Kesin Ommis
Biographical information
Homeworld	Coruscant[1]
Physical description
Species	Human[2]
Gender	Male[3]
Hair color	Brown (facial hair)[4]
Eye color	Brown[1]
Skin color	Light[2]
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Rebellion era[2]
Affiliation	Alliance to Restore the Republic[2]

[Source]

Kesin Ommis was a Human male member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the early leg of the Galactic Civil War. A native of the galactic capital planet of Coruscant, Ommis joined the Rebellion about a year after the Battle of Yavin, serving as a skilled gunner on capital ships and starfighters. His longest tenure was aboard the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Tharen, before he was assigned to the Alliance High Command's Echo Base on the Outer Rim ice planet Hoth. Ommis fought in the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY as the T-47 airspeeder tailgunner for Rogue Group pilot Derek "Hobbie" Klivian. Ommis was wounded in the battle but survived.

BiographyEdit

Kesin Ommis was born on Coruscant,^[3] the longstanding capital planet of the Galactic Republic, and the seat of power of the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War.^[5] Ommis joined the revolutionary Alliance to Restore the Republic around 1 ABY, following the Rebellion's monumental victory in destroying the Empire's first Death Star battlestation at the Battle of Yavin. He served aboard several Alliance corvettes and frigates,^[3] as well as starfighters,^[6] as a skilled gunner, including his last and longest assignment aboard the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Tharen, before being sent to the Alliance High Command headquarters at the secret Echo Base on the remote Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth by 3 ABY.^[3]

Following the Imperial discovery of Echo Base,^[3] Ommis was reassigned from starfighter duty,^[7] one of several personnel pulled from their regular assignments to serve as a gunner in the aft seat of the Rebels' T-47 airspeeders, dubbed "snowspeeders," to defend against the Empire's invading All Terrain Armored Transport walkers. The move paired him with Rogue Group pilot Derek "Hobbie" Klivian,^[3] also pulled from starfighter duty, under the call sign Rogue Four.^[7]

Shortly before the Empire's arrival in the Hoth system, Ommis joined the rest of Rogue Group to listen to Princess Leia Organa's briefing of the base's evacuation plans. The Rebels' various transports would depart Hoth one by one, under the cover fire of the base's v-150 anti-orbital ion cannon, and alongside the escort of just two starfighters, which, they hoped, would allow the ships to slip by the Imperial blockade in orbit. Ommis, standing next to Klivian during the meeting, listened to his snowspeeder pilot skeptically question Organa about the chances of two starfighters taking on the might of an Imperial Star Destroyer, to which the Princess responded that the ion cannon would be opening a flight path for the Rebel craft.^[2]

Ommis was wounded in the ensuing Battle of Hoth, a staggering Rebel defeat.^[3] Klivian's snowspeeder ultimately went down after being hit by AT-AT blaster fire, and then crashing headfirst into the cockpit of Blizzard 1, Imperial General Maximilian Veers' lead walker.^[8] Nevertheless, both Ommis and Klivian survived the ordeal.^[7]

Personality and traitsEdit

Kesin Ommis's combat abilities lay in his considerable gunnery skills, serving aboard Rebel capital ships,^[3] starfighters, and other craft.^[6] He was also highly trained in weapons operations.^[1] When the Rebellion needed to augment Rogue Group's snowspeeders with aft gunners during the Battle of Hoth, Ommis joined the elite squadron.^[3] Derek Klivian's skepticism regarding the feasibility of the Rebels' Hoth evacuation plan to send just two fighter escorts against an Imperial Star Destroyer prompted a concerned look from Ommis during Princess Leia Organa's pre-battle briefing.^[2]

Ommis's equipment included a standard Rebel pilot uniform and a DH-17 blaster pistol sidearm. He had brown facial hair,^[4] brown eyes,^[1] and light skin.^[2] Ommis sported a mustache at some point in his life.^[4]

Behind the scenesEdit

The character of Kesin Ommis first appeared as one of several unidentified Rebel pilots during the Rogue Group briefing scene in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.^[2] The "Rogue Gunner" card from the November 1996 Hoth Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game first provided the character with a name, a brief backstory, and a role in Rogue Group.^[1] Ommis's background was greatly expanded upon, including pairing him as the gunner of Rogue pilot Derek Klivian, whom he stands next to during the briefing scene in the film, during the Battle of Hoth, in author Josh Radke's Who's Who in Echo Base article from Star Wars Insider 74, released in 2004.^[3]

Ommis was included in Hasbro's Star Wars: The Legacy Collection toy line, which featured the character in a three-figure set as part of the 2008 Evolutions: Rebel Pilot Legacy Series II release. The set, which also included Star Wars characters Keyan Farlander and Cesi "Doc" Eirriss, featured a likeness of Ommis from The Empire Strikes Back on the packaging. However, the set describes Ommis as participating in the Battle of Hoth "as a snowspeeder pilot in defense of Echo Base," which contradicts the character's role in the battle as Derek Klivian's gunner,^[4] as established in Who's Who in Echo Base.^[3] Additionally, the action figure's likeness depicts Ommis with a distinct mustache, which differs from the character's appearance in the film.^[4]

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization (Indirect mention only) (Appears in photo inserts)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (First appearance)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back PhotoComic
• Star Wars Manga: The Empire Strikes Back 1 (Snowspeeder only)
• The Empire Strikes Back: A Storybook (Picture only)
• Star Wars 40: The Empire Strikes Back: Battleground Hoth
• Star Wars: Battlefront II (Video clip only)

SourcesEdit

• Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Hoth Limited (Card: Rogue Gunner) (First identified as Kesin Ommis)
• Star Wars: Behind the Magic
• Star Wars Trading Card Game – The Empire Strikes Back (Card: Rebel Hangar) (Picture only)
• Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
• "Who's Who in Echo Base"—Star Wars Insider 74
• Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Complete Locations
•  Star Wars: The Legacy Collection (Pack: Rebel Pilot Legacy II)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 10 (Welcome On Board - Rebel infantry on Hoth: valiant protectors of Echo Base) (Picture only)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
•  Princess Leia Organa in the Encyclopedia (Picture only)
•  Rebel Alliance in the Encyclopedia (Picture only)
•  Rebel Pilots in the Encyclopedia (Picture only)

Notes and referencesEdit