DS 5 was a military base for the Rebel forces, situated in the Parmel system within the Outer Rim territories. After his betrayal to the Rebellion was discovered, Imperial Admiral Harkov escaped to this location.
The Victory I-class Star Destroyer Protector, Harkov's flagship, was in dire need of resupply. Because of this, the station's commander requested a large supply convoy to assist Harkov. However, Imperial forces had already located Harkov at DS 5 and dispatched a small strike team of Assault Gunboats, commanded by Imperial starfighter ace Tan Maarek Stele, with the mission to destroy the incoming convoy.
Subsequently, an attack run by TIE Avengers was planned to weaken the traitorous TIE Avenger squadron. During this assault, Stele and his team managed to eliminate 50% of Harkov's elite TIE Avenger pilots. Harkov then abandoned the Protector and relocated to the DS 5 station itself, while the Protector jumped into hyperspace shortly thereafter. It is possible that this was a ruse to lure the Imperial fleet after the Protector, thus providing Harkov and the DS 5 personnel with sufficient time to escape. However, this strategy was ultimately unsuccessful after Tan Stele noticed that Harkov's personal shuttle, the Toten, had detached from the Protector and docked with DS 5 during the TIE Avenger engagement. Darth Vader then arrived aboard the Star Destroyer Garrett in the battle that followed. Stele led the final attack while Harkov and his Rebel collaborators began to evacuate the base. In the ensuing battle, outpost DS 5 was seized, along with Harkov and the command staff of the station. Vader interrogated Harkov before executing him using Force Crush.