Duno Dree was a Human male pilot who accompanied the Jedi Master Qu Rahn to the planet Dorlo during the year 5 ABY. Also known as Druno, he originally worked for his father, piloting in-system freighters. Dree joined Rahn as the Jedi cobbled together a team that was to research the mythical Valley of the Jedi located on the planet Ruusan. The other team members included the Rebel Alliance weapons expert Cee Norley—whom Dree secretly held affections for—, and the Klatooinian technologist Rolanda Gron. At some point during 5 ABY, Dree flew the team to the planet Dorlo in a CR90 corvette in hopes of locating and hiring the linguistics expert Nij Por Ral. That part of the mission was successful, but they found themselves pursued by the forces of a Galactic Empire splinter group led by the Dark Jedi Jerec. Dree attempted to fly the team off world, and destroyed an Imperial skimmer in the process. However, they were captured by Jerec's personal warship, Vengeance.
Jerec demanded that he be given the location of the mythical valley, and threatened a painful death if otherwise. However, the team members resisted, resulting in the executions of Gron and Por Ral. The Dark Jedi continued to push for information, leaving Dree to answer both for himself and on the behalf of Rahn: a determined "No." In response, Dree's neck was snapped by the Twi'lek Dark Jedi Boc Aseca, and the information that Jerec sought was forcibly taken from Rahn's mind, and the Jedi was killed soon after.
Druno Dree was a human male born during the year 12 BBY to a man who ran a freight business. Dree worked for his father part-time, piloting in-system freighters, becoming a somewhat skilled pilot. During this time Dree was also enrolled in a school which lasted for at least six years. Within the six years Dree continued to work for his father, although his total time spent actually flying totaled three years.
Dree sought adventure to a degree and wanted to have a tale to entertain his children with in the future. He eventually left his father's business by 5 ABY, shortly after the fall of the Galactic Empire. At some point he obtained a CR90 corvette starship and met a Jedi Master named Qu Rahn.
Jedi Master Rahn
The Jedi Master Rahn had learned of the location of a mythical location called the Valley of the Jedi, and had decided to assemble a team to investigate the valley, located on the planet Ruusan. By 5 ABY, Dree had joined Rahn's team, which also consisted of a Rebel Alliance weapons expert named Cee Norley and a Klatooinian technologist named Rolanda Gron. By this point, Dree had begun to claim that he was twenty years old, even though he was actually seventeen, and also claimed that he was more of an exemplary pilot than he actually was. Rahn had also taken to calling him "Druno." In addition, Dree developed an emotional attachment to Norley, a wire-thin female that he came to care deeply for. However, he was afraid to admit his feelings to her.
Rahn's team needed one more member: an expert at ancient linguistics named Nij Por Ral. The linguist was on the planet Dorlo, where he was working on translating writing carved into ancient ruins uncovered by miners working for the SoroSuub Corporation. Rahn wanted to recruit Por Ral so that he could help decipher any glyphs that were found in the Valley of the Jedi. The team made it to Dorlo, landed, and camouflaged Dree's transport. What Dree considered to be a lark mission, however, quickly turned into a life or death struggle. They had been pursued by agents of the Empire, led by the Dark Jedi Jerec, Rahn's adversary and rival in finding the lost valley. Rahn and the team managed to locate Por Ral and convinced him to join them on their quest.
Using a skimmer, the rebel team began their return journey to the corvette. At some point, they had to abandon the skimmer to continue their trek on foot. The group eventually came to a halt in order to catch their breath, at which point Dree complained that they should have continued to use the skimmer, and that he could have flown them to the ship and back several times already. Rahn commended Dree for his self-esteem, but explained that if they had used the skimmer, the Empire would track them via the skimmer's heat signature and it would all be over. Norley complained that the others weren't up the task, despite their objections, and mentioned that Dree wasn't up to the task because of his young age. With time running out, Rahn devised a plan that would have Norley stay behind and buy the others time to escape.
Dree's corvette is destroyed by the Vengeance.
With Norley behind, the rest of the team made it back to the corvette. They stripped it of camouflage and boarded it as Dree took to the controls. To speed up the escape, Dree cut half of the takeoff procedures. Concerned about Norley, he did not believe that she should be left behind. Rahn urged the boy to leave the system or else Norley's actions would have been done in vain. Realizing Norley's sacrifice (she managed to destroy a pursuing Imperial skimmer before being killed), Dree found the last Imperial skimmer and fired upon it. Although no shot connected, he flew low enough over the skimmer to catch it in the slipstream, which caused the skimmer to crash, though most of its occupants survived. Dree left Dorlo's atmosphere, but encountered TIE fighters and Jerec's Super Star Destroyer Vengeance. Dree attempted to avoid the starfighters, not realizing that he was being coerced into a trap.
Dree's corvette was caught in the Star Destroyer's tractor beam, with the young pilot in vain struggling to dampen the runaway power plants; the indication that an assault shuttle was coming to them, made the young pilot wish that he was back home with his family. Rahn realized that they were about to be boarded, at which point Dree promised to not go down without putting up a fight. An assault shuttle docked with the corvette, and a commando team led by Jerec's Dark Jedi follower Boc Aseca attempted to coerce the crew off of the ship. After sixty seconds of waiting the Imperial commandos filled the corvette with coma gas. Rahn tried to get everyone in protective suits, but the gas took its effect and knocked everyone aboard the ship unconscious. The imperials loaded their bodies onto stretchers and took them back to the Vengeance.
Dree's corvette was destroyed by the gunnery crews aboard the warship, who used the ship as target practice.
