Battle of Korriban ( Galactic Civil War ) This battle occurred during the Galactic Civil War , shortly before the Battle of Endor . The battle started when Renegade Squadron — the Rebel Alliance ' s elite fighting unit founded by General Han Solo — attacked the Sith planet of Korriban . Under Commander Col Serra , Renegade Squadron hoped to capture data regarding the Galactic Empire ' s second Death Star from Emperor Palpatine , while he was visiting Korriban . After a brief engagement with Imperial forces , Renegade Squadron was able to capture a data holocron from the Emperor ' s shuttle . The Korriban battle was considered to be one of the most dangerous and challenging that Renegade Squadron had ever faced , and Serra would later recount the conflict to Jedi archivist Tionne Solusar , years after the fall of the Empire . Prelude . During the Galactic Civil War , soon after the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon and the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt , the Rebel Alliance began to plan their assault on the newly discovered second Death Star that was stationed over the forest moon of Endor . To do this , the Alliance needed to gather more intelligence about the Imperial superweapon . Commander Col Serra , the second - in - command of Renegade Squadron — an elite fighting squadron composed of smugglers and spacers founded by the recently appointed general , Han Solo — offered an idea . Emperor Palpatine , Dark Lord of the Sith and the Imperial ruler of the galaxy , was due to make a pilgrimage to the Sith tomb world of Korriban . Serra believed that the Sith Lord was likely carrying at least some information concerning the Death Star , so the Alliance planned to lure the Emperor into a trap and contain him while they stole his secret data . The battle . Setting the trap . Renegade Squadron landed on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords near the ancient Sith academy shortly before Palpatine touched down . Serra quickly put his plan into action , and ordered his unit to capture the old Sith academy and the communications station in order to stop the Imperial garrison from warning Palpatine of the Rebel threat . Serra knew that the Sith Lord had most likely already sensed Renegade Squadron , but he hoped that Palpatine would think they were a too insignificant a threat to worry about , and that his stormtroopers would be able to take care of the Rebels . After the Rebels had captured the academy , the Imperial soldiers regrouped for a counter - attack against the invaders while the Emperor entered the atmosphere of Korriban in his " Lambda " - class shuttle . After Palpatine landed , the stormtroopers launched a large wave of attacks to cripple Renegade Squadron , but the Rebels were able to hold out and push the Imperial forces back to the nearby tombs . In order to obtain a stronger foothold , Commander Serra ordered his men to capture the Sith tombs , and as Renegade Squadron surged forward , the Imperials were slowly pushed back deeper into the tombs . After some brief fighting , Serra ' s men were able to capture the small atrium room , along with two of the three main entrances to the tombs . The Imperials still held the larger room next to the atrium , which contained all of the valuable Sith artifacts , and the small in - ground enclosure behind the tombs that contained the landing pad onto which Palpatine ' s shuttle had landed . Serra decided to carry out the second part of his plan , which was necessary if the Alliance wanted to capture the information . The Rebels planned to trap the Emperor inside the Sith burial chambers by luring him inside and then destroying the three entrances . Serra had already managed to place explosives at all three entrances prior to Palpatine ' s landing , and now sent a member of Renegade Squadron to go and set them . The first two were set with relative ease , for they were located in the atrium that the Alliance had already captured . The last set of explosives were difficult , since they had been placed in the back entrance that connected the Imperial control main room and the shuttle landing pad . There were two means of approach to the explosives — one course led through the tombs , and the second through the small cave system that led to Palpatine ' s landing site — both of which contained many Imperial troops . Renegade Squadron was able to successfully set the explosives and continue with their plan . Springing the trap . To lure the Emperor inside the tombs , Serra ordered his men to destroy several ancient and valuable Sith artifacts scattered all around the main room of the tomb ; he believed the wreckage would anger the Sith Lord and cause him to come inside the tombs and save the priceless relics . Renegade Squadron then began to push farther up into the main room , using their blasters and grenades . To further enrage Palpatine , they blew up the biggest and most valuable Sith artifact , a large statue of a hooded figure , set in the middle of the tomb using a detpack . Furious , Palpatine came charging into the tomb , killing a Mon Calamari Rebel vanguard and any of the other Rebels he saw with Force lightning . Renegade Squadron was unable to harm Palpatine for he had created a strong Force barrier around him that none of their attacks could penetrate , but this was of little matter as the Emperor was now inside the tombs . This played right into Serra ' s plan , and now Renegade Squadron could finally spring the trap . Serra ordered the remaining members of Renegade Squadron out of the tombs , and as soon as everyone was out safely , he set off all three explosives . The doors caved in , momentarily trapping the Emperor and most of his forces inside the tomb . Aware that the rocks would not hold a strong Force - sensitive like Palpatine for long , Serra told Renegade Squadron to get the data holocron that he had located inside Palpatine ' s shuttle . Traveling through the cave system to the landing site , the Rebels encountered the few Imperial troops that had not been trapped with Palpatine . The Imperials tried to defend the holocron ; nevertheless , a member of Renegade Squadron managed to retrieve it from the shuttle and ran it back to the LAAT gunship waiting for him at the evacuation zone . When the Rebel carrying the holocron returned , Serra quickly looked over the data , and his search revealed that the Emperor was planning to go to the Endor system to oversee the final construction work on the Death Star . Serra stated that maybe the Alliance could kill two birds with one stone by destroying the Death Star and the Emperor all at once . The surviving members of Renegade Squadron quickly left Korriban and the Valley of the Dark Lords after everyone was safely aboard the evacuation ships . Aftermath . Renegade Squadron soon returned to the Alliance fleet and gave the holocron to Mon Mothma , one of the founders of the Rebel movement . It revealed to the Alliance important information about the second Death Star and that the Emperor had made a crucial mistake in his plans . However , this was actually a trick devised by Palpatine to draw the Rebel Alliance into his own trap , and it would later become known as the Battle of Endor . The Alliance would succeed , however , and the Death Star would be destroyed along with the Emperor himself . Renegade Squadron and Commander Serra would be ordered to Sullust shortly before the attack on the second Death Star , to distract the Imperial fleet and draw them away from Endor . This would be a useless gesture , as the Empire was not fooled , and instead sent the bounty hunter / assassin droid IG - 88 to stop Renegade Squadron . Years after the Battle of Endor and the rise of the New Republic , Jedi archivist Tionne Solusar tracked down Serra to ask him about Renegade Squadron for her archives . Serra described to her many of their battles , including the ambush at Korriban . Behind the scenes . The battle made its first and only appearance in the video game " " , which recounts the various battles and exploits of Renegade Squadron during the Galactic Civil War . The battle itself makes up the ninth level in the game ' s campaign mode .