Ambush in the Howling Ruins During the Vaklin insurgency on the planet Vaklin , insurgent forces ambushed a patrol being carried out by the Galactic Empire . The ambush took place in the Howling Ruins , where the insurgent forces , lead by the Jedi Master Cho ' na Bene , reigned down fire on the Imperials , lead by Sith Lord Darth Vader as they passed through . Both sides sustained heavy casualties in the following clash , although both commanders survived to fight again . After Bene revealed himself to Vader and the fell back into nearby caverns , the surviving Imperials retreated too instead of following him . Prelude . In the year 19 BBY , shortly after the end of the Clone Wars , an insurgency against the Galactic Empire arose on the planet Vaklin . The Vaklin insurgency was instigated by three members of the Jedi Order , which had been betrayed and almost entirely destroyed by the Empire as a part of Order 66 . As part of the Great Jedi Purge , the Sith Lord Darth Vader himself traveled to Valkin to fight the insurgents and soon killed one of the Jedi and imprisoned another . After the capture of the second Jedi , the insurgents harassed the Imperials for 12 days , lead by the final Jedi , Cho ' na Bene . On the twelfth day , at approximatley 0700 hours local time , Vader lead a patrol out of the Imperial command center in the city of Vaklin Zenith , with the intention of killing or arresting Bene . The patrol included two enforcer squads of 501st Legion clone troopers , a TX - 130 Fighter Tank and at least one 74 - Z speeder bike , and was lead , beside Vader , by a Clone trooper commander . The group entered the Howling Ruins at approximately 0930 hours local time , at which point some of the clone troopers , including CT - 3632 , were preforming a perimeter sweep ahead of the group . Those preforming the sweep found no activity in the area , and 3632 reported this back to CT - 3636 , who ordered him to change the perimeter distance and continue looking . Despite this report , forces of the Vaklin insurgency including Bene , were in fact hidden through out the ruins , laying in wait for the Imperials . The battle . At approximately 0930 hours local time , just as the Imperial patrol entered the Howling Ruins , the insurgents opened fire on them from above . Shooting from within the ruins , the insurgents killed several clones including CT - 3636 , although Vader defended others using his Lightsaber . Bene , who was hidden nearby in the ruins , waited until Vader was pinned down by an explosion and then sprung forth in to action , killing two troopers aiming to help the Sith . The insurgents then maintained fire on Vader , keeping his attention , whilst the Jedi destroyed the Imperial ' s speeder bike and hover tank . The tank ' s destruction acted as a signal to the insurgents in the ruins to retreat , throwing pyro grenade s as they did to provide cover . Vader killed several of the insurgents as they attempted to escape by preventing one grenade from being thrown before it exploded . Bene then confronted Vader and complimented him before offering him peace , after which he immediately retreated into a nearby set of caverns , hoping to draw Vader and his men in after him . Aftermath . As Bene withdrew the clone commander informed Vader that twelve troopers had been killed in total , but that the survives could still give pursuit of the Jedi . The Sith saw Bene ' s intention though , and at approximatley 0100 hours local time , ordered a retreat , knowing that pursuing the Jedi further from the city into the hazardous caverns would be deadly for the Imperials to attempt . The Imperials fell back as ordered back to the command center , where they were later attacked by the insurgents , in the hope of freeing the Jedi prisoner kept there . The details of the ambush were later recorded by Major Oniye Namada of the Imperial Security Bureau in a report titled I - 1807 - VAK . Behind the scenes . The ambush first appeared in 2012 in " " , a comic book in the " " series . The comic was written by Alexander Freed and pencilled by Marco Castiello and Andrea Chella .