The enigmatic dead-enders, a collection of crazed-looking humans with white beards, roamed the Carbon Ridge canyons on the arid planet Jakku. These individuals, found in the desert, were the subject of a tale circulating in Niima Outpost: they were said to protect a long-since-deserted Imperial base located somewhere within Carbon Ridge. Rey, a scavenger, was skeptical of the base's existence, but she observed that the dead-enders' attire included pieces of Imperial armor, giving them a military-like appearance. When anyone trespassed into their domain, the men would hurl stones and utter what seemed to be meaningless numerical sequences.
On one occasion, Unkar Plutt dispatched a group of six ruffians to retrieve equipment from Carbon Ridge, leading to a confrontation with the dead-enders. This clash resulted in several dead-enders being shot, and two of Plutt's thugs were killed. Ultimately, Plutt acquired very little worthwhile salvage.