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Weapon Classification: Use: Model: Legallity: Rate of Classification: Rate of Fire: Manufactured By: Price: Modifications: Designed For: Powered By: Range: Power Classification: |
Starship & Planetary Weapons & Defenses Planetary Destruction Superlaser Imperial Forces Only Single Shot Unknown Fire Rate Per Day Contracted Through Many Companies Unknown Unknown Imperial Fear & Terror Forces Massive Reactor Core Optimum Range: Unknown Maximum Range: Unknown Destroys Entire Planets |
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The first of the Galactic Empire's many terror weapons was the planet destroying Death Star and its superlaser, and was designed by Grand Moff Tarkin order by Bevel Lemelisk. The superlaser is the most powerful energy weapon ever built, and was fed by a fusion reactor that dwarft even the ones found aboard Imperial Star Destroyers. The superlasers eight amplification crystals produced turbolaser pulses that were fused over the weapons central focus lens. The resulting blast had more power than half the Imperial starfleet and could instantly reduce a world to asteroid fragments and space dust. Each of the eight amplification crystals required a separate gunnery station, where a crew of 14 soldiers had to precisely adjust and modulate the turbolaser pulses to allow the focus lens to create a stable energy beam, and for this four reserve amplification crystals would be brought on line. The orginal Death Star's power core needed an entire day to charge up enough power for a full-power blast, even though a low-power shot had enough destructive energy to crack the planet's crust and cause incrediable seismic upheaval. The second Death Star had an improved targeting computer for firing at capital ships. Security was a prime concern, because those who controlled the Death Star's superlaser could challenge the authority of the Emperor himself. Elaborate computer safeguards, squads of stormtroopers, and the most sophisticated security checkpoints in the Empire controlled access to the superlaser's gunnery stations. The Death Star's superlaser could be overriden by a command from the Death Star's overbridge, and Emperor Palaptine also assigned a trusted adviser (Darth Vader in the case of the first Death Star) to remain aboard these weapons platforms to ensure the crew remained loyal and fearful of his wrath. The strategic value of the superlaser was obvious, and the weapon could have been deployed anywhere and used against a planet. Even though the Rebel Alliance destroyed the first Death Star at Yavin, the lure of wielding an ultimate terror weapon remained strong with the Emperor and with those that followed him. Tremendous resources were funneled into developing new superlaser platforms such as the Tarkin, the Second Death Star, and the Eclipse-Class Star Destroyers. | |
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