Ace Merrick

During the Galactic Civil War, Ace Merrick enlisted with the Alliance to Restore the Republic as a starfighter pilot. By the year 3 ABY, Merrick had risen to the rank of captain and found himself serving in Rascal Squadron alongside his close friend and cousin, Ina Rece. Following the Rebels' retreat from their main base on the icy world of Hoth after being driven from it, they discovered that the Galactic Empire was processing oridium ore at a clandestine hidden mining facility situated within the Belt of Arah. This fuel was intended to power the TIE Phantom, a new type of starfighter equipped with a cloaking device that the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader planned to deploy against the dispersed Alliance Fleet. To gather information about this emerging threat, Admiral Gial Ackbar tasked Merrick with leading pilots Rece and Rookie One in T-65 X-wing starfighters to the Dreighton Nebula with the objective of locating and disable the mining installation.

Upon Rascal Squadron's arrival at the Belt of Arah, they discovered the area was defended by derillium mines. Merrick steered the Rebels through the dangerous asteroid field, destroying each mine they came across. However, as soon as they had navigated past the perimeter defenses, the group found themselves under attack by a large number of TIE interceptors. During the resulting battle, a pair of Imperial starfighters managed to get on Merrick's tail. Unable to escape his pursuers, Merrick depended on his wingmates to eliminate the interceptors that were chasing him. After the Rebels had dealt with the Imperial fighters, they continued to the mining facility, which was embedded within one of the larger asteroids. Merrick led his team into the facility through a transport corridor that was designed for shuttles and cargo drones. Once inside, Rookie One took out the shield emitters at an exchange junction, opening up access to the reactor core. Dodging fire from sentry guns, the Rebels destroyed the reactor's cooling system, and Merrick guided them to safety via an exhaust vent just before the reactor reached critical mass, resulting in the facility's destruction.

Having completed their mission, Merrick gave the order for Rascal Squadron to return to the Alliance Fleet. But, just as he was preparing to jump to hyperspace, three TIE Phantoms emerged from their cloaks behind the Rascals and opened fire. Merrick was killed by their initial attack, and Rece's X-wing was destroyed. Rookie One, however, managed to escape. Rookie One later played a crucial role in ending the threat posed by the TIE Phantoms.

Merrick was a Human male with light skin and a stocky build. He believed in living life to the fullest and finding enjoyment in it. He was passionate about his work with the Rebel Alliance and found nothing more thrilling than fighting against the Empire. As the flight leader of Rascal Squadron during their mission to the Arah mining facility, Merrick utilized his extensive experience to assist his younger wingmates in safely navigating the asteroids and the derillium minefield. When confronted by enemy starfighters, Merrick would designate targets for his wingmates, helping them to get the Imperials within their sights.

During his time as a Rebel pilot, Merrick wore a gray Rebel flight suit along with a flight helmet and goggles.

Ace Merrick originated in the 1995 LucasArts video game Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire, where he was brought to life by actor Roy Conrad. Merrick is a character in the levels titled "The Asteroid Field", "Interceptor Attack" and "The Mining Facility." In the event that the player, as Rookie One, is killed during any of these levels, a game over cutscene depicts Merrick and Rece continuing the mission without him. Although Rece refers to him as "Ace," the character is credited simply as "Captain Merrick." The 2008 publication, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, confirmed that his complete name is Ace Merrick.

Vincent Lee, the designer of Rebel Assault II, created storyboards and scripts dated November 16, 1994 that included a brief character description of Merrick. While it wasn't included in the game itself or its manual, the biography was adapted for use on the LucasArts website. This document was later reprinted in Rob Smith's book, Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts. Lee's initial version described Merrick as being "early to mid thirties," but this detail was omitted from the online biography. Lee also noted the actors he believed most closely resembled each character in the game, selecting John Rhys-Davies to represent Merrick.

The props and costumes created for the original trilogy of Star Wars films were utilized during the filming of Rebel Assault II. The flight helmet worn by Merrick shares the same design as that worn by Red Four's pilot, John D. Branon, in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.