Lorth Needa/Legends

Lorth Needa was a fleet officer in the Republic and Imperial starfleets during the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War.

Biography
"I shall assume full responsibility for losing them, and apologize to Lord Vader."

- Needa before his death.

Needa was a veteran command officer, having served in Strike Group Five of Coruscant Home Fleet during the Clone Wars. During the 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. During this encounter he refused to believe the General's statements that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was aboard.

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 nearly 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, but Vader telekinetically throttled him to death as he had Kendal Ozzel before him. Vader then formally accepted the man's apology. Needa's body was dragged from the bridge by two Imperial Navy Troopers. Needa was survived and succeeded by his first cousin Virar Needa, but as a consequence of his failure, members of the Needa family were purged from the Imperial military.

It is possible that Needa's failure to capture the Millennium Falcon was partly due to his Rebel Alliance sympathies, which he only revealed to his cousin, Virar Needa.

It is unknown if he was in any way related to Oola impersonator Dame Needa.

Behind the scenes
Lorth Needa was portrayed by Michael Culver in The Empire Strikes Back.

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 novel
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novel
 * Star Wars 42: The Empire Strikes Back: To Be a Jedi
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Payback: The Tale of Dengar
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble