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Continuity & Analysis

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission
to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction.




CONTINUITY
This film takes place 4 days before Episode IV and 19 years after Episode III, except for the prologue.
The prologue takes place in 7964 (13 BBY), which is 13 years before the rest of this film and 6 years after Episode III.
The locations Lah'mu, Wobani, Kafrene, Jedha, Eadu, and Scarif are seen for the first time. Eight worlds are the setting of this film:

The prologue of the film takes place during one day, 13 years earlier. The rest of the film takes place over the course of 4 days.
Day 1 - Jyn in prison --> Rebels extract Jyn. Day 2 - Arrival on Yavin 4 --> Leaving for Jedha.
Day 3 - Arrival on Jedha --> Leaving Eadu. Day 4 - Rebel council --> Leia escapes Scarif.

SW storytelling is supposed to be linear, allowing a complex story in a completely alien setting to be engrossing and easy to follow.
George Lucas purposely avoided using flashbacks or time jumps, and made the continuity of story from one known character,
event, or location, to another as a central pillar of SW material. This film was the first canon material to use this unnecessary
method of storytelling, rather than Jyn explaining those events with a few lines of dialogue within the regular flow of the story.
This is not a proper SW element, which unfortunately disney-Lucasfilm doesn't understand or purposely no longer cares about.
At least in the case of the prologues to Rogue One and Solo, the action immediately follows the same character after
the time skip, preserving Lucas' method of introducing new characters or events in the context of what has already been seen.


Prologue events take place in 7964 (13 BBY) - 13 years prior to the main story.


- Krennic's shuttle is a Delta-class T-3c shuttle, which is a product of Sienar Systems based on the fold-up tri-wing design of Cygnus
Spaceworks. Sienar is known to have worked closely with Cygnus Spaceworks on design and co-produced several Cygnus designs
during the Imperial Era. This may be a proprietary modified version of a standard Cygnus Delta-class design. This ship has
ridiculously large wings, and the reason for this is a mystery, although the real reason is the creators liked how it looks.
Supplementary material says the shuttle is optimized for stealth, in which case it would not have unnecessarily large wings.

- Lah'mu is a large terrestrial planet located in the Raioballo Sector, in the New Territories region of the Outer Rim. It is so large it has
a ring system presumably made up primarily of ice and dust, and has at least one satellite moon, although if it has rings it is likely
there is at least one or two smaller moons in addition. Lah'mu is located in a remote starsytem near the edge of incorporated
space, and far from most regional hyperspace lanes. It is a habitable world with oceans, a rain-cycle, and a breathable atmosphere,
however its most livable regions are somewhat stark, cool, and like many sub-arctic regions on Earth, limited in fertility due to
its sparse ecosystem. The planet has been colonized by the Human-dominated Core civilization, but has a very small population.


- Saw Gerrera last seen almost 6 years before this prologue, at the very end of 7958 (19 BBY), in The Bad Batch 'Aftermath' (S1E1),
where he fled Onderon with his last surviving loyalists having been immediately confronted by the new Empire.
He will next be seen 8 years after this prologue in Andor 'Narkina 5' (S1E8).

- Lyra Erso believes in the Force, and teaches her daughter to trust in it. Jyn later tells Cassian that her mother spoke positively of
the Jedi, and during these events she gives Jyn a kyber crystal on a necklace. This is further indication that the Force is widely
known about and believed in outside of the context of the Jedi religion, and that faithful people tend to positively associate
the Jedi with the good aspects of the Force. Keeping a kyber crystal shows that belief about the Force is well-developed,
as in not just second-hand superstition but a religious belief that has been historically filtered through reason.
Main Article: Awareness of the Jedi and the Sith

- General Orson Krennic is an officer of the Imperial Military's Advanced Weapons Research Department. When he is next seen 13 years
in the future, he is a Director in the same department. Combined with his uniform and two different rank insignia, this indicates that
he is part of the Imperial Army Intelligence branch of the military. Military Intelligence has many purviews, but has been most often
seen in SW material in relation to secret projects and special operations, and is certainly who would be expected to be in charge of
most aspects of the Death Star project. Advanced Weapons Research is later shown to include members of the Operations branch
and many non-military staff, so an Imperial Department can include officers from various branches. This is why Imperial military
rank structure is designed to be co-linear between branches, to facilitate the joint operations which are extremely common.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


Events jump forward 13 years from 7964 (13 BBY) to 7977 (0 BBY). Location jumps from Lah'mu to Wobani.


- Wobani is a terrestrial planet located in the Bryx Sector, in the Slice region of the Mid Rim. In this epoch, the planet is partially shrouded by
a thick dust cloud in space, which blocks some of the light from its star. Wobani has a moderate climate and a breathable atmosphere,
however the planet does not seem to have an ecosystem, and is extremely barren. In this time period, Wobani hosts an Imperial prison
and forced labor camp. This suggests there is some mineral wealth worth extracting on Wobani, or there would be little point in
locating workers or fabrication facilities here. Assuming this is the case, it is possible there is civilian mining on the planet as well.


- Kafrene is an asteroid field orbiting a star located in the Thand Sector, in the Western Reaches of the Expansion Region. It is home to
a mining colony and trading post called the Ring of Kafrene, which artificially bridges two large asteroids in the field. One of these
asteroids was obviously moved from elsewhere in the field, as their proximity and simultaneous movement is unnatural. According
to supplementary material, the Ring of Kafrene was built sometime during the last incarnation of the Republic as the base for
mining this asteroid field, which was apparently not surveyed very well because it turned out to produce minimal valuable minerals.
Its position as an island of supplies and amenities in a remote and developing region made it an increasingly popular trading post
and resupply point, which not only replaced mining as the primary economic activity, but lead to the expansion of the Ring.


