Nas Ghent Nas Ghent was a male Human and hotshot starfighter pilot who originally fought for the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars . Biography . Ghent fought with the Confederacy fleet at the Battle of Coruscant and was a decorated hero of the Confederacy . After the war he turned to smuggling , taking dangerous runs through Imperial no - fly zones aboard his ship , the " Rhodi ' s Silence " . He did so in an attempt to find a way to cope with the regrets he had from his past and to recapture something of the thrill he had felt in his youth while flying for the Separatists . On one such run , he was shot out of space by Darth Vader and personally recruited by him to recruit a crack Imperial TIE Fighter unit , Black Eight Squadron . Assigned aboard the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Crucible " , the flagship of an Outer Rim Moff , Ghent clashed with the ambitious deck officer Commander Dorin Millavec . Millavec had been nearing the end of his captaincy of the " Crucible " and awaiting a career - enhancing move into Lower Command , when he had been sidelibed by Darth Vader . Vader ordered Ghent to find seven individuals with unorthodox thinking methods to be assigned to the " Crucible " , even authorizing Millavec to pull them out of the Imperial prisons if he saw fit . Once brought aboard , Ghent would be responsible for all flying and training . Ghent would report only to Millavec , who in turn would report only to Vader . Millavec balked at Vader ' s extension of his assignment aboard the " Crucible " , but Vader bluntly told Millavec he was staying onboard ship until Vader was personally pleased with Ghent ' s squadron , and also warned Millavec not to test the likes of Darth Vader , lest he be sent to a remote listening post on the Outer Rim , which would be sufficient to doom an Imperial career , or even be sent to the Emperor ' s throne room for an even worse fate . Meanwhile , Ghent was prepared for his job as a squadron commander : by having his vitals tested , his long hair shaved into a buzzcut and being issued the uniform of an Imperial Sub - Lieutentant . An annoyed Millavec decided to get rid of the " upstart " by arranging for him to be killed in a supposed accident : On his first familiarization flight , Ghent was to be given a decrepit TIE fighter and to be shot from behind by his flight members as a rebel infiltrator . However , despite the condition of his ship , Ghent managed to eradicate his two wingmen and crash land into the landing bay , which astonished the crew of the " Crucible " . An enraged Ghent said if Millavec has a problem with him , he needs to try and kill him face - to - face instead of playing games like a coward . Dorin Millavec coolly replied that the attack was a test from Darth Vader to prove his worthiness and a squad leader , and that Ghent passed with flying colors . Ghent , however , did not appear assuaged by this . Later , with his second - in - command , Millavec remarked that Ghent simply needs another assassination attempt , and sought to do so through seven murderous prisoners he had released from prison . The XO remarked that Ghent may wise up to the fact that Vader did not order the hit , but Millavec smugly responds he has his bases covered on that the trainees will kill Ghent , and Vader will forget about his plans through his obsession with finding that Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star . This vicious plot , however , only served to re - kindle Ghent ' s fighting spirit , and he silently vowed to himself to mold this squadron , called the " Black Eight " , into the Empire ' s finest , and to get even with Millavec . Behind the scenes . Jeremy Barlow has hinted that a future " " arc could feature Ghent recruiting BoShek into the Black Eight Squadron .