Thurlow Harris, a Human male pilot specializing in starfighters, served the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the initial stages of the Galactic Civil War. As the son of a Rebel captain, Harris spent much of his formative years living in the long shadow of his father, witnessing numerous conflicts firsthand. After completing his Alliance training at the pilot training center located on Kolaador, Harris was among a trio of pilots dispatched from Kolaador to Tatooine following an attack on Anchorhead Base by the forces of the Galactic Empire. He played a role in disabling an Imperial-class Star Destroyer positioned in orbit around Tatooine, though his team's arrival was unfortunately too late to prevent the destruction of Anchorhead Base. Later, Harris found himself stationed at the Alliance's primary headquarters within the Great Temple on Yavin 4 when the Empire's massive Death Star battle station launched an assault. As a member of Blue Squadron, Harris participated in the ensuing Battle of Yavin, a pivotal engagement where Rebel forces successfully obliterated the Death Star. However, his triumph was short-lived, as he was soon captured upon returning to his homeworld of Centares to spread word of the Alliance's hard-won victory. Following brutal torture at the hands of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, Harris revealed that Luke Skywalker was the pilot responsible for the Death Star's demise. Ultimately, he met his end, killed by the bounty hunter known as Mala Mala.
Thurlow Harris was born circa 20 BBY on the planet of Centares, situated within the Maldrood sector of the Mid Rim. His upbringing occurred in a galaxy largely under the dominion of the Galactic Empire. As his father rose to the rank of captain within the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Harris witnessed numerous battles before reaching the age of twenty years. Following in his father's footsteps, Harris joined the burgeoning Rebellion early in the Galactic Civil War and underwent rigorous training to become a starfighter pilot at the Alliance's pilot training center on Kolaador, where he trained alongside another recruit known as Rookie One.
In 0 BBY, Rebel operatives successfully acquired the vital plans for the Empire's formidable Death Star battle station, a superweapon with the capacity to obliterate entire planets. Pursued relentlessly by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan entrusted these critical plans to the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. The droids managed to escape her ship as it was being boarded by Imperial forces, eventually crash-landing on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. Upon realizing that the plans were no longer on board, Vader ordered his forces to initiate a comprehensive search of Tatooine. When the Imperial search party discovered the Alliance's Anchorhead Base, the Rebels urgently requested reinforcements from Kolaador. In response to this distress signal, Harris, Rookie One, and Commander Ru Murleen were promptly dispatched to Tatooine aboard T-65 X-wing starfighters.
Upon arriving in the Tatoo system, the three Rebels discovered an Imperial-class Star Destroyer positioned in orbit around Tatooine, orchestrating the ongoing attack on the planet below. As the Star Destroyer launched waves of TIE/LN starfighters to intercept the approaching Rebels, Murleen took the lead, guiding Harris and Rookie One in a series of strafing runs aimed at weakening the vessel's defenses. Once the deflector shields protecting the bridge were compromised by the relentless Rebel assault, Rookie One seized the opportunity and fired proton torpedoes directly at the unprotected command tower, effectively crippling the vessel and enabling the Rebel flight group to proceed towards the planet's surface.
As the Rebels neared Anchorhead Base, it came under a sudden attack from three TIE fighters. Unfortunately, the Rebels arrived too late to prevent the base's destruction. They then pursued the TIE fighters into the treacherous Beggar's Canyon to prevent them from reporting the arrival of the X-wings. After eliminating all three enemy fighters, the Rebels were joined by the X-wing piloted by Captain Merrick Simms. Murleen then instructed Harris and Rookie One to accompany Simms, while she focused on disrupting the Imperial supply lines. With enemy ground forces moving into Mos Eisley, Simms led Harris and Rookie One towards the bustling spaceport town. There, they engaged All Terrain Scout Transports and Imperial landing craft until the arrival of a large group of TIE fighters forced them to retreat. As the Rebels fled into space, Harris struggled to outrun a pursuing TIE/IN interceptor. Simms then led the two rookies into a nearby asteroid field, where they successfully evaded their pursuers before initiating a hyperspace jump to rendezvous with the main Alliance Fleet.
Later, Harris was stationed at the Alliance's central base on the moon of Yavin 4, only to find himself thrust into battle once again. The stolen Death Star plans were eventually delivered to the Rebel base, but the Empire swiftly dispatched the Death Star itself with the intention of destroying the moon. Analysis of the plans revealed a critical weakness in the battlestation, which General Jan Dodonna devised a plan to exploit. A precise proton torpedo strike on a small thermal exhaust port would trigger a catastrophic chain reaction within the Death Star's main reactor, leading to the battlestation's destruction. Harris was assigned to Blue Squadron, a team of four X-wings led by Simms and including Murleen and Rookie One. Harris was given the call sign Blue Four. Blue Squadron's mission was to directly attack the Death Star's powerful superlaser, aiming to both inflict damage and divert enemy attention away from Red and Gold Squadrons as they attacked the vulnerable exhaust port.
