Daultay Dofine was born to aninfluential family onNeimoidia, which would present him with numerous advantages later in life,[5][1] although he was said, by some, to be the runt of his hive. In addition to his influence, Dofine commanded significant wealth.[6] The Dofines had been in the service of theTrade Federation for a considerable amount of time,[7] and at some stage, Dofine began serving the Trade Federation directly as a starship officer.[6] He was followed in this path by his cousin,Lushros Dofine.[7]
Through a combination of back-stabbing, groveling with his superiors in the Federation, rather than merit[8] and family connections,[9] Dofine was able to climb through the ranks, and became captain in spite of his only marginal competence.[1] He was particularly adept at economically organizing Federation convoys, and negotiating with traders. Dofine consistently would underpay his suppliers, and made sure that those suppliers had no one else to turn to for help. He also made active efforts to eliminate smugglers and pirates.[4] Since he had no military experience or knowledge, Dofine's main tactic was to stall his targets with platitudes while assessing how to best seize their assets.[1] Dofine's convoys would also capture the ships and cargo of traders not under contract to the Federation; those traders would always pay compensation. As a result, Dofine quickly became an unpopular figure in theOuter Rim Territories.[4]
By33 BBY, Dofine, now acommander, was in charge of theLucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighterRevenue. Among the ship's crew was a wide variety of non-Neimoidians—a fact that Dofine did not enjoy, but he understood that the Federation had to employ such types as an obligation to their allies. He and his crew spent many months in deep space, and was dispatched toDorvalla, several times, where theRevenue took on a significant quantity oflommite ore. The first time,Dorvalla Mining claimed that the Federation's payment was short by 20,000Republic credits. On the second visit, the mining company claimed that the Federation was short 50,000 credits, but Dofine attempted to deflect them by having its representative recheck her figures. On the third visit, once the ship had finished loading, Dofine ordered his fighters to be recalled to theRevenue, as he wished to depart Dorvalla as soon as possible. Once the rest of his crew had returned from Dorvalla's surface, he would be free to deliver his cargo to its destination,Sluis Van. During theRevenue's third visit to the planet, it had secured and harbored within the ship's security cabin a hefty supply ofaurodium ingots—bribes from Outer Rim worlds that wanted to stay in the Federation's favor.[6]
Before he was able to depart, Dofine again received a transmission from Dorvalla Mining, this time claiming that he was short 100,000 credits. TheHuman female representative talked to Dofine directly this time, confronting him on the issue. The commander dismissed the missing credits as additional expenses, citing Dorvalla's relative remoteness. The representative was not impressed, nor satisfied, but Dofine merely suggested that she take up the issue with theTrade Commission onCoruscant, before terminating the transmission. As he finished preparations to depart, Dofine noticed that the ship's scanner array was picking up something, and it was soon evident that it was incoming craft:CloakShape fighters and aTempest-class gunship.[6]
Aghast at what he correctly perceived to be anattack, Dofine began to panic. His systems officer then reported a disturbance in zone two of the ship's starboard hangar arm, claiming that the droids had begun firing at one of the cargo pods. The officer suggested that it might have been a glitch, but the commander had other concerns when his crew reported that the incoming ships bore the insignia of theNebula Front, a group ofOuter Rim terrorists. The gunship was identified as theHawk-Bat, which was captained byArwen Cohl. Dofine was in disbelief; Cohl had been reportedly sighted nearMalastare only a day before, a substantial distance from their present coordinates. Meanwhile, the systems officer reported that eight security droids had been destroyed.[6]
Dofine was far more concerned with the incoming attack, however. The CloakShape fighters engaged theRevenue, which retaliated with itsturbolasers. The nearest Federation presence was the more heavily armedAcquisitor, but commander Dofine was reluctant to call for help, considering the act humiliating. Nevertheless, he sent out a distress signal. Launching his fighters to engage the attackers, Dofine learned that several infiltrators from Dorvalla had been able to sneak aboard one of theRevenue cargo pods. They had subsequently engaged the security droids in zone two of the starboard hangar arm, causing the disturbance. In response, Dofine had the area sealed off.[6]
