Janek Sunber

"I thought you were my friend!''" "I am your friend. And that's why I know you won't shoot, Tank. No matter what side you're on, it doesn't change who'' you are. You know right from wrong&mdash;that's why you're going to let me finish my job."

- Janek Sunber and Luke Skywalker

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, General Ziering, with his work ethic, quick thinking, bravery, and tactical aptitude. Sunber devised the strategy that saved the beleaguered Imperial camp, and when Ziering 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.

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.

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.

Growing up
"The boy's a natural."

- Ziering, on Janek Sunber

A young man from Tatooine, the grandson of a slave, Janek Sunber was raised on a moisture farm near Anchorhead. On Hutt-dominated Tatooine, he learned Huttese in addition to Basic. He ran with a group of other Anchorhead youths near his age. As the biggest of the boys, he gained the nickname "Tank" by which he was commonly known. He was regarded as a mischievous rule-breaker, eager to have fun. He and his good friends Biggs Darklighter and Laze "Fixer" Loneozner were older than some of the other boys, like Windy Starkiller and Sunber's good friend Luke Skywalker, by a few years. This led to a phase in his mid-teens in which, able to do things such as drive landspeeders where Skywalker could not, he spent most of his time with the older boys, racing landspeeders and driving to Anchorhead to kill time at Tosche Station. As they aged, he returned to a close friendship with Skywalker. In one instance, he "borrowed" his father's blaster rifle to go womp rat hunting with Darklighter and Skywalker.

Growing up, Sunber was a skilled pilot, frequently flying through Beggar's Canyon with his friends. He hoped to put those skills to use as an Imperial pilot, cutting a glamorous and dashing figure. Darklighter and Skywalker were planning to become Imperial pilots as well, and Sunber was confident they would succeed and the three could serve together. However, when he applied to enter the Naval Academy on Prefsbelt IV, he did not test well enough to become a pilot.

Rather than admit defeat, Sunber chose a career in the Imperial Army. He left Tatooine in 1 BBY and went through training at the Academy of Carida, where his exceptional performance and tactical skill earned him a transfer to officer training. Within a year he graduated a lieutenant. Training broke him of his impetuosity, bringing him to see the value of discipline. As an army lieutenant, Sunber envied his friends for taking what he believed to be an easier path to advancement than the less-glamorous life of a foot soldier, but was determined to make the best of his lot and rise to a high position.

Assignment to Maridun
"I think Lt. Sunber's efforts are commendable, Commander Frickett. He has his priorities straight&hellip;the mission comes first."

- Ziering, to Frickett

In early 0 ABY, Sunber was assigned to the world of Maridun. He was put under the command of the young and privileged Captain Gage, whose easy advancement, condescending demeanor, and reluctance to put forth significant effort grated on backwater-born Sunber. As Sunber traveled with an armored column, one of the Juggernauts became stuck. A man who wished to give no orders he would not carry out himself and who did not shy from toil, Sunber intended to aid the stormtroopers under his command in freeing it. For this, he was rebuked by Gage as not properly holding himself above his men. Regardless, Sunber entered the mud to aid his troops, earning the admiration of the expedition's commanding officer, General Ziering, who saw in Sunber a dedicated and hardworking officer.

Immediately upon the Juggernaut being freed, the column came under attack by local Amanin warriors. Sunber, seeing his first action, immediately organized his unit in counter-fire, quickly driving off the ambushers and earning Ziering's praise for his initiative. Newly on guard against what had been perceived as peaceful natives, the column set out with Sunber's squad taking the point position. Before departing, Sunber noted that the rock on which the Juggernaut had hung up bore what appeared to be ritual Amanin markings. A full day of travel brought them to a remote mining outpost on the Maridun prairie&mdash;which they found had been raided by the Amanin and left waste while the aliens carried off the miners' blasters. Sunber immediately ordered his men to set up defenses, but Gage countermanded him and took the matter to Ziering, who suggested that only a small redoubt be constructed against the cliff face the outpost was built along, as the men were tired from the day's march. Undaunted, Sunber labored with the stormtroopers to construct the walls. As night fell, he conferred with Gage, Ziering, and Ziering's deputy Commander Frickett. Gage and Frickett were confident in the defenses, but Sunber's doubtful expression prompted Ziering to ask the junior officer's opinion. Knowing he was making enemies by showing up two superiors, he suggested that they did not have enough men to defend the position, lacked proper intelligence on the Amanin, and had no lane of retreat.

