Lorth Needa/Legends

"Apology accepted, Captain Needa."

- Darth Vader

Lorth Needa was a fleet officer in the Republic and Imperial starfleets.

Biography
Needa was a veteran command officer, having served in Strike Group Five of Coruscant's Home Fleet during the Clone Wars. During the Second Battle of Coruscant, Lieutenant Commander Needa served as commanding officer of the Carrack-class cruiser Integrity. He trapped the Invisible Hand as it was trying to escape, and demanded the surrender of General Grievous. He was not a religious man, and only knew of the Force tangentially.

After the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Needa transitioned into the Imperial Starfleet and rose to the rank of Captain of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger. Needa gained a reputation for efficiency in quelling uprisings in the Outer Rim Territories, and Admiral Kendal Ozzel assigned Avenger to the "point" position in Death Squadron. Needa became one of Ozzel's closest advisers, and acted as the squadron's de facto second-in-command. Darth Vader distrusted Needa along with most of Ozzel's close advisers, but after Ozzel's death at Vader's hand for his failure at the Battle of Hoth, Needa was charged with the pursuit of the Millennium Falcon.



The Avenger pursued the Falcon from Hoth. However, it outmaneuvered the Star Destroyer and caused it to collide with another ship. After chasing the Falcon into the Hoth Asteroid Field, the Avenger lost track of the freighter when it sought shelter in a cave on one of the asteroids. Needa informed Darth Vader that the Millennium Falcon had not appeared on their sensors for hours and asked him to consider the damage the Imperial fleet had sustained, but Vader was set on capturing the freighter.

The Millennium Falcon eventually reappeared after discovering that the "cave" it had hidden in was in fact the mouth of a giant space slug. While pursuing the Millennium Falcon out of the asteroid field, the Falcon vanished from Avenger's sensors when Han Solo cut the ship's power and landed on a blind spot on the Imperial ship's conning tower. Seconds later, Vader demanded an update on the pursuit. Needa ordered his ship to rendezvous with the Executor.

On the bridge of the Executor, Needa apologized for losing Vader's prey, and Vader telekinetically throttled him to death like Kendal Ozzel before him. Following his failure in the Hoth Asteroid Field, other members of the Needa family were purged from the Imperial military. Needa was survived by his first cousin Virar Needa.

It is unknown if he was any kin to Oola impersonator Dame Needa.

Behind the scenes

 * Lorth Needa was portrayed by Michael Culver in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Needa's card in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game indicates he may have had some degree of Force sensitivity.
 * When Needa's body is carried away by some other Imperial officers, he visibly locks his legs in such a way as to help them stand him up easier.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novelization
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Tales of the Bounty Hunters
 * Payback: The Tale of Dengar
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble