Daric LaRone Daric LaRone was a Human male stormtrooper born on the planet Copperline . He had two younger brothers . While serving on the " Reprisal " , LaRone became unsatisfied with service to the New Order after being ordered to massacre civilians on Teardrop . Confronted by Imperial Security Bureau Major Drelfin over his tacit refusal to kill the civilians , he was forced to murder Drelfin in self - defense . He and fellow storm troopers Korlo Brightwater , Taxtro Grave , Saberan Marcross , and Joak Quiller took an ISB - modified Suwantek TL - 1800 , the " Gillia " , and fled , intending to go the Outer Rim Territories . However , still feeling compelled by their duty to Imperial citizens , LaRone led the group in a number of vigilante actions on Drunost and Janusar , with LaRone christening them the Hand of Judgment . Later , he and his four comrades met up with Rebellion heroes Han Solo , Luke Skywalker , and Chewbacca and they managed to work out a mutual working relationship between the Rebels and ex - storm troopers . LaRone and the group ended up on Shelkonwa , where they helped Mara Jade eliminate treasonous Governor Barshnis Choard . After learning the identity of him and his men , Jade let them go and the five stormtroopers made their way across the galaxy intent on aiding other Imperial citizens . LaRone and his ex - stormtrooper companions continued their vigilante actions , eliminating small - time warlords and forcing the resignation of a small - time administrator . Their actions were monitored by Jade , who decided to enlist their assistance in infiltrating the palace of Governor Bidor Ferrouz , who was suspected of treason , on Poln Major . With little other choice but to lend their aid , LaRone and his men helped Jade breach the palace security , only to encounter Luke Skywalker again shortly afterward . Skywalker became embroiled in a plot by a local warlord , Nuso Esva , to seize control of the system after pitting the Rebel Alliance and Empire against each other , and LaRone and his stormtroopers helped rescue him . When Jade caught wind of the plot , she rescued Ferrouz and Rebel ambassador named Vestin Axlon and gave them a temporary reprieve while they deal with Esva . She entrusted the two to LaRone and his men and they hunkered down in an abandoned tapcafe to hold off attacks from Esva ' s people , several of whom had already infiltrated Ferrouz ' s palace staff . However , Axlon proved traitorous and , though LaRone and some local Troukree allies they had acquired were able to deal with him , they soon faced waves of attackers in the employ of Esva . LaRone and his men put up a valiant defense , fending off the onslaught . After the attackers were defeated and Esva ' s forces in orbit defeated by a newly - arrived Imperial fleet , LaRone and his companions were taken by the Troukree to meet their employer . That individual turned out to be Senior Captain Thrawn , who recruited them to train an indigenous force of stormtroopers from worlds sympathetic to the Empire that were located in the Unknown Regions . Biography . Early service . In 18 BBY , LaRone watched as the new Imperial Military came to cleanse his homeworld Copperline of the pirates who had plagued it for decades . In 10 BBY , when Imperial recruiters showed up , he enlisted as a Imperial Army with the call number TKR 330 , not wanting to become a poor farmer like the rest of Copperline ' s residents . Three years later , he was accepted in the Stormtrooper Corps . He enjoyed the first six years of duty , until his service on worlds such as Elriss and Bompreil had made him doubt his loyalty . The turning point for him came when the planet Alderaan was destroyed , and he was ordered to kill civilians during a raid on Teardrop in 0 . 5 ABY , while stationed as part of the stormtrooper contingent aboard the " Reprisal " . LaRone was hesitant to open fire on the civilians and was horrified at the deaths that were caused . Going rogue . Returning to " Reprisal " , LaRone was later confronted by Imperial Security Bureau Major Drelfin , who initially criticized him for not following regulations . Once Drelfin realized that LaRone had disregarded orders on Teardrop , though , the ISB officer grew more agitated and was intent on executing LaRone . In response , LaRone disarmed and slew Drelfin with his own blaster . The other storm troopers who witnessed the event — Saberan Marcross , Taxtro Grave , Joak Quiller , and Korlo Brightwater , along with LaRone — realized that not only were their careers in the military over , but their lives would probably also be taken in any subsequent investigation , stole the " Gillia " , a Suwantek TL - 1800 that had been specially modified by the ISB , and fled " Reprisal " . To facilitate their escape , they used ISB codes on the ship and pretended to be ISB operatives leaving " Reprisal " on a secret mission . Exploring the ship , the ex - stormtroopers soon found that the ship was stocked with weapons , several sets of stormtrooper armor , scouttrooper armor and even a spacetooper suit . Also onboard were credits , equipment for forging identities and even a pair of speeder bikes . Journeying to Drunost in their stolen ship , the five ex - stormtroopers landed , in search of food stores and other supplies , with LaRone as the unofficial leader . LaRone and Grave were able to purchase their supplies and were returning to the ship when a group of farmers they were traveling alongside came under attack by a swoop gang . LaRone and Grave held them off with hand blasters , until Brightwater , Marcross , and Quiller arrived with vehicles and heavier weapons , handily defeating them . Unbeknownst to them , they were helping to protect a supply of arms being transported by the Rebel Alliance . Leaving the scene , they boarded their ship and left for Janusar to obtain spare parts for their speeders , as well as fuel for the ship . Landing on Janusar , the group was shaken down by the locals , who overcharged them for landing fees and confiscated their speeder bikes for violation of planetary ordinances , annoying Brightwater . After the patrollers left , LaRone learned of the corruption of the local militia from a dockworker who was fueling their ship . The man , Krinkins , told them that Cav ' Saran , the chief patroller , was behind the corruption and that the patrollers had been bullying the populace . LaRone , outraged at the injustice , convinced the others to help him take down Cav ' Saran . That evening , LaRone drove a speeder truck to Patroller Central , where he had told Krinkins to assemble any who were dissatisfied with the corruption , after having his armored comrades disarm the six patrollers outside the building . Entering the center in civilian dress , LaRone confronted Cav ' Saran , who ignored his demands for justice and proper treatment of the populace . In response , Cav ' Saran instructed one his men to kill LaRone . At that point , LaRone signaled the other four stormtroopers into the room , and they quickly killed the few who offered any resistance , including Cav ' Saran , before the rest surrendered . Turning the town over to Krinkins and some of the former militia that Cav ' Saran had forced out when he took over , LaRone coined the Hand of Judgment name for the group when Atmino asked him their unit designation so he could file a mention of appreciation to his superiors . Rebel encounter . Returning to Drunost in search of the connection they had discovered between Cav ' Saran and the BloodScar s they had fought earlier on Drunost , the stormtroopers began looking for more info to link them to the person behind the pirates , who they deduced would have to be high in the Imperial hierarchy . They were sitting in a tapcafe on Drunost when they saw Han Solo , Luke Skywalker , and Chewbacca , although they didn ' t recognize them as members of the Rebel Alliance . They also saw several known criminals in the tapcafe . When the Rebel trio confronted the criminals after Luke decided to intervene , LaRone and his men helped them when the confrontation turned violent . LaRone was suspicious about them and had Quiller follow them , unaware that they were Rebels . When Han and Luke tracked some of the pirates to the Purnham system and went to chase them , the Hand of Judgment followed them . LaRone and the Hand of Judgment arrived in the Purnham system before the " Millennium Falcon " did , but when it arrived , the " Falcon " came under attack by pirates . LaRone and the others engaged the pirates , and decided to investigate the situation . Posing as investigators , they questioned the surviving pirates , and the " Falcon " crew , who gave them what information they had on the pirates while posing as independent shippers . However , they decided to keep the Rebels on their ship for further questioning , in case the information they had been given by them was faulty . Extrapolating the data that Solo had given them and the HoloNet data they had gleaned from the pirates , they tracked the location of the pirate base to the Gepparin system . Heading to Gepparin with the " Falcon " attached to their ship and the Rebels locked into cabins in the Suwantek , they arrived about the same time as " Reprisal " did , and they came under attack by Ozzel , who was trying to cover his own career by stopping the deserters . Meanwhile , Luke , guided by the spirit of Obi - Wan Kenobi , unlocked the cabin doors and found one of the hidden weapons compartments in the ship . Captain Kendal Ozzel threw a tractor beam onto their ship , pinning LaRone ' s ship in place . Fortunately for LaRone , the " Falcon " crew was willing to help them . While Solo took over the controls of their Suwantek , Chewbacca took the " Falcon " , detached it , and destroyed two TIE fighters in the path of the tractor beam . Their destruction created enough reflective particles to disrupt the tractor beam , and both ships escaped the Star Destroyer , after Chewbacca ' s deceptive transmission convinced Ozzel to journey to the location of shattered Alderaan . LaRone and his men , along with the Rebels , landed to investigate the base . Both groups had been improvisationally working together and trying to track the source of the pirate groups , but shortly afterward , the two parties discovered each other ' s identities : Rebels and rogue stormtroopers respectively . Han managed to win enough of LaRone ' s and the others ' respect that LaRone agreed to get them to Shelkonwa to help their " friend , " who was actually Leia Organa , though they parted ways there . Under the Emperor ' s Hand . Landing on the capital world of the Shelsha sector , the stormtroopers arrived to find a search operation underway , led by Darth Vader and the 501st Legion . Despite this complication , LaRone and the others resolved to find the traitor responsible for the pirate attacks , as they had deduced that someone in the Governor ' s office was responsible . Knowing that the Rebels would be soon discovered by the 501st if they went alone , LaRone proposed escorting them through the city , which they reluctantly agreed to . When a small ship crashed nearby , LaRone and the four stormtroopers went to investigate , leaving the Rebels to their devices . They found Mara Jade fending off an AT - ST piloted by Caaldra , a pirate and the liaison to Vilim Disra , the man behind the pirate attacks . The stormtroopers and Mara managed to take down the AT - ST after a grueling battle , with the assistance of Chewbacca in their Suwantek . After they defeated Caaldra — who had been piloting the AT - ST remotely and escaped — LaRone was confronted by 501st stormtroopers , but Mara Jade covered for them , saying they were on special assignment for her . Mara didn ' t trust the story they told her , but ordered them to obey her until she could eliminate Choard . Penetrating the perimeter of the Governor ' s mansion , the stormtroopers and Jade swiftly advanced , cutting through any resistance easily , and confronted the governor while Mara dealt with Caaldra once and for all . The governor blustered his way through their orders , and Marcross turned unexpectedly on the others , pointing his weapon at LaRone , as the governor was actually his uncle . However , Marcross gave Choard just enough time to completely incriminate himself when he changed sides again , placing Choard under arrest , though LaRone insisted that they not kill him . About that time , Mara Jade and Vader arrived , but Jade again covered for LaRone , saying they were on assignment to her . Later , she made them tell her their true story in private . After some consideration , she let them go , after instructing them to lose their Hand of Judgment name . That done , LaRone and the others set off in their ship , though they resolved to keep doing good deeds wherever needed . Roaming vigilante . After leaving Shelkonwa , LaRone and his stormtrooper companions continued to clean up corruption and perceived threats to the safety and stability of Imperial citizens , typically focusing on problems that were caused or not addressed by official channels . They eliminated a small - time warlord and a pirate nest , and also forced an oppressive administrator to resign . The Hand of Judgment also settled disputes , helping resolve a water dispute in Griren Province on Hapor . They defeated a group of mercenaries there with little ease , using the advantages of stormtrooper equipment and training , speeder bikes , and the weapons on their modified Suwantek transport to good use . However , their unending streak of vigilante missions had worn away at their cache of equipment , fake identification , and credits . Knowing that their career would soon be forced to halt from these logistical problems , LaRone and the others decided to embark on two last small missions — dealing with a rigged election on Elegasso and a group of enslaved pottery artisans on another world . They flew to aid the pottery artisans , but were ambushed and knocked unconscious by means of a sedative gas . Upon awaking , LaRone found himself and most of his group at the mercy of administrator Bok Yost , the newly elected official from Elegasso , who had created the artisan rumor to lure them there . Yost was intent on having one of his henchmen turn them in as Imperial deserters , but before he could do so , Mara Jade intervened , subduing Yost and dispatching his thugs . She freed LaRone and his men , while forcing Yost to abdicate his ill - begotten position and hold a new election , free from fraud . Jade and LaRone then rescued Brightwater from where he ' d been interrogated separately after assuming the role of the pilot to protect Quiller . LaRone asked Jade what she wanted and she replied that they would be helping her infiltrate the Candoras sector governor ' s palace . Jade had been tasked with investigating allegations of treason against Governor Bidor Ferrouz and possibly eliminating him if they were verified . She had been monitoring the Hand of Judgment and gave them no choice but to help her . Recruited again . LaRone and the others agreed to help her and they soon arrived on the sector capital of Poln Major in the Suwantek . Jade sent them to observe spaceport stormtrooper stations to learn their security procedures and precautions while she surveyed palace security . While in the spaceport , LaRone helped settle a dispute between a group of Troukree knife merchants led by Vaantaar and some irate Pineath , who claimed to have been cheated . LaRone settled the dispute by having the Pineath return the allegedly defective knife — actually in perfect working order , but did not expose the attempted scam in order to retain leverage over the Pineath . For his actions , he earned the gratitude of the Troukree , as well as information on Nuso Esva , a local warlord who had been threatening the Troukree for some time . Once done with the merchant , the Hand of Judgment followed Jade ' s orders and monitored the spaceport ' s stormtrooper contingent . Having completed her own investigations , Jade then instructed them to abduct a pair of stormtroopers and requisition their shoulder pieces with their distinctive identification markings . LaRone followed orders , luring out a pair of stormtroopers so Jade could stun them with a sonic device . The two hapless troopers were relieved of their armor while Jade planned their next move . The Hand of Judgment was sent to follow her to the palace gate . When Jade crashed a speeder so as to be detained , LaRone and the others appeared , telling the guards that Jade had also robbed an electronics store . LaRone then convinced the guards to let him take Jade to detention , where he turned her over to Major Pakrie . Jade subsequently escaped and went on the hunt for Ferrouz , leaving LaRone and the Hand of Judgment to stand by outside the palace gate . While there , LaRone noticed a riot stirring up , with Luke Skywalker at the center of it . LaRone sent some troopers to assist the Rebel , who was being falsely implicated in the alleged death of the governor . They were successful and Skywalker escaped his assailants . Meanwhile , he and Marcross went to assist Jade , who had been pinned down by a group of attackers in the governor ' s office after negotiating with Ferrouz and a Rebel ambassador named Vestin Axlon . LaRone and Marcross approached the attackers from the rear and cut them down . Using the governor ' s private exit from the palace , they retreated through a tunnel into the storm drains , which led them to a tapcafe . LaRone , under orders from Jade , quickly cleared out the denizens of the tapcafe by claiming it was under official investigation . He and his men then hunkered down in the tapcafe with the governor and Axlon , charged by Jade with protecting them . Defending the governor . As they waited , LaRone realized that Axlon had known about Jade ' s arrival in advance . Axlon fired on the troopers , wounding Grave and Quiller and revealed that he had been working with Nuso Esva , who had been planning on pitting the Rebel Alliance against the Empire over Poln Major and then sweeping in to destroy both of their forces . Axlon told them to call in Skywalker , as he intended on using Skywalker ' s lightsaber to kill the governor , implicating the Rebel Alliance in the assassination . Axlon had hoped to secure Esva ' s allegiance to the Rebel Alliance by doing so , but after Governor Ferrouz distracted Axlon , Brightwater flipped a knife to Quiller , who stabbed Axlon , killing them . LaRone then warned off Skywalker . The Rebel informed him that he ' d noticed another one of Esva ' s men and LaRone told him to follow the operative . Now aware of the Rebel presence on Poln Major , LaRone was able to enlist the aid of Chewbacca to bring a bacta tank from the Suwantek for the severely - injured Grave . He also sent Brightwater to recruit the Troukree merchants , who were willing to fight for him against Nuso Esva ' s forces after a generous payment . When Jade , who had been trying to track down where Esva ' s men were holding the governor ' s family as hostages , reported in that she had found them but there were too many guards for her to handle , Governor Ferrouz called Major Pakrie , whom Jade had revealed was duplicitous . Ferrouz gave Pakrie their location under the pretense of consulting a security officer , in order to draw off Esva ' s men from the prisoners . During this time , LaRone was also in contact with Skywalker , who had reached Esva ' s stronghold as well and was relaying information to the stormtroopers , who then passed it on to Jade . The ruse worked , but soon Esva ' s men began attacking the tapcafe . LaRone and the Hand of Judgment fought off the first wave with ease , but the second group was more heavily armed and better trained , using an E - WEB repeating blaster to assault the structure . One of the Troukree drew the weapon ' s fire , sacrificing himself to buy LaRone time to lob a grenade at the heavy weapon . The explosion dealt with the repeating blaster and the Hand of Judgment was able to fight off the rest of the attackers . LaRone was touched by the Troukree ' s act of sacrifice , but had little time for commemoration . A voice informed them that while they had fought well , the governor ' s death by a specific method would no longer be necessary ; just his death would suffice . Surmising that their attackers were intent on destroying the building with explosives , LaRone decided to go on the offensive , but the Troukree insisted on undertaking the mission . At first , LaRone thought they had failed , but upon emerging from the tapcafe , he found that the Troukree had neutralized their assailants . Their leader , Vaantaar , then told them that they would be taken to meet their leader . LaRone was suspicious , but as he was outnumbered by armed Troukree and his men were already wounded , he had no choice but to comply . The leader turned out to be Imperial Senior Captain Thrawn , who knew their complete history — including their desertion and murder of ISB Drelfin . Thrawn admired their combat performance and offered to give them a place in his own independent command in the Unknown Regions , a return to Imperial service of sorts , but with their names cleared . He told them he wanted them to train non - human species such as the Troukree as stormtroopers to help fight off the many threats in that area of space . After considering the offer , LaRone and his men accepted . Personality and traits . LaRone was a dedicated soldier , having put in six years of service to the Empire . He was trained in both armed and unarmed combat by the Empire , a veteran soldier . Together , he and the Hand of Judgment were often able to win fights despite being at a numerical disadvantage . LaRone often utilized flanking maneuvers involving additional firepower , speeder bikes , and snipers to defeat his foes . He was also noble , refusing to murder civilians , even to the point of accepting death . During the Hand of Judgment ' s vigilante actions , it was often LaRone who started them . He couldn ' t stand to see corruption or mistreatment of Imperial citizens , feeling that they still had an oath to protect and defend citizens of the Empire . LaRone was also persuasive , but willing to listen to the opinions and concerns of others . He was able to trust his men to carry out their duty and even became the leader of the group . LaRone was also able to look beyond his political differences with the Rebels , aiding Han Solo and Luke Skywalker . Remaining idealistic , LaRone never condoned the slaughter of civilians , nor participated it , as did the rest of the Hand of Judgment . True to his nature , LaRone and the others didn ' t cease their string of good deeds even after a narrow escape from death courtesy of Mara Jade , who told them to stop their actions . LaRone was also pragmatic , understanding that when their cache of supplies ran out , then so did their good deeds . He was willing to sacrifice himself for his team ; they were a close - knit group . Furthermore , LaRone was able to settle disputes fairly while not releasing all his leverage or fully exposing embarrassment . Unlike many Imperials , LaRone was able to view aliens without undue bias or xenophobia , which allowed him to work with Troukree fighters on Poln Major . This trait stood him in good stead , as Thrawn later recruited him and the Hand of Judgment to form and train stormtrooper units in the Unknown Regions using nonhumans . Behind the scenes . Daric LaRone was first created as the main protagonist for Timothy Zahn ' s book " Allegiance " . He also appeared as a major character in " Choices of One " , the sequel to " Allegiance " , also by Timothy Zahn . With regard to LaRone and the Hand of Judgment ' s role in " Allegiance " , " Star Wars Insider 91 " explained Zahn had long been interested in exploring " the psyches of Imperials who think they ' re doing the right thing . " The article also cited earlier examples of conscience - driven Imperials that Zahn had created such as Thrawn and Mara Jade . Zahn compared the roles of the stormtroopers in the Hand of Judgment to that of honorable soldiers such as who served in the . He said that the central conflict for those stormtroopers that he wrote into " Allegiance " was whether or not to continue serving the Empire after learning of its true nature . Ultimately , LaRone would end up serving under both Jade and Thrawn in Zahn ' s novels .