Imperial Watch Station

Imperial Watch Stations were armed space stations of varying design used by the Imperial Military in deep space for the purpose of security against pirates, smugglers, and enemy warships in lesser defended areas of the known galaxy. The Republic was the first to establish some of these stations, which were used as medical stations and supply caches during the Clone Wars. Most of these stations in the Imperial era were directly attached to the Imperial Navy and were thus protected by Imperial Navy troopers and officers, though some were attached to the Imperial Security Bureau, and were thus staffed by the Bureau's specialized stormtroopers and agents. Watch Stations also doubled as stockpiles, as hundreds of thousands of blasters and tibanna gas canisters were often stored in them for later use by other Imperial units. An Imperial Watch Station that was directly in orbit of a planet or other celestial body was instead known as a Security Station. By the start of the Galactic Civil War, there were at least two hundred Imperial Watch/Security Stations throughout the galaxy. When the Galactic Empire was divided among several hundred splinter states and rogue armies, the Watch Stations that weren't gradually destroyed or abandoned became repurposed as battlestations for use by these warlords.