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The foster son of a farming couple, Luke has been raised on the backwater planet of Tatooine with little idea of his true heritage. He survives personal tragedy and deep pain, and overcomes impossibly high odds to become a hero of the Rebel Alliance.Luke Skywalker always knew that he was the son of a man who fought valiantly in the Clone Wars, but his adventures lead him to discover that his past is touched with unspeakable darkness. Luke's childhood was spent helping his aunt and uncle on their moisture farm and becoming a skillful pilot in his T-16 Skyhopper, shooting womp rats with good friends such as Biggs Darklighter.He had hoped to enter the Academy with Biggs, but his uncle Owen Lars has held him back. Destiny brings the affairs of the galaxy to young Skywalker's doorstep in the form of two droids that his uncle purchases, C-3PO and R2-D2. Thus starts an adventure that takes Luke on a voyage of self-discovery, with his bravery and commitment to the light side of the Force tested at every step.Luke constantly faces challenges that would test any mortal: The responsibility for either destroying the Empire's super weapon, the Death Star, or seeing it destroy the backbone of the Rebellion;learning patience at the hands of Jedi Master Yoda, yet having to choose between completing his training or trying to rescue his imperiled friends; facing the horrifying truth of his parentage, and then instantly deciding what path to take; and finally taking the nearly unimaginable risk that there was still some goodness deep within the dark soul of one of the galaxy's most evil warriors |
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Ben Kenobi has lived for years in the dangerous Jundland Wastes, on the edge of the Dune Sea. He is seldom encountered by others, but occasionally "Old Ben" appears to help someone who is lost, or warn the local authorities of a massing of Sand People. While most residents of the Anchorhead area have heard of Kenobi, the majority consider him a crazy old hermit best left to himself. In truth, Kenobi once traveled the galaxy as a Jedi Knight and defender of the Old Republic. He rose to become a General in the Clone Wars, fighting alongside legendary figures such as Bail Organa of Alderaan. Kenobi took on a student whom he trained in the ways of the Jedi, but lost him to the dark side of the Force. The boy became the evil Darth Vader, turned against the Jedi, and helped the Emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi protectors of the Old Republic. Haunted by his failure, Obi-Wan Kenobi went into hiding, realizing that he could do more by guarding the young Luke Skywalker from afar than by leading a desperate, doomed battle against Vader and his Emperor. Kenobi brooded, watching for the right time to make a move against the Empire, waiting for a new hope. He took the name Ben and cloaked himself in the persona of a crazy wizard. Many years later, when a pair of droids brought young Luke Skywalker into the web of destiny, Kenobi knew his wait was over. |
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While the carbon-freezing chambers of Bespin's Cloud City were built to store Tibanna gas, Darth Vader orders the modification of one chamber so that he can freeze Luke Skywalker -- and thus nullify his nascent Force powers -- to transport him to the Emperor. As a test, Vader decides to try the process on Han Solo, who survives the freezing process, but in a state like suspended animation. Immobilized and powerless, Han is handed over to the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett as a trophy. With Han loaded into the cargo compartment of the Slave I, Boba Fett conveys his entombed prisoner to the desert palace of the gangster Jabba the Hutt for the bounty on his head. The frozen Corellian pirate becomes an object of ridicule, hanging as a decoration in the Hutt's throne room. |
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Separated at an early age from a mother she barely knew and a heritage that was hidden from her, Leia Organa was raised as the daughter of Viceroy and First Chairman of the planet Alderaan, Bail Organa, a hero of the Clone Wars. Leia grew up in a highly-charged political atmosphere and watched as Senator Palpatine took increasing control of the galactic government, eventually declaring himself Emperor. She became the youngest Senator in galactic history, even as Palpatine committed more and more atrocities in the name of pacifying the galaxy. Leia is at the heart of many of the Rebel Alliance's most secret missions, using her consular ship, the Tantive IV to travel throughout the galaxy with diplomatic immunity. Near Tatooine, on a mission to recruit General Obi-Wan Kenobi into the Rebellion, she and her ship are captured by the Darth Vader's Star Destroyer Devastator. Leia manages to get top-secret intercepted plans for the Death Star battle station to Alliance forces, but not without paying a supreme price: the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan. |