As Blue Squadron closed in on the Death Star, a Star Destroyer from its support fleet launched a swarm of TIE fighters to intercept them. The squadron battled through the incoming TIEs, with Harris scoring at least one confirmed kill. During the intense dogfight, three of the Imperial fighters managed to get on Simms' tail. Harris attempted to provide assistance to his wingmate's, but he was unable to acquire a lock, leaving Rookie One to eliminate the TIEs and save the flight leader. After successfully breaching the perimeter, Blue Squadron commenced strafing runs on the Death Star's turbolaser batteries, clearing a path for the Alliance forces to enter the narrow trench leading to the exhaust port. Despite the initial attempts failing, Red Squadron pilot Luke Skywalker ultimately achieved a direct hit on the exhaust port, resulting in the complete destruction of the Death Star. The Rebels suffered significant casualties, but Harris narrowly survived the battle.
Following the Battle of Yavin, Lord Vader became consumed with a desire for revenge against the Rebel pilot responsible for the Death Star's destruction, and he enlisted the services of several skilled bounty hunters to locate the pilot. Believing Vader to have perished during the battle, Harris was convinced that the Rebels were on the verge of winning the Galactic Civil War. He returned to his homeworld of Centares in 0 ABY with the intention of spreading news of the Alliance's momentous victory. Upon arrival, he was captured by a group of bounty hunters, including the Sephi Mala Mala, her droid companion Fordee, and the Human siblings Brazzo and Selle. Vader soon arrived on Centares to personally oversee Harris's interrogation. With the assistance of Ban Papeega and a specialized torture droid, he subjected Harris to brutal torture within the confines of the former Museum of the Old Republic. Harris eventually revealed Skywalker's name before succumbing to unconsciousness. Enraged by this revelation, Vader, who was born Anakin Skywalker and was Luke Skywalker's father, ordered the bounty hunters to be killed to prevent Skywalker's identity from reaching Emperor Palpatine. Vader dispatched a stormtrooper to execute Harris, but Mala Mala intervened and killed the [trooper](/article/trooper-legends]. Approaching Harris, the bounty hunter demanded to know what he had revealed that had prompted Vader to turn against her partners. After he confessed to betraying Skywalker and the Alliance, Mala Mala ended his life with a fatal blaster shot.
Thurlow Harris was a male Human characterized by brown hair, brown eyes, and a fair complexion. With his father's active involvement in the Rebel Alliance, Harris was exposed to the harsh realities of the Galactic Civil War from a young age, witnessing numerous battles during his formative years. Harris chose to emulate his father's example by enlisting in the Alliance, but he struggled to emerge from his father's shadow. Despite becoming a skilled pilot, Harris lacked the unwavering confidence and mental fortitude possessed by more seasoned pilots. Following the Alliance's triumph at the Battle of Yavin, Harris was filled with elation and a strong belief that the Rebels were on the cusp of victory. Harris always maintained that he would remain resolute and reveal nothing if captured by the Empire, but his resolve crumbled when Darth Vader personally subjected him to torture following his capture on Centares. After divulging Skywalker's name, Harris was consumed by shame and unable to forgive himself for betraying the Alliance. Ultimately, he welcomed his death when Mala Mala arrived to execute him.
Thurlow Harris was conceived by Vincent Lee for the 1993 LucasArts video game Star Wars: Rebel Assault, and his backstory was further developed in the game's accompanying manual. Harris appears as a non-player character within the game, serving in the same squadron as the player's character, Rookie One. Harris's in-game appearance was modeled after footage of LucasArts artist Jon Knoles.
Rebel Assault depicts Harris, as a member of Blue Squadron, participating in a trench run during the Battle of Yavin, a depiction that contradicts the events as portrayed in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The trench run sequence in the game closely mirrors that of the movie, with only the identities of the participants differing. The game shows Blue Squadron undertaking a trench run, with Simms taking the lead, while Rookie One, Murleen, and Harris provide cover. As they navigate the treacherous trench, the group is pursued by three TIE fighters, including a TIE Advanced x1 similar to the one piloted by Darth Vader in the movie. The TIEs unleash a barrage of fire, resulting in Harris's death and forcing Murleen to withdraw, mirroring the fates of Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles in the movie. Simms eventually reaches firing range, but his torpedoes impact harmlessly on the surface, leaving Rookie One to make the next attempt, echoing Garven Dreis's failed attempt. In the game, it is Rookie One's shot that is portrayed as destroying the battlestation, rather than Skywalker's.
In December 2006, Leland Chee, the keeper of Lucasfilm's Holocron continuity database, commented on the StarWars.com Message Boards that Rookie One's trench run was non-continuity, leaving the canon status of the scene depicting Harris's death unclear. Harris received an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008), which acknowledged his participation in the Battle of Yavin but did not clarify whether he survived the battle. The Essential Guide to Warfare (2012) later confirmed that Blue Squadron was assigned to attack the Death Star's superlaser while Red and Gold Squadrons attacked the trench. In September 2013, the Star Wars Blog article The Not-So Magnificent Seven by Greg Mitchell confirmed that Harris survived the battle. The article established that a previously unidentified Rebel pilot whose interrogation and subsequent death shortly after the Battle of Yavin were depicted in the 1999 comic book Vader's Quest 1 by Darko Macan is, in fact, Harris.