Assault on Epsilon Nine An assault on the Epsilon Nine Communications Research space station was carried out in 4 ABY by Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya on behalf of Imperial stewardess Ysanne Isard . In exchange for military resources , Lumiya was contracted by Isard for a mission to the Cron Drift that involved inspecting the progress of several top - secret Imperial research installations . The New Republic had recently absorbed one of the Cron Drift research facilities , Epsilon Nine , into its holdings , in an attempt to liberate the scientists there from Imperial authority . Lumiya ' s fleet was engaged by the New Republic defenders upon arrival in the Auril sector , and the Dark Lady released the might of her newly - restored armada to quickly neutralize the less - than - adequate Republic opposition . She then entered the research station herself to both crush the traitor ' s faith in the Republic ' s ability to protect them and to re - exert Imperial sovereignty . Lumiya ' s presence was enough to elicit fear from the Imperial defectors , and the threat of deadly force sufficiently compelled Epsilon Nine ' s staff into reinstating their loyalty to the Empire . Certain that her instructions would not be disobeyed , Lumiya and her fleet departed Epsilon Nine with the guarantee that she would return in several months to ensure Epsilon Nine ' s continued cooperation . Prelude . Although the Galactic Empire had been crippled by their defeat at the hands of the Rebel Alliance during the Battle of Endor , many of their facilities still remained active and under Imperial operation in the months that followed ; among these were several top - secret research installations sequestered in the Cron Drift . Knowing that the Rebel Alliance – turned – New Republic sought to undo the oppression by which the Empire operated throughout the galaxy , researchers of one particular facility in the Drift , the asteroid - based Epsilon Nine , attempted to sever their Imperial ties by offering to work for the Republic instead . Yet , the station ' s employees did not know that Imperial Intelligence agents had immediately learned of their treason . Ysanne Isard , " de facto " leader of the Empire , was contacted during this time by Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya with a request for resources following the decimation of the majority of her own fleet during the Nagai – Tof War . Isard committed a portion of Imperial naval strength to supplement Lumiya ' s ravaged fleet , though not without conditions . In exchange for her allotment , the Dark Lady agreed to travel to the Cron Drift on the Empire ' s behalf and observe the progress of the Empire ' s facilities and coerce them back into Imperial patronage if necessary . The assault . The Nebulon - B escort frigate " Revenant " served as Lumiya ' s command ship as she led her fleet to the Cron Drift . She ordered " Revenant " Captain Valek to have the fleet maintain a reduced speed and to refrain from contacting Epsilon Nine after a low - level radiation pulse originating from the Communications Research Station was discovered . Furthermore , the station ' s comlink system had been reconfigured to transmit on New Republic wavelengths . The " Revenant " scanner s then detected nine T - 65 X - wing starfighters swiftly bearing in on the fleet . Lumiya ordered the deployment of TIE interceptor squadron Alpha and TIE / sa bomber squadron Theta in response , while also ordering for " Revenant " to provide turbolaser support . Meanwhile , the " Revenant " two escort CR90 corvettes , " Wolf - Pack " and " Borealis " , disabled Epsilon Nine ' s own defensive laser batteries . The X - wings were quickly destroyed by the combination of " Revenant " attack and the sudden onslaught of TIE interceptors . Epsilon Nine tried to assail " Revenant " in futility , but " Wolf - Pack " and " Borealis " eliminated the space station ' s ground defenses along with the New Republic troops who manned them . Theta Squadron also ruptured an opening in Epsilon Nine ' s landing platform with a bombardment of proton torpedoes . " Wolf - Pack " launched two assault shuttles carrying squads of elite red - armored stormtroopers who were specially provisioned for Lumiya ' s fleet by Isard , while " Borealis " dropped a pair of HAVw A5 Juggernaut s onto the asteroid ' s surface in a direct assault of the station ' s central compound . The Juggernauts mowed down the opposition and created a clear pathway which allowed the stormtroopers quick access into the station . They confronted Epsilon Nine ' s own security forces and were even outnumbered by them , but the stormtroopers nonetheless outmatched and defeated them . With the station completely secured , Lumiya landed on the asteroid in a " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle and prepared to take personal charge of the situation . Aftermath . The eradication of the entire New Republic military force , with no Imperial casualties save several injuries , resulted in a total mission success in the raid on Epsilon Nine . Lumiya received this report as she entered the command center and prepared to interrogate the scientists . One particularly indignant individual had his throat Force - crushed by the Dark Lady after he scoffed at her for being female . She discredited the remaining scientists as traitors but offered to still pardon their insolence , and she extinguished their morale by destroying a sigil bearing the emblem of the New Republic with her lightwhip . To discourage any subsequent attempts at mutiny , Lumiya ordered that her garrison occupy the station in her absence to make certain their commitment to Imperial service remained intact . Before departing with the remainder of her fleet , Lumiya promised to return in eight weeks with expectations that the spy satellites Epsilon Nine was originally commissioned to develop were completed . Although the New Republic had been driven from the Cron Drift and the scientists of Epsilon Nine had been forced back into loyalty to the Empire , they maintained a semblance of hope in the possibility of an eventual rescue by Republic reinforcements . The station continued its broadcast of the low - level radiation pulse that was originally detected and ignored by " Revenant " , believing that when it reached the Cron Drift ' s satellite grid , New Republic operatives would detect the pulse — which was actually a distress signal — and send assistance . Behind the scenes . The assault on Epsilon Nine first appeared in author Michael Mikaelian ' s short story " " , written for " Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 3 " and published in 1995 by Topps . An explanation for Lumiya ' s acquisition of Imperial warships and Royal Guards ( red - armored stormtroopers ) from Ysanne Isard is given in Abel G . Peña ' s 2006 online supplement for " Star Wars Insider 88 " , titled " " . Details of Lumiya and Isard ' s relationship are further discussed in Lumiya ' s entry in an article written by Juan Schwartz , Pablo Hidalgo , and Abel G . Peña for " Star Wars Gamer 5 " , titled " The Emperor ' s Pawns " . In " Dark Star of the Empire " , Lumiya makes reference to the New Republic attempting to confiscate Imperial technology being developed in the Elrood sector of space as her fleet approaches the Cron Drift . In other canon sources , however , the Drift itself is located in the Auril sector of the Outer Rim Territories . Whether Lumiya was speaking of other Imperial installations or a mistake was made on the author ' s part has not been clarified thus far , and " Dark Star of the Empire " makes no further mention about the Elrood sector .