Theed Hangar/Legends

The Theed Hangar was a large facility located alongside the triple-domed plasma refinery in the city of Theed, the capital of the planet Naboo. The headquarters of the Royal Naboo Security Forces and Starfighter Corps, the hangar housed the planet's N-1 starfighter fleet and the monarch's Royal starships and air-traffic control facility.

Equipped with sensitive radar array-based air-traffic control, tactical computer stations and a secret subterranean tunnel link to the palace, the hangar played a pivotal role in the Trade Federation's invasion of the planet in 32 BBY and became a rallying point for the eventual uprising against the occupation.

History
During the reign of the Naboo King Bon Tapalo, the Naboo were approached by Damask Holdings, an entity within the InterGalactic Banking Clan, with an offer of mining and exporting the plasma that was found in abundance in the planet's core. Despite trepidation at the idea of using primarily offworld businesses to jump-start the plasma industry, Tapalo agreed to the terms of Magister Hego Damask as the Muun was planning to back the king's bid for reelection.

When construction commenced existing parklands just east of the Royal Palace were removed and the and adjacent the Solleu River was rerouted to make room for the triple-domes of the new Plasma Refinery Complex and the hangar facility. Constructed by Outer Rim Construction and Assembly, the main hangar was the headquarters of the Royal Naboo Security Forces' fighter corps. By King Ars Veruna's reign, Naboo had become a major player in the interstellar plasma energy market. However, the planet's plasma exports became a source of dispute with the Trade Federation and a strenuous relationship with Magister Damask began to take its toll. Wary of looming conflict with the Federation, King Veruna expanded the role of the fighter corps and upped the budget to purchase new N-1 starfighters.

Despite Veruna's attempt to ease his people's fears of invasion, the military expansion only increased the growing discontent with his administration. Seeing Veruna as corrupted and out of touch with the peaceful traditions of the planet, the citizens of Naboo and Senator Palpatine rallied behind a young girl named Padmé Naberrie. Before demilitarization could occur, the Trade Federation invaded, blockading the system and taking the planet's populace hostage.

During the initial stages of the invasion, Queen Amidala and her retinue of handmaidens, guards, and Jedi protectors were able to briefly liberate the hangar, fleeing into space aboard the Queen's royal starship. Accompanied by the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Queen traveled to Coruscant to inform to the Galactic Senate and request its intervention in the occupation. During the fighting that erupted in the city, Captain Kael of the Queen's Security Forces was pinned down near the building's front annex by destroyer droids, but was rescued by Lieutenant Gavyn Sykes.



Upon the Queen's return to the planet she and the Jedi led an infiltration mission to retake the planet. Amidala's forces used hidden tunnels to covertly enter Theed, emerging alongside the hangar building. They were able to swiftly take full control of the facility, freeing hangar personnel including air traffic controllers and Bravo Squadron's pilots who took to their starfighters and attacked the orbital Droid Control Ship. Among them was a nine-year old Anakin Skywalker who would inadvertently fly an N-1 starfighter from the hangar to the control ship and destroy it, deactivating the droid army and bringing about an unlikely victory for the Gungan Grand Army in the Battle of Grassy Plains. During the battle for the hangar, Jinn and Kenobi assisted the Resistance forces by cutting through the door's power cells to cut off the Trade Federation reinforcements. When the attacking party went to enter through the main gate for the Hangar's Great Hall, they were stopped by the Sith Lord Darth Maul, forcing the Jedi into a showdown. Amidala then used another secret tunnel via the Hall to gain access to the Royal Palace. During the lightsaber duel, Darth Maul used a destroyed droideka to open the blast door leading to the Plasma Refinery Complex, where Jinn met his death and Maul was left for dead after being defeated by Kenobi. Later, after the battle was over, Kenobi and his new apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, were treated to a parade in the hangar as they left the planet. Nym, Vana Sage, and Reti, allies of the Security Forces, also launched from the hangar as they returned to their occupations.

When Skywalker and Kenobi returned in the Clone Wars to discover the mystery of Separatist Doctor Nuvo Vindi, they landed in the hangar with their contingent of clone troopers. Shortly after the rise of the Galactic Empire in the wake of the Clone Wars and the destruction of the Jedi Order, the Empire began storing weapons inside the hangar, particularly explosives. During a mission that brought a rebel group called the Erased to Naboo, rebels Clive Flax and Ferus Olin destroyed the hangar by setting off the explosives cache hidden within. The Empire temporarily withdrew from Naboo rather than retaliate and thus admit to their illegal weapons storage. Queen Apailana, while regretful of the destruction of the facility and the long process of reconstruction, agreed to the decision.

