Galactic Civil War
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
The Galactic Civil War was a major galactic conflict (and the most famous) fought between the oppressive Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebel faction dedicated to the revival of the Galactic Republic, which the Empire supplanted at the culmination of the Clone Wars years prior.[1]
Origins of the conflict could be traced to the Galactic Senate during the final days of the Old Republic, sometime after the end of the Clone Wars, where dissenting and prominent Senators, such as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, secretly opposed the powers and authority that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine continued to accumulate under the guise of security and war-time measures.[2]
The war did not begin in its real sense, that of an Alliance against the Empire with its goals and ideals laid out for the galaxy, until nearly two decades after the rise of the Empire, when various Rebel leaders signed the Corellian Treaty[3] and issued the Declaration of Rebellion.[3] Initially, the Empire, especially Palpatine, did not consider the Alliance a threat, but rather as a political tool to further consolidate power that would eventually lead to the Dissolution of the Imperial Senate[4] and a massive, unprecedented military build-up.[4] It would not be until the fateful Battle of Yavin, when rebel Luke Skywalker destroyed the first Death Star, that the threat poised by the Alliance became real to the Empire and more serious measures were drafted to restore Imperial control over the galaxy.[1][4]
The decisive moment came at the Battle of Endor, when the Alliance, against overwhelming odds, defeated the Imperial Military and destroyed the second Death Star, killing Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader and some of the best minds in the Imperial High Command.[5] From there, the Empire began to gradually decay and fragment, until it was reduced to a mere remnant of its former-self, while the Alliance evolved and grew into the New Republic.[6] Peace between the two warring factions was realized in 19 ABY with the signing of the Bastion Accords, ending two decades of constant struggle.[7] The Empire continued to exist as autonomous entity in the years succeeding war's end, and would eventually enter into an alliance with its former enemy during the Yuuzhan Vong War[6], and emerge as the galaxy's leading government over one hundred years later[8], bringing history back full-circle.
Contents
|
Origin of the Galactic Civil War
Disturbance in the Senate
- "Some things are better left unsaid."
- ―Padmé Amidala[src]
The emergence of the Galactic Empire was brought about by decades of engineering, manipulation, and deceit, masterminded by the cunning and elusive Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, and carried out by his various apprentices and willing (and not-so-willing) agents and puppets. Under the guise of the charismatic Senator Palpatine from Naboo, Sidious took full-advantage of the corruption and inefficacies in the Republic bureaucracy to have himself elected Supreme Chancellor.[9] Once in office, Palpatine proceeded to engineer the galaxywide Clone Wars as a means to further draw powers to his office, citing special emergency war-time powers and mandates required to maintain security against the Separatist threat.[10] Palpatine did not relinquish his powers; instead, instigating the Jedi Rebellion, Palpatine declared a New Order and announced the creation of the Galactic Empire to much applause from the Senate.[11]
Taking the title of Galactic Emperor, Palpatine set out to establish his totalitarian regime and accomplish his Order's millennia-old strife with the Jedi Order: the total annihilation of the Jedi. Palpatine used the "Jedi Rebellion" as his means of turning public opinion against the Jedi, thus allowing him to enact Order 66. Of the several thousand Jedi, very few survived the implementation of Order 66 and the subsequent beginning of the Great Jedi Purge in 19 BBY, most notably Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.[11]
During this tumultuous time, two children, the offspring of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, were born.[11] Luke and Leia Skywalker would grow up to lead the Alliance against the Empire and become heroes on their own right; at the time, however, they were split at birth and fostered to escape the wrath of their father, Anakin, who had transformed into Palpatine's third apprentice, Darth Vader.[11] Vader became Palpatine's chief enforcer and carried out his will with terrifying results; he hunted down and killed the remaining Jedi, all the while unaware that his children were alive, assuming they had died with his wife on Mustafar.[1][12] Leia was adopted by Bail Organa, and Luke was cared for by his family on Tatooine, Beru and Owen Lars.[11]
With the Empire firmly established, Imperialization began throughout the galaxy. The Senate was reorganized into the Imperial Senate, its powers and influence reduced as to become nothing more than a rubber-stamp assembly.[4] Many Senators were all too willing to allow the Empire to come to pass, many under Palpatine's influence or seeing it as necessary to secure galactic peace after the events of the Clone Wars. Some, however, began to sow the seeds of dissent that would grow into the Rebel Alliance in the years to come; Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were some such Senators, including the late Amidala, who urged patience in defying Palpatine's regime. If they acted too quickly, too overtly, Palpatine would crush them.[12] It would take nearly twenty years for organized resistance against the Empire to be realized; during that time Palpatine and his cabal had nearly free-reign in instituting the various new changes to the galaxy. Human-centric policies became prominent, advocating human supremacy.[6] Some species, such as the Wookiees, Mon Calamari, Yuzzem, and Lurrians were reclassified as non-sentient and subjected to slavery (or domestication, as Imperial policy officially stated).
State-sponsored terrorism soon became a policy of the Empire, with such notions as the Tarkin Doctrine and the concept of rule through fear, popularized through then-Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's Doctrine.[4][1] Examples such as the Ghorman Massacre and the very concept of the Death Star made clear that the Empire was willing to use any means necessary to maintain its power and control over the galaxy, with no regard towards sentient rights. But the Empire's own disregard for its citizens and use of the Tarkin Doctrine would prove to be its own undoing; many citizens became enraged by the sheer oppressiveness of the Imperial regime, and dissent began to spread like wildfire.
Formation of the Alliance
Then, the Emperor decided to use Vader's apprentice to round up senators and leaders that wanted to form a rebellion. He proved that something could be done against the Empire by destroying a shipyard on Raxus Prime and gathered Senators such as Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis, and Mon Mothma on Corellia who formed the Alliance to Restore the Republic[13] by signing the Corellian Treaty with other rebel organizations and organizing into one Alliance.[3] However, this plan backfired. After his master betrayed him, Starkiller decided to go to the Rebels' side, and nearly killed Vader and made a huge explosion on the Death Star in an effort to rescue the senators, captured by his former master on Corellia. The senators, spurred by what he had done, continued with the Rebellion he had started, and took the Marek family crest as their symbol. They later issued the Declaration of Rebellion and the war that would last two decades and see the loss of billions of lives began.[3][6]
From the very start the Alliance was vastly outmanned and outgunned by the well-organized and powerful Imperial Military. Sporting a vast Fleet supplied by such companies as Kuat Drive Yards[4] and an Army and Stormtrooper Corps that numbered in the billions, the Empire secured a stranglehold on the galaxy. After the liberation of Dac, Calamari warships were added to the Alliance arsenal.[3] This helped the Alliance's chances of survival, but it was still too little to engage in a direct confrontation with the might of the Imperial Navy. Thus, the Alliance was relegated to hit-and-run tactics, designed to harass Imperial shipping and operations[3], while diplomatic efforts were made by such rebel leaders as Leia Organa to win the hearts and minds of species across the galaxy to add to the rebel cause, conducting her missions under secrecy aboard the Tantive IV and as a member of the Imperial Senate.
As the Rebellion grew, so too did the ferocity with which it was hunted. Entire sectors were set upon by Imperial forces, whenever they were identified as hotbeds for Rebel activity. The pacification of the Nembus Sector and the Kwymar Suppressions exemplified this brutal approach to stifling dissent in the Empire.[4][14]
History
Early Strikes
Opening Moves
With the war still in its infancy, the Alliance and Empire both fought each other across an ever-widening playing field. The Alliance could not hope to make a direct stand against the Empire and thus spread out across the galaxy, planting cells and sowing dissent amongst population centers. The Empire, with its vast resources, fought to keep up and hunt the Alliance down. Alliance outposts, such as one on Kashyyyk, were located and destroyed.[15]
Soon after, a pivotal moment would occur when the Empire nationalized the Incom Corporation. This caused a stir throughout the corporation that led designers and staff to offer their help to the Alliance. Through this, the Alliance learned of the T-65 X-wing starfighter and a holding facility on Fresia where four prototypes of the starfighter were held. Seeking to replace the aging Z-95 Headhunters, Alliance Command attempted to steal the prototypes in hopes of eventually mass-producing the starfighter for use against the Empire. Led by Raymus Antilles, a diversionary assault was made on Kuat to drive the Imperial forces away from Fresia. The Alliance was then able to make a landing on Fresia and in the battle that followed succeeded in capturing the prototypes. With this key success, the Alliance was able to start mass-production of the X-wing, a starfighter that would prove invaluable to the Alliance.[15]
With the X-wing in possession, the Alliance was able to defeat Imperial units at the Battle of Turkana; surprised by the Alliance's "secret weapon," the X-wing, the Imperial forces were destroyed.[16] The Empire retaliated with Operation Strike Fear, an offensive operation intended to pacify rebel systems. Rudrig, Brigia, and Orion IV were swept away during the operation, which only came to an end when Crix Madine, newly defected from the Empire, took charge and, together with a newly forged alliance with the Sullustans, destroyed the Star Destroyer Invincible, flagship of the operation.[16]
At the same time, the Empire had become embroiled in internal strife; one Moff Kalast had become one of the first of many who dared to take on the Imperial Throne, slipping information to the Bothans and the Alliance at large from his Star Destroyer. Kalast hid on Thyferra, and Vader was personally assigned the task of hunting down and bringing the treacherous Moff to Imperial justice. From a failed attempt at Thyferra, to an uprising on Fondor, and to a battle on Jabiim, Vader conducted his hunt with precision. With information obtained from Jabiim, Vader learned that Kalast had fled to his base on Atzerri. An assault was made on Kalast's stronghold, but the elusive Moff managed to escape. Enraged at yet another failure, Vader established a task force complete with newly minted Immobilizer 418 cruiser to scour the galaxy and find Kalast. From Shola to Dantooine and Nal Hutta, the search was on; after perhaps months of actively pursuing the traitor, Vader was able to finally pin Kalast down and apprehend him. Kalast was brought before Palpatine and executed after he was forced to divulge his dealings with the Bothans, which led to the deaths of many Bothans.[15]
Disappearance of the Death Star plans
- "Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."
- ―Darth Vader to Princess Leia Organa[src]
The Rebel Alliance operated an efficient and widespread intelligence network of Bothan spies. Through this network, the Alliance learned of the construction of the Death Star, an extremely powerful space station capable of annihilating planets with its superlaser.[1]
The hunt was on for means to destroy this fearsome weapon. All resources were poured into the effort; if such a weapon was unleashed upon the galaxy, it would spell certain doom for the Alliance. Construction of the Death Star had thus far taken many years; supervised by Tarkin, the project had hit many standstills, some of which included a shortage of labor, which was alleviated through the Subjugation of Geonosis.[15] Soon after, a riot erupted aboard the Death Star, led by Rebel prisoners. They managed to steal a technical readout of the battle station; while many of the rioters were killed, some were able to escape to bring the readout to the proper authorities.[17]
Combined with another set of plans acquired by Kyle Katarn[18], and the set retrieved during the Battle of Toprawa[6], the Alliance was able to conceive a full technical readout of the Death Star that could be analyzed for weaknesses. The complete plans were beamed to the Tantive IV under Leia Organa's care[1] from Polis Massa, which was under attack by Vader and the 501st Legion as they followed up on the riot on the Death Star, having pursued the rebels in an attempt to reclaim the Death Star data. The attack turned up empty for the Empire, despite wiping out the Alliance base and eliminating all resistance.[17]The Signal branch of Imperial Intelligence's Analysis Bureau discovered that the plans had been sent to the Tantive IV by analyzing the un-shielded ELEL (Extremely Low Energy Level) transmissions. This allowed Vader to track the Tantive IV to Tatooine.[4]
Hoping to enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia Organa rushed towards Tatooine with the plans in hand; however, Vader was able to catch up and captured the Tantive IV in a short space battle.[1] As Vader's forces entered her ship, Leia Organa made a last desperate gamble and hid the plans of the Death Star aboard the astromech droid R2-D2. R2-D2, along with C-3PO, a protocol droid on the ship, used an escape pod to travel to Tatooine, where they were purchased from the Jawa scavengers who found them by Owen Lars, uncle of Luke Skywalker.[1]
Skywalker soon discovered a portion of the message in R2-D2 and became interested. However, R2-D2, operating under programming included with the plans, escaped and tried to find Obi-Wan Kenobi. Skywalker, who conveniently met up with Kenobi in the Dune Sea, tracked him down. R2-D2 then played back for them Leia Organa's desperate plea for help. The two discovered that Imperial stormtroopers had attacked the Jawas who had sold them the two droids in a search for the plans. Luke returned to his home to find his aunt and uncle slaughtered at Imperial hands. He then accompanied Kenobi to Mos Eisley, where, after evading Imperial troops, the two negotiated with smuggler Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca to take them and the plans to Alderaan aboard the Millennium Falcon.[1]
In the meantime, Palpatine used the ongoing war as a pretext for dissolving the Imperial Senate.[4][1]
Leia Organa was transferred to the Death Star by Vader and interrogated for the location of the Alliance's hidden base. Leia refused to yield to torture, but was forced into a difficult position when Tarkin threatened to destroy Alderaan, her homeworld, if she did not reveal the base's location. Fearing the loss of Alderaan, but understanding she could not betray her allies on Yavin 4, Leia lied to Tarkin and declared that the base was on distant Dantooine, isolated from the galaxy at-large. A smirking Tarkin, confident in his victory, continued with the operation to destroy Alderaan regardless, stating that Dantooine was "far too remote for an effective demonstration." Thus, Alderaan was destroyed by a single blast from the Death Star, an event that killed billions of sentients and sealed the fate of the Empire.[1]
Tarkin still had matters with the Rebel base; a scout team was sent to Dantooine to ascertain whether or not there was indeed a base there. Meanwhile, the Millennium Falcon arrived in-system, carrying Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and R2-D2, who still had the Death Star's technical readouts. Trapped aboard the Death Star due to the massive array of tractor beams, Luke sought to rescue Leia while Obi-Wan went alone to disable the tractor beam generator and confront Darth Vader.[1]
Tarkin ordered Leia's execution when he learned of her deceit; however, before the order could be carried through, she was rescued by Luke. A daring escape through the Death Star's corridors commenced. As they made it to the hangar to escape aboard the Falcon, a concerned Luke watched as Obi-Wan Kenobi faced off against his former apprentice, Darth Vader. With a knowing smile from Obi-Wan, he purposefully let down his guard and allowed himself to be cut down by Vader's lightsaber, immediately becoming one with the Force as his physical form disappeared.[1]
Battle of Yavin
The Millennium Falcon escaped soon after, pursued by several TIE Fighters but ultimately allowed to escape by Tarkin, as he hoped that the Falcon would lead straight to the Rebel's hidden base. His plan proved effective; with a homing beacon secured aboard the ship, the Empire learned that the rebels were hiding on Yavin IV. After sending a platoon of Stormtroopers to the moon to confirm Rebel activity[19], all courses were set to the Yavin system to destroy the Alliance.[1]
In the Great Temple, the technical readouts were analyzed and an attack plan was conceived by Jan Dodonna. With the Death Star looming overhead and entering into range to unleash its superlaser, Rebel ships took off in a desperate attempt to destroy the behemoth battle station. The plan called for cutting across the Death Star's equatorial trench and following it down to a small thermal exhaust port, where a single proton torpedo would be able to reach the Death Star's main reactor and set off a chain reaction, should it hit. In an intense battle, Rebel pilots attempted to stave off Imperial starfighters while attack runs were made against the exhaust port. Tarkin, underestimating the Alliance's chances, refused to send out more than a squadron of starfighters to deal with the Rebel problem; he ignored Chief Bast's warnings of a threat to the exhaust port and continued with his descent upon Yavin IV.[1]
As Rebel pilots continued to be destroyed one-by-one by Darth Vader and other Imperial pilots, Luke Skywalker, Biggs Darklighter, and Wedge Antilles made one last run against the trench. Vader killed Biggs and forced Wedge to retreat, and was moments away from shooting down his son, Luke, before Han Solo entered the fight with the Millennium Falcon. Solo managed to drive Vader out of the battle, giving Luke one shot at the thermal port. The attack succeeded, and moments later the Death Star exploded, taking with it millions of Imperial lives. Yavin IV, and the Alliance, was saved.[1]
This pivotal moment secured Luke Skywalker's journey towards being a Jedi Knight, and marked a major turning point in the galactic war against the Empire. From then on, the Empire no longer took the Rebellion for granted; Palpatine issued directives to drastically increase the size of the military, expanding the armed forces to unprecedented levels to counter the threat of the Alliance and growing dissent across the galaxy.[4][3]
After Yavin
The Battle of Yavin gave the Rebel Alliance credibility as a legitimate military threat to the Empire. However, the Rebel commanders knew that their celebrations would be short-lived. Because of the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire would focus all of its military might into destroying the Rebels. The Alliance began to evacuate the planet—complicated by an Imperial blockade.[6]
Capture of Yavin base
Preparations were made immediately for a full-scale evacuation of Yavin base and relocation to another secure hideout. Jan Dodonna supervised evacuation efforts as a blockade was established around the system, led by Darth Vader and his newly minted Star Dreadnought, Executor. The 501st Legion descended upon the planet with elements of the Imperial Army and began a siege of the Alliance temple and headquarters; during a series of skirmishes that lasted some time, many Alliance commanders and personnel were killed and Dodonna himself was captured, and presumed killed by the surviving Alliance personnel who managed to escape through the Imperial blockade.[6][17]
During the siege, Luke Skywalker, and other Rebel pilots, were successful in slipping through the blockade to perform covert missions and attempt to find a suitable planet to relocate from Yavin. One such mission took Luke to Fondor where he was able to see the final stages of the Executor's construction before its departure to Yavin[20]; a subsequent mission saw Luke stumbling upon Hoth after an accident with a comet, which he reported back to Alliance Command as the perfect spot to relocate after Yavin was evacuated.[20]
In order to help evacuation efforts, Ackbar led a fleet of Rebel cruisers in a diversionary assault on the nearby Vallusk Cluster; the assault was a success, with a significant portion of the Imperial fleet diverting its resources to dealing with Ackbar.[20] However, the assault showed to Mon Mothma and other Alliance commanders the need for a stronger and unified fleet. Ackbar was promoted to Supreme Commander of the Rebel Fleet and military, and efforts were made to increase the size of the standard military.
Yavin IV was fully subjugated by the Empire; survivors of the Rebel base dispersed, with most relocating to Hoth. The war continued.
Reytha campaign
After the capture of Yavin, Darth Vader managed to extract information from General Dodonna about a Rebel operation on Reytha. Vader dispatched his Fleet to the Reytha system where contact was made with Governor Antes Beladar, who sought help against the Rebel forces. Vader was suspicious of the Governor, but nonetheless proceeded to annihilate the Rebel outpost. After the last of the Rebels were routed, Vader killed Belader and installed a new Governor.[21]
Rogue Squadron
- "Well, you know the Rogues. All we need is a ship and rock to land it on."
- ―Wedge Antilles[src]
Months after the Battle of Yavin, two of its famous survivors, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, formed an X-wing squadron that would arguably become the most famous in the galaxy—Rogue Squadron.[6] The squadron's origins laid within Red Squadron, then under the command of Narra, as Rogue Flight, working in tandem with Renegade Flight. Rogue Flight's early missions included aiding evacuation efforts at Yavin IV and assisting Tycho Celchu defect to the Alliance on Dantooine.[22] However, during a convoy escort, relocating supplies to the Hoth base, an ambush by Imperial forces all but wiped out Renegade Flight in the Ison Corridor.[23] As a result, Rogue Flight was transformed into Rogue Squadron and Luke Skywalker was given full command over the squadron.
Early victories on planets such as Tatooine, Barkhesh, and Chorax[24] earned the Rogues a quick reputation amongst Alliance and Imperial pilots alike, going as far as to convince Kasan Moor, commander of the 128th TIE Interceptor Squadron to defect.[24] Moor's defection led to vital raids on Imperial production facilities, including Balmorra and Kile II.[24] These victories did not come without a price, however; Moff Kohl Seerdon took note of the Rogue's performance and personally took interest in seeing the Squadron's destruction after their attack on Fest, site to Seerdon's research facility.[24]
Seerdon launched attacks on Chandrila and Thyferra in retaliation, but his plans were foiled by Rogue Squadron; over the skies of Thyferra, Seerdon's personal attack craft was shot down by Rogue Squadron, ending his reign of terror.[24]
Operation Grain Snatch
Some months after the fall of Yavin IV, Imperial Overlord over the Greater Plooriod Cluster, Ghorin, contacted Rebel cells and offered his defection and aid, by supplying them with grains and other resources. However, Ghorin had no intentions of defecting; his grains were poisoned and he intended to betray the Alliance. Unfortunately for Ghorin, the Alliance discovered his plan, and through Operation Grain Snatch turned the tables on the Imperial Overlord. Through careful manipulation by the Alliance, Ghorin was seen as a traitor to the Empire; after the success of the operation, Vader paid a visit to Ghorin and, taken in by the Alliance ruse, killed the Overlord.[16]
The Evacuation of Ralltiir
On Ralltiir, a team of scientists working with the Alliance were discovered by Imperial agents. The scientists were able to activate a shield around the city, thus temporarily saving them from Imperial reprisal. Two Imperial Star Destroyers in orbit began to open fire on the shield as ground units, including AT-ATs, descended upon the planet to shut down the shield and capture the scientists. Rogue Squadron was dispatched to Ralltiir to rescue the scientists; led by Skywalker, the Rogues utilized tow cables to destroy the walkers and halted the Imperial offensive. Using explosives constructed by the scientists, the bridges connected to the city were destroyed, thus cutting off Imperial forces from reinforcements to temporarily buy time to escape.
During the rescue, Sarkli, a disgruntled Rogue pilot and nephew to Imperial Admiral Firmus Piett, defected to the Empire, taking with him one of the scientists. Despite the last minute surprise defection, the Rebels were able to escape with the surviving scientists.[22]
Dark Troopers
The Dark Trooper Project was a secret Imperial weapons program developed by Rom Mohc to create the Empire's next-generation of Stormtroopers. The Dark Trooper was a highly-advanced battle droid that would, in time, succeed the Stormtrooper as the main fighting unit of the Imperial Military.
The Project was run from Moch's production facility, the factory ship Arc Hammer. After a devastating attack on Talay, which saw the destruction of Tak Base, the Dark Troopers proved their effectiveness in their first combat operation. Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors, mercenaries under the Alliance's employment, made famous for their previous efforts at collecting the data for the Death Star, were assigned by Mon Mothma to investigate the Dark Trooper Project and stop it at all costs.
Katarn and Ors were successful in their mission; infiltrating the Arc Hammer through Vader's Executor, Katarn killed Mohc in a fierce confrontation and then destroyed the factory ship with several thermal detonator charges. With the Arc Hammer destroyed and Mohc dead, the project was a disaster; so furious was Palpatine that so many credits and resources were wasted on the failed project that he canceled the project entirely. The threat of the Dark Troopers ended.[18]
Crix Madine's defection
After his help during Operation Strike Fear, Crix Madine decided to fully leave the Empire after the release of the Candorian Plague on Dentaal.[6] He provided Kyle Katarn with help during his mission to destroy the Dark Troopers, but was later captured by the Empire and held on Orinackra, scheduled for execution. The timely arrival of Katarn saw Madine rescued.[18] Madine returned to Corellia, where he was scheduled to meet with Carlist Rieekan to finalize his defection to the Alliance. However, the meeting was ambushed by the Empire, but due to the intervention of Rogue Squadron and the Millennium Falcon, Madine was saved and shuttled off the planet.[24]
Madine's intimate knowledge of Imperial tactics and operations earned a spot on the Rebel Alliance Advisory Council and role as Supreme Commander of Alliance Special Forces.[3][25]
Blockade of Kashyyyk
As the Wookiees of Kashyyyk prepared for Life Day, Han Solo and Chewbacca were intercepted by Imperial Star Destroyers after a routine mission to Tatooine. The Millennium Falcon was able to elude its pursuers into hyperspace, but the Star Destroyers, under orders from Vader himself, were able to track the Falcon to its destination, Kashyyyk.
With Vader apprised of the situation, he ordered a blockade of the Wookiee homeworld. A curfew was established on the planet and Stormtrooper patrols scoured the planet for the Rebels. However, after extensive searching, the Imperials failed to turn up the Rebel agents. Together with his family, Chewbacca, Han Solo, and friends celebrated Life Day.[26]
Imperial repercussions
The Rebellion Grows
Inspired by the victory at Yavin IV, many worlds began to pledge their allegiance—openly or behind closed doors—to the Alliance cause. Some planets, such as Zaloriis, instead fought for their own independence from Imperial rule. After the Zaloran declaration of independence, they battled against their Imperial rulers, capturing Imperial Maximilian Veers in the process. Vader himself descended upon Zaloriis and enacted swift devastation upon the populace; during the battle, Veers was rescued and, after analysis of the Zaloran archives, the Empire discovered that the new Rebel base was located near Elrood.[21]
With this new information in hand, Vader, at the head of the Imperial Death Squadron, intensified his search for the Rebel base and his prize, Luke Skywalker.
Assault on Hoth
Imperial probe droids were dispatched throughout the galaxy in an attempt to discover the Rebel base. Reports came in daily from the Imperial probe droids, and many were filtered through, turning up nothing of value. However, then-Captain Piett of the Executor came upon one report from the Hoth system; after analysis of the feed by Piett, and then Vader, Hoth was confirmed as the Rebel base.[27]
The Battle of Hoth commenced soon after, with the Rebels fighting a stalling effort to allow base personnel and command to evacuate with as many supplies as possible and regroup with the main Alliance fleet. The Rebel base was overrun and destroyed, and afterwards an intense pursuit of the escaping Millennium Falcon was conducted through the Hoth Asteroid Field. Despite much Imperial effort, the Falcon escaped to Cloud City on Bespin, seeking asylum from Han's old friend, Lando Calrissian. Unknown to Solo and his companions, the Empire had forced Calrissian into cooperating. The Imperials apprehended the Rebels and prepared a trap for Luke Skywalker, whom Vader knew would come.[27]
Meanwhile Luke, under the advice of the Force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, had traveled to Dagobah and had become a Jedi apprentice to Jedi Master Yoda. Through the Force, Luke became aware of his friends' suffering and, despite the pleas of Yoda and Kenobi to stay and complete his Jedi training, left Dagobah for Cloud City in an attempt to save his friends, who ended up saving him after he confronted Darth Vader. Vader also revealed to Luke in their battle that he was his father. At the last second, the friends escaped aboard the Millennium Falcon, though Han Solo was taken in carbonite to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine by the bounty hunter Boba Fett.[27]
TIE Phantom threat
A short time after the Battle of Hoth, production of a new series of TIE starfighters began; the TIE Phantom, brainchild of Grand Admiral Martio Batch, utilized cloaking technology developed from Stygium crystals.[28] Vader was impressed by the Phantom's demonstration in the Dreighton Nebula, and mass-production of the starfighter began at a factory attached to Imdaar Alpha. However, Ru Murleen and Rookie One were able to steal a TIE Phantom and infiltrate the Star Dreadnought Terror; through their actions they destroyed the Terror and the TIE Phantom production facility, putting an end to the short-lived Phantom project. At the conclusion of the mission, the Alliance sought to mass-produce their own Phantoms based on the starfighter retrieved by Rookie One; however, this plan was quickly eliminated, as Vader activated the self-destruct on all remaining TIE Phantoms, thus ensuring the end to the TIE Phantom line.[29]
Mission to Endor
After the destruction of the first Death Star, Palpatine ordered a new one to be designed, eliminating the fatal flaw present in its predecessor. Construction began almost immediately, but first a site was needed for construction to commence. Since Despayre had been destroyed as the first Death Star's test[6], another isolated planetary body was needed; Brenn Tantor, a General in the Imperial Army, was ordered to scout out a new world for the Empire to occupy for construction of a secret project. Tantor settled on Endor, leading a light scout force to the planet's moon. However, the mission went astray from the start; native Ewoks assaulted the scout force. Tantor was reluctant to engage, as he did not know if they were indeed hostile or just nervous natives defending their territory. But Tantor was overruled by his superior, Grand General Malcor Brashin, and Tantor eliminated the Ewok threat and secured a site for Imperial engineers that would serve as the shield generator of the Death Star II and base for the Empire.[30]
Sepan campaign
The Sepan campaign was a series of battles initiated by the Empire in 3 ABY with the objective to bring an end the Sepan Civil War, which had raged for nearly three decades between the Ripoblus and Dimok. Imperial forces, led by Admiral Harkov, started by intercepting both Dimok and Ripoblus attack forces, halting their attacks on one another. Unfortunately for the Empire, the result was that both the Ripoblus and Dimok aligned and declared war on the Empire, an ironic turn of events. After a series of battles, the Empire defeated the Sepan forces and forced a peace treaty upon the two, ending the civil war. Harkov urged cooperation with the Empire for greater prosperity for all.[31] Under Imperial rule, hostilities on Sepan ended, but in 40 ABY, with the ongoing strife brought upon by the Second Galactic Civil War, tensions flared up once more, and Sepan would find itself in civil war again.[32]
Spreading the Rebellion
After the formation of Task Force Vengeance, the Rebel Alliance counter-attacked by deciding to give up their permanent assets in Elrood in favor of the more remote and less strictly controlled Airam Sector. In the opening days of the campaign, many assets in Elrood Sector were evacuated, most notably XQ5 platform-turned-hospital Hormuuz in the Gelgelar system. Most places were able to avoid Imperial attention, but Hormuuz attracted the attention of Admiral Senn, who deployed a strike team to capture any Rebels in the system. Stocked up on consumables and warheads, the Alliance went on to find out their enemies strength—many reconnaissance missions were flown by Rogue Squadron in order to scan the ships of Task Force Vengeance and destroy any freighter carrying warhead supplies. This culminated in a diversionary strike by the Cruiser Liberty herself, intended to lure away some of the Imperial warships into an ambush set in the Goff system. Rogue Squadron led a strike team to capture the Interdictor while it was undergoing repairs. The attempt was successful, and despite the Empire's attempts to scuttle the Compellor, the Rogues were able to bring the ship safely to the Mobetta system. By maintaining tight patrols around the factory, Gallofree, the Rebels managed to keep the modifications performed on the Strike Cruiser Peregrine a secret, prepping the Compellor for its final mission as well. The baptism of fire for the Peregrine came shortly thereafter in the Derilyn system, where it assisted Liberty in pinning down and destroying a reinforcement and resupply fleet headed for Task Force Vengeance. Meanwhile, an Imperial strike force "found" the Compellor—which blew up in full view of the Star Destroyers Titan and Juggernaut, according to Rebel plan, leading the Imperials to believe that neither they nor the Alliance had access to gravity well technology anymore. In the closing days of the campaign, Task Force Vengeance was already showing the effects of raids against their supply lines. In a last ditch effort, Senn tried to acquire supplies from the traitorous Airam clan leader Ilay, but was foiled by the efforts of Rogue and Green Squadrons.[33]
The Alliance, intent on wearing down the remainders of the Imperial Task Force slowly but steadily, did not expect Admiral Senn to know the location of their most crucial asset in the Airam Sector by this time: The shipyard Calenz. The Super Star Destroyer Vengeance, accompanied by the Star Destroyer Rage, attacked the shipyard directly, and only the valiant efforts of Rogue and Green groups, the Calamari cruiser Liberty and an Airam corvette prevented the destruction of Calenz.[33]
While the Alliance surely would have preferred a more planned out engagement against the Super Star Destroyer, Senn's desperate attack allowed for the destruction of the task force remainders nonetheless and brought a conclusion to the campaign—the Airam sector was not likely to receive the attention of yet another sizeable Imperial fleet in the near future, making it a safe haven for the Rebel Alliance where they could regroup and rebuild in relative peace.[33]
The Alliance Regroups
Following the Subjugation of Bespin, the Rebel Alliance set out to save any Rebel prisoners from the Battle of Hoth. Rogue Squadron besieged a small Imperial detention facility in the Maw system, freeing all captives. A distress transmission was intercepted coming from a group of captive scientists from a Bakura orbiting detention facility. Besieging the center, Rogue Squadron lost a group of scientists who were abducted by a rogue escort carrier. After being tracked to Geonosis, the attacker revealed himself to be Sarkli, a former Rebel. During the ensuring battle, he and Wedge ended up on the planet's surface. He was thought dead after Wedge Antilles shot his LAAT gunship down.[34]
Mission to the Maw
On patrol at the Maw, Rogue Squadron found an Imperial prison center with prisoners from Hoth. Wedge Antilles sent his fighters to attack the TIE squadrons while he in his Y-wing bombed the turrets and destroyed the prison. During the escape the prisoners planted a number of explosive charges along the train track, destroying the facility.[35]
Operation Earplug
This campaign was for the Rebels to destroy the potential threat of the Teezl creature, meant for Imperial communications and coordination. The first part of the plan concerned the procurement of four black-market TIE Fighters, which would be modified into hyperspace-capable starfighters and used by the Flying Bantha Squadron in subsequent missions. As part of their test-run, the squadron's TIE fighters were used in an attack on Spindrift Station, an Imperial outpost said to hold the route coordinates for the massive fleet transporting the Teezl. With the coordinates secured, the entrance codes to the armada were next. These would be secured in an ambush on a TIE patrol, near the Imperial fleet's flight-path. The final part was when the Rebel obtained the route coordinates for the Imperial armada carrying the dangerous Teezl creature.They assigned four Flying Bantha Squadron pilots to perform the final task of the operation: an almost certain suicidal infiltration mission that would culminate in the destruction of the Teezl. Gaining access, the Rebel TIEs split off, chose random ships to target and begun the mayhem and confusion which would spread throughout the Imperial fleet. The commanders of the damaged vessels followed standard procedure and counterattacked, but since it was unclear which ships had hit the targets, the warships lashed out at random, hitting dozens of TIE fighters and even other capital ships.Imperial commander Admiral Giel managed to keep his cool during the Battle of Giel's armada. He ordered the Teezl to be used to fill all available comm channels with static, to prevent further communication between the Rebels. When activated, the Teezl forced Luke Skywalker to rely only on his powers to identify friend from foe, as he finally reached the area of Giel's vessel where the Teezl was kept. Being fired upon by defensive guns, he noticed a TIE fighter between him and the flagship. Using the Force to identify the pilot as an enemy, he fired on it and cleared the way for the main, powered-up shot. It hit the vessel, smashing through the hull and killing the Teezl instantly
After the Battle Luke fled the area, being chased by enemy fighters and using a patrol ship as temporary shield, before gaining enough time to activate his hyperdrive.
As a result of the loss of the Teezl, Admiral Mils Giel was demoted to lieutenant and reassigned. His ship was presumably led to a dock for repairs.[36]
The Battle of Gall
Dash Rendar confronted IG-88 on Ord Mantell and learned the whereabouts of Boba Fett, who had Han Solo as a captive; he was repairing his ship on Gall. Rogue Squadron and Rendar attacked the Imperial Enclave situated on the moon. However, this rescue mission was confounded by the presence of an Imperial Enclave, with two Star Destroyers on patrol. Luke concocted a risky plan, utilizing the combat skills of the Rogues to keep the Enclaves' fighter complement at bay while counting