- Scandocs are encrypted files which can only be read by authorized devices, and are either incapable of being edited, or in some cases
can only be edited by the proprietary creator. They are primarily used internally by government agencies, however due to
the difficulty of forging scandocs, they are used by the Empire for basic identity documents for civilians. Imperial law in this era
requires all citizens to have scandocs, and Imperial forces will detain anyone without them for identification.

- The Partisans are the anti-Imperial militia led by Saw Gerrera, formed with the remnants of his Onderon Rebels late in 7958 (19 BBY).
The Onderon Rebels were formed with Jedi assistance in 7957 (20 BBY), seen in The Clone Wars 'A War on Two Fronts' (S5E2).
Based on Saw's statements in this film, it seems that things did not go well Onderon as a result of the Partisans resistance there.
After those events, Saw widened the scope of his anti-Imperial activity and attempted to grow the movement, with varying success
in both recruitment and operations. The Tognath who serves as Saw's executive officer at this time is named Benthic.

- Yavin 4 and the Rebel Alliance Headquarters was last seen in Rebels 'Crawler Commandeers' (S4E8), which took place less than 6 months
before these events. The Rebel fortress called Massassi Base has served as Rebel Alliance Headquarters since at least 7976 (1 BBY).


Why do the top-level ranks in Rebel Intelligence use red insignia, while all lower ranks use green insignia? All Rebel Army
officers wear red insignia and all Rebel Fleet officers wear blue, when they have one on their uniform. Cassian wears
a green insignia, as does an unidentified officer with the rank of Commander seen later in this film. It would stand to
reason that Intelligence branch would use green insignia for all ranks, however supplementary material created for
this film identify General Draven and his attending subordinate Colonel Delto as being Rebel Intelligence officers.
Their status in Intelligence was either not planned beforehand, or was not considered during the creation of their
costumes. As a result, it is now canon that Rebel Intelligence uses a strange two-colored system based on seniority.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


- Jyn's debriefing is presided over by Rebel leader Senator Mon Mothma, and conducted by General Draven of Rebel Intelligence. Two of his
subordinates in Intelligence, Colonel Delto and Captain Andor, are also present, as are the base commander General Dodonna,
General Merrick the commander of the Starfighter Corps, and Senator Bail Organa who is one of the Rebel Ministers.




Cassian asks Jyn, "when was the last time you were in contact with your father?" Why does she say it was 15 years ago,
when it was 13 years earlier? Unless the date of the prologue was determined after the fact for supplementary
material, this could be a script error. It could also be a deliberate inaccuracy, where Jyn is estimating or approximating,
and her statement should be considered to be imprecise but accurate enough to suit what the Rebels are really asking.


- Mon Mothma states that "Saw Gerrera's an extremist. He's been fighting on his own since he broke with the Rebellion. His militancy has
caused the Alliance a great many problems." This split occurred more than a year earlier, sometime before 7976 (1 BBY).
The Alliance doesn't like that Saw sometimes gets civilians killed and tortures, and he doesn't like the Alliance's "ineffective" tactics.


- The Ghost is seen parked outside of the base, and later in the film Chopper is also seen in the background outside the base. The Spectres were
last seen in Rebels 'Family Reunion and Farewell' (S4E15), leading the Lothal Rebellion. It is assumed those events took place days earlier,
or at most weeks, as the Empire is said to never return to Lothal, which only makes sense if they were suddenly occupied with more
pressing concerns. The flare up of the Galactic Civil War after the destruction of Alderaan later this week made reconquering or
punishing a smaller world like Lothal a secondary concern. The Spectres are free to once again aid the Alliance, and must also get
whatever Alliance support they can for the efforts to prepare Lothal's defense. The Ghost can also be seen during the assault on Scarif.

- K-2SO identifies himself as a reprogrammed Imperial droid, and his frank and open way of speaking is explained by Cassian as "a by-product
of the reprogram." Droid personalities are always a bit unique but are usually derived from their base imperatives and primary functions.
Reprogramming a droid with a new core purpose, primary function, and imperatives overrides their previous personality, but can not
erase it entirely without rendering the droid unable to perform basic functions, unless a hard wipe is performed and complete factory
base programming is input from scratch. Since this is usually not possible or practical, and a standard reprogram is sufficient to alter
a droids priorities and loyalties, the result is often a personality with unusual idiosyncracies. K-2's sarcasm, on the other hand, may not
be entirely the product his reprogramming, as this is a personality trait sometimes seen in droids with only factory programming.
Main Article: Droid Intelligence


Does Mon Mothma know that Rebel Intelligence wants Galen Erso dead, and that General Draven has ordered Cassian
to kill him? She told Jyn they want to obtain him in order to testify before the Senate, and this not only fits with her
usual tactics and preferred methods, but would have been a good move had the battlestation not already been made
operational. On the other hand, Mon Mothma may not torture or intentionally disregard civilian lives, but she has
compromised many of her previous reservations by this point, and probably would approve of assassinating an Imperial
superweapon designer. It is certainly plausible that she was sincere about her intentions and Intelligence is simply
disregarding that to do what they feel needs to be done, however it is equally possible she was telling Jyn what she
knew Jyn wanted to hear because of the stakes involved. General Draven was very secretive when he gave that order
to Cassian, but it seemed like that was mostly so that Jyn didn't overhear him. If he was going behind Mothma's back,
he was not very coy about it, since he openly states that was the order he gave later to a variety of Rebel personnel.
It seems most likely this was the agreed upon Rebel intention all along, and that it was only Jyn who was out of the loop.


