Bren Derlin was a human male officer within the ranks of the Rebel Alliance. Holding the Major rank, Derlin functioned as the head of operations and security chief at Echo Base, the Alliance's central headquarters located on the planet of Hoth, under the direction of General Carlist Rieekan. In this role, Derlin found himself in the difficult position of ordering the base doors sealed to safeguard the entire facility. However, this decision placed the lives of two valuable Rebels, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, in grave danger. Shortly after this incident, Derlin participated actively in both the Battle of Hoth and the subsequent Battle of Endor.
Originating from Tiisheraan, Bren Derlin, a human male, became a member of the Rebel Alliance, a resistant group opposed to the authoritarian Galactic Empire. He and his team became familiar with Alliance operative Nakari Kelen, who shared her expertise in handling a sniper rifle.
Following the Battle of Yavin, Derlin took part in a mission aimed at rescuing Givin slicer Drusil Bephorin and her family from the clutches of the Empire. His orders were to escort Bephorin's family to Omereth, where they would await the arrival of Lieutenant Luke Skywalker with Bephorin herself. During the extraction of the family, after receiving confirmation that Skywalker had successfully rescued Bephorin, Derlin and his team were ambushed by bounty hunters, drawn by an Empire-issued bounty for the capture of Bephorin and her family. Derlin and his team fought off the attackers and escaped to Omereth aboard their ship, but at the cost of three team members killed. The bounty hunters pursued them to the watery planet. The bounty hunters cornered the Rebels at their meeting point, disrupted their communications, and waited for Skywalker and Bephorin to arrive. Unable to break the siege, Derlin and his team were forced to rely on Skywalker's ability to defeat the hunters.
Fortunately, Skywalker lived up to their expectations, successfully eliminating the bounty hunters upon his arrival. After Skywalker's landing, Derlin briefed him on the situation and expressed his sorrow upon learning of Kelen's death during the fight against the bounty hunters. Derlin then established a secure location for Bephorin to contact the Alliance and departed Omereth with his team and Skywalker to return Kelen's body to her father on Pasher before returning to the Alliance Fleet.
Approximately three years later, the Alliance decided to establish a presence on the icy planet Hoth, creating [Echo Base](/article/echo_base]. Derlin received an assignment there. One day, Commander Skywalker and Captain Han Solo went on a patrol, but failed to return to base before nightfall. Derlin was required to shut the main doors of the base to protect the other personnel from the frigid night temperature. This action, however, meant stranding Skywalker and Solo outside with minimal chances of survival. He stood by the main door, near Princess Leia Organa, a key figure within the base and a close friend to both Skywalker and Solo. The base's young deck lieutenant informed Derlin that Skywalker and Solo had not yet returned.
Derlin faced the unpleasant task of informing Organa about the necessity of closing the doors. He waited for Organa to acknowledge his statement, and then commanded the Deck Lieutenant to proceed with sealing the doors. The next day, Skywalker and Solo were rescued by search airspeeder teams. Soon after, the Empire discovered Echo Base and launched a ground attack. Imperial General Maximilian Veers led numerous heavily armored AT-ATs in a raid against the base. The base commanders assigned available pilots to snowspeeders to confront the walkers, while the Alliance began evacuating the planet using transports. Organa and Derlin briefed the pilots on their mission objectives, which they promptly followed.
Six months following the events on Hoth, Derlin was given the task of leading a commando team in the ground assault during the Battle of Endor.
Major Bren Derlin made his debut appearance in the 1980 original trilogy film, The Empire Strikes Back, where John Ratzenberger played him. While his name was not mentioned in the film's dialogue, he was identified as "Major Derlin" in the credits. His first name was revealed in Kevin Hearne's 2015 novel, Heir to the Jedi. In the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, a different, uncredited actor portrayed Derlin.