Romas Navander/Legends

"General, there's a fleet of Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace in Sector Four."

- Romas Navander, to General Carlist Rieekan

Romas "Lock" Navander was a Human male lieutenant of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Originally from the planet Corellia, Navander graduated from the Imperial Academy before defecting to the Rebel Alliance. By 3 ABY, Navander was stationed at Echo Base, the hidden Alliance High Command headquarters on the ice planet Hoth. Under the authority of General Carlist Rieekan, Navander worked as a tech communications officer, helping to relay orders to Rebel starships.

Navander first detected the arrival of Darth Vader's Death Squadron in the Hoth system just prior to the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY, reporting his finding to Rieekan as Echo Base prepared to evacuate in the face of an imminent Imperial ground assault. During the Hoth battle, Navander publicly announced to Echo Base the safe escape of the first Rebel evacuation transport, before he himself helped to escort four more transports past the Imperial blockade in Hoth's orbit in the cockpit of a BTL Y-wing starfighter. When he turned back to help escort a fifth transport, a pair of TIE/ln starfighters destroyed his Y-wing. Although Navander safely ejected, he was captured by a nearby Star Destroyer.

Biography
"The first transport is away. The first transport is away."

- Romas Navander, during the Battle of Hoth

Romas "Lock" Navander was a native of the planet Corellia, in the Core Worlds. Shortly after graduating from the Imperial Academy, Navander, a skilled pilot, defected from Imperial service and joined the revolutionary Alliance to Restore the Republic. By 3 ABY, Navander, a lieutenant, served the Rebellion at the Alliance High Command's secret Echo Base on the remote ice planet Hoth from the facility's command center. Working under the direction of General Carlist Rieekan, theater commander of all Alliance forces in the Hoth system, Navander played an important role as tech communications officer, responsible for coordinating and relaying orders to nearby Rebel starships in space. In this capacity, he worked closely with Commander Tamizander Rey, Echo Base's senior deck officer, who oversaw all docking operations.

Navander joined Rieekan in Echo Base's command center in early 3 ABY to listen in on a conversation via communicator between Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa concerning the presence of an Imperial Viper probe droid outside the base. Realizing that the Empire had discovered the base's existence, Rieekan reluctantly remarked to Navander that the Alliance would need to evacuate from Hoth.

Shortly thereafter, Navander, working in the command center, detected the arrival of Death Squadron, Darth Vader's personal fleet of Imperial-class Star Destroyers, led by his flagship, the Star Dreadnought Executor, in the Hoth system. After urgently gesturing for Rieekan to look at his computer console, Navander reported to the General the imminent Imperial threat bearing down on the planet. Rieeken, in response, ordered him to reroute the base's power supply to the theater shield in defense of a potential orbital bombardment.

During the early stages of the Rebels' evacuation of Hoth, Navander reported to the base over the central public address system of the facility's full alert status after sensors had indicated Imperial landings beyond Echo Base's perimeter, as well as the departure of Rogue Group's T-47 airspeeders en route to meet the Imperial invasion force. Minutes later, he again announced to the base that the first GR-75 medium transport to depart the planet, the Quantum Storm, had safely slipped through the Imperial blockade in orbit under the protective fire of Echo Base's v-150 anti-orbital ion cannon.

From there, Navander took command of one of the base's BTL Y-wing starfighters and helped to escort four transports past the waiting line of blockading Star Destroyers to the hyperspace jump point, where they would proceed to the Rebels' predetermined rendezvous point. However, when Navander turned back to escort a fifth transport, a pair of Imperial TIE/ln starfighters destroyed his Y-wing. Navander safely ejected from his craft, but he was captured by a nearby Star Destroyer.

Personality and traits
Romas "Lock" Navander served to further illustrate the mantle of skilled pilots hailing from Corellia, including notable figures such as Han Solo and Wedge Antilles. After graduating from the Imperial Academy, he joined the Rebellion, where his piloting abilities were put to good use in the evacuation from Hoth. Navander personally helped to escort four transports to safety in the cockpit of a Y-wing.

Notable appearances
Romas Navander appears in the film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back as the Echo Base controller who first detects the presence of Darth Vader's Star Destroyers in the Hoth system just prior to the Battle of Hoth. The character's name, backstory, and identity in the film were first established on the "Romas 'Lock' Navander" card from the November 1996 Hoth Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game.

Actor discrepancy
There exists a discrepancy regarding which actor portrays the Navander character in the film. According to the 2004 article Who's Who in Echo Base, written by Josh Radke for Star Wars Insider 74, Navander is played by actor Jerry Harte, who is credited in the film only as "Head Controller." The article also notes that Harte would go on to play the character "Professor Stanton" in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a part of Lucasfilm's other popular movie franchise. However, while Harte is credited as playing "Professor Stanton" in the film, neither he nor the character actually appear in the final version of the movie.

The actor who portrays Navander in The Empire Strikes Back, as identified visually by the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, is in fact Burnell Tucker, who is credited in the film as one of several "Other Officers." Tucker also plays the character Wyron Serper, another Echo Base controller in The Empire Strikes Back, and the character Del Goren in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Harte, meanwhile, plays another Echo Base controller who has yet to be identified by name in Star Wars canon. This character appears as the lone male controller still in the Echo Base command center when Princess Leia issues the final evacuation code signal at the end of the Battle of Hoth. Harte has autographed a picture of himself in this scene, seen here, though note that this autographed item incorrectly identifies this character as Romas Navander.

Tucker and Harte actually appear together in The Empire Strikes Back, surrounding actor Bruce Boa, who plays General Rieekan, during the scene in which Han Solo communicates with Princess Leia from outside the base to report that he and Chewbacca have destroyed the Imperial probe droid. In this scene Harte is facing camera, while Tucker is standing over Boa's left shoulder.

Character development and inconsistencies
The article Who's Who in Echo Base expanded upon Navander's role at the Battle of Hoth based on the original SWCCG information, including identifying him as the character behind the P.A. voice that announces the successful evacuation of the first transport during the battle. However, it should be noted that actor Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars Original Trilogy, actually voices the announcement in the film.

Navander's scene in which he reports the arrival of the Imperial fleet to General Rieekan appears in the film and The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization, but it is not included in The Empire Strikes Back novelization or radio drama. Notably, however, the young-readers novel Classic Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, adapted by Larry Weinberg, does include an Echo Base loudspeaker address announcing, "Imperial Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace in Sector Four!" clearly inspired from the character's dialogue from the film. Nevertheless, this announcement is not necessarily attributable to the Navander character. Additionally, the radio drama includes the announcement of the escape of the first evacuation transport, as well as an additional line attributable to Navander announcing the launch of Rogue Group at the advent of the Battle of Hoth.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back radio drama
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back PhotoComic
 * The Empire Strikes Back Storybook
 * The Empire Strikes Back Storybook