- Saw Gerrera was last seen less than a year earlier, in the second half of 7976 (1 BBY), in Rebels 'In the Name of the Rebellion' (S4E4), where
he not only bumped heads with the Alliance but also uncovered the Imperial shipping of huge kyber crystals for some unknown secret
project. It is very likely that his subsequent investigations into this kyber project is what led him to focus the Partisans efforts on Jedha
and the Imperial activity there. At some point since those events, he has lost a leg and had to have it replaced with a low-quality
bionic replacement, and has sustained some injury which gives him breathing problems and requires hime to use an oxygen mask.

- The Death Star, finally completed after two decades of work, was last seen in an early construction phase in 7958 (19 BBY), in Episode III.
George Lucas actually noted that it is "a bit of a stretch" that it took 19 years to build the first one, especially in light of how much
the Empire was able to complete of a much larger second Death Star in only 4 years, as seen in Episode VI. Lucas suggested that this
must have been due to "union disputes and supply problems," especially since the materials had to be sourced in the early Empire
much the same way they were sourced during the Republic. As was seen in Rebels and during the events on Jedha, the Empire is
still collecting kyber crystals for this project, and while that may have been continuing by Sidious' order anyway, it does suggest that
secret and high security sourcing of some material for the project was very time-consuming. The installation of the outer components
of the dish for the main weapon was the final segment to be added, since the main weapons system was the final hurdle to overcome.
The location of these final stages of construction is unknown, and nothing in the film indicates anything about where it might be.


- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin was last seen as a holographic transmission, 3 or 4 months earlier in Rebels 'Jedi Night' (S4E10). He was very
vocal at that time about his assessment that the Death Star project was a disappointing waste of time and resources.

- Krennic was last seen in the prologue 13 years earlier, having since been promoted from General to Director. His block-style insignia is
the same as worn by Fleet Admirals, suggesting that this insignia is uniform across all branches, something that has been
demonstrated of lower-ranked block-style insignia elsewhere in canon. The difference is that there is no single-bar equivalent
for the 6-tile-across block insignia, unlike those block insignia with 5-tiles across or less. This means that in addition to Directors
and Fleet Admirals, this same insignia worn by Krennic would also be worn by Naval Infantry and Army Marshals. His position is
as the Director of the Imperial Advanced Weapons Research Department. The rank of Director places him in either Navy
Intelligence, Army Intelligence, Operations, or potentially the ISB. His appearance in the prologue shows that his former rank
was within the Army, thus indicating that his branch is Imperial Army Intelligence. This would be the logical branch to be
overseeing such a project, as indeed secret projects are one of the main purviews of Imperial Military Intelligence. Grand Moff
Tarkin was last seen months earlier in Rebels 'Jedi Night' (S4E10). He mentions his involvement in the Death Star project
from the beginning when asserting his claim to command, and he was seen in Episode III to have been involved early on.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


Flashback events take place in 7960 (17 BBY), 17 years prior to the main story, on Coruscant. It is a dream,
which is interspersed with events from the prologue, set in 7964 (13 BBY), 13 years prior, on Lah'mu.

- Galen Erso was formerly a Lt. Colonel in the Operations branch of the Imperial Military.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- Jyn is 4 years old when seen on Coruscant, and thus was born in 7956 (21 BBY), about a year into the Clone Wars.


- The time it takes to fly from Yavin 4 to Jedha is long enough for Jyn to fall into REM sleep and thus to have dreams. REM sleep takes about
90 minutes, which assuming she didn't fall right asleep, gives a time of two hours or more for the trip. Although the approach to
Jedha requires using smaller local routes, most of this very long trip is along the galaxy's primary hyperlanes, which allow for
very fast travel. Nevertheless, a trip from the Outer Rim all the way to Coruscant takes hours, and Jedha is farther yet.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel

- The Empire is collecting kyber crystals, "all they can get", even stripping the kyber temple in Jedha City. Cassian calls this "fuel for the weapon",
which is only true metaphorically, as the actual 'fuel' for the weapon is energy from a massive reactor. The kyber crystals do provide
a great deal of the energy for the blast, since they not only channel and focus energy, but magnify its intensity through their connection
to the Force. The Death Star is a gigantic version of a lightsaber, only as a projectile weapon rather than a coherent blade, and the kyber
crystals play the same role in the process as they do in the lightsaber. Ultimately, a lightsaber's 'fuel' is the power cell. It had recently been
uncovered by the Rebellion that the Empire had been collecting huge kyber crystals, which were obviously used in this project, however
the Death Star's huge beam emitter is very complex, and kyber crystals of all sizes are used in various parts of the assembly. It is unlikely
that the crystals seen taken out of Jedha are intended to be used in this Death Star, however the Emperor's order to confiscate all kyber
crystals is still in place. Sidious may wish to use them in future superweapons, but is primarily concerned with controlling the galactic
supply of these already rare, Force-attuned crystals, in order that Force wielders who might oppose him will have trouble finding them.
Main Article: Darth Sidious and The Plan


Bor Gullet is a telepathic creature which can read minds, but how does Saw get the info out of Bor Gullet after it reads
a mind? Saw describes this process, saying, "Bor Gullet can feel your thoughts, No lie is safe. Bor Gullet will know
the truth. The unfortunate side effect, is that one tends to lose one's mind." Supplementary material describes Bor
Gullet as a semi-sentient creature, which means that it does not speak with words. Perhaps it can attach its tentacles
to Saw and show him what has been seen, but this is not the implication of Saw's conversation, nor does he seem
particularly convinced despite Bodhi Rook having been telling the truth. This is not necessarily a plot hole, but it is
hard to imagine what the answer to this question would be, or if the writers even had imagined an answer.


