Duel on Socorro In 137 ABY , a duel between the Sith Hand Darth Talon and the Imperial Knight Elke Vetter took place in a courtyard of the planet Socorro ' s Imperial Mission temple . Vetter had been traveling with Princess Marasiah Fel of the Empire - in - exile on a quest to see who among Darth Krayt ' s Galactic Empire were still loyal to Marasiah ' s father , exiled Emperor Roan Fel , and they were welcomed into the temple by Imperial Mission ary Astraal Vao . When that news reached the Sith Lord Darth Krayt , he dispatched Talon to Socorro in order to send Marasiah fleeing , which he hoped would in turn lead his One Sith to her father . After setting the temple on fire , Talon dueled Vetter as Marasiah and Vao escaped , and she defeated her opponent by cutting off the Imperial Knight ' s left hand and stabbing her in the thigh with her lightsaber . Talon then used the Force to extract Marasiah ' s destination from Vetter ' s mind and killed her foe with Force lightning . Prelude . After usurping the Imperial throne from Emperor Roan Fel in 130 ABY and sending him into exile , the Sith Lord Darth Krayt spent seven years sending forces of his new Galactic Empire to hunt down both Fel and Fel ' s daughter , Princess Marasiah . The Princess often evaded Krayt ' s agents with the help of Imperial Mission ary Astraal Vao — although the Imperial Mission was attached to Krayt ' s Empire , Vao was a trusted friend of Marasiah and frequently defied the Empire in order to help her . In 137 ABY , as the Second Imperial Civil War raged between Krayt ' s forces and Fel ' s Empire - in - exile , Marasiah traveled to the planet Socorro with her bodyguard , the Imperial Knight Elke Vetter . They were on a quest to discern who among Krayt ' s Empire were still loyal to Marasiah ' s father , and Vao welcomed them into Socorro ' s Imperial Mission temple . When Krayt learned of the Princess ' s whereabouts , he dispatched Darth Talon , his newest Sith Hand , to chase Marasiah from the temple in the hope that she would lead Krayt ' s One Sith to her father . The duel . Talon arrived on Socorro and set the Imperial Mission Temple on fire , which prompted Marasiah and Vao to flee while Vetter engaged the Sith Hand in lightsaber combat . The two dueled in a courtyard of the burning temple until Talon severed her opponent ' s left hand from the wrist , which was followed by a stab to Vetter ' s right thigh and a kick to her chest . Vetter dropped her lightsaber and collapsed to the ground , but she was content in the knowledge that Marasiah had escaped . However , Talon informed her conquered foe that such had been her intention , and she used the Force to drain knowledge of the Princess ' s destination from Vetter ' s mind . She then killed the Imperial Knight with a blast of Force lightning . Aftermath . Marasiah felt Vetter ' s death in the Force and was ready to turn around to avenge her bodyguard , but Vao convinced her to honor Vetter ' s sacrifice and keep running . Vao soon afterward contacted her brother , the Jedi Knight Shado Vao , and arranged to meet him on the planet Vendaxa . The two arranged passage offworld on the pirate vessel " Mynock " , but Talon was already aware of their destination and followed them there . When the Sith Hand attacked the group , Marasiah fought furiously in order to prevent Talon from again killing someone who had risen to the Princess ' s defense . News of Vetter ' s death and Marasiah ' s escape reached Roan Fel ' s ears on his new fortress world of Bastion , but he resisted the urge to mount a rescue attempt in order to keep his recent capture of Bastion a secret . The Imperial Knight Antares Draco , who was in love with the Princess , defied Fel ' s orders and set out for Vendaxa with his friend and fellow Knight Ganner Krieg . Behind the scenes . The duel between Darth Talon and Elke Vetter is featured in the of the comic series " " ; written by John Ostrander and penciled by Jan Duursema , the issue was released in July 2006 . The duel sees Talon sever Vetter ' s hand from her arm , but " Legacy " later revealed that every Imperial Knight wears lightsaber - resistant cortosis gauntlet s on their wrists . In 2010 , Duursema confirmed that Vetter ' s hand is sliced off at a point outside of the gauntlet ' s protection .