Overbridge / Legends The Overbridge , sometimes called the War Room or Death Star Control Room , was the bridge and main command center of the first Death Star . The Overbridge was located above the battlestation ' s superlaser dish . Role . The Overbridge acted as the main command center of the Death Star . It monitored all workstations and datafiles on the battle station . In addition , it was also the primary headquarters for the battle station ' s command triumvirate ( Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , Admiral Conan Antonio Motti , and High General Cassio Tagge ) . Because of its status as the command center for the entire station , all information collected by the Death Star ' s bridge , sensor arrays , communication centers , and space traffic control were routed through the station ' s central computers as well as displayed on banks of monitors and holoprojectors situated throughout the overbridge . Although it can completely run the Death Star during non - emergencies , such an action is usually reserved for emergency situations only , due to the triumvirate viewing it as being more efficient to have the various zone ' s active bridge to be responsible for their own sections during normal events . During the Emperor ' s visits to the Death Star and instances where the Emperor himself takes direct command of the station , the Overbridge ' s authority was superseded by the onboard Imperial throne room tower . In addition , due to insistence on the Emperor ' s part , one of the zone bridges and / or the Imperial throne room could take over control from the Overbridge if it was damaged beyond repair short of the destruction of the entire Death Star as a contingency plan . History . From the Overbridge , Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the Destruction of Alderaan during the Galactic Civil War . Princess Leia Organa was also present during this time , in a failed bid to save both her homeworld and deceive Tarkin with the location of the Rebel Alliance . Tarkin perished on the Overbridge while overseeing the Battle of Yavin that saw the destruction of the Death Star . Layout . The Overbridge contained the meeting room from which Darth Vader , Tarkin and other senior officers discussed the dissolution of the Imperial Senate and the status of the Rebellion onboard " Death Star I " 0 BBY . The bridge area contained the command platform , which likewise contained a tactical holo display pad , and is accessible by stairwell . In front of the command platform , there are three additional stairwells that led to three command stations : The central chair , farthest in the platform , was the seat belonging to the Grand Moff ( Tarkin ) ; the leftmost seat was the Imperial Navy Admiral ' s chair ( Motti ) ; and the rightmost chair belonged to the General of the Imperial Army ( Bast ) . There were also three posts directly in front of the top stations : The middlemost one was reserved for the Battle Station Operations Chief ( Romodi ) ; the leftmost one was reserved for the Navy Operations Chief ; and the rightmost one was reserved for the Army Operations Chief . There were also two strategic holo display pads ( one on each side [ left and right ] of the room ) , as well as four duty posts ( two on the right side of the left side of the room ; and two on the right ) . The Stormtrooper Chief ' s post was located on the left side of the room , while the security post was on the right side . Behind the command platform were three viewscreens . In front of the posts for the various Operations Chiefs was a crew pit , complete with duty consoles , as well as the main viewscreen . There were also two adjacent offices on each of the left and right sides of the room : On the right were the Army and Navy Operations Chiefs offices ( the Army being the bottommost office , and the Navy being the topmost office ) ; and on the left were the Grand Moff ' s office and the Battle Station Operations Chief ' s office ( the bottommost being the Grand Moff , and the topmost the Battle Station Operations Chief ) . The three operations offices each had a two curved desks , a holopod , and various devices , while the Grand Moff ' s office possessed a single desk , some chairs , a holopod , and eight consoles . The corners of the room near the main viewscreen each contained two turbolifts . In addition , all of the operations offices contained a turbolift for direct access by the offices . The doors at the back of the bridge area led to two hallways . The right door upon exiting into the right hallway led to a room equipped with a secure holo - booth . The holobooth was used for direct communication with the Emperor for private conversations between him and either Darth Vader or Tarkin . The conference room was adjacent to the overbridge via the left hallway , on the door to the left upon exiting the bridge . The two hallways led directly to the command staff ' s offices , where the admiral and general ' s offices were presumably located . Between the two hallways was the command sanctum , which was heavily fortified and was only accessible by the highest ranking officers during major station operations . It only contained two duty posts and a lone viewscreen at the back of the room , far from the entry points . Behind the scenes . The Overbridge was first seen in " Star Wars Episode IV : A New Hope " ( originally simply identified as " Star Wars " ) . Its layout appeared differently in two sources . In the first source , the " Technical Companion " ( see picture ) , the room possessed seven duty posts to the right ( near the Grand Moff ' s office and the Battle Station Operations office ) , and two duty posts to the left ( near the Navy Operations office and the Army ' s operation office ) ; the secure holo booth was located near the large viewscreen ; the Conference room was placed directly beyond the rightmost door at the back via a circular hallway ; there were four turbolifts ( one on each corner of the overbridge ) , and there were offices for Motti and Tagge adjacent to the conference room . In the second source , the " Death Star Owner ' s Technical Manual " , the room , while largely the same , had its duty posts being reduced to four , two on each side of the room . In addition , a large stretch of ( presumably adjoining ) hallways are placed on both entry doors from the Overbridge , with the left hallway ( the hallway closest to the Grand Moff ' s office and the Battle Station Operations office ) , having a doorway to the right / left ( depending on exit or entry ) that possessed the conference room . In addition , the secure holo booth was moved to the rightmost hallway ( the hallway closest to the Navy operation ' s office and the Army operation ' s office ) . The source also added in the Command Sanctum , which was located between the two hallways . The four turbolifts in the main overbridge area were also moved , with two turbolifts being located at each corner near the main viewscreen ( which was moved to the front of the room rather than the back ) , and added four more turbolifts within the secure holo booth and the three operations offices .