Sarn Shild Sarn Shild was a Human male who served as the Moff of the Baxel sector and Hutt Space in the Outer Rim Territories prior to the Galactic Civil War . Shild made little attempt to enforce Imperial law in Hutt Space and often accepted " gifts " from powerful Hutts to ensure that he turned a blind eye toward the Hutt clans ' illegal activities . That all changed , however , in 3 BBY , when Emperor Palpatine ordered the Moffs to put an end to the trade in illegal weaponry in response to growing unrest among the populations of many worlds . Shild ordered Admiral Winstel Greelanx , the commander of his fleet , to lead an assault on the Y ' Toub system , home to the Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta . Shild intended to make an example by destroying Nal Hutta ' s " Smuggler ' s Moon , " Nar Shaddaa . The Hutt Grand Council made an unsuccessful attempt to bribe Shild to call off the attack and , when he refused , approached Greelanx instead . Greelanx had already received orders to make the attack fail as part of a plot to discredit Shild , and accepted the Hutts ' offer . At the Battle of Nar Shaddaa , a smuggler fleet under Mako Spince and Han Solo forced Greelanx to retreat , and Shild was recalled to the Imperial capital world of Coruscant to explain his failure . The Moff committed suicide rather than face the Emperor ' s wrath . Biography . After the rise of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY , the Empire divided the areas of the Outer Rim Territories bordering Hutt Space into sectors and appointed Moffs to govern them . Sarn Shild was appointed as Moff of the Baxel sector and was also given responsibility for Hutt Space itself . At his disposal was a discretionary fleet under the command of Admiral Winstel Greelanx . With the latest Imperial vessels serving in fleets closer to the Core Worlds , Shild ' s fleet was comprised of older ships and tasked with maintaining control of pirates and smugglers operating in the sector . Although Hutt Space was officially part of the Empire and subject to Imperial law , the Empire largely tolerated the innumerable illegal activities going on in Hutt Space . The Hutts remained firmly in control of their core space and retained considerable influence in the Rimward sectors by bribing most of the newly established Moffs . In exchange for turning a blind eye to the Hutts ' activities , Shild accepted a number of " political contributions " and " personal gifts " from powerful Hutt clans , which allowed him to live a life of luxury . Shild maintained several residences on different worlds , among them an opulent penthouse on the Imperial capital world of Coruscant . Shild ' s palatial headquarters on the Baxel sector ' s capital planet Teth was staffed by a number of organic and droid servants . In 3 BBY , Shild took the young woman Bria Tharen as his apparent mistress . In truth , Shild had no interest in Human women and required Tharen purely as a show object to impress other Imperial officers . Tharen shared Shild ' s home , organizing his household staff and acting as a confidant for the Moff . However , unbeknown to Shild , Tharen was an undercover agent who was gathering intelligence for the Corellian resistance . Shortly after an uprising on Rampa II killed a number of Imperial troops before the Empire routed and captured the rebels , Shild traveled to Coruscant with Tharen to attend a conference on law and order . In response to the latest uprising , Emperor Palpatine ordered the Moffs to crack down on the trade in illegal weaponry in their sectors to further strengthen Imperial authority . In a formal press conference , Shild announced his intention to cut off the supply of illegal weapons and drugs from Hutt Space and called on all loyal subjects in his sector to support him . In an effort to dissuade Shild from taking action against them , the Hutts Jiliac Desilijic Tiron and Jabba Desilijic Tiure of the Desilijic clan recruited the smuggler Han Solo , a former lover of Tharen ' s , to deliver a message and a selection of gifts from the Hutt Grand Council to the Moff on Coruscant . Shild agreed to meet with Solo at his penthouse , but refused the bribe , making it clear that he was no longer able to cover for the Hutts . Although he was willing to spare the Hutt homeworld , Nal Hutta , in exchange for the Hutts ' cooperation and the cessation of their criminal activities , Shild informed Solo that he intended to make an example of Nal Hutta ' s moon , Nar Shaddaa , which was known as the " Smuggler ' s Moon " due to the high levels of smuggler activity there . As Shild brought the meeting to a close , Tharen entered the room , leading to a brief reunion between her and Solo . Although Solo was devastated to see Tharen as Shild ' s " mistress , " neither he nor Tharen revealed their former relationship to the Moff . From Coruscant , Shild and Tharen traveled to the gambling planetoid Velga Prime before returning to Teth . Shild summoned Greelanx to his office and ordered him to recall the fleet to Teth to begin preparations for an attack on the Y ' Toub system . Although Shild wanted to avoid completely debilitating the Hutts — and had been instructed by Palpatine to spare the Besadii clan , a supplier of slaves to the Empire — the Moff was not content to simply put an end to smuggling operations out of Nar Shaddaa and ordered Greelanx to carry out a Base Delta Zero against the moon , the complete destruction of all life . However , when Shild and Tharen joined a small group of high - ranking officials gathered to watch the departure of Greelanx ' s fleet for the Y ' Toub system about one week later , the Moff confided to Tharen that his actions were not motivated purely by carrying out the Emperor ' s wishes . Once the Hutts were brought firmly under his control , Shild intended to use their wealth to augment his own military forces ; with the Emperor ' s attention focused elsewhere , Shild saw the opportunity to grow his own power in the Outer Rim and entertained the thought of seceding from the Empire . Unbeknown to Shild , however , less than a day after he ordered Greelanx to gather the fleet , the admiral had received a private message from the Moff ' s superiors on Coruscant instructing him to ensure that the mission was a failure . Having failed in their attempt to bribe Shild , the Hutts approached Greelanx and he agreed to sell them his battle plan , seeing the opportunity to engineer his own defeat . Armed with Greelanx ' s plans , a group of smugglers led by Solo and Mako Spince assembled a fleet to defend Nar Shaddaa . The Battle of Nar Shaddaa resulted in the loss of several vessels in Shild ' s fleet before Greelanx ordered a withdrawal . Greelanx was found dead soon after the battle , and Shild was summoned back to Coruscant to face a board of inquiry about the failed attack . Rather than face the wrath of the Emperor , Shild elected to take his own life in his home on Teth . Shild ' s suicide became major news , and the Moff ' s memorial service was broadcast throughout the Empire . Tharen later suspected that the whole situation had been engineered by Palpatine to discredit Shild and eliminate a potential rival . Shild was succeeded as Moff of the Braxel sector by Moff Yref Orgege . Personality and traits . Sarn Shild was a tall , thin Human male with pale skin , oiled black hair and a thin , pointy mustache , who wore a black krayt dragon pearl in one earlobe . Shild was a popular politician and a capable public speaker , but he was also arrogant , ambitious and corrupt . During his time as Moff of Hutt Space , Shild protected the Hutts from close Imperial scrutiny in exchange for numerous bribes from powerful Hutts , which allowed him to live a life of luxury . Shild ' s sexual tastes did not extend to Human women , a fact which he attempted to keep hidden from others by recruiting Bria Tharen to pose as his mistress . Shild always treated Tharen well , and the Moff would frequently confide in her . However , Shild ' s pridefulness would not allow him to listen to her opinion . After Emperor Palpatine ordered Shild to end the supply of illegal weapons and drugs coming from Hutt Space , Tharen noticed a change in his personality . Shild began openly speaking about his intentions to use the Hutts ' wealth to bolster his own power and his desire to break the Outer Rim Territories away from the Empire and even overthrow the Emperor . After the defeat of his fleet at the Battle of Nar Shaddaa , Shild realized that the attack had been a mistake , and could not remember why he had ordered it , as if he had been possessed . Tharen later theorized that the Emperor , seeing Shild ' s ambition and popularity as a threat , had used the Force to manipulate Shild into bringing about his own downfall . When faced with death at the Emperor ' s hands for his failure , Shild opted to take his own life . Behind the scenes . Sarn Shild was created by author A . C . Crispin for the 1997 novel " The Hutt Gambit " , the second in a trilogy of novels about Han Solo . Shild died during the events of " The Hutt Gambit " but is mentioned in the third book in the series , " Rebel Dawn " ( 1998 ) , as well as in James Luceno ' s 2000 novel " " . Shild also received entries in " A Guide to the Star Wars Universe " , Third Edition ( 2000 ) and " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " ( 2008 ) . Although " Rebel Dawn " confirms that Shild committed suicide , " The Hutt Gambit " leaves it ambiguous whether Shild took his life with a blaster bolt or by ingesting poison .