During the Galactic Civil War, Nien Nunb made his living as a smuggler and arms dealer aboard his star yacht, the Mellcrawler. Responding to a call for help from his friend Evaan Verlaine, Nunb smuggled a group of Alderaanian refugees off Sullust. A grateful Princess Leia Organa gave him a chalcedony necklace that had once belonged to her mother.

Later, Nien rescued Leia from Skaradosh, launching a sensor decoy from the Mellcrawler that allowed the yacht to escape an Imperial Star Destroyer. An Alderaanian fleet engaged the Imperial forces, winning a victory for the destroyed planet’s people.

Nien and Leia were reunited shortly before the Battle of Endor, when the Sullustan lent the Alliance his services for Operation Yellow Moon, a mission intended to draw Imperial forces away from the rebel fleet assembling near Sullust for the assault on the second Death Star. The mission succeeded, though Nien’s beloved Mellcrawler was destroyed.

Finding himself without a ship, Nien volunteered to fly the Millennium Falcon alongside Lando Calrissian, and listened gravely as the Alliance’s top brass outlined their plan to destroy the second Death Star.

The Falcon came out of hyperspace at Endor to discover that the Death Star’s shields were still up and the Empire was jamming the rebels’ communications – the Alliance had walked into the Emperor’s trap.

Nien helped Lando fight a delaying action intended to give Han Solo’s commandos more time to bring down the shield generator protecting the Death Star. When the shield finally came down, the Falcon flew into the Death Star and fired a proton torpedo that destroyed the battle station’s main reactor.

Nien, Lando and the other rebels celebrated with Endor’s native Ewoks. Though years of grinding war still lay ahead, the Alliance had won a critical victory against the Empire.

The Battle of Endor made Nien a hero of the newborn New Republic, which he continued to serve through campaigns against the remnants of the Empire. He later joined Leia’s Resistance, bringing his decades of experience and seemingly inextinguishable good spirits to his old friend’s cause.

Nien joined the starfighter attack on the First Order’s Starkiller Base, taking the sticks of a Resistance X-wing and flying in one of Poe Dameron’s squadrons.

Nien served aboard the Mon Calamari heavy cruiser Raddus after the Resistance evacuated D’Qar, but was not on the bridge when it was destroyed by a First Order attack. He was present as Vice Admiral Holdo took over command from Leia Organa, and fought against the First Order on the surface of Crait.

Nien remained with the Resistance as Leia rebuilt it after the Battle of Crait. Like everyone in the cause, he was stunned to learn that Emperor Palpatine had returned from death and threatened the galaxy with a Sith armada. Despite long odds, Nien agreed to pilot the Tantive IV during the Resistance’s daring raid on Exegol.

From his vantage point in the cockpit of the blockade runner, Nien witnessed the fury of the battle at Exegol – culminating in the Tantive IV’s losing power and falling through the atmosphere after Palpatine blasted it with Force lightning. Nien went down with the ship, giving his life to fight for freedom.