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ERA: Reign of the Empire

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Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Approximately six years after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Imperial Director Orson Krennic and a squad of his death troopers land on the planet Lah’mu and forcibly recruit scientist Galen Erso to complete the work of the Death Star, a space station capable of destroying entire planets. Galen’s wife, Lyra Erso, is killed when she shoots and injures Krennic to stop him from taking her husband. Their daughter, Jyn Erso, goes into hiding until Saw Gerrera, leader of the Partisans, rescues her and takes her in.

Thirteen years later, an adult Jyn Erso, under the alias of Liana Halik, has been imprisoned in the Detention center on Wobani sharing a cell with Oolin Musters.

On the Ring of Kafrene trading outpost in section nine, the Rebel Intelligence officer Captain Cassian Andor meets with a contact, a man named Tivik, who reveals that an Imperial cargo pilot defected from the Galactic Empire the day before and is telling people that they are making a weapon with the Kyber crystals from Jedha. After persuasion from Andor, Tivik reveals that the weapon is a “planet killer” and that Rook is telling people that Galen Erso, an old friend of Saw Gerrera’s, sent him.

Having defected, Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook seeks out Saw, carrying an important message from Galen concerning the Empire’s construction of an ultimate weapon. He finds Gerrera’s hideout on Jedha but Gerrera’s Partisan soldiers, including Benthic, distrust Rook’s intentions and capture him. They bring him before Gerrera, and though Bodhi pleads his case to the Partisan leader, Gerrera does not trust him either, fearing that he will be lured into a trap. To discover whether Rook is being truthful, Gerrera subjects him to the torturous creature Bor Gullet, an experience that temporarily loses Bodhi’s sanity.

Jyn is freed from Imperial captivity by Extraction Team Bravo and brought before Rebel leaders including Mon Mothma, Jan Dodonna, Bail Organa, Davits Draven, and Andor. They convince her to help get them an audience with Saw, whom Jyn has not seen since he abandoned her years prior. Though the mission is presented to Jyn as one of extraction, Draven covertly orders Cassian to kill Galen so as to prevent the weapon from being completed. Jyn, along with Cassian and his reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO, set off for the moon Jedha in a Rebel U-wing.

On the bridge of the Executrix, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin monitors the construction of the Death Star. As he looks on, the superlaser is being installed. Krennic comes aboard the Star Destroyer and approaches Tarkin on the bridge. Tarkin expresses his concern over the defective cargo pilot, who is spreading rumors to Jedha about the Death Star’s existence. He tells Krennic that his time is up as far as completing the battle station goes and that the Emperor would not tolerate any more delays on the project. Suggesting that both problems should be solved together with a test of the weapon, Tarkin clarifies to Krennic that failure will not be tolerated.

Cassian, Jyn and K-2SO arrive on Jedha where Cassian expects to meet up with a Partisan contact. The droid stays on the ship while Jyn and Cassian set out to find his contact, but the duo is caught in the middle of an armed uprising against the Empire led by Gerrera’s partisans. Jyn and Cassian find safety only after K-2SO disobeys orders to stay on the U-Wing and comes to their aid. After fighting off the Imperial troopers, the convoy returns to Tythoni Square where the uprising occurred. Imperial reinforcements arrive, and K-2SO is mistaken for an actual Imperial droid transporting prisoners.

The droid tries to play along, but the disguise is foiled. They are saved by the intervention of blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe and mercenary Baze Malbus, guardians of the Kyber Temple on Jedha of which the Empire is stripping of its treasures. After the Imperial reinforcements are fought off, the group thinks they are in the clear until a group of Partisans, including Benthic, arrives and takes over the square, kidnapping Andor, Erso, and the two guardians with K2 returning to the ship. Benthic feels that Andor was hostile towards the Partisans during the uprising because he shot one of their own who was preparing to throw a grenade at a tank next to which Jyn was hiding. Jyn reveals to the Partisans that she is the daughter of Galen Erso and the partisans take them to their headquarters in the Catacombs of Cadera and imprison them.

While Cassian, Chirrut, and Baze are locked in cells, Jyn is brought before Saw. The calm captive Chirrut “prays” to the Force with his mantra, “I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me,” while Baze mocks his partner’s mystical ways. Cassian becomes impatient with Chirrut and tries to pick the cell lock himself. Gerrera is surprised to see Jyn, having parted ways with her years before. He is still wary that the pilot’s message and Jyn’s return is simply a trap, but when Jyn explains her intentions of finding Galen, he becomes more comfortable. He questions what Jyn wants to get out of this, and Jyn explains that she wants no part of it and that her role is finished. Refusing to believe that Jyn no longer cares about the Rebel cause, Gerrera offers to show her something he feels will change her mind.

