Puck Naeco
A human male ace pilot by the name of Puck Naeco served the Alliance to Restore the Republic's Starfighter Corps in the early years of the Galactic Civil War. This experienced pilot, who achieved double ace status, flew with both Green and Red Squadrons. Tragically, during the Battle of Yavin, while Red Squadron was trying to destroy the Death Star above Yavin, he was shot down and killed by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader flying his TIE Advanced x1.
Biography
During the [Imperial Era](/article/imperial_era], Puck Naeco enlisted with the Alliance to Restore the Republic to combat the Galactic Empire. He served as a pilot within the Alliance Starfighter Corps, eventually becoming a double ace and a seasoned A-wing pilot. In 0 BBY, Naeco was assigned to Green Squadron with the callsign Green Twelve. Prior to the Battle of Scarif, a rough landing resulted in a broken ankle for Naeco, forcing him to relinquish his position in Green Squadron. Lieutenant Wion Dillems took his place as Green Twelve and participated in the Battle of Scarif.
Battle of Yavin
After he recovered from his injury, Naeco joined Red Squadron, which was under the leadership of Red Leader Commander Garven Dreis. Being a veteran pilot, he enjoyed joking with his younger squadron members, which created tension, particularly with Col Takbright, leading to several arguments. As they approached the Death Star, Naeco and his fellow pilots attended a briefing by General [Jan Dodonna](/article/jan_dodonna], the commander of the Massassi Group. Dodonna explained their mission: to destroy the battle station by firing torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port that led to the station's main reactor. Naeco and Red Four John D. Branon noticed Takbright's critical comments about the plan and confronted him about it afterward.
Dreis chose Naeco, who was a double ace with 5,879 flight hours and eleven confirmed kills, to be part of Red Squadron's first flight alongside himself and Theron Nett, with Naeco taking the portside position as Red Twelve. After the initial Gold Squadron of Y-wing bombers failed to fire their torpedoes, Dreis' flight entered the meridian trench of the Death Star to attempt the shot. However, despite Red Leader's warnings, Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, in his TIE Advanced x1, destroyed Naeco's X-wing starfighter first as he pursued them. Naeco's X-Wing exploded and crashed into the trench wall. Shortly after, both Nett and Dreis were also shot down, but Red Five succeeded in firing the shot that destroyed the station.
Equipment
As a member of Red Squadron, this pilot wore the standard Orange jumpsuit and a helmet. He had light skin.
Behind the scenes
Rusel DeMaria created Puck Naeco for the Expanded Universe book X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide, which was based on the Star Wars: X-Wing video game. In The Essential Guide to Warfare, Jason Fry and Paul Urquhart used retconning to integrate the Legends character into a pilot seen in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope during the Battle of Yavin. This pilot was identified in the script as Red Twelve and played by Horror film actor Chris Matthews. The film shows Theron Nett (Robert O'Mahoney)'s starfighter being destroyed alongside a shot of a different pilot's death, which Fry and Holocron manager Leland Chee identified as Red Twelve. Later, in The Empire Strikes Back, Wes Janson wore Naeco's helmet prop from the film, or possibly one of similar design.
Puck's first identification in Canon was in the Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide. His most notable appearance so far is in Duty Roster, a short story from the From a Certain Point of View collection, written by Jason Fry, who originally identified the character.