Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA: BATTLE STATION DS-1

To Director Krennic:

I find these communiqués distasteful, but since you evidently require written reminders of your duty I will oblige. It is incumbent upon everyone involved in the construction of the battle station (of clearance level DS/30 and above) to share a unified vision for the technologies involved and, in turn, our doctrine of use.

The time for painstaking compartmentalization of development cells is past. Lying to your engineering teams about our ultimate goal let you recruit energy researchers and materials experts more interested in revitalizing Coruscanti infrastructure than in building a weapon; for this, I give you credit. But we are building a weapon, one with a specific purpose that must not be compromised.

Quite simply, it’s time to stop playing games.

A project of this scope has never before been attempted. I do not care what motivates your engineers, but it is imperative that they comprehend our priorities. In a battle station with eight billion component parts, even a handful of poor decisions could compromise our ultimate effectiveness.

Shall I elaborate? I shouldn’t have to, but to wit:

The battle station is not a military force unto itself. It is part of a system, and individual elements must be manufactured to Imperial standard. If there are incompatibilities with the Star Destroyer fleet, these must be remedied.

The battle station is not a testbed for new technologies. Promising your people opportunities for innovation was a mistake. Update only where necessary, and if we must add a hundred reliable, proven reactors instead of developing a single new one, so be it.

The battle station is certainly not symbolic, meant only to demonstrate the Empire’s might in ceremonial planetary executions. The main weapon must be built to fire repeatedly within a short span, as it might during the course of a single fleet battle. Both the mechanisms and the control scheme must support this practice.

We are building a weapon not to prevent a war, but to end one. Time and again we have seen the galaxy dissolve into instability and chaos, and the rise of the rebel terrorist movement is only the latest iteration of a cycle. The rebels have no chance of overthrowing us, but they threaten our order nonetheless.

The Death Star will not put an end to treason. Yet never again will a conflict consume our galaxy as did the Clone Wars. When an enemy rises, we will strike with decapitating vehemence. If one strike does not suffice, we will repeat the process and burn planets until either our enemy is annihilated or the galaxy is so terrified that further resistance is unthinkable.

The new peace will last until the cycle begins again. At which point the battle station will be redeployed. The interruption of stability will be brief and illuminating.

Are we of like minds now, Director? The Death Star is the ultimate weapon of war. It serves no other purpose. It is not a monument to your workers’ scientific prowess or the cornerstone of a new navy designed to your personal ideal. Crude but functional is an acceptable watchword.

See to your staff immediately.

Respectfully, Governor, I request clarity.

My understanding is that the battle station project was initiated at a level above either of us. I know you have the ear of the Emperor; can you confirm that the vision you’ve elaborated comes directly from him?

I would hate to see anything spawned from his mind described as crude but functional. Indeed, I endeavor to exceed his expectations.