From: sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Stelter)
Subject: Re: New Questions
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 01:15:12 GMT

lars4752@mach1.wlu.ca (Bradley Larsen u) writes:


>Got some more questions for the net.

Okay.  NOTE: A lot of my answers are based on information and data from
the Star Wars RPG, which is NOT canon, so apply grains of salt where
necessary.

>1)  Supposedly the time between TESB and ROTJ is 6 months.  How long did it
>take Boba Fett to reach Tationne sp? If it only took say a couple of weeks
>why would he still be hanging around Jabba's palace after 6 months?  

Hyperspace travel generally doesn't take longer than a few days.  I would
suppose that as ROTJ opens, Fett has just finished a mission for Jabba
and is taking a few days off to enjoy the Hutt's hospitality before moving
on to other missions.  He doesn't seem like the sedentary type.  (I wonder
what happened to the Slave I after Fett got swallowed by the Sarlacc.
It's probably resting in a zillion pieces in some Jawa sandcrawler
somewhere...)

>2)  What did Lando do to deserve his General rank?  He says during ROTJ 
>"someone must've told them about my manuver on ?".  When did he do this 
>act of bravery?  It couldn't have been between the movies because at that
>time wasn't he trying to infultrate Jabba's palace?

Beats me.  The timing of events between the Battle of Hoth and the Battle
of Endor makes my head hurt, so I try not to think about it.

>3)  Does Darth Vader have a rank?  I know his title is Lord, but wouldn't 
>a lord be above rank of a Grand Moff (ANH - Tarkin)?

Vader is a (and apparently the only) Dark Lord of the Sith.  Exactly where
that places him in the Imperial chain of command is tough to say.  He seems
to be subordinate to Tarkin in ANH, but apparently is able to do as he
pleases in later films.

My theory: The Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the first Death Star
resulted in a major overhaul in the organization and priorities of the
Empire.  The importance of the Force over military strength was impressed
upon the Emperor.  Vader's skill and competence became clear: he not
only captured Leia and killed Kenobi, he also apparently figured out what
the Rebel ships at Yavin were up to, and he nearly saved the entire Death
Star from destruction; it was also Vader's idea to place a homing beacon
on the Millenium Falcon.  Moreover, a lot of high-ranking Imperials perished
on the Death Star, leaving a fairly big power vaccuum in the Imperial
command structure.

It looks as though as the war continued, the Emperor began to place more
and more trust and power into Vader and less and less into his Moffs and
admirals.  Note that Jerjerrod, the commander of the second Death Star,
does not seem nearly as clever or talented as Tarkin was.

>4)  Where did the emporor get all of his evil powers?

It's never revealed.  I think he's self-taught.

>5)  What kind of weapons do the emporor's guards use?

The Royal Guardsmen are trained in all sorts of weapons, but I believe
the weapons they're carrying in ROTJ are called "force pikes."  A force
pike is an unusual but deadly hand-to-hand weapon that is something like
an oversized lethal electric cattle prod.  I'd bet the Guardsmen carry
blasters under those robes, though.

>6)  In ANH, when the MF encounters the TIE fighter scout (near Alderaan) Han
>flicks a switch, and some guns start firing above the cockpit?  Are these
>just secondary type weapons that were originally on the ship or are they one
>of Han's special modifications?

Just about everything on the MF is one of Han's special modifications.  I
would guess that it is possible for the MF's guns to be controlled from
the cockpit, if need be, but I don't know if this feature is standard on
all freighters.

>7)  What is your favorite ship/vehicle from Star Wars? (mine's the ATAT)

AT-ATs are too clumsy.  All *I* want for Christmas is a TIE Interceptor.

>8)  Who is the character(s) you would have liked to seen more of in the movies?
>    (I always wished that the Han would have ran into IG-88 somewhere along
>     the line, but Boba Fett's still pretty cool.)

Three words: Ackbar!  Ackbar!  Ackbar!



                                     --Steve Stelter
                                       sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars