Daultay Dofine/Legends

"Viceroy, I don't want this stunted slime in my sight again."

- Darth Sidious, to Nute Gunray about Daultay Dofine

Daultay Dofine was the Neimoidian captain of the Trade Federation Lucrehulk-class battleship Saak'ak during the blockade and invasion of Naboo. Born to an influential family, Dofine quickly rose through the ranks of the Federation, utilizing a combination of backstabbing and family ties. He quickly made a reputation for himself in the Outer Rim Territories as a harasser of traders and a hunter of pirates. By 33 BBY, he was the commander of the Federation cruiser Revenue.

While at Dorvalla, the Revenue was lost in an altercation with the Nebula Front terrorist group, and Dofine then found himself in command of the Acquisitor. He also made his way into Viceroy Nute Gunray's inner circle, and he was made privy to Gunray's communications with the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Dofine later came to captain the Saak'ak, and then the Droid Control Ship Vuutun Palaa during the Federation's occupation of Naboo. He perished when the Droid Control Ship was destroyed in a battle with the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps.

Early life
Daultay Dofine was born on to an influential family on Neimoidia, which would present him with numerous advantages later in life, although he was said, by some, to be the runt of his hive. In addition to his influence, Dofine commanded significant wealth. The Dofines had, for a considerable amount of time, been in the service of the Trade Federation, and at some stage, Dofine began serving the Trade Federation directly as a starship officer. He was followed in this path by his cousin, Lushros Dofine.

Though a combination of back-stabbing, groveling, and family connections, towards his superiors in the Federation, Dofine was able to climb through the ranks, in spite of his only marginal competence. He was particularly adept at economically organizing Federation convoys, and negotiating with traders. Dofine consistently would underpay his suppliers, and made sure that those suppliers had no one else to turn to for help. He also made active efforts to eliminate smugglers and pirates. Since he had no military experience or knowledge, Dofine's main tactic was to stall his targets with platitudes while assessing how to best seize their assets. Dofine's convoys would also capture the cargo and ships of traders not under contract to the Federation. Those traders would always pay compensation, but as a result, Dofine quickly became an unpopular figure in the Outer Rim Territories.

Incident at Dorvalla
"The sooner we leave Dorvalla, the better."

- Daultay Dofine

By 33 BBY, Dofine, now a commander, was in charge of the Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter Revenue. Among the ship's crew was a wide variety of non-Neimoidians&mdash;a fact that Dofine did not enjoy, but he understood that the Federation had to employ such types as an obligation to their allies. He and his crew spent many months in deep space, and was dispatched to Dorvalla, several times, where the Revenue took on a significant quantity of lommite ore. The first time, Dorvalla Mining claimed that the Federation's payment was short by 20,000 Republic credits. On the second visit, they claimed that the Federation was short 50,000 credits, but Dofine attempted to deflect them by having their representative recheck her figures. On the third visit, once the ship had finished loading, Dofine ordered his fighters to be recalled to the Revenue, as he wished to depart Dorvalla as soon as possible. Once the rest of his crew had returned from Dorvalla's surface, he would be free to deliver his cargo to its destination, Sluis Van. During its third visit to the planet, the Revenue also held a hefty supply of aurodium ingots&mdash;bribes from Outer Rim worlds that wanted to stay in the Federation's favor.

Before he was able to, yet again he received a transmission from Dorvalla Mining, this time claiming that he was short 100,000 credits. The female Human representative talked to Dofine directly this time, confronting him on the issue. The commander dismissed the missing credits as additional expenses, citing Dorvalla's relative remoteness. The representative was not satisfied however, but Dofine merely suggested that she take up the issue with the Trade Commission on Coruscant, before terminating the transmission. As he proceeded with his work, Dofine noticed that the ship's scanner array was picking up something. He soon found out that it was incoming craft: CloakShape fighters and a Tempest-class gunship.

Aghast at what he correctly perceived to be an attack, Dofine began to panic. His systems officer then reported a disturbance in zone two of the ship's starboard hangar arm, claiming that the droids had begun firing at one of the cargo pods. The officer suggested that it might have been a glitch, but the commander had other concerns when his crew reported that the incoming ships bore the insignia of the Nebula Front, a group of terrorists. The gunship was identified as the Hawk-Bat, which was captained by Arwen Cohl. Dofine was in disbelief; Cohl had been reportedly sighted near Malastare only a day prior. Meanwhile, the systems officer reported that eight security droids had been destroyed.

Dofine was far more concerned with the incoming attack, however. The CloakShape fighters engaged the Revenue, which retaliated with its turbolasers. The nearest Federation presence was the more heavily armed Acquisitor, but the commander was reluctant to call for help, considering the act humiliating. Nevertheless, he send out a distress signal. Launching his fighters to engage the attackers, Dofine learned that several infiltrators had been able to sneak aboard one of the cargo pods from Dorvalla, and infiltrate the Revenue. They had subsequently engaged the security droids in zone two of the starboard hangar arm, causing the disturbance. In response, Dofine had the area sealed off.

The ship continued to be pummeled by the Nebula Front's ships, and when the Revenue shields fell to 40%, Dofine had the central computer activate all droids and defenses, in preparation for boarders. The commander was determined not to let Cohl's band of infiltrators set foot on his bridge, but his efforts were not enough&mdash;the Nebula Front fighters, led by Cohl personally, blew in the door to the bridge, and took Dofine and his men captive. Cohl was not interested in the lommite ore, but the aurodium ingots on board. Dofine was defiant at first, unwilling to surrender their location, but Cohl revealed that the Revenue would be destroyed within sixty minutes should the commander not cooperate. Before Dofine could reveal the location of the ingots, the Acquisitor entered the system.

As the new arrival engaged the Nebula Front ships, Cohl had Dofine placed in restraints, and led out of the bridge, and towards the ship's security cabin. There, he and his compatriots extracted the ingots, and Cohl ordered that the ship's cargo pods be jettisoned. Curious as to why the intruder would save the ship's lommite cargo, Dofine was told that the pods would confuse the Acquisitor gunners. As Cohl and his men prepared to board the cargo pod they had used to infiltrate the Revenue, Dofine asked what was to be come of he and his crew. The pirate captain suggested that he empty one of the other cargo pods, and use that to escape, but the Neimoidian claimed that he would not survive the experience. Cohl then suggested that he hurry and use one of the Revenue escape pods. Dofine and his crew successfully reached an escape pod, and contacted the commander of the Acquisitor, Nap Lagard, insisting that he be put into contact with Viceroy Nute Gunray. Once his pod was recovered by the Acquisitor, Dofine was greeted personally by Lagard, before speaking with Gunray via hologram. Reporting what had happened, Dofine was surprised to hear that the viceroy was pleased with the developments. Subsequently, Gunray ordered the commander to take command of the Acquisitor, and withdraw from Dorvalla immediately. Meanwhile, the Revenue was destroyed.

Expansion and development
In the wake of the Incident at Dorvalla, Dofine took the Acquisitor back to Neimoidia. To compensate for any potential humiliation that Dofine would face in the wake of the Incident at Dorvalla, Gunray brought the commander into his inner circle of advisors. While at Neimoidia, he personally met with Gunray, Rune Haako, and Hath Monchar aboard his new ship. Together, the four Neimoidians were given demonstrations of new vehicles and munitions by representatives from Haor Chall Engineering and Baktoid Armor Workshop. It was Gunray's hope that by outfitting the Federation with newer, more plentiful weapons and defenses, they could avoid a repeat of Dorvalla. The two companies had been contacted by Gunray's new ally, the clandestine Darth Sidious, as Haako noted. Both he and Dofine were disturbed by the development, but Gunray insisted that they obey Sidious, if they wanted to enjoy longevity.

