Ionic Ring Ship

This article is about the Imperial superweapon. You may be looking for the Imperial project.

"Your father's ship sounds almost as deadly as the Empire's Death Star—!"

The Ionic Ring was a weather-control starship created by Professor Renn Volz during his time at the Maw Installation, and used by the Galactic Empire as a superweapon. It was named after its Ion Ring or Climatizer, the weapon built into it.

Characteristics[]

"My father invented the Ion Ring Ship to turn every planet into a paradise!"

―Mira Volz, to Han Solo^[1]

The Ionic Ring consisted of several ion units joined together in the shape of a ring. These ion units created a specific modulated ionic beam that could manipulate a planet's weather patterns.^[2]

The Ionic Ring also housed a command bridge at its center and was capable of traveling through hyperspace.^[1]

History[]

"With this ship, I'll have the Rebellion begging for mercy!"
"My invention was meant to stop suffering, not to create it—!"

―Bzorn and Renn Volz^[1]

Ionic Ring reactor — The *Ionic Ring* fires its main reactor

The Ionic Ring was created by Professor Renn Volz during his tenure at the Maw Installation.^[2] Volz believed he was working for the good of the entire galaxy. He envisioned the ship as a climatizer, capable of altering the destructive forces of nature to terraform any wasteland into a paradise of a livable world. However, the Galactic Empire intended to use it as a weapon against planets harboring Rebel cells.^[1]

After its first successful testing on the planet Zerm, the Ionic Ring was commandeered by Imperial Captain Bzorn, who had been tasked by Lord Vader to locate and punish Rebel planets. It was used to devastate the planet Rion, unleashing destructive storms. Afterward it was turned on Volz's homeworld of Little Kessel.^[1]

Before the Ionic Ring could be used to fully destroy Little Kessel, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca rescued the professor who, devastated that his technology would be used for destruction by the Imperial military, took it upon himself to destroy the ship and the Ion Ring. He reversed the flow of the ship's ion units, causing a meltdown that destroyed the superweapon. The four were barely able to escape with their lives aboard the Millennium Falcon.^[1]

Even though the Ionic Ring was destroyed, other Imperial scientists at the Maw utilized Volz's theories to create a new weapon, the orbital nightcloak.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

This ship receives multiple names throughout The Second Kessel Run.^[1] The 2008 reference book The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia establishes its official name as the Ionic Ring.^[2]