Derra system

For other uses, see Derra.

"One of the greatest Imperial successes of the Galactic Civil War came via the destruction of a significant rebel convoy in the Derra system and this was a direct outcome of the Ubiqtorate operations."

―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire^[1]

The Derra system was an Expansion Region star system in the Mikaster sector that contained Derra IV. The Alliance to Restore the Republic moved supply convoys through the system during the Galactic Civil War until Vice Admiral Rae Sloane of the Galactic Empire led a military action against them near Derra IV that destroyed a significant supply convoy in one of the greatest Imperial successes of the war.

Description

"It was Vice Admiral Rae Sloane—a figure of huge importance in the Empire's future—onboard the Star Destroyer Vigilance, in cooperation with remnants of the 7th Fleet, who were able to establish the likeliest candidates for rebel shipping routes in the Expansion Region and narrow the list down to Derra."

―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire^[1]

The Derra system was a star system^[1] in the Mikaster sector^[3] of the Expansion Region^[1] and the Trailing Sectors^[2] that contained the terrestrial celestial body^[5] Derra IV.^[1] It was located at the coordinates N-15 on the Standard Galactic Grid.^[4]

History

High Republic Era

"Master Sinube of the Derra Outpost has dispatched reinforcements, a drift of Vectors led by Porter Engle."

―Stellan Gios^[5]

In 231 BBY,^[6] during the High Republic Era, an outpost of the Jedi Order on Derra IV was marshalled by Jedi Master Tera Sinube. After being contacted by Master Stellan Gios, Sinube dispatched a drift of Vectors led by Jedi Master Porter Engle in order to reinforce Jedi and Galactic Republic forces being attacked by Nihil pirates at the Cyclor Shipyards.^[5]

Supply hotspot

"For some time, the rebels had been moving supplies through the Derra system on the Outer Rim. These convoys contained a variety of weapons, equipment, food, and medicines that were required for various rebel cells across the galaxy. More importantly, over eighty percent of the stockpiles were allocated to equipping the hidden rebel base."

―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire^[1]

Wearing a gray Imperial officer's uniform and cap, Rae Sloane stands with her arms cross infront of a ship's viewport. Through the viewport, B-wing starfighters and TIE fighters can be seen in a dogfight over a gray world with an explosion behind one ship near to Sloane's vessel. — Rae Sloane led a military action in the Derra system.

By 3 ABY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had been moving supply convoys carrying a variety of weapons, equipment, food, and medicines through the Derra system and onto the various rebel cells that required them across the galaxy. Eighty percent of these stockpiles were specifically allocated to equipping the hidden rebel headquarters at Echo Base on the planet Hoth in the Outer Rim Territories. Vice Admiral Rae Sloane of the Galactic Empire's Imperial Navy and the remnants of the Imperial 7th Fleet were able to establish the Derra system as the likeliest candidate for the Alliance's shipping route through the Expansion Region. Both Sloane and the fleet had been partially sidelined from mainstream Imperial operations at the time.^[1]

As a direct outcome of operations carried out by the Empire's Ubiqtorate, Sloane led Imperial forces, including the Star Destroyer Dark Omen and the Interdictor cruiser Retention, from aboard the Star Destroyer Vigilance in a military action against the rebels near Derra IV.^[1]

A win for the Empire

"Though the Rebel Alliance were not able to ascertain exactly what happened at Derra IV, we know now that the Vigilance took the lead—given it was Sloane's plan—but was ably supported by the Dark Omen and, most importantly, the Interdictor cruiser Retention that helped isolate the convoy and enable its destruction."

―Beaumont Kin, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire^[1]

An Imperial Interdictor cruiser sits against the black of space. Shaped like an arrow, a low, flat command tower sits at its rear with four domes around it on the ship's surface. — The *Retention*, an Interdictor cruiser (pictured), played a significant role in the action in the Derra system.

The Imperials ambushed the rebel Renegade Squadron and then, using the Retention, they isolated a significant supply convoy and destroyed it. Although the location of Echo Base was not uncovered, the Imperial fleet considered the action a near-perfect victory entirely of their own merit. For her part in the ambush, Sloane was promoted and given a place on the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military, with the 7th Fleet also reincorporated back into mainstream Imperial operations as a result.^[1]

A file on Sloane and the 7th Fleet's work to narrow down the convoy's location to the system was stored in the "Military Operations" section of the Imperial Archives and was later recovered from the damaged computer core of the Vigilance.^[1] In 34 ABY,^[7] a dot representing the Derra system was displayed as part of a partial map of the galaxy on several screens aboard Chandrila Star Line's Star Cruiser Halcyon.^[8]

In 35 ABY,^[9] the historian Beaumont Kin mentioned the destruction of the convoy in the Derra system in^[1] his^[10] book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire and called it one of the greatest Imperial successes of the Galactic Civil War. He noted that the rebels were not able to ascertain exactly what had happened during the battle but cited what information he did have to a file titled Interrogations 143 in the "Imperial Prisoners" section of the New Republic Archives.^[1]

Behind the scenes

In the current Star Wars canon, the Derra system was first mentioned as a point labeled simply "Derra" on a map of the galaxy included in the 2016 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars Roleplaying line.^[4] Its first in-universe appearance then came as an unlabeled dot on a map viewable in Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, an immersive roleplaying experience at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida^[8] that opened to the public on March 1, 2022,^[11] and had its final voyage from September 28 to 30, 2023.^[12] The system was then first identified fully in the 2024 reference book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, which was written by Dr. Chris Kempshall. The book erroneously mentions the Derra system as being in both the Expansion Region and Outer Rim Territories.^[1] This article assumes the former to be correct due to the placement of Derra in the Expansion Region in prior material.^[4]

A chaotic mess of ships battle around an Imperial Star Destoryer in space, with explosions engulfing several X-wing starfighters near various TIE fighters. In the background the brown striped surface of a planet is visible. — The Derra system's *Star Wars* Legends depiction in *X-Wing Rogue Squadron* 25

The star system originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it first appeared, albeit unnamed, in the first installment of the The Empire Strikes Back radio drama, written by Brian Daley^[13] and broadcast on February 14, 1983.^[14] It was then identified in the fourth part of the novella "Side Trip," which was written by Timothy Zahn and published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 13 in May 1997.^[15]

The system then appeared visually for the first time as part of flashbacks in the twenty-fifth issue of the Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic book series. The issue was written by Michael A. Stackpole, illustrated by Steve Crespo, and published by Dark Horse Comics^[16] on December 3, 1997.^[17]

Appearances

This article has an associated index page with page numbers and/or timestamps.

The High Republic Adventures (2021) 1 (Picture only) (Based on correspondence between the galactic map and maps in other sources)
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (First appearance) (Pictured on screen only) (Based on correspondence between the galactic map and maps in other sources)