Kapp Dendo

Kapp Dendo, a male Devaronian originating from Devaron, enlisted with the Alliance to Restore the Republic sometime during the Galactic Civil War, becoming an Intelligence operative alongside Winter, who served as Leia Organa's personal aide. Following the Battle of Endor, the two collaborated on numerous missions, with Dendo's strategic acumen and intelligence proving him to be a highly capable agent. He possessed a unique talent for recruiting promising soldiers from the Rebellion into Intelligence, utilizing his charm and wit to persuade them to join his ranks. While he rose to become one of the Alliance's most celebrated operatives, he preferred to remain anonymous, operating from the shadows. Even after the Rebel Alliance transitioned into the New Republic, Dendo remained one of its foremost agents.

Six months after Endor's battle, Dendo and Winter received orders to go to Tatooine with the goal of stealing a data disk in the possession of a local businessman by the name of Huff Darklighter. This disk, housed within Darklighter's large estate, held information about an Imperial weapons cache on Tatooine, which the New Republic hoped to secure. Winter's role was to infiltrate one of Darklighter's extravagant parties and pilfer the disk, while Dendo was tasked with hiring local thugs to create a diversion. He paid a group of thugs in Mos Eisley to disrupt Darklighter's party, but their plans were disrupted when a group of spacers—who were actually members of Rogue Squadron—engaged them in a brawl, leaving them unable to pilot swoops that evening. In a desperate move, Dendo offered the spacers a considerable sum of money to take the thugs' place, and after some negotiation, they agreed.

Dendo, along with Rogues Dllr Nep, Plourr Ilo, Wes Janson, and Hobbie Klivian, rode their swoop bikes toward Darklighter's estate, only to discover that someone else had already raided it—and caused significantly more damage than Dendo had intended. The Devaronian aborted the raid, offering the spacers half their payment if they returned to Mos Eisley with him. However, the Rogues had noticed Dendo's high-quality blaster and correctly deduced that he was not the simple gambler he claimed to be. They attacked him, wrestling the agent to the ground, and despite Dendo's resistance, it took all four pilots to subdue him. Finally, a right hook from Plourr Ilo knocked him unconscious.

Dendo remained on Tatooine with the Rogues after Winter revealed his true identity, while the Alderaanian woman briefly traveled to Ryloth. Winter maintained contact with Dendo, warning him to expect a surprise upon her return. The agent arrived back on Tatooine with a squad of Imperial commandos, led by Sixtus Quin, who had defected to the New Republic. The Rogues were immediately suspicious, and Dendo had to intervene to prevent a conflict between the two groups. Winter had little time to explain the situation, as she had discovered the location of the Imperial Eidolon base, which Captain Marl Semtin and the criminal Firith Olan were both vying to control. The Rogues engaged Semtin's forces in the air, while Quin and his squad stormed the Eidolon. Winter and Dendo remained behind, ready to provide assistance if needed. When Plourr Ilo was shot down and crashed near Dendo, the Devaronian rushed to her aid, rescuing her from the burning fighter just before it exploded. Dendo harbored romantic feelings for Ilo and made several advances, but any potential relationship was thwarted by Ilo's ascension to the throne on her home world of Eiattu and the husband that came with it. However, the two remained close friends.

Dendo eventually received command of his own elite squad of agents, known as Commando Team One. Several months after the events on Tatooine, Dendo and his team were deployed to Brentaal IV following a crucial New Republic invasion attempt. Disguised as stormtroopers, Commando Team One established a base near the heavily armed fortress that Admiral Lon Isoto, the commander of Brentaal's defenses, had built to protect the capital city of Vuultin. Dendo's mission was to destroy the defense complex and either kidnap or assassinate Lon Isoto.

