Wil ' m Grau Wil ' m Grau was a Human male who served as a commando in the Galactic Empire and held the rank of major around the time of the Battle of Yavin . Being sent in pursuit of an experimental vessel hijacked by members of the Rebel Alliance , Major Grau and his team eventually tracked it down in the Alashan system . The stolen ship crash - landed on the surface of Alashan , where Grau and another five commandos were waiting , but their main vessel ― a Star Destroyer in orbit ― had been obliterated by a Death Star - like laser beam . Grau and his men eventually discovered the wreck of the stolen vessel and decided to cooperate with its Rebel hijackers to get off of Alashan alive , and to investigate the origin of the laser beam , which had been fired from the surface . Grau and his men , along with the Rebels Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa , examined an old Rebel archaeological camp that was located a day ' s walk away from the ship ' s crash site . They were attacked again by the laser once they reached the site , though Skywalker pushed Grau out of the way of the beam seconds before it reached them , saving the major ' s life and winning his trust . The team briefly looked through the camp , finding the dead bodies of Rebel researchers , before going down into the tunnel that its occupants had excavated before their deaths . The tunnel led them to a vast underground city . However , the group was followed by the Sentinel , a large creature that fired the laser at them earlier . Organa and Skywalker realized that the advanced computers at the city control center they discovered gave the Sentinel its power and destroyed them , which killed the creature . Grau and the only other surviving Imperial , Anarine , helped the Rebels repair the downed ship and left the planet , later going their separate ways . Biography . Reaching Alashan . Wil ' m Grau was a Human male Imperial officer that held the rank of major as of 0 ABY . That year , he was part of a force that intercepted communications about the hijacked experimental Imperial starship known as the " Staraker " , which was stolen from the planet Foundry by the Rebels Luke Skywalker , Leia Organa , and Mici Shabandar , along with the droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 . However , when the " Staraker " was passing through the Alashan system , it was attacked and critically damaged by a Death Star - like superlaser beam fired from the surface of Alashan . An Imperial Star Destroyer that was pursuing it was also hit , but it was completely destroyed . Six Imperial commandos , led by Major Grau , had arrived in a smaller craft ahead of the Star Destroyer and landed on the surface of the planet . From there , they witnessed their base ship being obliterated in orbit by the superlaser shortly after it arrived . Stranded . Arriving on the planet , the crew sought out the " Staraker " which had also become damaged and crashed on Alashan . After finding the " Staraker " partly buried underground from its crash landing , Grau and the rest of the Imperials first noticed Skywalker emerge from a tunnel that he had to create in order to reach the surface . They identified him as a Rebel Alliance member immediately due to his lightsaber ( which he used to carve a tunnel ) . Leia Organa then emerged from the buried vessel shortly afterwards . At that point , one of Grau ' s comrades , Ensign Kyril Lopaki , wanted to take them prisoner upon recognizing Organa . Grau angrily told him that if they were going to survive , they would need to work together , and offered the Rebels a truce . The pair of Rebels recognized their tenuous position and decided that they did not have much of a choice . They agreed to work with the stranded Imperials to get off of the planet . After wandering through the planet ' s rugged terrain , the Imperial commandos and the Rebels came to the old archaeological base used by the Rebel Alliance that had been destroyed by an unknown force . Grau explained their situation to the Rebels as they reached the site , observing it from the peak of a large hill . Skywalker sensed something in the Force at that moment and pushed the major down from where he was standing . A laser beam struck the spot where the commando was seconds ago . A second shot caused an avalanche and forced the Rebels and the Imperials to rush down the hill to avoid being crushed . One of the stormtroopers with them , Boaz , broke his leg and was unable to escape in time , being killed . Leia helped dig out Grau from under some fallen rocks , and the major voiced his appreciation for being rescued to Skywalker , telling him that the Rebel saved his life . He gave Skywalker back his lightsaber ( which he took from him when the Imperials first found