Meanwhile, on the Death Star, Tarkin and Krennic prepare to test the weapon on Jedha City, having evacuated all Imperial forces from the moon via Protocol 13. Krennic goes to order the complete moon’s destruction, but Tarkin overrules him and orders that the test-firing be conducted at minimum power.

With imminent danger approaching, unbeknownst to those on the moon, Cassian, Chirrut, and Baze linger in their cells. They notice that in the cell next to them is an Imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook, and Cassian begins to question him, curious if he is the cargo pilot who brought the message. Bor Gullet’s effects on Bodhi are clear and he does not seem to understand what Cassian is talking about until he mentions Galen’s name and Rook’s memory is jogged. As the Death Star’s superweapon commences primary ignition above the moon, Gerrera begins to show Jyn the message that Bodhi brought. The message is a hologram, in which Jyn’s father expresses his love for her and discloses his coerced help on the Death Star project. Galen also reveals that he covertly compromised the Death Star’s design by including a subtle vulnerability in its reactor that can be used to destroy it. He tells her that the structural plans are at an Imperial high-security data bank on the planet Scarif. However, before the hologram can finish, the Death Star fires on the moon and chaos ensues.

As the imminent destruction of Jedha City begins, the Partisans in the Catacombs begin to flee. Cassian quickly hot-wires the cell door, and he, Chirrut, and Baze escape captivity. Cassian hurries to the convoy’s possessions that were seized when the Partisans kidnapped them and frantically uses his comlink to call K-2SO, who describes the destruction ensuing outside. Cassian informs him to locate their position so they can escape. Before they can flee, Cassian finds Jyn, telling Chirrut and Baze to flee the pilot, which Baze does by blasting the cell door with his MWC-35c “Staccato Lightning” repeating cannon. Cassian locates Jyn and informs her that Bodhi has told him where her father is. Gerrera urges her to go with Cassian, but when Jyn suggests he come with them, he refuses, electing to remain and die with the city. The mass exodus of the catacombs begins, and those who exit look on in horror as they see Jedha’s surface beginning to peel back and destroy everything in its path. As the Catacombs begin to collapse along with everything else, K-2SO pilots the U-wing through the destruction to pick up the convoy. Cassian, Jyn, Chirrut, Baze, and Bodhi hurriedly board the U-wing, and the ship escapes the destruction. Gerrera watches from the collapsing Catacombs as the U-wing takes off and the blast wave overtakes the area. Shortly before his impending death, Gerrera tears off his breath mask and accepts his fate. Jyn watches from the U-wing as the wave consumes the Catacombs and kills Gerrera. The convoy looks on in horror at the destruction outside as K-2SO and Cassian pilot the U-wing, fleeing the destruction that threatens to overtake them. Barely escaping the blast wave, Cassian hurriedly punches in the calculations and the U-wing blasts into hyperspace, narrowly escaping Jedha.

As the Death Star’s demonstration is carried out, Krennic, Tarkin, and many other Imperials look on. Krennic expresses the “beauty” of the destruction. With the demonstration complete, Tarkin congratulates Krennic but promptly uses Rook’s defection from Galen Erso’s Imperial facility on Eadu and the security leak on Jedha under Krennic’s command as a pretext to control the project. Enraged, Krennic openly challenges Tarkin’s decision and decides to deal with the defector and the potential Rebel sympathizer on Eadu personally.

In the aftermath of the incident on Jedha, Cassian sends a coded message back to the Alliance base to inform them that Jedha has been destroyed and that he has learned that Galen is on Eadu. Receiving the message, General Draven is dumbfounded by the destruction of Jedha City but advises Andor to keep to the plan of killing Galen. Cassian receives Draven’s instructions in hyperspace and informs K-2SO to set their course for Eadu. The entire convoy is in shock concerning Jedha’s destruction, and a troubled Chirrut begs Baze to describe the extent of the destruction. Baze reluctantly consents. Knowing now that her father is on Eadu, Jyn explains to Bodhi — who mistakenly believes that his message was too late — that Galen has laid a trap in the Death Star. However, with the message destroyed in the chaos on Jedha, she has no way of backing up her claims, and the group is wary of believing her. With Cassian refusing to send word of Jyn’s claim to the Alliance, she resolves to get her father on Eadu and bring him back to the Alliance to tell them himself.

With Tarkin having seized control of the Death Star project, Krennic departs the Death Star in his ST 149 shuttle en route for Eadu, where he plans to expose the Rebel sympathizer in Galen Erso’s team.

Meanwhile, the Rebel convoy, seeking out Galen Erso on Eadu, approaches the planet in their U-wing. The planet’s stormy conditions hinder their approach, and as Bodhi guides them toward the Imperial installation, they crash while attempting to avoid Imperial detection.

