Durne, an intelligence operative from Cantros, played a deceptive role. In the year 4 ABY, he was employed by Knife, a commander of the Nagai, with the task of instigating conflict. His mission was to create discord between two resistance groups in the Cantros system, both of which supported the Rebel Alliance. He achieved this by deceiving members of each group into believing the other was secretly aligned with the Galactic Empire. This deception led to open conflict and significant losses among his own species. However, his scheme was ultimately thwarted by the actions of Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo, the Rebel heroes who successfully reunited the warring factions.
By 4 ABY, the Nagai commander Knife had hired Cantrosian Durne to undermine stability within the Cantros system, situated in the Outer Rim Territories. This was intended to facilitate the advancement of a Nagai expeditionary force. As part of his mission, Durne successfully ingratiated himself into two resistance organizations that were supporters of the Rebel Alliance. He befriended Niru within one faction, and he encountered Minka and Sami in another. After winning the trust of all involved, Durne rose to the position of head of intelligence for both organizations. One of his tactics involved suppressing the information about the death of the Emperor Palpatine from Cantrosian information networks.
Having gained control over this crucial information, Durne manipulated each side into believing that the other was secretly collaborating with the Galactic Empire. Consequently, both factions engaged in a bitter struggle to eliminate each other. After being informed of the situation by Minka, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo, the renowned Rebel heroes, journeyed to an asteroid base to conduct an investigation. There, they encountered several Cantrosian fighters, including Durne himself. When the Rebels revealed that there was no Imperial activity in the sector, Durne falsely claimed that his network's intelligence was accurate. However, he couldn't prevent the Rebels from leaving with Minka and Sami to visit the opposing faction's base. Despite stating that he would remain on the asteroid, Durne secretly traveled to the base as well.
Niru and her faction, having discovered the Rebel group, took Sami, Solo, and Skywalker captive and transported them to their base. Although Niru opposed torturing or otherwise harming the supposed Imperial sympathizers, Durne attempted to convince her to execute the prisoners. However, the Rebels noticed his efforts. Sami and Solo appealed to Niru's followers, affirming their shared allegiance and denouncing Durne as a traitor. Durne then brandished a blaster pistol, intending to kill the group. However, Minka and Organa arrived, having evaded capture, and Organa disarmed Durne.
Following this, an armed exchange broke out, and Durne managed to avoid being the primary target. He reasoned that Niru's death would sway the group back under his control and that the chaos of battle would conceal his deliberate shot. Therefore, he prepared to shoot her. Skywalker, witnessing this, intercepted Durne's shot with his lightsaber, incapacitating the double agent. As the fighting ceased and the Cantrosian factions began to reconcile, Durne attempted to escape but was stopped by Niru. With the members of his species no longer engaged in conflict, Durne was restrained and scheduled for a peaceful interrogation.
Durne displayed a complete lack of regret for fueling tensions among his own people or for the resulting fatalities. Despite this, he professed loyalty to members of both factions separately and was sufficiently persuasive to successfully turn them against each other. He was also fully prepared to commit murder to achieve his objectives, initially threatening to shoot Skywalker before planning to do the same to Niru. Durne had white fur and hair, along with green eyes.
Durne made his appearance in Star Wars (1977) 93, a Marvel Comics issue published on December 18, 1984. This issue was part of the Star Wars comic series and was authored by Mary Jo Duffy. Sal Buscema was the artist responsible for drawing Durne in the comic.