A human male co-pilot served in the Galactic Empire, being aboard the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station when it destroyed the planet Alderaan in 0 BBY. After the Empire was fractured into remnants, he operated with a remnant led by Moff Gideon. Around 9 ABY, he and the primary pilot aboard the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle designated Shuttle 2743 were pursued by the Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft Slave I while ferrying Doctor Penn Pershing.
The Slave I immobilized the shuttle and clamped to it, the Mandalorian Din Djarin entering the vessel. The co-pilot held Pershing at gunpoint, and shot the other pilot when he attempted to resolve the confrontation. He then taunted the Alderaan survivor marshal Cara Dune until she shot him.
During the time of the Galactic Empire, the Imperial pilot served on the Empire's DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station. He stood witness as the Death Star destroyed the planet Alderaan in 0 BBY. The Death Star was soon destroyed by the Rebel Alliance that same year, and its successor, the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, met a similar fate in 4 ABY. The Empire then fractured into remnants, and the co-pilot served in one led by the Imperial Moff Gideon by 9 ABY, during the reign of the New Republic, the Alliance's successor.
That year, the Imperial was the co-pilot of the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle designated Shuttle 2743—serving alongside another pilot—that was tasked with ferrying the Imperial scientist and clone engineer Doctor Penn Pershing to Gideon's light cruiser. However, they were hunted by the Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft Slave I, which chased the shuttle through space. Despite the two pilots taking evasive maneuvers, the Firespray kept closing in on them. Pershing asked what was going on, but the co-pilot told him to be quiet. As the pilots continued trying to outmaneuver the Slave I, the attack craft soon immobilized Shuttle 2743 with an Ion cannon shot. The pair recalled their hands from the control console to avoid being electricuted by the sudden power surge. The other pilot assessed the losses from the shuttle's systems, and the Slave Is pilot, Boba Fett, ordered for Shuttle 2743's shields and transponders to be disabled, warning of a boarding party.
The co-pilot held Pershing at gunpoint much to the other pilot's disagreement.
Pershing assumed the attackers were pirates and asked if they should fight, a request the co-pilot shut down as he complied with Fett's demands, retracting the shuttle's wings in order to link with the Slave I. The Firespray then passed above Shuttle 2743's cockpit and clamped to the shuttle. The Mandalorian Din Djarin entered the cockpit shortly after, blaster drawn, and co-pilot and his comrades got out of their seats, the other two raising their hands. The shuttle co-pilot introduced Pershing to Djarin, who had already met the doctor. As the Mandalorian exchanged with Pershing after, the co-pilot held his SE-14r light repeating blaster to Pershing's head. The New Republic marshal Cara Dune joined Djarin, and the co-pilot told her to stay back, glaring at her.
The other pilot attempted to resolve the confrontation, claiming he was not supporting his comrade, but the shuttle co-pilot promptly shot him, killing the his comrade and scanning the room with his eyes. Dune asked the co-pilot to drop his weapon, but the Imperial denied her and summarized the importance of Pershing being alive. He also noticed a tear tattoo on the marshal, identifying her as an Alderaanian and taunting her about her homeworld's destruction. When he condemned the deaths of millions aboard both Death Stars, Dune asked him again to drop his blaster, but he continued, calling the riddance of Alderaan a small price to pay against "terrorism." The marshal thus shot him in the face, and she and her associates used the shuttle to infiltrate Gideon's cruiser.
The co-pilot shut down Pershing's questions.
The Imperial shuttle co-pilot was a human male with light skin and brown eyes. He was loyal to the Empire, deeming the destruction of Alderaan and its entire population as justified in ridding the galaxy of "terrorism" but holding the destruction of both Death Stars as unforgivable war crimes. The co-pilot silenced Pershing when the doctor asked of the situation while Shuttle 2743 was pursued. When the doctor suggested fighting the attackers, the co-pilot remarked that he did not have a death wish.
Upon Djarin's arrival, the co-pilot was the only Imperial aboard the shuttle to not raise his hands and instead used Pershing as a bargaining chip, stressing the value of the doctor. His refusal to comply to the boarding party drove him to murder his fellow pilot when the man tried to bargain with the intruders. The co-pilot identified Cara Dune as a rebel dropper and also as a Alderaanian from her tear drop tattoo, smiling as he pointed it out. He chose to taunt her about her destroyed homeworld despite her warnings, laughing mockingly when she asked which Death Star he was on. The Imperial's persistence ultimately led to his death.
The co-pilot donned a black flight suit with the Imperial crest on his shoulders. He also wore an aviator hat with a built in comlink and black gloves. The co-pilot wielded an SE-14r light repeating blaster, which he used to hold Pershing at gunpoint.
The Imperial shuttle co-pilot appeared in "Chapter 16: The Rescue" of Jon Favreau's 2019 Disney+ television series The Mandalorian, directed by Peyton Reed and released on December 18, 2020. Credited as "Co-Pilot," he was played by Thomas E. Sullivan.
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian Handbook