Dllr Nep

"Dllr, are you listening to me?''" "''Of course I'm listening to you! With ears like mine, you think I have trouble hearing things?"

- Herian I'ngre and Dllr Nep

Dllr Nep was a Force-sensitive Sullustan X-wing pilot who served under Wedge Antilles as part of Rogue Squadron following the Battle of Endor. A native of Sullust, Nep was fascinated by different cultures and species and decided to join the fledgling New Republic shortly after the Rebel Alliance's victory at Endor. He was selected to join Rogue Squadron and took part in his first mission soon after, escorting a convoy from Cilpar to Mrlsst. While on Cilpar, Nep distinguished himself in the fight against Imperial Moff Boren Tascl and on Mrlsst helped Rogue Squadron to defeat Imperial forces seeking control of the Phantom Project, a cloaking device which had supposedly been developed at the Mrlsst Academy. Nep later helped thwart the Twi'lek criminal Firith Olan and Imperial Captain Marl Semtin, who were attempting to take control of the Imperial weapons cache at Eidolon Base on Tatooine, and assisted fellow Rogue Plourr Ilo in driving the Empire from her homeworld of Eiattu 6.

When the Rogues were dispatched to search for the passenger liner Starfaring near Malrev IV, Nep began hearing music coming from the planet. He thought the music was a product of the planet itself, and was able to even see the music in front of him. However, it was actually the power of Sith magic being channeled by a Devaronian named Cartariun. Cartariun used the dark side to lure Nep to his temple, where he attempted to turn the Sullustan to the dark side. However, Nep found that, through the Force, he was mentally linked to Rogue Squadron pilot Herian I'ngre, who recognized the dark side and willed Nep to resist. Nep was able to do so at first, but eventually gave in, absorbing the Sith energy wielded by Cartariun and turning it against the Devaronian. As he attacked, however, he was shot in the back by Girov Dza'tey, the Bothan leader of the Starfaring survivors. Dza'tey killed Cartariun and attempted to use the temple's power for himself, but Nep used his link to I'ngre to guide the other pilot to the temple and the pair sacrificed themselves by flying I'ngre's X-wing into the temple, destroying it and killing Dza'tey.

Joining Rogue Squadron
"Dllr says the Imps have just popped a destroyer over the north pole.''" "What? How does he know that? I don't see any sky scan equipment." "Big ears." "Wait a minute! You can't hear anything in orbit from down here!" "''You'd be surprised."

- Plourr Ilo and Vance Rego

A Sullustan male native of Sullust during the early years of the Galactic Civil War, Dllr Nep was fascinated by different cultures and species. After the Alliance to Restore the Republic's victory over the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Nep took little convincing to follow others of his species in leaving their homeworld and joining the Rebellion. Nep quickly took to life in the fledgling New Republic and was one of several pilots who volunteered to join Rogue Squadron, an elite X-wing squadron under the command of Commander Wedge Antilles, to fill vacancies in its roster following Endor. After joining the squadron, Nep served as the unit's scrounger, using his abilities at retrofitting to adapt old parts to new purposes.

Nep was soon picked for what was anticipated to be an easy first mission with the Rogues, escorting a food convoy from Cilpar to Mrlsst. However, upon arriving at Cilpar, the Rogues were unable to find the convoy or to meet up with their contact. Setting up a makeshift base west of the capital city of Kiidan, the half-strength Rogues soon found themselves in combat against a squadron of Imperial TIE fighters. Though the Rebels successfully defeated the Imperials, Rogue Squadron pilot Wes Janson was forced to eject from his X-wing after it was struck by enemy fire. Antilles sent Tycho Celchu to locate the downed pilot, while he led the three remaining Rogues&mdash;Nep, Derek Klivian and Plourr Ilo&mdash;back to their temporary base.

Later that evening, the Rogues were confronted by members of the local resistance movement led by Elscol Loro. The resistance fighters, who were in opposition to both the Empire and the Alliance, took the captives to the nearby town of Tamarack, which had been devastated by the forces of Imperial Moff Boren Tascl. While there, Nep warned the others that he heard the approach of Imperial All Terrain Scout Transports and the Rogues were forced to flee with the resistance fighters to an old temple near the town. Still surrounded by Imperials, Antilles had Klivian and Ilo fire on a pile of rubbish outside the temple, igniting the decomposition gases and eliminating the closest walker. With the diversion allowing the Rebels to escape the temple and take cover in the forest, Antilles instructed Nep to contact their astromech droids and instruct them to bring the squadron's X-wings to their location. Jumping into the starfighters, Antilles and Ilo took to the air and were able to drive away the Imperials, while Antilles ordered Nep to lead the natives back to their vehicles and fall back to Rogue Squadron's base.

