An enemy defeated against all odds
It was no accident that the Rebel Alliance found the exhaust vent that led to the power core of the Death Star. Empire scientist Galen Erso engineered the shaft purposefully hoping that the rebellion would discover the design flaw and destroy the super weapon. Many rebels died on the planet Scarif in a successful mission to transmit the plans to Princess Leah Organa. The Death Star's single reactor blast came like a tidal wave over rebels and Empire personal alike.
At the Battle of Yavin the Rebel Alliance rejoiced in ecstasy at the destruction of the Empire's super-weapon. The destroyer of worlds was itself destroyed by a single rebel fighter.
Luke Skywalker's deployment of the two photon torpedoes had been a one-in-a-million shot. The fact that he made it without the aid of his targeting computer was all the more incredible.
Posthumously Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi led him to yield totally to the light side of the Force. When Luke first launched his X-Wing fighter from the rebel base he heard the voice of Obi Wan say, "The Force will be with you."
Instantly Luke recalled the moment he saw Darth Vader's red saber strike down the aged Jedi inside the Death.
He considered the voice of Obi Wan, "Is this just me, my imagination, my way of morning the loss? Or is he out there somewhere?"
Instead of reflecting on the force, avoiding fire from the battle station quickly took his full concentration. The rebel squadrons prepared for their attack run in the Death Star's equatorial trench.
Just after the first rebel casualty Luke heard his mentor again say, "Trust your feelings."
Soon Luke began his attack run in the trench unaware the modified TIE fighter bearing down on him was the Vader himself.
Flying down the trench at top speed Obi Wan urged him, "Use the force Luke. Let go ... Trust me."
Luke was compelled to turn off the electronic targeting aid and he did. This caused concern from the Rebel command center.
"Luke you switched off your targeting computer what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Luke replied. "I'm all right."
Onboard the Death Star, Yavin 4 appeared over the planet's horizon. Technicians powered up the main weapon. The Empire's crowning achievement was ready to destroy the entire moon.
With Luke's craft in his sights and menace in his heart Vader said, "I have you now,"
The Syth Lord fired.
Suddenly Vader's starboard TIE fighter escort exploded.
"What?" exclaimed the Dark Lord.
"Yahoo!" came the cry from the Corillian freighter.
The remaining escort clipped Vader's wing sending him spinning out of the trench.
"You're all clear kid," from the swarthy Han Solo. "Now let's blow this thing and go home."
In a meditative like trance Luke took aim and fired. Somehow, beyond all logic the shot was perfect. The torpedoes entered the shaft and shot straight into to the center power core of the battle station.
Just before the primary weapon fired came a series of explosions emanating from the power core. The chain reaction resulted in a massive fireball the rebels saw with the naked eye on Yavin 4. The small force of rebel fighters shot away from the explosion barely escaping the blast. The Death Star was no more.
The rebel commanders and pilots whooped and and hollered. Against all odds, David bested Goliath and their joy was uncontained.
A new home
The battle of Yavin took its toll on the rebel fleet plus a lovable astromech droid, but the heroes cleaned up nicely at the medal ceremony to honor the small force. Yet, the leaders of the Rebellion could only afford a short respite. Without changing from their ceremonial clothes Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, General Dodonna and a handful of other rebel elders met in the command room to discuss what was next
"We can't risk staying on Yavin 4 now that the Empire knows where we are," said Princess Leia. "There are still plenty of Star Destroyers and an army of clones who won't be long in coming. We need to act fast."
"Agreed," said Mon Mothma. "There are several sites that have already been vetted for relocation. The first requirement, obviously, is for the planet or moon to have a breathable atmosphere and for the gravity to be in an acceptable range. Secondly, it needs to be sparsely inhabited. Location in the galaxy is are also important so that our activity will go unnoticed by the Empire or anyone loyal to them. Several places meet these criteria."
Mon Mothma turned to the machine in the center of the room and pressed a few buttons illuminating a holograph of the galaxy.
"The fourth moon of the Endor system has a forest terrain and had until recently been an ideal site," said Mon Mothma as the holograph zoomed into an area near the outer rim. "Unfortunately the Empire has recently begun to build there."
"So Endor is out," said Leah. "What else?"
Mon Mothma pulled up the next system.
"The sole planet in the Horuset system is a desert planet called Korriban. It was the original home world of the Sith species and it still houses many of their ancient tombs. Those that believe in the Force say that the Dark Side is strong there. Now the planet is abandoned except for tribes of primitive nomads. They follow herds of great hairy beasts, which they hunt for their meat and their hides. The tribes also war with one another. It's unknown whether they would be hostile to us, but there is a good chance that they would be."
The rest of the room remained silent indicating that there wasn't much enthusiasm for this possible site. So Mon Mothma moved on.
"The planet Teth is another possibility. Even though it is in the Outer Rim, Teth is considered Wild Space and likely to remain ignored by the Empire. It is a jungle planet that was once colonized by monks of the B'omarr Order. Now some of their empty monasteries have fallen under Hutt control. If we relocate there the Hutt gangsters might become a threat at some point."
"No," said Leah. "We don't want to risk conflict with the Hutts as well as the Empire."
"Another possibility is an ice planet called Hoth," said Mon Mothma. "The Hoth sun is a cool, dim, blue-white giant in a desolate sector of the galaxy. The worst thing about this planet is the cold. Even in the warmest months the temperature there drops severely at night. No intelligent races live on Hoth. But there are cave-dwelling beasts who hibernate for long periods of time when the winter is worst. Even in the warmer months they remain in their caves at night."
So what's the solution to the cold?" said Leah.
"The scouts recommend establishing our base inside caves as well because they can be sealed off from the elements and warmed.
"However, another problem caused by the cold is that most small, ground transportation units would freeze. But we do have intel on a possible solution to that. On the planet of Vandor there are snow lizards called Tauntauns especially acclimated to the cold. Local tribes ride the sure-footed bipeds to traverse mountains and tundra.
"Even though the tribes are primitive tribes trade has been established. There is a small village called Fort Ypso with a spaceport. If we settle on Hoth, Tauntauns would be useful. But we have use stealth on Vandor because the Empire has begun to have a presence there."
"Even with the cold Hoth seems like a good fit," Leah replied, "The first thing is to locate and seal off a cave or a series of caves big enough to contain barracks, hangers for fighters, a medical facility and a command center. How long would it take to establish livable conditions to relocate our personnel?"
General Dodonna spoke up, "Once we choose a cave system for the base building an entrance to seal off the cold would take only a few days. Then we can generate enough heat inside to support personal while we build the command center and other living quarters."
Leah said, "This planet seems like the one. Are the any objections?"
No one voiced an opposition.
"Then it looks like I'll be changing out of this dress into my parka," said Leia. "Let's evacuate all our personnel and necessary equipment tonight. We'll orbit the planet until the cave system is ready to support the new base."
The Dark Lord survives
Darth Vader spun out of the Death Star trench away from the prey he nearly destroyed regained control just in time to see Luke's proton torpedoes enter the shaft. Instead of reengaging the enemy an impulse from the Dark Side of the Force urged caution. So Vader turned away from the Death Star and redirected maximum power to his thrusters.
The explosion that followed nearly overtook his craft as he sped away. Looking back to where the death star was a moment before he saw only debris.
Anger burned in him as his mechanical breathing deepened. Had Darth Vader's TIE fighter been a standard version the Dark Lord would have been doomed to fly aimlessly until he lost all power. But Vader had installed a hyperdrive in his craft for just such an eventuality. So he was saved from such a fate.
Vader entered the coordinates for the closest fleet of Star Destroyers and engaged light speed. He would live to fight another day.