Dawn saw an Amanin attack by climbers descending the cliff face, and Sunber, seeing to the defense, was caught next to one of the two Juggernauts when it was destroyed by sabotage. Knocked out, he awoke to learn that Ziering had been wounded in the same blast and was recovering. Frickett and Gage were seeing to the defense, and tasked the impertinent lieutenant with building wider perimeter fortifications. Disappointed in his subordinate, Ziering put Gage on patrol duty. When Gage's patrol came under attack, Sunber quickly took the controls of the remaining Juggernaut and scattered the Amanin with a quick blast, letting Gage make it back to camp. Revealed in his wake were a vast horde of Amanin warriors. With Ziering in surgery, Frickett was in command. Panicking, he ordered a charge. Sunber immediately realized that the Amanin were drawing them out for an ambush, but neither Gage nor Frickett would listen in time. Frickett was slain in the field, and the last Juggernaut captured and put out of commission.

Desperate stand
"Forget about him. Forget about me&mdash;you have the company to save&hellip;Commander. You've made me proud, Janek. On my best day I couldn't have matched what you've done&hellip;"

- Ziering, to Janek Sunber

After a conference, Ziering held Sunber back and sought his advice. The younger man accepted that without reinforcements, the death of the entire company was the only likely outcome. Therefore, he suggested that they sell their lives dearly, setting up three successive breastworks with overlapping fields of fire in front of a final redoubt. Impressed, Ziering promoted Sunber to captain and implemented his plan. Sunber spent the night seeing to the building of trenches and earthworks.

When it came time for the defense to be mounted, Sunber protectively suggested that the general retire to the redoubt. In his absence, the jealous Gage ordered Sunber to the first trench, using his power as senior captain to push Sunber into the greatest danger. Sunber kept the spirits of his men up until sunset, when the Amanin made their attack. As the natives threatened to overwhelm his trench, Sunber gave the order to fall back to the second trench. He was shaken to see that Gage, ordered to the second trench by Ziering in retaliation, had quailed on observing the onslaught and ordered his detachment to fall back. Sunber's squad lacked the covering fire necessary for a safe withdrawal. Fearful, he managed to settle on what seemed the squad's only chance: lobbing a thermal detonator at the wrecked Juggernaut in the field. He found success, setting off the Juggernaut's fuel supply in an explosion that cleared much of the field and held off the Amanin advance long enough for Sunber to fall back to the second trench.

Out of thermal detonators, Sunber needed a new tactic to stall the Amanin. He found one by having his men lower themselves out of sight in the center of the trench as if readying for attack, and then sidling to the north and south ends of the trench. Taken in, the Amanin mounted their attack on the center. Sunber's men caught them in a crossfire while Ziering's redoubt E-webs raked the Amanin caught in the center. Sunber quickly fell back to the redoubt, where he was warmly greeted by Ziering before a renewed Amanin offensive commanded their attention. The Imperial forces long held out, but the continual Amanin assault wore down their numbers, and barrages of Amanin throwing spears caught more and more troops. Eventually, Sunber himself was struck in the right shoulder but struggled through the pain to remain conscious and fighting. Next to him, Ziering was pierced through the chest. The Tatooinian rushed to the general's aid, but Ziering could not be helped. He passed away after exhorting Sunber to lead the men to victory and issuing him a field promotion to commander.

Fully feeling the weight of responsibility, Sunber shouted encouragement to his men and they fought even more fiercely. At long last, the opposition faded away. Sunber immediately began consolidating his defenses for another onslaught, but instead the Amanin leader came forward. Honored by the Imperial valor in what the Amanin saw as ritual battle&mdash;takital&mdash;resulting from the Imperial incursion into sacred lands marked by the stone Sunber had observed, the Amanin chieftain offered peace and a tribute of slaves taken in their battles with other Amanin tribes.

After finalizing the agreement, Sunber filed a report and eventually returned to Carida to face a board of review leading an inquiry into the Battle of Maridun. While losses had exceeded ninety percent of the Imperial force, the board found Sunber's actions satisfactory and the agreement to gain the Empire slaves quite advantageous; they issued Sunber a special commendation. However, as Gage enviously refused to verify Ziering's field promotions, Sunber was returned to lieutenancy.

Doubts and surprises
"Tank&hellip;I'm sorry. I never wanted this. Come with us. I can prove to you that the Alliance is where you belong.''" "''I can't do it, Luke. You're on the wrong side of this war."

- Luke Skywalker and Janek Sunber

Approximately seven months later, Sunber was part of a detail assigned to take on an underground fortress of Jabiimi Loyalists which had proven impervious to Imperial bombardment. Sunber led a charge up a rocky hill, against the well-fortified enemy. He directed his engineers in blowing a breach in the rock, exposing an entry point into the Jabiimi base. With access, he was able to compel the defenders to surrender. As per his orders, he oversaw the enslavement of the rebels, but he was uncomfortable with the task.

Boarding the same Acclamator-class assault ship as the slaves, Sunber and his remaining men&mdash;all clones&mdash;shipped out to Kalist VI. There, he got them situation in a new unit and found himself empty quarters. His belongings had been lost in transit, but he was accustomed to such difficulties. As he unpacked his new kit, he was challenged by another officer, a burly man named Clynn, who claimed the room as his. Rather than back down, Sunber won respect from the other officers by standing up to Clynn and, when Clynn swung, subduing the larger man. The fight was broken up by Captain Kale Roshuir, who assigned Sunber and Clynn to immediately pull double shifts together.

Impressed by Roshuir's mention of Sunber's service at Maridun, Clynn eagerly showed the new man around the base as they supervised the slave workers. Imperial media had made heroes of the survivors of Maridun, and Clynn was hungry for anecdotes. Sunber, however, saw battle as anything but glamorous. After their shifts concluded, Clynn promised to show Sunber entertainment, though the veteran of Maridun simply wanted sleep. Sunber was shocked at Clynn's idea of entertainment when the larger man pulled away a female prisoner and dragged her to a cell. Outraged, Sunber demanded that Clynn desist. When he was ignored, Sunber pulled his blaster on the other officer and forced him to let the woman go. Clynn left while threatening Sunber with retribution.

Clynn reported Sunber to Roshuir, telling the captain that Sunber had drawn a weapon on him while interfering with the disciplining of a prisoner. However, before Roshuir could deal with it, the captain was called away to lead an expedition against a suspected Rebel base at Thila. He left Sunber at the base and promised to bring him up on charges upon his return. Sunber, now experienced in military politics, knew a tribunal would never bear him out. Worried, he was suddenly comforted by the unexpected sight of Skywalker on the landing platform from which Roshuir had departed. Skywalker, wearing a lieutenant's uniform, was equally surprised, and Sunber excitedly engaged in reminiscing with him, filling his old friend in on developments in his own life and asking after the careers of Skywalker and Darklighter. He was proud to hear Skywalker report that he had made pilot, and Darklighter had as well&mdash;but devastated to learn that Darklighter was dead at the Battle of Yavin, killed covering his wingman Skywalker. Sunber began to share his doubts about the Empire and its role in slavery, and to his surprise Skywalker replied that he had doubts as well. However, Sunber was shocked when Skywalker suggested that he join the burgeoning Rebel Alliance. When a transmission from command stated that Rebel saboteurs were on the base, Sunber knew that his old friend was one of the enemy. When a nearby explosion broke out, Sunber attempted to apprehend Skywalker, but the other man knocked the Imperial officer out.