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Standing two meters tall, dressed in flowing black robes and black body armor, Darth Vader is a tangibly evil symbol of the Emperor's doctrine of rule through fear and terror. With the Emperor's favor Vader has risen through the Imperial ranks to become a fearsome and dreaded military commander, now one of the most highly placed individuals in the New Order. His face locked behind a hideous metal breath screen, Vader cannot survive without the artificial support of his suit, which functions like a walking "iron lung," breathing for his crushed lungs and keeping his shattered body alive. In spite of these injuries, Vader is a powerful and dangerous figure. Ruthlessly employing torture and brutal violence to achieve his objectives, Darth Vader commands fear within his own troops as well as among his Rebel enemies. While there are those within the military who despise his weird "sorcerer's ways" and his eccentric and dramatic behavior, as Vader's power has grown these objections have become fewer. Once a Jedi Knight, Vader was formerly the pupil of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the days of the Old Republic, learning the ways of the Force for the purpose of defending truth and justice throughout the galaxy. Impatient with Obi-Wan's teachings, Vader chose a different way of using the Force, and followed the temptations of the dark side of this power. Corrupted and turned evil, he betrayed his mentor and helped the Emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi, leaving the terrible regime of the New Order unopposed. When Grand Moff Tarkin's Death Star was destroyed by the Rebels, it was believed that Vader had been lost to the void. But he did survive, piloting a special advanced prototype fighter equipped with hyperspace engines. Vader returned from deep space more powerful than before, to take command of the Imperial Star Destroyer fleet assigned to track down Luke Skywalker. Through the use of thousands of probe droids dispatched to comb the galaxy, Vader eventually located the new Rebel base on the ice planet Hoth. Vader directed the invasion of Hoth and then trapped Luke's friends as they sought refuge on Cloud City. Ruthlessly manipulating Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca, Vader used their pain as bait to bring Luke to their rescue, all the while plotting to capture Skywalker for the Emperor. In his confrontation with Luke, Vader would unleash psychological horror to bring Luke down the same dark path. Tempting him with power, chilling him with revelation, Vader fought young Skywalker with far more dangerous powers than the lightsabers clashing savagely between them. Their final confrontation would be before the Emperor himself, on board the second Death Star, within the depths of the Emperor's dark Throne Room. Here the ultimate battle for good and evil would be played out between their spirits, and in one last defining moment Vader's identity is at last revealed for everything that it is. Luke triumphs for both of them, and the circle of the Force is at last truly complete.
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Assigned as First Officer on Darth Vader's flagship Executor, Captain Piett aids Admiral Ozzel in overseeing the crew, as well as helping to direct the entire fleet. He is given a battlefield promotion to Admiral and entrusted with command of the flagship and the fleet after Admiral Ozzel makes a fatal mistake at the beginning of the Imperial assault on the Rebel base on Hoth. Piett remains in command of the Executor through the Battle of Endor. |
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Mean and menacing, one of the galaxy's best bounty hunters is used to tracking down his prizes, with the possible exception of a crafty Corellian smuggler. Many tales are told of Fett's background and exploits, but there are few verifiable facts--perhaps by design. Fett wears the armor of the Mandalorians, a group of fearsome warriors dating back to ancient times who were defeated by the Jedi Knights. His modified armor includes a helmet with a macrobinocular viewplate, motion and sound sensors, infrared capabilities, an internal comlink with his ship (the Slave I), and a broad-band antenna for intercepting and decoding transmissions; wrist gauntlets that house lasers, a miniature flame projector, and a fibercord whip/grappling device; a back-pack jet pack with a turbo-projected magnetic grappling hook with a 20-meter lanyard; knee-pad rocket dart launchers, spiked boots, a concussion grenade launcher and a BlasTech EE-3 rifle. Braided Wookiee scalps hang over his right shoulder. Fett has worked on retainer for Jabba the Hutt as well as for the Empire. He is methodical in his tracking. While he doesn't seem to hold grudges against his prey, that may be because he rarely loses his quarry. After the Battle of Hoth, Darth Vader summons Fett along with five other bounty hunters and offers a huge bounty for Han Solo. Fett succeeds in tracking the Millennium Falcon to the Bespin system, and he helps Vader capture Solo, and then brings the onetime smuggler -frozen in carbonite - to Jabba the Hutt. In a fight with Solo's friends atop the Great Pit of Carkoon, Fett falls into the mouth of the monstrous Sarlacc, to be digested over a period of a thousand years. Or is he?
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C-3PO is a protocol droid whose primary functions are etiquette and translation, making interaction between the myriad races of the galaxy possible. Protocol droids such as Threepio are particularly useful to diplomats like Princess Leia, who must be especially aware of the subtleties of custom and language among the other cultures they encounter. Capable of conversing in six million forms of communication, Threepio is particularly versatile, owing in part to his wide variety of experiences. These experiences have also given him a distinct, pragmatic and pessimistic personality, making him almost human in his perceptions and feelings. Often paired with his spirited maintenance droid counterpart R2-D2, Threepio serves as Artoo's interpreter for human masters. While serving as a diplomatic protocol droid aboard Princess Leia's starship Tantive IV, C-3PO is unwillingly drawn into his counterpart's quest to find Obi-Wan Kenobi. |
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Strong, fearless, and an able pilot and mechanic, Chewbacca the Wookiee makes a capable ally to his friends and to the Rebel Alliance. A loyal friend to Corellian smuggler Han Solo, Chewbacca is his co-pilot when Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and two droids come aboard the Millennium Falcon for a fateful trip to Alderaan. Chewbacca is a key part of the rescue plan for Princess Leia, acting as an 'alien prisoner,' allowing Han and Luke to infiltrate Detention Block AA-23 of the Death Star. It is also Chewie who persuades Han to go back to help Luke during his critical attack run on the Death Star's fatal exhaust port. It is later, during the events on Bespin that perhaps the greatest change takes place in Chewbacca. Roaring in rage as the Imperials began to lower Han into the carbon-freeze chamber, the Wookiee lashes out at the stormtroopers. It is Han himself who calms his friend and ends the berserker rage. is then that Chewbacca realizes there is more to his honor family han just Han Solo. With Lando Calrissian in tow, Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon return to Tatooine to await Luke Skywalker, firmly believing that together they can save Han from Jabba the Hutt. His faith and belief in his friends continues throughout the war. Whether he is cramped inside a ship designed for beings much smaller than Wookiees, tied to a stake and at the mercy of the Ewoks, or battling a legion of the Empire's best troops, Chewbacca remains confident that he and his comrades will eventually triumph.
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As a Senator in the Old Republic, Palpatine was a seemingly unassuming man serving during a time of corruption, social injustice, and bureaucratic abuses. However, when Palpatine achieved leadership of the Galactic Senate, his true nature as a power-hungry tyrant became apparent as he introduced the New Order and declared himself Emperor. In time the Jedi were destroyed, the Senate was disbanded and he became the undisputed ruler of the most powerful empire the galaxy had ever seen. The Imperial Palace, built on Coruscant as the headquarters of the Emperor, is taller than any other structure on the planet including the neighboring Senate building and he imposing Jedi Temple. The Palace is said to be an impregnable fortress, with some areas decorated by Palpatine with patterns based on ancient Sith hieroglyphics." Both strong in the dark side of the Force and possessed of a subtle and dangerous mind, Palpatine has a genius for manipulation. How the Emperor gained mastery of the dark side of the Force remains a mystery, but it was through his influence that Obi-Wan's apprentice later became the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. For a time, the Emperor believed that nothing could seriously threaten his rule: his old enemy, Mon Mothma, was clever and strong, and the Rebel Alliance was growing, but without the Force, neither could ever become a serious threat. In some ways, the Rebellion was a useful scapegoat, giving him an excuse to further undermine and corrupt the Old Republic's justice under the pretense of an emergency state of martial law. Soon he would not need them any more, and in the fullness of time, they would be attended to. All was right with the galaxy and the New Order was unstoppable. But the Emperor has become aware of a new current in the ever-flowing energy of the Force. It began as a subtle, barely perceptible surge, but in a short time has grown into the bright light that he now knows as Luke Skywalker. Lord Vader observed to his Emperor that if Skywalker could be turned to the dark side of the Force, "he would become a powerful ally." And so the Emperor plots to deal with this young Skywalker: he will join the New Order, or he will die. Pitting Vader against Skywalker, with all their psychological threats for each other, is all part of the Emperor's plan, and he remains evilly confident that no matter who is killed, he will settle the balance of the Force to his satisfaction.
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Remarkably multi-talented and artistic, Greeata is a most unusual member of the typically violent Rodian species. During a tumultuous childhood, Greeata reluctantly adapted to the conflict-ridden lifestyle that her homeland embraced, yet secretly practiced cultural endeavors of music, song, and dance. Once Greeata completed school, she decided it was time to end her double life, and landed a job playing the Kloo horn in a band on the legendary interstellar luxury liner Kuari Princess. A wide range of galactic exploits followed, and Greeata was eventually selected to become a member of the now-famous Max Rebo Band, which performed regularly for Jabba the Hutt. Just after her last performance for the infamous gangster lord, Greeata used her Rodian martial arts skills to help save her fellow musicians after they got stranded in the desert following the Rebel attack on Jabba the Hutt's sail barge.