When Dree regained conscious, he and the others were marched to the ship's bridge as an orderly listed off military jargon. Dree and the others were handed off to the Imperial officer Captain Sysco, who informed Jerec that their prisoners were ready for interrogation. Jerec, surrounded by his six Dark Jedi followers, met with the rebels and mockingly assumed that Dree and the others were Rahn's servants. Gron spoke up, stating his name and that he was not going to divulge any information. The Dark Jedi called Pic, who had been perched on the shoulder of his symbiotic twin Gorc, lunged at Gron and stabbed the Klatooinian in the throat with a dagger and rode the body to the floor. With the stakes clear, Jerec gave the others his demands: Tell him the location of the valley and be granted a merciful death, or suffer. Jerec was denied, and threatened the life of Por Ral via the Dark Jedi Yun. Rahn chose death, and Por Ral was executed, leaving Dree and Rahn as the last ones standing.
Shaking from fear, tears streamed from Dree's eyes. When Jerec asked again for information regarding the valley, Dree looked to Rahn and the two locked eyes. Rahn told Druno to answer for the both of them. Dree eyes seemed to grow larger as he stood straight, faced Jerec, and gave the Dark Jedi a determined answer: "No." With his fate sealed, Dree shut his eyes and awaited death. Aseca stepped forward, getting close enough to Dree for the young pilot to smell the Twi'lek's breath. Aseca hands darted out and broke Dree's neck, which sent the body sprawling forward onto the ground.
After Dree's death, Jerec forcibly ripped the information he sought from Rahn's mind, and after a short-lived last stand from the Jedi, Rahn was beheaded by Jerec. Despite Jerec's promise of suffering in return for defiance, Aseca's execution killed Dree instantly. Dree and the others were avenged when the rebel agent Kyle Katarn fought Jerec at the Valley of the Jedi and defeated the Dark Jedi once and for all.
The Vengeance over Dorlo after capturing Dree and his allies
Duno Dree was a confident young pilot who tended to lie about certain things that were about himself. Although he was seventeen during his last mission with Rahn, he claimed to be twenty years of age. He also knew that he was only half the pilot that he claimed to be. However, Rahn appreciated Dree's bold statements, and told him on one occasion that such speak was that of a true pilot. Rahn also considered Dree, whom he occasionally called Druno, a friend. Despite his bold piloting claims, Dree was unable to admit to Norley how deeply he cared for her. When Norley split from the group to buy the group time, Dree became concerned with her fate after they made it the corvette. After concluding that Norley was already dead by that point, Dree believed that the Empire would pay. In a brash move, he found the skimmer that hosted Norley's killers and attempted to destroy it with cannon fire. However, he missed every shot. He still managed to destroy the Imperial skimmer, though, as it had been caught in his slipstream. When his ship was caught in a tractor beam, Dree held no illusions about his chances, and reflected that it was too late to tell the truth, tell Norley how he felt about her, and too late to remain in his father's business.
Although he had flown for his father for three years, Dree did not believe it was enough experience to escape the Imperial ships that attacked him as he made it off of Dorlo. This was proven as he allowed TIE fighters to coerce him into a carefully laid trap that only Rahn managed to point out after it was too late. Dree touted bravery, vowing to fight any Imperials who tried to board his ship. He was never able to do such a thing, though, as everyone was knocked out with gas before the boarding commenced. On the bridge of the Vengeance, Dree attempted to counsel Rahn, stating that, for the time being, they were still alive. Upon seeing Jerec for the first time, Dree questioned who the man was while describing his appearance. As the session continued, Dree grew visibly and emotionally shaken as his body shook and as tears rolled down his cheeks. When confronted with the option of giving in to Jerec's demands or holding out, he looked to Rahn, who told him answer for the both of them. Dree's voice was filled with determination as he denied the Dark Jedi for the last time. Although Jerec could not physically see Dree, due to being a naturally blind Miraluka, he sensed the boy's determination.
Dree was a human male with dark-red hair that he kept in a crew-cut, freckles on his nose, and peach-fuzz on both cheeks. He also had a scar on his forehead.
Dree piloted a CR90 corvette during the mission to Dorlo. The ship adequately suited the team's needs, with protective suits and forward laser cannons. The blockade runner had red striping on the sides of the "head" and "abdomen" areas. It was destroyed by the Vengeances gunnery crew. Dree also carried a blaster during the mission, and planned to use it against the Imperials when they boarded his ship. However, he was knocked out with gas before that could happen. He wore orange clothing when he died.
Duno Dree first appeared as unnamed character who appeared briefly in the first cutscene for the 1997 video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, where he was portrayed by an uncredited actor. The character's name and history were revealed in the 1998 novella Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, which was authored by William C. Dietz. Dree appeared in the book's second chapter as a supporting character with several point-of-view paragraphs, though he was only given a single line of dialogue. Dree also appeared in the full cast audio adaption, where his voice was provided by Michael Paul Levin. Dree was referred to as Druno throughout the audio drama, and was given significantly more lines of dialogue, expanding on the character's personality. Dree also received an entry in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Dree is the only one of Rahn's companions to appear in all three versions of the Jedi Knight story.
Between the different adaptions of Jedi Knight, there are a few noteworthy discrepancies. Firstly, in the video game Dree has dark red hair, whereas the novella describes Dree as having dirty-blonde hair. Secondly, neither Dree or Nij Por Ral are executed in the audio adaption. Rather, Rolanda Gron is killed, and Rahn is beaten and killed soon after, leaving the fates of Dree and Por Ral ambiguous. This article assumes that Dree had red hair as seen in the game, seeing that the game has been the only source to depict an image of Dree. Due to the fact that Dree is killed in two of the three tellings, this article gives both the game and the novella precedence over the audio adaption, as both sources agree on the timing of Dree's death being right before Rahn's.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia