Destruction of Alderaan
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Concurrent
Destruction of Alderaan
Conflict
Place
Outcome
Affiliations involved
- "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi senses Alderaan's destruction[1]
TheDestruction of Alderaan, known to theAlderaanians asthe Disaster, saw theplanetAlderaan in theCoruscant Core destroyed at the hands of theGalactic Empire during theGalactic Civil War. Before the Disaster, theRebel Alliancestole theplans for theDeath Star, the Empire's deep-space mobilebattle station.PrincessLeia Organa of Alderaan was captured during an Imperialattempt to intercept the plans, and she was brought aboard the Death Star following her capture aboard theTantive IV above the desert world ofTatooine. Once aboard, the young princess was tortured in the hopes that the Empire could extract the location of theRebel base from her. Organa refused, and the station's commander,Grand MoffWilhuff Tarkin,Governor of theOuter Rim Territories, threatened to use the Death Star to destroy Alderaan if she did not comply. Organa provided a false location, and although Tarkin believed her, he nonetheless destroyed Alderaan—and the billions of people living there—to demonstrate the station's power tothe galaxy, and in doing so, the price of any type of dissidence.
The Destruction of Alderaan and the massive loss of life sent a greatdisturbance throughthe Force, weakening those who felt it.Alderaanians who were off-world at the time took to calling Alderaan's destruction the Disaster.Riots broke out in Alderaanian immigrant areas of the planetCoruscant, and the Empire killed many rioters and arrested many more immigrants. The Rebellion was ultimately able to prevent further planets from being destroyed when the RebelpilotLuke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star during theBattle of Yavin. After the battle, Organa set out to find surviving Alderaanians in order to preserve what remained of the planet's culture.
Prelude[]
- "I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
- ―Princess Leia Organa, in aholographic message to Obi-Wan Kenobi[1]
The Disaster as foreseen by Anakin Skywalker
During theClone Wars, a trio ofJedi—Obi-Wan Kenobi,Anakin Skywalker, andAhsoka Tano—werebrought to the realm ofMortis by a group ofForce wielders who dwelled there. These beings believed that Skywalker was theChosen One who would oneday bring balance tothe Force and destroy theSith. One of the beings, theSon—a representation of thedark side of the Force—showed Skywalker avision of theJedi Knight's future asDarth Vader, aDark Lord of the Sith. In the vision, Skywalker witnessed events of his future, including the Destruction ofAlderaan[11], an influential memberworld within theGalactic Republic. Skywalker briefly turned to the dark side as a result of the vision, but he gave up the dark side and his memory of his future was erased by theFather.[12]
Throughout the Clone Wars, Alderaan and its representative in theGalactic Senate,SenatorBail Prestor Organa, were publicly opposed to the war effort against theConfederacy of Independent Systems. At the end of the war,Darth Sidious—the Dark Lord of the Sith, publicly known asSupreme Chancellor Palpatine—transformed the Republic into theGalactic Empire.[13] In theyears that followed, the Empire considered Alderaan to be a hotbed of rebellious activity, and it warned Imperial citizens that Alderaan was a dangerous world intent on ending the security that the Empire supposedly brought tothe galaxy.[14] Alderaan became a founding member of theAlliance to Restore the Republic, a Rebel Alliance opposed to the Imperial regime.[15] During theGalactic Civil War, the Rebelsstole the technical plans for theDeath Star, a deep space mobilebattle station capable of destroying entire planets,[1] in theBattle of Scarif.[16]
Grand MoffWilhuff Tarkin—Governor of theOuter Rim Territories and thecommander of the Death Star[1]—also cemented his control over the battle station during that battle, as his rival for power over it,DirectorOrson Callan Krennic, was killed in a test firing against Scarif's surface to wipe out remaining rebel forces. TheRogue One team, however, managed to transmit the plans to the orbitingRebel Alliance Navy before their demise.[16] Afterward, Tarkin ordered the Death Star to be taken to the world ofRango Tan, where he ordered theImperial weapons technicians, includingChief GunnerEndo Frant, to fire on the world as a test of their obedience. Aware that the world was home to a pre-hyperdrive society who had been neutral in all recent conflicts, as Tarkin madeChief of the Imperial NavyAdmiralConan Antonio Motti tell all aboard about the culture, many of thegunners refused to fire. As such, Tarkin assembled the 168 gunners in charge of firing the superlaser and spoke directly with Frant, explaining how dangerous the Rebellion was. He made all 168 gunners agree to follow orders the next time around.[10]
PrincessLeia Organa, the adoptive daughter of Bail and secretly the daughter of Darth Vader, was entrusted with bringing the captured Death Star plans to Kenobi, who had gone intoexile on thedesert world ofTatooine. The princess was captured during abattle over Tatooine, but twodroids—R2-D2 andC-3PO—escaped the princess'ship, theTantive IV, and were able to bring the plans to Kenobi. TheJedi Master, along withLuke Skywalker—secretly Vader's son, and Leia'stwin brother—and the two droids, set out to bring the stolen plans to Bail on Alderaan. They hired theMillennium Falcon,captained by thesmugglerHan Solo and co-piloted by theWookieeChewbacca, to give them passage to Alderaan.[1]
The Disaster[]
Arrival at Alderaan[]
- "Alderaan was supposedly selected as the Death Star's first full-scale target to compel Princess Leia into revealing the location of the main rebel base. But this is only a partial explanation. The Death Star ceased to be a secret weapon as soon as it entered Alderaanian orbit. It was never going to leave the planet intact. It is therefore highly likely that Tarkin and the Emperor had pre-selected Alderaan because of, rather than in spite of, its inhabitants' pacifism and the way their morality had caused the Empire numerous political problems in the Imperial Senate. They intended to send a message about where all forms of resistance to Imperial rule—even non-violent resistance—would now lead, something Palpatine made even more clear when he simultaneously disbanded the Senate."
- ―Beaumont Kin,The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire[7]
The Death Star firing on Alderaan ushered in a new era of Imperial oppression.
Following her capture, the princess was brought aboard the Death Star, where she was interrogated andtortured by Darth Vader in the hopes that she would reveal the location of the Rebel base, which was located in theGreat Temple onYavin 4. The torture was ineffective, and Leia refused to give up the location of the Rebellion, because of her powers of the Force. In order to persuade her to give up the information, as well as to finally demonstrate the power of the Death Star to thegalaxy, Tarkin ordered that thestation set course for Alderaan.[1] Later historianBeaumont Kin would theorize that, while on the surface the destruction of Alderaan was simply a way to force Organa to reveal the location of the rebel base, Tarkin and Palpatine had pre-selected the world as a target for the Death Star, exploiting the native peoples' pacificism and how that sense of mortality had been an annoyance to Imperial politics via Alderaan's representation in the Imperial Senate. Furthermore, Kin pointed out how any sense of secrecy around the Death Star would cease the moment it appeared over Alderaan, implying the Empire had no reason to leave the world intact. Combined with the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, Kin believed that the destruction of Alderaan was intended to usher in a new era of Imperial rule where even non-violent resistance would be punished by a genocide carried out with the push of a button.[7]
Upon the station's arrival at Alderaan, Leia was brought to the Death Star'soverbridge where Tarkin threatened to destroy the planet if she did not comply the Empire's demands to provide the location of the Rebellion. Leia was not prepared to give up the Rebels, but she also did not want to lose herhomeworld and the millions of people who lived there. As a result, she lied to Tarkin and told him that the Rebelbase was located onDantooine. Although Tarkin believed her, he still intended to make use of the weapon; whereas Dantooine was too remote to give an effective demonstration of the Death Star's power, he saw Alderaan as the perfect target,[1] whichQueenBreha Organa, watching the battle station from the surface, realized as well: Alderaan was a major, populous Core World known for its peace and prosperity. In destroying Alderaan, the Empire would demonstrate that no world was too sacred or populous to avoid destruction.[17] Furthermore, Tarkin had also noticed Frant sigh in relief at not needing to destroy his homeworld, which Tarkin took as a sign of weakness that needed to be dealt with.[10]
Opening fire[]
- "Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan."
"No! Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons. You can't possibly—"
"You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system! I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?"
"Dantooine. They're all on Dantooine."
"There. You see, Lord Vader? She can be reasonable. Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready."
"What?!"
"You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry. We will deal with your rebel friends soon enough." - ―Wilhuff Tarkin and Leia Organa[1]
The Death Star blast seen on the surface
Tarkin gave the order to fire upon Alderaan.[1] Frant and several other gunners throughout the station hesitated but ultimately obeyed. However,bio-trackers installed within their helmets, done at the request of Tarkin after the Rango Tan test, caught their hesitation.[10] The Death Star'ssuperlaser destroyed the planet inseconds, sending out a shockwave in all directions.[1] The means of destruction fulfilled the vision that Anakin had seen on Mortis years earlier.[12] As a result of its destruction, all that remained of the planet was adebris field.[1] The two billion people living on the planet werekilled,[18] includingViceroy Bail Organa[8] and hiswife Breha.[9]
Bail and Breha were both in theRoyal Palace in thecapital ofAldera at thetime, and saw the Death Stareclipse thesun beforehand. Bail then immediately realized what was about to happen when he saw this, and he and his wife died together, hoping that their daughter was still alive, as the last they had heard of her was that theTantive IV had been destroyed.[17] Leia's oldtoy droidL0-LA59 "Lola" was also destroyed.[19] The destruction was powerful enough that it sent a massivedisturbance through the Force, one that Kenobi felt aboard theMillennium Falcon. Although he could not determine precisely what had happened, he could feel in the Force that millions of voices cried out in terror before they were silenced—the moment of the planet's destruction.[1]
Watched from the Death Star[]
With the station's visits to Jedha and Scarif having been kept secret from most of the crew,[20] all Imperials aboard the Death Star were ordered to watch Alderaan's destruction either byeye or on a screen.[21]Thane Kyrell,Ciena Ree,Nash Windrider, andJude Edivon, recentgraduates of theRoyal Imperial Academy, were present on the station and witnessed the destruction. Horrified by the Empire's ruthlessness, Kyrell later defected to join the Rebel Alliance. While sharing Thane's horror, Ree was unable to abandon her oath to the Empire and would remain loyal even until theBattle of Jakkufive years later. While theAlderaanian Windrider was distraught by the destruction of his homeworld, it ultimately led him to rededicate his life to the Empire.[22]
He eventually rationalized his homeworld's destruction as necessary to the security of the Empire, and became ruthlessly dedicated to upholding its tyrannical rule. Meanwhile, Edivon rationalized that the destruction of Alderaan saved many lives from being killed in a war, though she herself struggled to accept this. Despite Edivon's prediction, the planet's destruction only strengthened the Alliance's resolve to overthrow the Empire and avenge the billions murdered. She later identified aflaw in the Death Star's design, but failed to convince her superiors to order an evacuation. Jude later perished during theBattle of Yavin.[22]
Aftermath[]
- "As wespeak, the Imperials are hunting down all surviving Alderaanians."
"All? How do you know?"
"Word travels through the Rebel forces. Too much so to simply be rumor." - ―Evaan Verlaine and Leia Organa[9]
TheMillennium Falcon approaches the Death Star through the remains of Alderaan.
Following Alderaan's destruction,Imperial forces investigated Leia's claim that the Rebels were on Dantooine. Although they found the remains of a base, it had been abandoned for some time.[1] On Dantooine, they also encountered the roguearchaeologistChelli Lona Aphra, who was shocked to learn of the power of the Death Star. She also deduced it would have multiple gunners, thereby keeping those aboard from feeling guilty about destroying a planet by allowing them to reason they were not at fault.[23] Following the Destruction of Alderaan[11], Tarkin went to deal with the several gunners, including Frant, who had hesitated before firing. After failing to convince the resistant gunners to agree to his ideals, Tarkin had the gunners tossed out the airlock.[10]
Meanwhile, theMillennium Falcon had entered the debris field and was captured by the Death Star, forcing its passengers and crew to find a means of escape. While Kenobi disabled thetractor beam that trapped the ship, Luke set off with Solo and Chewbacca torescue Leia. They fought their way out of theDetention Level and returned to theFalcon, where they witnessed Kenobi engage inlightsaber combat with Vader. To give the Rebels a chance to escape, and to achieveimmortality, Kenobi allowed Vader to kill him. The Rebels escaped to the base on Yavin 4, where the Empire followed them. Having analyzed the Death Star plans, the Rebels mounted the Battle ofYavin, in which Luke destroyed the Death Star, killing Tarkin and all Imperial personnel onboard.[1]
In the days after the planet's destruction, word spread that Alderaan had been destroyed. Alderaanians who were off-world at the time took to calling their world's destruction[3] The Disaster.[18]Vigils were held amongst the Alderaanian immigrant population onLevel 3204 on Imperial Center, the capital planet of the Empire, in order to grieve for the missing and dead Alderaanians. When it became apparent through official government statements andpirated newsfeeds that the Empire had destroyed the planet, the vigils turned into riots, with calls for justice and revolution against the Empire. At first, many rioters were killed. Soon, however, Imperialstormtroopers andCoruscant underworld police arrested first-generation Alderaanians, justifying the arrests by saying that they needed to be questioned due to reports of so-called Rebelspies attempting to foment rebellion. Rumors suggested that second-generation Alderaanians were being given the benefit of the doubt and relocated.[3]
Remember Alderaan, apropaganda poster utilized by the Rebel Alliance after the Disaster
Many Alderaanians in service to the Rebel Alliance began wearing a tattoo of theRebel Alliance starbird called atear beneath their eye following the Disaster. The symbol was common enough that Imperial troops were able to recognize such fighters as Alderaanian on-sight.[24] Meanwhile, Darth Vader ordered the Imperial Military toannihilate any surviving Alderaanians. The Empire doubled down their search of the Alderaanians,attacking a trading outpost atFostar Haven in an effort to locate anAlderaanian refugee convoy. The ImperialHelix Squadron received orders fromCommodoreRae Sloane to hunt down the refugees, but one of theirpilots,CaptainLindon Javes, defected to protect the refugees and sent a distress signal to the RebelEcho Squadron. The ensuing engagement resulted in the escape of theconvoy, and the Imperial suffering multiple lost warships.[6]
Following the Battle of Yavin,Evaan Verlaine, apilot in the Rebel Alliance and one of the surviving Alderaanians, informed Leia that the Empire had begun targeting the remaining Alderaanians. To preserve what was left of her people and her culture, Leiaset out with Evaan to locate and save her people from the Empire.[9] Severalweeks later, the Rebel AllianceassaultedCymoon 1 in order to destroyWeapons Factory Alpha, perhaps the largestweapons factory in the galaxy. During the assault, Leia ordered Solo to kill Vader in order to avenge the death of Kenobi and the destruction of Alderaan. Vader survived the attack, however, with only minor injuries.[25]
