Baldarek, the "Red Eye," a Chiss who served drinks at Baruk's Bar located on Nar Shaddaa, was present during the Empire Reborn era.
Before the time of the Clone Wars, Baldarek made a living as a bartender across the galaxy. Because Chiss were an uncommon sight throughout the galaxy, his shining red eyes earned him the moniker "Red-Eye". During this time, Baldarek traveled to Zeltros, a pleasure planet situated in the Inner Rim. He spent a week partying there, completely captivated by the alluring Zeltron pheromones. Certain memories from his visit were documented in the tourist guide, "Luxury on the Inner Rim."
Sometime later, Baldarek found employment under Reelo Baruk, a Rodian crime lord operating on Nar Shaddaa. He poured drinks at Baruk's Bar, a cantina that was a regular hangout for Baruk's enforcers. In 12 ABY, Kyle Katarn entered the bar while searching for Baruk. When Baldarek suggested a ruby bliel, Katarn instead requested a Corellian ale. The less-than-clean state of the establishment prompted Katarn to also ask for a clean glass.
When Katarn tried to get information regarding Baruk's location from Baldarek, the bartender attempted to distract him, setting up an ambush by a group of thugs. Baldarek successfully pulled off this distraction, and he engaged a metal shield to close off the area behind the bar for safety. However, the attackers were unsuccessful and were all defeated by Katarn's lightsaber. Katarn then reopened the bar and threatened the bartender, who revealed Baruk's location. Eventually, Katarn found and eliminated Baruk.
It is believed that following his employer's demise, Baldarek left Nar Shaddaa and sought work elsewhere. By 14 ABY, he had secured a position with a Hutt crime boss on the world of Nar Kreeta. The Hutt had abducted a group of local Mining Guild elders and was finding amusement in pitting them against his pet rancor. This attracted the attention of the New Jedi Order, who sent Kyle Katarn and Jaden Korr to resolve the situation. While infiltrating the base, Korr encountered Baldarek in the Hutt's cantina.
Baldarek, while employed by the criminal underworld, often faced dangerous situations, but displayed little bravery or skill in dealing with them. He delegated fighting to other criminals, and often hid to avoid trouble. When confronted directly, he would cower before Jedi Knights, and easily succumbed to pressure.
Baldarek struggled with Basic, often making grammatical errors, which may be attributed to the obscure nature of the Cheunh language: he was unable to distinguish between singular and plural word forms, and therefore, frequently added the plural suffix -s to all his nouns.
Baldarek's first appearance was in the Mission to Nar Shaddaa within the game Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast; The player, as Kyle Katarn, has the option to kill Baldarek during the conflict, but this choice does not affect the rest of the game. Later, a Chiss bartender with an identical appearance to Baldarek is present in the Mission on Nar Kreeta in the PC, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch versions of Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy as a background character. This article assumes that both bartenders are the same person, and that Katarn does not kill Baldarek in Jedi Outcast. This assumption relies, in part, on email confirmation from Cory J. Herndon, the author of Zeltros: Pleasure Planet, who first identified Baldarek by name. The name "Baldarek" is a reference to Baldrick, a character from the British TV show Blackadder.
Nick Jameson provided the voice for Baldarek in Jedi Outcast. He was credited simply as "Bartender". His in-game model is available as a character skin for multiplayer modes in both Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy.
Baldarek was added as an in-game NPC for the mission on Nar Kreeta on the PC, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch edition because he doesn't give a voice and he also doesn't moan or scream if the player decides to kill him. Baldarek is absent on the Xbox version of Nar Kreeta.
Within Jedi Academy, there exists a hidden NPC named 'RebornChiss', which is essentially Baldarek wielding two red lightsabers and possessing dark Force abilities. He will attack the player, but is relatively easy to defeat; it is uncertain if this model was intended for further use in the game. As the name implies, he might have joined the Cult, but this seems to have been removed. Notably, there are also 'RebornRodian', 'RebornTrandoshan', and 'RebornWeequay' characters, potentially indicating that mercenaries might have also been recruited by the cult, possibly under Baldarek's leadership.