Jyn tracks her father to an Imperial research facility on the planet Eadu, where Cassian chooses not to kill Galen. When Krennic arrives and threatens to have Galen’s main team killed for causing the security leak, Galen confesses he is responsible. Krennic executes the team nevertheless, and Jyn makes her presence known just as a Rebel bombing raid begins, leaving Galen fatally wounded. Jyn’s father dies in her arms before she and her group escape in a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle.

With Galen Erso silenced, Krennic travels to Mustafar to speak with the mysterious Dark Lord, Darth Vader at his castle. Upon Krennic’s arrival, the Dark Lord’s servant, Vaneé, alerts Vader, who is meditating in a rejuvenation chamber, that the Director has arrived. Vader exits his meditation to confront Krennic on a platform overlooking the volcanic landscape of the planet. The Dark Lord expresses his concern that the Death Star has become more of a problem than the solution it was intended to be, citing Krennic’s inability to keep the project a secret as the main catalyst for the change in approach. Krennic defends himself and his creation, claiming he delivered a remarkable weapon to the Emperor. Because of his self-proclaimed success, he petitions that Vader grant him an opportunity to meet with the Emperor personally and advise him of the Death Star’s unprecedented potential. Vader, however, is far more concerned about the rumors that had reached the higher levels of the Empire of the destruction of Jedha City and the attack on the Eadu facility by the Rebellion and what these revelations mean as far as the secrecy surrounding the Death Star project. Krennic attempts to shift blame onto Tarkin for ordering the demonstration on Jedha, but Vader is not impressed by this futile effort and criticizes Krennic’s groveling, reminding the Director that the secrecy behind the Death Star project was instituted to prevent open defiance from the Senate. Vader suggests that the Jedha incident could be disguised as a mining disaster, but it seems to imply that Galen Erso’s betrayal might have been a bitter blow to the Empire’s secrecy. Vader instructs Krennic to ensure that no other leaks occur so the Emperor would be satisfied that the project has not been compromised. As Vader swiftly departs, Krennic makes a last plea for his continued control over the project, hoping to remain in command of the battle station rather than Tarkin. However, Vader’s patience has run thin, and when Krennic requests that Vader speak to the Emperor on his behalf, the Dark Lord chokes the Director using the Force. As Krennic falls to his knees, Vader warns him to temper his aspirations lest they cause his downfall. He releases Krennic, and the conversation ends.

Having returned to the Rebel base on Yavin 4, Jyn and Bodhi are both present at an Alliance Council meeting where Jyn proposes that the rebels travel to Scarif and steal the Death Star schematics so they will know where to target the flawed reactor module. The Rebel leadership — including Mon Mothma, Jan Dodonna, Bail Organa, Tynnra Pamlo, Nower Jebel, Vasp Vaspar, Davits Draven, Admiral Raddus, and Antoc Merrick — cannot come to a consensus; many of the Senators propose to scatter their fleet because they have no choice but to surrender. Mothma, Organa, and Raddus attempt to defend Jyn’s plan. Unfortunately for them, with Galen Erso and Saw Gerrera dead and their hologram destroyed, the Rebel leadership cannot verify Jyn’s claims. The fearful opposition of Pamlo, Vaspar, and Jebel outweighs the support, despite an impassioned plea from Jyn, calling for hope. Without the council’s full support, Mothma is forced to play the devil’s advocate, declaring the odds too great to commit so much of their forces.

Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn, Cassian, K-2SO, and several Rebels volunteer to take matters into their own hands. The party takes the shuttle to raid the databank themselves. Before they take off, however, they are confronted by Rebel command, who asks them to identify themselves. Rook improvises a call sign of “Rogue One” before heading off to Scarif without Alliance permission.

Once Rogue One arrives at Scarif, they transmit a clearance code, praying that it has not been listed as overdue. Fortunately, the code is valid. The team enters the Shield Gate and head to the planet below. Before starting the mission, Jyn speaks to the squad to inspire them, emphasizing that despite being outnumbered, anything is possible with the element of surprise on their side. Cassian debriefs the men and orders them to attack the troops as a distraction so they can gain entry to the Citadel and find the plans. As Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO searched the data bank for the design plans, the rest of their team set off explosives and commenced firing in the nearby landing area to distract the resident stormtroopers.

Arriving at Scarif, Rogue One jumps the inspection team and steals their uniforms. Jyn and Cassian masquerade as the inspection team and gain entrance to the Citadel with K-2SO in tow.