When Sunber awoke, he was outraged and betrayed. He immediately reported the presence of saboteurs and gave a description of Skywalker before pursuing him into the slave quarters. There, he found the slaves gone and stormtroopers slain. Furious, he caught up with Skywalker as he was leading the slaves aboard the Acclamator. Confronting his old friend, he was taken aback when Skywalker left himself open, confident Sunber could not shoot him. Instead, the budding Jedi expressed his confidence that Sunber would know that rescuing the slaves was the right thing and not stand in the way&mdash;as did the woman he had earlier rescued from Clynn's advances. Sunber admitted that Skywalker was right and agreed to let the slaves go, though he refused to defect, feeling that he was accomplishing good within the Empire. When another detachment of Rebels, bringing with them the freed Rebel Jorin Sol, arrived, Sunber again felt betrayed and manipulated, used by Skywalker to advance a Rebel agenda that had nothing to do with slaves. Enraged, he fired on Sol, but Skywalker's lightsaber blocked the bolt and sent it back into Sunber's shoulder. Skywalker again tried to persuade Sunber, but Sunber was unmoved, though shocked when Skywalker revealed that he had destroyed the Death Star, and Darklighter had been a Rebel as well. Skywalker and the Rebels took off, leaving Sunber wounded on the hangar floor.

Betrayal and struggle
"I'm told you have important information for me, Lieutenant.''" "''Yes, My Lord. It's about Luke Skywalker."

- Darth Vader and Janek Sunber

After the battle, intelligence officers persuaded Roshuir not to charge Sunber&mdash;secretly grateful that Sol, whom they had broken and made a spy, had been returned to the Alliance Fleet. Bacta treatment healed his shoulder, and Sunber was left with only the emotional wounds of having his two best friends on the opposing side of a war. That struggle consumed his thoughts over the next month, even as he commanded in a hard-fought battle against a Rebel base on Keskin. The night before, he had had a dream in which he and the other Anchorhead youths had been boys playing war, and in it he had "killed" Skywalker. Though tormented by the situation, Sunber increasingly came to believe that he was somehow meant to stop Skywalker. Even when he was nearly killed by an infiltrator's thermal detonator, Sunber felt confident that he would not die, as Skywalker was not present. Thrown by the blast, he struggled with and killed another Rebel warrior before making his way back to Imperial lines, which were withdrawing in preparation for a TIE bomber bombardment. One of the bombers was shot down and plummeted towards Sunber. As it tumbled towards him, barely cartwheeling over his head, Sunber first accepted death and then realized that he would survive after all&mdash;and knew that he did so to battle Skywalker.

Later, Sunber interrupted the beating of a prisoner from the battle in an interrogation room, rebuking the Imperial soldiers for taking out their anger on a captive. He was determined to show the Rebel that the Empire truly represented justice and order. The prisoner was unconvinced, hostilely proclaiming that the Empire would fall, and mentioning Skywalker as the Rebellion's foremost hero. The prisoner taunting him with Skywalker's name was enough to cause Sunber to snap, striking the man until he was pulled away by the very men he had threatened with charges for beating the prisoner. To have Skywalker a Rebel was one thing&mdash;to learn that he was a leading Rebel warrior, the hero of Yavin, was too much for Sunber to bear.

That night, Sunber was again sleepless, tormented by Skywalker's role in the Rebellion. He refused to believe that Skywalker could have been right to join the Rebellion, and realized that if Skywalker was a major Rebel figure, he had important background information on that hero. His sense of duty compelled him to report it. Sunber was taken to the Star Dreadnought Executor and brought before Darth Vader. He made a full report to the intrigued Lord Vader of Skywalker's background, and Vader decided to make use of Sunber's connection to the young Rebel.

Sunber agreed to become a mole among the Rebel forces. He sent a message to Skywalker stating that he wished to defect, and giving coordinates where he could be found. The message was made to look as if he had been found out, and Sunber consented to undergo torture at the base at the given coordinates&mdash;a small space station controlling a deep-space junkyard&mdash;in order to strengthen his cover and credibility. Rebel commanders did not believe the message, but Skywalker, fully trusting his friend, dismissed concerns that it could be a trap and set out with supply clerk Deena Shan on an unsanctioned rescue mission.

Enemies
Skywalker found Sunber in a torture chamber on the deserted station, and Sunber warned him that he had been "found out" and the situation was indeed a trap. Roshuir led a boarding party of stormtroopers onto the station, which caught Skywalker, Sunber, and Shan in a firefight in a hallway. At Roshuir's urging, Sunber attempted to seize Skywalker, but a stray shot hit him in the hand, halting the capture effort before it could begin. Skywalker was able to hold off the troops and, wounded, Sunber went with them as the two Rebels escaped the ambush.

