THE FANATICAL
GUIDE TO DEATH STARS
PART I: THE CONCEPT
"This
is a machine of war such as the universe has never known"
--Lord Tion
Destruction on a planetary scale is not without precedent. Naturally occurring cosmic catastrophes have rendered
entire planets completely uninhabitable (a relatively recent case being that of
Shadda-Bi-Boran). Other incidents have
been anything but natural. In the
distant past, the Sith Lord Naga Shadow constructed a weapon capable of
collapsing a star with the Force. Legend
has it that Seylotti and Kashi artifacts were capable of destroying entire
planets, and a Nihilistic scientist on ancient Shawken once constructed a
doomsday device of universal scale. More
recently Oblis, a planet in the Cularin system, was destroyed when a weapon
powered by another artifact, the darkstaff, exploded. And of course, the powerful relics of
long-gone cultures such as Centerpoint Station and the Infinity Gates have been
used with the intent to cause immense destruction. Though the secrets of these terrible devices
have been lost to time, their destructive potential would seem to render the
Death Star technology insignificant, if such a word can be used in reference to
total planetary destruction. What, then,
makes the Death Star so uniquely terrible?
The Tarkin Doctrine: Origins and Implementation
"Your
Majesty, it has long been my contention that your New Order needs one
undeniable and overwhelming symbol to impress and, yes, frighten the
masses...If we present the galaxy with a weapon so powerful, so immense as to
defy all conceivable opposition against it, a weapon invulnerable and
invincible in battle, then that weapon shall become the symbol of the
Empire."
--Moff Willhuff Tarkin, in a communiqué to Emperor Palpatine
This was the use that Tarkin proposed for Sienar's
battlestation, a concept that he would reiterate several times more before
writing the communiqué that made it famous.
This very same doctrine had kept entire planets in line decades before
Tarkin conceived of the idea. In the
Outer Rim, where planets were often isolated from the Republic proper, two
totalitarian governments established by Force-sensitive individuals were
supported by citizens kept in a constant state of fear of advanced
weapons. On Junction V the populace was
told that their moon had developed a city-smashing weapon called the
Annihilator. In fact, no such weapon
existed--it was merely a ruse to increase the power base of fallen Jedi Lorian
Nod. On Kegan, rulers O-Vieve and V-Tan
had a vision of an explosive device capable of destroying an entire
planet. They refused to allow any of the
populace to leave, believing that their world would become a target. In retrospect, it seems likely that the
Force-sensitive leaders actually foresaw the creation of Palpatine’s
superweapons.
The Separatists who supported the additional development of
Tarkin's ideal were more interested in actually using the battlestation as a
weapon then a symbol of terror. This was
typical of the megacorporations who made up the Separatist Union; what mattered
for those dealing in cold, hard credits was the bottom line. Indeed, the Separatists also pursued, more
subtle and effective means of destroying a planet, and it was single-minded
Geonosian weapons designers who contributed most to the battlestation during
its initial design and construction. The
fact that it was known as a "Planet Killer" and a "Great
Weapon" by the Confederate leadership reveals much about their lack of
vision. It's interesting to note that
from this mindset came a flawed design.
Another sentiment that led to the Death Star's creation came out
of the Clone Wars: building weapons of mass destruction as a deterrent, to
prevent another war. This might be seen
as representative of thinking that limited the Death Star's potential to a mere
weapon, but it is also reflective of Tarkin's intention to cow the galaxy into
submission.
The Empire was not the only organization who latched onto
Tarkin's doctrine. The criminal
underworld could well appreciate the concept of ruling through fear, and the
possibility of extortion on a planetary scale and domination over other
syndicates brought into being the Trigon weapons satellite of the Fromm gang,
and Durga the Hutt's Death Star inspired Darksaber weapon.
Ironically,
with the Death Stars destroyed, the Tarkin Doctrine came full circle to its
pre-Imperial origins as individuals once more invented non-existent
superweapons to further their own ends.
Ysanne Isard used her Pulsar Station design to manipulate both Admiral
Delak Krennel and the
Technology
The ruthless practice of Base Delta Zero could render planets
uninhabitable, but the utter destruction of a world was beyond the capabilities
of modern science—until the final years of the
In
the latter decades of the
The
secret military buildup following the Battle of Naboo promised a new age of
navel warfare, in which super vessels and gigantic torpedo platforms would
dominate, and even Rendili’s mighty Dreadnaught-class
cruisers would be defunct. Anticipating
future advances in hypermatter technology, Sienar designed a hypermatter
implosion core with a plasma a kilometer in diameter, powering a vessel the
size of a small moon. Sienar put forth
plans to use large ice asteroids to fuel the cataclysmic hypermatter reactions
in the core. This hypothetical ship took
the shape of a large sphere, with two smaller spheres connected to the
poles. Although originally designed as
an exploratory starship, Sienar supplied his planetoid with a massive
turbolaser[1],
but new advances in the field of culminating laser
beam amplification technology would soon render such a massive weapon
obsolete. A group of smaller laser
beams, converging at a central amplification nexus, made a powerful weapon, and
already designers at Rothana were beginning to incorporate this new composite
beam laser into their designs.
It was Wilhuff Tarkin who first conceived of utilizing composite
lasers on a massive scale, in place of Sienar’s turbolaser. Though many leading scientists dismissed the
idea as impossible, a composite superlaser was designed by Bevel Lemelisk. A coupled neutrino charge would be formed by
the superlaser, allowing it to piece planetary shielding and penetrate crust,
mantle, and lower levels of any planet, ultimately reacting with the core to
destroy the planet. The hypermatter core
of the finished station was able to generate power equivalent to hundreds of
super-giant stars, providing the
superlaser destructive power greater then an entire fleet.
Early tests of the superlaser design in the Nharl system ended
in disaster, but smaller scale applications performed well on the battlefield,
especially during the Clone Wars. The
"comp lasers", as they were known by troops in the field, were used
as anti-personnel weapons on the LAAT/i gunships and as artillery on the
SPHAT-T walkers, though the power and support equipment required for the large
cannon on the walkers prevented its use on starships.
As the Clone Wars raged, scattered development of the weapon
continued on both sides. The Separatists
pursued an alternative method of planetary destruction, but continued work on
the battlestation after Mace Windu ruined their project. Research findings from the CIS Starkiller
weapons program at Kromus also may have proved useful. On Drongar, the Republic used an enhancement
of the SPHA-T cannons to test superlaser designs. In spite of the ongoing research, the superlaser
was never used on the scale Tarkin envisioned during the Wars due to design
flaws. Though the superstructure was
already being assembled, it would be over a decade before Qwi Xux and other
scientists finally brought the superlaser concept to fruition at Maw
Installation.
"The
Death Star has been destroyed, but its legacy lives on."
--Death Star Technical
Companion
Further development followed.
Under orders of the Supreme Chancellor, an improved superlaser design
became a joint project (dubbed “Project Hammertong”) between Bevel Lemelisk and
Dr. Eloy on Gorno. One component of
Hammertong was an experimental CIS power source captured on Mygeeto by the
501st. Superlaser technology was refined
further at the Tarkin, an
experimental superlaser testbed. Both
the Hammertong and Tarkin projects
contributed directly to the design of the second Death Star.
Superlaser research was rampant throughout the Galactic Civil
War, resulting in a superlaser installation on the moon of Varn, a weapon used
to harass Rebels at Dubrillion, and the axial superlaser of the Eclipse and Sovereign-classes of Star Destroyers. One of the most awesome concepts to come out
of this flurry of development was a superlaser potentially capable of targeting
planets in other star systems. The
Imperial Science Division postulated that this could be achieved by directing
the beam into hyperspace via "black hole lenses". Thankfully, General Rieekan and others
delayed the progress of the "hyperspace superlaser" by destroying the
project's headquarters on Rori, and its opponents in the Imperial Navy were
able to sink the project.
Flaws
"Funny. No matter how advanced, a weapon always has a
flaw. It can always turn against
itself."
--Padawan
Anakin Skywalker
The
best known flaws in the Death Star design were the unprotected thermal exhaust
ports. Twice has a Death Star been
annihilated thanks to what would appear to be an obvious vulnerability, but its
reasons for being are actually complex.
The Death Star was destroyed not because the exhaust port was blocked or
destroyed, or simply because it provided a path for proton torpedoes to travel
to the main reactor. In fact,
interconnected subsystems were to blame.
Redundant electrical and engine subsystems were standard on most
Imperial capital ships and space stations of the period. They were designed to ensure that if one
system failed or was knocked out, another would take its place. In the Death Star design, all station
subsystems were connected, and they were connected to the main reactor system
to provide maximum power to all subsystems at all times. When the proton torpedoes exploded, they sent
a destructive wave of energy riding down through the radioactive exhaust to the
main reactor. The resulting explosion
started a chain reaction as the interconnected subsystems exploded in support
of the main reactor until the entire station was destroyed.
If
the subsystems had not been connected in this way, the destruction of the main
reactor would have only crippled the Death Star, not destroyed it, though if
the torpedoes had detonated short of the main reactor, power could have been
routed from life support and other systems to compensate. The complete and utter destruction of the
Death Star was the unlikely result of engineering shortcomings, careful planning
by
There
is evidence to suggest that survivors of the Jedi purge, such as Nam Poorf,
Klossi Anno, and Deran Nalual attached themselves to Imperial engineering
projects to engineer just such flaws into Imperial designs. One apocryphal tale of Palpatine's
examination of the Death Star plans indicate that the Emperor himself was aware
of these flaws, though this account is at odds with the harsh punishment the
Emperor dealt designer Bevel Lemelisk after the Death Star was destroyed. It is interesting to note, however, that
Palpatine's own writings hint at a possible motivation for creating intentionally flawed superweapons. His uncompleted tome The Creation of Monsters includes this revealing passage:
Conquer
the temptation to create specimens that are superior in every way. The danger of such monstrosities being turned
against you is too great. Instead, focus
on instituting controlling weaknesses into each and every beast you
construct. Make it strong where you are
weak, but weak where you are strong. It
must have a fatal flaw that you--and only you--know how to exploit. And always, without fail, be prepared to
destroy your most valued creation...or be prepared to be destroyed by it.
Considering that Palpatine's downfall
was the result of his overconfidence, perhaps the true failure of the first
Death Star came about not because flaws in the design existed, but because the Emperor was too sure that no one else
would have intelligence, courage, and resources enough to discover and exploit
them. On this point, Palpatine and
Tarkin were fatally wrong.
Conclusions
"I think
we're all agreed that planet-killer technology is wasteful, to put it
mildly."
"But you
must admit, it makes a wonderful deterrent."
"In fact,
it doesn't. As events leading to the
breakup of the Empire can attest"
--Lord
Garonnin and Irek Ismaren
As a doctrine, Tarkin's was ultimately vast, sweeping...and
flawed. Time and again the galaxy has
demonstrated that it will not be
brought under the control of an evil and unjust government, even in the face of
certain destruction. During the
nightmarish rule of the resurrected Palpatine, his ultimate superweapon, the
Galaxy Gun, destroyed several worlds, including two of the
"The
most powerful force of all, unquenchable by any Death Star's laser, is the
spirit of freedom and resistance to oppression that continues to spread across
the galaxy."
--Hari Seldona, Requiem
for Alderaan
[1] Note that Rogue
Planet rightly dubbed this weapon a “turbolaser”, as opposed to a
“superlaser”. The superlaser was
conceived by Tarkin and designed by Lemelisk, according to The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology.