Beol De'Rruyet

During the time of the Galactic Empire, Beol De'Rruyet was the founder of the company De'Rruyet Industries, based out of De'Rruyet Center on the planet Midarr. De'Rruyet and his company were a rival of the Tagge Corporation, led by Lady Domina Tagge. Around 3 ABY, De'Rruyet, on a clandestine network for the purchase and sale of rare artifacts, discovered a Path engine, an ancient hyperdrive used by the Nihil marauder organization that allowed them to access unconventional hyperspace routes known as Paths. De'Rruyet met with the smuggler Remy, who had found the device within a wrecked Nihil starship on the planet Dol'har Hyde, on the planet Corellia to buy the Path engine.

After obtaining the Path engine, De'Rruyet attempted to replicate the device. He claimed that he had found a way to do so and that his discovery would revolutionize lightspeed travel. With his company having created a reproduction of the Path engine and installed it into a starship, De'Rruyet was set to unveil the technology at the De'Rruyet Industries confluence on Midarr. However, the device that he had obtained was only a part of the larger hyperdrive system, and could not work on its own; indeed, in the days leading up to the confluence, the replica was not yet complete, and would combust if it were to be activated, posing potential for catastrophe at the expo. Worried that the Path engine would not work as he had claimed, De'Rruyet booked a one-way ticket to the planet Mon Cala so that he could run with the money if the device did fail.

Believing that De'Rruyet's discovery would either drastically change the galactic economy or end the ongoing Galactic Civil War—both of which would financially ruin her dynasty—Domina Tagge wished to stop her rival from releasing the technology. Tagge recruited the rogue archaeologist Doctor Chelli Aphra to determine the origins of the Path engine and whether De'Rruyet's claims were true before the expo could take place.

On the day before the confluence was to take place, De'Rruyet gave an interview to numerous reporters, affirming the revolutionary nature of the hyperdrive and his intention to unveil it. As his company prepared for the expo, however, one of De'Rruyet's employees warned him that the reproduction of the device was incomplete. De'Rruyet, determined to please his investors, ordered the protesting employee to make the device appear convincing. He was then approached by Aphra and the smuggler Sana Starros—disguised as interns—who provided him with caf. De'Rruyet retched at the taste, claiming it was not what he had ordered, and disparaged the "interns" before walking away. Unknown to De'Rruyet, Aphra had stolen his access card, and she and Starros proceeded to inspect the Path engine replica before investigating his office.

Entering his office to find Aphra and Starros at his desk, De'Rruyet confronted the two. Aphra claimed that they were investigators on behalf of the Empire, telling De'Rruyet that the Emperor would be disappointed with the fraud. De'Rruyet pulled his blaster on Aphra, asserting that the engine was a success, and Starros ordered him to call off the demonstration and surrender the device. They were interrupted, however, by the arrival of General Vukorah of the Unbroken Clan criminal syndicate, who also wished to acquire the Path engine. Blasting a hole through the wall of De'Rruyet Center, Vukorah held the interns and workers hostage until they could make the device operational. De'Rruyet rushed to the main hall, despite protest from Aphra to wait, where Vukorah pointed her blaster at him, requesting that he join her on the demonstration stage.