Nep later joined the others on a trip to a supply depot in another of the forest's hidden temples, but the group once more came under attack from Imperial fighters and were forced to retreat to the Rogue base. Upon hearing that Princess Leia Organa was on the planet and had been captured, Antilles decided to strike at the Imperials, sending Loro's forces to attempt a rescue of Organa, while he led the Rogues in providing air support. The Rogues were engaged by Imperial fighters but were able to fight their way through and attack the Imperial base, weakening its defenses and allowing Loro's team to move in. The attack was a success, with the capture of Moff Tascl and the rescue of the captive woman, who was not Organa but the Rogues' contact, Alliance Intelligence agent Winter. With the Imperials defeated, Nep and the other the Rogues were able to resume their mission, linking up with the convoy and proceeding to Mrlsst, joined by Loro, who Antilles invited to join the squadron.

Arrival at Mrlsst
"It's true what they say: To meet the composer whose music you enjoy is like meeting a patka whose meat you had for lunch."

- Dllr Nep, after meeting Rorax Falken

When the convoy arrived at Mrlsst, the Rogues once again found themselves under attack from Imperial forces led by an Interdictor-class Star Destroyer. While Nep joined the other Rogues in engaging the Imperial fighters, Antilles and Loro drove off the Star Destroyer with a proton torpedo strike, allowing the convoy to land safely at Mrlsst Spaceport. Though their escort duty was complete, Rogue Squadron was to stay on Mrlsst while Antilles negotiated for the Phantom Project, a cloaking device which had been developed at the Mrlsst Academy and which had also attracted attention from the Empire. Soon after landing, the Rogues ran into Antilles's old friend, Mirax Terrik, who accompanied them to The Soundmound, a local music venue where they watched a holographic concert by the band Ghost Jedi.

The following day, Nep and the other Rogues were given a tour of the Mrlsst Academy by Koyi Komad, a student whom they had befriended the previous night, while Antilles began his negotiations. During their tour, the group saw Rorax Falken, a professor at the Academy who composed the music performed by Ghost Jedi. Nep had enjoyed the band's performance and attempted to introduce himself to the composer, but Falken was not receptive, knocking the Sullustan down with his repulsor chair.

Nep later went with the others to visit Janson, who was recovering from injuries sustained on Cilpar at the Central Academic Hospital. While there, Komad arrived to warn them that Antilles had just been arrested for allegedly stealing the datacards containing the Phantom Project plans and Imperial stormtroopers were on the way to take the other Rogues into custody. Fighting their way out of the hospital, the Rogues took shelter in the upper levels of the nearby greenstalk forests, among the fringe communities that existed there. Komad led them to the slicer Nasta, who was able to retrieve the surveillance footage implicating the Rogues and learn that it had been doctored by an Imperial group called the Ante-Endor Association, who were the true thieves. He also discovered that the Imperials had in turn lost the datacards, stolen by battle droids from Ghost Jedi. Terrik knew the location of Falken's asteroid laboratory, where the band transmitted from, and suggested the datacards may be there. Celchu agreed and instructed Nep to accompany Terrik in retrieving the plans while the others attempted to rescue Antilles.

After arriving at the laboratory, Nep was confronted by three of Falken's students, armed with blasters, but was able to disarm his assailants. Under questioning from Nep and Terrik, Falken and the students admitted that the Phantom Project was just a hoax, designed to elicit funding from the Empire. In an effort to hide the deception, Falken faked the destruction of the asteroid, but the Imperials discovered that the laboratory had survived among the debris and soon arrived in force to retrieve the plans. While the stormtroopers fought a holographic ghost Jedi controlled by Falken, Nep, Terrik and the students retreated to the hangar and boarded Terrik's Pulsar Skate. Nep attempted to evade the pursuing TIE fighters but the Pulsar Skate was largely defenseless until the arrival of Rogue Squadron. As the Imperial Star Destroyer closed on the Pulsar Skate, Nep and Terrik activated the gravitic polarization beam installed in the laboratory, destroying both the lab and the Interdictor Star Destroyer.

Mission to Tatooine
Some time later, Rogue Squadron was sent to Tatooine to provide support to Winter while she investigated events surrounding the death of the conman Lirin Banolt in the midst of a gang war prompted by the demise of the local crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Nep was among the first group of Rogues to arrive, along with Ilo, Janson and Klivian. While Antilles, Celchu and Loro joined Winter at a reception held by Huff Darklighter to mark the anniversary of the death of his son, former Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter, Nep's group was tasked with finding out more about the gang wars. Nep suggested that they begin their investigation by checking out the local music scene&mdash;the band Dead Rebels was performing and Nep felt that they might encounter individuals who had the potential to assist them among the band's followers. The music failed to live up to Nep's expectations, and when a group of thugs took exception to the Rogues, they found themselves involved in a fight. Ilo easily disposed of their opponents but the Rogues decided it was time to leave.

Outside they were approached by a Devaronian who explained that he wanted to hire them to intimidate a local rancher who was slow to pay his debts. Ilo initially refused but Janson, spotting the military-grade Imperial blaster the Devaronian carried, accepted the job, hoping to discover who he really was. Using speeder bikes provided by their employer, the Rogues followed the Devaronian to their target, only to discover that the estate was already under attack. Taking cover as the attackers approached, the Devaronian informed them that the job was canceled. The Rogues, however, attempted to get some answers from their employer. When he refused to tell them anything, it took all four to restrain him. At that moment, Celchu and Winter arrived in a landspeeder. Winter revealed that the Devaronian was her partner, Kapp Dendo, who had been tasked with hiring some thugs to create a diversion at Darklighter's farm while she searched for a datacard relating to her investigation. A different group had attacked the estate, however, and escaped with the disk.

Rogue Squadron were soon able to determine that the disk had been stolen by the Twi'lek Firith Olan and that it could lead him to both a cache of TIE interceptors and the Strike-class medium cruiser Eidolon. Taking their X-wings in pursuit of Olan, the Rogues discovered that he had already found the TIE interceptor cache when they were attacked by several of the starfighters. After a short dogfight, the Rebels followed Olan into orbit, where a squadron of Imperial TIE fighters was waiting. Rogue Squadron engaged Olan's surviving TIE interceptors and Nep's X-wing was struck by laser fire, leaving him operational but out of the fight. When the Imperials closed to attack range and engaged Olan's fighters, Antilles ordered his squadron to withdraw and return to Tatooine.

Antilles, Celchu, Loro and Winter soon followed Olan and the Imperials to Ryloth, leaving Nep and the other Rogues on Tatooine. Nep filled the time by repairing his damaged X-wing, and the starfighter was operational by the time Antilles's group returned. Joining forces with a group of disenchanted Imperial Special Intelligence operatives, led by Sixtus Quin, the Rogues headed to Eidolon Base where Olan was working with the Imperial Captain Marl Semtin. Rogue Squadron engaged the TIE interceptor defenses, allowing Quin's team to secure the base and kill Semtin, though Olan was able to escape. With their objective complete, Nep and the other Rogues returned to their temporary base and soon departed Tatooine.

The warrior princess
"Wedge and I have some business to take care of, so why don't you guys get better acquainted by going over some dogfight scenarios.''" "Over a few mugs of the juice!" "''Whatever it takes to sharpen your skills and deaden the pain to your backside, Dllr!"

- Tycho Celchu and Dllr Nep

Loro left Rogue Squadron following the mission to Tatooine, but the squadron was soon joined by four new members&mdash;Feylis Ardele, Ibtisam, Herian I'ngre and Nrin Vakil&mdash;and began a series of training simulations to better work together as a unit. In one such exercise, Nep flew an X-wing in a team led by Klivian, but was shot down by a TIE interceptor in Antilles's team. His destruction was made more uncomfortable by a mild electric charge fitted to his seat by I'ngre, acting on orders from Antilles, in an effort to make the pilots more alert to failure. Nep did not have an opportunity for revenge, however, as Grand Duke Gror Pernon of Eiattu 6 arrived with the revelation that Ilo was actually Princess Isplourrdacartha Estillo, who had fled her homeworld as a child, following the death of her family. With the news that her brother, Prince Harrandatha Estillo, had also turned up alive and returned to Eiattu 6 to lead the People's Liberation Battalion in opposition to the ruling Priamsta, Ilo agreed to return home to bring about peace between the nobles and her brother.

Nep and the other Rogues accompanied Ilo on her return to Eiattu and attended a reception held by the nobles to celebrate her arrival. While on a thuvasaur hunting trip with his wingmates, Nep heard the distant sound of Imperial blaster fire. The Rogues moved to investigate but soon found themselves under attack by a squad of stormtroopers. They were rescued by soldiers from the People's Liberation Battalion and taken back to their encampment, where they were introduced to Prince Harran. After spending the night enjoying the hospitality of their newfound allies, the Rogues returned to the city, where Nep, Janson and Klivian reported on events to Antilles, Celchu and Ilo, who had remained in the city.

