Mutiny on the Rand Ecliptic / Legends The Mutiny on the " Rand Ecliptic " was an insurrection on board the " Imperial II " - class frigate the " Rand Ecliptic " . Derek Klivian was leading the mutiny on board the ship while Biggs Darklighter was trying to defect to the Rebel Alliance with his three friends flying TIE fighters . The mutiny was first suggested by Captain Heliesk of " Rand Ecliptic " to Klivian after their stop on Bestine IV , where they " arrested " local rebel cell led by Klivian ' s friend Lindy . Darklighter was not aware of Klivian ' s plan and when Klivian found him plotting his own defection , Darklighter was sure he was going to turn them in . Only after returning to the " Ecliptic " after their dangerous escape in TIE fighters Darklighter and his companions found out that he and Klivian had been on the same side . Background . Both main protagonists of the mutiny , Derek Klivian and Biggs Darklighter , were assigned to the " Rand Ecliptic " after their graduation from Prefsbelt Fleet Camp . In the academy they had participated in a group of friends dreaming about overthrowing the Empire . An informant sold out the other members of the group but Darklighter and Klivian were not discovered since they had not participated in the meeting in which the informant was present . This made Darklighter suspicious of Klivian , and when they graduated he hoped to get an assignment somewhere far away from his former friend . Against Darklighter ' s hopes he was assigned on board the same " Imperial II " - class frigate , " Rand Ecliptic " , with Klivian . Without each other ' s knowledge they both formed small rebel cells among the crew and made plans to defect to the Rebellion . In addition to the groups led by Darklighter and Klivian there were two other rebel cells that revealed themselves only after the mutiny started . During a stop in Bestine IV Klivian met his Rebel contact , Lindy , who was waiting his own contact , code - named " Starfire " , to show up . They were shocked when Captain Heliesk of the " Rand Ecliptic " arrived with a stormtrooper escort , but soon Klivian found out that the captain was the contact they had been waiting for , when the Captain dropped the code word " Starfire " into the conversation . Later Klivian met Heliesk in private , and the Captain revealed his identity as a rebel spy . He instructed Klivian to stage a mutiny to help him protect his cover and deliver their cargo of rubindum ore to the Rebels . Soon after their departure from Bestine , the " Rand Ecliptic " met a ship that identified itself as the " Lark " . TIE fighters were deployed and ordered to disable the suspected vessel so that the " Ecliptic " could interrogate the passengers . Against Darklighter ' s orders one of the pilots , Tars Nandy , fired a shot that destroyed the ship . Darklighter was not able to find out who did it , and Captain Heliesk ordered him to stop the investigation before Klivian revealed he had seen Nandy firing the shot . The apparent indifference from the Captain angered Darklighter who invited his rebel friends to a secret meeting to make sure they would not be forced to take part in another massacre . The mutiny . When Darklighter was on his way to the meeting he met Klivian in a passageway . Klivian noticed that Darklighter was doing something and walked past only to return and find out what was going on . He heard Darklighter and his three friends speaking inside a hidden compartment and making plans to defect . Darklighter noticed that someone was listening , and surprised Klivian with his companions . He threatened to kill Klivian and didn ' t listen when the other tried to explain his own connection to the Rebellion . Klivian detonated a concussion grenade which gave him a chance to escape . He started his own mutiny with the help from Lindy and others , while Darklighter and his companions allowed the effects of the grenade to wear off before disabling the " Ecliptic " . Darklighter and his friends did as much damage as they could to cover their escape and stole TIE fighters from the hangar . At the same time Klivian threatened to activate the ship ' s self - destruct to force the Imperial supporters to abandon the ship . He only kept Captain Heliesk and Nandy , who he wanted to punish for destroying the " Lark " . During the fighting two more rebel cells surfaced among the crew , giving Klivian some trouble figuring out who was the enemy and who was the ally . When Darklighter and his companions were running out of air and fuel in their fighters they saw no other choice but to return to the " Ecliptic " and steal the supplies they needed . They soon found out that the ship had changed allegiance during their absence , and Klivian was de - facto captain after leading the mutiny . Fighting had been hard and Klivian had lost his left arm and suffered other injuries as well . He claimed that Captain Heliesk had barricaded himself in his room and that he had captured the captain and forced him to reveal communication codes . Captain was still seen as a valuable spy because of his influential station in the Empire and the mutiny helped to protect his cover . After learning about the events on board the " Ecliptic " Darklighter decided not to make use of his higher military rank to take over the ship . He said that Klivian had earned the right to command the " Rand Ecliptic " , at least until Rebel Alliance would tell him otherwise , and that he was happy to continue to serve as the first mate . When they were preparing to jump to light speed they were tracked down by TIE fighters , and with a skeleton crew , were not fit to fight back . Darklighter suggested to turn the ship and drop part of the ore they were transporting to create a minor asteroid field that would halt the fighters . The plan worked , and they were free to escape to hyperspace . Aftermath . When they got to the Rebels on the " Rand Ecliptic " , Klivian got a prosthetic arm to replace the one he had lost during the battle . Their group of defectors was called " Ecliptic " Evaders and they were stationed on Yavin 4 . Later General Jan Dodonna used the " Rand Ecliptic " and a group of Evaders to steal X - wings from Incom Corporation ' s assembly facility . The mutineers didn ' t know that their actions had an unforeseen effect on their former tutor at the Prefsbelt Academy , Captain Soontir Fel . When two of his best students defected , ruined a group of TIE fighters along the way , and stole a brand new frigate , Fel fell to disgrace and was sent to the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing as a punishment . Later Klivian told a slightly altered version of the events to Luke Skywalker who was curious to hear stories about his late friend , Biggs Darklighter . Klivian told him that Darklighter had been working together with him to stage the mutiny and mentioned nothing about the estrangement that had followed the loss of their academy friends . Behind the scenes . The short story " Mutiny on the Rand Ecliptic " by Michael Stern tells a different story about the mutiny than the one presented in the " " story arc , " " . A cut scene from " " that was later used in the " A New Hope " radio dramatization , and Marvel " Star Wars # 1 " established that Biggs joined the Rebellion after the capture of the " Tantive IV " at the beginning of " Episode IV " . However , in it is stated that Biggs participated in stealing of the Death Star plans , which happened before the events on Tatooine . Years later , the comic story " Star Wars : Empire : Darklighter " revealed through Biggs had already joined the Rebellion , and kept the whole truth from Luke in that deleted scene to protect him .