Insurrection on Culroon III

The history of the planet Culroon III was filled with various wars among the tribes of the native Culroon until offworld weapons were imported and used by the Culroon warlord Kloff to end the wars and unite the planet as its ruler. The Galactic Republic was aware of Culroon III, but due to the wars the planet was ignored until the Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. Between that year and 9 BBY, Emperor Palpatine ordered General Irrv of the Imperial Army to subjugate the planet using whatever means necessary. The Emperor's orders came as standard Imperial policy involving the subjugation of worlds, as Culroon III had little to offer in terms of strategic positioning or resources. The Empire began Culroon III's occupation by building a garrison on the planet in Kloff's territory.

Junior Lieutenant Maximilian Veers—who had been deliberately transferred to a remote world by superior officers who considered him dangerous to their careers—arrived with an initial research team while the Imperial garrison was built over the course of several weeks. Veers' role was to protect the Imperial engineers and technicians with an All Terrain Armored Transport and an All Terrain Scout Transport, alongside a stormtrooper legion under Commander Grath. In that time, Veers learned about the history of the Culroon and believed that a peaceful surrender was out of character for them.

General Irrv sought to understand and work with the Culroon, therefore planning to conduct a formal ceremony with Kloff involving the exchange of a ceremonial blaster and a Naval sword to symbolize the peaceful transition of power. At a staff meeting, Veers scoffed at the plan, unaware that it had been the general's idea, and argued with Irrv that the Empire should attack the Culroon to demonstrate their authority forcefully as opposed to holding the ceremony. Irrv dismissed Veers' concerns as a sign of bloodlust resulting from his Imperial Academy training and threatened to reassign Veers to riding a dewback on the planet Tatooine if he persisted with his protests. Irrv then gave Veers a demerit, and confined him to the Imperial base for the duration of the occupation.

At the ceremony, Veers was given command of a single AT-AT, along with a pilot and a gunner. They were forced to run non-essential maintenance with the help of B-3Z technical droids. The lieutenant watched the proceedings from a shuttle docking platform above the vehicle located less than ten kilometers from the ceremony site. The Imperial garrison had two other AT-ATs that were on patrol miles away. At the ceremonial site, Irrv stood with a dozen Imperial officers—including his aide, Colonel Jeffers—all in Imperial dress uniform. They were accompanied by a legion of stormtroopers equipped with underpowered and cumbersome dress-weapons designed for show rather than for combat. Kloff attended the ceremony with a dozen male Culroon warriors in ceremonial dress. As the ceremony began, Veers observed it through a set of macrobinoculars, believing Irrv to be a fool for following through with his plan. He also noticed that Kloff had not brought the majority of his warriors to the ceremony and suspected that the warlord was plotting something. Secretly, thousands of Culroon warriors surrounded the site, wielding power weapons.

The insurrection began when General Irrv presented Kloff with the Naval sword, which the Culroon used to calmly stab Colonel Jeffers. The Culroon warriors revealed themselves and surrounded the Imperials at the ceremony. Immediately reacting to the ambush, Veers dropped his macrobinoculars and barked orders at his subordinates to quickly activate the AT-AT. They marched the walker through the jungle to the ceremony site, even though Veers knew that he risked a court-martial for leaving the garrison. Irrv gave orders for the stormtroopers to form a protective circle around him, and many of them were killed as their ceremonial weapons were unable to match the Culroon's blaster power.

Kloff's warriors were able to wear down the stormtroopers, intending to reach the general and abduct him. Just as Kloff shouted for them to continue the attack, Veers' AT-AT shook the ground as it arrived and flattened trees and bushes. Many of the Culroon panicked and fled at the site of the AT-AT, believing it to be a giant monster. Veers directed the walker's blasterfire to clear the area around the stormtroopers. Commander Grath directed the surviving stormtroopers to rally beneath the AT-AT and use its legs as cover. The remaining Culroon warriors realized that their blasters were unable to pierce the AT-AT's armor and fled. Veers ordered his gunner to fire on warriors as they retreated. Afterward, Veers smiled down at Irrv from the viewport and arrogantly requested an apology. Irrv began to reprimand Veers and was about to enact a court-martial before he was gunned down by the superior officer on Culroon III, Grath, for his perceived foolishness.

Grath stepped over Irrv's corpse, holstered his blaster, and asked Veers for an escort back to the garrison, addressing him as "Major Veers" as a reward for his heroism. Veers appreciated the outcome and offered Grath a ride inside the AT-AT instead. The newly promoted major was subsequently posted to the planet Corellia, and his actions during the insurrection brought him to the attention of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who facilitated Veer's transition into commanding the ground forces of Death Squadron, Vader's personal fleet group. Veers continued to rise in rank until he became a general at Vader's initiative.

The insurrection on Culroon III first appeared in the short story "The Promotion of Lieutenant Veers," published in 1987 in West End Games's The Star Wars Sourcebook written by Bill Slavicsek and Curtis Smith. It was first identified in Veers' Databank entry on StarWars.com, published by 2001. In the short story, Veers watches the beginning of the ceremony from a shuttle docking platform above the AT-AT, and although it is not explicitly stated in the prose, would have had to move into the AT-AT's cockpit to participate in the counterattack. The thirty-first issue of De Agostini's The Official Star Wars Fact File magazine, published around July 31, 2002, states that Veers observed the ceremony and ambush from the AT-AT cockpit.

The short story also describes General Irrv giving Kloff the Naval sword that he uses to stab Colonel Jeffers, whereas the Fact File states that Kloff was meant to present the sword to Irrv when he used it to attack Jeffers instead. The contradiction was repeated in the fourteenth issue of the revised run of The Official Star Wars Fact File, which was published on April 9, 2014. This article follows the short story's version of events.

• Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back
• The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
• Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, Second Edition
• Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded
• The New Essential Guide to Characters
• The Official Star Wars Fact File31
• The Official Star Wars Fact File45
• Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 4
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Official Star Wars Fact FilePart 14