Dix Rivan, also known as Dixie, was an exceptional starfighter pilot belonging to the Rebel Alliance's celebrated Rogue Squadron. In the months following the Battle of Hoth during the Galactic Civil War, he served as Rogue Five. Despite being naturally reserved and introverted, Rivan regarded his fellow Rogue Squadron pilots as his own family. Occupying the rear guard position for the squadron, he was constantly vigilant, safeguarding his comrades during combat and rushing to their aid whenever necessary.
During 3.5 ABY, Rivan took part in Rogue Squadron's operation to assist Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, and Lando Calrissian in their attempt to liberate the carbonite-frozen Han Solo from the grasp of bounty hunter Boba Fett on the moon of Gall. As Rogue Squadron clashed with Imperial naval forces in the space surrounding Gall, Rivan's X-wing starfighter met its end at the hands of an attacking TIE Fighter. He was the only Rogue Squadron member to be killed in the battle, an engagement where the Rebels were ultimately unsuccessful in freeing Solo.
In the months after the Battle of Hoth, Dix Rivan was a part of Rogue Squadron, the distinguished starfighter unit attached to the mobile Rebel Alliance High Command headquarters, where he flew under the call sign Rogue Five. Rivan's reserved nature meant that his origins and motivations for fighting with the Rebellion were unknown to his squadronmates, though many speculated that the Empire had killed his parents, leading him to seek revenge. As Rogue Squadron's rear guard, Rivan was ever-vigilant, whether in space or on the ground, protecting his fellow pilots and quickly responding to their needs, sometimes at the expense of his own safety.
During 3.5 ABY, Rogue Squadron set up a small, temporary command base on the moon of Kile, which orbited the gas giant Zhar within the Zhar system of the Outer Rim Territories. Rivan and the other Rogues had secretly entered the system to conduct a swift raid against the Imperial Enclave located on the nearby moon of Gall. Intelligence had revealed that the bounty hunter Boba Fett was holding the carbonite-encased Han Solo there, awaiting delivery to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Rivan and the Rogues planned to engage the Imperial Enclave's naval forces in orbit above Gall, creating a diversion to provide time for a smaller team—including Princess Leia Organa and Lando Calrissian aboard the Millennium Falcon, as well as the mercenary Dash Rendar in his starship, the Outrider—to infiltrate the area and rescue Solo from Fett.
Upon the Millennium Falcon's arrival in the Zhar system, Rivan and Rogue Squadron escorted Organa and Calrissian, along with Luke Skywalker in his X-wing starfighter, to the Rebel base on Kile for final preparations. Although Skywalker temporarily joined the Rogues for the rescue mission, becoming the thirteenth member and flying as honorary Rogue Leader, they faced overwhelming odds, tasked with holding off two Imperial II-class Star Destroyers and their complement of 144 TIE starfighters. As the Rogues approached Gall and began their attack on the first Star Destroyer, Rivan let out an excited battle cry over the squadron's comm channel. Skywalker considered reprimanding Rivan for the breach of comm discipline, but decided against it, understanding the thrill of entering combat.
During the ensuing Battle of Gall, Rivan successfully navigated the initial waves of attacking TIE Fighters, even praising Skywalker's skill in quickly eliminating several enemies. However, his fortune soon changed. A TIE Fighter managed to position itself beneath Rivan's X-wing starfighter and began firing at its vulnerable underside. Rivan attempted to evade by veering to starboard, but it was too late. The X-wing exploded in a fiery burst, resulting in Rivan's immediate death.
Rivan's death marked the sole casualty for Rogue Squadron during the ultimately unsuccessful mission for the Rebellion. Organa and Calrissian were unable to rescue Solo from Fett, who successfully escaped the Imperial Enclave on Gall with his prisoner.
Dix Rivan, affectionately nicknamed "Dixie" by Rogue Squadron, was a man of few words. He presented himself as a reserved and private individual, leading to a lack of knowledge among his squadronmates regarding his reasons for joining the Rebel Alliance. While many speculated that the Empire had murdered his parents, driving him to seek revenge, Rivan did not strike others as a vengeful person. Instead, Rivan saw the Rogues as his family, relishing the camaraderie shared after missions, even if he primarily listened rather than spoke.
In his role as the squadron's rear guard, Rivan consistently prioritized the safety of his friends during combat, often neglecting his own well-being, which ultimately led to his demise during the mission to Gall. He allowed an enemy TIE fighter to approach undetected from below, resulting in the destruction of his X-wing during the battle.
Rivan possessed knowledge of languages, planetary systems, and street survival techniques. He demonstrated mechanical ability in astrogation, repulsorlift operation, X-wing starfighter piloting, starship gunnery, and starship shields; and technical ability in repulsorlift repair.
Rivan's standard Rogue Squadron gear included a blaster pistol, comlink, and his Rebel flight suit.
The character "Dix" initially appeared in the May 1996 novel Shadows of the Empire, penned by Steve Perry, where he is depicted as the only Rogue Squadron pilot to perish during the Rebel Alliance's attempt to rescue Han Solo from Boba Fett on Gall. The June 1996 Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook, authored by Peter Schweighofer, later provided Dix with the last name "Rivan" and a brief backstory.
A Shadows of the Empire minicomic, originally distributed in 1996 Ertl Star Wars model-kit packages, features a panel illustrating the Battle of Gall, showcasing an X-wing fighter exploding. Given that Rivan is the only Rogue to die at Gall in the Shadows of the Empire novel, this article infers that the destroyed X-wing in the comic represents Rivan's fighter.