Stafuv Rahz Stafuv Rahz served as a major in the Imperial Military during the Galactic Civil War . A Gektl male from Hoszh Iszhir who later betrayed his own people for power as an Imperial , Rahz maintained his planet ' s shield system , which was used to protect the world from greedy magnates hoping to tap the planet ' s valuable natural resources . Imbued with vaulting ambition , Rahz effectively sold the freedom of his species for his own gain when he offered Emperor Palpatine a way to bypass Hoszh Iszhir ' s planetary shield . Palpatine accepted , and while the Gektls of Hoszh Iszhir were enslaved and put to work as miners , Rahz served the Empire and , more directly , Lord Darth Vader . Following a raid on Kar ' a ' katok , which resulted in the recruitment of Ampotem Za , future overlord of Mandalore , Rahz was ordered by Vader to kidnap the teacher Myoris Lin and her students on the planet Harix . Rahz did so , but one student , Berd , managed to escape his clutches . The escapee found asylum with the Alliance to Restore the Republic , and worked against Rahz to free his captive classmates and his mother , Lin . In the ensuing skirmish Rahz ' s fleet was destroyed , but the Gektl attempted to save face by executing his prisoners . In attempting to utilize a sonic projector against the captives , Stafuv Rahz was killed , as the weapon had been sabotaged by Berd . Biography . Ascension . Born and raised on inhospitable Hoszh Iszhir , Stafuv Rahz worked to maintain the planet ' s defense shields , which were used to ward away any prospectors that might try and mine the planet ' s valuable guerrerite reserves . Rahz , caring naught for his fellow Gektl s , traveled to Imperial Center hoping for an audience with Emperor Palpatine . He was granted one , and in his audience with the head of the Galactic Empire , he offered to supply Palpatine with the codes to bypass Hoszh Iszhir ' s shields in exchange for a commission in the Imperial Military and control over his native star system . Palpatine agreed to the terms , as he was eager to extract and utilize the valuable natural resources of Hoszh Iszhir . He had a fleet of Star Destroyers bombard the planet and then enslaved the Gektls , putting them to work in the guerrerite mines . Rahz was assigned to Lord Darth Vader , Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy , who despised the Gektl for his dishonest and traitorous ways and made no attempt to hide his opinion of Rahz . Some time after his appointment , Rahz was sent to Kar ' a ' katok to lead an attack on the long - secluded planet . Rahz ' s men subdued and captured Ampotem Za , one of the planet ' s native Shimholt . Za managed to escape captivity and return to Kar ' a ' katok , but was shunned by his fellow Shimholt , as the planet ' s government had barred off - world travel by the natives over four thousand years prior . Now an outcast , Za returned to Rahz ' s custody . The Gektl took Za before Palpatine , who installed the Shimholt as overlord of Mandalore . Harix plot . In 1 ABY , Rahz was dispatched to Harix to kidnap a teacher , Myoris Lin , and her students . Lin was suspected of being sympathetic to the Alliance to Restore the Republic , and Vader hoped that by holding her and the children hostage , they could lure her Rebel contacts into a trap . Lin attempted to herd her students though an escape channel in a desperate attempt to flee Rahz ' s clutches , but the Gektl was able to capture them nonetheless . However , one student , Lin ' s son Berd , was able to escape and was rescued by Rebel Alliance member Luke Skywalker , who had been hoping to deliver a series of illegal pre - New Order micro - book s . Skywalker , departing Harix , destroyed a small fleet of ships Rahz sent after him , prompting the Gektl to request aid and rescue from Lord Vader . Returning to the Dark Lord ' s command ship , Rahz , along with his colleagues , was given the order to broadcast the news that the hostage students would be executed if the Rebels did not show themselves . Vader also made it clear that this was Rahz ' s last chance at being rescued , and any further requests for rescue from him would be his last for any place in the galaxy . Rahz was then ordered to organize and oversee the executions personally , and to have a fleet of his TIE Fighters lie in wait behind the Talhu Slotted Peaks of Harix in preparation for the rescue attempt Vader predicted . Death . As he had predicted , Vader was soon met with the sight of a thousand enemy ships approaching his base . As Rahz and the Imperials prepared their defenses , the Gektl ' s entire fleet of TIE Fighters was destroyed in an avalanche of rubble from Shaelo Cliff that had been caused by Skywalker and his ally Han Solo . Aghast at the loss of his fleet and the sudden communications jamming he and his men found themselves under , Rahz hoped to save face by executing his prisoners with the sonic projector he had been preparing . Before he could carry out the execution , he was attacked by Skywalker , who began grappling with the desperate Gektl . The attacking " fleet " was actually nothing more than a group of Deep Space Target Practice Unit s that had been altered to resemble spacecraft , which the Rebels had used as a distraction against the Imperials while they attempted to save the captive children . The real fleet began to swoop over the Lins ' school , unloading scores of smugglers who had been touched by young Berd ' s plight . Rahz , who was being held by his adversaries , shed his tail , skin , and clothes in desperation , fought his way out of captivity , and made his way towards the sonic projector . Before the Gektl could fire it at his enemies , however , Berd rephased the power of the weapon , inadvertently causing it to destroy Rahz instead . Personality and traits . An ambitious Gektl , Stafuv Rahz had no qualms in harming others in the pursuit of his own gains . Bearing no patriotism for his native Hoszh Iszhir , the Gektl effectively gave up the freedom of his entire race in exchange for an Imperial uniform . This was likely born of the native Gektl instinct to survive — Hoszh Iszhir being such an inhospitable place , dominated by barren deserts , vicious predators , and poisonous clouds , its inhabitants would always do their utmost to stay alive . Rahz , however , went beyond his natural means in achieving this , although it earned him the ire of his superiors . Despite this , he was always eager to impress Lord Vader , and was constantly fearful of the Dark Lord . Owing to his becoming part of the Empire ' s officers , Rahz wore a black Imperial uniform similar to those of the NCOs of the Stormtrooper Corps , albeit with shorts and lacking boots or gloves due to his Gektl origins . Behind the scenes . Major Rahz made his first appearance in Russ Manning ' s comic strip , " Bring Me the Children " , where he was featured as the primary antagonist alongside Darth Vader . The character of Rahz went unused in " Star Wars " canon for over twenty years , until Abel G . Peña and Rich Handley featured him in their online supplement , " Aliens in the Empire " . The supplement also gave Rahz the first name " Stafuv , " as a reference to the " Staff of Ra " artifact from Steven Spielberg ' s " " , a film that George Lucas both conceived and worked on as executive producer .