Panno

Panno was a Dressellian male hailing from his species' homeworld of Dressel who became a general and aided fellow Dressellian General Orrimaarko in leading the militant resistance against the Galactic Empire's occupation of their native planet. He later joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic and gained the rank of major, serving as a scout and as a tactician who helped plan logistics for the Alliance's special operations and commando strikes. In 4 ABY, Panno participated in the Battle of Endor as part of the strike team on the Forest Moon of Endor, which destroyed the shield generator protecting the Imperial second Death Star battlestation.

Biography[]

Dressellian resistance and Alliance service[]

"We have stolen a small Imperial shuttle. Disguised as a cargo ship and using a secret Imperial code, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator."

―General Crix Madine, outlining the strike team's role in the Endor mission —

Listen (file info)^[6]

Panno was a Dressellian male^[2] who hailed from^[1] his^[3] species' planet Dressel^[1] and became a general at some point^[4] during the Galactic Civil War, which was fought between the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire.^[2] As a result of the Imperial occupation of their homeworld, fellow Dressellian General Orrimaarko led the species' militant resistance against the Empire with the assistance of Generals Panno and Neeralli.^[4]

Holoprojector - Home One — Panno (left; the middle Dressellian) was present at a Rebel briefing for the Battle of Endor.

By 4 ABY,^[7] Panno, by then a former commando, joined the Alliance,^[2] to which he was followed by communications expert Olander Brit.^[8] Panno attained the rank of major within the Alliance, serving as a scout and tactician. In the latter role, Panno assisted Alliance General Crix Madine with planning logistics for special operations^[2] and commando strikes.^[3] In that year,^[7] the Alliance learned that the Empire was constructing a second Death Star battlestation over the Forest Moon of Endor, prompting them to organize an effort to destroy the Death Star.^[6]

Along with Orrimaarko, Panno was among the Alliance troops who attended a briefing held aboard the Star Cruiser Home One, which saw a strike team organized to infiltrate Endor and destroy the Death Star's shield generator on the moon.^[6] After aiding General Madine with plotting the strike team's destruction of the planetary shield generator,^[3] both Panno^[5] and Orrimaarko^[9] joined the assembled strike team.^[6]

Infiltrating Endor[]

"Take the squad ahead. We'll meet at the shield generator at 0300."

―General Han Solo, to Major Bren Derlin —

Listen (file info)^[6]

Panno^[5] and the rest of the strike team infiltrated Endor aboard a stolen Imperial shuttle, the Tydirium. Posing as Imperials, they bypassed the Star Destroyer blockade in Endor's orbit. Once on Endor, the strike team proceeded to reconnoiter the area but soon encountered Imperial scout trooper patrols,^[6] forcing Alliance General Han Solo to direct the strike team's Major Bren Derlin to lead the squad ahead and rendezvous with him at the shield generator bunker.^[10]

Making their way toward the shield generator later that afternoon,^[10] Panno^[5] and the others in the strike team bypassed several Imperial scouts without compromising their position. At nightfall, they camped in a well-covered shallow ravine, posting two sentries and setting up a blanket grid with their scanning equipment. They were barely into their first sleeping shift when an Imperial All Terrain Scout Transport walker moved toward their position.^[10]

AT-ST negvv — Panno and the others in the strike team disabled an All Terrain Scout Transport (pictured).

When it was obvious the walker would not bypass them, the squad quickly jammed the walker's transmissions and disabled its spotlights before circling around the machine to keep it blind as to the source of the attack. However, the AT-ST then opened fire at random, which greatly risked alerting other Imperials to the squad's presence. The group's medic, Corporal Delevar, in turn fired a smoke canister directly into one of the walker's cockpit viewports, forcing its pilots to abandon the vehicle and surrender to the strike team. After forcing the walker pilot to make a few call-ins to explain their vehicle's absence,^[10] Panno^[5] and the rest of the squad continued on the following morning and rendezvoused with Solo at the shield generator as planned.^[10]

Alliance victory[]

Meanwhile, Solo and the remainder of the strike team's command crew had formed an alliance with Endor's native Ewoks, who showed the Alliance a route to the shield bunker's rear entrance. Solo led the strike team into the bunker's interior, where they began placing explosive charges to destroy the shield generator before being ambushed by Imperial forces.^[6]

Ewok village — The celebration at Bright Tree Village, which Panno attended

Subsequently led back outside the bunker, the strike team's capture proved short-lived as the Ewoks aided the Alliance by counter-attacking the Imperials, culminating in the strike team ultimately retaking the bunker and successfully destroying the shield generator. With the shield generator's destruction, the Death Star was ultimately destroyed by the Alliance Fleet above Endor, leading to a major victory for the Alliance. Following the battle, Panno was among the many who later attended the victory celebrations in the Ewoks' Bright Tree Village.^[6]

Personality and traits[]

Panno had light brown skin and yellow eyes.^[2] He stood at 1.82 meters in height and weighed 80 kilograms.^[1]

Skills and abilities[]

Panno was a shrewd tactician, experienced in fighting against overwhelming enemy numbers.^[1] He earned high marks for his fighting and planning in various battles. With Panno serving as a commando, scout, or tactician based on when the situation called for it,^[7] his strike team service^[5] constituted the first function.^[6]

Equipment[]

Panno wielded an impressive assortment of weapons against his opponents in various battles.^[7] He was individually armed with a blaster pistol,^[3] a blaster rifle, a vibroblade, stun grenades, and thermal detonators.^[1] He also wore a pair of goggles and had a brown, hooded cloak covering a uniform that was similar in appearance to the Alliance Cold Weather armor sans headgear, gloves, and backpack. Panno's uniform further differed from the Cold Weather armor through him wearing forest camouflage pants.^[3]

During the briefing on Home One, Panno's uniform was overlaid with a white cloak rather than a brown one.^[6] Along with all members of the Endor strike team, he was equipped with basic commando gear, which included a standard comlink, a low-feedback scanner, a sensor scrambler, a heavily muffled blaster, and full forest-camouflage fatigues.^[11]

Behind the scenes[]

Portrayed by an uncredited extra, Panno first appeared in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.^[6] The Home One scenes were filmed throughout the week of Tuesday, February 16, 1982 at Stage 5 of Elstree Studios,^[12] while the film's later victory celebration scenes were filmed between January 20 and 22 that year on Stage 3 in Crescent City, California.^[13] The vests worn by Panno and the other Dressellians in the film were reused from the Alliance Cold Weather armor outfits seen in the earlier 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.^[5]

In 2000, Decipher, Inc. would first name the character in their Star Wars Customizable Card Game's Death Star II Limited expansion set.^[2] In 2006, Lucasfilm Holocron continuity database keeper Leland Chee theorized that Panno may be visible boarding the Tydirium.^[14] While no Dressellians are visible boarding the shuttle, there are some hooded figures that may include Panno.^[6]