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- "The Desolation Station facility is where components are assembled prior to being transported to the Death Star construction site itself."
- ―Rahm Kota
Desolation Station was an asteroid-based Imperial facility that was used to assemble and transport superlaser components to the first Death Star battlestation. Commanded by an Imperial captain and overseen by the Force-sensitive clone X1, the facility became the target of a Rebel Alliance raid at some point between 2 BBY and 0 BBY. Alliance agent X2, assisted by a small group of Rebels, infiltrated the facility, rescued Wookiee prisoners being held there, and deactivated the shield corridor protecting a transport carrying the last of the superlaser components, the tributary beam. After securing the transport itself, X2 used the tributary beam to destroy Desolation Station.
Description[]
- "X2, we've received reports that there are Wookiees being held captive on board Desolation Station. Their holding quarters are directly west of your current location. There's less resistance on the east path though—if you're getting overwhelmed by enemy forces, then that might be an easier route to the control room."
- ―Rahm Kota briefs X2 on the station's layout
Desolation Station was a construction facility operated by the Galactic Empire during the early days of the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The facility was built on the surface of a large, misshapen asteroid within an asteroid belt[1] in a star system located in the Atrivis sector of the Outer Rim Territories.[3] Desolation Station's primary purpose was the construction of superlaser components for the Imperial Death Star battlestation project, which itself was being assembled near the planet Despayre[1] in the nearby Horuz system.[3] Once completed, the components were loaded onto armed transports that delivered them to the Death Star. The transports were protected by a defensive shield corridor that connected the facility to the Death Star construction site. The shield corridor was projected by Desolation Station, and the shield controls were located in a special section inside the facility.[1]
The facility also doubled as a penal colony, possessing an area containing holding cells for a number of prisoners, such as several Wookiees being held aboard the station shortly prior to its destruction. In addition to the shield control section and the holding cells, the facility had at least two hangar bays, one of which served as a combat station for the facility's complement of TIE fighters. Desolation Station's corridors were filled with various types of machinery and computers. Heavy blast doors separated different areas of the facility, while ray shields protected the exits from the station to the surface of the asteroid.[1] The station had a life support system capable of maintaining atmosphere breathable to Humans,[2] as well as an intruder detection system capable of putting the entire facility in a state of high alert in case of a security breach. Multiple bacta tanks and weapons caches were spread throughout Desolation Station, in addition to a number of E-Web heavy repeating blaster positions.[1]
History[]
- "Nicely done, boy! That should give us a serious edge over the Empire's production time! The Rebel Alliance may have use for a scrapper like you yet. Return to base and we'll see about getting you formally initiated."
- ―Rahm Kota, to X2
Desolation Station's destruction
Desolation Station had been in operation by the time of the latter stages of the construction of the first Death Star.[1] At some point between 2 BBY and 0 BBY,[4] the final component of the Death Star's superlaser, the tributary beam, was assembled at the facility and prepared for transport to the Death Star's construction site in the Horuz system. During that time, the facility was commanded by an Imperial captain, who in turn answered to X1, a high-ranking Force-sensitive clone who was overseeing the project away from the facility. In its effort to destroy the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance learned about the existence of the facility and the transportation of the tributary beam that was supposed to take place. A lone Rebel agent named X2, X1's brother and a recent recruit into the Alliance by way of Jedi Master Rahm Kota, was dispatched to stop the Imperial operation. Following a plan developed by Kota, X2 infiltrated the facility itself, landing in one of its hangars. He was then informed of a number of Wookiee prisoners being held there, awaiting transportation to Despayre.[1]
After liberating the Wookiees, X2 reached the shield control center and deactivated the defensive corridor protecting the transport carrying the tributary beam. Assisted by a number of Rebel agents sent as his reinforcements, X2 reached the TIE fighter combat station and stole one of the starfighters to escape the facility. At that point, a number of Rebel X-wing fighters dispatched by Kota arrived to assist X2. Fighting through the TIE fighters launched from the station to intercept him, X2 flew to the transport, destroyed its turbolaser defenses, infiltrated it, and defeated all Imperial opposition aboard. Reaching the tributary beam controls aboard the transport, he then used the beam to destroy Desolation Station itself, although some personnel, including the station's commander, had been able to escape prior to its destruction. The surviving commander was subsequently brought before X1, who executed him for his incompetence. The destruction of Desolation Station served as a major setback in the construction of the Death Star and bought the Rebellion more time in its campaign to stop the superweapon. The Death Star was eventually finished nonetheless but was later destroyed by the Alliance at the Battle of Yavin.[1]
Commanders and crew[]
The commanding officer of Desolation Station
- "You will need to locate the controls for the shield corridor. Knowing how the Empire operates, you can be assured they will be well defended."
- ―Rahm Kota, in his briefing to X2
In the days prior to its destruction, Desolation Station was commanded by an Imperial captain, who escaped from the station, only to be executed later by X1. The facility had a large number of Imperial stormtroopers stationed aboard and was generally considered to be well defended, especially the areas near the holding cells.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Desolation Station first appeared in the 2009 video game Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, which featured its destruction. It appeared exclusively in the Nintendo DS version of the game, developed by N-space, in the second level of the game's Act II.[1]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (First appearance) (Nintendo DS version)
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 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (Nintendo DS version)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Although not directly featured in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, the existence of some sort of life support can be evidenced given that X2 can freely move around the station without any sort of breathing apparatus.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4
Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Desolation Station was destroyed at some point between the formation of the Rebel Alliance, which the The Essential Guide to Warfare dates to 2 BBY, and the destruction of the first Death Star, which The New Essential Chronology dates to 0 BBY.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron