Torktarak

The Torktarak was a Braha'tok-class gunship under the command of the Dornean Etahn A'baht in the planet Dornea's navy. In 4 ABY, during the Galactic Civil War, Dornea loaned the Torktarak, along with its sister ship, the Braha'tok, to the Rebel Alliance Fleet, which needed the ships for its upcoming assault on the second Death Star&mdash;an Imperial superweapon capable of destroying entire planets&mdash;above the Forest Moon of Endor.

During the battle, the Torktarak helped the Braha'tok fight off the Carrack-class light cruiser Eminence, a ship more than three times the size of the Torktarak. The two gunships were able to destroy the Imperial war vessel, and after the Alliance defeated the Imperial Fleet at Endor and destroyed the Death Star, the relatively unscathed Torktarak was returned to the Dornean Navy.

Description
The Torktarak was a Braha'tok-class gunship in the Dornean Navy during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Torktarak was ninety meters long and equipped with eight double turbolasers and concussion missile launchers each. The ship came equipped with fire control, maneuvering, and command capabilities, all of which were centralized in the bridge. The Torktarak also possessed limited hangar space and lacked ground troop complement.

History


In 4 ABY, the Alliance Fleet asked the planet of Dornea for battleships to assist in their upcoming attack on the second Death Star, an Imperial superweapon that could destroy an entire planet, still under construction over the Forest Moon of Endor. The Dorneans decided to send the Torktarak, along with its sister ship, the Braha'tok, under the command of Etahn A'baht and Kiles L'toth, respectively. Since the Braha'tok-class gunships had not been outside of the space surrounding Dornea before 4 ABY, and to avoid arousing the suspicion from Imperial Intelligence, the Dornean government claimed that the two ships were undergoing a "shakedown cruise."

The Torktarak and the Braha'tok met up with the Alliance Fleet, under the command of the Mon Calamari Admiral Ackbar, orbiting the planet of Sullust. Both of the Braha'tok-class gunships left with the Alliance Fleet for the Endor system. However, when the Alliance Fleet came out of hyperspace over Endor, they were caught in a trap devised by Emperor Palpatine. The Alliance discovered that the shield protecting the second Death Star&mdash;which was supposed to have been taken down by a strike team that had already landed on Endor&mdash;was still up. Additionally, the Alliance was met by a large Imperial Fleet under the command of Admiral Firmus Piett, trapping the Rebels in the system.

The Torktarak, the Braha'tok, and the rest of the Alliance Fleet engaged the Imperials, hoping the shield generator on Endor below would be taken down by the ground strike team before the Imperial Fleet defeated them. During the space battle, the Torktarak was forced to go to the aid of the Braha'tok, which had engaged the Carrack-class cruiser Eminence, a frigate that was more than three times the size of the Dornean gunships. Together, the Braha'tok and the Torktarak were able to destroy the Eminence after the Torktarak attacked the Imperial warship from behind. However, the Braha'tok was seriously damaged during the engagement.

After the Eminence was destroyed, the Torktarak continued to provide cover for the damaged Braha'tok. The Alliance Fleet eventually destroyed the second Death Star after the superweapon's shields were finally disabled by the ground team on Endor, winning the battle against the Empire. Following the Battle of Endor, the relatively undamaged Torktarak was returned to the Dornean Navy.

Commanders and crew
The Torktarak had a crew of seventy-five Dornean Navy personnel under the command of Etahn A'baht. After the battle, A'baht was promoted to general, and he continued to serve for several more years in the military forces of the Rebel Alliance, which were reorganized into the New Republic after Endor.

Behind the scenes
"I'd envisioned 'Braha'tok' and 'Torktarak' as some sort of mythical reference, either to a pair of Dornean brothers, gods, or monsters, but I was unable to fit that in with the flow of the entry."

- Ello137, on creating the Braha-tok-class gunships



The Torktarak was created in 2006 in Ello137's winning entry in the StarWars.com Hyperspace feature, "What's the Story?" The campaign allowed fans to provide the backstory for certain aspects of the saga; in Ello137's case, the Braha'tok-class gunships. Originally, Ello137 intended the ship's name to be a mythical Dornean name but was unable to fit it into the "flow" of his final entry. The information on the Torktarak from Ello137's entry was later used in the entry on the Braha'tok-class gunship included in the 2008 reference book The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, a Braha'tok-class gunship appears in the background during the space battle over Endor. However, the gunship has never been identified as either the Torktarak or the ''Braha'tok.