The junker systems comprised a collection of star systems, among which was the planet Jarbanov, located within the Expansion Region. These systems served as a base of operations for a scrapping guild alongside the Jarbanov Orbital Sorting Association. During 4 ABY, this particular scrapping guild came into possession of a pair of Star Destroyers belonging to the Galactic Empire, prompting a large-scale recruitment effort for mechanics to assist in their salvage. Soran Keize, a mechanic, brought this opportunity to the attention of his fellow worker, Agias Rikton, while they were stationed on the space station known as Whitedrift Exchange.
Subsequently, Keize rose to the position of commander within the Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing, a unit from which he had previously deserted before his time as a mechanic. In 5 ABY, he initiated an operation at Jarbanov, where one of the 204th's squadrons launched an assault on the Jarbanov colony. Simultaneously, the Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier Aerie was tasked with acquiring wreckage of TIE/ln space superiority starfighter. Following this, all forces belonging to the fighter wing retreated from Jarbanov.
The junker systems were a collection of various star systems. The desolate planet of Jarbanov, together with its moon, both situated in the Expansion Region, could be found on the periphery of the junker systems, specifically in the inner region of one of these systems.
During the Galactic Civil War, which pitted the Galactic Empire against the New Republic, a scrapping guild maintained operations across numerous junker systems. Jarbanov, however, remained independent of this guild. Instead, it housed the Jarbanov Orbital Sorting Association as well as a supply colony that supported the New Republic. In 4 ABY, the aforementioned scrapping guild managed to secure two Star Destroyers from the Empire, leading them to employ a considerable number of mechanics to aid in the salvage of these vessels, offering generous payment for their services.
Soran Keize, formerly an Imperial deserter who was then employed as a mechanic on the Lormar-class space station called Whitedrift Exchange under the assumed name "Devon Lhent," became aware of the employment opportunities within the junker systems. Keize shared this information with his colleague, Agias Rikton, a former Imperial engineer who was in the process of constructing a bomb intended for an attack on Traitor's Remorse, a shantytown used by the New Republic. Keize successfully dissuaded his friend from carrying out the attack. Subsequently, Rikton departed from the Whitedrift Exchange to take on a new job, leaving behind a message indicating his intention to return to his homeworld of Corulag.
Keize eventually rejoined his former unit within the Empire, the 204th Imperial Fighter Wing, and assumed the role of commanding officer. In 5 ABY, he established contact with an ally within the Jarbanov Orbital Sorting Association, obtaining intelligence regarding Jarbanov's orbital junk rings. The 204th then journeyed to Jarbanov, where Squadron Four of the fighter wing attacked the supply colony located on Jarbanov. Simultaneously, the Imperial Quasar Fire-class cruiser carrier Aerie gathered the remains of nine TIE/ln space superiority starfighters from the junk rings. This operation concluded with Squadron Four rejoining the cruiser-carrier Allegiance behind Jarbanov's moon. The Allegiance then entered hyperspace, and the Aerie also left the system shortly thereafter.
The junker systems were initially referenced in the 2019 novel Alphabet Squadron, which served as the initial book in the Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron trilogy penned by Alexander Freed. Jarbanov, which is part of the junker systems, later made an appearance in Shadow Fall, the second novel in the trilogy, released in 2020.