When they returned to the Alliance Fleet, Sunber was taken under guard to receive medical care. He was repeatedly interrogated by Rebel spymaster Tungo Li, who found no flaw in his story. Eventually, Sunber was allowed his freedom on a limited basis, kept away from sensitive areas of the ship and always guarded by at least one Rebel. He met up with Skywalker again, but by then had firmly decided that Skywalker was an enemy of the Empire, an enemy of order&mdash;a decision made easier by Skywalker's seemingly blithe dismissal of the loss of life in the Death Star's explosion. Still, he could not entirely bring himself to hate his old friend.

That night, he had a dream in which Vader appeared, demanding that he put aside his doubts and capture Skywalker for the Dark Lord of the Sith. Thus urged on, he awoke and knocked out the guard outside his room, taking the man's clothing and sneaking out into Rebel One. Simultaneously, Sol opened fire on Leia Organa on the ship's bridge, and Vader's fleet arrived. Sunber, making his way to the bridge, brought Skywalker under his gun. The Rebel begged Sunber to allow the wounded Organa to receive medical aid, but Sunber was unmoved. He ordered Skywalker, carrying Organa, to proceed to an escape pod which Vader would recover; after that, he promised to see that the Rebel leader received treatment. Skywalker, bitterly disappointed, told Sunber that the Empire had killed Owen and Beru Lars, Skywalker's guardians. Overwhelmed, Sunber struck Skywalker, and the Jedi fought back. Sunber gained the upper hand and had Skywalker at his mercy, threatening to kill him, but he could not bring himself to do so. Skywalker offered to submit to capture if Sunber would only see that Organa lived. Before Sunber could take action, a shot rocked Rebel One, causing a malfunction in its artificial gravity that turned the corridor into a chasm. Sunber grabbed onto Organa and was in turn grabbed by Skywalker, who was secure on top of a horizontal surface. No longer willing to battle Skywalker, he mustered all his strength to hand Organa up to the other man before he lost his grip and plummeted down the long hallway.

Sunber's body was never found aboard Rebel One, but before Rebel One jumped to hyperspace and escaped the ambush, one escape pod was launched and recovered by the Empire.

Personality and traits
"Tank, the Alliance needs good men. You could make a difference&mdash;''" "Luke, I&mdash;I'm already making a difference. Here. With the Empire''. It's not always easy, but we're bringing order&hellip;discipline&hellip;to worlds that never&mdash;"

- Luke Skywalker and Janek Sunber

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&mdash;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.

Behind the scenes
"Tank" was first mentioned in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and its comic adaptation as a friend of Luke Skywalker who left for the Academy, but despite that distinction was given no attention in the Expanded Universe for twenty-seven years. In 2004, the comic arc Star Wars: Empire: To the Last Man was released. Written by Welles Hartley and illustrated by Davidé Fabbri, it featured a character identified as Janek Sunber as its protagonist. Mention of Sunber's backwater origins, desire to be a pilot, and piloting friends were made, but no explicit connection was made between Sunber and "Tank". In the later arc Star Wars: Empire: The Wrong Side of the War, also by Hartley and Fabbri, Sunber was revealed as "Tank" and set up as in conflict with Skywalker. This was not a retcon, but rather a connection which had been intended since Sunber's creation. Star Wars: Empire became Star Wars: Rebellion after that arc, and Sunber's story was continued in Star Wars: Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy, which saw Sunber confront Skywalker but ended with Sunber's fate and allegiance unresolved. My Brother, My Enemy was the first Sunber story not featuring Hartley and Fabbri; instead it was written by Rob Williams and illustrated by Brandon Badeaux and Michel Lacombe.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novelization
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars 1
 * Star Wars: Empire: To the Last Man
 * Star Wars: Rebellion 0: Crossroads
 * Star Wars: Empire: The Wrong Side of the War
 * Star Wars: Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy
 * Star Wars: Rebellion 16: Vector, Part 8
 * A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker