Atoan insurgency The Atoan insurgency was a conflict that occurred within the early stages of the Imperial Period . The Galactic Empire suffered heavy losses but conquered the Atoan system . Background . Not long after the Declaration of a New Order , Admiral Garoche Tarkin , the son of Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , disappeared along with his " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer during a mission to hunt down insurgents in the Ghost Nebula . In response , Emperor Palpatine commanded his Sith apprentice Darth Vader to find and retrieve the lost admiral , much to the displeasure of Moff Tarkin . In the event that Vader became distracted from his objective , hunting down Jedi fugitives , Tarkin appointed Captain Shale , a friend of his son , as Vader ' s second in command during the mission . A " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer was attached to Darth Vader , along with a detachment two battalions of stormtroopers from the 501st Legion commanded by Commander Voca . The campaign . After reaching the Atoan system , the last known location of Admiral Tarkin in the Ghost Nebula before his disappearance , Vader and his troops began their search on the system ' s primary planet , Atoa , homeworld of the near - Human Atoan s . Imperial forces assaulted the main city , killing or capturing any resisting Atoan . In the aftermath of the battle , Vader ordered Voca to burn the city and drown the prisoners . However , a boat loaded with white - robed figures drifted towards the Imperials at that moment . A female Atoan disembarked and greeted Vader , identifying herself as Lady Saro , High Priestess of Atoa . She claimed to know the location of Admiral Garoche Tarkin , though she would not divulge the information unless Darth Vader declared her the Queen of the Ghost Nebula . Vader agreed to Lady Saro ' s terms , provided that she swore fealty to the Emperor . The priestess guided the Imperials to Admiral Tarkin ' s destroyed Star Destroyer . Accompanied by Voca and Shale , Darth Vader led a group of V - wing starfighters to investigate the wreckage . Damage to Tarkin ' s warship were identified as explosions that had to have occurred from within the vessel , thus indicating a sabotage . However , the group suddenly set upon by Atoan starfighter s in an ambush . Although caught off guard , the Imperials quickly turned the skirmish around . After having successfully interrogating a captured pilot , Vader then hunted Tarkin to another Atoan world . While AT - AT walkers and ground forces attacked as a distraction for the insurgents , Vader and Captain Shale led a stealth attack with Shale ' s storm commando s . Despite successfully annihilating the insurgents and the loss of some walkers in the planet ' s boiling tar oceans , Vader and Shale failed to locate Garoche Tarkin . The revelations of the prisoners caused Vader to suspect that Admiral Tarkin was a traitor to the Empire . Vader ' s suspicion was confirmed later , when Captain Shale ' s storm commandos attacked the Dark Lord of the Sith and the 501st stormtroopers aboard Vader ' s Star Destroyer . Although Vader managed to repulse his assailants , the 501st was taken by complete surprise . Commander Voca and a group of stormtroopers managed to hold their ground until Vader arrived and eliminated the traitors . The Sith gathered the remaining clones but massive explosions suddenly went off throughout the starship . Vader and his soldiers headed to the hangars and escaped the doomed ship just in time . The damaged shuttle , piloted by Darth Vader himself , eventually crash - landed on a Atoan crystal planet . The surviving clones , including Voca , followed Vader on foot until they found the rest of Shale ' s storm commandos , all of them apparently executed . At that moment , Atoan insurgents led by Lady Saro ambushed the Imperials . While the Sith Lord attacked the enemy , the outnumbered clones retreated but their escape was cut off by a group of Atoans led by the former Captain Shale . Shale apologized to Commander Voca before his men opened fire on the clones , killing the last remaining stormtroopers . Moments later , Darth Vader was overwhelmed by the rebels and stunned by Lady Saro . Darth Vader was captured and finally met Garoche Tarkin . Disgusted by the atrocities he committed in the name of Palpatine , Moff Tarkin ' s son defected to the Atoans after becoming Saro ' s lover . He revealed to the Sith that he was manipulated : all the Atoans killed during the insurgency were rivals of the High Priestess . But Vader did not remain in captivity for long . He succeeded in escaping from his confinements and killed many insurgents that stood in his way , including Shale who hoped to kill him by using his own lightsaber . When the Sith Lord eventually found Tarkin and Saro , the Atoan Priestess projected an image of Padmé Amidala , Vader ' s deceased wife , from reading into his heart . When learning of this ability , he attempted to kill Saro in despair - driven madness to get her to return Padmé to him , although he relented after he discovered that she was pregnant , presumably out of guilt for his role in Padmé ' s death . Vader later killed them both in an attempted suicide by collapsing the Atoan cathedral on them . Aftermath . Vader survived several days under the rubble until he was discovered by Imperial reinforcement troops sent by the Emperor . Palpatine was pleased for the subjugation of the Atoan system . Garoche Tarkin ' s death was blamed on the Atoans to further his father ' s hatred of all rebels and insurgents . At some point afterwards , a military coup would be orchestrated . Both this and the later Ghost Prison incident were later recorded onto holograms .