WARNING! PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS COMPLETELY UNOFFICIAL! IT IS NO WAY AUTHORISED OR ENDORSED, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, BY LUCASFILM, LTD. , GEORGE LUCAS, OR THE LUCASARTS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY! This guide\source book was written by Dafroo@aol.com At the begginning of the first star wars movie, A New Hope, the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine rules the Galaxy. The Empire is full of white-human-male supremasits. Non-humans are treated as second class citizens, or enslaved. The Rebel Alliance, under Mon Mothma, fights against the Galactic Empire. The Rebellion uses the following ships: Calmari Cruisers. There are several different classes of Calmari Cruiser. They are the MC-104gg, the MC-100b, the MC-90c, the MC-80a, and the MC-60d. All are equiped with turbolasers, ion cannons, shields, armor, hyperdrives, and starfighters. Nebulon-B frigates. The Nebulon-B frigate is used by both the Alliance and the Empire. It is manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards. It can carry several starfighters. It is 300 meters long. There is also a medical varient of the Nebulon-B Corellian Corvette. This is the ship Princess Leia is in at the begginging of A New Hope (ANH). It is 150 meters long and has 2 turbolaser turrets, both with a pair of turbolasers. It's four main starfighters are the following: A-Wing. This starfighter is equiped with 12 concussion missiles and two laser cannons. It can move at 120 mglt. It has a 15 ru hull and 50 sbd shields. B-Wing. This star fighter has three Laser Cannons and Three Ion Cannons. It moves at 91 mglt. It is equiped with 12 proton torpedoes, as well as shields and armor. X-Wing. This is the most famous of the four. Luke Skywalker flew an X-Wing in the Death Star Trench Run. It has four laser cannons. It has 6 proton torpedoes. It has a 20 ru hull and 50 sbd shields. It moves at 100 mglt. It gets it's name from the x shape made by it's S-foil wings while they are in attack position. (The lasers can not fire when the wings are not in attack position.) Y-Wing. The Y-Wing is another fighter that appeared in the Death Star trench run. It is a slow, undermanuverable, heavily armed starfighter. However, it is ill-equiped for most roles. It can move at only 80 mglt. Although it has a 40 ru hull and 75 sbd shields, it is an easy target for Imperial TIEs because it is inable to avoid shots. All of the above are equipped with hyperdrives. Imperial Craft: Star Destroyer. Like the Calmari Cruiser, the Star Destroyer has many varients. The Imperial Class One Star Destroyer, which is Darth Vader's ship at the beginning of ANH, is 1,600 meters long. There are also Heavy, Super, Victory, and Imperial Class 2 Star Destroyers. Interdictor Cruiser. This cruiser is shaped like a star destroyer (a triangle). It's purpose is to create a gravity field which keeps ships from moving through hyperspace. Nebulon-B Frigate. Same as the Rebellion. The Rebellion and the Empire both use several other craft, such as the Carrack Cruiser, the Bulk Freighter, the Lambda shuttle, the Dreadnaught, etc. Imperial Starfighters: TIE (Twin Ion Engine)'s- TIE fighter. This is an unshielded starfighter. It is equped with two laser cannons. It has a 15 RU hull. It is the same speed as an x-wing, and slightly more manueverable. TIE Interceptor. This is also unshielded. It has four laser cannons. It has a speed of 110 mglt and a 20 RU hull. TIE Bomber. This is the third of the unshielded starfighters. It is equiped with two warhead launchers that can be equiped with concussion missiles, advanced concussion missiles, proton torpedoes, advanced proton torpedoes, heavy rockets, and heavy space bombs. It is the same speed as a y-wing, has two laser cannons, and has a fifty RU hull. TIE Advanced. This is based on the personalized TIE fighter that Darth Vader flew in the Trench Run of ANH. It has four laser cannons, and two warhead launchers. It has shields and armor, as well as a hyperdrive. TIE Defender. This starfighter was created in the video game TIE Fighter, by the LucasArts entertainment company (You will not find a TIE defender anywhere in ANH, TESB (The Empire strikes Back) or ROTJ (Return of the Jedi). It has four laser cannons, two ion canonns, and two warhead launchers. It has 200 sbd shields, a 