Inside the Citadel, K-2SO hacks into another Imperial droid of the same model to gain intelligence to locate and access the vault. Krennic orders the garrison to deploy after the squad sets off the diversionary explosives. Tarkin is alerted that rebels have compromised the Scarif installation and is concerned that the rebels may be after the Death Star plans. Tarkin has Lord Vader informed of the developments before ordering the Death Star to be investigated in hyperspace.

Meanwhile, back at the Rebel headquarters on Yavin 4, the Rebellion learns of the battle from intercepted Imperial transmissions. However, before the council is notified, Admiral Raddus has already sent his fleet to support Rogue One’s efforts.

While Rogue One is battling the stormtroopers, Bodhi contacts Scarif Imperial headquarters, feeds them false information and creates confusion to give the squad a better tactical advantage. The garrison deploys AT-ACT walkers to battle the squad.

Once Raddus’s fleet arrives, Red and Gold Squadrons are ordered to protect the fleet, while Blue Squadron is ordered to get to the surface to reinforce and provide air support to Rogue One battling on the beaches. Several X-wings, including Blue Leader Antoc Merrick, and a single U-wing gunship make it through the opening before Shield Gate control closes the gate, killing several pilots. Cassian contacts Bodhi and asks him to contact the fleet to attempt to open the gate so they can transmit the plans. Bohdi asks the ground troops to find a master switch so he can communicate with the fleet by interfacing with the communications tower.

Rebel troops land from the gunship to reinforce Rogue One. The fleet begins to attack the Shield Gate, but to no avail. Rebel X-wings engage numerous TIE fighters stationed on the Shield Gate, with both sides suffering substantial casualties. Jyn finds the plans on the Citadel mainframe — codenamed Stardust, which Jyn immediately recognizes the name as a secret personal message from her father to help her find the Death Star plans. K-2SO closes the vault door moments before stormtroopers arrive to investigate. K-2SO desperately attempts to lure them away, but the stormtroopers become suspicious and force him to attack them. Before being destroyed by enemy fire, K-2SO locks the vault door so the stormtroopers cannot open it again, allowing time for his comrades to retrieve the plans. Krennic was informed that the vault had unauthorized access and went to investigate. Jyn and Cassian climb the data vault and physically remove the data plans. Right after retrieving the plans, however, the duo are ambushed by Krennic. He shoots Cassian with his blaster, causing him to fall.

Chirrut is killed after activating the master switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet from Rook’s shuttle. A squadron of Y-wings commanded by Jon Vander launches multiple ion torpedoes at a Star Destroyer, disabling it.

Rook manages to contact the Raddus’s flagship, Profundity, and informs them that they must open the deflector shield to transmit the Death Star plans to them. Shortly after, a thermal imploder was thrown into his ship, killing him and destroying the shuttle. Having received Rook’s transmission, Raddus quickly formulates a plan to break open the shield using his available resources.

Raddus orders a Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvette, Lightmaker, to physically ram into the side of a disabled Star Destroyer, which pushes it into a second Star Destroyer close by, and creates a chain reaction that effectively destroys all three ships. Baze, having been inspired by Îmwe’s sacrifice, repeats his comrade’s signature phrase — “I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me” — multiple times, but is then killed by a grenade. One of the Star Destroyers then crashes into the shield gate protecting Scarif and disables the planetary shield, allowing full communications to be re-established.

Krennic pursues and corners Jyn on the top of the Citadel tower but before he can kill her, Cassian, who had survived the blaster wound, shoots and badly wounds Krennic. Jyn then successfully transmits the schematics to the Rebel command ship, before helping the injured Cassian into a nearby elevator.

Tarkin arrives with the Death Star and fires a single reactor ignition of the superlaser to destroy the compromised base and prevent the plans from falling into enemy hands. While the blast overshoots the base — though the fringes of the beam take out the transmitter and Krennic along with it — and impacts several kilometers away, it nonetheless triggers an explosion powerful enough to guarantee the death of everyone in the vicinity. Jyn and Cassian, knowing they have no means of escape, await the approaching blast on a beach near the base. In their final moments, Cassian assures Jyn that her father would have been proud, and seconds later, the blast incinerates them, along with the base.

After paying respects to his fallen comrades, Raddus orders his fleet to jump to hyperspace. Still, before the entire fleet can escape, most are intercepted by Vader’s Star Destroyer, Devastator, and proceed to destroy or disable the blockaded Alliance ships. Vader boards Admiral Raddus’s disabled command ship and singlehandedly massacres many Rebel troops in pursuit of the Death Star plans, only to watch as the CR90 Corvette Tantive IV launches from the hanger bay and narrowly escapes with them.

Aboard the Tantive IV, Princess Leia Organa receives the stolen plans and declares that the Rebellion has just received “hope”. The Tantive IV jumps into hyperspace.