Executor

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The Executor was the personal flagship of Darth Vader and the lead ship of its class of Star Dreadnaughts. It primarily served as the flagship of Vader's Death Squadron as he hunted down the Alliance High Command headquarters and, more specifically, Luke Skywalker, following the Battle of Yavin. It later participated in the battles of Hoth and Endor, among others.

Contents 1 Specifications 2 History 2.1 Construction and purpose 2.2 Yavin to Hoth 2.3 Hoth to Endor 2.4 Destruction over Endor 3 Commanders 4 Behind the scenes 5 Appearances 5.1 Non-canon appearances 6 Sources 7 Notes and references

Specifications

The Executor was the first of the Executor-class Star Dreadnaught line. At 19,000 meters in length, almost twelve times the length of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, making it as large as a small city,^[16] the Executor was the largest traditional starship constructed by the Imperial Navy at the time of its completion—only the first Death Star and Torpedo Spheres were larger.^[1]

It sported thousands of weapons, including more than 5,000 turbolasers and ion cannons,^[16] 250 assault concussion missile tubes, and 40 tractor beam projectors. It held two full wings of TIE Fighters, for 144 ships, as well as 200 other combat and support ships. For ground assaults, it boasted three prefabricated garrison bases,^[1][17] different from the standard two carried by the Executor-class line, a full corps of stormtroopers, 38,000 ground troops, and enough walkers to decimate any conceivable Alliance to Restore the Republic base.^[1] The Executor was propelled by thirteen immensely powerful, blood red-glowing stardrive engine thrusters.^[2]

It functioned with a crew of 279,144,^[17] far less than might be expected for a ship of its size.^[18]

As Vader's personal ship, it was specially designed with a meditation chamber, which served as the Dark Lord's quarters. The chamber was equipped with a large spherical pod where, when closed, Vader could rest free of his breathing mask, while allowing his scarred face to feel fresh air. Through airtubes, the pod was pumped with gases and oxygen so Vader could breath independently. The chamber also contained its own communications systems, providing Vader with direct audio and visual feeds to various locations, as well as a direct holographic connection with Emperor Palpatine.^[5]

History

Construction and purpose

Designed by Lira Wessex, manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards, and built in secret at the shipyards of Fondor, the Executor was used as a headquarters by Darth Vader at some point prior to the Battle of Yavin before it was even finished. From the unfinished ship, Vader sent his secret apprentice Galen Marek on various missions.^[19] The Executor was the first of four Executor-class Super Star Destroyers in service before the Battle of Hoth.^[16][1]

It was built concurrently with its sister-ship, the Lusankya. Both ships were provisionally named Executor to make it appear as if only one ship was truly being constructed. After construction was completed, the Executor was pressed into active military service, while the Lusankya was secretly taken to Coruscant to serve as Palpatine's private escape vessel.^[20]

In a military sense, the Executor was somewhat impractical, since a smaller ship could fulfill its mission duties,^[1] like the Republic Inexpugnable-class had done in eras past.^[21][22] Rather, the Executor served a largely political purpose. Its massive size served as physical proof of the Emperor's unlimited power and resources. The sheer size of the ship served as sufficient means to frighten a planet into submission.^[1] The incredible cost to fund the construction of such a large ship had practically bankrupted several star systems.^[18] Due to the incredible size of the ship, its construction was a long drawn out process. After its main hull was completed at the Fondor Shipyards, the incomplete ship traveled to the secluded Scarl System. There further construction work was done by thousands of construction droids and support vessels. It was already being used as a base of operations for Vader and his secret apprentice, Galen Marek at this time. The fully completed Executor was officially presented to Vader shortly after the Battle of Yavin^[1]. Although it was already used as a headquarters for Vader before its completion, Vader had used various ships including Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator^[5] and several battlecruisers as his personal flagships when going into battle.^[23]. With the Completion of the Executor, Vader would never need another ship for the rest of his life.

It served as Vader's headquarters and the flagship of the newly formed Death Squadron while he searched for the secret Rebel base and his son, Luke Skywalker.^[1] The ship's maiden voyage saw it destroy the Rebel outpost at Laakteen Depot. This demonstration was meant to show the galaxy that the Rebellion's victory over the Death Star was by pure chance and that the Executor, as well as the Galactic Empire, was unstoppable.^[2]

Yavin to Hoth

The ship's construction phase was overseen by Admiral Amise Griff and he maintained command when the Executor became operational. After the Lakteen Depot demonstration, the Executor, under Griff, set course for the Yavin system. There, it led the final stage of the Blockade of Yavin, a five-month long campaign to defeat the now located Alliance High Command. During the final siege of the Massassi Temple, a final group of Rebels attempted to run the blockade. The Executor suffered two accidents: first, the shield-weakening effects of Vrad Dodonna's power gem; and second, a ramming by three Imperial warships (under the command of Amise Griff) leaving hyperspace. Both events allowed the remaining Alliance forces to escape. The Executor later redeemed itself in a number of strikes against Alliance bases.

