Stalker

> Star Destroyers, two of 'em coming right at us.
>
> Han Solo, upon sighting the *Tyrant* and *Stalker*,

The ***Stalker*** was an *Imperial II*-class Star Destroyer in the Imperial Navy. As a part of the Galactic Empire's Death Squadron, the *Stalker* was present in the Juris sector alongside other starships of the unit when a probe droid released as part of Project Swarm reported the discovery of a Rebel Alliance base on Hoth. In the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth, the *Stalker* assisted in the pursuit of the rebel freighter *Millennium Falcon*, and was one of three Star Destroyers which nearly collided with each other in the process: the *Falcon*, being chased by the *Avenger*, used its greater agility to avoid the *Stalker* and the *Tyrant* as they closed in from the other direction. Although the three capital ships managed to avoid catastrophe, the *Falcon* escaped to the nearby planet Bespin.

## Description

An *Imperial II*-class Star Destroyer, the *Stalker* was equipped with a hangar bay, a communications tower, a solar ionization reactor, and two deflector shield generator domes. Measuring 1,600 meters long, it was propelled by three destroyer-I ion engines and four emergency use gemon-4 ion engines.

## History

 File:ISDs-approach-Falcon.png
In 3 ABY, the *Stalker* was in service to the Imperial Navy. After the implementation of Project Swarm, an operation by the Galactic Empire to dispatch Viper probe droids across the galaxy in order to locate the Rebel Alliance's secret base, the *Stalker* was part of Death Squadron, the personal fleet of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. The squadron included the flagship *Executor*, the *Avenger*, the *Conquest*, the *Devastator*, the *Stalker*, and the *Tyrant*, and were all stationed near Qeimet in the Juris sector when one of the probes found the Alliance headquarters Echo Base.

In 3 ABY, one of the probes deployed from the Star Destroyer reached the ice planet Hoth, where the rebels' Echo Base was hidden. The probe identified the base, which led to the Empire forcing the rebels off the world. After the battle, the *Avenger* took part in the pursuit of the *Millennium Falcon* in the Hoth asteroid belt.

Death Squadron soon jumped into hyperspace and eventually arrived in the Anoat sector's Hoth system, where the base was located. The fleet was joined by the ISD *Ultimatum*, which participated in the Battle of Hoth alongside the rest of Death Squadron. Following the rebel evacuation from Hoth, Death Squadron chased the rebel freighter the *Millennium Falcon*, which was carrying the important Alliance leader Princess Leia Organa. While the *Avenger* and its TIE fighters chased the *Falcon*, the *Tyrant* and the *Stalker* closed in from the opposite direction. The *Falcon* maneuvered so that the *Tyrant* and *Stalker* had a near collision with the *Avenger*. The *Falcon* managed to escape to the Hoth asteroid belt while still being pursued by the Imperial fleet, but eventually escaped to Bespin nearby.

## Behind the scenes

The *Stalker* first appeared in the 1980 original trilogy film *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*. The Star Destroyer was not identified in the film, but received the name *Stalker* in the new *Star Wars* canon in the 2016 reference book *Star Wars: Complete Locations*. In the *Star Wars* Legends continuity, that name was introduced in the *Star Wars* Customizable Card Game's *Hoth Limited* expansion, released in 1996.

While *Star Wars: Complete Locations* identifies the Star Destroyer to send a probe droid to Hoth as the *Stalker*, the vessel was conversely identified as the *Avenger* by *Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded*, released earlier in 2016, and the ninth issue of *Star Wars Helmet Collection*. The *Stalker* was confirmed to canonically exist by the 2021 original trilogy adaptation *The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem*, written by Jack Mitchell. This article assumes that *Complete Locations* supplies the correct name, being the more recent source.

## Appearances

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* *The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem*
* *The Original Trilogy Stories*
## * *Stalker*

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* *Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back* Screen Comix
* *Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Graphic Novel Adaptation*

## Sources

* *Star Wars: Complete Locations* Template:1stID
* Template:BuildR2Cite
* *Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy*
* Template:Databank

## Notes and references

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `ESB`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 *Star Wars: Complete Locations*
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Card Trader ESB`
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Length`
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Card Trader Stories`
6. ↑ *Star Wars: Galactic Atlas* dates the events of *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*, including the *Stalker* appearance, to 3 ABY.
7. ↑ *Doctor Aphra* (2016) 37
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Odyssey`
9. ↑ Template:CCG
10. ↑ *Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded*
11. ↑ Template:HelmetCollectionCite