February 22, 2005
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Note: These pictures are not to scale. The Death Star I is 120km in diameter while the Death Star II is 160km in diameter.
Ok, to answer Spidyredneckjedi’s question (see his comment from the previous blog) about whether or not the Rebels were justified in destroying the second Death Star, I will have to switch into nerd mode. Yay!
Yes, Spidy, the majority of people aboard the second Death Star were technicians and slave labor, most probably Wookies as they proved excellent slaves in the construction of the first Death Star. Was it still ok for the Rebels to blow up the battlestation? You betcha.
Firstly, all those “innocent” technicians being “forced” to build the thing were there as servants to the Emperor. They were a part of the Empire, they were men who said, “sign me up” and joined. They were following orders just like the stormtroopers, fighter pilots, and awesome badass Royal Guards. The technicians are soldiers that use hydrospanners instead of blaster rifles. Guess what happens in war? Soldiers die. Uh oh. Sorry to surprise people.
As far as the slave labor goes, they were completely innocent. However, being that most of them were Wookies, they are probably now all heroes to their people. The Wookie cultures puts great value upon the honor found in a sacrificial death, a death accepted as necessary for good to prevail. If the Rebels got there and said, “Oh crap, there are innocent slaves on board!” not only would the Rebels have been completely wiped out, but the galaxy’s only chance to blow the thing up with the Emperor on board would have been lost forever. Once the Death Star II was complete, it would have blown up Endor (making Spidy very happy as he HATES Ewoks) just like the first Death Star blew up Despayre, and then it would have gone all over the galaxy conquering planet after planet in the name of the Emperor, destroying any planet that was causing too much trouble. I’d be willing to bet that the citizens of Kashyyyk knew that their loved ones working as slaves aboard the Death Star II had to be sacrificed for the greater good of the galaxy.
As for a daycare center on the first Death Star, I have a few things to say. Firstly, the Onion? Come ON. Secondly, the Death Star is a battlestation. The Empire barely allows women to serve within it, and I’m pretty sure a posting as prestigious and historical as the Death Star would have been IMPOSSIBLE for a woman to obtain. A daycare in such a place would have been unnecessary as well, because the Death Star is not the Starship Enterprise. Military personnel in the Empire do not bring their families along, except for the occasional high-ranking official bringing his family along on a maiden voyage or diplomatic mission; hardly the type of events a planet-busting battlestation like the Death Star would observe.
As far as the Bothans go, come on. First, they breed like rabbits. Second, not THAT many Bothans died. Anyone who has read Shadows of the Empire knows that maybe 10-20 died getting the computer core and finding out that the Emperor was overseeing the final stages of construction. Oh yeah, and the Emperor let them get that information.
Here, however, is the BIGGEST and most IMPORTANT reason to blow up the Death Star II. I don’t care if Ghandi was aboard that thing, SO WAS IG-88. (Read Tales of the Bounty Hunters) If the Death Star II was not destroyed and was completed, IG-88 would have commandeered the station, initiated his droid revolution, and then the galaxy would be in a state of immense pain. Oh yes. There would be no stopping it.
Is it sad that millions of people died in the destruction of the first Death Star? Yeah. Luke even mentions the pain and regret he still carries every so often in the novels. Is it sad that a lot of decent people died in the destruction of the second Death Star? You bet. But that’s how war is.
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Comments (5)
Wow. You’d make a great nerd.
lol. Forgot about the IG-88 thing, though that is one kick-ass story! Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same argument I posed to my uncle. Musser, however, beleived that stormtroopers were all behind the construction of the second Death Star. He found it incapable of beleiving the Rebellion would destroy a ship with innocents aboard. Oh naive little boy! In my opinion, the lives of several thousand are forfeitable if it will in the end save millions of lives, as the destruction of both Death Stars proves. Sorry to make you slip further into the dork side. However, my philosophy has always been, if I’m going down, I’m taking as many people with me as I can. Have a great week!
Clerks rules. That is all.
In response to Spidy:
“…if I’m going down, I’m taking as many people with me as I can.”
Yeah, I think that is what Leonardo Dicaprio was thinking in “Titanic.”
And, honestly, how could Musser POSSIBLY think that the Empire would be stupid enough to let STORMTROOPERS construct the Death Star II? Come on. We all saw how accurate they were in close-quarters combat in A New Hope, and who could forget their gallant efforts against the mighty Ewoks in The Return of the Jedi? Cripes man! Stormtroopers are INEPT, except for a few rare circumstances in the novels. Oh yes. The 501st. Gotta hand it to them, they rock. Too bad the rest SUCK.