For two weeks, they maintained their undercover operation as the New Republic's Admiral Ackbar's cruiser Independence, supported by Rogue Squadron, engaged in preliminary battles with the Imperial forces over Brentaal. They were limited in their ability to contribute to the New Republic's operation during this time, but they did manage to identify Baron Soontir Fel of the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing in Vuultin and relay this information to the New Republic. The operation was shrouded in such secrecy that Dendo and his men had very little contact with the outside world, leaving him unaware of any other undercover teams on Brentaal. While assessing the damage from a recent skirmish between the New Republic Starfighter Corps and the 181st, Dendo's men rescued two downed Rogue Squadron pilots, Wes Janson and Ibtisam. To maintain their cover, the commandos initially took the Rogues prisoner, but Dendo had them released upon his return. Unable to spare any of his agents to escort the pilots back to their squadron, Dendo temporarily recruited them into his squad for the raid on the defense platform, as both were skilled marksmen.

Several days later, as the New Republic launched a major attack on Isoto's forces, Dendo and his team stormed the complex, infiltrating it on an over-manned skiff. The Imperials quickly recognized the deception, and a fierce firefight ensued. However, Dendo and Ibtisam provided cover fire for Janson, the demolitions expert, as he planted charges on strategic points of the construction. With only moments remaining on the explosives' timer, the team escaped, and the complex was destroyed, marking a successful mission for Commando Team One. Dendo eventually returned to the New Republic base to return Ibtisam and Janson to Rogue Squadron. Impressed by her skills with a blaster rifle, Dendo offered Ibtisam a position in Commando Team One, but she declined, and Dendo left the Rogues to embark on another assignment.

Months later, Dendo collaborated with the Rogues once more, devising a plan for a mission to the Ciutric Hegemony. Sate Pestage, the heir to Palpatine's dying Empire, had agreed to defect to the New Republic but had been kidnapped by ex-Moff Leonia Tavira on Ciutric IV. Along with Winter, Rogues Wedge Antilles and Tycho Celchu, and New Republic General Horton Salm, Dendo assisted in planning the attack on the world, fully aware of the overwhelming odds and the inherent danger of the mission. The Imperial Ruling Council dispatched additional forces, led by Admiral Delak Krennel, to retrieve Pestage, while Pestage's former advisor, Ysanne Isard, sent her own commando team to kidnap the former Grand Vizier. Ultimately, it was decided that Dendo and Commando Team One would land on the surface in shuttles to retrieve Pestage, while Rogue Squadron and Salm's Aggressor Wing would engage the Imperials' starfighter complement on the planet.

The descent to Ciutric's surface was fraught with danger, as the area teemed with Imperial commandos. Dendo's shuttle eventually landed, and he and his men approached the location where Pestage was being held by Isard's personal commandos. Leading the charge, the Devaronian helped his team fight through the enemy forces to reach Pestage, eliminating his guards and escorting the former Grand Vizier back to the shuttle.

The situation quickly deteriorated when an Imperial Star Destroyer and an Interdictor arrived, preventing the Rogues and commandos from leaving the system. Aggressor Wing managed to escape and promised to seek backup from the New Republic. Stranded on Ciutric, the pilots and commandos established a camp in the desert, while Dendo, Winter, Antilles, and a select group of commandos ventured to the nearest Imperial outpost to commandeer a communications post and signal the New Republic for assistance. Employing a stealthy approach, they neutralized several guards as they made their way to the Imperial communication unit, which Winter used to send a message to the New Republic Provisional Council. Upon returning to the other Rogues, they learned that Ibtisam, Rogue Two, had been shot down and killed by a squadron of Krennel's pilots during their absence. This event, while causing some internal conflict, strengthened their resolve to escape their predicament and complete their mission.

As the Rogues engaged Krennel's forces in several skirmishes, Dendo remained on the ground. Aggressor Wing, who had been waiting near the edge of the system, returned and helped them secure a proper hangar for their ships, with the assistance of Mirax Terrik, a smuggler friend of Antilles. The Rogues eventually devised a plan to disable the Interdictor, but Dendo and his team were forced to retreat hastily when Krennel's AT-ATs began to advance toward their position. Pestage, however, defected back to the Empire and, despite Dendo's efforts, abandoned Commando Team One to rejoin the approaching Imperial forces. With the AT-ATs closing in, Dendo decided to let Pestage go, knowing that any pursuit would result in the death of his men. The shuttles took off, and Dendo and his team escaped. The entire mission proved futile, as Pestage was murdered by Delak Krennel, and Isard orchestrated the downfall of the Ruling Council to seize control of the Empire.

Dendo continued to serve the New Republic, earning the rank of colonel. Over the next several years, he frequently collaborated with Judder Page's Katarn Commandos. By the time of Thrawn's resurgence, Dendo's squad was among the most respected commando teams in the galaxy. Following the conclusion of the Thrawn campaign, Commando Team One and the Katarns were selected to assist Rogue Squadron on a mission to the planet Commenor. The New Republic had obtained intelligence indicating that a group of Ysanne Isard's Lusankya prisoners—former Alliance members and other enemies of the Empire who had been held on Isard's Super Star Destroyer beneath the surface of Coruscant—were being held in a barn on the planet, including several former members of the Rebel Alliance. Dendo effortlessly breached the building and neutralized its security forces. While the prisoners they found were not the most prominent of Isard's captives, they provided assistance while awaiting medical personnel. The prisoners were eventually transported to a medical facility for recovery.

Weeks later, Dendo's team was once again chosen to work alongside Rogue Squadron in the campaign against Imperial warlord Delak Krennel. Krennel had seized control of the Ciutric Hegemony since Pestage's murder, and the New Republic, seeking to send a message to the remaining warlords in the galaxy, decided to make an example of him. Liinade III was selected as the first of Krennel's worlds to be targeted, and the Provisional Council decided to dispatch the Rogues and three Star Destroyers to eliminate the planet's defenses. Commando Team One was part of a task force aboard Commander Sair Yonka's Star Destroyer Freedom, which assisted two other Star Destroyers in neutralizing Liinade III's weak defenses. Dendo was deployed to the ground, where he and the other New Republic troops began to capture Liinade III's main spaceport. Their efforts were bolstered by Rogue Squadron, who destroyed several AT-ATs defending the spaceport. Shortly after, the Rogues requested Dendo's assistance; one of their pilots, Rogue Nine, had been shot down near another area, and Wedge Antilles asked Dendo to retrieve him. Although rescue and retrieval were not priorities for the New Republic at the time, Dendo took several of his men to search for Corran Horn, the downed Rogue. They reached the area where he had been shot down, but Horn had left his fighter and ventured toward a nearby mountain. By following his trail, Dendo's team located an Imperial research facility containing plans to build a new Imperial superweapon. Dendo's men secured the facility, and Liinade III was under New Republic control by nightfall.

Approximately a week later, Rogue Squadron disappeared and was presumed killed by Krennel's pilots at Distna. However, they had survived and contacted the New Republic with a plan to attack Krennel's fortress world and capital, Ciutric IV. The resurgent Ysanne Isard had agreed to assist the New Republic in their efforts to defeat Krennel and her rogue clone, who had allied herself with the warlord. Isard also provided the Provisional Council with the location of the remaining Lusankya prisoners, including the renowned Rebel Alliance General Jan Dodonna. Dendo led a team of Noghri—a warrior species who had defected from the Empire during the Thrawn crisis—into the prison complex where Dodonna was being held, to assist Rogues Horn, Ooryl Qrygg, and Nrin Vakil. The pilots had managed to free the prisoners but were trapped by hordes of Krennel's stormtroopers. Attacking the Imperials from behind, Dendo and his team of Noghri slaughtered many of the stormtroopers, providing the Rogues and the prisoners with an escape route. Ciutric itself was captured shortly thereafter, and Krennel, Isard, and Isard's clone were all killed by the New Republic.

Following the success at Ciutric IV, Dendo continued to serve the New Republic for over a decade, achieving the rank of general by 25 ABY. In that year, the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong launched their invasion of the galaxy, initiating the Yuuzhan Vong War. After stalemates with the New Republic on Dantooine and Dubrillion, the Yuuzhan Vong targeted the planet Ithor, knowing that the pollen of the native Bafforr trees could neutralize the Yuuzhan Vong Vonduun Skerr Kyrric armor. The New Republic and their Imperial Remnant allies attempted to fortify and evacuate the planet before the arrival of Shedao Shai's forces. Dendo was placed in command of all ground operations (as "Range Lead"); he and his ground assault team, Range Squadron, devised a plan to lure the Yuuzhan Vong—who despised and sought to eradicate all machinery and droids—into a building rigged with explosives.

New Republic commandos under Dendo's command constructed a crude building in the center of a clearing in Ithor's forest, setting up numerous explosives at its foundations. They filled the building with old droid parts and computers, leaving it guarded by simple security droids, hoping to provoke the Yuuzhan Vong. Dendo and his troops positioned themselves near the building as the Yuuzhan Vong transports arrived on the surface and deployed their troops. The Yuuzhan Vong soldiers took the bait, enraged by the New Republic's use of machines in combat. They lost all discipline and attacked the building, determined to destroy the droids. Once enough Yuuzhan Vong had entered the building, Dendo's men detonated the explosives, killing many of the attackers and severely disrupting their forces.

Dendo led a commando team to the right of the clearing to eliminate the remaining Yuuzhan Vong, while a team of Noghri commandos attacked from the left. Dendo's task was to provide a group of Jedi led by Jedi Knight Corran Horn with enough time to reach a Yuuzhan Vong communications center and contact the Vong leader, Shedao Shai. Dendo's commandos succeeded, although he was injured during the battle, and leadership of the ground troops was transferred to Corran Horn. Dendo survived, but much of Ithor did not. The Yuuzhan Vong unleashed a biological virus that destroyed all of the world's flora and fauna, violating an agreement Horn had made with Shedao Shai.

Kapp Dendo demonstrated unwavering dedication and loyalty to both the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic, consistently serving them to the best of his abilities. While he favored operating from the shadows and maintaining a low profile, Dendo was always prepared to lead from the front when necessary. Throughout his career, he repeatedly risked his life, sustaining several serious injuries. Dendo was a formidable fighter who deeply cared for those under his command, often placing himself in harm's way to rescue New Republic soldiers. On Tatooine, he nearly sacrificed himself to save Plourr Ilo from her burning fighter, and he personally assisted in evacuating his fallen and injured comrades on Ciutric. He also held older, more experienced leaders like Wedge Antilles and Jan Dodonna in high regard, treating them with the utmost respect.

Throughout his tenure as an undercover operative, Dendo readily engaged in deceit, illegal activities, and the employment of hired muscle, always believing that the ultimate goal justified any measures taken to achieve his objective. During his assignment on Tatooine in 5 ABY, Dendo chose to mislead the Rogues rather than reveal the truth, opting to deceive and manipulate them into accepting his persona as a mere swindler. Despite his capacity for seriousness when required, Dendo possessed a unique and somewhat macabre sense of humor, and frequently displayed flirtatious behavior towards numerous women—especially members of Rogue Squadron—with whom he collaborated. Dendo employed humor as a mechanism to diffuse stress during hazardous or precarious operations; while extracting Sate Pestage from Ciutric IV, he assured a commando that he would not perish on the planet, citing a "date with a princess." Although he understood the imprudence of flirting with Winter, Dendo made advances toward Plourr Ilo, ultimately succeeding in establishing a close relationship with her, although Ilo eventually wed a prince on her homeworld. Subsequently, on Brentaal IV, he briefly flirted with Ibtisam, extending an invitation for her to join his team.

Kapp Dendo's character initially appeared in Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: Battleground: Tatooine by Michael A. Stackpole and Jan Strnad, where he starts out as an adversary with mysterious origins and intentions. As the story progresses, it is unveiled that Dendo is, in fact, an agent of the New Republic, thus transitioning into a protagonist. Dendo later played a more significant part in Stackpole's subsequent story arcs, In the Empire's Service and Mandatory Retirement, as well as in two of Stackpole's novels, X-Wing: Isard's Revenge and The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin.