Bolvan / Legends Bolvan was a Human male captain of the Imperial Navy during the Imperial Period . He captained the Imperial Star Destroyer " Devastator " under the command of the Dark Lord Darth Vader . In 7 BBY , when an Imperial - produced bacterial plague began to spread out of control on Falleen , Bolvan suggested the sterilization of the planet , but Vader ordered an orbital bombardment of the world instead . Later , in 0 BBY , while serving as gunnery captain , Bolvan participated in the " Devastator " capture of the Rebel CR90 corvette " Tantive IV " , during which Chief Gunnery Officer Hija spotted an escape pod fleeing from the impounded Rebel vessel . However , Bolvan ordered him not to fire on the pod because the " Devastator " gunnery sensors detected no lifeforms aboard . Biography . Falleen bombardment . The Human male Bolvan was a member of the Galactic Empire ' s navy during the Imperial Period . By 7 BBY , he captained the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyer " Devastator " , commanded by the Dark Lord Darth Vader . In that year , the Star Destroyer arrived at the planet Falleen as part of Vader ' s exploration tour visiting Imperial weapon development projects . Bolvan informed Vader of an accident in a biological research facility and the following spread of a flesh - eating bacterium across Falleen ' s surface . The Captain passed his datapad to Vader , showing him projections that were based on information salvaged from the laboratory and predicted the devastation of the whole planet in a short time . Bolvan suggested requisitioning the ordnance from Project X271 and incinerating the plague from orbit , but Vader disagreed , because he did not wish to wipe out the entire Falleen species . Instead , Vader ordered an orbital bombardment of the surface to halt any further spread of the leaking bioweapon . Chief Gunnery Officer Lieutenant Hija was responsible for firing the turbolaser bombardment from the " Devastator " that destroyed the weapons facility and everything within forty kilometers to cover up the mishap . Among the 200 , 000 Falleen casualties in the ensuing destruction was the family of Prince Xizor , who later led the Black Sun criminal organization . Capture of the " Tantive IV " . In 0 BBY , during the Galactic Civil War , Bolvan still served on the " Devastator " . However , by this time , Captain Mulchive Wermis had assumed the position of the " Devastator " commanding officer , and Bolvan was in charge of the main weaponry as gunnery captain . In that year , after Rebel agents transmitted stolen plans of the first Death Star to the Rebel CR90 corvette " Tantive IV " , Senator Leia Organa ' s consular ship , the " Devastator " pursued and captured the Rebel vessel over the planet Tatooine . Bolvan was listening to the reports on the proceedings aboard the captured Rebel vessel as the last pockets of resistance were dealt with . Several escape pods had been jettisoned from the " Tantive IV " during the battle , and , spotting another one , Lieutenant Hija called Bolvan for instructions . Hija spotted the pod that , unbeknownst to the Imperials , contained the Rebel droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 , the latter of whom carried the stolen Death Star plans in his memory banks . However , since the " Devastator " gunnery sensors detected no lifeforms within the escape pod , Bolvan believed the pod ' s release mechanism must have short - circuited or received a false instruction . So , Bolvan ordered Hija to hold his fire in order to conserve power , allowing the droids to escape . Bolvan then returned to the reports listing the captured men and material coming from the Rebel ship . Personality and traits . As a captain during the incident on Falleen , Bolvan was thorough and merciless in his desire to incinerate the plague from orbit , even at the cost of genocide , contrary to Darth Vader ' s final orders . He approached Vader , his superior , gingerly during the Falleen incident , pleading in opposition to the Sith Lord , who warned him to learn to offer his counsel at a more appropriate time . By 0 BBY , Bolvan served the Empire in a lower commission as gunnery captain . He was less thorough in dealing with the escape pod fleeing the " Tantive IV " , however . Bolvan relaxed considerably at his post once the " Tantive IV " was secured and listened with pleasure and satisfaction to the reports from the Rebel ship . He was confident in the firepower and total control of his command , and read the sensor data of the escaping pods casually . The gunnery crews of the " Devastator " had a surprising amount of autonomy , and Bolvan ' s poor judgment in ordering Lieutenant Hija not to open fire on a pod that showed no signs of housing lifeforms in exchange for sparing energy effectively allowed the droid R2 - D2 to escape with the Death Star plans . Bolvan chose to wear the prominent sideburns that were popular among Imperial officers around the time of the Battle of Yavin . Behind the scenes . Bolvan first appeared in the December 1976 of , ghost - written by Alan Dean Foster . Although not credited in the film , he was portrayed by John Forgeham , according to the fan site Planet Dagobah . The revised fourth draft script of " A New Hope " , as well as the film ' s novelization , refers to Bolvan as " Captain " in relation to the " Devastator " . However , the 1979 " Marvel Star Wars " comic " " identified the captain of Vader ' s Star Destroyer as Mulchive Wermis . West End Games ' " Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook " in 1996 named Bolvan the captain of the " Devastator " . In 2007 , the fourth chapter of the StarWars . com Visual Guides feature first identified Bolvan as the black - uniformed officer from " A New Hope " who orders Hija not to fire on the escape pod and Wermis as the captain of the " Devastator " . Finally , in 2008 , " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , in order to solve the issue of two captains on the same ship , established Bolvan as the ship ' s gunnery captain .