The Vigilance, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, operated after the Battle of Yavin, leading a fleet that encompassed Helix Squadron. Acting on Darth Vader's orders, this fleet took part in the Battle at Fostar Haven with the goal of obliterating the Alderaanian refugee convoy.
As a reward for uncovering the previous location of the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader gave command of the vessel to Commodore Rae Sloane, who had previously been in command at Fostar Haven. This appointment superseded the original plan to place Firmus Piett's nephew in charge. Sloane subsequently led the ship during the Battle of Endor.
Later, in the months that followed the Battle of Endor, the ship remained under the leadership of Admiral Rae Sloane. During this time, Captain Wedge Antilles, a pilot serving the New Republic, encountered the ship above Akiva. Antilles was captured by the crew of the Vigilance. Admiral Sloane brought him to the planet's surface, where he managed to escape and transmit a distress signal to the New Republic. In response, the New Republic dispatched a squadron of five ships. In the resulting battle, both the Vigilance and another Star Destroyer, the Ascent, were destroyed. However, Admiral Sloane successfully fled aboard the remaining Star Destroyer, the Vanquish.
The Vigilance made its initial appearance in the 2015 canon novel Aftermath, authored by Chuck Wendig. While the ship is destroyed within the narrative of the novel, it reappears intact later in the timeline within the comic Battle of Jakku — Last Stand 2.