Janek Sunber's feigned defection
Imperial Lieutenant Janek Sunber, Luke Skywalker's childhood friend from Tatooine, approached Darth Vader with a plan to lure the young rebel into a trap. Sunber sent word that he wished to defect to the Alliance, Skywalker went after him against orders, and the operation turned into an Imperial strike on the rebel fleet.
Description
Janek Sunber grew up on Tatooine together with Luke Skywalker and, after joining Imperial service, rose to officer rank while continuing to see the Empire as a force for order. Encounters with his old friend, who had ended up among the rebels, and the news that it was he who had destroyed the battle station robbed Sunber of his peace of mind: he considered it his duty to report on Skywalker's past and was brought aboard the Executor to Darth Vader. After hearing the report, Vader decided to take advantage of the old acquaintance and ordered the officer to lure the rebel into a trap. Sunber sent a message expressing his wish to defect to the Alliance, giving the coordinates of a small station near a ship graveyard, and agreed to be tortured to make the message believable. The Alliance command suspected a trick, but Skywalker went after his friend without permission. Sunber was brought into the rebel fleet and tried to seize Skywalker, but at the decisive moment he could not bring himself to kill his childhood friend. When the ship was damaged in an attack by the Imperial fleet, the officer held the wounded Leia Organa over a chasm and handed her to Skywalker, after which he himself fell.
Source: Star Wars: Rebellion
Participants
- Darth VaderCharacter
- Galactic EmpireFaction
- Luke SkywalkerCharacter
- Rebel AllianceFaction
Source: Star Wars: Rebellion
Locations
Editorial note: no information is given for this section.
Works
- Star Wars: RebellionComicСобытие показано в этом произведении.
Source: Star Wars: Rebellion
Causes
No confirmed causes yet.
Editorial note: no information is given for this section.
Consequences
- Disaster at Deepspace Besh0 ABYThis event contributed to itThe Imperial officer's plan to capture Skywalker was part of an operation that turned into the destruction of the rebel fleet.
Source: Star Wars: Rebellion
Meanwhile
No parallel events confirmed yet.
Editorial note: no information is given for this section.
Other connections
- Luke Skywalker hidden on Tatooine19 BBYThis event references itExplanation hidden: it reveals the plot of the related event.
Source: Star Wars: Rebellion
- Janek Sunber's feigned defection → Disaster at Deepspace BeshDisaster at Deepspace BeshThis event contributed to it. The Imperial officer's plan to capture Skywalker was part of an operation that turned into the destruction of the rebel fleet.
Sources
Wookieepedia, in its description of the My Brother, My Enemy arc, states that Sunber approached Vader with a plan to capture Skywalker and feigned a desire to defect; these events are tied to the period after A New Hope.
Primary work · Star Wars: Rebellion · Checked: 23 October 2026
Source: Star Wars: Rebellion