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A soldier-of-fortune and a high-stakes player, Lando Calrissian has long had a love-hate relationship with Han Solo. The suave Calrissian owned the Millennium Falcon before losing it to Han in a game of sabacc. But not long after, he won something of great value in another sabacc game: Bespin's Cloud City, where he took over as Baron Administrator. Lando has proven surprisingly adept at running the Tibanna gas mining colony as a businessman. Lando's luck seems to run out with a visit by Darth Vader, who uses him against his will to spring a trap for Luke Skywalker. Vader entombs Solo in carbonite and hands him over to bounty hunter Boba Fett. Finally convinced that the Empire will never leave his city alone, Calrissian orders the evacuation of Cloud City and fights back against Imperial forces, later helping to rescue a near-dead Skywalker from the very bottom of the floating city in the clouds. Given the rank of General in the Alliance forces for past performance, especially at the Battle of Tanaab, Calrissian finally has a chance to fully redeem himself by piloting the Falcon for an a last-ditch assault against the second Death Star battle station in the Battle of Endor. |
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A three-legged R2 series astromech utility droid, R2-D2 usually teams with a fussy golden protocol droid named C-3PO. Squat and barrel-shaped, Artoo-Detoo communicates electronically in a limited vocabulary of beeps and whistles, but his programming has evolved into a near-human personality that is both brash and bold. Artoo-Detoo is designed to operate in deep space, interfacing with fighter craft and computer systems to augment the capabilities of ships and their pilots, usually from a socket behind the cockpit. Artoo monitors and diagnoses flight performance, maps and stores hyperspace data, and pinpoints technical errors. The meter-high droid has two treaded legs to provide mobility, and a third leg that can drop down for extra stability on rough terrain. Artoo also has floatation devices and a periscoping visual scanner which can guide the droid while he is submerged. Artoo and Threepio have been at the heart of the Rebellion ever since their duty together on Princess Leia's consular ship, the Tantive IV. When the Princess' ship is overhauled and boarded by troops from the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator, Leia programs R2-D2 with the vital stolen technical readouts of the Death Star. The little droid struggles to carry her secret message to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and comes to serve a new master, Luke Skywalker. As Skywalker's trusty companion, R2-D2 continues to play an important and ongoing role in helping the Rebels thwart Imperial forces.
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Encased in hardened white plastoid armor, these Imperial shock troops neutralize resistance to the New Order and are totally loyal to the Emperor even in the face of certain death. Used as first-strike forces, they cannot be bribed or blackmailed. Stormtroopers live in a totally-disciplined environment and are militaristic to the core. In addition to regular stormtroopers the Empire maintains a number of units specialized for various environments and mission profiles. Among these units are snowtroopers, or cold-assault troopers, who wear lighter armor equipped with powerful heating and personal environment control units, terrain-grip boots and face-shielding breathing masks. Scout troopers, very lightly armored for mobility, are usually assigned to Imperial garrisons. They use speeder bikes to patrol perimeters, perform reconnaissance missions and scout enemy locations. The standard stormtrooper suit of body armor can adapt to all but the most extreme climatic conditions, and various gear accessories and backpacks are issued to support operations in environments such as open sand or jungle. Field units may wear shoulder pauldrons as high-visibility rank indicators. |
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By the time of the Battle of Naboo, Yoda was well into his 800's, making him the oldest member of the Jedi Council. He has visited hundreds of worlds on his own in his endeavor to understand and appreciate the infinitely variable nuances of the Force. The venerable Jedi Master is revered for his wisdom and insight, and prefers careful contemplation to rash action. A long-lived Jedi Master, Yoda was the conduit for the rebirth of the nearly-vanished Jedi Knights. For more than 800 years, the diminutive green being has trained Jedi Knights in the ways of the Force, but rarely has he faced such a challenge as the impetuous young Luke Skywalker. By the time Luke encounters him in the bogs of Dagobah, Yoda is nearly 900 years old and walks stooped over with the help of a gimer stick. He subsists on things that nature offer him, eating plants and ruits and fungi, and building his home of mud, sticks and stones. Yoda's path to Jedi wisdom seems simple, yet profound. He makes his students unlearn what they had been taught, helping them to tune in to the subtle world around them to learn its truths. "A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge. Never for attack," he tells them. When Emperor Palpatine ordered his purge of the Jedi, Yoda went into hiding on Dagobah. He uses the Force and the planet's own natural defenses to discourage visitors. But he has kept watch on Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. After escaping almost certain death from a wampa ice creature on Hoth, Luke sees Ben Kenobi in a vision, telling him to go to the Dagobah system to continue his Jedi training with Yoda. Yoda lectures young Skywalker about the Force while Luke performs rigorous physical and mental exercises. Yoda especially cautions him against the easy path of anger and the lure of the dark side of the Force. When ordered to undertake a particularly daunting task, Luke says he'll try. "No! Try not," Yoda says. "Do. Or do not. There is no try." Despite Yoda's plea, Luke leaves before his training is complete when he senses that his friends are in danger. By the time Luke returns, Yoda is close to becoming one with the Force. In Episode I, the Jedi order still had a powerful influence on galactic events. In this conceptual drawing, Iain McCaig experimented with adarker-colored Jedi robe, alluding to typical law-enforcement dress. He also thought it gave the diminutive Yoda a more powerful look.
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