The Black Eight Squadron was a top-tier Imperial military unit comprised of highly skilled pilots adept at piloting both TIE/LN starfighters and TIE/sa bombers for the Imperial Navy. This squadron reported directly to the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who personally oversaw the selection process for its leading pilot. Exceptional pilots with outstanding records, such as Captain Juno Eclipse and other ace pilots, were assigned to Vader's personal squadron.
Following the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader restructured the Black Eight Squadron, forming a group of convicted pilots under the command of Nas Ghent, a former ace pilot from the Confederacy of Independent Systems. By the year 1 ABY, the squadron had established its headquarters on the Imperial-class Star Destroyer known as the Crucible due to the Rebel Alliance's successes in several smaller space engagements.
After the Clone Wars concluded, the newly established Galactic Empire saw the rise of Sith Lord Darth Vader to the position of Supreme Commander of its military forces. The Dark Lord of the Sith directly commanded the Black Eight Squadron, alongside the 501st Legion. The Black Eight became a distinguished unit within the Imperial Navy under Darth Vader's command, known for their unwavering obedience and ruthless efficiency. Vader personally managed the unit's composition and the selection of its TIE pilots, ensuring the squadron maintained its formidable reputation. Consequently, membership in the Black Eight was typically brief, a fact shrouded in mystery due to the highly classified nature of their assignments. Members never disclosed the identities of their fellow pilots or the specifics of their missions, and outsiders rarely speculated about the squadron. The primary objective for any Black Eight pilot was to ensure Vader's success in every mission, regardless of the circumstances.
By 3 BBY of the year, Juno Eclipse, a Human female officer who had become the youngest cadet ever to graduate from the Corulag Academy, was the commander of the Black Eight Squadron. Impressed with her proven loyalty and skill, Darth Vader appointed Captain Eclipse as the squadron's leader. Her wingmates included "Chaser" Cartha, Youngster, and Redline. Eclipse considered the Black Eight Squadron a prestigious unit and took great pride in her role as its commanding officer.
However, Eclipse's pride was short-lived. Soon after her promotion, the Black Eight was assigned to a mission to invade the planet of Callos. While she initially followed orders precisely, executing a bombing raid on enemy targets, she was shocked and disturbed by Darth Vader's subsequent command. Although the Callosians' ability to resist had been effectively eliminated, the Sith Lord instructed the Black Eight Squadron to proceed with a complete bombardment of the planet's defenseless population. Sensing her hesitation, Vader instead ordered Eclipse's squadron to destroy Callos's planetary reactor, declaring that only then would the mission be considered successful. Eclipse complied with the revised order, believing she had prevented a genocide.
The Black Eight accomplished its objective with a precise strike on the reactor; each attack found its target before defenses could be activated. However, the reactor's destruction released pollutants into the planet's atmosphere, contaminating all of Callos and rendering it uninhabitable.
After the destruction of Callos, Vader reassigned Eclipse from the Black Eight Squadron, selecting her as the eighth pilot aboard his secret apprentice's starship, the Rogue Shadow. Eclipse personally recommended Chaser as her replacement, but Redline, whom Eclipse described as "psychopathic," was chosen instead. Youngster, known for his optimistic attitude, had joined the Black Eight because of Eclipse and left shortly after her reassignment to fly transport ships. By 2 BBY, only Redline and Chaser, who remained fourth in command, were still with the Black Eight; a third of Eclipse's former teammates were listed as deceased, while the rest had been promoted within the military.
During the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader reorganized the Black Eight Squadron in 1 ABY. In response to the Rebel Alliance's unconventional methods, the Sith Lord decided to reform the squadron by replacing its pilots with individuals from outside the military. Believing that the new Black Eight would be more effective as an unconventional unit, unconstrained by the Empire's rigid bureaucracy, Vader entrusted Commander Dorin Millavec, the fighter operations officer of the Imperial Star Destroyer Crucible, with overseeing the squadron's development.
The squadron's ranks included Nas Ghent, a smuggler who had previously served as a Separatist pilot during the Clone Wars, and other independent-minded pilots capable of operating independently. Millavec, tasked by Vader with finding suitable candidates in the Imperial penitentiary system, recruited these pilots. Despite complying with Vader's orders, Millavec harbored resentment toward the Black Eight pilots due to their renegade backgrounds, particularly Ghent, whom he despised for his disregard for military discipline.
Convinced that the Black Eight Squadron threatened his career advancement, Millavec secretly attempted to undermine Ghent's progress. During a test flight, Millavec assigned Ghent an outdated TIE/LN fighter with non-functional weapons and ordered the other pilots to eliminate their leader. However, Ghent destroyed his wingmates, becoming revitalized as a pilot due to Millavec's treachery. Millavec excused his actions by claiming that the attack was a test orchestrated by Vader, prompting Ghent to vow to make the Black Eight Squadron the Imperial Navy's premier aerial unit. As the rivalry between the two intensified, Millavec released some of the most unstable inmates from prison and recruited them as Ghent's new wingmates in a fresh plot to assassinate the rebellious TIE pilot.
To qualify for membership in the squadron, one needed loyalty and ruthlessness, the defining characteristics of the Empire's most feared TIE fighter squadron. The high turnover rate for its leaders and pilots was one method of maintaining the Squadron's characteristics. One leader commanded the Black Eight for only a single month before being transferred to another unit. His successor's tenure was also brief, and Juno Eclipse, his successor, led for an even shorter period.
Although pilots generally obeyed the chain of command, Eclipse's and Youngster's unease with Vader's brutal tactics led to their removal from the Black Eight; Chaser shared similar reservations, and while he remained with the squadron, he was effectively prevented from advancing beyond fourth place. Those who showed no ethical concerns regarding the use of excessive force were rewarded with promotions, such as Redline, who took over as squadron leader after Eclipse. While the three former squadron leaders were reported as deceased by 2 BBY, Eclipse was still alive and serving as Starkiller's personal pilot.
The new structure of the Black Eight Squadron under Nas Ghent's leadership reflected its detachment from the chain of command. In line with Darth Vader's wishes, the squadron consisted of rogue pilots whose disregard for authority was seen as an unconventional advantage by the Dark Lord of the Sith.
The Black Eight Squadron primarily used TIE/LN starfighters and TIE/sa bombers, although they utilized at least one TIE/IT Interdictor starfighter during their missions.
Jeremy Barlow suggested that a future Rebellion story arc might involve Ghent recruiting BoShek into the squadron. However, Rebellion was later cancelled in favor of Star Wars: Invasion.
There is a contradiction regarding the squadron Juno Eclipse served with before being reassigned to the Rogue Shadow. In the video game version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, both PROXY and Eclipse's Databank profile state that she was the leader of the "Black Five Squadron," a fact also mentioned in the game's sequel. However, the first and second novelizations indicate that her unit was the Black Eight Squadron. Since novelizations take precedence over video games in Star Wars Legends, this article identifies Eclipse as the leader of the Black Eight instead of the Black Five.