him ) as a sign of his trust . Skywalker brought up the fact that the lasers struck from behind them , meaning that the thing attacking them had found the " Staraker " . He wanted to go back to the ship , since they left the wounded Mici Shabandar back there , but the major tried talked him out of it by telling him that they would not be able to fight off their attacker . Leia also pointed out that the ship was a whole day ' s march away . Their conversation was interrupted as another laser beam hit the " Staraker " in the distance , further burying it underground . The team decided to proceed to the old Rebel camp . Into the city . The team investigated the Rebel camp and discovered the dead bodies of the Rebels who worked there . Leia discovered a journal that the Rebels kept , which stated that they discovered an underground city that they would attempt to enter . Grau told them that they would no discover the answers to their problems in the base and jumped into the tunnel that the Rebels had excavated , leaving the stormtrooper Eger Djambo as a rearguard . The team discovered more bodies of Rebels and eventually found a breached metal barrier that led into the city itself . Meanwhile , on the surface , Djambo was killed by the Sentinel , the creature that attacked them earlier and was hunting them down . As they entered the city , Grau stated that the place made him nervous , and he decided to give Djambo a call . They realized he was dead when the trooper failed to respond to their attempts at contacting him . The major left a stormtrooper named Voss behind to guard the bridge that connected the city with the cave tunnel that they entered through . Voss was killed shortly afterwards as the Sentinel arrived in the city . They all fired their blasters at the beast , but it appeared to be impervious to the shots . However , some of the shots were deflected off of its hide and were sent at the nearby tunnel walls . They destroyed the rock and caused the tunnel to collapse down onto the Sentinel . They entered the city assuming that it was killed , but the Sentinel actually survived and continued to go after them . The creature attacked Skywalker and Organa , throwing them off of a ledge , but they managed to use a grapple to get onto a nearby platform . Meanwhile , Grau and one of his only surviving commandos , Fleet Sergeant Anarine , were pursued by the Sentinel through the streets of the city . The pair of Imperials tried to lure it into a building that they rigged with explosives in order to kill it , but the creature survived and chased after them . They were cornered in a dead - end alley when the creature suddenly vanished . The major did not know it until later , but the Sentinel teleported to the control center , where Skywalker , Organa , and Ensign Lopaki discovered the computer consoles that gave the Sentinel its power . The Sentinel killed Lopaki before the Rebels destroyed the computers , which weakened it and resulted in the creature ' s death . Escape . Several days later , their small group recovered the " Staraker " , made some basic repairs , and left the planet together . As they flew off , Organa asked Grau to join the Rebellion , calling him a " man of honor and principles . " The major responded by asking for some time to think it over with Anarine . The two Imperials later left the " Staraker " by taking its scout boat , at which point Grau contacted the Rebels and told them the he and Anarine belong with the Empire . Personality and traits . Grau was an experienced soldier and led a small team of stormtrooper commandos . He was not a zealous Imperial patriot like one of his men , Ensign Lopaki , and prevented him from handcuffing the Rebels when they encountered them at the downed " Staraker . " No one in the commando unit openly challenged his opinion that they needed to work together with the Rebels . When Skywalker later saved the major from being hit by the Sentinel ' s laser beam , he came to trust the Rebels and gave them back the lightsaber that the Imperials took from them earlier . Grau told them it was a sign of his trust . But the man nonetheless remained loyal to the Empire , refusing Organa ' s offer to join the Rebellion and leaving the " Staraker " with the only surviving commando of his team . A middle - aged Human male , Grau had brown hair and a large beard . He did not wear a standard Imperial officer ' s uniform but instead sported a red - colored tunic along with a yellow shirt and cap . Behind the scenes . Major Grau appeared in " The Word for World is Death ! " and " The Guardian of Forever ! " , issues of the Marvel " Star Wars Weekly " comic series that were published in April 1980 . He was later given a mention in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " .