Dak Ralter/Legends

"Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself!" "I know what you mean."

- Dak Ralter and Luke Skywalker

Dak Ralter was a snowspeeder pilot and gunner in the Rebel Alliance.

Biography


Born to prisoners of an Imperial labor colony on Kalist VI, Ralter had no concept of freedom until he met a Rebel pilot imprisoned in the colony. The pilot told Ralter of the world beyond Kalist VI, and together they plotted an escape out of the labor colony. Ralter managed to get away, but the Rebel pilot died during the effort.

In 1 ABY he was seen in Dearic on the planet Talus.

To honor the man responsible for his freedom, Ralter joined the Rebel Alliance pilot corps. He underwent a rapid training program and was deployed at Echo Base with Rogue Squadron. During the Battle of Hoth, Ralter served as Luke Skywalker's snowspeeder gunner. As Luke and Dak prepared to make the first attack run on an Imperial AT-AT using their snowspeeder's tow cable to trip it, a direct hit on the rear of the vehicle from one of the walkers likely killed Dak instantly, and any chance of his survival was thwarted when a walker trampled the downed speeder while it passed as Luke escaped the crashed speeder.

Behind the scenes

 * Dak Ralter was portrayed by John Morton in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Throughout most of the history of Star Wars, Ralter's first name was spelled "Dack." However, this changed with the release of the DVDs, whose subtitles revealed his name should actually be spelled "Dak." Lucasfilm employee Leland Chee has indicated that future publications will reflect this decision.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novel
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars 40: The Empire Strikes Back: Battleground: Hoth
 * X-wing: Rogue Squadron
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge
 * Shield of Lies

Notes and references
Dak Ralter