- "Kanan is on Governor Tarkin's Destroyer, the Sovereign. It's still here above Lothal but… it's scheduled to leave soon."
- ―Sabine Wren, to Hera Syndulla
The Sovereign was an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer belonging to the starfleet of the Galactic Empire, and served as Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's flagship for a period of time years before the Battle of Yavin.
Characteristics[edit | edit source]
The Sovereign was an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer,[3] a 1,600-meter long capital ship with a basic armament of 60 Taim & Bak XX-9 heavy turbolaser batteries, 60 Borstel NK-7 ion cannons, and 10 Phylon 07 tractor beam projectors.[1] The Sovereign notably housed an interrogation room, in which captives were tortured.[12]
History[edit | edit source]
The Sovereign at Mon Cala.
In 18 BBY, the Sovereign was sent to Mon Cala.[13]
The Sovereign was commanded by Commander Abel LaSal[2] in 14 BBY,[15] and was stationed at the planet Fondor.[2] However, fifteen years into the Age of the Empire, the Sovereign had become the flagship of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, the governor of the Outer Rim Territories.[14] Admiral Kassius Konstantine, who formerly commanded the Star Destroyer Relentless, was reassigned as the Grand Moff's second in command aboard the vessel.[16]
Upon hearing that a rebel cell was causing trouble on Lothal in the face of local Imperials, Tarkin decided to take the situation in his own hands. Kanan Jarrus, leader of the Spectres and Jedi in hiding, was captured.[3] The prisoner was taken on board the Sovereign, where he was tortured by the Grand Inquisitor, the Empire's Jedi hunter. When it appeared that Jarrus was too resistant to the mind probe and refused to talk, the Sovereign set course for the Mustafar system, where the rebel would be further interrogated.[14]
However, the rebels soon came to Jarrus' rescue. They stole a Gozanti-class cruiser from a Lothal TIE fighter airfield, which allowed them to board the Sovereign. Jarrus' apprentice, the young Ezra Bridger, managed to free his master. When they tried to escape through the engine room, they encountered the Inquisitor, and they all engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel. Ultimately, Jarrus had gotten the upper hand. The Inquisitor plummeted from the room's central platform, but the remains of his lightsaber fell in the Star Destroyer's engines, causing them to overheat. It started a chain reaction of explosions and the Sovereign, with its stabilizers and propulsion systems disabled, was pulled into the gravity well of Mustafar and exploded. Tarkin and at least two of his men, however, had managed to evacuate the ship before it was too late.[12]
The destruction of the Sovereign not only embarrassed Tarkin, but also displeased Emperor Palpatine himself.[16] The destruction of the Sovereign was remembered years later by New Republic soldiers during the Battle of Jakku, who compared their task of capturing a Star Destroyer even more impossible than destroying one.[17]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 13
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 14
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 15
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 16
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 17
- Tarkin (First mentioned)
- Lost Stars (Indirect mention only)
Star Wars Rebels – "Call to Action" (First appearance)- Star Wars Rebels – "Rebel Resolve"
- Star Wars Rebels – "Fire Across the Galaxy"
- Battle to the End
- Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Secret Cargo" (Indirect mention only)
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- Star Wars Rebels: Visual Guide: Epic Battles
- Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Star Wars: Armada – Chimaera Expansion Pack (Card: Sovereign)
- Star Wars: Armada – Upgrade Card Collection (Card: Sovereign)
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 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 Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Tarkin
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2
Star Wars Rebels – "Call to Action"
- ↑ Star Wars Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels: Head to Head
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3
Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Star Destroyer - Blueprints)
- ↑ Droids in Distress book
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- ↑ Star Wars: TIE Fighter Deluxe Book and Model Set
- ↑ Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Star Wars Rebels – "Fire Across the Galaxy"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 13
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Star Wars Rebels – "Rebel Resolve"
- ↑ The events of Tarkin take place five years after the rise of the Galactic Empire, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 19 BBY. Therefore, Tarkin must be set in 14 BBY.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Star Wars Rebels: Visual Guide: Epic Battles
- ↑ Lost Stars
