Erv Lekauf Erv Lekauf was a lieutenant in the Imperial Army who served as Darth Vader ' s personal aide for several years . On a mission to Vohai in 19 BBY , Lekauf helped Vader fight the Emperor ' s Hand Sa Cuis , impressing the Dark Lord with his courage and loyalty . Vader had him cloned as part of a new Imperial project , and Lekauf took over the training of the six clones made of him . On a trip back to Coruscant in 18 BBY following the completion of the cloning program , Lekauf and his clones helped defeat the rogue Emperor ' s Hand Sheyvan and six Force - sensitive clones of Sa Cuis . Though Lekauf was badly burned during this fight , he survived . Following the completion of his career with the Empire , Erv Lekauf helped raise his grandson Jori Lekauf , who would serve in the Galactic Alliance Guard several decades later . Biography . Early career . A Human male , Erv Lekauf was a lieutenant in the Imperial Army . In addition to his Imperial career , Lekauf was married and had a child . He was the aide of Darth Vader , and one of his few trusted subordinates . In 19 BBY , Lekauf accompanied Vader on a mission to Vohai . Vader was intent on speaking with the head of Arkanian Microtechnologies , hoping to find new cloning technologies . When the two arrived there , they were ambushed by several assassins with Thunderbolt repeating blasters . Vader easily defeated the assassins , with the aid of Lekauf , who defied Vader ' s orders by shooting at the assassins in an attempt to help the Dark Lord . Though Lekauf had disobeyed him , Vader was not upset . Instead , he was pleasantly surprised that Lekauf would go so far as to ignore his orders to protect him , noting that he rarely saw such loyalty from any of his subordinates . As a result of the assassination attempt , Vader ordered the execution of the head of the company , Tef Shabiak , claiming Shabiak needed to ensure that he had better security . Later , Vader was attacked by a strange man wielding two lightsabers , who introduced himself as Sa Cuis . Vader realized that he was an Emperor ' s Hand , and believed that his Master , Emperor Palpatine , had sent Cuis to kill him . Though Lekauf attempted to help his master , Vader held him back , knowing this was his mission alone . Vader dueled Cuis , overpowering him into submission , demanding that Cuis tell him who had sent him . In his interrogation of Cuis , Vader Force choked him , hoping to learn his motive . However , Cuis still would not reveal his master , although Vader felt sure it was Palpatine . Impressed with Cuis ' s loyalty , he had tissue samples of the Emperor ' s Hand taken before he killed him . These samples would be grown into six clones of Sa Cuis . Vader was also pleased with Lekauf ; the courage he had shown , as well as a firm willingness to protect his master , impressed Vader so much that he ordered that clones be made of his aide as well . Lekauf felt honored by this request . Assistant to the Dark Lord . In 18 BBY , over six months after the inauguration of the Empire , Vader had Lekauf investigate records from the Clone Wars , seeking to learn more about the Jedi and the success rate of Order 66 , in which clone troopers had turned against their Jedi Generals under Supreme Chancellor Palpatine ' s orders . When Lekauf discovered the report from Felucia , he found that the 327th Star Corps had executed two Jedi to apparently stop them from poisoning the planet ' s water . Vader questioned Lekauf as to whether any Padawans were listed as being stationed there . When Lekauf told him that there were no records of a Padawan on Felucia , the Dark Lord had his aide find clone troopers who had served on the world . Lekauf located two troopers : CC - 5052 and CT - 6734 , now on Yutusk . Vader then contacted them , enlisting them in his hunt for the fugitive Jedi Drake Lo ' gaan — a Jedi who was on the planet during the Battle of Felucia — whom Vader had been searching for earlier . A year after the mission to Vohai , when the first six clones of him were old enough , Lekauf traveled to Yinchorr , where he spent the next six months training them . One of the things he taught them was the art of sword combat , something they practiced against the Cuis clones , who had been trained by the Emperor ' s Hand Sheyvan . Due to their Force - sensitivity , the Cuis duplicates usually won in training combat , although that did not discourage Lekauf . The Emperor came to view the progress , watching Lekauf teach his clones . After several months , Palpatine concluded that the training was complete , and decided to head back to Coruscant with Vader , Sheyvan and the clones . Eager to get back to his family , Lekauf was allowed to come too . While aboard a " Lambda " - class shuttle headed back to Imperial Center , Lekauf and his clones were forced to battle Sheyvan and the six duplicates of Sa Cuis . The Cuis clones , led by the dissident Sheyvan , had rebelled against Palpatine and Vader and taken control of the ship . Though Sheyvan attempted to turn Vader against Palpatine , whom he saw as a traitor , the Dark Lord took the fight to the rebels . Armed with flamethrowers , Lekauf and his clones burst into the cockpit and fought the Cuis copies alongside Vader . During the fight , Lekauf was badly burned by a ball of fire deflected by one of the Cuis clones with a lightsaber . The flame was aimed at Vader , and the lieutenant threw himself in front his master in act of extreme dedication . Though Sheyvan and the six Cuis replicas were killed , Lekauf was badly wounded . He did survive , however , thanks to Vader who comforted Lekauf and called for the pilot , Pepin , to retrieve bacta patch es . Once on Coruscant , Lekauf underwent bacta treatments . Despite his burns , he survived to see his family . Impressed with Lekauf , Palpatine planned to have more clones made of him . After this incident , Lekauf lived his life with his family , helping to raise his grandson , Jori Lekauf . By 40 ABY , Lekauf had passed away . That same year , his grandson Jori became a corporal in the Galactic Alliance Guard . Jori once recounted to fellow Guards Ben Skywalker and Jacen Solo that his grandfather had thought very highly of Darth Vader , also informing Solo that Lekauf had essentially raised him , and that he looked up to his grandfather more so than he looked up to his parents . Personality and traits . Lekauf was extremely loyal , to both Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire . He risked his life in multiple instances to defend his master , who admired this loyalty and rewarded Lekauf for it . As a result , Lekauf grew even more willing to defend Vader . Lekauf was also brave , as shown by his actions in the fights on Vohai and aboard the shuttle . He was able to see the good in Vader , even admiring him . Lekauf was proud of the fact that he had been chosen as a possible cloning template , and he worked hard to teach his clones , striving for perfection . Lekauf especially loved his family and cared for them , particularly his grandson Jori , on whom he had a strong influence . Jori believed that his grandfather had raised him . Behind the scenes . Erv Lekauf was created by Karen Traviss and was named after Ryan Kaufman . Lekauf ' s mutilation was partially a " retaliation " for Kaufman killing off the Jedi Master Traavis ( named for Traviss ) in the short story " Orders " . Lekauf first appeared in the Traviss short story " In His Image " , where he served as Darth Vader ' s aide , someone whom Vader evidently cared for . He later appeared in " " and " A Two - Edged Sword " , again as the Dark Lord ' s adjutant . His grandson Jori was introduced in the " Legacy of the Force " series , in which he identifies Lekauf as having a strong influence on him .