Ames Bunkle Ames Bunkle , who later went by his Imperial operating number DX - 578 , was a male human who lived with his parent s on the planet Lothal . When Bunkle was sixteen he enrolled in the Academy for Young Imperials on Lothal , where he ended up specializing in stormtrooper training . The process drastically changed Bunkle ' s personality , breaking him down and then rebuilding him as a loyal but near - emotionless servant of the Empire . Bunkle graduated into a full fledged trooper , and took part in the arrest of a group of Lothal dissidents who had bombed Imperial mining operations on Lothal . Biography . Ames Bunkle was a male human who lived on the planet Lothal under the reign of the Galactic Empire . Born around 22 years before the Battle of Yavin , Bunkle ' s parent s , Pari Bunkle and her partner , were researchers in the Empire ' s Ministry of Agriculture . Bunkle studied at the Junior Academy of Applied Sciences during his childhood , where he set the record for number of carries in the game of grav - ball while playing against the Forked River team in summer at the age of fifteen . After graduating the Junior Academy , he applied to , and was accepted into Lothal ' s Academy for Young Imperials during the spring alongside Dhara Leonis , a girl of the same age who lived with her family in an apartment two floors above Bunkle ' s home . A year after setting his grav - ball record , Bunkle attended a party held by Leonis ' s parents , Leo Leonis and Tepha Leonis , although his own parents could not make it as they were on assignment . At the party , Bunkle stood alone on the apartment ' s balcony until he was approached by Dhara ' s brother Zare Leonis . The pair discussed Bunkle ' s apprehension about attending the academy , and how it was a shame they had been at the Junior Academy at different times , given Zare was also grav - ball enthusiast . A patrol of TIE / ln space superiority starfighter s then passed the apartment and drew the boys ' attention , causing them to discuss the starfighter s engine s . The conversation was joined by Lieutenant Piers Roddance , another guest at the party and an Imperial officer . The discussion moved on to the Empire ' s All Terrain Defense Pod s , before Zare spotted Governor Arihnda Pryce amongst the other guests and bought Bunkle over to speak to her . Pryce was with the other members of the Leonis family , and Leo gave a speech about the pride he felt in sending his daughter to the academy , before Dhara introduced Bunkle to the Governor and then left them to talk . Bunkle enrolled in the academy in the fall and specialized in ground tactics after initiation , while Dhara took mostly officer training classes , meaning the pair did not see each other much outside of shared assignments . After starting at the Junior Academy , Zare questioned his sister about Bunkle ' s well being during a call and asked her to say hello for him . Bunkle was chosen later that year to specialize in stormtrooper basic training , an intense course during which he was not allowed contact or communications with his parents . Around half way through Bunkle ' s training , his mother Pari fell ill , and the cadet was given two days leave to visit her . While out in the rain on the way home , Bunkle encountered Zare Leonis also on his way home . The pair spoke briefly , and Zare was shocked by the drastic change training had brought about in Bunkle ' s personality . He later spoke to his sister about the changes , which she claimed would only be temporary . Before Bunkle finished his first year at the academy , Dhara went missing and was assumed to have run away . The cadet then finished his training and became a full fledged stormtrooper . In the summer following the graduation , DX - 578 was one of several troopers who traveled in an Imperial Troop Transport to a marketplace in Capital City . There they searched through the stalls and marched into a shuttered shop , where they found and arrested three dissidents responsible for the bombing of nearby Imperial mining operations . One of the dissidents was Beck Ollet , an old classmate of Zare Leonis , and as DX - 578 and the other troopers brought the dissidents to the transport to be taken away , Zare watched from amongst the crowds of shoppers . Behind the scenes . Ames Bunkle was created by Jason Fry for his novel " " , which was released in 2014 .