Antilles wanted to know more about the Imperial presence in the swamps and sent Nep and the other Rogues back to see what they could find out while he and Celchu met with the leader of the Priamsta. However, the Rogues were walking into a trap. Upon arriving in the swamp, Nep was overcome by the sound from an Imperial gray noise generator in a nearby tree. As Vakil climbed onto a branch to investigate, there was an explosion that sent him falling into the swamp below. The other Rogues found themselves surrounded by stormtroopers and were forced to surrender. The Rogues were imprisoned at the headquarters of Moff Leonia Tavira, where they learned that Prince Harran was an impostor who was working with Tavira to steal the planet's wealth before an Imperial withdrawal. Vakil, who had been left for dead following the Imperial ambush, was able to recover and mount a rescue of Nep and the other Rogues. Together, they attempted to capture Tavira. Though she was able to escape, they managed to prevent her taking all but a fraction of the stolen funds. After exposing Harran as an impostor, Ilo was able to bring peace to her world and remained behind when Nep and Rogue Squadron left Eiattu.

Final mission
"They're on their way, Dllr! You have to get out before they vape the temple!''" "''It's too late for me! The Sith magic is all that's keeping me alive! But it must be stopped before it can spread!"

- Herian I'ngre and Dllr Nep

Upon leaving Eiattu, Rogue Squadron was dispatched to search for the passenger liner Starfaring, which had gone missing as a result of an apparent navigational error. Simulations led the Rogues to begin their search in the Malrev system. After arriving in the system, Nep started to hear what he perceived as music coming from Malrev IV and led the Rogues towards the source of the music. As they approached, the Rebels were attacked by a group of TIE fighters. They were rescued by turbolaser fire from the Starfaring, which had landed in a nearby clearing, but Antilles's X-wing was struck by enemy fire and crashed into the forest. Unable to see Antilles from the air, the Rogues landed near the Starfaring and planned to search for the missing pilot. However, the crew and passengers of the Starfaring had come under attack from the native Irrukiine since landing, and Girov Dza'tey, the Bothan who was leading the survivors, convinced the Rogues that they should wait until the following morning before beginning the search.

While waiting, Nep and I'ngre attempted to repair the Starfaring, which they were told had been forced to land after a catastrophic system failure, but which I'ngre soon concluded had been sabotaged. Subsequently, however, a group of armed Irrukiine emerged from the forest and attacked the encampment. Rogue Squadron joined in its defense, but Nep found the music in his head became overpowering and was too disoriented to assist much in the fight. When the Irrukiine were finally driven back, a concerned Celchu instructed I'ngre to put Nep to bed.

Nep's condition failed to improve, and by the next morning, as their search for Antilles led them closer to the source of the music, Nep was beginning to see the sound waves in front of him. The search led them to a temple in the forest, where they once more came under attack from Irrukiine. Though Nep still struggled to concentrate, he was able to participate in the ensuing fight, until a nearby explosion left both him and I'ngre injured. When Antilles arrived to join the fight, the Rogues withdrew, but were unable find no sign of Nep, who had followed the source of the music into the temple itself.

Inside the temple, Nep learned the truth about the music that had drawn him there. The temple was a focal point for the dark side of the Force, which had been abandoned by the Empire following the death of Emperor Palpatine and had since come under the control of a Devaronian named Cartariun. Cartariun had used Sith magic, perceived by Nep as music, to lure the Sullustan to the temple and subsequently attempted to turn the Rebel to the dark side, using its power to heal his injuries. Through the Force, however, Nep found that he had a mental link to I'ngre, who was recovering from her own injuries back at the Starfaring. I'ngre recognized the dark side before she could be overtaken and willed Nep to resist. When Nep refused to give in to the Sith magic, Cartariun ordered his Irrukiine followers to kill the Sullustan.

Knowing that he had only one chance to survive, Nep tapped into the dark side power and used it to overpower his Irrukiine attackers. As Nep turned his attention to Cartariun, however, Girov Dza'tey entered the temple and shot the Sullustan in the back. Dza'tey hoped to claim the temple's power for himself and create a new empire. He quickly killed Cartariun and allowed Nep just enough Force power to keep him alive to witness the destruction of Rogue Squadron, but Nep used his link to I'ngre to warn her about Dza'tey and instructed her to send Rogue Squadron to destroy the temple.

