The starship Obedience, previously named Defiance, functioned as a cruiser within the fleet of the Galactic Empire. For a significant duration, this cruiser served as a training vessel, overseen by Commandant Pell Baylo, until his attempt to obliterate the ship and assassinate the Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine alongside Darth Vader.
Prior to the commencement of the Clone Wars, the Defiance was a cruiser employed for patrol duties. Under the command of Pell Baylo, the ship engaged in numerous skirmishes against pirates. As the Clone Wars approached, the vessel underwent a transformation, becoming the Defiance Flight Training Institute, also referred to as "The Baylo School."
Five years following the establishment of the Galactic Empire, Emperor Sheev Palpatine and Darth Vader made a visit to the Defiance. During this visit, the Emperor convened with several Imperial Navy chiefs to deliberate on the future trajectory of the Imperial Naval Academy. During a standard training exercise, Baylo inputted a hyperspace route intended to cause the Defiance to collide with the sun of Christophsis. Baylo, a loyalist to the Republican cause, grew disillusioned with the formation of the Galactic Empire, perceiving him as a hostile entity. Cadet Rae Sloane and Vader exposed Baylo's betrayal, leading to Vader using the Force choke to bring about Baylo's death. The Emperor, displeased with Vader's intervention, decreed that the cruiser be renamed Obedience. This renaming served both as a final act of humiliation towards Baylo and as a warning to other naval officers potentially harboring Republic loyalties, as well as Vader himself.