Dofine and Monchar later aired their misgivings on the alliance with Sidious to Gunray, but he chose to remain in league with the Sith Lord. Later that year, during the Eriadu Trade Summit, all of the Trade Federation Directorate, save for Gunray, were assassinated, making Gunray the sole leader of the Federation. In the wake of the summit, Dofine joined Gunray, Monchar, and Haako aboard the Saak'ak, while Gunray communicated with Sidious. Gunray was aghast at what had occurred at Eriadu, but Sidious pointed out that the viceroy was now clear to acquire an army for the Federation&mdash;an army that the Sith Lord wanted to put to the test. With the Galactic Senate's taxation of trade routes as a motive, Sidious suggested that they blockade Naboo, homeworld of Senator Palpatine, who had championed the taxation bill. Sidious was confident that Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum would not directly interfere with such a movement, and advised the Neimoidians to deal swiftly with any Jedi Knights who happened to interfere with the operation.

Several months later, in 32 BBY, the Trade Federation commissioned Trinkatta Starships with building fifty hyperdrive-equipped droid starfighters, which later went missing. Sidious dispatched Dofine and Haako to investigate Trinkatta Starships, find the missing fighters, and silence whoever had informed the Jedi Council of their whereabouts. As their mission was to be a covert one, the pair masqueraded as Duros traders. Haako first planned to investigate the Trinkatta Starships factory. Once they reached Calamar Intergalactic Spaceport on Esseles, Dofine suggested that they contact Gunray and update him as to their situation, but Haako scolded him, reminding the captain that their mission was supposed to be a secret. Before departing for the factory, Haako and Dofine decided to enjoy some refreshments at a local cantina, The Ion Sandbox.

There, they noticed Boll Trinkatta meeting with his test pilot, Bama Vook. Once Haako decided that they should move on from The Ion Sandbox, Dofine noticed Vook and Trinkatta leaving with two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The pair of Neimoidians followed the group to Docking Bay 28, where Vook's ship was parked. Once there, they overheard that the fighters were aboard a Bartokk freighter outbound from Esseles. They reported their findings to Gunray, who in turn relayed them onto Sidious. Sidious in turn decided to deal with the matter personally, and privately.

Later that year, the Saak'ak was taken out into Wild Space, where Gunray hoped to keep his new army hidden from prying eyes. While there, Monchar disappeared, apparently having taken a hyperspace-capable spacecraft from the ship's hangar, and a holocron containing information pertinent to the upcoming blockade of Naboo. When Sidious contacted Gunray again, Dofine and Haako were present. The Sith Lord was curious as to why Monchar was absent, but the viceroy lied, claiming that his lieutenant had been taken ill. Sidious was not concerned however, and he proceeded to explain to Dofine and Haako how they would hide their new droids, vehicles, and weaponry in their cargo ships, in preparation for their blockade of Naboo.

A short time later, Dofine and Haako received a transmission from the Federation representative on Coruscant. A member of the Federation had been killed there, and although the body had not been positively identified, a piece of cloth found at the scene belonged to the deputy viceroy's mitre&mdash;that of Monchar. Another body found nearby had been positively identified: it was that of bounty hunter Mahwi Lihnn. Together, Dofine and Haako relayed their news to Gunray, and began dreading having to tell Sidious of the development. The Neimoidians did not suffer any repercussions from the Sith Lord, however.

Invasion of Naboo
"I knew it. They're here to force a settlement."

- Daultay Dofine

As planned, the Federation blockaded Naboo, citing the taxation of trade routes as their inspiration. Dofine was by now captain of the Saak'ak, the flagship of the Federation fleet, and by this time, he had fallen under investigation by the Bureau of Ships and Services. Dofine's presence at Naboo was seen as a comfort by the Republic, as it was known that the captain preferred a non-confrontational solution to most issues. Chancellor Valorum responded to the situation by dispatching two ambassadors to the Saak'ak, in the hopes of resolving the dispute. When the ambassadors arrived, however, the droid assigned to wait on them, TC-14, reported to Gunray and Dofine that she believed them to be Jedi Knights. They were, in fact, Jinn and Kenobi, the Jedi Dofine and Haako had spotted on Esseles. The captain believed that the Chancellor had sent Jedi to force a settlement of the blockade, but Gunray had other ideas. He ordered Dofine to go and personally distract the Jedi while he contacted Sidious, but the captain balked at the suggestion, instead sending TC-14 back to do the job.

