THE FANATICAL
GUIDE TO DEATH STARS
Death Star III
Length: Unknown, presumed to be 160
kilometers (diameter)
Crew: Unknown
Weapons: Superlaser, etc.
Construction Site: Unknown
Date Destroyed: 4 ABY
“The
destruction of our latest Death Star was but a temporary setback. The Rebels have yet to see the full fury of
our power and might. We are developing
even more advanced weapons, and when we are done, we shall rule the entire
galaxy and crush the Rebel Alliance!”
--Grand
Moff Bertroff Hissa at the Imperial Convocation on Kessel, 5 A.B.Y.
In spite of Hissa’s grandiose claims, his Empire never really
rebounded from the destruction of their latest Death Star. But to which Death Star was Hissa referring;
second or...third? A reliable source
states that “The remnants of the Empire have not made an attempt to realize
Tarkin’s dreams a third time”[1], yet eyewitness accounts
from the passengers of Star Tours Flight 45 tell a very different story.
Star Tours had been plagued by malfunctions and bugs of every
sort from the get-go, with Star Speeders constantly breaking down and droids
exhibiting bizarre behavior. In spite of
haphazard repairs and improper maintenance, Star Tours promised non-stop daily
flights to Endor, so it was only a matter of time before something major went
wrong. Flight 45, launched only months
after the Battle of Endor, was to be the official maiden voyage of the new Star
Speeder 3000, with Rebel hero Artoo Deetoo serving as navigator. For whatever reason—programming glitch,
equipment failure, or perhaps the adventurous spirit of a certain
astromech—Flight 45 missed the Endor system entirely, coming out of hyperspace
in Imperial territory. Flight 45 found
itself in a restricted combat zone, caught in the middle of a battle between
New Republic X-Wings, an Imperial Star Destroyer—and a new Death Star.
The third Death Star is something of an enigma. Even those in the know believe the “third
Death Star” to be the prototype from Maw Installation, and references in the
official reports to a third station are rare—some claim it never existed at
all. Nevertheless, it is an undeniable
fact that a third Death Star was constructed and put into action only months
after the second was destroyed over the Endor moon. This station appears to have been identical
to the first, with the same fatal exhaust port.
As one might well imagine, this new Death Star was destroyed in the same
manner as the first, this time by an X-wing pilot from Red Squadron, and surely
such a capable individual deserves as much recognition as Luke Skywalker. Star