The ship continued to be pummeled by the Nebula Front's ships, and when theRevenue's shields fell to 40 percent, Dofine had the central computer activate all droids and defenses, in preparation for boarders. The commander was determined not to let Cohl's band of infiltrators set foot on his bridge, but his efforts were not enough—the Nebula Front fighters, led by Cohl personally, explosive-detonated the door to the bridge, seizing Dofine and his men and taking them captive. Cohl was not interested in the lommite ore, but rather the aurodium ingots on board. Dofine was defiant at first, unwilling to surrender the location of the ingots, but Cohl threatened to destroy theRevenue within sixty minutes should the commander not cooperate. But before Dofine could acquiesce and reveal the location of the ingots, theAcquisitor entered the system.[6]
As the new arrival engaged the Nebula Front ships, Cohl commanded that Dofine be placed in restraints, and led out of the bridge towards the now-disclosed location of the ingots: the ship's security cabin. There, he and his compatriots, after a moment of awe gazing at the treasure, quickly extracted the ingots. Cohl ordered that the ship's cargo pods then be jettisoned. Curious as to why the intruder would not retain the ship's lommite cargo, Dofine was told that the released lommite pods would confuse theAcquisitor's gunners. As Cohl and his men prepared to board the cargo pod they had used to infiltrate theRevenue, Dofine asked what was to become of he and his crew. The pirate captain suggested that he empty one of the other cargo pods, and use that to escape, but the Neimoidian claimed that he would not survive the experience. Cohl then suggested that he best hurry if he wished to use one of theRevenue'sescape pods.[6]
Dofine and his crew successfully reached an escape pod, and contacted the commander of theAcquisitor,Nap Lagard, insisting that Dofine immediately be put into contact withViceroyNute Gunray. Once his pod was recovered by theAcquisitor, Dofine was greeted personally by Lagard, before speaking with Gunray viahologram. Reporting what had happened, Dofine was surprised to hear that the viceroy was pleased with the developments. Gunray then ordered the commander to take command of theAcquisitor, and withdraw from Dorvalla immediately. Meanwhile, theRevenue was destroyed.[6]
Expansion and development[]
Dofine, while in Gunray's inner circle
In the wake of the Incident at Dorvalla, Dofine took theAcquisitor back to Neimoidia.[6] To compensate for any potential humiliation that Dofine would face in the wake of theDorvalla Incident, Gunray brought the commander into his inner circle of advisors.[4] While at Neimoidia, he personally met with Gunray,Rune Haako, andHath Monchar aboard his new ship. Together, the four Neimoidians were given demonstrations of new vehicles and munitions by representatives fromHaor Chall Engineering andBaktoid Armor Workshop. It was Gunray's hope that by outfitting the Federation with newer, more plentiful weapons and defenses, they could avoid a repeat of Dorvalla. The two companies had been contacted by Gunray's new ally, the clandestineDarth Sidious, as Haako noted. Both he and Dofine were disturbed by the development, but Gunray insisted that they obey Sidious, if they wanted to enjoy longevity. Dofine and Monchar aired again later their misgivings on the alliance with Sidious to Gunray, but he chose to remain in league with theSith Lord.[6]
Later that year, during theEriadu Trade Summit, all of theTrade Federation Directorate, save for Gunray, were assassinated, making Gunray the sole leader of the Federation. In wake of the disastrous summit, Dofine joined Gunray, Monchar, and Haako aboard theSaak'ak, while Gunray communicated with Sidious. Gunray was aghast at what had occurred at Eriadu, but Sidious pointed out that the viceroy, in a position of unfettered power, was now clear to acquire an army for the Federation—an army that the Sith Lord wanted to put to the test. With theGalactic Senate's taxation of trade routes as a motive, Sidious suggested that they blockadeNaboo, homeworld ofSenator Palpatine, who had championed the taxation bill. Sidious was confident thatSupreme ChancellorFinis Valorum would not directly interfere with such a movement, and advised the Neimoidians to deal swiftly with anyJedi Knights who might feel constrained to interfere with the operation.[6]
By32 BBY, only months later, the Trade Federation had commissionedTrinkatta Starships with building fiftyhyperdrive-equipped droidstarfighters, which later went missing.[10] Sidious dispatched Dofine and Haako to investigate Trinkatta Starships, find the missing fighters, and silence whomever had informed theJedi Council of their whereabouts. As their mission was to be a covert one, the pair masqueraded asDuros traders. Haako first planned to investigate the Trinkatta Starships factory. Once they reachedCuramel Intergalactic Spaceport onEsseles, Dofine suggested that they contact Gunray and update him as to their situation, but Haako scolded him, reminding the captain that theirs was a clandestine mission, and that they would keep it secret.
