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The Assault on the Death Star was a mission carried on by Alliance Special Forces operatives Kyle Katarn, Corwin Shelvay, Shira Brie and Erling Tredway aboard the Second Death Star. Shelvay devised the operation in order to thwart the Galactic Empire's plans to destroy the Rebel supply base on D'rinba IV using the battlestation's superlaser.
Prelude
- "Admiral, I'm taking command of this battlestation in order to destroy D'rinba IV. Inform me, Admiral, when we are in superlaser range."
- ―Darth Vader
Sometime after a failed mission by the Alliance to Restore the Republic to destroy the Galactic Empire's Second Death Star,[4] Galactic Emperor Palpatine ordered that the space station be relocated[1] to the Outer Rim's[5] Endor system, near the forest moon of Endor, so that it could be completed in secrecy.[1]
En route from the Mid Rim,[6] however, Sith Lord Darth Vader was informed that probe droids revealed the existence of a large Alliance to Restore the Republic supply base[4] on the planet D'rinba IV,[1] and notified Emperor Palpatine of the Death Star's temporary diversion to the D'rinba system,[4] within the Mid Rim's Sombure sector.[5] Vader, driven by a hatred for the Rebellion, took two Star Destroyers as escorts,[4] his personal flagship Executor[7] and the Colossus.[1] The Sith Lord intended to have D'rinba IV close enough to be within the battlestation's superlaser range, so that both the Rebel base and the planet could be completely destroyed.[1]
The Rebel Alliance, however, managed to intercept the Empire's plans, and assembled some of their best troops: a small team of Force-sensitives[1] and Alliance Special Forces members, with the objective of disabling the Death Star superlaser before it got too close to the planet.[2] Commander and Jedi Knight[8] Corwin Shelvay set up the operation and was joined by fellow operatives Shira Brie, Erling Tredway and Kyle Katarn.[2]
The mission
Darth Vader, hailing the Rebel intruders
- "Admiral, we have a small band of Rebels aboard. Alert security."
- ―Darth Vader
Aboard a stolen Imperial freighter, the operatives infiltrated the space station through the Shuttle Bay, located on the Outer Level. Shortly thereafter, Darth Vader arrived at the Death Star from the Executor, aboard a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. Vader then ordered the admiral in charge of the battlestation to prepare for D'rinba IV's destruction, and soon felt the presence of the Rebel infiltrators. The Sith Lord quickly alerted security, and stationed stormtroopers began to search for the operatives.[1]
Despite Vader's awareness of the Rebels,[1] Brie, Tredway, Katarn and Shelvay[2] soon managed to access the Death Star's Inner Level, and planted six explosives in five control rooms and the station's reactor core. Meanwhile, Star Destroyer Colossus reported that the Rebellion was preparing an evacuation from D'rinba IV. The team was able to disable the Death Star's superlaser before it got too close to the planet.[1]
Behind the scenes
The Assault on the Death Star was introduced in Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, scripted by Christian Marnham and released in 1996.[1] It was later referenced by part one of The Dark Forces Saga, a series of online adventure scenarios for the Wizards of the Coast RPG line published on their website. Written by Abel G. Peña, it canonized four of the playable characters as Kyle Katarn, (from Star Wars: Dark Forces), Shira Brie (from Marvel Comics Star Wars series), Corwin Shelvay (from West End Games' Star Wars RPG material) and Erling Tredway (also from West End Games' Star Wars RPG material).[2]
The Interactive Video Board Game's opening crawl and its instruction manual both reveal that the Rebel Alliance's goal in the mission was to disable the Death Star, while The Dark Forces Saga specifically states that the Rebel objective was only to disable the battlestation's superlaser. This article favors the newer source material.
Appearances
- Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game (First appearance)
Sources
"The Dark Forces Saga, Part 1" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (Mentioned only)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9
"The Dark Forces Saga, Part 1" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ According to the video board game, the mission takes place during the Second Death Star's construction. Video footage from the game reveals an identical Death Star in comparison with the one seen in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi, which is set in 4 ABY, according to The Essential Reader's Companion.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game instructions manual
- ↑ 5.0 5.1
Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- ↑ The Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game instructions manual states that, en route to Endor, Darth Vader discovers Rebel presence in the "nearby" D'rinba system. Given The Essential Atlas's positioning of the D'rinba system within the Mid Rim, it can be deducted that the Death Star II was traveling outward from the Galactic Core at that time.
- ↑ Although the Executor is not mentioned by name in the board game, the game's opening crawl states that Darth Vader's Star Destroyer was present. Starships of the Galaxy, Saga Edition establishes the Executor as Vader's personal flagship.
- ↑ Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim