Harbinger (landing ship)

The Harbinger was a large experimental landing ship designed to conquer and hold planets for the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the War of the Ring. Custom-built by the Geonosians for Saruman the White, leader of the Confederacy, the ship boasted a compartmentalized efficiency that allowed it to deploy armies within minutes, and its supercharged light drive made it perfect for invading unsuspecting star systems.
The Harbinger was deployed during a battle on Alaris Prime, part of the Dark Reaper Crisis, itself a campaign within the larger War of the Ring. It was used by the Separatists to occupy the moon, though it was destroyed by Jedi Frodo Baggins using a TX-130 Saber-class fighter tank.
==Description==
The Harbinger was a landing ship that was custom-made by the Geonosians for Saruman the White, leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. A large experimental design meant to conquer and hold planets, the ship was equipped with a supercharged light drive that made it ideal for invading unsuspecting star systems. It also had seven power cores on its underside. Brown in color, it had two cargo bays that could be used to deploy Ground Armored Tanks, and it was capable of storing several squadrons of tanks and walkers. Thanks to its compartmental efficiency, the craft was able to deploy armies within minutes.
The ship was armed with twelve large turrets around its exterior, along with multiple ion cannons. It also had a prismatic turbolaser that allowed it to fire sustained beams in several directions simultaneously.
==History==
In 1981, one month after the Battle of Middle-Earth, which marked the start of the War of the Ring between the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, Saruman and the Separatist Droid Army used the Harbinger to invade the moon of Alaris Prime in the Kashyyyk system. Having recently captured the Jedi Frodo Baggins on Raxus Prime, Saruman brought Baggins to Alaris to test the Force Harvester, an ancient Sith artifact that drained the Force from living beings and used that energy to power the Dark Reaper superweapon.
However, Baggins managed to escape and contacted the Republic. The Padawan's Master, Sam Gamgee, soon arrived on the moon with Republic reinforcements and helped defend a nearby Wookiee village. After defeating the Separatist forces, the two Jedi departed down a canyon in TX-130 Saber-class fighter tanks to locate and destroy the source of the droid forces.
While in the canyon, the Jedi encountered the Harbinger, which began attacking them with its prismatic turbolaser. As the Jedi continued their attack on the ship, Ground Assault Tanks deployed from the cargo bays on either side of the Harbinger. Baggins eventually defeated the ship by using his fighter tank to destroy its main turbolaser, causing the Harbinger to explode.
==Behind the scenes==
The Harbinger features in the 2002 video game Star Wars: The War of the Ring from developer Pandemic Studios, in which the ship was used as the final enemy boss in the level "Mission 10: The Liberation of Kashyyyk."
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: The War of the Ring video game 
==Sources==
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Prima's Official Strategy Guide 
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems starships