During the Battle of Hoth, Darth Vader's Death Squadron included the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger, commanded by Captain Lorth Needa. Needa, a human male who previously held the rank of lieutenant commander on a Carrack-class light cruiser, successfully attacked several escaping Rebel transports. However, his relentless pursuit of Captain Han Solo's Millennium Falcon ultimately led to his demise. The Avenger had the Falcon within firing range after a prolonged chase, but Solo executed a sudden maneuver, charging directly at the Star Destroyer's bridge and then vanishing from its sensors. Unable to explain the Falcon's disappearance, Needa accepted responsibility and offered a personal apology to Vader, who, in turn, executed him for the failure.
Lorth Needa, a human male from Coruscant, served the Galactic Republic's navy during the Clone Wars. He held the position of lieutenant commander within Strike Group Five of the Coruscant Home Defense Fleet, where he commanded the Carrack-class light cruiser named Integrity. In 19 BBY, Needa and Strike Group Five participated in the Battle of Coruscant, during which Separatist General Grievous launched an attack on the planet using a massive armada and abducted Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.
During the conflict, Needa and his assembled ships surrounded Grievous's flagship, the Providence-class Dreadnought known as the Invisible Hand. He demanded Grievous's surrender, but the general refused, stating that Palpatine was aboard the dreadnought. Skeptical, Needa granted Grievous ten minutes to provide proof, after which Strike Group Five would open fire on the Invisible Hand. Later, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker boarded the Invisible Hand and successfully rescued the Chancellor.
Following the end of the Clone Wars and the proclamation of the Galactic Empire, Needa continued his military service as an officer in the Imperial Navy, holding the rank of lieutenant commander on a Carrack-class light cruiser.
He was later promoted to captain and given command of the Star Destroyer Avenger, which was part of Death Squadron, an Imperial Navy task force under the command of Darth Vader, a Sith Lord. After the Battle of Yavin, Death Squadron was tasked with locating the hidden headquarters of the Rebel Alliance, an insurgent group at war with the Empire for control of the galaxy. After the discovery of a Rebel base on Hoth, an assault was launched by Death Squadron. During the battle, which resulted in an Imperial victory, Needa and the Avenger engaged several Rebel ships as they attempted to escape the Imperial forces.
Among the fleeing Rebel ships was the Millennium Falcon, a freighter piloted by Han Solo, a Rebel sympathizer. Solo, along with his co-pilot Chewbacca and Princess Leia Organa, were attempting to escape Hoth. However, the Falcon's malfunctioning hyperdrive prevented them from jumping to hyperspace and escaping the pursuing Star Destroyers. As the Avenger closed in, Solo skillfully evaded his pursuers, causing the Avenger to almost collide with two other Star Destroyers. Solo and his crew sought refuge in a nearby asteroid field, where the Empire temporarily lost track of them. Needa informed Darth Vader via hologram that the Falcon was likely destroyed, but the Sith Lord remained unconvinced and ordered the search to continue. Needa then contacted Lieutenant Obrax and Theta Squadron, deploying fighters to patrol the area and threatening any pilot who returned prematurely with execution.
The Falcon had indeed survived. When it emerged from the asteroid field, the Avenger resumed its pursuit. After informing Vader, Needa prepared to capture the freighter, but Solo unexpectedly changed course and flew directly towards the Avenger's bridge, a move Needa perceived as an attack. He ordered the shields to be raised, but the Falcon simply grazed the command tower before vanishing from the warship's sensors. Needa was baffled by the Falcon's disappearance, as it was too small to possess a cloaking device. Unbeknownst to the Imperials, Solo had attached the Falcon to the rear of the Avenger's bridge tower.
When Vader demanded an update, Needa traveled to the Super Star Destroyer Executor to personally apologize for losing the Falcon. In response, the Sith Lord used telekinetic strangulation to kill the captain, punishing him for his failure. Vader sarcastically accepted Needa's apology before Imperial Navy Troopers removed his corpse. Meanwhile, the TIEs of Theta Squadron, who had disobeyed Needa's orders and entered the asteroid field, returned. His death spared them from disciplinary action.
Captain Lorth Needa, standing at 1.75 meters tall, was a skilled and ruthless Star Destroyer commander within Darth Vader's fleet. Despite his fear of the Sith Lord, Needa chose to personally apologize to Vader after failing to capture the Millennium Falcon following the Battle of Hoth. Vader "accepted" the apology, but Needa did not survive the encounter.
Needa spoke with an accent indicative of his upbringing in the Core Worlds. "Howlrunner," a TIE pilot flying as Theta Seven, mocked Needa's accent while complaining to fellow pilot "Shadow" after being assigned a patrol and threatened by him.
Michael Culver played Captain Needa in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 film and the second film in the Star Wars original trilogy.
Star Wars: Force Collection states that Needa was once "only a Lieutenant Commander," while The Empire Strikes Back identifies him as a Captain, despite Thrawn stating that a Captain is a lower rank than Lieutenant Commander. This discrepancy might allude to a naval tradition where the commander of a ship is addressed as "captain," irrespective of their actual rank.