- "This Final Order has been equipped with superlasers capable of annihilating a planet from far orbit. Now, any who dare to challenge my rightful place in this galaxy will learn the same painful lesson as the scum on Jedha, Alderaan, and Hosnian Prime."
- ―Darth Sidious
Axial superlasers were massive planet-decimating superlaser cannons equipped aboard Xyston-class Star Destroyers of the Final Order.
Description[]
- "The Emperor sent a ship from Exegol? Does that mean every ship in the fleet..."
"...has planet-killing weapons. Of course they do. All of them. This is how he finishes it." - ―Beaumont Kin and Poe Dameron
Ochi of Bestoon inspects the Superlaser's schematics.
Axial superlasers were a type of Kyber crystal-focused superlasers that were attached to the ventral hull of Xyston-class Star Destroyers.[1][3] Unlike the Imperial Death Stars' superlasers,[4] this cannon of the Final Order was capable of firing a red beam in a sustained burst to strike through a planet's surface from orbit, where the energy beam would delve deeper by pulsating at a fast rate, unleashing shock waves of crust-and-mantle-tearing energy, eventually reaching the planet's core and ripping the target apart. Such power, however, required the superlaser to be directly connected to the Star Destroyer's reactor, and severe damage to such weaponry would destroy its host ship.[1]
History[]
- "Hit those underbelly cannons. Every one we knock out is a world saved."
- ―Poe Dameron
The axial superlaser destroying Kijimi
Axial superlaser cannons were attached to the thousands of Xyston-class Star Destroyers in the Final Order fleet. Developed in preparation for Darth Sidious' return to power, the Sith Lord was confident that his new weapon would inspire fear across the galaxy, discouraging any further attempt at resistance. He declared that any world that opposed him would be destroyed like Jedha, Alderaan, and Hosnian Prime.[5]
Kijimi—a planet with an estimated population of 310,000,000[1]— was a victim of such a weapon,[2] specifically the one affixed to the Derriphan, one of many Xyston-class Star Destroyers at the disposal of the Sith fleet.[1] This warship was given to the command of[2] the Sith Eternal Allegiant General, Enric Pryde,[1] who had the Derriphan eliminate Kijimi as a result of the world's alleged ties to the Resistance and as a demonstration of the general's steadfast allegiance to Darth Sidious.[2]
Appearances[]
- Darth Vader (2020) 11 (Appears in hologram)
- Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition audiobook
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel audiobook
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary (First identified as axial superlaser)
- Star Wars Complete Vehicles, New Edition
Star Wars Ships and Vehicles 4 (Ships and Vehicles: Star Destroyers and Dreadnoughts)- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
- Sith Star Destroyer in the Databank (backup link)
- TIE dagger in the Databank (backup link) (Picture only)