When Leia announced her and Han Solo's engagement toMon Mothma, Mothma told Leia that she wished Bail and Breha were there, causing Leia to think of the loss of her parents as well as the loss of Alderaan.[19] During theNew Republic Era, two prominent figures of theFirst Order,Kylo Ren andGeneralArmitage Hux, landed on atropical planet inhabited byBlysma, an ex-Alderaan Guard who survived the Disaster as he was offworld. When he told Hux about the destruction of Alderaan, the General showed a sadistic smile.[26]
In28 ABY,[27] Leia cited the destruction of Alderaan as one of the main reasons for which she couldn't forgive her father, even posthumously, to SenatorRansolm Casterfo fromRiosa.[28]Six years later,[29] following theBattle of Crait, while trying toconvince theMon Calamari to join theResistance and fight against the First Order, Organa acknowledged that what she was asking them would require a kind of sacrifice as she had done several times over the years, silently remembering when the Death Star destroyed her homeworld.[30]
Behind the scenes[]
The Disaster was first depicted in the1977 filmStar Wars: Episode IVA New Hope[1] and was first identified in the2014 short story "One Thousand Levels Down."[3] On the Star Wars Databank, The Disaster is identified with the name Destruction of Alderaan.[11]
An early abandoned plot point for the1983 filmStar Wars: Episode VIReturn of the Jedi, according toA New Hope producerGary Kurtz, had the surviving Alderaanians crowning Leia Organa as their Queen, isolating herself. Luke Skywalker was left on his own, as Han Solo's death was also in the plot, and it would give way to the then differently plannedsequel trilogy.[31]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "Crossing Paths"(Mentioned only)- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑1.001.011.021.031.041.051.061.071.081.091.101.111.121.131.141.151.161.171.181.191.201.211.221.231.241.25Star Wars: Episode IVA New Hope
- ↑Battlefront: Twilight Company
- ↑3.03.13.23.3
"One Thousand Levels Down" —Star Wars Insider 151 - ↑Star Wars Helmet Collection: Imperial GunnerHighlights of the Saga: The Death Star
- ↑Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
- ↑6.06.1Star Wars: Squadrons
- ↑7.07.17.2Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
- ↑8.08.1
Bail Organa in theDatabank(backup link) - ↑9.09.19.29.3Princess Leia 1
- ↑10.010.110.210.310.4Age of Rebellion - Grand Moff Tarkin 1
- ↑11.011.111.2
Destruction of Alderaan onStarWars.com(backup link) - ↑12.012.1Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Ghosts of Mortis"
- ↑Star Wars: Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith
- ↑The Rebellion Begins
- ↑ Rebel Alliance in theDatabank(backup link)
- ↑16.016.1Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- ↑17.017.1"Eclipse" —From a Certain Point of View
- ↑18.018.1Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- ↑19.019.1The Princess and the Scoundrel
- ↑"End of Watch" —From a Certain Point of View
- ↑Battlefront II: Inferno Squad
- ↑22.022.1Lost Stars
- ↑"The Trigger" —From a Certain Point of View
- ↑Star Wars: The Mandalorian — "Chapter 16: The Rescue"
- ↑Star Wars (2015) 2
- ↑Age of Resistance - General Hux 1
- ↑ Del Rey (@DelReyStarWars) onTwitter (post):"So excited to have @claudiagray writing a #StarWars novel with us. SW: New Republic: Bloodline coming 2016. Set 6 years before TFA."(screenshot) establishes that the events ofBloodline take place sixyears before the events ofStar Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens.Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the events ofThe Force Awakens to34 ABY, soBloodline must take place in28 ABY.
- ↑Bloodline
- ↑Star Wars: Allegiance takes place betweenStar Wars: Galaxy's Edge andStar Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens.The Star Wars Book places theBattle of Batuu fromStar Wars: Galaxy's Edge in the same year asStar Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens, whichStar Wars: Galactic Atlas places in34 ABY. Therefore,Star Wars: Allegiance takes place in 34ABY as well.
- ↑Allegiance 4
- ↑ TheForce.Net - Latest News - Interviews - Gary Kurtz Reveals Original Plans for Episodes 1-9 by TheForce.net onTheForce.net (backup link archived onJanuary 7,2020)
