Rinnrivin Di, a Kajain'sa'Nikto, held the position of a crime lord. He spearheaded a formidable and perilous cartel during the New Republic Era, with operations based on the planet Bastatha in 28 ABY. Di's organization preyed on commercial shipping routes near the independent planet Ryloth. It was deemed a rival to even the most prominent Hutt criminal empires at their peak. Their targeting of Twi'lek shipments and merchants compelled Ryloth to request assistance from the Galactic Senate. Following an investigation spearheaded by Leia Organa, Di met his end in an armed confrontation with Organa on the planet Sibensko.
As a Kajain'sa'Nikto, Rinnrivin Di began as a humble spice dealer employed by the Hutts during the Age of the Empire. Due to the pervasive xenophobia exhibited by the Old Empire, Rinnrivin faced limited opportunities for advancement. Instead, he opted for a life of crime. In 21 ABY, Rinnrivin commanded a small cartel that received billions of credits in initial investment from the Amaxine warriors, a paramilitary group acting as proxies for the First Order, a remnant of the Old Empire. This capital infusion enabled Rinnrivin's cartel to rapidly transform into a major crime syndicate.
Rinnrivin funneled the proceeds from his smuggling and gambling ventures to the First Order through clandestine corporations located in the Outer Rim Territories and Centrist circles. The First Order utilized these funds to rebuild the old Imperial fleet. Over the subsequent seven years, Rinnrivin's cartel established dominance over the Gaulus sector, severely impacting Ryloth's external trade. Rinnrivin operated from a base situated on the Outer Rim planet Bastatha, which possessed an economy heavily reliant on casinos and gambling establishments. Ultimately, the Ryloth government dispatched Emissary Yendor to implore the New Republic for assistance. The Galactic Senate subsequently sent Senators Leia Organa and Ransolm Casterfo to investigate Rinnrivin's activities on Bastatha.
Upon learning of Senator Organa's impending visit, Rinnrivin dispatched his henchmen to abduct her. Disguised as "businessmen," the gangsters seized Leia and transported her via hoversled to Rinnrivin's headquarters, nestled within the deep caverns of Bastatha. Rinnrivin sought to bribe the senator into persuading the New Republic to relax its restrictions on the trade of "hard" spice. In an attempt to sway the Senator, he offered her Toniray wine and a holocube depicting Leia's killing of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, informing her that the Niktos revered her as "Huttslayer" for her role in dismantling the Hutt crime lord.
While acknowledging Rinnrivin's charisma and intelligence, Senator Organa refused to be bribed and condemned Rinnrivin's illicit activities. To her surprise, Rinnrivin did not refute these allegations but argued that regulations set on Hosnian Prime often failed to reach the outer New Republic worlds. He pointed out that Leia had utilized lawlessness as a weapon during her tenure in the Rebel Alliance. Leia, however, emphasized that she had since dedicated her life to restoring law and order to the Galaxy. Rinnrivin then attempted to reason with Leia by highlighting her marriage to a smuggler.
Their meeting was disrupted by the arrival of Senator Casterfo, who had located Leia using a tracking device concealed in her cloak. Casterfo engaged in combat with Rinnrivin's guards and successfully rescued Leia. Unprepared for the armed assault, a bewildered Rinnrivin expressed his desire for a future encounter. As Leia and Casterfo fled Rinnrivin's lair in a stolen hoversled, the crime lord and his henchmen escaped offworld, their base now compromised. Rinnrivin also dispatched his henchmen in pursuit, but the Republic senators managed to evade capture and alert the Bastatha security forces.
Following Rinnrivin's escape, Leia's team successfully downloaded information from the droids left behind in his base. They discovered that Rinnrivin's network rivaled the Hutts and that he was channeling funds into shadow corporations across various Outer Rim worlds. Leia's starfighter pilots Greer Sonnel and Joph Seastriker later uncovered Rinnrivin's connection to the Amaxines during a visit to Pamarthe. While exploring the Ryloth archives, Leia and her team discovered information regarding Rinnrivin's sudden ascent to power as a major crime lord. After hacking into one of Rinnrivin's spy satellites above Ryloth, C-3PO learned that Rinnrivin was concealing himself on the watery planet of Sibensko in the Expansion Region, which served as the headquarters for the Amaxines.
