Tibanna

TibannaDistraction-TOTS — Luke Skywalker sprays Darth Vader with Tibanna gas

"Yeah, a tibanna gas mine. Lando conned somebody out of it."

―Han Solo^[src]

Tibanna was a gas found at high-pressure in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Bespin. It was used in hyperdrives, starship weaponry, and as a coolant around the gravito-active elements of repulsorlifts, which made it a valuable resource. Once processed, tibanna could be suspended into a block of frozen, super-strong carbonite and safely transported on a repulsor sled.^[1] The highly reactive nature of tibanna gas made it quite explosive, a fact that was used by clone troopers to destroy a Republic outpost on the moon of Rishi that had been taken over by Separatist droids during the Clone Wars.^[2] The metropolis of Cloud City, which floated high above the gaseous surface of Bespin, was a mining colony where Tibanna was harvested and processed for export.^[3] The Mid Rim planet^[4] Kril'Dor was a known source of tibanna.^[5]

After the Galactic Empire suffered a major defeat at Endor, Governor Adelhard ordered the lockdown of the Anoat sector, where Bespin was located. With the blockade, Cloud City became the only place where Tibanna could be found, and the demand for that gas rose dramatically. Consequently, the Trade Spine League made money on transporting Tibanna to various worlds in the Anoat sector. The Galactic Empire, however, intended to take Cloud City in order to cut off the sector's population of their much-needed Tibanna supplies.^[6]

A rarer and more pure form of Tibanna gas was known as Interstellar gas, and was highly sought after by hyperspace scouts.^[7]