After the Battle of Yavin in 1 ABY, amidst the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic fought fiercely for dominance over various urban centers across the galaxy. Among the initial, smaller-scale operations initiated by Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, in response to the growing Rebel Alliance activity, was Operation Green Light. During times when Imperial forces controlled cities such as Bestine, Coronet City, and Theed, Darth Vader would arrive in these key locations aboard his shuttle, the ST 321. Escorted by a squad of Triumphant-class dark troopers, the Sith Lord aimed to garner support for the Empire and enlist individuals for perilous assignments against the Rebellion. Vader successfully recruited a skilled team from the Imperial Special Forces with the mission to track down and eliminate members of the Rebel Special Forces. These Imperial operatives then traversed the galaxy, successfully assassinating five members of the Alliance Special Forces. Subsequently, these accomplished Imperial spacers were reassigned to Operation Take Down.
A quest named Operation Green Light was featured in Star Wars Galaxies, the 2003 video game which was a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. Sony Online Entertainment developed it, and LucasArts published it, before its shutdown on December 15, 2011. This quest became available in the game following the "Publish 19" update on June 29, 2005.
During periods of Imperial occupation of cities such as Bestine, Coronet, or Theed, Darth Vader would occasionally appear in these cities. Vader presented players of the Imperial faction with up to eight distinct quests, dividing them equally into "Combatant" quests (executed against Rebel non-player characters) and "Special Forces" quests (carried out against Rebel-aligned players). Operation Green Light was the initial Imperial Special Forces mission received by players from Darth Vader, out of a total of four such missions.