While monitoring the satellites, C-3PO detected Rinnrivin's presence at the commercial and cultural center of Harloff Minor, situated near Coruscant. Eager to investigate his ties to the Amaxine Warriors, Leia arranged to meet the crime lord for dinner. Rinnrivin and Organa convened at a comfortable restaurant in one of Harloff Minor's equatorial cities, specializing in Nikto cuisine. During the meeting, Rinnrivin conveyed his relief that the Senator had emerged unharmed from the Napkin Bombing, which had damaged the New Republic senatorial complex on Hosnian Prime. He condemned the bombing as a "reckless, childish act" and speculated that the bombers were misguided in attempting to seize power by destroying the Senate.
Leia also reassured Rinnrivin that she was unaware of Ransolm's rescue plan. The crime lord accepted her explanation and characterized Casterfo as a reckless glory-seeker. While sharing Corellian brandy, Rinnrivin likened himself to a risk-taker who readily seized opportunities for wealth. Carefully concealing his connections to the Amaxines, Rinnrivin also sought to portray himself as a self-made man and expressed a desire to collaborate with Leia. When Leia reiterated her refusal to accept bribes, he commended her as a worthy candidate for First Senator. Upon Rinnrivin's inquiry regarding how she had discovered his location, Leia complimented him as a man of refined tastes.
She then seized the opportunity to return the "Huttslayer" holocube that Rinnrivin had previously presented to her. She explained that she had no need to be reminded of her past. Rinnrivin expressed his admiration for Leia and remarked that thoughtfulness was the hallmark of a good ally. Leia concurred but maintained her view of him as an adversary. Unbeknownst to Rinnrivin, Leia had retrofitted the holocube with a tracking device to monitor his movements. Leia and Casterfo then began preparations to visit Sibensko, but these plans were delayed by a political scandal arising from revelations about Leia's true parentage as the daughter of Darth Vader.
Rinnrivin and his henchmen later discovered that Leia and her team had infiltrated the underwater city of Sibensko, which housed the Amaxine Warriors' primary base. While Leia was able to track his movements via the holocube, she and C-3PO were occupied with downloading banking records from a computer in a local cantina. These records revealed that the Amaxine Warriors were providing financial backing to Rinnrivin's cartel. However, C-3PO was unable to access data levels which implicated the First Order as the financiers behind both groups. Despite Leia's veil, he and his two bodyguards recognized the senator.
Upon being spotted, Leia removed her hood and veil and expressed regret that they were meeting under such unfortunate circumstances. Rinnrivin replied that he had sensors which enabled him to detect her tracking device. When Leia retorted that he was a fool for not checking that she had fitted a tracking device in the first place, he snarled and prepared to order his men to kill her. However, Leia had brought a blaster and managed to shoot one of Rinnrivin's guards. Following a short heated exchange, Leia fired her blaster at the central strut supporting the water tunnel directly overhead. The tunnel collapse, crushing Rinnrivin and his remaining bodyguard to death.
With Rinnrivin's death and the destruction of the main Amaxine base, many in the New Republic government and media believed that no more threats to the Republic remained. However, Leia disagreed and established the Resistance to maintain a vigil over the Republic.
Rinnrivin Di was a Nikto of short stature, characterized by leathery red skin. He favored elegant attire, collected ornate furniture, and indulged in rare vintage beverages such as the Alderaanian wine Toniray. Unlike most other crime lords, Rinnrivin sought to cultivate the image of a respected intellectual. Leia perceived that Rinnrivin possessed the same intelligence and charisma as the late Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and would have occupied a similar position in the "Old Empire" had he been born human. Nevertheless, Rinnrivin was not averse to employing ruthless and criminal tactics to further his own ambitions and agenda.
While Rinnrivin was initially a humble spice dealer who had been elevated to great power due to a monetary injection by the Amaxine warriors, Rinnrivin saw himself as a self-made businessman who was willing to take risks to succeed. His concern with accumulating wealth and power led him to ignore the negative effects of his criminal activities including spice smuggling and disrupting legitimate commercial traffic. Rinnrivin admired Leia for her role in killing the Hutt crime lord Jabba and sought to cultivate her as a political ally. Despite his smooth-talking and sophisticated demeanor, he failed to sway the straight-dealing Senator whose single-minded resolve was protecting the New Republic from all threats.
Rinnrivin made his initial appearance as a minor antagonist in Claudia Gray's 2016 novel Bloodline, which centered around Leia Organa. His lines are told through Leia's point-of-view.