Rukh

"Rukh. Rebel pilots may have survived the attack. Capture them alive, if possible. Captain Syndulla in particular.''" "''It will be done, Grand Admiral."

- Thrawn and Rukh

Rukh was a male Noghri who served as the bodyguard and assassin of Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn used Rukh's name as the override command for his sparring droids.

Biography
In 1 BBY, after the theft of the prototype TIE/D Defender on Lothal, Grand Admiral Thrawn sent Rukh to assist Governor Arihnda Pryce in the search for the rebels responsible. Pryce suspected that the thieves would return to the vicinity of the crash site to retrieve the prototype's removed hyperdrive. Upon arriving at the crash site, Rukh smelled the Lasat rebel Garazeb Orrelios, as well as Ezra Bridger and Jai Kell, nearby where they were retrieving the drive. As the assassin approached the scene, Bridger attempted to stall him by claiming that he and Kell, who were both disguised as scout troopers, had just finished searching the area. The ruse did not work, and Rukh attacked the two. During the fight, he realized that Bridger was a Jedi when he used the Force to fling him off Kell. The two escaped on a speeder bike, with Rukh pursuing. Meanwhile, Orrelios had evaded the assassin and escaped with the hyperdrive in an Imperial Troop Transport.

Rukh chased Bridger and Kell through a labyrinth of rock spires on a speeder bike. He engaged Bridger in a brief fight, his electrostaff to Bridger's lightsaber. When the two rebels pulled ahead due to Rukh being forced to evade a boulder in his path, the assassin fired a homing beacon at their bike, which they did not notice. Rukh continued the pursuit, eventually launching his bike over a pile of rock that Bridger had created as an obstacle with a planted detonator While in the air, Rukh's bike was destroyed when Bridger fired upon it, and the rebels fled. Using his tracking device, Rukh located the rebel camp and sent Pryce the coordinates. However, due to the rebels' earlier escape, Pryce did not allow Rukh to take out the camp by himself, which he was confident he could do. She instead attacked with several tanks, a strategy that he criticized. After the Rebels had escaped the camp, deeper into the mountains, Rukh insisted that he be allowed to pursue, but Pryce refused, deciding instead to bomb the mountains.

During the Rebel attack on Lothal, Rukh was stationed in Capital City. The rebels' attempts to destroy the Imperial fuel depot and factory had failed, as Thrawn had prepared a second set of TIE fighters to intercept the bombers after they broke through the blockade outside the planet. Upon being informed that some Rebel pilots may have survived their crash-landing, Thrawn tasked Rukh with capturing any survivors alive, only killing them if he had no choice. Thrawn also told him to capture Hera Syndulla, the attack's commander, at any cost. Rukh complied, and during his mission, he captured Rebel pilot Secon Daree and brought him to Pryce, who congratulated the assassin. Rukh later searched for Syndulla, acquiring her scent and found her helping another pilot, Mart Mattin. He ambushed the trio and engaged in a short skirmish with them. While he was unable to capture Mattin and Chopper, he managed to separate Syndulla from them, which led to her capture by Imperial forces.

When the Rebels tried to rescue General Syndulla, Rukh smelled them as they flied over on gliders, though the stormtroopers thought they were Loth-bats. Rukh tried to tell Governor Pryce, but as he talked with her, Kanan Jarrus freed Syndulla. Rukh pursued them, and fought breifly with the former, resulting in the loss of Jarrus's lightsaber. The rebels escaped on a glider.

Following the death of Jarrus, Rukh was present in Pryce's office during a conversation with Thrawn, via Hologram. Rukh was ordered to watch for the rebels to make a mistake. He later found a scout trooper that had been stunned by Garazeb Orrelios, and narrowly escaped being killed by a grenade that Sabine Wren had planted on the trooper's bike. His senses helped him spot Wren and Orrelios, and he followed them.

When he engaged them, he was close to defeating them, thanks to his cloaking device, when Wren planted a graffiti bomb on him, painting him orange. He was quickly defeated then by Orrelios, and painted fully before being sent back on his speeder bike.

Personality
Rukh was fiercely loyal to the Galactic Empire in general and Grand Admiral Thrawn in particular, serving as the latter's bodyguard and top assassin. Unless ordered otherwise, he would pursue his targets relentlessly and without hesitation or remorse.

Skills and Abilities
As a Noghri, Rukh could climb tall structures and travel quickly on all fours without tiring. His agility and reflexes made him formidable and unpredictable in close quarters combat. Despite this, he could be easily overpowered by Force-sensitives such as Bridger. Rukh also displayed a heightened sense of smell, catching the scent of Orrelios from a considerable distance, as well as easily seeing through Bridger and Kell's disguises.

Equipment
Rukh carried an electrostaff in combat, holding his own against the seasoned Bridger. He also employed tracking devices for help with finding targets, and knew how to operate a speeder bike.

Behind the scenes
Rukh was first introduced in the Legends novel Heir to the Empire, as the bodyguard of Grand Admiral Thrawn. It was confirmed in Celebration Orlando that Rukh would appear in Star Wars Rebels Season Four with his voice provided by Warwick Davis.