World Devastator

World Devastators were gigantic machines with strong tractor beams attached to them, employed by one of Emperor Palpatine's clones. They would land on the surface of a planet, and the tractor beams would literally tear the planet beneath them apart, and then consume it, thus making them planet killers.

The deconstruction of the planet and its resources would then be used for both fuel for the Devastator and for manufacturing starships, starfighters, and droids over a period of a few months. Eventually the planet would become a debris field. these machines' shields were so strong that not even concentrated turbolaser fire could penetrate them, and most times any conflict with another enemy ship would result in the consumption of that ship by the World Devastator. They first saw action in the Battle of Mon Calamari where they were used by the reborn Emperor Palpatine against Mon Calamari which was the temporary capital of the New Republic after the Imperial Remnant recaptured Coruscant. There they devoured many of the Mon Calamari floating cities and recycled them to make countless assault vehicles including TIE/D Fighters and Wavewalkers.

These massive foundries churned out new vehicles and war machines, sent into battle straight from the assembly line. The internal factories could create anything from a starfighter or speeder to a medium-sized cruiser, given enough resources. Each World Devastator was controlled by a central droid brain - the sentient crewmembers were onboard to oversee production and handle navigation or weapons systems. The droid brain was responsible for creating the new weapons of war, and was programmed with a massive store of ship types and parameters, able to create a wide variety of vessels for any combat situation. In addition, the factories could also focus on upgrading the World Devastator itself; a portion of the raw materials created in the furnace was set aside for advancements to the main body. With these unique customizations, no two 'mature' World Devastators were truly alike. Though it often took several months to fully consume a planet, the results were terrifying.

It seemed that the only way to destroy a World Devastator was to have another Devastator consume it.

The ocean world of Mon Calamari had once been slated for destruction by the first Death Star. With the destruction of that battle station - and its successor - it seemed as if Mon Calamari was free of the Empire's grip. But when the reborn Emperor Palpatine launched his attack, Mon Calamari became the first target of his World Devastators. Led by the massive Silencer-7, the Devastator squad descended on Mon Calamari, smashing the floating cities and shipyards, feeding their factories in anticipation of a New Republic counterstrike. Admiral Ackbar sent a New Republic fleet to deal with the devastating attack on his homeworld, including the captured Imperial Star Destroyer Emancipator and a squadron of X-wings. Yet nothing the New Republic threw at the Devastators could stop their inexorable march.

The World Devastators launched automated TIE/D Fighters against the Republic starfighters, and one Devastator headed into orbit to face the Emancipator head-on. The Devastator devoured the Star Destroyer in its boiling furnace, forcing the crew to evacuate or become the metal monster's next meal. Luckily, the Rebels had another force in reserve, and sent V-wing and E-wing squadrons to the surface to engage the Devastators. Suddenly, the assault weapons stopped dead in the water. While the Alliance believed the Imperial commander was too inept to even claim victory with the Devastators, this sudden turn of events was entirely to plan. Luke Skywalker had infiltrated the upper echelons of Imperial command by supposedly allying himself with Palpatine. From his position as Supreme Commander, Skywalker was able to shut down the Devastators. Unfortunately, their internal factories continued churning out Wavewalkers and TIE/D Fighters, forcing the New Republic to implement a new plan.

Luke Skywalker smuggled a wealth of Imperial data into Rebel hands, via R2-D2. The little droid was able to decipher the data, and create a new code that would interfere with the Devastators' droid brains. The virus worked wonders; the Devastators turned on each other, leaving nothing but dead hulks in the Calamari oceans. The galaxy was free of the threat of the World Devastators once and for all.

Appearances

 * Dark Empire