While Dza'tey was distracted guiding the temple's TIE defenders into battle against the Rogues, Nep once again contacted I'ngre. The two realized that Dza'tey's Jeswandi training was allowing him greater control than Cartariun and that the battle was turning against Rogue Squadron. I'ngre was still injured and unable to see well following damage to her sight-enhancing goggles but realized that she would be able to pilot an X-wing if Nep was able to use his Force-enhanced senses to guide her. Nep guided I'ngre on a course directly to the temple, with the other Rogues clearing a path through Dza'tey's fighters. Upon reaching the temple, I'ngre fired a pair of proton torpedoes. Although the torpedoes blew a hole in the temple wall, they were insufficient to completely destroy it. With only one option left, Nep guided I'ngre through the breach into the temple itself, where I'ngre used her X-wing to ignite the fuel and weapons stored there, destroying the temple and killing Dza'tey and both pilots. Both Nep and I'ngre became Force ghosts following their deaths and looked on as Rogue Squadron departed.

Personality and traits
"I'll be happy to put this planet behind me, I assure you.''" "''Not me. This world makes a music all its own. Lovely&hellip;lovely&hellip;"

- Herian I'ngre and Dllr Nep discuss Malrev IV

Even before leaving his homeworld, Dllr Nep was fascinated by other cultures, particularly the various musical styles of the galaxy. Like other Sullustans, Nep had extremely sensitive hearing which allowed him to pursue his interest in music by finding cantinas with live bands playing, and he considered a knowledge of the local music scene as helping to gain a better understanding of a new world. Nep was not averse to expressing his dislike of certain music, including that performed by the Dead Rebels and Undervector, and enjoyed sharing music he favored with his wingmates, though his taste was sometimes met with disapproval from the other Rogues. He was impressed by Ghost Jedi, though he found their music cold and precise, and was excited to meet the band's composer, Rorax Falken. When not listening to music, Nep frequently hummed to himself.

Nep's keen hearing also had additional uses beyond his fondness for music. He had the ability to hear approaching vehicles before his wingmates, even the sound of a Star Destroyer in orbit, and also distinguish the sound of Imperial blaster fire at some distance. When the Rogues traveled to Malrev IV, Nep perceived the dark side energy flowing from the Sith temple there as a beautiful form of music. The music soon became overpowering and Nep followed it to its source. With I'ngre's help, Nep was able to initially resist the lure of the dark side but finally embraced the power in order to overcome Cartariun. He ultimately sacrificed himself to save his wingmates, guiding I'ngre on her suicide run into the Sith temple. While Nep did not demonstrate any ability to utilize the Force until his time on Malrev IV, he was susceptible to the power of the Sith temple, unlike other Rogues including Wedge Antilles. While experiencing the Force, Nep was able to use both telepathy and telekinesis and later transformed into a Force ghost.

As a member of Rogue Squadron, Nep was a capable pilot and a valuable member of the team who distinguished himself on the mission to Mrlsst and also served as the unit's scrounger. He did not exhibit the caution and subdued personality common to his species, coming across as frenetic and thriving when freed from the highly regulated rules of society.

Behind the scenes
Dllr Nep was created by Michael A. Stackpole for the Dark Horse Comics series X-wing: Rogue Squadron and first appeared in the inaugural issue, X-wing Rogue Squadron 1: The Rebel Opposition, Part 1, released on July 1, 1995. The character appeared in the first five X-wing: Rogue Squadron story arcs before he and Herian I'ngre were killed off in the final issue of the Requiem for a Rogue arc. Stackpole has since commented that Nep's death was the result of a desire to fix a growing feeling among fans of the series that no Rogues were dying.

Following Nep's death, he was mentioned in subsequent issues of X-wing: Rogue Squadron and made a brief appearance in the final issue of Haden Blackman's X-wing: Rogue Leader, which depicts Nep just prior to joining Rogue Squadron. Nep was mentioned in Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley's article Aliens in the Empire and received entries in 1998's Star Wars Encyclopedia, 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia and the Star Wars Insider 59 article "Who's Who in Rogue Squadron". The Star Wars Encyclopedia erroneously identifies the character as "Nep Dllr".

An action figure of Nep was released in 2010 as part of Hasbro's Star Wars: The Legacy Collection. The figure comes in a comic book pack along with a Plourr Ilo figure and a copy of X-wing Rogue Squadron 13: The Warrior Princess, Part 1.

Appearances

 * X-wing: Rogue Leader 3
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Rebel Opposition
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Battleground: Tatooine
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Warrior Princess
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron 23: In the Empire's Service, Part 3
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron 29: Masquerade, Part 2
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron 35: Mandatory Retirement, Part 4