Exterior
A part of the Plasma Refinery Complex in the city of Theed, the city's main hangar facility was located in Theed's central district on the bank of the Solleu River and the Virdugo Plunge. In Theed, even a military facility demonstrated the Naboo's deep sense of artistic and spiritual expression. A model of Neo-Classical design, the structure had a simple but elegant form; it was both functional and graceful and was far more ornate than the stark utilitarian military facilities on other worlds. Constructed from large sandstone-like stone covered by a ribbed roof, the stone was embedded with a high-tensile durasteel support webbing while the roof was lined with blast-proof plates to protect the structure from attack.

Interior
The entrance to Theed Hangar was located in a small courtyard along the Solleu River. Accessed through a large curving arch, the building's interior was dominated by the massive hangar bay. Twice as long as it was wide, the hangar space had a curved ceiling which soared over a polished black floor; electrostatic grates in the floor helped dissipate the pollution levels in the room. Along the length of the room's walls were eight niches, sixteen in all, in which each held three N-1 fighters. A unique feature of the N-1's allowed for their tapered tails to plug into the walls where computer ports received coded battle strategies from the palace battle computer for download into starfighter computer banks. Energy ports in the docking bays delivered high-voltage charge to N-1 fighters from the adjacent generator. On the inner wall of the hangar, a tall archway was sealed with a heavy blast-proof door, beyond which stood the city's generator and Plasma Refinery Complex. Six power cells powered the three doors which led into hangar. The generators could be de-powered from a control panel.

The polished floor of the main flight deck reached a terminus of grey stone at the hangar mouth, which overlooked the plunging cliff face. Stretching from the mouth of the hangar to the far inner wall was a set of electromagnet rails which generated a gravity field designed to slow down all ships entering the facility. While the pilots of the Royal Naboo Security Forces employed both on-board flight computers and air-traffic control to navigate their fighters into the hangar, some experienced pilots created tall-tales, claiming they could eyeball the entrance by monitoring the affect of the wind on the nearby waterfall. Four flight guidance beacons adorned the hangar mouth, as well as two statues of the Naboo Goddess of Security and Safekeeping. The facility's main deck was retractable, allowing ships to be lowered or raised from the underground maintenance deck directly below.



A single story level resembling the main deck's architectural design, the maintenance deck was home to the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps who were responsible for the construction of Naboo space craft and their constant servicing and refitting. Overhead cranes ran on rails overhead and diagnostic stations allow maintenance teams to check the operating systems on any star craft in the fleet. Mobile maintenance and refueling vehicles maneuvered about the floor, providing flexible support to spacecraft in any of the repair bays along the side of the maintenance deck. Along the outer wall, a holding area for the fleets many astromech droids was where utility droids were prepared for onboard flight support assignments.

The highest chamber in the hangar was located above the flight deck in the facility's large cupola. Smaller then the neighboring refinery, the domed structure housed the city's air traffic control nerve center, staffed by specialized members of the security force. The center of the chamber was occupied by a large array of dishes and computer equipment surrounded by a ring of power transmitters capable of degrading and burning out the radar systems of enemy craft. Along the outer wall were work stations where controllers operated the guidance system which used traction mechanics. Embedded into the large lintel-like feature above the flight entrance, the equipment guided spacecraft into the hangar automatically by locking onto their flight coordinates.

Along the riverside of the complex stood two-story anterooms with large window panes looking out on to the small parade grounds along the bank of the Solleu. The anteroom closest to the cliff's edge was known as the Great Hall; with marble floors and pillars soaring into the room's vaulted ceiling, the chamber was used by the Monarch for troop inspection during ceremonial parades. The other structure was the headquarters of the Security Force and home to a pilot training academy, equipped with a simulator program which conjured up the effects of an attack.

Behind the scenes
The Theed Hangar first appeared on-screen during the 1999 release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Several diagrams of the facility would later appear in the source books Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Episode I and later again in Star Wars: Complete Locations. Within both these books, the hangar is depicted as resting to the left of the palace when viewing the city from the cliff side. However, the aerial view of Theed in the 2005 release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith places the building on the right side of the palace as viewed from a similar angle. As the movies claim precedence, the hangars are fixed as being on the right side of the palace.

In the 2000 video game Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles, the Jedi fight a battle which contradicts Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. They engage Plasma battle droids, but in the film, their escape is unhindered.



While both above mentioned source books reference the hangar as the location of the Royal Naboo Security Forces' headquarters, the 2000 video game Star Wars: Battle for Naboo depicts it as the headquarters as a different building made completely of stone with a broad staircase at its front. Whether or not this facility is meant to be a supplementary building, or simply game mechanics, is unknown at this time.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars: Starfighter
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * Star Wars: Battle for Naboo
 * "End Game"
 * Episode I: Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Star Wars: Starfighter
 * Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: Darth Maul's Mission