The Forerunner II, a light cruiser, served the Galactic Empire throughout the Imperial Era. Admiral Tarl Sokoli, a celebrated hero of the Imperial military, was its commanding officer. However, Darth Vader, the Sith Lord, fabricated accusations against Sokoli, alleging secret ties to the Crimson Dawn crime organization, due to Vader's displeasure with Sokoli's open criticism of the Empire. Beilert Valance, a cyborg bounty hunter captured and coerced into leading Dark Squadron for Vader, was then tasked with assassinating Sokoli; the Sith Lord wanted to evaluate the cyborg's loyalty, especially given Valance's prior Imperial service inspired by Sokoli.
Vader maneuvered the Forerunner II to a point beyond the Eriadu system, where Dark Squadron's TIE Defenders launched an assault, battling the cruiser's accompanying TIE fighter protection. Despite the loss of two of Valance's pilots, one downed by the Forerunner II's cannons, the cyborg purposely collided his TIE with the light cruiser's bridge. He then confronted and eliminated Sokoli, subsequently jumping into space where a starfighter from his squadron retrieved him.