Bren Derlin

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

- Major Bren Derlin

Derlin was a male Human officer of the Rebel Alliance. Bearing the rank of Major, Derlin served as the operations and security chief at Echo Base, the Alliance headquarters on the planet Hoth, under the command of General Rieekan. In that post, Derlin had to order the closing of the base door to avoid putting the whole base in risk. By doing so, however, he risked the lives of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, two valuable Rebels. Soon after that event, Derlin served during the Battle of Hoth.

Biography
"Okay. Everybody to your stations. Let's go!"

- Major Derlin, to Rebel pilots

A male Human, Derlin was part of the Rebel Alliance, a resistance group who opposed the dictatorial Galactic Empire. Following the Battle of Yavin, the Alliance chose to have a presence on the frozen planet Hoth, where they established Echo Base. Derlin was assigned Derlin there. One day, Commander Luke Skywalker and Captain Han Solo went on a patrol and failed to return to the base before the night. Major Derlin had to close the main doors of the Base, to protect the other people there from the cold night temperature&mdash;but at the same time, that meant leaving Skywalker and Solo outside for the night, with almost no chance of surviving. He waited at the main door, near Princess Leia Organa, an important dignitary of the base and close friend to both Skywalker and Solo. The young Deck Lieutenant of the base reported to Derlin that only Skywalker and Solo had failed to return. Derlin had the unenviable task to report Organa about the need of closing the doors. He waited for Organa to acknowledge his words, and then ordered the Deck Lieutenant to close the doors, apparently dooming his friends. The following day, Skywalker and Solo were rescued by the airspeeder searchers. Shortly thereafter, the Galactic Empire discovered Echo Base and organized a ground attack against it. Imperial General Veers commanded several highly-armored AT-ATs to raid the base. The commanders of the base assigned snowspeeders to the available pilots so that they could oppose the walkers, while the Alliance evacuated the planet in transports. Organa and Derlin briefed the pilots with their instructions, and they were quick to obey.

Behind the scenes
Major Derlin first appeared in the 1983 movie The Empire Strikes Back, where he was played by John Ratzenberger. In the Legends continuity, he was given the first name Bren.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back