Leafar The Leafar were a group involved in merchant shipping based out of the Leafar system . Shortly after the Battle of Yavin , they began to challenge the Galactic Empire . The Empire responded by sending the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Badi Dea " to attack their shipping convoys . The ambush was foiled by the Alliance to Restore the Republic , which , initially , sent five X - wing starfighters to protect Leafar shipping . Three separate groups of Leafar ships were defended by the Alliance , which called in reinforcements as the battle continued . The Leafar later aided the Alliance by supplying it with information on a new shield technology being produced by the Empire . History . The Leafar were a group who controlled the Leafar system , located in the Greater Plooriod Cluster of the Expansion Region . They were involved in merchant shipping . Shorty after the destruction of the first Death Star over Yavin 4 in 0 ABY , they began to actively challenge the Galactic Empire . In retribution , the Empire dispatched the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer " Badi Dea " to an important Leafar transfer point located near their system , with the aim of destroying numerous Leafar merchant vessels . Unaware of the Imperial presence , a Leafar convoy consisting of five passenger - carrying CR90 corvettes from the " Yavin Express " group , three goods - carrying BFF - 1 bulk freighter s from the " Cargo - Go " group , and seven " Lambda " - class shuttles from the " Lambda " group began to emerge from hyperspace at the transfer point . Rather than the Imperial forces waiting in ambush , however , the Leafar witnessed a battle already underway : five T - 65 X - wing starfighter s from the Alliance to Restore the Republic were engaging TIE / Advanced starfighter s and TIE / sa bombers from the " Badi Dea " . The leadership of the Rebel Alliance had heard of the Leafar ' s growing insurgency , and , hoping to gain a new ally , they had dispatched Keyan Farlander and four other pilots from Red Squadron to the Leafar way - point . With the arrival of the Leafar convoy , the Imperial bombers began targeting the merchant ships , prompting Farlander to focus on destroying the bombers , while his wingmates held off the TIE Advanced . Given the significant Imperial presence , the Rebels brought in reinforcements , with two RZ - 1 A - wing interceptors from Gold Squadron arriving several minutes into the engagement . Thirteen minutes later , the MC80 Star Cruiser " Maria " and the EF76 Nebulon - B escort frigate " Whitehawk " arrived , launching additional starfighters . The combined Rebel forces were able to hold off several waves of Imperial starfighters long enough for the majority of the Leafar convoy to escape , before disengaging themselves . Of the total Leafar ships , at least three corvettes , two freighters , and four shuttles were able to escape the ambush . Following this assault , the Leafar were able to supply the Rebel Alliance with some intelligence that they had gained on Imperial plans . The Alliance had captured several TIE / Advanced starfighters with a new shield technology , and the Leafar knew this was being developed for use with larger starships , such as Corellian corvettes . Following receipt of this information , the Alliance eventually managed to capture the prototype corvette " Blade 5 " , using it to ram the bridges of numerous Star Destroyers as part of Operation Ram ' s Head . Behind the scenes . The Leafar were created for " " , the first expansion pack for the award - winning computer game " " , created by LucasArts and released in 1994 . The Leafar were connected with two missions carried out by the player in the role of Keyan Farlander . In the first , their convoy is under attack , while in the second , they are only mentioned in its framing story . The Leafar system was later included in an update to the . The " " , published in 1995 by Prima Games , provided players with walkthroughs of the relevant missions , presented as Farlander ' s mission reports . Consequently , while it is in theory possible for a player to complete the mission prior to the arrival of the " Maria " and " Whitehawk " , canon ically Farlander did not . There is no canonical number of Leafar starships that survived , but there is a minimum of nine — three corvettes , two freighters , and four shuttles — set out for the mission to be successful . While the Leafar control a star system and are an entity capable of joining the Rebel Alliance , it is not made clear whether they are a species , a culture , or an organization . Until canon clarification , this article treats them as a generic organization .