Battle of the Sixela system A battle in 0 ABY took place in the Sixela system as a result of the machinations of Imperial Commander Rezi Soresh . Soresh had fled the Empire and searched for 27 days for a safe haven . Arriving in the Sixela system , he used his data to regain his power . Eventually , he established a outpost on a moon and captured starships to use as bodyguards and hostages . Then he contacted the Rebel Alliance pilot Luke Skywalker , threatening the crew of the colony vessel " Endeavor " , and as an added measure , killed the messenger in front of Skywalker . Skywalker would not allow the death of the hostages and set off to the Sixela system with his companions . Arriving on Soresh ' s barren moon , Han Solo met with a man identifying himself as Soresh . Solo distracted the man while Skywalker and Organa strafed the compound in T - 65 X - wing starfighter s . The man drew his blaster but Solo had better aim and killed the man . The other two landed , but a series of underground mines went off among the hostages and they rushed off to assist . A colonist grabbed Skywalker , but in reality it was Soresh , hidden among the hostages , and Soresh used a Force pike to stun the Rebel . The other Rebels were subdued by Soresh ' s bodyguards . Over the next two weeks , Soresh tortued Skywalker to break down his will and turn him into his personal assassin . Ove time , Skywalker ' s will wore down , but images of his friends kept him sane ; he pretended to go along with Soresh . When Soresh presented him to his friends , Skywalker appeared mindless and was ordered to shoot the other Rebels . The droids belonging to the Rebels , hidden away from Soresh , staged a distraction , allowing the Rebels to escape . Skywalker saved Solo from execution , but told him he needed to stay with Soresh . Solo shot him in the shoulder , and Soresh later picked up Skywalker . While the Heroes of Yavin were on the moon , the Rebels on Yavin 4 had taken the bait Soresh offered them and planned an offensive against the supposed meeting of the Imperial High Command in the Sixela system . The former Jedi and now Alliance operative Ferus Olin expressed his concern over the intelligence to General Jan Dodonna but was overruled . Olin later received a visitation from the Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi who told him to trust his instincts . He then went with his partner , the mercenary Div to the moon to search for the missing Heroes of Yavin . Olin and Div beat the Alliance Fleet to the system . After two weeks of simulations , the fleet was ready to attack . Olin and Div met wtih Solo and Organa while Soresh drew Darth Vader to the system via a hologram message . Soresh then revealed his masterpiece , prototype resonance torpedo s to set off a chain reaction in the system ' s star and destroy both fleets . Soresh offered Skywalker his lightsaber in return for pressing the button ; Skywalker revealed his true allegiance , lashing out at Soresh . The Imperial Commander escaped but not before launching the torpedoes just as the Rebel and Imperial Fleet arrived in the system and Skywalker ' s companions arrived to assist him . Organa contacted both sides to warn them of the impending supernova while Skywalker and the others joined the battle waging in space . The two fleets engaged in a massive battle while their starfighter complements wore each other down , with Div being one of the causalties . When the torpedoes hit and started the chain reaction , both fleets broke off action and fled into hyperspace . Skywalker returned to the surface to finish rescuing the hostages ; unbeknownst to him , Vader landed to hunt down Soresh . Olin detected Vader ' s presence and lied to Organa , choosing to sacrifice himself to save the Rebel leader . As the minutes ticked closer to destruction , Organa and her companions recovered Olin ' s body and left the planet , but not before Solo killed Soresh . After the supernova and in the safety of empty space , the Heroes of Yavin shared a toast . Prelude . Twenty - seven days after his exile from the Galactic Empire in 0 ABY , Commander Rezi Soresh fled to the Outer Rim Territories , eventually ending up in the Sixela system , landing on a moon around the third planet of the system . Once there , he set about rebuilding his power base with his stored data , in many cases resorting to bribes and blackmail . Eventually , Soresh captured a colony vessel with 100 civilians on it to lure the Rebel hero Luke Skywalker to him . Along with some Arkanians , Soresh took other people and drugged them , turning them into uniformly mindless bodyguards . In other parts of the galaxy , Skywalker and his Rebel companions went on a mission to the planet Nyemari . Their attempts to steal access codes to an important Imperial Installation succeeded , but they were forced to escape the capital city and returned to where they had hid their starship , the " Millennium Falcon " and were told they were being followed . The Rebels confronted the mysterious messenger , who gave Skywalker a hologram from Soresh . In the message , Soresh " invited " Skywalker to the Sixela system in return for the hostages , giving a deadline of twelve hours . As a warning , Soresh demonstrated his power when the messenger died in front of Skywalker as a result of a delay - activated poison . Skywalker knew he had to go to Soresh , but his companions did not let him go alone . Battle . Skywalker captured . Before the deadline passed , the " Millennium Falcon " arrived at Soresh ' s barren moon . Han Solo disembarked and met a hooded man . The man claimed to be Soresh and demanded Skywalker . Solo stated Skywalker may or may not be onboard , but two X - wings flew down and attacked Soresh ' s outpost , destroying the laser cannons aimed at the hostages . Angered , the hooded man raised his triple blaster , but Solo gunned him down first . The X - wings landed , and Skywalker and Leia Organa disembarked to join Solo and his copilot , the Wookiee Chewbacca . The Rebels were then surprised by exploding mines in the compound , and they raced to assist the hostages . Skywalker was grabbed by a hostage , who revealed himself as Soresh . Soresh used a force pike to subdue the young pilot . Soresh ' s bodyguards then captured the other Rebels , even though Chewbacca took out six or seven of the drugged guards ; the Rebel droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 remained hidden . Back on the Rebel ' s main base on Yavin 4 , the Alliance command had received a secret Imperial transmission saying Emperor Palpatine would be arriving in the Sixela system with a minimal guard for a meeting of the Imperial High Command . It was a chance the fledgling Rebellion did not refuse . The message was forwarded from a Rebel scout , who Soresh , unbeknownst to the Rebel leaders , had captured and drugged as part of his plot . Rebel janitor Jono Moroni was talking to Div , a mercenary , and Ferus Olin , former Jedi and now Rebel operative . Olin used a mind trick on Moroni to force him to reveal the message to them . Div was disgusted with the unnecessary use of the Force , but didn ' t say anything . Olin then told Moroni to go back to his quarters . Alone in his cell and chained to the wall by his wrists , Skywalker was visited by Soresh , who told Skywalker his friends had been killed , before disappearing . Skywalker later tried to escape but was stopped by the electrically - charged durasteel bars ; he was prevented from using the Force by a physical pressure . Soresh , who had been watching , applauded Skywalkers ' attempt , and informed him he had been injected with a ferromagnetic solution , and an electromagnet in the floor could be activated to prevent escape . After deactivating the electromagnet , Soresh presented Skywalker with a tray of food , as he would need his strength . He then told Skywalker he would replace his last assassin , X - 7 . Around that time , General Jan Dodonna was briefing the Alliance pilots about the planned attack against the Imperial High Command . Nearly half the fleet would ambush the two Star Destroyers from five ambush strike points , and they had two weeks to train . After the briefing , Olin talked to General Dodonna and voiced his concerns about the validity of the information . Dodonna would not trust him with classified information , though . Olin then asked about the whereabouts of Princess Leia and her companions . Dodonna at first said she was out of contact on a covert mission . Olin replied her mission should have ended three days prior and she should be on a diplomatic mission to the Winagrew system . Dodonna then revealed Organa had been out of contact since Nyemari . Solo and Organa later tried to stage an escape , with Solo acting sick . When the guards opened the celldoor , the Rebels got ahold of their guards , but more guards with blasters arrived . Solo grabbed a blaster and took one of the guards hostage . Another guard shot the weapon out of Solo ' s hands , then executed the guard Solo was holding . The Rebels surrendered and were placed back in the cell by the emotionless guards . Soresh arrived and warned them not to do that again . When asked about Skywalker , he told them not to worry , because they would be dead soon . Over the next two weeks , Skywalker was tortured and Soresh occasionally visited and gave him a temporary reprieve . Eventually , Skywalker grew to hope for his appearance . One day , Soresh told him his friends had been killed . Going back to his office , Soresh then used his holoplayer to contact Darth Vader . Soresh prepared his trump card : resonance torpedo es , which would cause the sun to go supernova and vaporize everything in the system . Soresh next gave Skywalker a chemical serum , of his own design used to break down a man ' s spirit by targeting memories . Visions of his friends helped Skywalker through the procedure , and he vowed to himself to hold on . A spectral Obi - Wan Kenobi appeared to Ferus Olin back on Yavin 4 . By that point , the Heroes of Yavin had been missing for a week . Kenobi encouraged Olin to use his instincts to go out and help them , as Skywalker ' s connection to the Force was growing weaker . Kenobi then told Olin to trust in himself . Afterward , Soresh gave him back his lightsaber , and Skywalker pretended to be mindless , obeying all of Soresh ' s commands . Afterwards , the guards took the other three Rebels out into the open air . There they met Skywalker and Soresh . Skywalker stared blankly ahead . When he asked who they were , Soresh called them miscreants and handed Skywalker a blaster , telling him it was their time to die . Soresh told Skywalker to fire , so Skywalker did . The shot missed , slamming into the wall above Solo ' s head . Then Aridinian folk music started blaring . When the guards were distracted , Solo and Chewbacca attacked them and grabbed a blaster . A speeder truck appeared , piloted by the Rebels ' droids . Solo rescued Organa from two guards , and C - 3PO was firing a blaster in the air as a further distraction , while taking return fire from the guards . Solo then found a hiding spot , 50 meters from the others . He found a blaster shoved into the back of his head , and the guard behind him said to get on his knees . Then there was a blast behind him , and the guard was dead . Skywalker had saved him , acting normal . Skywalker informed him about the ruse , and told him he had to stay with Soresh to find out what the Imperial was planning . Solo promised the others would be waiting for him , and asked for a favor . Solo needed to shoot him to make it seem the Rebels had escaped . Soresh later found him with a wound in his left shoulder . Soresh said he had proved his loyalty , but needed to be punished for his failure . To Skywalker , all that mattered was that his friends were safe . The now - escaped Rebels were met on the surface by Div and Olin . Olin had been suspicious of the information from the start , and went down to the surface to rescue the others in Div ' s Firespray - 31 - class patrol and attack craft . Rebel Command had disallowed reconnaissance to avoid tipping off the Imperials , but Div and Olin went anyway and did not find any sign of the Imperials when they arrived . After scanning the moon , they found that all lifesigns were concentrated in a 10 - kilometer radius of duracrete buldings . They then picked up a distress signal on a Rebel frequency . They saw the " Millennium Falcon , " but the distress signal was originating elsewhere . Landing by the signal , the two immediately found Solo and his companions , who explained the situation to the new arrivals . In his command center , Soresh contacted Darth Vader again , to draw him towards the system . Vader threatened his doom , but Soresh laughed when Vader ceased to transmit , and bragged to Skywalker about his grand plan . Shortly , after two weeks of training in which the five attack points and need for precision were continually rehashed , the Rebel Alliance Fleet reverted from hyperspace into the Sixela system . Then Soresh told Skywalker about the resonance torpedoes he had , and would give Skywalker his lightsaber back , if Skywalker would press the button to launch the torpedoes at the sun . Instead , Skywalker kicked Soresh ' s knees out from under him . He Force grabbed the lightsaber ands started reflecting the blaster bolts Soresh ' s guards were sending at him after Soresh ordered them to Kill Skywalker ; the guards forced Skywalker to give ground . Skywalker used a mind trick to subdue the guards , forcing them to flee . In the distraction Soresh made it to the computer terminal and launched the torpedoes before fleeing . Skywalker ' s companions then arrived to rescue him . Darth Vader ' s Imperial fleet arrived next — six Imperial - class Star Destroyers and an " Interdictor " - class Star Destroyer to prevent escape . The two fleets started a massive engagement . Initial maneuvers . Skywalker , Solo , and Chewbacca then took off to join the battle . Twelve of Soresh ' s guards had been placed around the " Falcon ; " Skywalker dispatched them with the Force , explaining it as " Jedi hokum " as the guards laid down their weapons . When they reached orbit , Skywalker joined the fight in his X - wing , outmanuevering attacking TIE fighters . Organa contacted the Rebel fleet , and then attempted to contact the Imperial Fleet and reached an Imperial on Vader ' s flagship to warn him of the impending supernova , but she was met with an angry and determined response . Both sides were taking casaulties , so Div came up with a plan . He ordered the Rebel Mon Calamari Star Cruiser s to launch plasma bombs at an area of space , creating a red cloud of ionized gas 1000 meters across . Skywalker , Solo , and Div , and other X - wings led a squadron of TIE fighters through the cloud ; as the cloud interfered with electronic sensors , the starfighters were blind . At the other end of the cloud , the Rebels dived downward at Div ' s signal , but the TIES hit a Star Destroyer hidden by the cloud and causing serious damage . In the middle of a skirmish with remaining TIES , Div was hit by TIE - launched proton torpedoes . He was forced to take his Firespray down to the surface . Withdrawal . The resonance torpedoes hit the star , causing a chain reaction which was calculated to explode in 40 minutes . With the threat of an impending supernova , the Imperial fleet left the system and the Rebel fleet soon followed . Skywalker and Solo rejoined Organa on the surface of the moon to finish evacuating the hostages . Darth Vader had also landed on the surface in his shuttle to hunt Soresh . Olin sensed Vader ' s presence , and urged Organa to continue the evacuation , deliberately not telling her he would be confronting Vader . Olin and Vader traded lightsaber blows and taunts . The aged Jedi was no match for the Sith Lord and was cut down , and saw a vision of his old friend , Roan Lands . Organa came back and found his body , pausing long enough to say goodbye before they had to escape , taking his body with them . Skywalker spotted Vader and wanted to pursue , but was convinced there was no time . Soresh met the Rebels at the " Millennium Falcon " and attempted to blast Skywalker . In response , Solo gunned him down , ending his machinations and allowing the Rebel operatives to escape . Vader also escaped the system . The sun went supernova minutes later , but did not destroy the fleets as Soresh had intended . With the supernova , his compound and body were destroyed . Aftermath . The " Millennium Falcon " reverted to realspace after the supernova . In a moment of catharsis aboard the " Millennium Falcon " , Solo led a toast to past and present friends . Although the battle had ended in a draw , the Galactic Civil War was still ongoing . The two factions would continue to fight for another four years . Skywalker would bear no permanent scars from Soresh ' s indoctrination , and in fact would continue to grow in power . Behind the scenes . This battle takes place during the final installment of Alex Wheeler ' s " Rebel Force " series . It is the first chronological use of resonance torpedoes in canon . The battle saw the end of the series and the deaths of several characters : Soresh , Divinian , and Olin , the latter two who played prominent roles in " The Last of the Jedi " series . The book contains a number of errors relating to the identity of the hostages , the placement of Soresh ' s moon , and the final disposition of Olin ' s body . The TIE fighters in the battle are erroneously equipped with proton torpedoes .