Tamizander Rey

For other uses, see Rey (disambiguation).

"Deck Officer! Deck Officer!"

―Han Solo^[2]

Tamizander Rey was a Human commander of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. A native of the planet Esseles in the Galactic Core, Rey abandoned his role with the Esselian defense force following the dissolution of the Imperial Senate shortly before the Battle of Yavin. After joining the Rebellion, he served at the secret Echo Base on the Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth by 3 ABY. As the facility's senior deck officer, he was responsible for overseeing all docking bay operations. At Rey's suggestion, General Carlist Rieekan issued an order preventing any starship from leaving Hoth's surface until Echo Base's energy shield was activated, which earned Rey the ire of many non-Rebel pilots finding themselves trapped in the base as a result. During the Battle of Hoth, Rey coordinated the evacuation of the base's various transports.

Biography[]

Echo Base deck officer[]

"Has Commander Skywalker reported in yet?"
"I haven't seen him. It's possible he came in through the south entrance."
"It's possible? Why don't you go find out? It's getting dark out there."

―Han Solo and Tamizander Rey^[2]

Tamizander Rey was a Human from the Core World Esseles, a planet highly regarded for its rich culture, celebrated museums, and technologically-advanced research facilities. Rey served as a member of the Esselian defense force, a local military unit, though he resigned following the dissolution of the Imperial Senate by Galactic Emperor Palpatine in 0 BBY, just prior to the Battle of Yavin.^[3]

Afterward, Rey joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic as a highly-skilled starship pilot, eventually earning an assignment to the Alliance High Command's secret Echo Base on the Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth by^[4] 3 ABY,^[5] as a commander. As Echo Base's senior deck officer, Rey was responsible for overseeing the facility's docking bay operations in the base's main hangar, working closely with Lieutenant Romas Navander, who coordinated and relayed orders to Rebel ships from the command center. No starship landed on or departed from the ice planet without Rey's knowledge.^[3]

When Han Solo returned to the base after one of many routine scouting missions of the external Hoth perimeter with Luke Skywalker, Rey was present in the docking bay, helping to oversee the maintenance of the base's T-47 airspeeders, dubbed "snowspeeders," by ordering a group of repair droids to assist in the difficulty Echo Base had getting the speeders to operate in the planet's nighttime sub-freezing temperatures.^[6] General Carlist Rieekan, commander of the base, and Princess Leia Organa ordered Rey to report in to the command center as soon as Skywalker and Solo returned. When Rey attempted to direct Solo to the command center, the smuggler was more interested in the condition of his freighter, the Millennium Falcon. Solo was upset to discover, as he learned from Rey, that base technicians were pulled away from working on the ship to address the more dire needs of the snowspeeders.^[7]

After Solo discovered later that Skywalker had failed to report in to the base after investigating a purported meteorite that crashed into Hoth's icy surface during their scouting mission, he questioned Rey as to whether or not Skywalker had been heard from. Rey sheepishly responded that he had not seen him but considered the possibility that Skywalker may have alternatively entered through the base's southern entrance.^[2] Although not in an official position to give commands,^[8] Solo ordered Rey to check on Skywalker's location, to which Rey complied, eventually discovering for himself that Skywalker was missing.^[2]

Search for Skywalker and Battle of Hoth[]

"Prepare to launch snowspeeders!"

―Tamizander Rey, directing the departure of Rogue Group in the search for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo^[7]

As pilots from Rogue Group prepared to depart from the base the next morning in snowspeeders to search for Skywalker and Solo, the latter of whom had left the base just as night settled to search for his missing friend, Rey eagerly reported to Rieekan that external temperatures had reached operational limits for the speeders and that the base's shield doors were ready to be opened. Rey proceeded to direct each Rogue's departure from the hangar.^[7]

Shortly before the Battle of Hoth, Rey made the suggestion to General Pharl McQuarrie, second-in-command to Rieekan, that no ship be permitted to leave Hoth until the base's shield generator had been activated.^[3] Rieekan agreed with the precautionary measure,^[2] effectively grounding the many non-Rebel pilots delivering supplies to Echo Base, who in turn became angry with Rey. Rey was later grievously injured during the Alliance defeat at the Battle of Hoth while coordinating the departures of the various Rebel evacuation transports. Nevertheless, he dutifully continued to oversee the evacuations. Despite the crushing Rebel defeat, a significant portion of Echo Base's personnel and equipment were able to escape the Imperial assault,^[3] including thirteen of thirty GR-75 medium transports.^[8]

Personality and traits[]

"I joined up with the Rebels because I notice things…"

―Tamizander Rey^[7]

The increasing Imperialization of the galaxy during the Galactic Civil War, part of which included the disbanding of the Imperial Senate in 0 BBY, led Tamizander Rey to join the Rebel Alliance^[3] as a talented starship pilot.^[4] As Echo Base's senior deck officer, he suggested to the base's command staff that no ship be allowed to leave Hoth until the shield generator was activated despite the resulting flak he received from non-partisan pilots. During the Imperial invasion of Hoth, he dutifully proceeded to oversee the departing escape transports even after suffering serious injuries.^[3]

Rey had a particularly tumultuous relationship with Han Solo, whose brash nature often clashed with his own responsibilities as senior deck officer. Solo typically responded to Rey's requests to follow base procedure with his trademark sarcasm, neglecting a direct order to report to the command center^[7] and later ordering Rey to check on Luke Skywalker's missing status, without necessarily having the authority to do so.^[8] When Solo snapped at Rey to quickly check on Skywalker due to Hoth's threatening nighttime cold, Rey fired back in return that he was well aware that Hoth's sun was setting, quipping that he joined the Rebellion because of his perceptive nature.^[7]

Behind the scenes[]

Tamizander Rey first appeared in the May 1980 novelization of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, written by Donald F. Glut,^[8] just prior to the film's theatrical release, in which he was played by actor Norman Chancer, credited only as one of several "Other Officers."^[2] The character was first identified by name in the November 1996 Hoth Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, which also provided Rey with a backstory.^[1]

Rey's interaction with Solo in The Empire Strikes Back novelization is much more expansive than the film. In the novelization, Rey, who is referred to as a "deck sergeant," is accompanied by an aide when first queried by Solo. Additionally, it is Rey who subsequently reports back to Solo that Skywalker has not returned to Echo Base through the south entrance, going on to warn Solo that Hoth's dropping nighttime temperatures would mean the death of his tauntaun as he exits the base to search for Skywalker.^[8] This role is instead occupied by character Tigran Jamiro in the film, portrayed by actor Ray Hassett, to whom Solo retorts he will "see in Hell."^[2]

The Rey character holds an even greater role in The Empire Strikes Back radio drama and dramatization script. The role of "Deck Officer," voiced by Ron Frazier, combines the film's characters of Rey, Jamiro, Bren Derlin, and Cal Alder into one. The "Deck Officer" is also referred to as a "Lieutenant" both in the scene occupied by Jamiro in the film and that in which he oversees Rogue Group's morning departure to find the stranded Skywalker and Solo. Since neither Rey nor Jamiro canonically hold the rank of lieutenant and both characters are combined into a single role, there may arise ambiguity concerning which character truly appears in the Rogue departure scene. Given that the deck officer in this scene is directing the departure of craft from the hangar, a duty more closely associated with the responsibilities of Rey,^[7]^[6] this article assumes that it is indeed Rey appearing in that scene.

The Empire Strikes Back Storybook, a 1980 illustrated children's adaptation of the film, alternatively depicts Rey's film interaction with Solo as a brief comlink exchange, rather than a face-to-face encounter. The story refers to the character only as "the deck officer."^[9]