Carlist Rieekan

Carlist Rieekan was an Alderaanian general who, throughout his life, served the Galactic Republic, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the Alliance of Free Planets, the New Republic, and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. He joined the Republic's Judicial Forces at the age of seventeen before serving in the Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. With the advent of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's ascension to Emperor and the installment of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, Rieekan immediately rejected the new regime. Instead, he chose to serve the Royal House of Alderaan as a civilian tactician, before becoming one of the founding members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebellion against the rule of the Emperor.

When the Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin brought the Death Star superweapon to bear on Alderaan, Rieekan was at nearby Delaya. He received a massive influx of distress calls and requests for evacuation, but hesitated to aid Alderaan, as he felt that his involvement would have implicated Alderaan at large as having ties to the illegal rebellion movement. Within minutes, Tarkin's battle station fired its superlaser, destroying Alderaan in a flash. Rieekan was shattered, and blamed himself for the disaster, as he felt his hesitation had cost many Alderaanians their lives. The incident took its toll on Rieekan, as he became an overly morose and paranoid man.

He was later tasked with command of the Alliance's Echo Base on Hoth, and also worked closely with the pilot Luke Skywalker's Rogue Squadron unit. Over the years, Rieekan collaborated with the Alderaanian princess, Leia Organa, and his insistence on thorough security and evacuation measures after the destruction of his homeworld proved instrumental to the Alliance when Lord Darth Vader's Death Squadron moved against Echo Base. Rieekan later oversaw Haven Base on Arbra, and would go on to serve as Minister of State and Director of Intelligence for the New Republic, the Alliance's successor state. The general eventually retired, only to be brought back into service during the Yuuzhan Vong War, during which he aided in the failed defense of Coruscant.

Text and facts from the “Carlist Rieekan/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.