- Jedha is a historically significant moon orbiting the planet NaJedha, located in the Tarrabe Sector, within the unorganized 'Freestanding
Subsectors' of the Mid Rim. It may technically be considered to lie within the Unknown Regions, however like many portions of
the Unknown Regions which are proximal to organized space, that name is misleading as the area is mapped and some known
hyperspace routes do exist. Jedha also lies in the center of a region of ancient importance to the Jedi which straddles the borders
of organized space and the Unknown Regions. The name of the moon and the planet it orbits is in some way related to that of
the Jedi, who first came to this moon over 25,000 years before this film to access its kyber crystal deposits. The collapsed ruins
of a massive stone statue of a Jedi are perhaps the only remaining evidence of the height of ancient Jedi civilization on the moon,
however the Jedi presence remained, bringing many spiritually minded people to live there or visit the moon, and practitioners
of religions concerned with the Force. As a result Jedha is also known as the Pilgrim Moon, due to the many pilgrims who come
to the holy Jedha City and its Kyber Temple. This temple is venerated by the Church of the Force, and based on the dialogue in
the film had at least a limited Jedi presence until the fall of the Order. The film describes it as an "Imperial Occupied Moon", which
is meant to imply its population is unfriendly to the Empire and is being held by Imperial troops to assert Imperial authority.
Krennic calls the destruction of the holy city the removal of "the last reminder of the Jedi." After the destruction of Jedha City,
it is likely the moon became virtually unvisited. Jedha is dry and deserted, but once had large amounts of water, as evidenced
by the sandy desert which was obviously created by ancient seas and lakes.


- Jyn and Cassian run into Ponda Baba and Dr. Cornelius Evazan on Jedha. They are the disagreeable pair who will interact with Luke and
Obi-Wan less than a week later on Tatooine, seen in Episode IV, resulting in Obi-Wan cutting off Ponda's arm.

- Chirrut Imwe was a member of the Guardians of the Whills, a religious order of monks affiliated with the Church of the Force. The Whills is
another name for the Force, or in Lucas' conception, for god-like, microscopic beings who essentially are the Force. The Guardians
likely have some sort of peripheral relationship with the Jedi, as they were dedicated to the protection of the Kyber Temple. After
the Empire seized the Kyber Temple, Cassian says "they're just causing trouble for everybody." According to Lucasfilm supplementary
material, Chirrut is not Force sensitive at all, which is obviously wrong. The Guardians of the Whills represent those in the galaxy
who have low-level ability to wield the Force, more than the average person but considerably less than a Jedi or Sith. This can be
seen in dozens of examples in this film, beginning with his introduction, when he senses a kyber crystal necklace Jyn is wearing
under her shirt. Although he blind, he uses the predictive sense of the Force with great acumen, which combined with his martial
arts abilities makes him nearly as skilled in using the Force as a Jedi, although he cannot use anywhere near the range of abilities
with the Force as they could. Baze Malbus was also a Guardian, and is also unnaturally talented, in his case his accuracy with a blaster
suggests he has a mild Force aptitude with a slightly different manifestation than Chirrut's. The Guardians' beliefs, and indeed those of
the Church of the Force, are similar to those of the Jedi, emphasizing oneness with the Force. Chirrut proclaims, "the Force is with
me, and I am with the Force. And I fear nothing, for all is as the Force wills it." He also cryptically mentions that "the strongest stars
have hearts of kyber," which is either an ironically timed bit of metaphorical wisdom, or he somehow has some idea about what
the Empire is using the kyber crystals for. That would be very unlikely, so it must be assumed this was a metaphor for Jyn.


- Jyn's father taught her as a child that kyber crystals powered the Jedi lightsabers. It is true that Galen Erso would have known a great deal
more about kyber crystals than the average person, being a leading engineer on a project to buld a kyber crystal based weapon. It is
also clear from the prologue that Jyn's parents has a belief about the Force and passing knowledge of the Jedi which were common.
Main Article: Awareness of the Jedi and the Sith

- Jyn wants Cassian to transmit to the Alliance that they have to go to Scarif to get the plans. Cassian says, "I can't risk sending that. We're
in the heart of Imperial territory." At this point, they are en route from Jedha to Eadu, and thus are passing through the Core region
which is very much the center of Imperial population and power. Hyperspace routes and even communications are likely to be
heavily monitored in this region, and nondescript transmissions must be sent or risk potential exposure to Imperial sensors.
Transmissions to and from Yavin 4 from a small cargo ship must use the relays of Imperial HoloNet in order to communicate at
such huge distances, and that limitation poses a risk of detection no matter how well the signal is encrypted or coded.
Main Article: Hyperspace Communication

- Eadu is a dark, cloud-covered planet located in the Bheriz Sector, in the Slice region of the Outer Rim, near the eastern edges of the galaxy.
The planet is rocky and terrestrial with a breathable atmosphere and ample water, which is perpetually clad in heavy cloud cover and
prone to heavy rain. In this time period, it hosts a top-secret Imperial kyber crystal refinery, which is milling kyber crystals for use in
the Death Star project. According to supplementary material the Empire has designated the planet for chemical processing and
research, and there is perhaps some other industrial activity, as well as a small population of colonial homesteaders.


- Chirrut often uses the prayer "I'm one with the Force and the Force is with me." This is later seen in other material to be a Jedi saying as well.

- The Imperial facility at Eadu uses landing trackers in concert with squadrons on air patrol. In order to decrease the chances of detection,
the approaching U-wing attempts to fly low keeping to the canyon. Scanners in SW are generally lousy, and this tactic combined with
the constant storms should improve the chances of an undetected approach. Whatever "landing trackers" exactly are is uncertain,
however it sounds like technology designed to detect landings, and if so is not very good if it can be fooled by flying low then landing.
Main Article: Scanners, Sensors, and Cloaking Devices

- Chirrut says, "the Force moves darkly near a creature that's about to kill", a description of the natural dark side which is part of life and therefore
the Force. This is related to but not the same as the unnatural dark side, which is when willing beings make evil choices. Killing is part of nature,
although dark, but choosing to kill without necessity goes beyond the balance of light and dark in nature and makes the world unnaturally
worse than it is supposed to be. This is relevant to every person, including Cassian, not only to Force wielders.

- Fortress Vader is Darth Vader's personal residence on Mustafar. It is a Sith temple designed to focus the Force like a tuning fork, and built over
a vergence in the Force which is strong with the dark side. According to supplementary material, Vader is attempting to use this facility to
search the Force using the dark side for the means to resurrect Padme from the dead. More recent non-canon material has suggested that
Vader chose this world, however the earlier impication was that Sidious had chosen this location for two key reasons. The first is that Sidious
does not wish Vader to challenge him, and purposely keeps Vader out of the circles of political power. Isolation on Mustafar keeps Vader far
from the centers of power. The second reason is to remind Vader that he failed to defeat Obi-Wan here and was horribly scared as a result.
Vader's chief attendant is a strange man named Vanee, who is apparently a Sith loyalist.

- Darth Vader was last seen 2 & 1/2 years earlier, at the very end of 7974 (3 BBY), on Malachor in Rebels 'Twilight of the Apprentice' (S2E22).

- The executive Council of the Rebel Alliance is led by former Senator Mon Mothma, and includes Senator Organa of Alderaan alongside three Imperial
Senators who may or may not be currently still seated in the Senate, Senator Jebel of Uyter, Senator Pamlo of Taris, and Senator Vaspar of
the Taldot Sector. This may not be the entirety of the Council, however if it is not it is likely the majority of it. Rebel military leadership is represented
on the Council by General Dodonna of the Army, General Merrick of the Starfighter Corps, Admiral Raddus of the Fleet, and General Draven of
Intelligence, those being the highest ranking member of each branch present on the base at the time. General Lajaie and General Willard of
Rebel military high command are not present, and must have arrived on Yavin 4 sometime between this meeting and the arrival of Leia and
the Millennium Falcon 6 days later. Other officers of various ranks are also attending the meeting but are not seated at the table.



- When Jyn and Cassian are leaving the Rebel meeting and walking to the hangar, an officer uses the public address system to announce,
"General Syndulla, please report to the briefing room." As mentioned above, the Ghost was seen parked at the base, and Hera is
about to be briefed about either this situation or about some other mission that is being planned. When the call comes in about
Rebels on Scarif, Chopper can be seen outside the base. The Ghost is seen in several shots during the assault on Scarif.

- Senator Organa rightly determines that the existence of an active Death Star will mean open warfare regardless of the Alliance Council's vote.
As a result, he returns to Alderaan to prepare his people, which leads to his death 3 days later when the planet is destroyed by the Death
Star. This is his last appearance chronologically. Mon Mothma asks him to seek the aid of his "Jedi friend", which Organa indicates he has
not seen since the Clone Wars, and that Obi-Wan has "lived in hiding since the Emperor's purge." As seen in Episode III, they parted
ways 19 years earlier, when Luke and Leia were split up, and thus Organa is the only person other than Yoda and Luke's in-laws who know
where Obi-Wan can be found. He dispatches Leia due to the sensitive nature of the mission, aboard Alderaan's diplomatic starship,
the Tantive IV, commanded by Captain Antilles. This is intended to complete the setup for Episode IV, although it is unclear why
her ship is later seen to have not departed hours later, then travels inside the Rebel flagship to the Battle of Scarif. It is true that the trip
from Yavin 4 to Scarif uses the same route as traveling from Yavin 4 to Tatooine, and covers most of the distance. That does not explain
why the ship stays docked inside during the battle instead of departing immediately for its important mission. Supplementary material
has since decided that the ship was previously damaged and undergoing minimal but important repairs.

- Scarif is a small, watery planet located in the Abrion Sector, in the Slice region of the Outer Rim. The planet is warm, habitable, and idyllic,
featuring a lush ecosystem on the many islands of varying sizes which sit above Scarif's shallow, planet-wide ocean. Scarif is located in
the same remote sector where Kamino is found, an ideal location for housing secret Imperial projects. As a result, the planet is part
of a restricted exclusion zone established by the Imperial military. The command center for Imperial operations on Scarif is
the Imperial Security Complex and its Citadel Tower, which amongst other functions houses top secret data and other sensitive
valuables. Supplementary material suggests there are other Imperial industrial and military facilities elsewhere on the planet.


- The planetwide defensive shield used by the Empire to protect Scarif is generated from a space station with a single main entry gate. It appears
to be semitransparant, and seems to possess most of the characteristics of a plasma shield, mainly that it acts like a solid surface when
solid matter attempts to penetrate it, and is resistant to blaster fire. Supplementary material suggests that Scarif is small planet, which
means that surrounding the entire planet with such a resilient shield is less energy intensive than it otherwise might be. As the dialogue
in this film suggests, if the Rebel fleet had a bit more firepower, it is possible this shield could be eventually defeated by overtaxing it.
The station acts as a single entry and departure aperture, and entry is restricted to those with appropriate access codes.
Main Article: Shields, Deflectors, and Ray Shields

- Imperial security procedures are simplistic and not particularly impressive, but are at least competent as well as practical considering the scope
of day to day Imperial operations. As seen in Episode VI, the Empire utilizes a system of unique access codes certifying a ship has
clearance to enter or land at an Imperial base, facility, station, or ship. Additionally, Imperial military flights are prearranged so that
an incoming ship should be listed on its destination's arrival schedule. Ships which significantly miss scheduled arrival times are logged
as overdue, as are any ships which go missing and fail to report in, meaning that any stolen or commandeered Imperial ship must be
used quickly or will turn from a stealthy form of entry into a beacon of Imperial interest. Imperial sky controllers direct space and air
traffic around restricted Imperial facilities, and for all incoming military ships. Any deviation from flight paths is also used as a red flag.
Rogue One's ruse was only successful because the ship was logged as having last been at Eadu Flight Station. That facility was closely
linked to the Scarif installation, had been attacked by Rebels thus explaining an unscheduled departure, and having been essentially
destroyed it could not be contacted for verification. The time spent traveling to Yavin first was not enough to warrant 'overdue' status.

- Krennic arrives at Scarif not long after Rogue One, having previously arrived at both Jedha and Eadu shortly after Jyn and Cassian. In the case
of Eadu, Krennic left Jedha shortly after Jyn and Cassian, and traveled to the same location and covered the same distance. That journey
was very long and indirect, and took a sizable part of a day. Both left Eadu at the same time, both with a great sense of urgency and
headed to confer with their superiors about the developing situation, Krennic traveling to Mustafar and Jyn and Cassian traveling to
Yavin 4. Both make their stops brief, then make haste to Scarif. The total length of the separate, two-legged trips is relatively equal, with
Krennic's taking a bit longer. The location of Scarif seems to have been determined in supplementary material to make the timing of
events make sense. These trips are not much more direct than the trip from Jedha to Eadu, and in total must have taken the better
part of a day to complete. This graphic indicates the known locations of the three main characters throughout the film. The lines do
not indicate where they actually traveled, as they would have used major hyperlanes and smaller regional routes and followed what
would appear to be a very indirect path. Travel along the larger hyperlanes is significantly faster than regional routes, which are
themselves much faster than the smaller local routes. Much of their travel here required using indirect routes to speed their arrival.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel


- The commander of Imperial forces on Scarif is General Sotorus Ramda of the Imperial Army. At the time of Krennic's arrival, the executive officer
in the command center of the Citadel Tower is Lieutenant Mytus Adema. The base personnel seen are primarily Imperial Army, however
there are also Naval Infantry officers, and there appear to be stormtroopers from both branches. This is in keeping with other material which
seems to suggest that many, if not most, Imperial military facilities integrate personnel from multiple branches under a unified command.

- General Hurst Romodi informs Moff Tarkin about the Scarif security breach on board the Death Star, of which Tarkin has assumed command.
Romodi was the ranking Operations General and executive officer of the Death Star during its completion and activation, and although he
will soon be replaced by Vice Admiral Motti as executive officer, he will remain part of Tarkin's command staff on the station. He is seen
again 3 days later in Episode IV at Tarkin's staff meeting on the station, where Vader chokes Motti for his insubordination.


As discussed above, in order to setup the opening events of Episode IV, Leia is given a mission to locate and collect
Obi-Wan to enlist his help in the coming war. Several hours later, R2 and C-3PO are seen still at the base on Yavin 4,
meaning the Tantive IV still hasn't left on this urgent business. It is revealed at the end of the film that the ship
was for some reason docked within the Rebel flagship, and for no explained reason was taken to Scarif to an incredibly
dangerous battle and didn't immediately leave upon arrival for Tatooine, which is relatively near to Scarif. This doesn't
really make sense but isn't a continuity error. The film makes it seem like Scarif isn't very far from Yavin 4, however later
released supplementary material from Lucasfilm places Scarif far from Yavin, which as explained above seems to have
been partially out of a very much appreciated desire by the creators to make temporal continuity in this film realistic.
The problem with this is that the Rebels on Yavin 4 get the message that there are Rebels fighting on Scarif only after
the battle on the ground had begun. There is absolutely no way that the forces shown, in the situation they were in
minutes after the battle began, held out for the many hours it would take for Rebel ships to fly from Yavin 4 to Scarif.
The film makes it seem like it took the Rebels a few minutes to get there. All of the Rebel forces arrive at once,
including the flagship carrying the Tantive IV. It therefore makes no difference to the timing that Admiral Raddus had
"already returned to his ship" when the Rebel fighters were seen taking off, as R2 and C-3PO are within his ship when
he arrives at Scarif. They are just standing around, not even preparing to board their ship or a transport to take them
from the surface to the ship in orbit which is urgently preparing to depart. It would then take hours for the Rebel fleet
to reach Scarif, at which point Cassian, Jyn, and the others of Rogue One would have all been killed or captured. This
is probably the result of lack of attention to continuity by the supplement creators who determined Scarif's location,
unless it is the result of deliberate planning by the creators, who listen to disney-Lucasfilm 'experts' who tell them
travel across the galaxy through hyperspace takes an hour at most. This is of course wrong, but has been seen more
than once in disney SW. There is also the possibility that this error is the result of the multiple endings to the film which
were developed and even partially filmed. The late addition of Vader to the end of the film required Scarif to be about
equal traveling distance for Krennic getting there from Eadu via Mustafar and Rogue One from Eadu via Yavin 4.
The insistence by producers that Vader be seen in battle required altering the story such that the Tantive IV was at
the battle so that Vader could pursue it. This would account for most of the inconsistencies in this part of the narrative.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel


- The Rebel Fleet assembled for the assault on Scarif is composed of around thirty starships, based around a single capital ship, the Profundity,
which is a MC75 Star Cruiser and Admiral Raddus' flagship. The bulk of the fleet is composed of about twenty escort-sized ships, including
Nebulon-B frigates, CR90 corvettes, Sphyrna-class 'hammerhead' corvettes, and Braha'tok-class gunships. The modified VCX-100 light
freighter The Ghost is also acting as an escort. The rest of the fleet is composed of a dozen GR-75 'Gallofree' transports. These are
unarmed and very vulnerable, so it is unclear what they are doing here. Their inclusion in Episode V was due to evacuating the base
on Hoth. Their inclusion in the fleet in Episode VI was due to the Rebels having been primarily relegated to roving fleets with no safe
base. It was also possible that they brought troops, intended to board the Death Star or Imperial ships if necessary, as that was an all or
nothing battle of the greatest importance. It is possible that was why so many were included in this battle, bringing troops which may be
needed to assault the planet. That was prevented by the shield, and became unnecessary once Rogue One made contact with the fleet,
so it makes sense that they do nothing in the battle, however that was a lot of unarmed transports full of troops to bring to this battle
that must be guarded in space and are unlikely to be able to be deployed. The starfighter squadrons are Blue, Red, and Gold.

- The Imperial Navy task force assigned to the defence of Scarif is under the command of Admiral Gorin. It is composed of two Imperial-class
destroyers, the Persecutor and Admiral Gorin's flagship, the Intimidator. When the Rebel fleet arrives, the Admiral is not even
awake or on alert despite the battle on the surface. His executive officer, an unidentified Rear Admiral, is in command on the bridge,
as is Commander Cassido, who is the executive officer on duty, and who quickly orders "Get Admiral Gorin, immediately!" Cassido
is incorrectly identified as a Lieutenant by the credits at the end of the film, as his rank insignia clearly indicates that he is a navy
Commander. Since his rank is not mentioned in the film, the insignia is correct and it is the credits which are in error.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- The shield around Scarif prevents transmissions from ships, personal communicators, or any other insufficiently powerful transmitter, even
to ships in orbit. Once patched into the communication tower at Citadel Tower, Bodhi is able to transmit simple messages, however
he indicates that sending something like a large data file would be impossible while the shield is closed.
Main Article: Hyperspace Communication

- Several military craft were seen for the first time in this film. The AT-ACT walkers, All-Terrain Armored Cargo Transport, are similar to the AT-ATs
widely used by the Empire, however they are slightly larger and designed to carry heavy equipment or military supplies rather than troops.
They are often used at bases and in situations involving military engineering or construction, however may also be used to carry heavy
weapons, ammunition, or assault vehicles when used in a combat role. The U-Wings employed by the Alliance are UT-60D gunships,
manufactured by Incom Corporation and featuring one of their usual adjustable-geometry designs with retractable S-foils. Two previously
unseen Sienar Systems craft are also shown used by the Empire, the TIE Reaper and the TIE Striker. The TIE/rp 'Reaper' attack lander is
an armed troop transport capable of providing covering fire. The TIE/sk x1 'Striker' is an atmospheric fighter optimized for providing
air support or establishing air superiority. It features a more aerodynamic design and is lighter than a similarly sized starfighter, as it does
not need to carry equipment necessary for spaceflight. The x1 designation indicates that these are experimental or still in development.


- The Imperial project code names Jyn reads off are Stellarsphere, Mark Omega, Pax Aurora, War-Mantle, Cluster-Prism, Blacksaber, Stardust.
'Stardust' is revealed here to be the name for the Death Star project. It is seen in The Bad Batch that 'War-Mantle' is the project
which began in the early Empire to introduce non-clone volunteers and conscripts into the Imperial military.

- Ion torpedoes disable ships systems, similar to the effect of being hit with an ion canon. A single ion torpedo can disable a starfighter, and
larger numbers of them used in concert are capable of disabling a star destroyer. Ion technology is available to and used by the Empire,
however it is most often employed by the Alliance, which uses it to make up for the inferiority of their forces. The Clone Wars also
introduced the notion that the Rebel Alliance inherited an advantage in ion technology from the Separatist Alliance, which itself
was shown to have had an advantage over the Republic in this field, suggesting the Empire inherited that disadvantage.