Shortly after the final Rebel evacuation of Yavin Base, Vader and the Executor arrived over the planet Shelkonwa on a tip from Shelsa Sector's chief administrator, Vilim Disra, alerting Vader that Leia Organa was present in the capital, Makrin City. Instead of finding the fugitive Alderaanian Princess, however, Vader and the 501st Legion apprehended the sector's governor, Barshnis Choard, on charges of treason against the Empire.^[15]

The only person known to have broken into the Executor was Kyle Katarn. He stowed away aboard a corvette leaving a fueling station on Ergo. Singlehandedly he managed to reach the Executor's boarding hangar and smuggle himself along on the ship's voyage to the secret position of the Arc Hammer.^[24]

Hoth to Endor

The Executor's three-year search for Skywalker following the Battle of Yavin ended in 3 ABY when a Viper probe droid, launched from the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Stalker, located the Alliance High Command headquarters on the remote ice world of Hoth in the Outer Rim Territories. Upon locating the Rebels' Echo Base, the probe droid immediately relayed visual and audio sensory data of the base's deflector shield generator on omnisignal unicode via a HoloNet transceiver back to the Executor.^[25] With this information Vader instantly determined that Hoth was indeed the location of both the Rebels and Skywalker, and ordered his ship to set course for the Hoth system in preparation for the impending invasion, despite protests from the insolent Admiral Kendal Ozzel.^[5]

As the Executor neared the Hoth system, the Viper probe continued to scan Hoth's icy wastes. It did a meticulous job of mapping out the Echo Base defenses, including the surrounding trenches, artillery emplacements, and even the size, model, and location of the v-150 anti-orbital ion cannon, as well as observing troop movements and positions. All of this information was likewise transmitted to the Executor, proving invaluable to General Maximilian Veers and his commanders as they prepared for ground assault. The probe droid's efforts were a testament to the Empire's incredible preparedness during the subsequent Battle of Hoth.^[25]

The Executor and Death Squadron exited hyperspace in close proximity of Hoth, the system's sixth planet, on orders from Ozzel. He foolishly believed a surprise saturated bombardment would be the best tactic to begin the attack. Bringing the fleet out of hyperspace so close to the planet alerted the Rebels of the Imperial presence, allowing them enough time to raise their shield and evacuate a considerable amount of equipment and personnel relative to the losses they sustained during the ground battle. The latest blunder by Ozzel would prove to be his last. Vader executed him for his incompetence and passed command of the Executor to Firmus Piett, the ship's captain, before the battle even began.^[5]

From Hoth's orbit the Executor led the assault on Echo Base, commanding the fleet's blockade of the planet.^[5] During the battle, the Executor helped to disable at least one of the Rebellion's escape transports trying to run the blockade, the GR-75 medium transport Bright Hope, the final transport to evacuate Hoth.^[26] The Executor also captured the Punishing One, a modified JumpMaster 5000 scout ship piloted by the bounty hunter Dengar. Dengar had entered the Hoth system in the midst of the battle in search of Han Solo, and his ship was disabled by the base's ion cannon. Floating helplessly through space, it was retrieved by the Executor's tractor beams. Captured along with his ship, Dengar was later recruited by Vader to help in the search for the Millennium Falcon.^[27]

Immediately after the battle, believing Luke Skywalker had fled the planet aboard the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader ordered the Executor and Death Squadron to pursue the fugitive ship through the Hoth Asteroid Field. The fleet sustained a considerable amount of damage due to asteroid collisions and was ultimately unable to capture the ship, believing it had escaped into hyperspace after successfully navigating through the asteroid field when, in reality, Han Solo had cleverly attached the freighter to the backside of the Avenger's bridge tower. The Executor and Death Squadron then jumped into hyperspace along several different possible escape trajectories that the Millennium Falcon may have taken.^[5]

