Janek Sunber

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**Janek Sunber** was born on Tatooine and was a friend of Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter. Since he was the biggest of the group they gave him the nickname **Tank**. He was always eager to have fun, and would often steal his father's rifle so he could target womp rats in Beggar's Canyon on a T-16 Skyhopper with his friends.

He hoped they could all join the Imperial Navy and serve together as pilots, but he did not test well enough to be a pilot. Not wanting to miss out in a life of adventure he then joined the imperial Army.

## Biography

### Early Life

**Janek Sunber** was a native of Tatooine and a boyhood friend of Luke Skywalker, nicknamed "**Tank**" by his friends for his large frame. Growing up on a moisture farm, he set his sights on the skies and applied to become an Imperial pilot. His test scores were not sufficient, so instead he joined the Imperial Army. A dedicated and hardworking cadet, he graduated and quickly made lieutenant. Sunber saw his first combat at Maridun, when his company was attacked by a vastly superior Amanin force. During the battle, Sunber distinguished himself to his commander, and with his work ethic, quick thinking, bravery, and tactical aptitude. Sunber devised the strategy that saved the beleaguered Imperial camp, and when his commander was killed in battle, he devoted his dying words to praising Sunber and promoting him to the rank of commander. Sunber led the camp's defenders to victory, but his jealous former superior and now subordinate, Captain Gage, refused to verify Sunber's promotion after the battle.

### Encountering an Old Friend

Continuing his career as a lieutenant, Sunber eventually was assigned to rooting out the last of the Loyalists on Jabiim. They were taken as slaves to Kalist VI, which troubled Sunber. On Kalist VI, Sunber risked his career to prevent another lieutenant from raping a slave, but escaped punishment after a Rebel attack on the base. One of the participants was his old friend Skywalker. Sunber confronted him, refusing Skywalker's entreaties to join the Rebellion, as he still saw the Empire as the right side in the Galactic Civil War, a force for order. Skywalker escaped, leaving Sunber wounded.

### Dying for a Different Cause

Sunber was tormented by learning that Skywalker, as well as his other friend Biggs Darklighter, had become his enemies. He was unable to deal with the possibility that he might have chosen the wrong course, and eventually came to conclude that he had to stop his old friend. He volunteered his knowledge of Skywalker to Darth Vader, who tasked him to capture the Rebel hero. Sunber sent a message stating he wished to defect and was "rescued" by Skywalker, who brought him among the Alliance Fleet. There, Sunber attempted to subdue the young Jedi and the pair battled. Sunber had Skywalker at his mercy but could not kill his childhood friend when the ship was damaged in an attack by Vader's fleet. Sunber found himself hanging on the edge of a pit, an unconscious and wounded Leia Organa grasped in his hand. He saved the Rebel leader, handing her up to Skywalker, before he lost his grip and fell away.

## Personality and Traits

As a young man, Janek Sunber dreamed of escaping Tatooine, becoming an Imperial pilot, and gaining prestige in wider society. When that dream could not be fulfilled, he put his hopes in the infantry rather than return home humiliated, his dreams of glory crushed. He envied Darklighter's and Skywalker's position as pilots, but was proud of them and confident of his friends' success. Sunber found his own success as an infantry officer, earning the respect of the veteran General Ziering, who proclaimed him "a natural" at command.

Sunber was a hard worker. Willing to do whatever the situation required of him, he would labor or put his life on the line for the Empire, and preferred not to ask his subordinates to do anything he himself would not do. Originally a wild and headstrong youth, Imperial training brought him to value personal discipline and orderliness. Combat experience forced him to mature even more swiftly. He believed strongly in duty, and would give no less than his all in pursuit of it. Despite his strong loyalty to the Empire and what he perceived as an orderly and just system, he was not entirely comfortable with all its practices. Slave-taking especially troubled him, as his grandfather had been a slave, but he faithfully saw through his orders nonetheless. He attempted to rationalize Imperial slavery as a fate brought on by those who resisted, but he remained unconvinced of its justice. When he witnessed a fellow officer attempt to rape a prisoner and treat it as a matter of custom, Sunber furiously drew a blaster on him, determined to prevent an injustice.

When Sunber realized that Skywalker and Darklighter had joined the Rebellion, he was heartbroken and betrayed, confused by having his friends as his enemies. He remembered the good times he had had with them, but that only made him feel all the more betrayed by the fact that they had taken a stand against the Empire, killing its soldiers and standing in the way of order. He sometimes wondered if Skywalker and Darklighter had made the right choice—but quickly quashed that thought, as he could not deal with the idea that he might have dedicated his life to the wrong side, desperately rationalizing the Empire as the bringer of peace and stability to the galaxy. Instead, Sunber came to believe that he was somehow destined to stop Skywalker. However, Sunber was never quite able to kill Skywalker when given the chance, and ultimately decided to rescue Leia Organa before he plummeted away from Skywalker in their confrontation, robbing him of the need to make a clear choice.