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REBELS |
| Just as
Palpatine's empire rose in power and influence, a core group of citizens from across space
quietly and sio begari to organize themselves into a sing cohesive unit. A unit with a
single goal-t destruction of the Empire and a return to t democratic ways they had known
and cherishe At first unknown to this brave group, th had allies in the Senate. These
planet Senators saw and understood the extre danger in Palpatine's rapid gain in power, an
they plotted in secret to overthrow him in a pr captive move that would focus the swelling
ti of resistance into a force that would secu freedom for all the peoples of the Old
Republi Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan an Sciiator Mon Mothma of Chandrila secretly p
together a plan that, it was hoped, would sto Palpatine from defrauding his way into th
Senatorial Presidency. Their covert attemp failed, for Palpatine's rise into full powe
occurred literally overnight once his foundatio)f I :ot-i-upt politicians had been put
into place At a meeting in Organa's home in Imperial Cit ('iiitham House, Mothma called
for a genera J'C\Olution against Palpatine and his growin f I oi-ces. |
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Organa
resisted, fearing that such a mov @@otild not only destroy Palpatine but the ver
,,o\eriimental fabric they were fighting to save, ,i,ell. |
Organa had devoted his entire life to the
ILI Republic's democratic, senatorial system ,Itl(i believed that anarchy, once put into
motion to t:op Palpatine, could not be contained. Then, a small planet in the Sern Sector,
near 'i, Core Worlds, became the first to feel the :]Military wrath of Palpatine. The
Massacre at Ili(,rman resulted when the Ghormanese planegovernor refused to bow to
Palpatine. The ti/ens of his world, defying an Imperial iii,,ase in taxation, staged a
peaceful protest at @)lanet's primary spaceport and blocked the ,I@1(iing pads used by
Palpatine's naval vessels. ,)oz,ns were killed and hundreds more seriously ::ijliied when
a warship, commanded by C@i@)tain (later Grand moff) Tarkin, iiitciitionally landed atop
the protesters when it dfl'l\cd to collect the new taxes. This event ,,r,ipliically
signaled the death of the Old R@)tiblic, and many other worlds at that point @@@ill/ed
that the democratic ways they had ,iio\@ n were utterly gone. l@ail Organa, horrified that
such a monstrosould occur, began helping Mothma to divert o[li funds and weaponry into the
hands of the souls who formed what quickiv coalesced i)ockets of organized resistance.
More im- portantly, perhaps, Organa and his small band of Rebel sympathizers in the Senate
funneled highly classified information to the Rebel leaders I as well, allowing them to
plan surprise strikes against Imperial shipments and troops. The many isolated resistance
groups spread across the galaxy caused Palpatine little concern. Their leadership was
poor, their forces largely disorganized. They had few weapons, and certainly nothing that
could stand up to the Imperial forces assigned to eliminate them. Many resistance, units
were scattered or completely destroyed, and their home systems were placed under martial
law Mothm;is involvement in the Rebellion was discovered by the Imperial secret police,
but before she could be apprehended, a friendly tip in e ear of Bail Organa allowed her to
leave the ' I ca 'tal. She eluded ca mperia I cating herself to the destruction of the
Empire, became Chief of State of the Rebel Alliance. Working to organize an Alliance of
Rebel Planets, her first success came at a secret conference in the Corellian system. As
Mothma showed the many leaders of the scattered resistance movement how central leadership
would lead to improved communications, greater access to critical funds, supplies, vessels
and weaponry, the three main resistance groups agreed to Join together into a cohesive
unit. This Corellian Treaty formed the foundation of the Alliance, which quickly grew in
strength through its new-found unity. The Declaration of Rebellion, ratified at that very
conference, defied Palpatine directly and even addressed him personally. It stated, in
part: You have disbanded the Senate, the voice ofthe people; You have instituted a policy
of blatant racism andgenocide against the non-human peoples ofthe ga Iixy; You have
overthrown the chosen rulers ofplanets, replacing them with Moffi and Governors of your
choice; You have raised taxes without the consent of those taxed,- You have murdered and
imprisoned millions without benefit of trial,- You have unlawfully'taken land andproperty;
You have expanded the military far beyond what is necessary andprudent, for the sole
purpose of opp ress 1 ng yo u r s u bjects. We, the Rebel Alliance, do therefore in the
name-and by the authori@of theftee beings of tbegalaxy, solemnlypublisb anddeclare our
intentions: Tofight and opposeyou andyourforces, by any and all means at our disposal; To
refuse any Imperial law contrary to the rights offtee beings; To bring about your
destruction and the destruction of the Galactic Empire; To make forever ftee -all beings
in the galaxy. To these ends, we pledge our property, o r honor, and our lives. Worlds
across space 'oined in the fight against the tyranny of Palpatine and his Empire.
Prejudices that had once existed between races and species fell by the wayside as the
common desire for freedom became the overriding FOCLIS of their lives. Starpilots crossed
vast interstellar distances, often in tiny fighters, risking Imperial detection and
imprisonment in order to join the Rebellion. Many of those government officials who had
aided Mothma in the early stages of the Rebellion were discovered and either executed,
tortured or incarcerated. Bail Organa's involvement in the formation of the Rebell'ioii
was not discovered, however, and he continued to serve the Rebels by supplying whatever
information and funding he could. He retired to Alderaan when the Imperial Senate was
disbanded, and served there as Viceroy and First Chairman of the Alderaan system. A
veteran of the Clone Wars, it was Organa who summontd Obi-Wan Kenobi-through his daughter
Leiainto service against the Empire. Kenobi, in hiding following the extermination of the
Jedi, came to Organa's aid but was unable to reach Aideraan before the planet's
destruction (and Organa's death) at the hands of Grand Moff I'arkin and his ultimate
weapon, the Death Star. The Rebellion quickly grew in force and scope. Imperial sailors
serving aboard freighters and other vessels often jumped ship while in port and joined the
Rebels in their fight. Arinanients rapidly became available to the R bellion as did
starfighters of every shape and description, most of which were of older construction.
Leia Organa, like her adopted father, fought to help the Rebels and served as a link in
the chain that made the plans of the Death Star available to the Rebel forces. An analysis
of these plans allowed the Rebel pilots to form an attack strategy at their Yavin IV base,
and the seemingly-miraculous destruction of the Death Star took place beforc nightfall
that same day. Continued Rebel struggles against the Empire brought defeats as well as
triumphs, but it was the welcome addition of the brave Mon Calamari and their immense
capital ships that finally gave the Rebellion the vessel hardware they needed to confront
the Empire head-on. After massing in the Sullust system, the total combined fleets of the
Rebellion attacked the Empire's final solutions new, improved and more powerful Death
Star-and triumphed by destroying not only the massive battle station but Palpatine
himself. The forces of the Empire fell into chaos, having lost their horrible leader, and
the Rebel Alliance has risen to become the recognized governmental authority of all known
space.
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