Seven months following the Battle of Yavin, on the planet Zeitooine, Imperial stormtroopers apprehended a local family. This action was taken because the parents consistently defied the prohibition against unofficial printed materials. The stormtroopers forcibly removed the family from their residence. As the mother begged the stormtrooper commander to spare her daughters from imprisonment, the commander responded by striking her face with the butt of his blaster rifle, while another trooper placed her in restraints. Thane Kyrell, a former TIE fighter pilot who, having become disillusioned with the Empire, had abandoned his post, witnessed this event.
Zeitooine was a chilly, forested planet situated in the Inner Rim. During the Age of the Empire, an unidentified family disseminated independent publications that the ruling Galactic Empire had forbidden. Despite repeated warnings from local Imperial authorities to stop, the husband and wife persisted in distributing these unauthorized materials. The couple had two daughters: one was thirteen years old, and the other was five. Seven months after the Battle of Yavin, Imperial forces intervened and incarcerated the family indefinitely.
A minimum of twelve stormtroopers, under the command of a stormtrooper captain, were assigned to take the family into custody. As the family was being arrested by some stormtroopers, others were stationed outside the home to prevent interference from neighbors or onlookers. One stormtrooper was observed pulling the couple's thirteen-year-old daughter by her long hair, causing her significant distress and tears. The girl's mother implored the captain to grant leniency, offering to pay fines or surrender their home and possessions. However, the captain stated that repeated violations of the ban on independent publications carried the penalty of indefinite imprisonment.
A third stormtrooper escorted the couple's five-year-old daughter outside; she was too frightened to cry out. The crowd remained passive due to the presence of the armed stormtroopers. In desperation, the mother continued to appeal to the stormtrooper captain, begging for mercy for her children. The officer, losing his temper, struck her in the face with the stock of his [blaster rifle](/article/blaster_rifle], causing her to fall to the ground in tears. Subsequently, a fourth stormtrooper placed her in handcuffs. Among the observers was Thane Kyrell, a former TIE fighter pilot who had deserted the Empire due to his growing disillusionment following the destruction of Alderaan and the treatment of Bodach'i slaves on Kerev Doi.
Thane Kyrell found the Zeitooine incident disturbing and attempted to put it out of his mind. He later became a member of the Rebel Alliance and joined the fight against the Empire. The family's arrest foreshadowed a broader Imperial crackdown on Zeitooine, which played a role in motivating Thane's decision to join the Rebellion.
The arrests on Zeitooine were initially depicted in Claudia Gray's 2015 Star Wars debut novel, Lost Stars. The event is presented from the perspective of Thane Kyrell, one of the two primary characters in the novel.