Tay Vanis

Tay Vanis was an Alliance Intelligence agent who operated during the Galactic Civil War under the codename Tiree. Based aboard the modified freighter Home under General Lens Reekeene in the early stages of the war, Vanis sparred with the Imperial Security Bureau agent Mar Barezz, who repeatedly attempted to capture the elusive "Tiree." Though he had already participated in the maximum number of missions before mandatory retirement, Vanis continued to serve the Alliance, albeit "off the record." He was instrumental in the recruitment of many future members of the Alliance around the time of the Battle of Yavin.

Despite his service record, Vanis would later go absent without leave pursuing family matters, prompting the Alliance to launch no less than two search and rescue missions. Vanis was contacted by his sister, Tyerle, from Questal, whose husband had been brutalized by Moff Bandor. Investigating the incident, Vanis was captured by Bandor and subjected to the power of the Hurlothrumbic Generator. He was later rescued by a team of Rebels, but would once again go missing in 3 ABY. In his native Iskalon system, the Empire was preparing some unknown superweapon, and Vanis intended to discover its purpose. Sowing seeds of rebellion on the worlds of Gamandar, Iskalon and his homeworld Telfrey, Vanis' actions soon led the Iskalonian system to suffer swift reprisals from Darth Vader.

His family died in the Telfrey Holocaust, but Vanis was given little time to mourn, as he was soon given a set of data tapes by Bothan spies, containing information relevant to the unknown superweapon. Although he sent his ally Yom Argo to the Alliance requesting aid, possession of the tapes brought Vanis firmly within the sights of Lord Vader, who captured and brutally tortured Vanis. Prior to his capture and torture, however, he had transferred the tapes to the care of his droid, LE-914, in the hopes that members of the Alliance would come to retrieve them. Sure enough, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa came to the rescue, but it was too late. Vanis, now a vegetable of a man, had been kept alive by Vader as punishment, and LE-914, understanding her master's plight, self-destructed, killing Vanis in the process.

Text and facts from the “Tay Vanis” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.