During the Galactic Civil War, a Human male named Berd Lin resided on the planet Harix. In 1 ABY, Imperial forces under the command of Darth Vader abducted Lin's mother, Myoris, along with a group of her students, planning to use them as bait to lure out prominent Rebel leaders. However, Lin managed to escape and sought the assistance of Rebels Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, playing a crucial role in the rescue operation that successfully freed the hostages before their departure from Harix.
Berd was a student at the school where his mother, Myoris Lin, worked as a teacher. Due to Myoris's sympathies for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, her school became the target of an Imperial raid led by Major Stafuv Rahz. As Rahz's squad of stormtroopers attempted to force their way into the school, Myoris guided Berd and his classmates through an escape tunnel. Upon exiting the tunnel, Berd successfully avoided capture by the stormtroopers and encountered Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO. Luke and the droids had intended to deliver a collection of micro-books published before the Galactic Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire. Although the raid disrupted his mission, Skywalker assisted Berd in escaping from Harix. Soon after leaving the planet, Berd immediately began devising a strategy to save his mother and classmates from their impending doom. When Luke assigned C-3PO to watch over him, Berd expressed his dissatisfaction, emphasizing that his time "must be given to saving my mother and my friends." Consequently, he ran away from C-3PO while he was supposed to be sleeping and attempted to enlist Han Solo and a group of former smugglers to aid in the rescue of his mother. Despite Berd's initial failure to persuade the spacers, his predicament resonated with Chewbacca's compassionate nature. Chewbacca's willingness to help, Luke's reproachful remarks towards Han and the others, and the collective egos of the spacers present created an atmosphere of generosity within the cantina.
Not long before the rescue mission was scheduled to commence, Berd experienced a dream in which his mother warned him that the Empire had set a trap for potential rescuers in a cut slot behind the Talhu Slotted Peaks on Harix. Upon sharing his premonition, the spacers expressed skepticism and considered abandoning his cause altogether. However, Han and Luke acknowledged the possibility of some validity in Berd's dream. Berd abandoned his original rescue plan and addressed the spacers' concerns by outlining his revised strategy. As they implemented his plan, Luke's ship approached Harix and launched a squadron of target drones on a direct course for the planet. Each drone was modified to project a false signature, causing it to appear on most sensors as a much larger vessel. While the Imperial forces maintaining the blockade diverted their attention to engage what they believed to be a substantial Alliance battle fleet, the fleet of freighters exploited the distraction to land on Harix undetected.
Luke, Han, and Chewbacca left Berd and Princess Leia Organa to wait with the fleet of freighters while they dealt with the trap – a contingent of landed TIE Fighters lying in ambush for any would-be rescuers. Hearing blaster fire originating from the direction of the trap, Berd expressed his desire to assist Luke and Han, but Leia prevented him from running off. After Leia received Han's signal confirming the destruction of the trap, she and Berd, along with the fleet of freighters, landed at the school. They discovered that Luke and Han had arrived at the school ahead of them and had successfully saved Myoris and her students from being vaporized by Rahz's sonic beam projector, but in doing so, had ended up in a rather sticky situation. The spacers disembarked from their freighters and quickly subdued Rahz's squad of stormtroopers, capturing Rahz in the process. Although Berd was reunited with his mother, their relief was short-lived. Rahz managed to escape his captors, but Berd anticipated Rahz's intentions and made some last-minute adjustments to the sonic beam projector. Rahz evaded the spacers' blaster fire and manned the sonic beam projector. Berd intended to simply disable the projector by rephasing its power, but his modification inadvertently refocused the projector's energy through its control panel, resulting in Rahz's death when he attempted to fire the weapon. Upon receiving news of approaching Imperial forces, the Rebels and spacers evacuated Berd, his mother, and his classmates from the planet.
Berd Lin, a child prodigy, demonstrated remarkable maturity and shrewdness during his confrontation with the Empire on Harix, prioritizing the safety of his mother and classmates above all else. Lin held a strong belief in the hope and promise of the Rebellion and proved to be a naturally gifted tactician. The young man displayed little fear in the face of conflict and possessed a high level of technical expertise, already capable of rewiring a sonic beam projector.
Berd Lin made his debut in Bring Me the Children, a comic strip storyline penned by Don Christensen and published in 1980. In his comic appearance, Lin was illustrated by Russ Manning. While initially identified only as Berd in Bring Me the Children, his last name, Lin, was revealed 27 years later in Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley's Hyperspace supplement, Aliens in the Empire.