Nien Nunb

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Star Wars character
Nien Nunb
Portrayed by Kipsang Rotich (voice)
Position Smuggler, co-pilot, administrator of the Kessel spice mines
Homeworld Sullust
Species Sullustan
Gender Male
Affiliation Rebel Alliance, New Republic

Nien Nunb is a character in the Star Wars universe. He appears in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

[edit] In Star Wars

He is an accomplished pilot from the planet Sullust who became an integral member of the Rebel Alliance, eventually co-piloting the Millennium Falcon alongside Lando Calrissian in the destruction of the Empire's second Death Star.

Nien typifies Sullustan physiology; extremely sensitive ears, large black eyes allowing sight at low light levels, very advanced spatial-reasoning and proprioception abilities (which might explain the Sullustan's reputation for producing skilled pilots). He is however, rather tall for a Sullustan. Nien grew up in the cool, but humid settlements built underground to avoid the volcanic surface.

Many Sullustans took up employment with the megacorporation SoruSuub, working within the various branches spread throughout the galaxy. Eventually SoruSuub established itself as the de-facto government of Sullust. During the imperial era the corporation issued a number of sweeping statements in support of the Empire and its policies, despite this, some Sullustans, including Nien Nunb, chose to support the Rebel Alliance.

Nunb's own vessel was an older light freighter called the Sublight Queen, which he used for trade runs for the SoruSuub Corporation. It was during several of these runs that Nunb encountered and formed a friendship with Lando Calrissian.

When SoruSuub solidified its support of the Empire and took control of the Sullustan government, Nien Nunb decided that he could no longer remain on his home world and support the Rebel Alliance in safety and so terminated his employment with SoruSuub, who responded with blaster fire, and fled Sullust.

Nunb had his revenge on SoruSuub, however, much to the corporation's regret. He began to employ his smuggling skills in direct opposition to them by publicly robbing SoruSuub consignments and then shipping them to the rebellion. As Nunb's reputation began to spread, several other Sullustans followed his lead and made the decision to leave Sullust to join the rebellion. Before much time had passed, SoruSuub found itself besieged with pirates in support of the Rebel Alliance. With SoruSuub facing low morale among the workers, they found that more and more Sullustans were beginning to view these pirates as "folk heroes".

SoruSuub decided to put a stop to a potentially volatile situation and called on the Empire for help, a full complement of Star Destroyers was dispatched to Sullust. In the battle that resulted most of the outlaws lost their vessels, but Nunb (and others) still managed to escape, deciding to sign up with the rebellion as full-time recruits.

The Rebel Alliance, led by Mon Mothma, made the decision to attack the new Death Star that the Empire was constructing around the forest moon of Endor. This second Death Star was incomplete but was protected by a shield generator located on the forest moon. In a plan devised by General Crix Madine and Admiral Ackbar, a team led by Han Solo would land on the moon to take out the shield generator, while a group of fighter pilots led by Gold Leader Lando Calrissian would fly into the center of the Death Star through the narrow superstructure and destroy the main reactor. Because of his natural piloting abilities, Nien Nunb was picked by Lando Calrissian to be co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon in the assault against the Death Star II.

Shortly after this victory, Nien Nunb was to co-pilot the Falcon once again, this time alongside Han Solo on a mission that would take them to a former imperial prison planet. Once they arrived here, the plan was to rescue the two Venerated Ones from the Metalsmith's Guild of Vandelheim, but upon effecting such a rescue, they discovered their two targets to be a teenage girl and a small boy. However, upon arriving at Vandelheim, Nunb and Solo found that they had flown the Falcon into an imperial asteroid trap. Han managed to pilot through the asteroids and land the Falcon on Vandelheim and delivered the two children. In doing so, they discovered the guildmaster to be an imperial sympathizer and Han was forced to retreat to the Falcon where he discovered that Nien had been captured by a stormtrooper. Han, the two children, and Nien managed to escape, killing both the stormtrooper and the guildmaster in the process. When more Stormtroopers arrived and attacked, Han and the children were saved by Nien who was wielding one of Chewbacca's blasters. The Falcon managed to take off, but in space they were confronted by Admiral Modur aboard his Star Destroyer. Han and Nien managed to defeat Modur, saving a line of drone barges containing valuable ores and metals in the process which had been destined for alliance shipyards.

Later in life, Nien put his career in jeopardy by helping Solo bluff the Godoans after they had refused an ailing Lando Calrissian life-saving treatment. Lando had contracted his affliction whilst assisting the Godoans and so Han bluffed that if they did not heal him, he would call in a military strike on the Godoan cities. Nien, Wedge Antilles and various other pilots supported Han Solo despite the fact that Admiral Ackbar objected to it. Fortunately for Han, the Godoans were not willing to call his bluff and so treated Lando immediately.

When the Alliance leaders eventually decided to abandon their temporary headquarters on the forest moon of Endor, they came to expect an attack by a race of aggressive aliens called the N'Gai. Han was not able to fly the Falcon during this time, so Nien and Chewbacca manned the ship during a battle above Endor against the N'Gai.

Seven years following the battle of Endor and the destruction of the second Death Star, Lando began to plan on re-opening the spice mines on the planet Kessel, for which he had teamed up with Mara Jade Skywalker and various other members of the Rebel Alliance to spread the spice throughout the galaxy. Rather than have the spice mined using the slaves that both the Empire and the Moruth Doole had used, Lando planned on hiring Nien Nunb to run the installation with a complement of droids to work the mines. Nunb agreed and became an administrator in the profitable mining industry, while still ready for service with the Alliance.

[edit] In popular culture