Death Star II

"Through sheer stupid luck, the rebels managed to destroy the first Death Star. By rebuilding the Death Star, and using it as many times as necessary to restore order, we prove that their luck only goes so far. We prove that we are the only galactic authority and always will be."

- Lieutenant Nash Windrider

The Death Star II, sometimes referred to as simply the Death Star was a massive battle station with enough firepower to destroy an entire planet. Following the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the original Death Star, the Galactic Empire began construction on a newer and better armed battle station, one more powerful than the original.

Before it could be used on the galaxy, it was ultimately destroyed by the Millennium Falcon, a YT-1300 light freighter, after a critical hit on its reactor core.

Design
The station was a large spheroid structure 160 km in diameter and featured 560 internal levels which could contain 2,471,647 passengers and crew. A large concave dish in the station's northern hemisphere housed its superlaser.

Armaments
The most prominent weapon on the Death Star II was its impressive superlaser, which unlike the original Death Star only had a three minute recharge time. Powered by the station's hypermatter reactors, the superlaser would focus multiple lasers through massive kyber crystals into a single destructive beam. For point-defense capabilities, it featured 15,000 heavy and standard turbolaser batteries along with 7,500 laser cannons and 5,000 ion cannons. It housed 768 tractor beam emplacements, as well as complements of TIE/LN starfighters for space-based encounters and a plethora of AT-AT and AT-STs for surface operations.

Power
The station was powered by several hypermatter reactors, the destruction of which could be catastrophic to the station.

Origins
With the destruction of the first Death Star in the Yavin system, the Empire was left in a vertiginous state as the Imperial military reeled at such a sizable loss of its martial forces. With the dissolution of the Imperial Senate and increasing pirate and rebel attacks, the Emperor immediately began construction on a new and improved battle station, one more powerful and without the fatal flaw of its predecessor. To ameliorate the failings of the previous station, Emperor Palpatine executed the designer responsible for the first station's weak spot, then cloned him to make the second station without any imperfections. Upon the station's completion, the Emperor planned on sending invasion fleets larger than any seen in centuries to blockade the rebellious worlds of Mon Cala and Chandrila until the Death Star could destroy them, effectively ending any hope the galaxy may have in defeating the Empire and its tyrannical regime.

Destruction
"Remote sensors detected an unusual level of Imperial activity in the Hudalla system. Nothing in that area should be of interest to the Empire or to anyone else. Why then is the Empire establishing a presence there?"

- Admiral Gial Ackbar

Planning to draw the Alliance into a doomed attack against the newer battle station, large portions of the Imperial Starfleet began massing in the Hudalla system in preparations for the upcoming engagement. After members of the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps under Corona Squadron arrived in the system, the Empire immediately sent several TIE/LN starfighters to destroy the vessels. Nonetheless, several ships managed to escape and bring their intel back to Alliance High Command, which received further information given to them from the Bothan spynet regarding the Death Star's presumed capabilities, all which was purposely leaked by Palpatine. In an effort to allow its scattered fleet time to assemble over the Outer Rim world of Sullust, the Alliance embarked on Operation Yellow Moon which aimed to distract the Imperials of the buildup until it was too late.

With the station under construction over Endor when Emperor Palpatine personally oversaw parts of the station's construction, the Rebel Alliance could not resist the opportunity to destroy not only the Empire's newest superweapon, but also its head of state. In reality, the Emperor was leading the Rebels into a trap, resulting in the Battle of Endor. With the station protected on the ground by a SLD-26 planetary shield generator guarded by elite Imperial stormtroopers, along with the largest gathering of Imperial-class Star Destroyers in Imperial history and a fully functional superlaser, total victory for the Empire appeared certain. Nonetheless, the station was destroyed by Lando Calrissian, piloting the Millennium Falcon and his wing of starfighters during the battle, after the ground based shield generator was destroyed by a small rebel strike team who received assistance from the planets indigenous population, of whom the Empire viewed as no real threat. With the destruction of the second Death Star and Luke Skywalker's victory in converting his father, Darth Vader&mdash;once more Anakin Skywalker&mdash;to hurl his master down a reactor shaft, the rebels managed not only to prevent further destruction, but presumably end the Empire's oppressive reign once and for all.

Legacy
"This is Leia Organa, last princess of Alderaan, former member of the Galactic Senate, and a leader in the Alliance to Restore the Republic. I have a message for the galaxy. The grip of the Galactic Empire on our galaxy and its citizens is relinquished. The Death Star outside the forest moon of Endor is gone, and with it the Imperial leadership."

- Leia Organa

Following the destruction of the second Death Star, Imperial records would be sent into a state of disarray, with numerous missing persons and unconfirmed dead or wounded. With several thousand death notices to write and records to update, the task would be pushed to the side of Imperial priorities in the days after Endor as the Rebel Alliance would capitalize on its stunning victory by pushing the shattered Imperial forces off of many worlds across the galaxy, including the Emperor's homeworld of Naboo, one of the first to fall. With the Empire falling apart, many believed that total victory for the now New Republic was imminent. Nonetheless over a year and four days later Imperial remnants would still be fighting the Republic for control of the galaxy, most notably during the Battle of Jakku. Holovids of the station's destruction would be disseminated across star systems while the Empire would root out and punish those responsible in spreading what it defined treasonous lies. Nonetheless, the truth of the station's destruction would eventually become known to the general citizenry, while both the Death Star I and II would continue to serve as symbol of fear and oppression for years to come, permanently leaving its mark on citizens across the galaxy. Approximately thirty years later, an organization known as the First Order would utilize a superweapon capable of destroying entire star systems, much like the Death Stars of previous history.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Lost Stars
 * Star Wars: Battle Pod
 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 1: Vader
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 2: Vader, Part II
 * Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi
 * The Levers of Power
 * Aftermath
 * Star Wars: Uprising
 * Star Wars: Uprising