- "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[]
The Sovereign was an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer,[1] 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 Q7 tractor beam projectors.[12] The Sovereign notably housed an interrogation room, in which captives were tortured.[4] The Sovereign could carry LAAT/i gunships, TIE/ln starfighters, K79-S80 Imperial Troop Transports, and All Terrain Defense Pods.[6]
History[]
In 18 BBY,[13] the Sovereign was sent to Mon Cala.[6]
The Sovereign was commanded by Commander Abel LaSal[11] in 14 BBY,[14] and was stationed at the planet Fondor.[11] 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.[8] Admiral Kassius Konstantine, who formerly commanded the Star Destroyer Relentless, was reassigned as the Grand Moff's second in command aboard the vessel.[15]
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.[1] 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.[8]
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.[4]
The destruction of the Sovereign not only embarrassed Tarkin, but also displeased Emperor Palpatine himself.[15] 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.[16]
Appearances[]
- Darth Vader (2017) 13
- Darth Vader (2017) 14
- Darth Vader (2017) 15
- Darth Vader (2017) 16
- Darth Vader (2017) 17
- Tarkin (First mentioned, simultaneous with audiobook)
- Tarkin audiobook (Mentioned only)
- Lost Stars (Indirect mention only)
- Lost Stars audiobook (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels webcomic
- Star Wars Rebels — "Call to Action" (First appearance)
- Battle to the End
- Star Wars Rebels — "Rebel Resolve"
- Star Wars Rebels — "Fire Across the Galaxy"
- Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels — "Secret Cargo" (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 23 (Starship Fact File: Star Destroyer Deployment) (Picture only)
- 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 Helmet Collection 47 (Highlights of the Saga: Leaving Lothal)
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 51 (Helmets: The Grand Inquisitor)
- Star Wars: Armada — Chimaera Expansion Pack (Card: Sovereign)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 74 (Databank A-Z: Sabine Wren)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 75 (Highlights of the Saga: Joining Phoenix Squadron)
- Star Wars: Armada — Upgrade Card Collection (Card: Sovereign)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Star Wars Rebels — "Call to Action"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Call to Action" depicts the Sovereign to be an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, established to be 1,600 meters in length and 900 meters in width by Star Wars Starships & Vehicles 4 (History of the Ship: Imperial Star Destroyer).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Star Destroyer - Blueprints)
- ↑ 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 Star Wars Rebels — "Fire Across the Galaxy"
- ↑ Droids in Distress book
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Darth Vader 13
- ↑ Starships and Speeders
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 Star Wars Rebels — "Rebel Resolve"
- ↑ According to Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, the invasion of Mon Cala, which the Sovereign took part in, took place a year into the Emperor's rule. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the beginning of Imperial rule to 19 BBY, the invasion of Mon Cala took place in 18 BBY and the Sovereign must have been constructed by then.
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Tarkin
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ According to Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, the invasion of Mon Cala took place a year into the Emperor's rule. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the beginning of Imperial rule to 19 BBY, the invasion of Mon Cala took place in 18 BBY.
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Tarkin to 14 BBY.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Star Wars Rebels: Visual Guide: Epic Battles
- ↑ Lost Stars