



For decades, the Galactic Empire reigned supreme. The Emperor remained all-powerful, with Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader acting as his primary enforcers. Their space station, the dreaded Death Star, had been completed -- a development that allowed the Emperor to permanently dissolve the Senate. He instead handed rule over to regional governors, who would keep dissident systems in through the fear of his new battle station. Tarkin would test the firepower of this technological terror on Alderaan, destroying the planet with one powerful blast.







Despite the might of the Empire, an organized Rebellion had taken shape, stealing plans to the Death Star. Eventually, these schematics were analyzed and a weakness in the space station was found. In the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance launched a desperate, full scale attack. While most of the fleet of Rebel starfighters was wiped out, a young Rebel named Luke Skywalker -- with help from his friend Han Solo -- piloted an X-wing through the Death Star’s trench. He made a precise shot, firing a proton torpedo directly into an exhaust port, and destroyed the terrible weapon. Tarkin, who pompously refused to evacuate, was killed in the resulting explosion.