Boo Rawl

Boo Rawl, a Human male, was born on the planet Hazzard in the Lahara sector of the Outer Rim Territories in 33 BBY. At sixteen, in 17 BBY, Rawl departed his homeworld to make a living on the spacelanes as a freight hauler. Eventually, he became the captain of his own starship, a BD-27 Transport called the Long Run. Like many independent haulers in the galaxy, Captain Rawl modified his ship, improving the Long Run's shield output and installing a retractable turbolaser in the front of the barge driver, which reduced living and storage space. To combat the boredom of spending hours in hyperspace, Rawl listened to his collection of anti-Imperial rock music. In 2 BBY, Rawl joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. He was a firm believer in free trade and free speech, and he enlisted to protest the Imperial presence on Hazzard and in the surrounding area. Captain Rawl used the Long Run to transport heavy equipment and supplies to Rebel bases across the galaxy.

In 3 ABY, after the evacuation of the Alliance's main base on Hoth, Captain Rawl was paired with technician Deen Voorson to take a Colony Class 23669 power generator from the Kuat Freight Port, which was scheduled to be shipped to an Imperial outpost in the next two weeks. Voorson had family connections at the freight port and thought he could convince his aunt, Nell Voorson, the senior docking controller, to arrange docking clearance for an Alliance ship to steal the generator before the official Imperial transport arrived. However, Voorson's aunt refused to help, but the technician left a signaller with her in case she changed her mind. Five days before the generator was due to ship, Voorson received a message from the signaller telling him to pick up the generator from loading dock 42 at 1230 hours on the day of the transfer. Voorson added an ST box to the Long Run's transponder so the freight port would identify the ship as the Imperial barge 36DD, which was supposed to pick up the generator at 1430 hours. Despite Rawl's unease about Voorson tampering with his ship's systems, the two took the Long Run to the Kuat system on the scheduled day.

When Rawl hailed the freight port, he requested permission to enter loading dock 42 to connect with the cargo barge carrying the generator. A controller told them they were early and the linking technicians would not be at dock 42 to connect the barge to the driver until 1430. Rawl asked for confirmation, as the message Voorson received specified 1230. The controller checked the orders and confirmed that while the scheduled pickup time was 1230, the technician's orders still listed the time as 1430. The technicians were on break and would return to duty within the hour. With no other option, Rawl and Voorson had to wait. Rawl passed the time by listening to his music, including the latest release by Billi B and the Paradise Gang. The technicians returned to duty and linked the generator cargo barge to the Long Run. Before leaving, Rawl and Voorson checked the barge contents and were shocked to find that Voorson's nine-year-old cousin, Shannon, had stowed away because she wanted to join the Rebellion. Voorson wanted to take her back to the freight port immediately, but Rawl pointed out that depressurizing the dock, disconnecting the barge, and explaining everything to security would attract more attention than they could afford, especially with the real 36DD due to arrive in less than thirty minutes. Reluctantly, Voorson agreed to take Shannon with them.

As the Long Run left the dock, Shannon revealed that she, not her mother, had changed the pickup time on the generator to allow the Alliance to steal it. Rawl admitted he was impressed, but he scolded her for not remembering to change the technician's orders. As the Long Run cleared the freight port's tractor beam range, the real barge driver 36DD arrived to pick up the generator. Now aware of the Alliance's deception, Kuat Freight Port ordered the Long Run to return to port while the 36DD moved to block their escape. A squadron of TIE fighters was also sent to intercept the barge. Voorson's aunt contacted them over the comm, ordering them to return to the dock or be fired upon. Voorson tried to get his aunt to call off the fighters by revealing that Shannon was aboard the Long Run, but the Imperial ships ignored her. Rawl ordered Voorson to man the Long Run's turbolaser and engage the TIE fighters while he piloted straight for the 36DD. The two ships sped toward each other, and Rawl hoped the Imperial crew wouldn't risk their ship in a collision. At the last moment, the Imperial ship dove under the Long Run; the shields of the two ships brushed and collapsed, but Rawl got the Long Run into clear space and jumped to lightspeed. Worried that Interdictors had been dispatched from Venir or Renegg, Rawl, Voorson, and Shannon waited to see if they would be pulled out of hyperspace. After thirty minutes in hyperspace, Rawl announced that they had escaped, having traveled beyond the range of a potential interdiction field, and welcomed Shannon to the Alliance.

Boo Rawl was a physically fit man with long hair that he kept tied back, and a thick beard that only covered his chin. As an independent freight hauler, Rawl believed that people were capable of living their lives without Imperial interference. A fan of anti-Imperial rock music, he had what was considered to be the largest and loudest private collection in the Alliance. Rawl loved any track blacklisted by the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order, and he hoped to one day record a track with a blacklisted group. His own song, "Private Property," showcased his musical talent, sarcasm, and ability to turn any phrase into an anti-Imperial sentiment.

Rawl loved his ship, the Long Run, and was very protective of it. A skilled pilot, Rawl could fly space transports and capital ships, and plot courses through hyperspace. He knew how to operate the ship's systems, including weapons, shields, and sensors, and he could repair transports. His years as a freight hauler gave him knowledge of planetary systems and first aid. Trained to use a blaster, Rawl carried a blaster pistol as a personal weapon. He was also skilled in unarmed combat. Rawl was considered to be an imposing, streetwise individual who knew a lot about the underground music scene. He could also program and repair computers and usually carried at least one banned music data cartridge with him.

Boo Rawl was a character in the short story Slaying Dragons, which was published in the ninth issue of the Star Wars Adventure Journal by West End Games in 1996. Angela Phillips wrote the story, and Mike Vilardi provided the illustrations. Slaying Dragons was later reprinted in Tales from the Empire in 1997 and on Hyperspace. However, the reprints did not include the RPG material from the original publication, which contained much of Rawl's background in the form of a biographical capsule. Rawl was later mentioned in the entry for his homeworld, Hazzard, in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.