115 ru hull, and a hyperdrive. It can also be equiped with a weak tractor beam. All TIE's are manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems. The other two Imperial Starfighters are the Cygnus corporation's XG-1 Starwing and XM-1 Missile Boat. Cygnus XG-1 Starwing. This starfighter is better known as the assault gunboat. It has two ion cannons, two laser cannons, two warhead launchers, 90 sbd shields, a 50 ru hull, and a hyper- drive. It's speed rating is 90 mglt. Cygnus XM-1 Missile Boat. This starfighter's name is the best description possible. It is equipped with four warhead launchers, which can carry two types of warheads. Each pair of launchers can carry 40 advanced missiles, 30 advanced torpedoes, 20 Heavy rockets, or 10 Heavy bombs. That is not possible on any other starfighter. The Missile Boat was also created in the TIE Fighter video game. It has only one laser cannon. It has a hyperdrive, shields, and armor. It's speed rating is 115 MGLT, but it is equiped with Sub-Light Acceleration Mechanisms (SLAM's) that draw power from the laser and increase the speed. It can also carry a weak tractor beam. Important Ships: the Home One: This was Admiral Ackbar's Cruiser in ROTJ. the Excecutor: This was Darth Vader's command ship. It crashed into the second Death Star. the Death Star: A giant battle station, capable of destroying planets. It was destroyed by Luke Skywalker at the battle of Yavin. Death Star 2: An improved death Star, destroyed at the battle of Endor. the Millennium Falcon: a modified Corellian YT-1300 transport, it is the frieghter Han Solo and Chewbacca fly. Important Characters: Lando Calrissian: Han Solo's friend, he helped Darth Vader and Bobba Fett capture Solo. He also destroyed the second Death Star. Darth Vader\Anakin Skywalker: He was the last dark lord of the sith. He was the Emperor's main henchman. He was originaly a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi's apprenticeship, but he converted to the Dark Side of the Force and changed his name to Darth Vader. Mon Mothma: She was head of the Rebel Alliance. Admiral Ackbar: He was the supreme millitary commander of the Rebel Alliance. Princess Leia Organa: Last of the ruling house of the planet Alderaan, she is Luke Skywalker's sister, and Darth Vader's Daughter. Eventually married Han Solo. Luke Skywalker: A Jedi Knight, he was chiefly noted for destroying the Death Star and refounding the Jedi Knights. Han Solo: A smuggler, he helped rescue Leia from the death star, and assisted Luke Skywalker in destroying it. Chewbacca: Han Solo's co-pilot. He is a wookie with a life debt to Solo. Palpatine: The Emperor. He established the New Order and the Galactic Empire. He ordered the destruction of the Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi Knight on Tatooine, he disabled the Death Star's tractor beam, allowing the Millenium Falcon to escape to Yavin4, in the movie A New Hope. He also began Luke's training. Yoda: A Jedi Master on Dagobah, he trained Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi. R2-D2/C3-PO: Luke Skywalker's droids. Important Events: Battle of Yavin: the Ending scenes from the movie A New Hope. Battle of Hoth: the beginning scenes from the movie The Empire Strikes Back Battle of Endor: the ending scenes from the movie Return of the Jedi. Destruction of Alderaan: The Death Star was put to use, destroying the planet Alderaan. Other Resources: There are many other resources. Watching the movies is one way to get more information. There are also many different source and guidebooks available. You can also get additional information from the countless comic books and novels written about Star Wars. Several good selections are Dark Force Rising, Heir to the Empire, and the Last Command, written by Timothy Zahn, or X-Wing Rouge Squadron and X-Wing Wedge's Gamble by Michael A. Stackpole. Your computer can also be a great help. There are numerous Internet Sites about Star Wars, and America Online maintains a forum about Star Wars. To get there, use keyword Star Wars. Also, people who own the video games X-Wing or TIE Fighter can go to the tech rooms for more statistics about starfighters. However, talking with people who know about Star Wars is probably the best way to learn what you really need to know. If you have any comments about this, email me. My email adress is Dafroo@aol.com