The Battle of Alderaan was a battle between the planet Alderaan and the Galactic Empire in 2 BBY, part of the Galactic Civil War. The military forces of the Galactic Empire, led by the Sith Lord Darth Vader, invaded and subsequently occupied the planet in an effort to capture Alderaanian Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa and, ultimately, Princess Leia Organa. The battle was carried out under the false pretense that Alderaan was stockpiling weapons to be used against the Empire.
After the battle ended, Vader continued his plan and attempted to seduce Princess Organa to the dark side of the Force and become his secret Sith apprentice.
Prelude[]
In the early days of the Galactic Empire’s rule over the galaxy, the planet Alderaan signed a treaty with the Empire that stated Alderaan would rid itself of all weapons. The planet obeyed the terms of the treaty for years.[2]
Around 2 BBY, evidence presented by the Sith Lord Darth Vader indicated that Alderaan had violated the treaty and was stockpiling weapons for use against the Empire. The intelligence, however, was fabricated. Because the Empire-at-large did not know this, Vader used the information as justification for launching an attack on Alderaan, one secretly aimed at capturing Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa alive. The goal in capturing Organa was to use him in Vader’s plot to capture the Viceroy’s daughter, Alderaanian Princess Leia Organa. Viceroy Organa himself had sensed that something dangerous was approaching Alderaan, which he saw in the form of dreams where he saw a storm over the planet.[2]
The battle[]
In 2 BBY, Vader led a fleet of Star Destroyers, commanded from the Star Destroyer Avenger, to Alderaan in pursuit of the vessel Tantive IV. Also accompanying Vader in command of the fleet was Kane Starkiller, the Commander of the Guardians of Lettow.[2]
The battle began in a field outside of Aldera, the planet’s capital city, into the streets of the city itself. A group of Imperial fighters also attacked an airbase containing civilian vessels, though Vader claimed that they were military fighters. The Imperial forces ultimately captured the capital city and placed the planet under direct Imperial occupation.[2]
Aftermath[]
Following the conclusion of the battle, Vader continued in his efforts to capture Princess Organa. The princess realized that she was influenced by the dark side of the Force, which Vader attempted to use to convince Leia to become his secret Sith apprentice. This caused some animosity with Starkiller, who already considered himself Vader’s de facto apprentice.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The Battle of Alderaan was created and developed by author Brandon Rhea for the Alternative Star Wars Saga fan fiction series. The battle first appeared in a draft Rhea wrote of Star Wars: Episode IV, part of the Alternative Saga.[2] Although the draft is not available for reading, Rhea ultimately released information about the battle in a blog posting on Star Wars Fanon, the Star Wars wiki of fan invention. The blog, posted on June 14, 2010, highlights similarities between Rhea’s Battle of Alderaan and the canon Battle of Alderaan during the Great Galactic War. Rhea noticed these similarities in the Hope trailer released that same day for the upcoming video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.[2]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode IV (First appearance)
