Karis Nemik

For other uses, see Karis.

This article is about the rebel. You may be looking for Nemec, a clone trooper who was a part of a clone resistance network.

"And then remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance, will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try."

―Karis Nemik's manifesto^[5]

Karis Nemik was a human male freedom fighter who served as part of a team assigned to steal the quarterly payroll of the Galactic Empire's base on Aldhani. At the time of the mission, the young Nemik was a passionate and idealistic supporter of anti-Imperial causes and was in the stages of drafting a manifesto detailing his thoughts on the Empire and its rampant oppression of the galaxy. Nemik drafted his spoken manifesto the night before the crew's mission, causing him to fall asleep during his watch. As a member of the Aldhani infiltration team under Vel Sartha's command, Nemik, a talented astro-navigator, aided in the planning of the robbery and calculated the group's escape trajectory.

Unlike the rest of the Aldhani team, Nemik welcomed the addition of a new recruit, "Clem," the alias of Cassian Andor, just days before the infiltration. Though the mission was successful at first, the group was discovered while stealing the payroll and engaged in a shootout. Nemik survived the firefight alongside Sartha, Andor, and Arvel Skeen, but he was severely injured when he was crushed by a payload of credits during the escape through the Eye of Aldhani. Sartha brought Nemik to a doctor on Frezno sympathetic to the cause, Quadpaw, but Nemik's injuries were too great, and he died on the operating table after requesting that his manifesto be given to Andor. Andor kept the manifesto and, by 1 BBY, had ensured that it was spread across the galaxy despite the Imperial Security Bureau's attempts to silence it.

Biography

"Surprise from above is never as shocking as one from below."

―Karis Nemik^[6]

Karis Nemik was a male human who was a part of a team of rebels commanded by Vel Sartha. He joined Sartha, Arvel Skeen, Cinta Kaz, and Taramyn Barcona on the planet Aldhani as part of an operation to rob an Imperial garrison there, hoping to steal the payroll for the entire sector that was located there. When Sartha left camp and returned with a new team member, introduced as "Clem," the rest of the team was displeased by having to welcome a new face into the fold only days before they intended to go about their plan. Nemik however was more open and welcomed Clem to the team.^[2]

During the Mission on Aldhani, Nemik was severely injured after being crushed by a payload of credits. Andor, Skeen, and Sartha took him to the moon Frezno where he was operated on by the four-limbed Doctor Quadpaw. Despite Quadpaw's attempts, Nemik died on the operating table. One of his final wishes was to give his manifesto to Andor, who took it as he fled, leaving the team.^[7]

Legacy

"I'm assuming you've heard it before."
"Bits and pieces."
"Just keeps spreading, doesn't it?"
"It's been hard to contain."
"Who do you think it is?"

―Lio Partagaz and Lagret discuss Nemik's manifesto^[8]

Andor eventually took refuge on the planet Niamos,^[4] leaving Nemik's manifesto in a box of his possessions that was hidden above a shower head in a hotel room.^[9] However, he was soon arrested by the Empire over a minor confrontation and imprisoned.^[4] After escaping his incarceration, Andor returned to Niamos and recovered the box from the hotel room while new hotel guests slept there. While checking the box, he opened the manifesto, which begun playing Nemik's recorded content briefly before he closed it again to not disturb the sleeping guests. Learning shortly after that his adoptive mother, Maarva, had died,^[9] Andor returned to his homeworld of Ferrix to attend her funeral. The night he arrived, he stayed in the wreckage of his family's old hauler, where he listened to Nemik's manifesto while a thunderstorm raged outside.^[5]

The text and audio of the manifesto spread widely throughout the galaxy in the years leading up to the Battle of Yavin. By 1 BBY,^[10] the Galactic Empire was aware of the manifesto, trying unsuccessfully to prevent its dissemination. In that same year, Major Lio Partagaz of the Imperial Security Bureau listened to the manifesto in the ISB conference room shortly before his suicide, wondering aloud who might have created it.^[8]

By 35 ABY, Nemik's attempt to provide a intellectual basis for the Rebellion would be acknowledged. Historian Beaumont Kin would describe him as one of the earliest political theorists of the Rebellion in his book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire. The work would also feature the only known picture of Nemik, taken during his time on Aldhani.^[11]

Personality and traits

Karis Nemik was kindly individual, yet radically opposed the Empire.

"Good to have you, Clem. We'll take all the help we can get."

―Karis Nemik^[2]

Karis Nemik was a kindly individual who was more receptive of Andor joining the team than the rest of his comrades, whose reactions ranged from discontentment to outrage. Nemik was eager to help Sartha when she explained the plan to their new recruit. Nemik had light skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. He was right-handed, but favored his left when handling a blaster rifle.^[6] During his time on Aldhani, he wore a brown coat and red cap.^[2]

Behind the scenes

Karis Nemik was first pictured in the teaser trailer for the Star Wars: Andor television series, which was released on May 26, 2022.^[12] He first appeared in "Aldhani," the fourth episode of the series,^[2] which aired on September 28, 2022.^[13] He was portrayed by Alex Lawther.^[2] Nemik received a card for the Topps Star Wars line released by The Topps Company, Inc., where it was stated his homeworld was Aldhani.^[14] Star Wars lore advisor Pablo Hidalgo stated this was not the case.^[15]

Scenes on Aldhani were filmed at the Cruachan Dam and the surrounding mountains in the Scottish Highlands.^[16] According to Faye Marsay, Vel Sartha's actress, the scenes were filmed during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[17] The episode "The Eye" originally began with Jayhold Beehaz's speech. The scene in which Nemik tells Andor he could not sleep was almost not shot due to the bad weather in Scotland. The crew felt that the foggy and drifty weather made the scene feel weird and dreamy, making the scene not feel like how it felt in the script. The crew decided that they could not put the scene after Beehaz's speech. One crew member had the idea to put the scene at the beginning, and it ended up being swapped with Beehaz's speech.^[18]