months after the Battle of Yavin , the Jabiimi Loyalist leader Nolan Gillmunn invited Alliance representatives to the war - torn planet Jabiim to request their assistance in his fight against Imperial occupation and the Jabiimi Nationalist party . Dantels was selected to join Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan , statistician Jorin Sol , and Rogue Squadron pilots Luke Skywalker , Wedge Antilles , and Darek Klivian in the diplomatic party . With Dantels carrying Organa and Sol aboard the " Starduster " , the Rebels arrived at Jabiim to find Gillmunn ' s Loyalists under attack by TIE bombers and Imperial stormtroopers . Despite eliminating the attacking Imperials , Dantels and the other Rebels were greeted with suspicion by the Jabiimi , who distrusted off - worlders since they had been abandoned by the forces of Galactic Republic General Anakin Skywalker during the Second Battle of Jabiim in the Clone Wars . However , Gillmunn welcomed the group , and , while Antilles and Klivian kept patrol in orbit , Dantels and the other Rebels went with Gillmunn to the Loyalist base . The negotiations did not last long , however ; when the Jabiimi realized that Luke Skywalker was the son of the man who had betrayed them twenty years earlier , they attempted to attack the Rebel party . Although Gillmunn was able to prevent the situation turning to violence , Dantels , Organa , and Sol were taken into custody and separated from Skywalker . Locked up and placed under guard , Dantels and Organa discussed potential escape plans but initially decided to wait and see how the situation developed . Before long , the Loyalist base came under attack by Imperial and Jabiimi Nationalist forces . Deciding that they could wait no longer , the Rebels fled their cell , accompanied by their guard , Luscen . As they made their way out of the base , they were attacked by a pair of stormtroopers , who shot Luscen and ordered the others to surrender . Moving quickly , Dantels grabbed the fallen guard ' s blaster pistol and shot both stormtroopers dead . At that moment , the Rebels were approached by the Jabiimi Loyalist Tal Hesz , who told them that Skywalker was with Gillmunn and that they were to rendezvous in the outlying hills . Following Hesz to a pair of speeder bikes , the Rebels set off for the rendezvous point , with Dantels and Organa following on one bike , while Hesz and Sol took the lead on the other . Before long , Hesz stopped at the edge of a minefield running through a narrow canyon . As the Imperials approached from behind , Organa decided to press on , hoping that her speeder bike could outrun the exploding mines . Hesz , however , had sold out the Rebels and allowed both himself and Sol to be captured by the Imperials . With their speeder damaged by the mines , the two remaining Rebels were unable to help Sol and decided to press on to the " Starduster " . They arrived to find Organa ' s droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 pinned down near the ship by an All Terrain Scout Transport and several stormtroopers . Using the droids as a distraction , Dantels and Organa sneaked aboard the " Starduster " , and Dantels used its laser cannons to eliminate the Imperials . After recovering the droids , the pair were joined by Antilles and Klivian , who had managed to break through an Imperial armada that had arrived in orbit . Organa hoped to save the Jabiimi , but Dantels and Antilles persuaded her that there was nothing they could do ; their only hope was to escape and send reinforcements . As the Imperial forces began an orbital bombardment of the planet , Dantels and the other Rebels headed back to the Loyalist base in search of Skywalker and Gillmunn . After Antilles and Klivian cleared the area of Imperials , Dantels took the " Starduster " down to retrieve their allies . Gillmunn refused to leave but insisted that the Rebels could not save the planet and should flee . As Gillmunn led the surviving Loyalists to the relative safety of the planet ' s underground mines , Skywalker boarded the " Starduster " , and Dantels took the ship to the safety of hyperspace . Rescue from Bannistar Station . Two months later , the Alliance Fleet came under attack by elements of the Imperial Navy commanded by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader and was forced to flee into hyperspace . The " Providence " - class carrier / destroyer " Rebel One " failed to rendezvous with the rest of the Fleet , and Dantels was among several officers on the bridge of Admiral Gial Ackbar ' s flagship , " Home One " , when a message was received from Alliance spymaster Tungo Li aboard " Rebel One " advising them that the ship had become stranded at Bannistar Station , a major Imperial refueling and supply hub in the Mid Rim . Li informed the Rebels that " Rebel One " crew , including Organa and Skywalker , was planning to infiltrate and destroy the station and that they did not expect to survive . When Ackbar refused to risk elements of the Fleet to rescue them , insisting that they were unprepared to charge into enemy territory , Dantels and Lieutenant Netrem Pollard of Dagger Squadron resolved to come up with another option . The Rebels soon intercepted a transmission revealing that Organa and Skywalker had been captured , and , despite Ackbar ' s reservations , Pollard planned to take Dagger Squadron ' s B - wing starfighters to rescue them . Dantels volunteered to accompany them in the " Starduster " , but Pollard felt that the " Starduster " was not nimble enough and would jeopardize the mission . When Dantels insisted , however , he reluctantly agreed to let her fly one of Dagger Squadron ' s B - wings , joining Pollard , Vin Nothos , and Callen Troyt in place of the Verpine pilot Suskafoo . By the time Dagger Squadron arrived in the system , Lieutenant Deena Shan , having avoided capture with the other Rebels on Bannistar Station , had managed to destroy a large section of the station with a thermal detonator , providing a distraction that allowed her comrades to escape . Shan rendezvoused with Organa , Skywalker , and the other surviving Rebel operatives , Basso and Able , and the group attempted to flee in a stolen " Lambda " - class shuttle . Dagger Squadron intercepted the shuttle as it lifted from the station and took up escort positions as TIE fighters launched to stop the fleeing Rebels . While Nothos and Troyt cleared a path through the nearby Imperial capital ships , Dantels , acting as Pollard ' s wingmate , helped to protect the shuttle from the approaching TIEs . When they were clear , all five Rebel ships jumped to hyperspace and returned to " Home One " . Dantels remained a member of Dagger Squadron following their return , though she also continued to fly the " Starduster " . Personality and traits . By the time she joined the Rebellion , Nera Dantels was already an experienced smuggler who was known for her ability to acquire almost anything from her network of contacts throughout the galaxy . Her skills as a smuggler made her very useful to the fledgling Rebel Alliance , and she was willing to abandon her professional neutrality to join them . Passionate and headstrong , with her individuality proclaimed by the blue , curved tattoos around her eyes , Dantels refused to conform and was not willing to let either rules or people stand in her way . She did not want to wait around to be rescued when captured by the Jabiimi , and , when her friends were in danger on Bannistar Station , she refused to obey Admiral Ackbar ' s order not to attempt to rescue them . Although Dantels was accused of taking unnecessary risks , her experience and skill as a pilot earned her the respect of her peers , and , despite Netrem Pollard ' s initial concerns that her skills as a solo pilot would not translate to flying in a squadron , she successfully adapted to working as part of Dagger Squadron , becoming one of the first Rebel pilots to fly the B - wing starfighter in the process . Dantels was also skilled with a blaster pistol . Tall and slender , with dark hair , pale skin , and facial tattoos , Dantels had a striking appearance , which Biggs Darklighter described as exotic . Darklighter found himself attracted to Dantels when he first saw her on Commenor and , fearing that somebody else would beat him to it , wasted no time in asking her out . Dantels agreed to a date walking along the parapets of the Massassi Temple on Yavin 4 and soon found herself breaking her professional rules by falling in love with the young pilot . Dantels was concerned for Darklighter ' s safety after he was attacked by a mamien in the jungles of Yavin 4 and before he left to fight in the Battle of Yavin , visiting him in the hangar and bidding him to return to her . When Darklighter was killed in the battle , Dantels was stricken with grief and joined Darklighter ' s friend , Derek Klivian , in visiting his holographic memorial in the Rebel base to pay her respects . After Darklighter ' s death , Dantels was determined to see through her promise to him that she would take care of Luke Skywalker if anything happened to Darklighter . Behind the scenes . Nera Dantels was created by author Michael A . Stackpole for the 1997 Dark Horse Comics special " X - Wing Rogue Squadron ½ " . The events of " Rogue Squadron ½ " were later retold from Biggs Darklighter ' s perspective in the of the " " comic series ' " " story arc , written by Paul Chadwick and released in 2003 . " " expanded on Dantels ' time on Yavin 4 and her relationship with Darklighter . She later appeared again in " Empire " " " arc , written by Jeremy Barlow under the pseudonym " Thomas Andrews " and released in 2005 . Her most recent appearance was in " " story arc , written by Barlow and released in 2008 . Dantels also received entries in " The Official Star Wars Fact File 126 " , 2008 ' s " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , and 2009 ' s " Rebellion Era Campaign Guide " . A pilot card for Dantels was included in the " " " Rebel Aces Expansion Pack " , first released in 2014 .