Unidentified Imperial captain (scar)
This high-ranking officer of the Imperial Navy, holding the rank of Imperial captain, played a significant part in the pursuit to uncover the identity of the pilot responsible for the destruction of the Death Star. A defining characteristic of this captain was a prominent, horizontal scar that marked the bridge of his nose.
Biography
Following the conclusion of the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader made his return to Coruscant, landing his personal TIE Advanced x1 just outside the Imperial Palace. Upon his arrival, he was met by this captain, along with a contingent of stormtroopers. Vader instructed the captain to employ all available resources to determine the identity of the pilot who was instrumental in the Empire's defeat at Yavin through the destruction of the Death Star. The captain assured Vader that the task would be undertaken immediately, and he departed to carry out the Sith Lord's orders.
At a later time, while Vader was overseeing the deployment of several shuttles from the bridge of a Star Destroyer, the captain presented Vader with a handheld holoprojector that contained the pilot's identity. Vader was greatly surprised to discover that the pilot in question was Luke Skywalker, who was, in fact, his own son. The captain was later observed on board the Executor during the launch of viper probe droids. He was present when a defective R2 unit transmitted a hologram from Emperor Palpatine to Darth Vader. The Emperor had become aware of one of Vader's secret apprentices, Tao, and he commanded his apprentice to execute the boy in front of the ship's crew. Vader complied with the order, and Tao's mortally wounded body fell onto the bridge floor.
The Imperial captain briefly left the bridge to find a way to remove the boy's body from the vessel. However, upon his return, both Tao and Vader were gone. The captain noticed Tao's blood on the floor, but there were no other signs of the two individuals. The captain questioned a stormtrooper regarding Vader's location, but the trooper was unable to provide an answer. The captain started to sweat, concerned by Vader's sudden disappearance. However, his concerns were ultimately unnecessary. Vader eventually returned to the ship after having briefly left to bury Tao on his home planet of Shumari.
Behind the scenes
This character's sole appearance is in the story Perfect Evil, which was published across the issues Black and Silver of Star Wars Manga. These stories, which were originally released in Japan, were considered to have a "fuzzy" level of continuity by Lucasfilm. They have since been republished in English in the United Kingdom under the Infinities banner, which established the material within them as non-canonical. The planet Shumari was later mentioned in The Essential Atlas, which included the Shumari system in its appendix. However, according to Jason Fry, "its inclusion shouldn't be interpreted as a statement of canonicity for anything beyond the geography."