Before departing to investigate the factory, Haako and Dofine decided to enjoy some refreshments at a local cantina,The Ion Sandbox.[11] There, they noticedBoll Trinkatta meeting with his test pilot,Bama Vook. Once Haako decided that they should move on from the cantina, Dofine noticed Vook and Trinkatta leaving with two Jedi Knights,Qui-Gon Jinn andObi-Wan Kenobi. The pair of Neimoidians followed the group toDocking Bay 28, where Vook's ship was parked. Once there, they overheard that the starfighters were aboard aBartokk freighter outbound from Esseles. They reported their findings to Gunray, who in turn relayed them onto Sidious. The Sith Lord decided to deal with the matter personally, in his own way, with his personal and most effective Zabrak agent.[11]
Later that year, theSaak'ak was taken out intoWild Space, where Gunray hoped to keep his new army hidden from prying eyes. While there, Monchar mysteriously disappeared, apparently having taken ahyperspace-capable craft from the ship's hangar, and aholocron containing extremely sensitive information regarding the upcoming blockade of Naboo. When Sidious contacted Gunray again, Dofine and Haako were present, but the Sith Lord was curious as to why Monchar was absent. The desperate viceroy, suspecting Monchar's treachery, lied, claiming that his lieutenant had been taken ill. Sidious, rather surprisingly, didn't appear to be concerned, and he gave Dofine and Haako new instruction that they were to hide their new droids, vehicles, and weaponry in their cargo ships, in preparation for their blockade of Naboo.[12]
A short time later, Dofine and Haako received a transmission from a Federation representative on Coruscant. A member of the Federation, they were told, had been killed there, and although the body had not been positively identified, a piece of cloth found at the scene belonged to the deputy viceroy's mitre—that of Monchar. Another body found nearby had been positively identified: it was that ofbounty hunterMahwi Lihnn. Together, Dofine and Haako relayed their news to Gunray, and began dreading, once again, having to tell Sidious of new but unsavory developments. The Neimoidians did not suffer any repercussions from the Sith Lord.[12]
Dofine confers with Gunray and TC-14 following the arrival of Valorum's ambassadors.
As per the Sith Lord's plan, the Trade Federation blockaded Naboo, citing the taxation of trade routes as their inspiration. Dofine was by nowcaptain of theSaak'ak, the flagship of the Federation fleet,[3] and he had also recently fallen under investigation by theBureau of Ships and Services. Dofine's presence at Naboo was seen as a comfort by the Republic, as it was known that the captain preferred a non-confrontational solution to most issues.[13] Chancellor Valorum responded to the situation by dispatching two ambassadors to theSaak'ak, in the hopes of resolving the dispute. When the ambassadors arrived, the droid assigned to wait on them,TC-14, reported to Gunray and Dofine that she believed them to be Jedi Knights. They were, in fact, Jinn and Kenobi,[3] the Jedi figures that Dofine and Haako had spotted on Esseles.[11] The captain believed that the Chancellor had sent the Jedi 'ambassadors' to force a settlement of the blockade, but Gunray had other ideas. He ordered Dofine to go and personally distract the Jedi while he contacted Sidious. The captain balked at the suggestion, sending TC-14 instead.[3]
As Gunray initiated communication again with Darth Sidious to report this rather dramatic turn of events, Dofine bounded forward, only emboldened because he was overtaken by fear, and brashly advised the Sith Lord that his scheme had failed and that they were through with his blockade—that they dared not go up against Jedi Knights. Sidious, disgusted by Dofine's cowardice, utterly ignored the captain, adjuring the viceroy that his craven subordinate was never to be seen in the Sith Lord's presence again. The captain, humbled, departed, leaving Gunray and Haako to converse with their frighteningly direct and ominous lord.
