During the Galactic Civil War, a conflict between the Alliance to Restore the Republic (later the New Republic) and the Imperial forces, the Luminous served as a battlecruiser. This warship belonged to the Kuati Sector Forces, an organization affiliated with the Empire, and was active around 8.5 ABY. The Luminous, along with other ships of the Kuati fleet, was responsible for defending the shipyards of Kuat, a planet of immense strategic importance to the Empire. During the attack on Kuat by New Republic forces in that year, the Luminous suffered critical damage when the ion weaponry of RZ-1 A-wing interceptors from Surprise Squadron caused its systems to overload.
The Luminous was a capital ship that was classified as a battlecruiser.
The Luminous was part of the Imperial-aligned Kuati Security Forces and its mission was to protect the planet of Kuat around 8.5 ABY during the Galactic Civil War. During this time, the Galactic Empire was in conflict with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which would later become the New Republic. In 8.5 ABY, the New Republic launched an attack on Kuat, hoping to take control of the ship building facilites of Kuat Drive Yards's, which were essential to the Imperial war effort. A computer virus infected the Kuati battlecruiser Event Horizon and sent a transmission to the Republic RZ-1 A-wing interceptors of Surprise Squadron in the Venir system, which then jumped to the Kuat system to engage the Kuati Forces.
The ion torpedoes fired by Surprise Squadron quickly disabled the Luminous and three Kuati Star Destroyers. As the Kuati ships tried to restore their systems, the same virus caused the Event Horizon and four Star Destroyers to turn their batteries against the Luminous and the rest of the Kuati fleet. The Minister of Commerce Ral'Rai Muvunc of the New Republic then contacted the Kuati officials and informed them that the New Republic controlled thirty-four percent of the Kuati shares, leading to their surrender. This was due to the New Republic's ability to disable nine warships, including the Luminous, in a matter of minutes, and their significant ownership stake in the company.
The first mention of the Luminous appeared in The Essential Guide to Warfare, a guide written by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart in 2012 that details conflicts throughout the galaxy.