Garven Dreis

"Almost there&hellip;"

- Garven Dreis

Garven "Dave" Dreis was a male human pilot from Virujansi who served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. During the war, Dreis participated in the Rebellion's attack on the Galactic Empire's first Death Star in the Battle of Yavin, flying an T-65B X-wing starfighter as leader of Red Squadron. During the battle, he was killed by Darth Vader.

Battle of Scarif
In 0 BBY, Dreis led Red Squadron as part of the Rebel support forces attacking the Shield Gate above Scarif.

Battle of Yavin
"Stay there, I've just lost my starboard engine! Get set up for your attack run!"

- Garven Dreis' final words

In 0 BBY, Dreis was present in the Rebels' starfighter hangar when Luke Skywalker reunited with his childhood friend, Biggs Darklighter. When Dreis questioned Skywalker on his confidence behind the controls of an X-wing starfighter, Darklighter bragged that Skywalker was the best bush pilot in the Outer Rim Territories.

Shortly after, Rebel Alliance launched a desperate assault on the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's moon-sized planet-destroying battlestation. Gold Squadron, flying Y-wings, made the first trench run on the thermal exhaust port while the X-wings of Red Squadron provided cover and destroyed surface targets. Despite Dreis' experience and leadership, the X-wings suffered heavy losses to turbolaser fire and TIE/ln space superiority starfighters.

When all 3 Y-wings in the initial attack run had been shot down by Darth Vader and his wingmen, Dreis attempted another bombing run with alongside Red Ten and another X-wing pilot. Although Vader shot down Dreis' wingmen, he managed to launch a pair of proton torpedoes towards the exhaust port. These, however, missed the target, and another group of fighters would have to make a third attempt.

After Dreis' unsuccessful bombing run, he attempted to turn back to the rest of squadron for cover when one of his starboard engines lost power. This made him an easy target for Vader, who fired his laser cannons into the upper starboard engine. Dreis' fighter lost power and, like his proton torpedoes, impacted on the surface of the space station. Dreis was killed instantly in the crash and explosion.

Behind the scenes
Garven Dreis was portrayed in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope by British actor Drewe Henley; Henley would later appear as Dreis in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story through the use of archival footage.

Appearances

 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novel
 * Star Wars: Rogue One Secret Mission
 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
 * Star Wars: The Original Trilogy: A Graphic Novel
 * Star Wars: Battle Pod