Editing Galactic Empire (Star Wars) (section)

====The Two Death Stars====
As portrayed in the animated series ''[[Star Wars Rebels]]'' and ''[[Star Wars: The Bad Batch|The Bad Batch]]'', the Empire explores ways to weaponize Force-sensitive [[kyber crystal]]s, which are sacred to the Jedi and are at the core powersource of every [[lightsaber]].<ref name="A Long Time Ago"/> They mine for kyber crystals across worlds, but are thwarted twice in securing massive crystal reserves by the [[List of Star Wars Rebels characters#Main characters|''Ghost'' crew]] and [[Saw Gerrera]]. On [[Jedha]], however, the Empire uncovers a surplus of kyber, with which they power the Death Star.

The Death Star, a moon-sized battle station with sufficient firepower to destroy an entire planet, is designed to be the ultimate weapon of the Empire's power. The threat of this weapon provoked a desperate suicidal raid, the Battle of Scarif, by the Rebel Alliance. The engagement and loss of the classified Death Star blueprint plans was to seen as a complete embarrassment for the Imperial forces along with a loss of two Star Destroyers and the destruction of Scarif base.

Tarkin, the station's commander, demonstrates that power in ''A New Hope'' when he destroys [[Alderaan]] as a show of force.<ref name=strategy/> In the [[Battle of Yavin|film's climactic scene]], however, the station is attacked by rebel starfighters who have come into possession of the station's blueprints. The battle ends with the Death Star's destruction at the hands of [[Luke Skywalker]], which is the Rebel Alliance's first major military success against the Empire.<ref name="A Long Time Ago"/> Politically, Alderann's destruction was a watershed moment for most Imperial loyalists, many whom would later defect to the Alliance; it revealed the Empire's willingness to kill loyalists on Alderaan, along with millions of innocents, just to prove a point to a rebellious Senator. Tarkin's Doctrine, meant to perpetually "tighten the noose" and instill fear of being killed for engaging in rebellion, eventually gets overridden by people realizing that no one was actually safe.

After the ''[[Battle of Yavin]]'', Vader's special powers as Commander-in-Chief are increased by Palpatine, granting him full command over all other officials and officers to ease his campaign against the Rebellion. In ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', Vader becomes obsessed with finding the [[the Force|Force]]-sensitive Luke<ref name="Darth Vader Databank">{{cite web|url=https://www.starwars.com/databank/darth-vader|title=Darth Vader|website=StarWars.com|access-date=September 23, 2016|archive-date=June 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619185209/https://www.starwars.com/databank/darth-vader|url-status=live}}</ref> and leads his [[Imperial stormtrooper|stormtroopers]] to attack on the rebel base on [[Hoth]], but the rebels escape. Vader would continue to systematically and ruthlessly dismantle Alliance assets, and to hunt for Luke in the process, forcing Alliance survivors to abandon all static bases and regroup with [[Home One|Alliance HQ]] and remain nomadic.

In ''Return of the Jedi'', after four years of conflict and near constant harassments by Vader's forces, the Alliance achieves a decisive victory over the Empire during the ''[[Battle of Endor]]''. In the film's climactic battle, the Rebellion destroys the second Death Star and a number of capital ships that contain a great portion of the Imperial Navy's highest-ranking officers. During this battle, Vader redeems himself by sacrificing his life to kill Palpatine in order to save his son, Luke Skywalker.<ref name="A Long Time Ago"/>