- "No. That's……Willard's ship."
- ―Leia Organa, on witnessing the attack on Yavin's Hope
Yavin's Hope[4] was a Mon Calamari cruiser that was commanded by General Vanden Willard during the Galactic Civil War. Following the mutiny on Mon Cala, the cruiser was destroyed, along with its crew, when the Galactic Empire's Death Squadron attacked the Rebel Alliance's Mako-Ta Space Docks.
Characteristics[]
- "Shields! All power to shields!"
"There's not enough. We're losing them." - ―Vanden Willard, and a crewmember
As a cruiser of Mon Calamari design, Yavin's Hope was equipped with a hyperdrive, a deflector shield generator, and thirteen engines. It was among various other vessels of the Rebel Alliance to undergo combat refits at the Mako-Ta Space Docks, with technology and equipment provided by the Kingdom of Shu-Torun.[1]
Role[]
- "No problems in Delta Group."
- ―Vanden Willard, calling in from his cruiser Yavin's Hope
Assigned to Delta Group, Yavin's Hope served as General Vanden Willard's flagship and was to disperse and remain hidden until it was required to fight the Galactic Empire.[1]
History[]
Service[]
- "The nearest cruiser. Destroy it."
- ―Darth Vader, to Admiral Kendal Ozzel
Imperial vessels fire on Yavin's Hope
After the mutiny on Mon Cala and the completion of its combat conversion, Yavin's Hope and other vessels of the Alliance Fleet were to disperse from the rest of the rebel's fleet until it was needed to fight against the Empire. It was assigned to Willard and was present at the Mako-Ta Space Docks during a ceremony celebrating the new Alliance Fleet and to witness the dispersal of the rebel naval forces. During the ceremony, Willard invited Princess Leia Organa to his cruiser, but she turned down the request, preferring to be with Chancellor Mon Mothma just in case she was needed.[1]
As the ships were ready to launch into hyperspace, an error prevented the launch of the cruiser. The fault resulted in the failure of all launches, lost communications and the ships being unable to launch their starfighters. At the same time, Death Squadron, under the command of Darth Vader, arrived and fired on the nearest cruiser, Willard's starship.[1]
Destruction[]
- "Quickly, abandon ship! May the Force be with us al—"
- ―Vanden Willard's final words as his ship is destroyed
Yavin's Hope explodes into a fireball
As Yavin's Hope was attacked by the Executor and an accompanying Imperial-class Star Destroyer, Mothma, Organa, General Davits Draven, and other rebel personnel watched on in horror from the base. Consistently pummeled by laser fire, Willard ordered all power to be routed to the deflector shields, but a crewmember stated that they were quickly losing them. In response, Willard ordered that the ship be abandoned, but the ship was quickly annihilated as Willard told his crew that may the Force be with them all. An enormous fireball engulfed the cruiser, and Darth Vader looked on from the bridge of the Executor, satisfied that the rebels now understood and that he felt their terror.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Yavin's Hope first appeared, albeit unnamed, in Star Wars (2015) 50, a canon comic released in 2018, written by Kieron Gillen, and pencilled by Salvador Larroca.[1] The ship received an official name "Yavin's Hope" in the 2021 canon reference book Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy.[4]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars (2015) 50 (First appearance)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy (First identified as Yavin's Hope)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 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 Star Wars (2015) 50
- ↑ Star Wars (2015) 49
- ↑ According to Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, the Battle of Mako-Ta occurred around a year after the Battle of Yavin. As Star Wars: Galactic Atlas establishes that the battle marks the beginning of 0 ABY, the Assault, including the destruction of Vanden Willard's cruiser, must take place around 1 ABY.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy