RK - 242 RK - 242 was an Imperial stormtrooper who was stationed on Jakku shortly before the Battle of Jakku . He was among the Imperial remnants forces that had relocated to the barren desert world under the orders of Counselor to the Empire Gallius Rax . The harsh conditions affected RK - 242 and he voiced the opinion that he did not want to be on Jakku anymore . As punishment , he was beaten up by Sergeant Rylon and his fellow stormtroopers . The altercation was intercepted on radio by Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and the former rebel operative Brentin Lore Wexley . The two found a battered and brutalized RK - 242 and comforted him . Sloane reassured him that she had come to restore order and told him not to tell anyone of their meeting . While he was putting on his helmet , Sloane shot him dead to conceal their presence . When Brentin objected , Sloane countered that they could not help him . Biography . RK - 242 was a stormtrooper who lived during the Age of the Empire . Following the attack on Chandrila , RK - 242 and his unit were part of Gallius Rax ' s Imperial forces which relocated to the planet Jakku . Rax claimed that the desert planet ' s harsh conditions would sharpen the Imperial forces into a fiercer and more cruel fighting force . In truth , Rax had brought the Imperial forces to Jakku in order to destroy them along with the planet as part of the late Emperor ' s Contingency plan . The Emperor had no intention of letting his Empire survive following his death and had tasked Rax with executing the Contingency . As the months wore on , RK - 242 came to question why he and his comrades were on Jakku . He voiced these concerns to his commanding officer Sergeant Rylon and asked if there was any work anywhere in the galaxy that he could be doing . For questioning Rax ' s orders , RK - 242 was dragged out into the desert , stripped of his armor , and beaten up by Rylon and his fellow comrades . RK - 242 survived the beating but was brutalized and left in a fetal position . RK - 242 ' s conversation and the beating were intercepted by the former Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and the rebel operative Brentin Lore Wexley , who had built a crude listening device . Several days later , Sloane decided to visit RK - 242 to find out about Rax ' s activities . RK - 242 was grateful to meet Sloane and listed as she explained that Rax had committed a coup and stolen the Empire from her . RK - 242 accepted Sloane ' s explanation that Rax was going to destroy them . While RK - 242 knew nothing about the Valley of the Eremite and the Plaintive Hand plateau , he told her that Rax regarded Jakku as a " place of purification " for the Empire . Rax also agreed with Sloane ' s view that Rax needed to be overthrown before he could do any more damage . RK - 242 also mentioned that Rax had built a new Imperial base beyond the Goazon Badlands . When Sloane questioned him again about the Plaintive Hand , RK - 242 told her that he had hear rumors of an old weapons facility hidden beneath the sands . After the trooper had told her everything he knew , Sloane thanked him and told RK - 242 to put on his stormtrooper armor and not to speak of their meeting with anyone else . While RK - 242 turned to pick up his helmet , she shot in the back of the head . When Sloane ' s companion Brentin said that they could have helped him , Sloane responded that he could not be helped . She had already decided that she would be unable to save her Empire from Rax ' s machinations . Personality and traits . RK - 242 was a loyal stormtrooper whose loyalty was tested by Counselor Gallius Rax ' s decision to relocate the Empire to Jakku . For questioning Rax ' s orders , he was brutally beaten up by his fellow stromtroopers . RK - 242 was traumatized by the incident and his spirit was broken . RK - 242 had a deep sense of respect for Rae Sloane and came to accept her explanation that Rax posed a threat to the survival of the Galactic Empire . While Sloane took pity on him , she believed that he was beyond help and killed him in order to put him out of his misery . Brentin disagreed and believed that they could have helped him . Behind the scenes . RK - 242 first appeared as a minor character in Chuck Wendig ' s " " , the third installment of " " which was released on February 21 , 2017 .