This conflict unfolded on a starship. On one side were the forces of the Galactic Empire, commanded by Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. Facing them was Jedi Knight Gira, protecting a group of Padawans who had survived the Great Jedi Purge. Gira successfully held off the stormtroopers, but Vader launched a surprise attack. Following a short lightsaber duel, Vader persuaded the Jedi to join his cause, promising to preserve the lives of the Padawans, who were located on an escape vessel. The Sith then double-crossed Gira, instructing the ship's commander, who had also betrayed Gira, to detonate the explosives that had been planted on the Padawan's ship. Subsequently, Vader departed, leaving Gira to commit suicide.
The story of this battle first surfaced in "The Duty," a tale included in Star Wars Tales 12 and authored by Christian Read. This story was later incorporated into a trade paperback collection titled Star Wars Tales Volume 3. Initially, the stories presented in Star Wars Tales 1 through 20 were considered S-canon until they received a reference outside of the Tales series. At that point, the subject matter was then elevated to C-canon status. A reference to the battle later appeared in Gira's entry within The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, which treated the battle as a unique event, therefore raising its existence as described in The Duty to C-canon.
Within The Duty, the battle is depicted as having occurred within a base. However, Gira's entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia specifies that the battle unfolded on a starship.