Lorth Needa / Legends Lorth Needa was a Human male fleet officer in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars and the Imperial Navy during the Galactic Civil War . He served as lieutenant commander of the Republic " Carrack " - class cruiser " Integrity " in Home Fleet Strike Group Five of the Coruscant Home Fleet during the Battle of Coruscant , in which he was prepared to destroy General Grievous ' s flagship , the " Invisible Hand " , should the general be unable to prove that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was being held captive aboard the warship . During the Imperial era , Needa was promoted to captain of the " Imperial II " - class Star Destroyer " Avenger " by Fleet Admiral Kendal Ozzel and assigned to Darth Vader ' s Death Squadron , often being tasked with following up on certain leads regarding the location of the Rebel Alliance ' s hidden headquarters . Needa served as one of Ozzel ' s advisors , earning him the distrust of both Vader and Emperor Palpatine . In the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth , where General Maximilian Veers ' s assault on Echo Base forced the Rebels into fleeing , Needa and the " Avenger " were charged with capturing Han Solo ' s YT - 1300 light freighter , the " Millennium Falcon " , and her crew . The " Falcon " outran the pursuing Star Destroyers and hid within the Hoth asteroid field , but the " Avenger " plunged into the field , intent on completing its assignment . The search proved to be hazardous as the warship sustained damage , and its gunners were forced to fire on the asteroids rather than remain alert for the elusive freighter . Nevertheless , when the " Falcon " emerged from the maelstrom , the " Avenger " was right behind the freighter . Before Needa could detain the craft , Solo charged the " Avenger " and landed on a blind spot on the aft of the destroyer ' s conning tower ; as a result , the destroyer ' s sensors could not find the vessel . Believing to have failed his mission , Needa went to the Star Dreadnought " Executor " to personally apologize to Vader . The Dark Lord of the Sith accepted his apology after making sure that the captain would never fail again . Two Imperial Navy trooper s then dragged Needa ' s lifeless body away . Biography . Republic Navy service . A Human male from Coruscant , Lorth Needa was a veteran command officer , having served in Strike Group Five of the Coruscant Home Fleet during the Clone Wars . In the Battle of Coruscant , in which the Confederacy of Independent Systems launched a surprise attack on the Republic capital of Coruscant , Lieutenant Commander Needa served as commanding officer of the " Carrack " - class cruiser " Integrity " , which was part of the Republic defenses . Needa trapped the " Providence " - class carrier / destroyer " Invisible Hand " as it was trying to escape , and demanded the surrender of its commander , the cyborg Separatist General Grievous . During this encounter , Needa did not believe the general ' s claims that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine , leader of the Republic , was aboard the " Invisible Hand " . The Republic commander told Grievous via hologram that he had ten minutes to prove his claim — if he could not , the ships of Strike Group Five would open fire on the Separatist flagship and destroy it . Grievous did not surrender , but the Supreme Chancellor was rescued by Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi - Wan Kenobi . The " Invisible Hand " was severely damaged by Republic fire , and while Grievous fled , the two Jedi began to pilot the remains of the " Hand " to crash - land on Coruscant . Needa watched , greatly impressed , as Skywalker skillfully maneuvered the ship into the capital world ' s atmosphere . The lieutenant commander informed Jedi Master Yoda via hologram of Kenobi and Skywalker ' s success ; he also told the diminutive Jedi to have the surface - defense systems stand down and a flight of emergency firespeeder s deployed to attempt to douse the fires on the " Hand " hull . Yoda thanked him for his valiant assistance during the battle , and as the Jedi ' s hologram faded away , Needa watched helplessly as the " Hand " continued to fall , doubting that Skywalker would be able to succeed . Though the battle had been won , he feared that should the Chancellor perish , the war would be lost . Nevertheless , Skywalker succeeded in his endeavor , and the Chancellor survived unharmed . Shortly thereafter , Palpatine declared himself Emperor and reformed the Republic into the first Galactic Empire , declaring the Jedi Order an enemy of the state . As part of the subsequent Imperialization , the Republic Navy was reorganized into the Imperial Navy . Two weeks into Palpatine ' s New Order , the Emperor and his Sith apprentice Darth Vader — formerly known as Anakin Skywalker — spoke before a gathering of naval officers and announced that they were all required to serve the navy in the unstable times that would follow the Clone Wars , and that any who dissented would be purged from the military . Captain of the " Avenger " . Needa continued to serve in the navy , eventually rising to the rank of captain . Fleet Admiral Kendal Ozzel , commander of the Star Dreadnought " Executor " and the Imperial Death Squadron , placed Needa in command of the " Imperial II " - class Star Destroyer " Avenger " , a position previously held by Captain Ferdas . The " Avenger " , having gone through many captains within its history , was noted to be an unlucky ship when it came to its commanders . As a member of Death Squadron — Vader ' s personal fleet — Needa aided in the mission to discover and destroy the Rebels ' hidden headquarters . While serving in the unit , Needa gained a reputation for efficiency in quelling uprisings in the Outer Rim Territories , and Admiral Ozzel assigned " Avenger " to the " point " position in Death Squadron . Needa became one of Ozzel ' s closest advisors . The Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance had increased in magnitude since the destruction of the Empire ' s planet - destroying Death Star I battlestation at Yavin Prime , and the Empire had become determined to find and destroy the Rebels ' new base of operations . To speed up this search , Admiral Ozzel often sent Needa and the " Avenger " off on missions independent from the rest of the Death Squadron to check on certain leads relating to the Rebels ' hidden command base . Regardless of Ozzel ' s trust in the " Avenger " captain , Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine felt quite different . The two Sith Lords distrusted Ozzel and all of his advisors , and Vader would execute any of them for the simplest of mistakes . Around 0 . 5 ABY , a group of Rebels trapped aboard the Star Destroyer " Desolator " , heading for the Rebel base on the planet Isis , managed to replace Isis ' s coordinates in the warship ' s navicomputer with those of the rogue star G - 138 . As a result of the sabotage , the " Desolator " collided with G - 138 and was destroyed . The Imperial News Bureau claimed the ship ' s destruction was the result of a hyperdrive malfunction , denying that there was any Rebel involvement . Needa was quoted in the Bureau ' s announcement , saying such thoughts of Rebel sabotage were " ludicrous . " As the hunt for the Rebels ' headquarters continued , Needa was responsible for sending out Viper probe droids to the Tokmia and Allyuen system s to aid in the search , in conjunction with the Star Destroyer " Stalker " . Ultimately , a probe droid launched from the " Stalker " discovered the existence of a theater shield generator on the ice world of Hoth . Though Admiral Ozzel was skeptical of the find , Darth Vader insisted that the generator marked the location of the Alliance ' s command base . The Sith Lord ordered Death Squadron into hyperspace with the sixth world of the Hoth system as their target . Battle of Hoth and the hunt for the " Millennium Falcon " . Before the Battle of Hoth could even commence , Ozzel died at Vader ' s hand for his mistake in bringing Death Squadron out of hyperspace too close to Hoth , a move that alerted the Rebels to the Imperials ' presence and allowed them to raise their shield and begin the evacuation of Echo Base . While the battle raged on between the Rebels and General Maximilian Veers ' s Blizzard Force of AT - ATs and AT - STs on the planet below , the fleet of Star Destroyers was charged with preventing the fleeing GR - 75 medium transports and other Rebel craft from escaping . Seventeen of the thirty GR - 75 transports were destroyed by the Imperial fleet , but destroyers such as Captain Xamuel Lennox ' s " Tyrant " were disabled by the Rebels ' planetary ion cannon . As the Imperials claimed victory , the YT - 1300 light freighter " Millennium Falcon " , piloted by the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co - pilot Chewbacca , escaped from Echo Base ' s main hangar with Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan aboard . Needa and the " Avenger " were charged with the pursuit and capture of the " Falcon " and its crew . The " Avenger " did just that , and the " Falcon " , with an inoperable hyperdrive , was unable to flee the system . However , Solo ' s light freighter outmaneuvered the Star Destroyer and nearly caused it to collide with another pursuing destroyer . After chasing the " Falcon " into the Hoth asteroid field , the " Avenger " lost track of the freighter when it sought shelter in a cave on one of the larger asteroids . Nevertheless , the destroyer ventured into the asteroid field at Vader ' s command . The " Avenger " suffered damage while it searched for the elusive " Falcon " , and the gunners stationed onboard were forced to focus their attention on incoming asteroids rather than looking out for the YT - 1300 freighter . While present during a holographic conference of twenty battleship commanders aboard the " Executor " , Needa informed the Dark Lord of the Sith that it had been some time since the " Millennium Falcon " had appeared on the " Avenger " sensors . Needa , his hologram faded and disrupted by static , noted that , given the amount of damage that the Imperial fleet had sustained due to asteroid collisions , the " Falcon " had to have been destroyed . However , Vader believed otherwise , and he was set on capturing the freighter regardless of the fleet ' s losses . Failure and death . The " Millennium Falcon " eventually reappeared after discovering that the alleged cave it had hidden in was in fact the mouth of a giant space slug . The " Avenger " managed to spot the freighter as it attempted its escape , and Needa had a priority signal sent to the " Executor " to inform Ozzel ' s replacement Admiral Firmus Piett that the " Falcon " was about to be captured . A link was established on the Star Dreadnought ' s bridge , allowing those assembled — including a group of bounty hunters that Vader had gathered to hunt down the " Falcon " and her crew — to listen to Needa as he gave orders during the pursuit . While the " Avenger " pursued the " Falcon " out of the asteroid field and into the neighboring Anoat system , the YT - 1300 moved into what Needa had assumed to be attack position . Rushing to the viewports , Needa watched with his horrified command crew as the " Falcon " charged the bridge , setting off alarms throughout the Imperial warship . Needa asked if their deflector shields were up before commenting that Solo must have been insane to attempt to ram the destroyer head - on . Needa and his crew dropped to the floor in terror , but Solo veered his ship up sharply , narrowly missing the Star Destroyer ' s bridge . As he rose from the deck , Needa ordered his crew to track the ship , wondering if they would attempt another pass . The " Avenger " logistics officer , Commander Nemet , reported that the " Falcon " had vanished from their sensors — unknown to the Imperials , Solo had cut his ship ' s power and landed on a blind spot on the conning tower of the " Avenger " . Needa dispelled the idea that the " Falcon " may have possessed a cloaking device , and the deck officer suggested that the freighter had simply gone into hyperspace . The captain , both angry and confused , wondered why they would have attempted such a daring maneuver only to flee the system . Flabbergasted , Needa wondered how the ship could have escaped him . Seconds later , communications officer M ' Kae reported that Vader demanded an update on the pursuit . Needa ordered his ship to rendezvous with the " Executor " so he could personally apologize for losing Vader ' s prey , believing that it was the honorable thing to do . However , he had the " Avenger " perform one last sensor sweep of the area for their elusive quarry — to no avail . Needa ordered a TIE / sh shuttle to be prepared for his visit to the " Executor " , departing the " Avenger " for the last time . Upon arriving , he immediately went to the Star Dreadnought ' s bridge , where the captain met with Vader . The captain apologized to the Sith Lord , but Vader lost his patience , calling the man inept for failing to capture a mere group of outlaws . Needa knew that Vader ' s anger — combined with his own failure — would lead to a certain death , so the captain begged for his life . But Vader noted that the Empire had no use for Needa ' s ineptness ; having finished berating the captain , Vader telekinetically throttled him to death as he had done to Kendal Ozzel earlier . Vader then formally accepted the man ' s apology , and Needa ' s body was dragged from the bridge by two Imperial Navy trooper s . Legacy . As a consequence of Lorth Needa ' s failure , members of the Needa family were purged from the Imperial military on Darth Vader ' s orders . His first cousin once removed , Virar , had been attending the Imperial Academy during the Battle of Hoth , and as he was not ambitious , he had been allowed to live . Many family members , from Virar ' s grandparents to cousins , however , were killed . Virar became the commander of one of Coruscant ' s orbital mirrors , OSETS 2711 . His subordinates , including Cadet Pedetsen , had suggested — without any concrete proof — that Lorth had failed in capturing the " Millennium Falcon " because he had sympathies to the Rebel Alliance . Pedetsen stated that Virar had been placed on OSETS 2711 because the Empire could not prove Lorth ' s alleged Rebel loyalties . Virar was even willing to believe this . Personality and traits . Lorth Needa was an efficient commander and could be ruthless at times , a trait he exhibited during the Battle of Coruscant , when he threatened to destroy the " Invisible Hand " should Grievous choose not to surrender . Later , as Skywalker maneuvered the crumbling " Hand " into Coruscant ' s atmosphere for a landing , Needa watched in both awe and terror , impressed with Skywalker ' s great skill but also fearing for the Chancellor ' s life . A disciplined officer , Needa stood expressionless as the events unfolded , but he still ached in fear , clenching his hands tightly . Though not religious , he asked the Force that should the remnants of the " Hand " explode , all aboard would be granted , at the very least , a quick death . Needa was an able leader , but both Vader and the Emperor harbored suspicions about him . The captain showed a degree of concern for both his crew and Vader ' s fleet when he suggested to the Dark Lord that they pull out of the asteroid field during the search for the " Millennium Falcon " , but Needa ' s failure in capturing Solo ' s freighter cemented , in Vader ' s mind , that the " Avenger " captain was inept . He had been overconfident in his pursuit of the " Millennium Falcon " from Hoth , and this factored into his execution by Vader . Needa had decided that personally apologizing to the Dark Lord was an honorable thing for a man in his position to do ; nevertheless , the captain begged for his life as Vader prepared to kill him . In addition to his native Basic , Needa was able to speak Ryl , the native language of the Twi ' leks of Ryloth . When it came to the policies of the New Order , Needa had taken specialized courses to further understand the many facets of Palpatine ' s doctrine . The captain also possessed a considerable knowledge of the workings of the Imperial Navy that he was in service to . Behind the scenes . Portrayal and name . Lorth Needa first appeared in the of 1980 ' s " " . Known only as " Captain Needa " in the film , he was portrayed by actor Michael Culver . In the radio adaptation of the film , Needa was voiced by Nicholas Kepros . Needa was not given a first name until 1996 ' s " " , when his first cousin once removed , Virar , revealed his first name to be " Lorth . " In " The Empire Strikes Back " , a blooper occurred after Vader executed Needa . When the Navy troopers begin to drag away his body , Culver visibly locked his legs in such a way as to help those portraying the Navy troopers to stand him up easier . Continuity issues . There is some uncertainty over the identity of the Star Destroyer that launches the probe droid that lands on Hoth . Both " " and " " designate the ship as the " Avenger " , presumably based on dialogue between Needa and a subordinate that was ultimately cut from the radio adaptation of " The Empire Strikes Back " . However , the Star Wars Customizable Card Game , the " Star Wars Encyclopedia " , and " " all identify the warship as the " Stalker " . In an attempt to clarify this issue , 2009 ' s " The Essential Atlas " states that the " Avenger " and the " Stalker " launched probe droids to the Allyuen , Tokmia , and Hoth systems — though it doesn ' t state which destroyer launched probes to which systems . This article assumes that the " Stalker " launched the probe droid that discovered Echo Base . In " " , Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon used reference photography of Needa ' s death for Admiral Ozzel ' s execution . In the novelization of " The Empire Strikes Back " , Needa and the " Avenger " take the place of Captain Xamuel Lennox and the " Tyrant " in the scene where the Rebels ' ion cannon fires on a Star Destroyer approaching Hoth . However , while the ship is merely disabled by the ion blasts in the film , the novelization describes the cannon fire hitting the destroyer ' s conning tower , setting off explosions that propel the out - of - control warship into the void . Regardless , Needa and the " Avenger " reappear in later scenes . " The Empire Strikes Back Storybook " offers an alternate interpretation of Needa ' s execution that comes into conflict with the dialogue featured in the radio adaptation . In this version , the captain merely states that the " Millennium Falcon " has escaped despite his best efforts , before being immediately executed by Darth Vader . The radio adaptation , on the other hand , presents a dialogue that occurs between the two men before Vader telekinetically kills Needa . This article assumes that the radio adaptation illustrates the correct version of the scene . Possible appearance . In the non - canon " " , when the " Falcon " and crew are escaping Hoth during the Imperial assault , Solo charges the bridge of a Star Destroyer , lands on its conning tower immediately afterward , and drifts away along with the garbage that the destroyer releases before jumping to hyperspace — a course of events practically identical to Solo ' s maneuver against the " Avenger " in the film . Neither the captain nor the destroyer are named in the comic .