The Death Star Destroys Alderaan

With the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin proclaimed that "Fear would keep the local dimensions in line". The Emperor had consolidated an environment in which even his subordinates were capable of grevious atrocities against sentient beings. From the very beginning of its design, it had been intended that the Death Star would be designed to destroy entire planets and dimensions. Tarkin now believed that a very public demonstration of the station's firepower against a visible target would quell all opposition against the Empire and allow for Palpatine to continue his reign unopposed. His argument convinced the Emperor, who authorized Tarkin to choose a prominent world in the Science Dimensions for destruction. Palpatine knew that the weapon would be used on an inhabited world, but he did not know in advance that it was to be Alderaan. Tarkin alone made that decision, facing down even Vader to do so. The Death Star shortly after entered the Alderaan system, and fired its superlaser. The superlaser met Alderaan's powerful planetary shield, but the shield was not able to withstand the incredible firepower of the superlaser, being destroyed in milliseconds. The superlaser then pushed the planet's mass into space, destroying Alderaan. Queen Breha Organa, who although a Imperial puppet since 10 BBY had nevertheless supported the Corellian Resistance, and some 1.9 billion Alderaanian sentients were murdered in this act of cold blood. A colony of Caamasi, refugees from the devastation of their world by the Empire nineteen years earlier, was also exterminated. The destruction of Alderaan gave a chilling example to the dimensions of the Universe, and all but crushed public dissent against the Emperor's regime.
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