Evacuation of Ivarujar Seven months after the Battle of Yavin , the Imperial Star Destroyer " Devastator " undertook an evacuation of the Imperial garrisons on Ivarujar , a planet that had undergone a massive volcanic eruption . Lieutenant Commander Ciena Ree was charged with evacuating a local stormtrooper garrison in the capital city . After rescuing the stormtroopers , she managed to evacuate forty civilians before the city was completely overrun by lava . Ciena ' s troop transport barely managed to escape the firestorm and reached the " Devastator " . While Ciena ' s humanitarian gesture won her the respect of the Ivarujarians , she was reprimanded and disciplined by the Imperial Security Bureau Captain Ronnadam for not consulting her superiors about the civilian rescue . Prelude . During the Age of the Empire , the Galactic Empire maintained several garrisons on the planet Ivarujar . Seven months after the Battle of Yavin , a massive volcanic eruption devastated the planet , endangering many civilians and threatening the lives and safety of the Imperial stormtrooper s stationed on Ivarujar . This eruption was predicted to cover the planet in smoke and ash for years to come . As the closest Imperial Navy ship in that sector , the Imperial Star Destroyer " Devastator " dispatched several troop transport s to evacuate the Imperial garrisons on Ivarujar . The garrisons were trapped on the planet since the original eruption had badly damaged their vessels . The evacuation . Lieutenant Commander Ciena Ree , a recent graduate of the Royal Imperial Academy , was charged with commanding the transport flying closest to the volcano itself . By the time she arrived , the capital city was completely engulfed in lava . Ree ' s stormtrooper pilot spotted several stormtroopers standing on top of a nearby building , waiting to be evacuated . While the pilot double - checked his instruments , Ciena took control of the helm and instructed the pilot to carry the injured men onto the craft . Ciena then flew the transport through the lava - covered streets before parking on the roof of the garrison . Despite the ash and smoke , the stormtroopers at the Ivarujarian capital stood in formation and refused to break protocol . After evacuating them , Ciena witnesses a group of Ivarujarian civilians huddled onto the roof of another building . She deduced that these civilians had failed to make it to their civilian transports in time or had been excluded due to insufficient space . Ciena then ordered her pilot to fly the transport to the building and told the other troops to make room for more passengers . While Ciena had not been given orders to evacuate civilians , she was unable to ignore her conscience . In spite of the deteriorating atmosphere conditions , Ree managed to land the transport on the corner of a building . Many of the civilians were coughing since they lacked helmets and ventilation masks . Ciena exited the cockpit to help the stormtroopers evacuate the civilians . Leading by example , She lifted a small boy into the shuttle before turning to help the father as well . Ciena ' s subordinates followed suit and they succeeded in rescuing forty civilians . However , the extra weight made it difficult to fly the vessel . With the pilot unwilling to fly the transport , Ciena took control of the ship again . Taking the ship ' s engine s to full power , Ciena managed to narrowly avoid an approaching firestorm . With much difficulty , she managed to flee Ivarujar and land safely in the hangar bay of the " Devastator " . Ciena ' s brave and selfless actions earned her the cheers of the rescued passengers , both stormtroopers and civilians . Much of Ivarujar ' s capital was destroyed during the inferno including the Imperial garrison there . Aftermath . While Ciena ' s actions earned her the praise of the rescued stormtroopers and civilians , her Imperial Security Bureau superior Captain Ronnadam was displeased that she had disobeyed Imperial orders by rescuing civilians . When Ciena pointed out her orders had not explicitly forbidden her from doing so , Romnadam accused her of looking for loopholes . When Ciena responded that she was reacting instinctively and saw no obstacle to doing so , Ronnadam scolded her for failing to consult her superior officer s . Realizing that it was no point arguing , Ciena apologized for her mistake in not clearing her mission before undertaking it . Ronnadam accepted her remorse and ordered her to do five weeks of double - duty shifts as punishment . He warned Ciena that the Empire would not be so lenient next time . Ciena accepted her punishment and vowed not to repeat her mistake . While Ciena was angry that they had reprimanded her for saving lives , she realized that Ronnadam had only punished her for subverting the chain of command . She reasoned that the Empire would not object to evacuating civilians if she had consulted her superior officers . Following the Irajuvarian evacuation , Ciena was later promoted to Commander before becoming Captain of the Star Destroyer " Inflictor " . Behind the scenes . The evacuation of Ivarujar , as well as Ivarujar itself , first appeared in Claudia Gray ' s 2015 debut Star Wars novel " Lost Stars " . The events is told from the viewpoint of Ciena Ree , one of the novel ' s two protagonists .