Tamizander Rey

Tamizander Rey, a Human hailing from the Core World of Esseles, a planet well-known for its vibrant culture, renowned museums, and cutting-edge research facilities, was a member of the Esselian defense force, a local military organization. However, he resigned from his position after the dissolution of the Imperial Senate by Galactic Emperor Palpatine in 0 BBY, an event that took place just prior to the Battle of Yavin.

Subsequently, Rey enlisted in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and became an accomplished starship pilot. Eventually, he was assigned to the Alliance High Command's secret Echo Base on Hoth, an ice planet situated in the Outer Rim Territories, around 3 ABY, where he held the rank of commander. As the senior deck officer at Echo Base, Rey's duties encompassed the supervision of the facility's docking bay operations within the main hangar. He worked closely with Lieutenant Romas Navander, who was responsible for coordinating and relaying orders to Rebel ships from the command center. Every starship that either landed on or departed from the ice planet did so under Rey's supervision.

Upon Han Solo's return to the base following a routine scouting mission around the Hoth perimeter with Luke Skywalker, Rey was present in the docking bay. He was overseeing the maintenance of the base's T-47 airspeeders, which were nicknamed "snowspeeders." He directed a group of repair droids to assist with the difficulties Echo Base was experiencing in getting the speeders to function in the planet's sub-freezing nighttime temperatures. General Carlist Rieekan, the base commander, along with Princess Leia Organa, instructed Rey to report to the command center as soon as Skywalker and Solo returned. When Rey attempted to direct Solo to the command center, the smuggler displayed greater concern for the condition of his freighter, the Millennium Falcon. Solo became displeased upon learning from Rey that base technicians had been diverted from working on his ship to address the more pressing needs of the snowspeeders.

Later, after Solo discovered that Skywalker had not reported back to the base after investigating a supposed [meteorite](/article/meteorite-legends] that had crashed on Hoth's icy surface during their scouting mission, he questioned Rey about whether there had been any news from Skywalker. Rey responded hesitantly that he had not seen him but suggested the possibility that Skywalker might have entered through the base's southern entrance. Although he lacked the official authority to issue commands, Solo instructed Rey to check on Skywalker's whereabouts, a request that Rey complied with. Eventually, Rey himself confirmed that Skywalker was missing.

As pilots from Rogue Group prepared to depart from the base the following morning in snowspeeders to search for Skywalker and Solo, the latter of whom had left the base as night fell to search for his missing friend, Rey informed Rieekan that external temperatures had reached operational limits for the speeders and that the base's shield doors were ready to be opened. Rey then proceeded to oversee each member of Rogue Group's departure from the hangar.

Shortly before the Battle of Hoth, Rey suggested to General Pharl McQuarrie, Rieekan's second-in-command, that no ship should be allowed to leave Hoth until the base's shield generator had been activated. Rieekan concurred with this precautionary measure, effectively grounding the numerous non-Rebel pilots who were delivering supplies to Echo Base, which in turn angered them towards Rey. Rey sustained serious injuries during the Alliance's defeat in the Battle of Hoth while coordinating the departure of the various Rebel evacuation transports. Despite this, he continued to oversee the evacuations. Despite the devastating Rebel defeat, a significant portion of Echo Base's personnel and equipment managed to escape the Imperial assault, including thirteen of thirty GR-75 medium transports.

The increasing Imperialization of the galaxy during the Galactic Civil War, which included the disbanding of the Imperial Senate in 0 BBY, motivated Tamizander Rey to join the Rebel Alliance as a skilled starship pilot. In his role as Echo Base's senior deck officer, he advised the base's command staff to prevent any ship from leaving Hoth until the shield generator was activated, despite the negative reactions he received from non-partisan pilots. During the Imperial invasion of Hoth, he continued to supervise the departing escape transports even after suffering severe injuries.

Rey had a particularly strained relationship with Han Solo, whose impulsive nature often clashed with Rey's responsibilities as senior deck officer. Solo frequently responded to Rey's requests to adhere to base procedures with his characteristic sarcasm, disregarding a direct order to report to the command center and later instructing Rey to check on Luke Skywalker's missing status, despite not necessarily having the authority to do so. When Solo impatiently urged Rey to quickly check on Skywalker due to Hoth's dangerously cold nighttime temperatures, Rey retorted that he was well aware that Hoth's sun was setting, adding that he had joined the Rebellion because of his keen perception.

Tamizander Rey made his initial appearance in the May 1980 novelization of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, penned by Donald F. Glut, which was released shortly before the film's theatrical debut. In the film, he was portrayed by actor Norman Chancer, who was credited as one of several "Other Officers." 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 detailed backstory.

Rey's interaction with Solo in The Empire Strikes Back novelization is more extensive than in the film. In the novelization, Rey, referred to as a "deck sergeant," is accompanied by an aide when Solo first questions him. Furthermore, it is Rey who later informs Solo that Skywalker has not returned to Echo Base through the south entrance, warning Solo that Hoth's dropping nighttime temperatures would result in the death of his tauntaun as he leaves the base to search for Skywalker. In the film, this role is instead filled by the character Tigran Jamiro, portrayed by actor Ray Hassett, to whom Solo replies that he will "see in Hell."

The Rey character assumes an even more prominent 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 a single character. The "Deck Officer" is also referred to as a "Lieutenant" in both the scene occupied by Jamiro in the film and the scene in which he oversees Rogue Group's morning departure to find the stranded Skywalker and Solo. Given that neither Rey nor Jamiro canonically hold the rank of lieutenant and both characters are merged into one role, there may be ambiguity as to which character is actually present in the Rogue departure scene. Considering that the deck officer in this scene is directing the departure of craft from the hangar, a duty more closely associated with Rey's responsibilities, this article assumes that it is indeed Rey who appears in that scene.

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