Chief gunnery officer Chief gunnery officer was an assignment given on Star Destroyers of the Imperial Navy . Under the gunnery captain ' s command , the chief gunnery officer managed the main weaponry of the Star Destroyer . In 7 BBY , Lieutenant Hija served as the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Devastator " chief gunnery officer during the bombardment of the planet Falleen , and , by 0 BBY , Hija was still in service during the " Devastator " capture of the Rebel Alliance CR90 corvette " Tantive IV " . Later in 0 BBY , Niclara Varnillian was the chief gunnery officer of the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Pulsar " . She would be demoted following her failure to capture Alliance operative s on the planet Ord Mantell . During the New Republic era , Reagal Eron served as the Star Destroyer " Eradicator " chief gunnery officer . Description . Chief gunnery officer was an assignment on the Star Destroyers of the Galactic Empire ' s Navy , which could be given to a naval lieutenant . Only one member of this officer rank could serve on the same starship . The chief gunnery officer managed the main weaponry of the vessel under the command of the gunnery captain . History . The Human male Lieutenant Hija served the Imperial Navy as the chief gunnery officer aboard the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Devastator " , where he managed the Star Destroyer ' s main weaponry . In 7 BBY , he was in charge when the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader ordered the bombardment of the planet Falleen in order to stop a bacterial plague that was spreading from a laboratory on the planet . Seven years later , during the battle of Tatooine in the Galactic Civil War , Hija , still serving aboard the " Devastator " , spotted an escape pod jettisoned from the captured " Tantive IV " , one of the Rebel Alliance ' s CR90 corvettes . However , his superior , Gunnery Captain Bolvan , ordered him not to fire because the Star Destroyer ' s gunnery sensors indicated that no lifeforms were aboard . The escape pod , in truth , contained the Rebel droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 , in possession of the stolen plans for the Empire ' s DS - 1 Orbital Battle Station superweapon . Later in 0 BBY , shortly after the battle of Tatooine , the Human female Niclara Varnillian became chief gunnery officer on the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Pulsar " in between the Empire ' s destruction of her homeworld Alderaan and the Battle of Yavin . In 3 ABY , Varnillian was on leave on the planet Ord Mantell when she recognized Alliance operative s Lieutenant Commander Anson Blazer and Lieutenant Alton Lochner . Along with Imperial soldiers , Varnillian botched her attempt to capture the pair , resulting in a firefight that led to several Imperial soldier and civilian fatalities . Though Varnillian still managed to return to the " Pulsar " with a pair of Alliance captives , she was subsequently demoted for the failed mission . At some point during the New Republic era , Reagal Eron served as the chief gunnery officer of the Star Destroyer " Eradicator " . During that service , Eron recounted a prior incident , during which the individual had served as the adjutant of Imperial Governor Isis , of witnessing bounty hunter Boba Fett collect his reward for the capture of pirate Feldrall Okor . Behind the scenes . The rank of chief gunnery officer first appeared in the December 1976 of , ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster . In the novel , Hija was referred to as one of Bolvan ' s chief gunnery officers , but later sources suggest that there was only one of this officer on the " Devastator " . Hija was addressed as " Chief Pilot " in the Revised Fourth Draft of " A New Hope " . In 1994 , " " released the story " This Guy Just Doesn ' t Care " , which featured a narrative told from the perspective of Reagal Eron , the chief gunnery officer of the Star Destroyer " Eradicator " . 1995 ' s Wanted by Cracken , published in " Star Wars Adventure Journal 8 " , introduced Niclara Varnillian , the chief gunnery officer for the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Pulsar " .