Hosnian Cataclysm

Hosnian Cataclysm

TheHosnian Cataclysm, also known as thedestruction of Hosnian Prime, thedestruction of the Hosnian system, theattack on Hosnian Prime, theHosnian Calamity, theStarkiller Incident, or theStarkiller Base incident, was the destruction of theHosnian system by theFirst Order in34 ABY during theCold War that marked the annihilation ofCourtsilius,Raysho,Hosnian,Cardota, andHosnian Prime, the thencapital of theNew Republic, byStarkiller Base, asuperweapon onIlum inside theUnknown Regions that was capable of destroying entirestar systems. The massivesub-hyperspace ripple created by the destruction of the system made the event visible in realtime aroundthe galaxy, including theplanets ofTakodana andVardos.

With the destruction of Hosnian Prime came the destruction of theGalactic Senate and theHome Fleet of theNew Republic Defense Fleet as the conflict between the First Order and theResistance escalated into fullopen warfare. With the New Republic political structure decimated and its most important fleet in ruins, the First Order and itsarmed forces had established itself as the primary power in the galaxy as both the Resistance and the weakened New Republic were left vulnerable.

In the aftermath of the event,GeneralLeia Organa of the Resistance organized a counterattack to destroy the First Order superweapon. TheBattle of Starkiller Base ensued, resulting in the base's destruction moments before the Starkiller was ready to fire onD'Qar, the location of theResistance base.

Prelude[]

At the end of theGalactic Civil War, theGalactic Empire was defeated by theNew Republic, the government formed by theAlliance to Restore the Republic after the death ofthe Emperor during theBattle of Endor. The Empire officially signed a treaty, theGalactic Concordance, with the Republic,^[11] keeping theremnants of the Imperial confined to their territories in theCore Worlds and theInner Rim.^[12] What remained of theImperial Starfleet, however, retreated into theUnknown Regions and ultimately formed theFirst Order, a successor force with the goal of destroying the New Republic and bringing order tothe galaxy. As part of their plan, the First Order built a fleet in the shadows of the Unknown Regions and constructed a newsuperweapon calledStarkiller Base, prepared to strike from a hidden and covert position, which was capable of destroying entirestar systems. The construction of the Starkiller weapon marked the culmination of efforts by the Old Empire to researchdark energy translations andhyperspace tunneling,^[11] and it was a successor to theDS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station and theDS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station superweapons that came before it.^[1]

During theconflict that had only just begun to spark between the First Order and theResistance,Supreme LeaderSnoke, the leader of the First Order, consideredLuke Skywalker an existential threat to the designs of the First Order. Snoke believed that if Skywalker, the last of theJedi, returned from the exile he imposed on himself after thedestruction of his new generation of Jedi and aided the Resistance, a newJedi Order could arise to threaten him.Kylo Ren, apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke, attempted to find the last piece of a map that they needed to locate Skywalker, but his efforts at first proved unsuccessful.GeneralArmitage Hux, commander of the Starkiller, argued in favor of using the weapon to destroy the Republic and eliminate the government he believed was illegitimate and ill-equipped to lead the galaxy. Hux argued that without the Republic, the Resistance would no longer be a threat. Snoke agreed and ordered him to oversee preparations.^[1]

The Hosnian Cataclysm[]

Under orders from Snoke, Hux prepared the Starkiller weapon to fire against theHosnian system^[1] in the Core Worlds, thecapital of the New Republic.^[11] When the weapon was ready, Hux addressed,^[1] in effectively what was a Neo-Imperial manifesto,^[10] the legions ofstormtroopers under his command who assembled to witness the destructive firepower of the weapon. Hux promised that this day would be the end of the New Republic and ultimately, the Resistance, the culmination of everything the troops had worked towards. Hux then commanded that the weapon be fired, and massive beams of energy were fired across the galaxy towards the Hosnian system. When they arrived, the astronomical bodies of the system were destroyed, includingHosnian Prime.^[1][11] With the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the capital planet of the Republic,^[11] came the destruction of theGalactic Senate and theHome Fleet of theNew Republic Defense Fleet.^[13] The casualties on Hosnian Prime includedChancellorLanever Villecham andKorr Sella, an envoy from the Resistance sent by GeneralLeia Organa to warn the Senate about the threat of the First Order—a warning that came too late.^[1][11]

The destruction of the Hosnian system was visible from across the galaxy, and this caused terror and shock on countless worlds that had no idea what was happening. The famedsmugglersHan Solo andChewbacca, along with stormtrooper defectorFinn, witnessed the system's destruction fromTakodana, in theMid Rim. The sight led to confusion on Takodana, but Finn told Solo and Chewbacca that what they were seeing was the First Order using the Starkiller to destroy the Republic capital.^[1] Ex-Imperial and member ofInferno SquadIden Versio also witnessed it from herhome planet ofVardos. Resistance member Shriv Suurgav, who was also present, immediately knew that it was the First Order but was unable to work out what they had done until they were captured by First Order officerGideon Hask; while Shriv was staggered and horrified, Hask referred to the system's destruction as a thing of beauty.^[2]