Soon, however, on information from the bounty hunter Boba Fett, the Executor arrived in orbit over the planet Bespin to capture the crew of the Millennium Falcon on Bespin's Cloud City. After a lightsaber duel in the city between Vader and Luke Skywalker ended in Skywalker's escape aboard the Falcon, the Executor attempted to intercept the fleeing ship. The Rebels were narrowly captured by the Executor's tractor beams, but the Millennium Falcon managed to finally escape into hyperspace and elude Imperial capture.^[5]

It was aboard the Executor, during the ship's pursuit of the Millennium Falcon just after the Battle of Hoth, that IG-88A received the information he would use to formulate the ultimate step in his Droid Revolution. After being debriefed by Darth Vader concerning his desired parameters for capturing the crew of the Falcon, IG-88B secretly gained access to the Executor's main computer core. He downloaded the entire computer core's records into his own memory banks, gaining a vast collection of secret Imperial data, including Vader's own code-locked personal files. It was within these files specifically that IG-88A discovered the Empire was creating a second Death Star over the Sanctuary Moon of Endor. He immediately decided it would be to his advantage to upload his own identity into the new Death Star.^[18]

Several droids stationed aboard the Executor, including courier droids, were built on the planet Mechis III after IG-88A's droid takeover there. They were specially programmed, as IG-88A had designed them after his own programming, to be uniquely sentient. These infiltrated droids also laid electronic pathways through the ship's computer systems which enabled IG-88A to easily access the computer core without being blocked by security measures.^[18]

After Vader's battle with Skywalker, Vader and the Executor returned to Coruscant, likely so that the Emperor could personally debrief Vader of the encounter. With Vader's personal hunt of Skywalker temporarily on hold, the Executor was stationed above Coruscant during this time, in conjunction with Vader's own temporary stationing on Imperial Center, from where it was dispatched during its brief campaigns during the following year^[6] before assignment to protect the Second Death Star in orbit over Endor.

In the months following the Battle of Hoth, the Executor participated in the Second Battle of Bajic, leading an assault on a secret Rebel shipyard in the Vergesso Asteroids, in the Lybeya system of the Baji Sector, in the Outer Rim Territories. On a tip from Black Sun Syndicate leader Prince Xizor alerting the Empire of the Rebel outpost, Darth Vader was personally dispatched by Emperor Palpatine to eliminate the facility. With support from the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger and two Victory II-class Star Destroyers, the Executor, under command of Admiral Okins, landed a crushing blow to the Alliance, destroying the shipyard and hundreds of vessels stationed there, ranging from capital ships undergoing repairs to snubfighters.

Shortly thereafter, the Executor attempted to retrieve stolen plans to the uncompleted Second Death Star in the Battle of Kothlis. Chasing a group of Bothans fleeing from the colony world of Kothlis, the Executor failed to recover the plans after destroying the space station Kothlis II orbiting the planet and then subsequently capturing the CR90 corvette Razor in conjunction, once more, with the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger. Although the Razor was seized by the Avenger, the plans were finally secured into Alliance hands when a Bothan, carrying the plans, launched from the ship in an escape pod and was recovered by the civilian Dreadnaught Mercury, from which it was transferred to the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Independence.

Just prior to being assigned to protect the Second Death Star, the Executor destroyed Prince Xizor's personal skyhook Falleen's Fist in orbit over the planet Coruscant, killing Xizor and severely crippling Black Sun from that point forward.^[6]

Sometime after the Battle of Hoth, the Executor, under Piett's command, led a fleet of Imperial-class Star Destroyers in an invasion of the planet Mygeeto after the discovery of a Rebel base there. To ensure success in the battle, Vader transferred elite pilots from throughout the Imperial Navy to his flagship, including the nicknamed "Imperial Ace". Squadrons of TIE fighters attached to the Executor engaged in skirmishes with Rebel starfighters from the planet prior to the arrival of a remnant of the Alliance Fleet. The Executor led the Imperial force in a lengthy battle with the Rebel fleet before emerging victorious, clearing the way for the Empire to recapture the planet.^[8]

At some point prior to 4 ABY, the Executor led a fleet of Star Destroyers on a mission to the planet Kintoni, a backwater colony world with few settlements. Although seemingly insignificant, Kintoni was the site of an Imperial garrison and an extensive long-range communications/sensor nexus. Several months after the first death of Emperor Palpatine, Mara Jade fled to Kintoni in an effort to escape the forces of Ysanne Isard. There, she discovered a traitorous former Imperial governor, Barkale, was also on the planet, being held prisoner by Rebel forces. In her attempt to extract Barkale from Rebel imprisonment and bring him to Imperial justice, Jade learned that the Executor and its supporting force was the last fleet to fly by the planet. She made a copy of the Executor's record and fed it into the main sensor feed of the prison. The Rebel installation was duped into believing a Super Star Destroyer and its fleet was descending on Kintoni, allowing Jade enough time to escape with Barkale. They soon learned it was only a ghost ship on their sensors.^[28]

Destruction over Endor

Early in 4 ABY, the Executor, once more under command of Admiral Firmus Piett, was assigned to protect the second Death Star in orbit over Endor's Sanctuary Moon. There, it served as the command ship of the massive Imperial fleet, an armada of up to fifty Imperial-class Star Destroyers also assigned to Endor to await the impending arrival of the Alliance Fleet, which the Emperor knew was soon to arrive along with Luke Skywalker.^[10]

Sensing the imminent arrival of Skywalker and the Alliance force, the Emperor ordered the Imperial fleet to the far side of the moon, where it would wait in secret to ambush the Rebels. The Executor, however, supported by at least two Imperial-class Star Destroyers, remained behind to manage the Death Star construction site.^[10]

As the command ship, the Executor acted as the commanding vessel of the entire Death Star construction site, monitoring the thousands of construction ships that entered and exited the area, as well as overseeing the ingress and egress of ships through the Death Star's deflector shield.^[14] It was while monitoring this tedious construction activity that the Executor intercepted the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle Tydirium holding the Endor Strike Team, including Skywalker, en route to the moon's surface to destroy the shield protecting the battlestation. Vader instantly sensed the presence of his son and allowed the shuttle to pass through the shield. He would soon depart his flagship for the final time to await Skywalker on the forest moon.^[10]

Once the Rebel fleet arrived, the Executor and the remainder of the Imperial fleet assumed a position behind the Rebels, blocking their only escape vector. They effectively had the Rebel fleet sandwiched between themselves and the Death Star, but were personally ordered by the Emperor himself to defer from attacking to allow the Death Star's superlaser, believed by the Rebels to be inoperable, to strike first. With the operational status of the Death Star realized, the Rebel fleet desperately resorted to attacking the Star Destroyers at point-blank range, a suicidal measure to be sure, but the safest choice when confronted with the unstoppable power of the Death Star. It was at that point that the Executor entered the fray.^[10]

After the shield generator was destroyed by the strike team bringing down the shield protecting the Death Star, the Rebel fleet commenced its primary attack on the battle station's main reactor core. Hoping to dissuade much of the Imperial starfighter presence from following the Rebel fighters into the Death Star, Admiral Ackbar ordered a concentrated assault on the Executor itself, led by his own command ship, the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Home One.^[10]

Following the failure of the bridge shields, two RZ-1 A-wing interceptors from Green Squadron were able to destroy one of the ship's sensor globes and the shield projector vanes surrounding it.^[10][16] With the Executor's defensive guns losing coordination, another wayward A-wing, piloted by Arvel Crynyd, ironically hit by one of the Executor's guns, inadvertently crashed into the ship's unprotected command tower, smashing through portions of the bridge section.^[10]. The loss of the bridge temporarily disabled the Executor's navigational systems. Before auxiliary power could restore control, the Executor, caught in the Death Star's gravity well projector, plummeted into the surface of the station, obliterating the massive warship and causing significant damage to the Death Star.^[10]

With the loss of the command ship, the Imperial fleet fell into disarray and the tide of the battle was effectively turned. The Executor served as a great beacon of morality for the rest of the fleet, and with its destruction, the remaining commanders panicked. Despite still retaining a numerical and qualitative advantage over the Rebel fleet, the bulk of the Imperial fleet retreated into hyperspace.

Ironically, the fighter responsible for the Executor's destruction was designed by Walex Blissex, the father of Lira Wessex, the naval architect who designed the Executor.

Commanders

While Vader wielded the Executor as his personal weapon, its military functions were commanded by a series of admirals, each of which met an untimely demise. Admiral Amise Griff was the ship's first officer, having overseen its construction at Fondor. Griff, in a ploy by Vader, led a foolhardy assault on Yavin 4, and perished.

Command was then handed to Admiral Kendal Ozzel, famous for his part in allowing yet another escape by the Alliance at Hoth by making an Imperial fleet exit hyperspace too close to the rebel base. For his failure, Ozzel was force-choked to death by Vader and was succeeded by Admiral Firmus Piett.

