Dix Rivan

"Look out, Dixie!"

- Wedge Antilles, just before Dix Rivan's death at Gall

Dix Rivan, known as Dixie, was a male pilot of the Alliance to Restore the Republic's elite Rogue Squadron during the height of the Galactic Civil War, in the months following the Battle of Hoth, flying as Rogue Five. Although Rivan was a shy, introverted type, he considered his fellow Rogue Squadron pilots his family, and, as the squadron's rear guard, Rivan was always watching out for his friends in combat, flying to their rescue when needed. Rivan participated in Rogue Squadron's mission to help Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, and Lando Calrissian attempt to rescue the carbonite-encased Han Solo from the bounty hunter Boba Fett on the moon of Gall in 3.5 ABY. Rivan was the only member of Rogue Squadron killed during the battle, in which the Rebels failed to free Solo.

Biography
"Fine shootin', Rogue Leader.''" "''Thanks, Dix."

- Dix Rivan and Rogue Leader Luke Skywalker, during the Battle of Gall

Dix Rivan was a member of Rogue Squadron, the elite starfighter unit assigned to the roving Rebel Alliance High Command headquarters, in the months following the Battle of Hoth, flying under the call sign Rogue Five. Because of Rivan's shy personality, no one in Rogue Squadron knew where he came from or why he fought with the Rebellion, but most assumed his parents were killed by the Empire and he joined to get revenge. Rivan served as Rogue Squadron's rear guard, either in space or on the ground, always watching out for his squadronmates and racing to someone's rescue when needed, although his recklessness put his own life at risk.

In 3.5 ABY, Rogue Squadron established a small temporary command base on the moon of Kile, orbiting the gas giant Zhar, in the Zhar system of the Outer Rim Territories. Rivan and the Rogues had sneaked into the system for a quick hit-and-fade mission against the Imperial Enclave on the nearby moon of Gall, where the Rebellion had learned the bounty hunter Boba Fett was holding the carbonite-encased Han Solo in preparation for delivery to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Rivan and the Rogues planned to attack the Imperial Enclave's naval forces in orbit over Gall to create a distraction that they hoped would buy enough time for a small team, including Princess Leia Organa and Lando Calrissian in the Millennium Falcon, and the mercenary Dash Rendar, flying his starship, the Outrider, to sneak in and rescue Solo from Fett.

Although Luke Skywalker temporarily joined the Rogues for the mission as the thirteenth squadron member, flying as honorary Rogue Leader, the Rebels were vastly outnumbered, required to hold off two Imperial II-class Star Destroyers and their combined complement of 144 TIE starfighters. As the Rogues made their approach on the first Star Destroyer, Rivan erupted into an excited battle cry over the squadron's comm channel. Skywalker considered scolding Rivan to cut the unofficial comm chatter but refrained, knowing just how Rivan felt&mdash;there was nothing quite like flying into combat.

During the Battle of Gall, Rivan survived the first few waves of attacking TIE Fighters, complimenting Skywalker for his own fine performance in quickly dispatching several of the enemy fighters, but Rivan's luck would soon run out. A TIE Fighter had maneuvered its way below Rivan's X-wing starfighter and began firing at the exposed underbelly. Rivan tried to evade by turning away to starboard, but he was too late. The X-wing exploded in a fiery blaze, killing Rivan instantly.

Rivan was the only Rogue to lose his life during what would prove to be an unsuccessful mission for the Rebellion. Organa and Calrissian failed to rescue Solo from Fett, who escaped the Imperial Enclave on Gall with his prisoner in tow.

Personality and traits
"Yeeehhaaawww!"

- Dix Rivan flies into combat during the Battle of Gall

Dix Rivan, affectionately known to Rogue Squadron as "Dixie," was a quiet man. He came off as a shy, private person, and as a result nobody in Rogue Squadron knew the details of why he fought with the Rebel Alliance. Most assumed the Empire had killed his parents and so he sought vengeance, but Rivan did not seem like the vengeful type. Instead, Rivan treated the Rogues as his family, and he enjoyed the post-mission camaraderie of his fellow pilots, even if he listened far more than he spoke.

In his duty as the squadron's rear guard, Rivan was always there to bail his friends out of trouble during combat, but he did not watch his own back as well as he should, which would prove to be his undoing during the mission to Gall. He had allowed an enemy TIE to sneak up underneath him and destroy his X-wing during the battle.

Rivan commanded knowledge in languages, planetary systems, and street survival. He possessed mechanical ability in astrogation, repulsorlift operation, X-wing starfighter piloting, starship gunnery, and starship shields; and technical ability in repulsorlift repair. Rivan's standard Rogue Squadron equipment included a blaster pistol, comlink, and his Rebel flight suit.

Behind the scenes
The character named "Dix" first appeared in the May 1996 novel Shadows of the Empire, written by Steve Perry, in which he serves as the only pilot in Rogue Squadron to die during the Rebel Alliance's mission to rescue Han Solo from Boba Fett on Gall. Dix was subsequently provided a last name, "Rivan," and a brief background history in the June 1996 Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook, written by Peter Schweighofer.

A Shadows of the Empire minicomic, originally released in 1996 Ertl Star Wars model kit packages, features a panel depicting the Battle of Gall, in which a single X-wing fighter is shown blowing up. Given that Rivan is the only Rogue to die at Gall in the Shadows of the Empire novel, this article concludes that the destroyed X-wing in the comic is Rivan's fighter.

Appearances

 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Shadows of the Empire junior novelization
 * Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Ertl minicomic