The Jedi were eventually driven from the ship, at which point Sidious gave the order for Gunray to invade Naboo. The viceroy did so, and his forces were able to successfully captureTheed, the planet's capital. Once the planet appeared to be secure, the blockade was disbanded, and only theDroid Control ShipVuutun Palaa remained. Dofine was placed in command of the Droid Control Ship, from which the entirety of theTrade Federation Droid Army presence in Naboo-space was controlled.[3]
TheNaboo were able to rally together in an attempt to beat back the invaders. TheNaboo Royal Space Fighter Corps launchedN-1 starfighters to engage theVuutun Palaa, while theGungan Grand Army moved toengageOOM-9's forces at theGreat Grass Plains. While Dofine's ownVulture droids engaged the N-1s, he activated OOM-9's forces at Grassy Plains, allowing them to engage theGungans. As the battle raged outside the Droid Control Ship, officerTey How reported that the ship's main reactor was losing power. Dofine dismissed the report, claiming that nothing could have penetrated the ship'sdeflector shield. Nevertheless, it was true: a child,Anakin Skywalker, piloting one of the N-1 starfighters, had somehow been able to fly into theVuutun Palaa's starboard hangar, and fire a pair ofproton torpedos into the ship's main reactor. The resultant chain reaction consumed the ship, ripping it in half, as Anakin escaped through the ship's main hangar. Just as Dofine looked up to see the starfighters retreating from the ship, thecontrol computer console in front of him and the crew exploded. The massive explosion consumed the bridge,killing Dofine and all of his cohorts.[3]
Personality and traits[]
"Are you brain dead? I'm not going in there with two Jedi. Send the droid."
Daultay Dofine was an exceptionally fearful[3] and dishonest[8] being, even for a Neimoidian. He especially was afraid of beings that wielded considerable power, such as Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. He was not afraid of disobeying beings such as Viceroy Nute Gunray, especially if his personal safety was in question. Dofine was, of course, quick to follow Darth Sidious' dictates, except the Sith Lord's last to him, which then, it turned out, was the last dictate he was ever to receive from Sidious (as it was also the last time he would ever be permitted to see or be in the presence of his dark employer). Even so, Dofine was supremely confident in the strength and capabilities of the technology at his disposal.[3] Being a cowardly being, he was self-indulgent and cravenly selfish, attributes reflected in his mottled skin.[5] Dofine's character, productivity, and usefulness also suffered from his laziness and exceptional greed.[14]Sith apprenticeDarth Maul, who had listened to Dofine's proclamation of doom from the shadows (and had been required to 'clean up' after Dofine's failures), viewed the sniveling Neimoidian with as much disgust as did hismaster.[15][16]
Dofine was both proud and defiant in the face of adversity—until his personal safety was threatened; he was bold enough to tell Arwen Cohl that he would live to see the Nebula Front captain hanged for attacking the Trade Federation. He believed Neimoidians to be superior to other species, and disliked having to work with the non-Neimoidian members of his crew. While he was the commander of theRevenue, Dofine had become increasingly paranoid to external threats, and he took to pacing up and down the bridge. The Neimoidian was also flippant on occasion, as when he dealt with Dorvalla Mining and its human female representative. He was also very apprehensive about Gunray's alliance with Darth Sidious—a view shared by some of his colleagues, such as Hath Monchar.[6]
The captain was widely despised by independent freighter captains, whose cargoes he was in the habit of preying on and seizing immediately, with out hesitation, unless his own life was endangered. If confronted with his thievery, Dofine would always claim that he'd mistaken the independent captains for pirates. In time, Dofine racked up a significant list of complaints against his name and character, including the sudden inflation of required transport fees from previously quoted credit-figures. No legal action was taken against the captain for his purported shady practices, but he did come under close scrutiny by the Bureau of Ships and Services. The bureau was able later to provide substantiated information to the Jedi Knights who were dispatched to resolve the blockade regarding Dofine's predisposed nature, deceptive demeanor and habits, which expanded to include back-stabbing and an aversion to confrontation.[13]
Behind the scenes[]
Concept art of Daultay Dofine
The character of Daultay Dofine was conceived byGeorge Lucas forStar Wars: Episode IThe Phantom Menace. In the revised rough draft of the film's script, Dofine was described as short and fat, although by production, the character was thin, much like the other Neimoidian characters.[1] In the film, Dofine was played byAlan Ruscoe, although his voice was provided byChris Sanders.
The digital card gameStar Wars: Force Collection features a card for Daultay Dofine that incorrectly identifies the command ship that he perished on as theSaak'ak, rather than the Droid Control ShipVuutun Palaa.[17]
Dofine, Daultay in theDatabank(original site is defunct)
Star Wars Customizable Card Game —Coruscant LimitedCard:Daultay Dofine) (backup link