Battle in the Phindar system In 14 BBY , a battle took place in the Phindar system between Berch Teller ' s rebel cell and Imperial forces under Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and Darth Vader . The Imperials intercepted the stolen " Carrion Spike " as the corvette was docking with a tanker to refuel above Phindar . Vader and Tarkin ' s Yellow Squadron of V - wing starfighters attacked the " Carrion Spike " . The tanker dispatched Aggressive ReConnaissance - 170 starfighter s to intercept Tarkin ' s starfighters . Before the Imperials could fire at the " Carrion Spike " , the ship fled into hyperspace . The tanker was then destroyed by a rogue fuel cell , which destroyed several V - wings . Prelude . During the Imperial Era , a group of dissidents led by former Republic Intelligence agent Berch Teller embarked on an insurgency against the Galactic Empire . Sharing a special animus towards Moff Wilhuff Tarkin for his role in the Antar Atrocity , Teller and his dissidents stole Tarkin ' s personal corvette " Carrion Spike " , which was equipped with an advanced hyperdrive and stealth technology . Teller ' s dissidents attacked several Imperial facilities along the Perlemian Trade Route . They were secretly aided by Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit , a rival of Moff Tarkin . Rancit used his position as Director of the Naval Intelligence Agency to channel equipment , former Separatist weaponry and starships , and intelligence to Teller ' s cell . Following a raid on TaggeCo ' s mining facility on Lucazec , Teller brought the " Carrion Spike " to refuel with a tanker above the planet Phindar in the Mandalore sector . Teller posed as Commander Abel LaSal and managed to convince the tanker to let them dock and refuel . The skirmish . The Phindian tanker facility ' s administrator alerted Moff Tarkin to the " Carrion Spike " presence . He informed them that the corvette had completed refueling and was preparing to detach . While the administrator offered to let his workers and stormtrooper s take on the crew , Tarkin advised him to avoid raising any suspicion . Meanwhile , as a precaution , Teller placed an explosive device inside a spent fuel cell that was deposited in one of the tanker ' s starboard storage bins . After the dissidents had finished refueling , Imperial forces exited hyperspace . For the battle , Tarkin deployed the escort carrier " Goliath " , the V - wing Yellow Squadron , and Darth Vader ' s black Eta - 2 Actis - class light interceptor . In response , Teller ' s Gotal pilot Salikk proposed doing a jump beyond Phindar and its principal moon . Teller then advised him to fly the ship as close as possible to the tanker and to protect the hyperdrive generator at all costs . As the Imperial fighters close in on the stolen " Carrion Spike " , Tarkin briefed the pilots that their goal was to force the corvette to lower its deflector shields before they returned fired . Their next priority was to target the hyperdrive generator , which was aft of the main guns along the corvette ' s spine . Shielded by powerful deflector shield s , the " Carrion Spike " tucked itself under the tanker and destroyed two V - wings with its lateral laser cannon s . As the " Carrion Spike " continued its run , Vader and Tarkin strafed the corvette but failed to take it out . The remaining V - wings Yellows Three , Fur , Ten , and Twelve fired at the corvette ' s command center as it did its third loop around the tanker but failed to penetrate its powerful shields . As the dogfight continued , the tanker deployed six Aggressive ReConnaissance - 170 starfighter . Tarkin ordered the Phindian administrator to withdraw his fighters but the administrator insisted on defending his ship . Tarkin then ordered the Commander of the " Goliath " to fire its proton torpedo es at the corvette as it made a run for the crest of the tanker hull . Before the " Goliath " could open fire , the " Carrion Spike " hurtled away from the tanker and flew towards the support carrier , firing all its guns . The " Carrion Spike " also shot down the V - wings Yellows Five and Twelve . The " Carrion Spike " then activated its cloaking device , frustrating the " Goliath " gunners . The " Carrion Spike " then fled into hyperspace shortly before the tanker exploded , annihilating the six ARC - 170 starfighters and sining the tails of Yellow Squadron ' s starfighters . Tarkin and Vader survived but their forces were down to two starfighters and their escort carrier . Aftermath . Following the battle in the Phindar system , Berch Teller and his dissidents discovered that Tarkin had been tracking them using the ship ' s paralight tracker . To throw the Imperials off - scent , Teller transmitted coordinates which led them to believe that the insurgents were heading to the Obroa - skai system in the Inner Rim . As a diversion , Teller ' s fellow dissident , the information broker Knotts , hired a Koorivar captain and his ship " Reticent " to travel to Obroa - skai as decoys ; setting the stage for the events in the Obroa - skai system . The dissidents also transmitted a short holovid of the clash on the Imperial HoloNet , which was received by a couple of local systems . Meanwhile , Phindar ' s rescue and recovery operation determined that the tanker was destroyed by an explosive device concealed inside a spent fuel cell . With reports indicating that Teller ' s dissidents had fled to the Expansion Region , Vice Admiral Rancit convinced Emperor Palpatine that the dissidents were planning to attack targets in the Inner Rim . The Empire also deployed interdictor vessel s leased from the Deep Core Security Zone to assist in the hunt for the " Carrion Spike " . Behind the scenes . The Battle in the Phindar system first appeared in James Luceno ' s 2014 novel " Tarkin " , the second in a line of new Canon adult novels published by Del Rey .