Endor shield generator bunker

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"The shield is down. Commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor."

―Admiral Gial Ackbar to the Alliance Fleet during the Battle of Endor^[src]

The Endor shield generator bunker was an Imperial outpost on the forest moon of Endor. It was composed of the deflector shield generator, a large landing pad, and a secret back entrance. The ground portion of the Battle of Endor was fought around the secret entrance. The power generators and machinery for the shield generator spread for at least seventeen square kilometers underneath the forest.

Characteristics[edit | edit source]

When the Galactic Empire needed a construction site for the second Death Star, the Forest Moon of Endor was chosen as the site. The Empire established an outpost on the Sanctuary Moon, and it was from here that preparations were made so that the construction site for the second Death Star could be moved there. The shield generator's power room itself was about two stories from the base of the generators to the ceiling.^[3]

The base was large and had a landing pad capable of holding at least two Lambda-class T-4a shuttles, such as the one Darth Vader used upon arrival. The landing pad was at least 22.5 meters off the ground, as an All Terrain Armored Transport of Tempest Force, the security detail of the bunker, Tempest 1, was shorter than it. The tower contained several catwalks underneath, connected to the top of the pad by elevators. The catwalks acted as docks for the AT-AT, which Commander Igar used to inform Vader of Luke Skywalker's capture shortly after his landing.

A small bunker acted as the back door. It was built into a hill with a small clearing in front of it, and had blast doors, which Han Solo tried to hack into but was unable to do so. The bunker had a corridor that led down into the main power control room, which was garrisoned by several Death Star troopers under Major Hewex's command. The power generator itself was visible in the background from the bunker.

History[edit | edit source]

The bunker began construction sometime between 0 ABY and 3 ABY. Darth Vader as well as some Emperor's Guards personally oversaw the construction of the bunker.^[4]

When Imperial teams arrived to construct the deflector shield generator complex and other installations, they discovered Alliance Captain Junas Turner, who had come to the moon to locate the new Death Star. He was taken captive and sent to the automated prison station Balis-Baurgh, along with an Ewok named Grael. They would later escape, but too late to inform the Rebellion of the threat.^[5]

Battle of Endor[edit | edit source]

Main article: Battle of Endor

"You Rebel scum!"

―Imperial officer, to Han Solo^[src]

As the Galactic Civil War drew to a close in the years 3–4 ABY,^[1] a Rebel Alliance strike team, led by Dash Rendar and Luke Skywalker, captured information from the cruiser Suprosa at Kothlis. It confirmed the existence of a second Death Star, being constructed over the moon of Endor. It was not realized then, but Galactic Emperor Palpatine had purposely allowed the plans to be captured, so that the Rebels could be coaxed into a trap.^[6] In order to ensure that the Rebels couldn't disable the shield generator before the Rebel fleet arrived, Palpatine made sure that a unit, Tempest Force, was created via the best of the Imperial Army, Navy, and Stormtrooper Corps to guard the generator, with its size also being comparable to that of a stormtrooper legion, anticipating the possibility of a strike team being sent to infiltrate the moon.^[2]

The Rebel fleet amassed near Sullust and was addressed by Mon Mothma. She and Admiral Gial Ackbar informed the battle-weary freedom fighters that the Emperor himself would be aboard the station, further emphasizing the need to win the battle, which would either way end the war. The entire operation was orchestrated to coordinate the fleet, commanded by Ackbar, and a substantial starfighter force, led by Lando Calrissian, to jump to Endor through hyperspace and arrive to a shieldless, incomplete Death Star.^[2] A commando team would be sent ahead in a coup-de-main—a swift attack relying on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow—and disable the shield generator and projector housed on the Endor moon.

The back door of the shield generator bunker

The commando team, led by Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker, used the stolen Imperial shuttle Tydirium to slip past Imperial defenses and land on the moon. After speeder-bike chases, Leia going missing, and other confusion, the team fell into a primitive trap set by the main indigenous species, the Ewoks. At first the Ewoks saw C-3PO as a deity, and prepared to sacrifice the main team in honor of the droid. The Rebels were soon freed, however, after Luke Skywalker, using a Force trick and with the help of C-3PO, deceived the Ewoks into believing the droid possessed powerful magic he would use against them if his friends were not freed. Afterward, Threepio captivated the Ewoks with a recounting of the events leading to their arrival on the forest moon. The Ewoks then inducted the Rebels into their tribe with great enthusiasm, cementing their cooperation against the Imperials in the forthcoming battle in which the Ewoks would play a pivotal role.^[2]

Luke, fearing that his presence would endanger their mission to the Imperials, abandoned the team and allowed himself to be brought to the landing platform and then was brought to the Death Star by Vader. Several hours later, Ewok scouts led the strike team to the heavily guarded main entrance. On the advice of Wicket Wystri Warrick, the team attacked the poorly guarded secret entrance. Another Ewok, Paploo, inventively dispersed the guards by stealing a speeder bike. The last guard surrendered, with his uniform being taken by Nik Sant, and the team broke into the bunker. However, an entire legion of troops were ready for them, and the team was swiftly captured. Above the moon, the fleet arrived but could not attack the Death Star as the shield was still up. A massive Imperial fleet appeared and began to harass the Rebel fleet. Things looked grave as the shield remained up, and Ackbar ordered the only thing the fleet could do: attack the Imperial Fleet.^[2]

The destruction of the shield generator bunker

But Rebel fortunes changed. The Ewoks, thanks to an impromptu distraction from C-3PO and R2-D2, attacked the groundside stormtrooper legions, and the Rebel commandos took advantage of the confusion. Unfortunately, a group of Imperial officers sealed themselves in the bunker and only R2 could help in getting the doors open again. R2 took a blaster bolt in trying to open the doors and Han's attempt to hot-wire the system failed. Meanwhile, Chewbacca and two Ewoks captured an AT-ST, with which they destroyed another AT-ST and killed most of the Imperial ground force. Han used a stolen Imperial uniform to trick Hewex into opening the doors. The team laid explosive charges in the bunker and destroyed it, allowing the Rebel fleet to destroy the Death Star.^[2] The Imperial storm commando and former Rebel operative Sarkli attempted to block Han Solo's escape from the doomed bunker shortly after the explosive charges were set, but he ended up shot dead near the entrance while in a firefight with Solo with both men simultaneously escaping.^[7]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

The set for the Endor shield generator bunker was at an area near the Smith River's redwood forests. In 2010, the staff for Star Wars Insider tried to relocate this area at the request of longtime Star Wars fan Brandon Alinger, but the trek became elusive. They later detailed this trek in the article "The Hunt for Endor's Forest Moon," included in issue 122 of the magazine.

At Disney Hollywood Studios theme park in Florida, a replica of the shield generator bunker serves as the backdrop for the stage that is home to the Jedi Training Academy attraction.

The shield bunker appears both in the Leia Organa and Darth Vader campaigns in the 2001 video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. The Darth Vader Battle of Endor mission is an alternate-history scenario, while the Leia Organa mission contradicts the film. The bunker has also been reimagined in LEGO form in the 2005 video game LEGO Star Wars.

The bunker also serves as the location for the battle in the alternate-history scenario given in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Endor downloadable content. Darth Vader's Dark Apprentice hunted down and killed Leia Organa, the last of the Jedi.