Boo Rawl

Boo Rawl was a Human male born on the planet Hazzard in the Lahara sector of the Outer Rim Territories in 33 BBY. In 17 BBY, at the age of sixteen, Rawl left his homeworld to work the spacelanes as a freight hauler. He eventually came to captain his own starship, a BD-27 Transport named the Long Run. Like many other independently contracted haulers operating in the galaxy, Captain Rawl modified his vessel, increasing the Long Runs shield output and installing a retractable turbolaser in the barge driver's front section at the expense of living and storage space. Rawl combated the boredom inherent in spending hours in hyperspace by listening to his collection of anti-Imperial rock music. In 2 BBY, Rawl joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Firmly believing in the notions of free trade and free speech, his enlistment was in protest to the Imperial presence on Hazzard and in the surrounding region. Captain Rawl used the Long Run to transport heavy machinery and supplies to Rebel bases throughout the galaxy.

In 3 ABY, following the evacuation of the Alliance's main base on the planet Hoth, Captain Rawl was teamed with technician Deen Voorson to appropriate a Colony Class 23669 power generator from the Kuat Freight Port which was being shipped to an Imperial outpost in the following two weeks. Voorson had family contacts in the freight port and believed he could convince his aunt, Nell Voorson—who was the senior docking controller—to arrange docking clearance for an Alliance ship to steal the generator before the official Imperial transport arrived to claim it. Voorson's aunt, however, refused to help but the technician left a signaller in her possession in case she changed her mind. Five days before the generator's expected shipping date, Voorson received a message from the signaller telling him to collect the generator from loading dock 42 at 1230 hours on the day of the generator's transfer. Voorson added an ST box to the Long Runs transponder so that the freight port would identify the ship as the Imperial barge 36DD, which was the identity of the ship assigned to pick up the generator at 1430 hours. Despite Rawl's nervousness at Voorson fiddling with his ship's systems, the pair took the Long Run to the Kuat system on the appointed day.

Hailing the freight port, Rawl requested permission to enter loading dock 42 to link with the cargo barge carrying the generator. A controller informed them that they were early, and the linking technicians would not be at dock 42 to connect the barge to the driver until 1430. Rawl requested confirmation, as the message that Voorson had received specifically said 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 choice, Rawl and Voorson were forced to wait until the technicians returned. Rawl whiled away 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. Checking the barge contents before preparing to leave, Rawl and Voorson were stunned to find that his aunt's nine-year-old daughter, Shannon, had stowed away aboard the barge 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, unlinking the barge and explaining the entire affair to security would put them under more scrutiny than they could afford, especially with the real 36DD due to arrive in less than thirty minutes. Reluctantly, Voorson had to agree to take Shannon with them.

As the Long Run left the dock, Shannon revealed that she had been the one who changed the pickup time on the generator to allow the Alliance to steal it, not her mother, and Rawl admitted to being impressed although he admonished 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. Kuat Freight Port, now aware of the deception perpetrated by the Alliance, 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 attempted to get his aunt to call off the fighters by using the fact that Shannon was aboard the Long Run, but the Imperial ships refused to listen to her. Rawl ordered Voorson to man the Long Runs turbolaser and engage the TIE fighters while he piloted straight for the 36DD. The two ships sped towards each other, and Rawl hoped that the Imperial crew were not willing to risk their ship to a collision. At the last moment, the Imperial ship dived 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. Worrying that Interdictors had been dispatched from either the planets Venir or Renegg, Rawl, Voorson and Shannon waited to see if they would be pulled out of hyperspace. After thirty minutes in hyperspace, Rawl declared 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 individual with long hair that he kept tied back, and a thick beard that was confined to his chin. An independent freight hauler, Rawl believed that people were perfectly capable of living their own lives without the interference of the Empire. A fan of anti-Imperial rock music, his collection was considered to be the largest private collection in the entire Alliance, as well as the loudest. On principle, Rawl loved any track that the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order blacklisted, and he held the hope that he would one day be able to record a track with a blacklisted group. His own composition, "Private Property," showcased both his musical talents and his well-defined sarcasm and knack of making an anti-Imperial sentiment out of any phrase.

The owner and operator of the Long Run, Rawl loved his ship and was very protective of it. A skilled pilot, Rawl could fly both space transports and capital ships, and plot courses through hyperspace. He was well versed in operating the systems aboard the craft, such as weapons, shields and sensors, and was capable of repairing transports. His years as a freight hauler gave him knowledge of planetary systems, and a grounding in the application of first aid. Trained to use a blaster, Rawl kept a blaster pistol as a personal sidearm. He was also competent in unarmed combat. An imposing individual, Rawl was considered to be streetwise and knowledgeable about the underground music scene. He was also able to program and repair computers, and generally carried at least one banned music data cartridge with him.

Boo Rawl appeared 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. The story was written by Angela Phillips, with illustrations by Mike Vilardi. Slaying Dragons was subsequently reprinted in 1997's Tales from the Empire and later on Hyperspace. However, these reprints did not reproduce the RPG material created for the original publishing, which included much of Rawl's background in the form of a biographical capsule. Rawl was later referenced in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia in its entry for his homeworld, Hazzard.

• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II