Piett, a competent commander, was the only commanding officer of the Executor not responsible for botching an important operation. Despite this, luck would conspire against him when the astromech droid R2-D2 successfully repaired the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive and allowed the Rebel heroes to escape from the grasp of the Empire. Despite Piett's failure to capture the Falcon, he was not killed by Darth Vader as other Imperial commanders had been. Piett would later perish at the Battle of Endor when Arvel Crynyd's A-wing smashed into the Executor's bridge.

It is likely that the day-to-day operations of the ship were overseen by a captain, and the admirals mentioned above merely used the Executor as their command ship for Death Squadron.

Behind the scenes

Many Expanded Universe sources have claimed that the Executor was only 8,000 meters long. Some other sources, most notably StarWars.com, have claimed that the Executor was 12,800 meters long. Both of these figures are in direct contradiction with the films themselves, which consistently show the Executor to be around eleven to twelve times as long as accompanying 1,600m long Star Destroyers, or 17,600-19,200m. The 12,800m figure was apparently intended as a "compromise", being halfway between the length seen in the movies and the West End Games 8,000m version. In September 2005, the StarWars.com Databank was finally updated with the 19,000 meter length. These lengths still remain a point of contention among some Star Wars fans.

The miniature Executor used in filming was 2.83 meters long (9 1/4 feet).^[2]

The StarWars.com Databank states that the Executor only carried two prefabricated garrison bases for ground assaults, typical of standard Executor-class Star Dreadnaughts. Also, it correctly identifies thirteen stardrive engine thrusters, while The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels only identifies nine.

Appearances

The Force Unleashed novel Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic (Appears in flashback(s)) Star Wars: X-wing Darth Vader Strikes (First identified as a Dreadnought) Traitor's Gambit (Appears in flashback(s)) The Return of Ben Kenobi The Power Gem (Appears in hologram) Revenge of the Jedi Doom Mission Race for Survival Star Wars: Dark Forces Sand Blasted Allegiance Star Wars Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy Star Wars Missions 18: Rogue Squadron to the Rescue (Mentioned only) Imperial Spy Galaxy of Fear: The Hunger  "Galaxywide NewsNets" - Star Wars Adventure Journal 12 Splinter of the Mind's Eye comic Showdown The Final Trap Star Wars: Imperial Ace Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization (First appearance) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars 39: The Empire Strikes Back: Beginning Star Wars 40: The Empire Strikes Back: Battleground: Hoth Star Wars 41: The Empire Strikes Back: Imperial Pursuit Star Wars 42: The Empire Strikes Back: To Be a Jedi Star Wars 44: The Empire Strikes Back: Duel a Dark Lord Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88 Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM Payback: The Tale of Dengar The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett Star Wars: Imperial Ace Shadows of the Empire comic Shadows of the Empire novel Star Wars: X-wing Alliance Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novelization Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Star Wars: Return of the Jedi 1: In the Hands of Jabba the Hutt Star Wars: Return of the Jedi 2: The Emperor Commands Star Wars: Return of the Jedi 3: Mission to Endor A Day in the Life Mara Jade: A Night on the Town (Appears in hologram) Heir to the Empire (Mentioned only) X-wing: The Krytos Trap (Mentioned only) X-wing: The Bacta War (Mentioned only) A Grand Admiral Returns (Mentioned only) Heir to the Empire (Mentioned only) The Last Command (Mentioned only) X-wing: Isard's Revenge (Mentioned only)

Non-canon appearances

• Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
• Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi

Sources

• Imperial Sourcebook
• The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
• Rebel Alliance Sourcebook
• From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives
• The Essential Guide to Characters
• The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back
•  "Hoth Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Captain Piett)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Commander Brandei)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Corporal Derdram)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Executor)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Warrant Officer M'Kae)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Lieutenant Commander Ardan)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Corporal Vandolay)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Lieutenant Venka)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Lieutenant Suba)
•  "Dagobah Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Commander Gherant)
•  "Cloud City Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Imperial Trooper Guard Dainsom)
•  "Death Star II Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Chimaera)
•  "Death Star II Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Black 11)
•  "Death Star II Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: Blue Squadron 5)
•  "Special Edition Limited" - Star Wars Customizable Card Game (Card: OS-72-10)
• Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive
• Star Wars: Behind the Magic
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
• Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
• Star Wars: Complete Locations
• The New Essential Chronology
• Star Wars Miniatures: Starship Battles
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
• Vader: The Ultimate Guide
• Starships of the Galaxy 2007 edition
•  Super Star Destroyer in the Databank
• Randy Stradley confirms the unfinished Executor's appearance in The Force Unleashed.

Notes and references