OnCastilon,Kazuda Xiono andTorra Doza witnessed a First Order broadcast of the event. As a native of Hosnian Prime, Xiono was devastated and feared that he had lost hisfamily and friends,^[6] although his family were actually off-planet and survived the attack. Xiono'sfather andmother tried to contact him fordays.^[14]

Aftermath[]

The destruction of the Hosnian system caused a massive disturbance inthe Force that was immediately felt by Organa on D'Qar, almost causing her to buckle from the sheer volume of deaths.^[16]

After the destruction of the Hosnian system, thewar raged on, and the Resistance mounted a reconnaissance run on Starkiller Base to learn more about the First Order base that destroyed the Republic. Tracing the route of the phantom energy beam, the Resistance located the Starkiller, and Organa orderedBlack Squadron to develop a way to launch a reconnaissance mission on the base.^[17]

Jessika Pava designed a minimal stealthrecon pod that would be towed into theStarkiller Base system by aT-70 X-wing starfighter, passively skim above the base's atmosphere while taking measurements, and then be picked up again by the X-wing. While Pava planned to pilot the pod,Temmin Wexley volunteered with his wifeKaré Kun piloting the X-wing. The two had justbeen married and wished to spend as much time together as possible in the event that the Resistance was wiped out shortly thereafter.^[17]

The reconnaissance mission was a success, though Wexley was barely able to make it out of the atmosphere of Starkiller Base, sustaining damage and requiring him to broadcast the data to his wife, giving up his location to the First Order. However, she was able to recover his damaged pod by clamping it between theS-foils of her X-wing, bringing them back toD'Qar.^[17] However, due to this, the First Order was able to learn the location of theResistance base.^[1]

With the location identified, the Resistance put a plan in motion to destroy the Starkiller before it could destroy D'Qar. Finn, Solo, and Chewbacca were sent to the weapon first to disable its shields, whileCommanderPoe Dameron led astarfighterassault against the base'sthermal oscillator, which contained the energy that it drained fromstars in order to power its weapon. The Resistance forces successfully destroyed the weapon but at the cost of a number of Resistance lives, including Solo and many starfighterpilots.^[1]

The Hosnian Cataclysm led to a complete shift in the galactic status quo and for all intents and purposes, the New Republic ceased to exist or function.^[15] Although the New Republic had never had the size or influence of theGalactic Republic at its height, it had been the dominant galactic power since theBattle of Jakku. Now, with its political structure decimated and its important fleet in ruins, the First Order had established itself as the primary power in the galaxy, with sufficient resources to conquer it. Systems and planets across the galaxy, that had been tempted by the First Order's promises of security, instantly capitulated, while several others were taken by conquest.^[18] A few senators, such as Hosnian Prime'sHamato Xiono, survived the destruction of the Senate, as had several units of the military. However, the remaining task forces had been dissolved by the senators, who redirected the last forces of the Republic fleet to protect their homeworlds from the First Order.^[13]

Prior the cataclysm,historianChalm Plesk had also travelled to Hosnian Prime to plead his case for publication of theThe Last War Against the Galactic Empire: On Deployment with the New Republic Fleet that covered thereturn ofGrand AdmiralThrawn tothe galaxy before the Senate as it was blocked by several military figures, but Plesk too perished, leaving the book unpublished.^[15]

At least one group of former New Republic senators that survived the Cataclysm ended up being captured by the First Order and held on a First Order space station alongside various pirates and smugglers. During a Resistancemission, Resistance operatives Poe Dameron and Finn discovered the presence of these captured senators and their fellow captives while making their escape from the station. Finn however came to the quick conclusion that their time and opportunity would be better spent prioritizing their mission and informing Leia about the senators once they returned.^[19]

Over a year after the Cataclysm, the Resistance managed to defeat the First Order and theSith Eternal with the help of aCitizens' Fleet.^[20]

Behind the scenes[]

The destruction of the Hosnian system was depicted in the2015 filmStar Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens, the first installment of theStar Warssequel trilogy.^[1]

DirectorJ.J. Abrams felt that if he hadn't cut the scenes ofMaisie Richardson-Sellers's Korr Sella, the sequence could have turned out better and provoked a more emotional reaction.^[21] Abrams initially filmed a scene in which Leia Organa tasked Sella with going to the Galactic Senate and warning them about the First Order, butdeleted it from the final cut as he agreed with writerMichael Arndt that Leia's reintroduction would be more powerful through Han Solo's eyes later on Takodana.^[22]

Pablo Hidalgo, creative executive of theLucasfilm Story Group, suggested that the reason the blast from Starkiller Base could be immediately seen from Takodana was a "sub-hyperspace rip side-effect" of the Starkiller.^[23]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "Scouting for Leia"
• LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "A Mission with Maz"
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources[]

Notes and references[]