Zebulon Dak

"Congratulations. That was a fine race you won, and that is a fine speeder. My name is Zebulon Dak."

―Zebulon Dak^[1]

Zebulon Dak was the wealthy, influential founder and owner of Zebulon Dak Speeder Corporation during the early years of the Galactic Empire. A follower of repulsorcraft racing, Dak attended races in search of new talent and was so impressed by racer Thall Joben's performance in the Boonta Speeder Race in 15 BBY that he offered full-time jobs to both Joben and his racing partner, Jord Dusat. However, Dak was secretly involved in early resistance to the Empire, using his wealth and success as a cover for his activities, and also recruited the young racers' friend, Kea Moll, to assist in his work.

Biography[]

"I want you two to work for me. Designing, and building. Um… when can you start?"

―Zebulon Dak, to Thall Joben and Jord Dusat^[1]

Zebulon Dak made his name as an engineer^[2] and landspeeder magnate around the time of the rise of the Galactic Empire.^[3] He founded the Zebulon Dak Speeder Corporation^[4] at some point prior to 15 BBY,^[5] and the company's success made him wealthy and influential. However, unbeknownst to most, Dak was also part of an early anti-Imperial resistance cell, using his wealth and success as cover for his work to subvert the Empire.^[3]

An enthusiast of repulsorcraft racing, Dak attended the Boonta Eve Classic,^[3] Tatooine's annual podracing event,^[6] around 35 BBY, where he witnessed the Dug Sebulba thread the Stone Needle in Beggar's Canyon. In 15 BBY,^[5] Dak attended the Boonta Speeder Race on the planet Boonta and witnessed the victory of racer Thall Joben in the White Witch,^[1] a Mobquet C/L-82 landspeeder that had been heavily modified by Joben and his racing partner, Jord Dusat.^[3] Not only did Joben defeat his opponents in the race, but he also managed to evade the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who followed Joben into the race after being hired to kill the young pilot by the gangster Sise Fromm.^[1]

DakJobenDusat-ARttF — Dak meets the Joben-Dusat Racing Team

Dak was impressed by Joben's expert flying, which reminded him of Sebulba's performance two decades earlier,^[3] and approached Joben and Dusat following the race to offer them jobs designing and building speeders for Zebulon Dak Speeder Corporation. The pair accepted immediately, agreeing to start work the following day.^[1] Dak also offered employment to the racers' friend, the resistance fighter Kea Moll. Neither suspected that his true intentions were to recruit Moll to spy on Balmorran Arms, Millennium Astro-Engineering, and other manufacturers working for the Empire.^[3] The young engineers later reconsidered their acceptance after realizing that company policy required their droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, to be reprogrammed and wiped of their personalities. Only when the droids decided to leave rather than hold their masters back were the two able to start their new jobs.^[1]

Personality and traits[]

"You're sure Zebulon won't let Artoo and Threepio go along?"
"Impossible. It's company policy. They'd have to be re-programmed."

―Kea Moll and Thall Joben^[1]

A male sentient with Gray hair and yellow eyes,^[1] Zebulon Dak's successful business allowed him to become a prominent figure in the landspeeder industry and brought him great wealth.^[4] He enjoyed repulsorcraft racing and personally attended races to look for talented racers and engineers,^[1] witnessing Sebulba in the Boonta Eve Classic^[3] and Thall Joben's victory in the Boonta Speeder Race.^[1] However, Dak had an almost paranoid disliking of droids that contributed to his reputation as an eccentric.^[2] His company had a strict policy of reprogramming the droids of all employees, which almost led Joben and Dusat to reject his job offer.^[1] Unbeknownst to most, Dak was opposed to Imperial rule and used his position as a cover for his work to subvert the Empire.^[3]