The Derra system, a star system located within the Expansion Region, was home to Derra IV. During the Galactic Civil War, the Alliance to Restore the Republic utilized the system for moving supply convoys. This practice continued until Vice Admiral Rae Sloane of the Galactic Empire orchestrated a military action near Derra IV, resulting in the destruction of a substantial supply convoy and marking one of the Empire's most notable victories in the conflict.
Within the Expansion Region and the Trailing Sectors lay the Derra system, a star system that included the world of Derra IV. Its position on the Standard Galactic Grid was identified as N-15.
In the year 231 BBY, during the age of the High Republic Era, Jedi Master Tera Sinube oversaw a Jedi Order outpost on Derra IV, acting as its marshal. Upon receiving a communication from Master Stellan Gios, Sinube dispatched a drift of Vectors, commanded by Jedi Master Porter Engle, to bolster the Jedi and Galactic Republic forces who found themselves under attack from Nihil pirates at the Cyclor Shipyards.
By 3 ABY, the Derra system had become a key route for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which used it to transport supply convoys filled with various weaponss, equipment, food, and medical supplies to numerous rebel cells throughout the galaxy. A significant 80% of these supplies were intended for the rebel base, Echo Base, hidden on the planet Hoth in the Outer Rim Territories. Vice Admiral Rae Sloane of the Galactic Empire's Imperial Navy, along with the remnants of the Imperial 7th Fleet, successfully identified the Derra system as the most probable route for the Alliance's shipments within the Expansion Region. At the time, both Sloane and the fleet had been somewhat removed from the core Imperial operations.
As a direct result of actions taken by the Imperial Ubiqtorate, Sloane spearheaded Imperial forces, including the Star Destroyer Dark Omen and the Interdictor cruiser Retention, from her flagship, the Star Destroyer Vigilance, in a military action directed against the rebels in the vicinity of Derra IV.
The Imperial forces set an ambush for the rebel Renegade Squadron, and subsequently, utilizing the Retention, isolated and annihilated a major supply convoy. Despite failing to discover the location of Echo Base, the Imperial fleet regarded the operation as a resounding victory, achieved entirely through their own efforts. As a consequence of her role in the ambush, Sloane received a promotion and was granted a position on the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military, leading to the reintegration of the 7th Fleet into the primary Imperial military structure.
A record detailing Sloane and the 7th Fleet's efforts to pinpoint the convoy's route to the system was archived in the "Military Operations" section of the Imperial Archives. This file was later retrieved from the damaged computer core of the Vigilance. In 34 ABY, a representation of the Derra system was displayed as part of a fragmented map of the galaxy on various screens aboard Chandrila Star Line's Star Cruiser Halcyon.
In 35 ABY, the historian Beaumont Kin referenced the destruction of the convoy within the Derra system in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, identifying it as one of the most significant Imperial accomplishments during the Galactic Civil War. He mentioned that the rebels were unable to fully understand the events of the battle, and he cited a file named Interrogations 143 from the "Imperial Prisoners" section of the New Republic Archives as his source of information.
Within the current Star Wars canon, the Derra system was initially referenced as "Derra" on a galactic map featured in the 2016 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game by Fantasy Flight Games for their Star Wars Roleplaying series. Its first in-universe appearance was as an unlabeled point on a map in Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, an interactive role-playing experience at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, which opened to the public on March 1, 2022. The system was officially named in the 2024 reference book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, penned by Dr. Chris Kempshall. The book erroneously places the Derra system in both the Expansion Region and the Outer Rim Territories. This article prioritizes the former as the correct location, based on the system's placement in the Expansion Region in previous sources.
The star system has its origins in the Star Wars Legends continuity. Its initial appearance, though unnamed, occurred in the first episode of The Empire Strikes Back radio drama, written by Brian Daley and aired on February 14, 1983. It was then identified by name in the fourth section of the novella "Side Trip," authored by Timothy Zahn and published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 13 in May 1997.
The system made its visual debut in flashbacks within the twenty-fifth issue of the Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic book series. This issue was written by Michael A. Stackpole, with illustrations by Steve Crespo, and was released by Dark Horse Comics on December 3, 1997.