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This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 
For other uses, see Immobilizer (disambiguation).
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"Commander, the field is too powerful!"
"Working on it, sir. It's the Immobilizer. The overcurrent resistors failed to prevent the gravitic systems from redlining—"
―Wilhuff Tarkin and the task force liaison officer[1]

The Immobilizer 418 cruiser, or simply the Immobilizer, was a type of cruiser used by the Galactic Empire's Imperial Navy that was developed for Imperial adviser Kren Blista-Vanee's Deep Core Security Zone and manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation and Sienar Fleet Systems. It represented the Empire's first foray into Interdictor design based on less successful designs from the Galactic Republic. The Immobilizer was 600 meters in length and possessed a quartet of gravity well projectors located towards the aft of the vessel's sharply bowed hull. The starship additionally had twenty laser cannons, including multiple quad laser cannons. The Immobilizer 418 typically acted with an escort, and it carried a complement of twenty-four TIE fighters divided into two squadrons.

State-of-the-art in 14 BBY, an untested Immobilizer was used by Imperial Moff Wilhuff Tarkin as part of a task force in his attempt to intercept the corvette Carrion Spike in the Obroa-skai system. However, the Immobilizer malfunctioned and caused many vessels to revert out of hyperspace. After the incident, the Immobilizer was returned to Corellian Engineering.

Due to its many vulnerabilities, manufacturing of the Immobilizer was discontinued by 0 ABY, though many vessels remained in service. That year, an Immobilizer pulled the luxury yacht Desert Jewel out of hyperspace in the Daalang system. The Desert Jewel subsequently fought a skirmish in which the Immobilizer and its accompanying TIE fighters were destroyed. The Imperial Navy continued to utilize the cruiser until the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY, where the Immobilizer 418 cruiser Glaciate was captured at the battle by New Republic forces under the orders of General Carlist Rieekan.

Characteristics[]

Design and equipment[]

"Our target was the Immobilizer 418 cruiser Glaciate—six hundred meters long, armed with twenty laser cannons."
―Musmuris Reetgeet[3]

The Immobilizer 418 cruiser,[3] or simply the Immobilizer,[1] was an Interdictor cruiser with many vulnerabilities[4] manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation[1] and Sienar Fleet Systems.[2] The Immobilizer 418 was the Galactic Empire's first prototype Interdictor vessel and was based on previous unsuccessful attempts by the Galactic Republic.[6] It was similar in shape to a Star Destroyer but much smaller,[4] at only 600 meters in length.[3] It had an economical basque chassis, despite the fact that the price was still exorbitant. It could quickly and easily be repaired or refitted for new functions, and maintenance could be done with commonly available parts.[2] The Immobilizer had a sharp, bowed hull[1] and a bladed edge, with a hangar located on the underside of the ship.[4] In addition, the Immobilizer 418 cruiser possessed an aft engine room, a reactor governor, at least one porthole,[3] a bridge, and twelve deflector shield generators—a mix of particle shields and ray shields.[4]

Gravity well generator

The Immobilizer 418 cruiser possessed four gravity well projectors (pictured).

The Immobilizer cruiser was armed with twenty laser cannons,[3] including multiple quad laser cannons.[4] It was crewed with stormtroopers[3] and gunners. The Immobilizer possessed a complement of twenty-four TIE/ln space superiority starfighters divided into two squadrons.[4] In addition, the Immobilizer 418 cruiser possessed four spherical gravity well projectors aft on its hull. The projectors contained equipment to pull multiple ships out of hyperspace, and the strength of the gravity well could be adjusted to some extent by the relative speed of the target ship.[1] One hemispherical gravity well projector was more than enough to pull a ship from hyperspace, while the others could be used to block possible hyperspace routes for escape.[4] The Immobilizer was additionally equipped with overcurrent resistors in order to prevent the ship's gravitic systems from redlining. However, these systems were not foolproof and could sometimes malfunction catastrophically.[1]

Role[]

"The requested Interdictors are being developed as part of the Deep Core Security Zone, my Lord."
―Kren Blista-Vanee, to Emperor Palpatine[1]

As an Interdictor vessel, the Immobilizer was used to pull ships out of hyperspace.[1] Immobilizer cruisers had multiple vulnerabilities, one of which was that they were more easily destroyed than Star Destroyers.[4] On occasion, it acted in concert with other Interdictor vessels as part of a task force.[1] It typically operated with an escort, but in times of desperation, it acted without one.[4]

History[]

Encounter in the Obroa-skai system[]

"The projectors are powering up to high gain, Governor Tarkin. The field will be initiated, then disabled, in an effort to keep from dragging vessels other than the quarry from hyperspace. I should caution, however, that that may be unavoidable, given the heavy traffic in this system."
"I understand, Commander. Order your technicians to be judicious, nonetheless."
"I will, sir. But the power setting of the gravity wells is dictated to some extent by the relative speed of the targeted ship, and, well, sir, to be blunt about it, there aren't many as fast as the Carrion Spike."
―A task-force liaison officer and Moff Wilhuff Tarkin — (audio) Listen (file info)[1]

Five years after the foundation of the Empire,[1] in 14 BBY,[7] Imperial Moff Wilhuff Tarkin requested an untested state-of-the-art Immobilizer 418 cruiser vessel from a deepdock in[1] the Core Worlds[8] Corellia system from Imperial adviser Kren Blista-Vanee, who was developing the Interdictor for his Deep Core Security Zone. Tarkin planned to use the cruiser as part of his Imperial Navy task force that was attempting to intercept[1] the modified IPV-2C Stealth Corvette[9] Carrion Spike, which had been hijacked by dissidents.[1]

StealthShip-SWE

An Immobilizer 418 cruiser attempted to capture the Carrion Spike, a modified stealth corvette (pictured).

Moff Tarkin assembled his task force in[1] the Inner Rim[10] Obroa-skai system, including three Interdictors: a CC-7700 frigate, a Detainer CC-2200, and an Immobilizer 418, as well as picket vessels and gunboats. Tarkin subsequently ordered his task force liaison officer to have the Interdictors activate their gravity well projectors in order to capture the Carrion Spike. However, when the Immobilizer activated its gravity well projectors, its overcurrent resistors failed to prevent its gravitic systems from redlining, jolting Tarkin's flagship,[1] the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer[11] Executrix, and causing several ships to revert out of hyperspace, including the star cruiser Stellar Vista, the Lux-400 yacht Truant, and the YT-1000 light freighter Reticent. The Reticent, which the Carrion Spike's hijackers had sent as a decoy, was subsequently captured, and its crew was taken in for questioning. Following the incident, the Immobilizer was sent back to Corellian Engineering for reassessment.[1]

Skirmish with the Desert Jewel[]

"All right, I need you to prepare us to jump for Kupoh and tell me which gravity projector on that Interdictor is blocking our path right now."
"Wait, are you suggesting we attack the Interdictor by ourselves?"
"It's either that or let them catch us. I don't think they'll respond to a polite request to stand down. And this is one of the old models. We should go before they have time to get reinforcements here. Right now it's unescorted and only has twenty-four TIE fighters."
―Luke Skywalker and Nakari Kelen[4]
DesertJewel-HttJ

The Desert Jewel (pictured) fought a skirmish with an Immobilizer 418 cruiser.

By 0 ABY,[5] production of the Immobilizer 418 was discontinued by the Imperial Navy due to its vulnerabilities, though they continued to be used throughout the galaxy in large numbers despite not being actively produced.[4] Its successor model, the Interdictor-class Star Destroyer, was also discontinued in time as well.[6] In order to make its Interdictors harder to destroy, the Empire began to put gravity wells into Star Destroyers,[4] resulting in a model known as the Interdictor-class.[12] That year, the Rebel Alliance agents Luke Skywalker and Nakari Kelen attempted to flee the Galactic Empire aboard the luxury yacht Desert Jewel to[4] the Mid Rim[10] Nanth'ri system. Skywalker and Kelen were being pursued by the Empire because they had just freed Drusil Bephorin, an important Givin cryptologist, from Imperial captivity on[4] the Inner Rim[10] planet Denon.[4]

As the Desert Jewel was traveling through hyperspace, an Immobilizer 418 managed to pull the Jewel out of hyperspace into[4] the Mid Rim[10] Daalang system. A skirmish ensued, with the Immobilizer launching its full complement of TIEs. However, due to the ship's frequent use against Alliance raiding groups, Skywalker possessed knowledge of the ship's weaknesses. As a result, he was able to form an attack strategy against the ship. Skywalker and Kelen ultimately destroyed both the vessel's TIE complement and the Immobilizer 418 cruiser, splitting the latter in half with a Utheel Rockcrusher Compact Seismic Charge.[4]

The Battle of Jakku[]

"I popped the hatch and crawled inside the systems while the others stood guard. Sniffing out vent ports for ozone and nitric oxide, I traced the reactor governor by its electrostatic discharge and wired in our bypass."
"The Glaciate sat dead in space. While the others commed Rieeken to tell him of our success, I peered out the porthole, down the length of the ship I had just captured."
―Musmuris Reetgeet[3]
Battle of Jakku

The Glaciate participated in the Battle of Jakku (conflict pictured).

The Immobilizer cruiser Glaciate participated in a battle at[3] the Inner Rim planet[8] Jakku in 5 ABY, the final engagement of the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the New Republic, the Alliance's successor. During the battle, it was infiltrated by a squad of New Republic operatives, including humans who had previously served aboard Imperial Interdictors, and the Ranat Musmuris Reetgeet, acting on General Carlist Rieekan's orders.[3]

The team used a stolen Imperial assault shuttle to infiltrate the ship. They entered the ship by making a hole in the aft engine room. The team proceeded to the next chamber, as they met little resistance due to the vessel's crew being distracted by the battle. In the room, Reetgeet crawled inside the ship's systems and disabled the reactor governor, capturing the starship for the New Republic. Reetgeet later reflected on their squad's capture of the Immobilizer at the Battle of Jakku.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Immobilizer Interdictor Cruiser

The Immobilizer 418 cruiser in the Star Wars Legends continuity

The Immobilizer 418 cruiser first appeared in the current Star Wars canon in the 2014 novel Tarkin, by James Luceno, where it was referred to it as the Immobilizer.[1] It was first identified as an Immobilizer 418 cruiser in the eighty-seventh issue of the Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon magazine, published by De Agostini[6] around August 31, 2016.[13] The interior of an Immobilizer 418 was later pictured in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: On the Front Lines, written by Daniel Wallace.[3]

The Immobilizer 418 cruiser originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first mentioned in the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game supplement The Star Wars Rules Companion, which was written by Greg Gorden, edited by Bill Slavicsek, and published by West End Games[14] in January 1989.[15] Slaviscek's and Gorden's October 1989 Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game supplement Imperial Sourcebook first pictured the vessel and identified it as an Immobilizer 418 cruiser.[16] The Immobilizer then made its first appearance in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, the first book of author Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy.[17]

Appearances[]

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Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 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 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 Tarkin
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 AltayaCite "Starships of the Empire and the Rebellion" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 Star Wars: On the Front Lines
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 Heir to the Jedi
  5. 5.0 5.1 Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Heir to the Jedi to 0 ABY. The novel establishes that manufacturing of the Immobilizer 418 had ceased by the time of the novel's events.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Build the Millennium Falcon Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 87 (Starship Fact File: Imperial Interdictor Cruiser)
  7. Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Tarkin to 14 BBY.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
  9. AltayaCite "Starships of the Empire and the Rebellion" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game
  11. Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
  12. Build the Millennium Falcon Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 20 (Starship Fact File: Imperial Capital Ship)
  13. The second issue of the De Agostini weekly magazine Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon was set to be published on January 14, 2015, according to De Agostini Publishing: Build the Millennium Falcon Magazine & Model by Wyman, Chris on TheForce.net (January 8, 2015) (archived from the original on November 6, 2016). Therefore, Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 87 was published around August 31, 2016.
  14. The Star Wars Rules Companion
  15. Cargo Bay Sourcebooks in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)
  16. Imperial Sourcebook
  17. Heir to the Empire
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