Bren Derlin/Legends

"There is no one else I would even consider."

- General Carlist Rieekan, when asked about his choice for the role of head of security and operations at Echo Base

Bren Derlin was an officer in the Rebel Alliance and New Republic, and the son of Senator Galen Derlin.

Biography
Derlin was born on the planet Tiisheraan sometime before the fall of the Old Republic.

One of his earliest assignments in the Alliance Army had him stationed at Yavin Base serving under General Jan Dodonna. He was able to evacuate the base during the Fourth Battle of Yavin IV, thanks to assistance from Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles. He served with Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles once again at the Battle of Ralltiir, where he led a contingent of Rebel troopers that defended a Blockade Runner. At the battle's end, a group of Stormtroopers attempted to board the ship, and Derlin's troops fought them off with few casualties.

As a captain in the Alliance military, Derlin served under Carlist Rieekan for quite a while, participating in several campaigns in numerous skirmishes throughout the galaxy. However, it was his service at the Battle of Nentan shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star that gained him fame and a well-deserved promotion. Nentan was the location of a Rebel safeworld, a stopover for liberated civilians seeking asylum from the Empire. The Nentan base was barely two months old when it was discovered by Imperial forces. With an overload of civilians and little time to evacuate, Rieekan realized that many military personnel would have to be left behind to buy time for the civilians to escape. Derlin, however, devised an ingenious, if not unorthodox, plan to safely evacuate everyone. He led an "expendable" force, including the entire group of endangered military personnel, away from the abandoned base, where he knew the Imperials would throw everything they had to crush the facility in a typical show of force. That meant leaving their transports under relatively little protection. Derlin's group eliminated the few guards and stole a single landing barge, blasting away from the planet and past an Imperial Star Destroyer in orbit before the Imperials knew what had happened. Rieekan immediately promoted Derlin to the rank of Major for his heroics.

"We had the Battle of Gormen won, until the AT-ATs arrived. They came out of the fog and ripped apart the front lines. The locals ran in terror, but the experienced surrendered. We knew that you can't outrun an AT-AT."

- Major Bren Derlin

Sometime before 2 ABY, Major Derlin served at the Battle of Gormen as field commander. A group of AT-ATs inflicted considerable damage to both Rebel forces and Gormen civilians. Derlin was one of the few to escape the battle, as many Rebel soldiers simply surrendered rather than try to escape the giant walkers.

Also prior to 2 ABY, he traveled to the planet Filsan for a recruitment operation. There, his new Rebel recruits were attacked by Cene Gilvent, a female Ocsinin swordsbeing. The group of recruits were battered, but survived the encounter. Derlin was so convinced of the the threat she posed, he wrote a report to the Task Force on Alliance Security. He explained her skill and suggested a sharpshooter to eliminate her.

When the Rebellion began constructing the new Echo Base on the planet Hoth in 1 ABY, Derlin was assigned to Major Kem Monnon's Corps of Engineers as a supervisor. When the base was completed in 2 ABY, General Rieekan, theater commander in charge of all Rebel forces in the Hoth system, made Derlin chief of security and operations, a testament to the Major's prior history serving under him. The troops of Echo Base roundly supported Rieekan's decision.

"Your Highness, there is nothing more we can do tonight. The shield doors must be closed."

- Major Derlin to Princess Leia Organa

His primary duty on Hoth was to ensure that Echo Base was up and running no matter what happened. It was a thankless job that Derlin carried out efficiently. When Luke Skywalker and Han Solo were stranded in a blizzard on the Hoth wastes in 3 ABY, it was Derlin's duty to inform Princess Leia Organa that the base's shield doors had to be closed for the night. The Princess stoically complied, leaving her friends to their fates in order to best serve the Rebellion's cause.



When the Empire discovered the existence of Echo Base and launched the ground assault that would become known as the Battle of Hoth, Major Derlin commanded a battalion of soldiers, including 4th Squad. During the battle, he went into the middle of the battlefield to save Luke Skywalker after he crashed his snowspeeder. He helped Skywalker escape the crossfire by riding away on a tauntaun, and shortly afterward helped him and a squad of Rebels defeat an Imperial landing party. He then rode away to save a squad of troops that were cut off from the retreat. Derlin survived the crushing defeat and escaped the planet.

In 4 ABY, he led the Endor Strike Team, consisting of survivors from the Battle of Hoth, to the Sanctuary Moon of Endor to destroy the shield generator protecting the Second Death Star. His team was successful in bringing down the shield, opening the way for the Alliance Fleet to destroy the battlestation.

After the formation of the New Republic, he served in New Republic Intelligence; he was promoted to colonel by the time of the Thrawn Offensive. By the Yevetha Crisis he had retired with the rank of Brigadier, and led the Alliance Veteran's Victory Association.

Behind the scenes
Derlin was portrayed by John Ratzenberger in The Empire Strikes Back. He was voiced by Tom Virtue in the radio dramatization of Return of the Jedi, and by Wayne Grace in the video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike.

In the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, Derlin's card notes "At the Mos Eisley Cantina, everybody knows his name." The line is a reference to the theme song of Cheers, in which Ratzenberger appeared as "Cliff Clavin."

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novel
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars 39: The Empire Strikes Back: Beginning
 * Entrenched
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi radio drama
 * Fists of Ion
 * The Deposition of General Solo
 * Night Attack
 * The Last Command
 * Tyrant's Test
 * Tyrant's Test

Notes and references
Bren Derlin Bren Derlin