Citadel Tower

For other uses, see Citadel (disambiguation).

The Citadel Tower was a large angular tower, part of the Imperial security complex on Scarif.^[2] It housed the Scarif vault, which held the structural plans for the Empire's secret and, in many cases, controversial projects, most notably the plans for the planet-killing battle station known as the Death Star. At the very top was situated a colossal satellite dish used for off-world communications and, if necessary, transmission of the schematics. The dish's size was necessary as the entire planet was encased in a deflector shield, which ordinary transmissions couldn't get through.^[1]

It was targeted by agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, known as Rogue One, who were attempting to steal the Death Star plans, and subsequently became embroiled in the Battle of Scarif. One of the rebels, Sergeant Jyn Erso, was confronted atop the tower by Imperial Advanced Weapons Research Director Krennic, whilst attempting to transmit the plans to ships overhead. After a short exchange, she successfully managed to send them to the Alliance flagship Profundity. Immediately after this, the security complex was targeted for destruction by the Death Star itself, on the orders of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, in an attempt to prevent the theft of the plans. On a single-reactor ignition, the battle station's superlaser fired upon the tower, destroying the top of it which was in the direct path of the beam, with the remains being vaporized in the subsequent shockwave.^[1]