General… General Veers! Sir, you've got to listen to me. Hang on, all right?Lastok
Lastok, designated TK-7834, was a male Imperial AT-AT pilot who served in Blizzard Force during the Battle of Hoth[1] in 3 ABY.[2] He was the designated pilot for Blizzard 1, the AT-AT of General Maximilian Veers, along with the gunner TK-5187. The vehicle was taken down by a Rebel snowspeeder flown by rebel pilot Derek Klivian, that crashed into the cabin. Lastok survived the crash, and helped to find and rescue General Veers along the rubble of the AT-AT.[1]
Behind the scenes
Super excited to say Alex and I were given TK numbers in FACPOV ESB! Mine is my birthday 5-1-87 and Alex's is also his birthday but scrambled 3-4-87 - also named after @VeersWatchMollie Damon, on the naming references of Lastok and his designation
The AT-AT pilot that would later be known as Lastok first appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, directed by Irvin Kershner. He was played by an uncredited extra and is only seen from behind. There is a distinctive disparity in his appearance in the film as well. Early in the battle sequence, his helmet is plain white, however, later in the battle, there is a clearly visible red line down the back of the helmet.[4] Lastok was later identified, as well as his designation TK-7834, in the short story "The Truest Duty," written by Christie Golden as a part of the 2020 short story collection From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.[1]
Lastok is a tuckerization of the last name of George Kostal, who ran the @VeersWatch Twitter account. VeersWatch was dedicated to checking out each new Star Wars content in search of potential appearances of Maximillian Veers,[5] the focus of "The Truest Duty." The tweet announcing Veers as the story's subject even referenced the VeersWatch account, stating that the "watch has ended" with the return of Veers.[6] Just as TK-5187's designation number is the birth date of video creator Mollie Damon of "Star Wars Explained," Lastok's designation number, 7834, is a scrambled variation of the birth date of Alex Damon of "Star Wars Explained."[3]
Appearances
- Star Wars: The Original Trilogy – A Graphic Novel
- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Screen Comix
- "The Truest Duty" — From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (and audiobook) (First identified as Lastok and TK-7834)
Sources
-
Star Wars Helmet Collection 65 (Databank A-Z: VCX-100 Light Freighter–Veers) (Picture only) -
"Imperial Troops" — Star Wars Encyclopedia (Picture only) - "The Battle of Hoth and the Second Death Star" — Star Wars Encyclopedia (Picture only)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "The Truest Duty" — From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 3.0 3.1
Mollie Damon (@MollieDamon) on Twitter: "Super excited to say Alex and I were given TK numbers in FACPOV ESB! Mine is my birthday 5-1-87 and Alex's is also his birthday but scrambled 3-4-87 - also named after @VeersWatch" (screenshot)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ Veers Watch (@VeersWatch) on Twitter: "And on an even more selfish level he's saved by his pilot, Lastok, WHICH UH HAS ME PRETTY DAMN EXCITED" (backup link)
- ↑ Del Rey (@DelReyStarWars) on Twitter: "11 - And now your watch has ended. General Veers has arrived. @ChristieGolden #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack" (backup link)