As Gunray entered communications with Sidious, Dofine informed the Sith Lord that their plot had finished, as they did not dare to move against Jedi Knights. Sidious utterly ignored the captain, and requested of the viceroy that he never see Dofine again. The captain, humbled, departed, leaving Gunray and Haako to converse with the Sith Lord. The Jedi were eventually chased off the ship, and Sidious gave the order for Gunray to invade Naboo. The viceroy did so, and his forces were successfully able to capture Theed, the planet's capital. Once the planet was seemingly secure, the blockade was dismissed, and only the Droid Control Ship Vuutun Palaa remained. Dofine was placed in command of the Droid Control Ship, from which the entirety of the Trade Federation Droid Army's presence of Naboo was controlled.

The Naboo, however, were able to rally together in an attempt to beat back the invaders. The Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps launched N-1 starfighters to engage the Vuutun Palaa, while the Gungan Grand Army moved to engage OOM-9's forces at the Great Grass Plains. While Dofine's own Vulture droids engaged the N-1s, he activated OOM-9's forces at Grassy Plains, allowing them to engage the Gungans. As the battle raged outside the Droid Control Ship, officer Tey How reported that the ship's main reactor was losing power. Dofine dismissed the report, claiming that nothing could have penetrated the ship's deflector shield. Nevertheless, it was true: a child, Anakin Skywalker, piloting one of the N-1 starfighters, had been able to fly into the Vuutun Palaa's starboard hangar, and fire a pair of proton torpedos into the ship's main reactor. As a result, a chain reaction was enacted, causing the ship to be consumed and ripped in half and forcing Anakin to quickly escape through the ship's main hangar. As he saw the starfighters leaving the ship, the control computer exploded in front of the entire crew as the core room consumed them, claiming all on board in the process.

Personality and traits
"Are you brain dead? I'm not going in there with two Jedi. Send the droid."

- Daultay Dofine

Daultay Dofine was an exceptionally fearful being, especially of beings that wielded considerable power, such as Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. He was not afraid to disobey beings such as Viceroy Nute Gunray, but he followed Darth Sidious' dictates without question, except when faced with a particularly challenging situation. Dofine was also supremely confident in the capabilities of the technology at his disposal. He was, however, a cowardly being, and a self-indulgent one, as reflected by his mottled skin. Dofine also suffered from laziness, and was exceptionally greedy.

Dofine was proud, and defiant in the face of adversity&mdash;until threatened. He believed Neimoidians to be superior to other species, and disliked having to work with non-Neimoidians as his crew. While he was the commander of the Revenue, Dofine became increasingly paranoid, and he took to pacing up and down the bridge. The Neimoidian was also flippant on occasion, as he was while dealing with Dorvalla Mining. He was also very apprehensive about Gunray's alliance with Darth Sidious&mdash;a view shared by some of his colleagues, such as Hath Monchar.

The captain was widely despised by independent cargo freighter captains, whom he would prey on and seize immediately. If confronted, Dofine would always claimed that he mistook the independent captains for pirates. In time, Dofine racked up a significant list of complaints against his name. No legal action was taken against the captain, but he did come under close scrutiny from the Bureau of Ships and Services. The bureau was able later to provide critical information on Dofine's demeanor and nature, which included back-stabbing and an aversion to confrontation, to the Jedi Knights dispatched to resolve the blockade.

Behind the scenes
The character of Daultay Dofine was conceived by George Lucas for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In the revised rough draft of the film's script, Dofine was described as short and fat, although by production, the character was thin, much like the other Neimoidian characters. In the film, Dofine was played by Alan Ruscoe, although his voice was provided by Chris Sanders.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Cloak of Deception
 * Episode I Adventures 2: The Bartokk Assassins
 * Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novelization
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace script facsimile
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace PhotoComic
 * Star Wars Manga: The Phantom Menace