- Sphyrna-class 'Hammerhead' corvettes, first seen in Rebels 'A Princess on Lothal' (S2E12), are a product of the Corellian Engineering
Corporation. They are similar in size to other CEC corvettes, and feature familiar design elements. The hammerhead type of light
star cruiser is a design which was used by Republic shipbuilders in many different eras of ancient history. This model of ship is
designed to be capable of being used to ram ships, and thus its use for this in the Battle of Scarif was not extraordinary.


Would a star destroyer being pushed into another star destroyer slice into its hull as is shown here? In fact, the first
destroyer actually crashes into the extruded decks which form the 'integrated island' which sits atop the ship, which are
more exposed and geometrically less resilient than the main body of the ship. The lower decks of the island buckle and
collapse, effectively destroying everything above it including the bridge. The first ship essentially shears off command
section, effectively destroying the ship's systems. Under ordinary conditions, the ships would both be heavily damaged at
the point of contact, however the second ship would begin moving in roughly the same direction as the first, depending
on the angular momentum of the first. This does not happen because of the advanced technology employed by this
civilization. The second ship is still under power, which means its inertial dampers, gravity generators, and other physics
altering devices are still functioning. Admiral Gorin gives the order to reverse thrusters, and although it is too late in this
instance, this would have at least prevented the total destruction of the second ship. These destroyers are not in orbit
around Scarif, they are maintaining a stationary position relative to the shield gate station. They are close enough to
the planet that they would be pulled down without the anti-inertia devices, and thus the second destroyer acts like
any object held in place by a force. As a result, when the first ship hits it the second ship continues to push back and
hold its position until the point that the damage becomes so severe that primary systems are destroyed, at which point
both ships become the helpless victims of gravity. The artificial resistance offered by the second ship means that ordinary
space physics don't apply, and the massive triangular designed hull of the first ship being driven into the block-shaped
decks of the second ship at the angle it was would have continued to smash through decks as is shown in the film.
The quality article linked at the end of this page in 'Further Analysis' explores some of the physics involved in this scene.


- The Death Star's main weapon is used twice in this film, despite the station not being "fully operational" when Episode IV begins. This does
not contradict the original film, since this film each time specifies that only one of the six main reactors for the weapon are
ignited, thus firing the weapon at its lowest setting. This prevents any continuity issues, and works very well with Moff Tarkin's
assertion in Episode IV that it is "time we demonstrated the full power of this station" before heading to Alderaan.

- Vader's flagship star destroyer is the Devastator, first seen in Episode IV. The captain of his destroyer at this time is Commander Shaef
Corssin, who seems very nervous around his boss. The credits to the film incorrectly identify him as General Corssin, an error
which Lucasfilm has admitted, however they incorrectly identify him as a Captain in supplementary material. He is a ship's captain,
however that is not his actual rank. The rank chart developed for this film has incorrectly made navy Captain a higher rank than
Commander, something which is true in many navies on Earth, but is not the case in the SW universe. This has absolutely no
bearing on the film, however it does affect supplementary material and perpetuates this error in later SW material.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

ANALYSIS
The first Death Star was finally completed in 7977 (0 BBY) after more than two decades of design, construction, and re-engineering. Originally
begun during the Clone Wars, the rapid pace of construction had aimed to realize the vision of Sidious' ultimate weapon as soon as possible.
The initial challenge was the scale of the project, not just its physical construction, but the amount of mining, processing, and component
engineering that would be required. This activity would be difficult to conceal in the early Empire, before the nationalization of industry
and growth of the prisoner labor and slave labor sectors. These were developing programs of the Empire which advanced incrementally to
reduce resistance from workers, corporations, and most of all the Senate. These issues were resolved creatively, and as work went on greater
resources and work forces were available to the Empire whose activities could be kept from public view. Nevertheless, the project was not
expected to take a decade, let alone two, but ultimately the physics and engineering required to make the main weapon work proved to be
more difficult to achieve in practice than in theory, causing massive delays. This weapon was designed to be a giant armored lightsaber canon
that Sidious could live in and rule the galaxy from, a concept made a technical possibility thanks to the advanced engineering knowledge of
Geonosian Industries. Although it was based on proven technologies and conceptually possible, no weapon of this scale and technical
complexity had ever been built or tested. The implementation proved so problematic that many within the Empire began to doubt if
the project would ever be anything more than a waste of time and resources. These issues were eventually overcome, but only after a great
deal of research and redesign of the main weapon, alongside other unspecified "setbacks and delays", which Tarkin suggests were numerous.

Keeping the Death Star secret was a priority for the Empire, and yet was ultimately impossible due to the number of people who had to know
something about its existence and purpose, the extreme delay between the start of construction and its activation, and the level of galactic
emergency that it represents. Despite this, the Empire seems to have done an exceptionally good job keeping this from getting out, however
it was ultimately exposed because of its horrific purpose and unique design. Galen Erso, a leading engineer on the project, found the project
reprehensible, and chose to alert the Rebellion to its existence. One Rebel group, the Partisans led by Saw Gerrera, had already begun to learn
of the project before this revelation, due to the decades-long Imperial program to collect kyber crystals. These Force sensitive crystals are found
at the heart of a lightsaber, and huge numbers of kyber crystals ranging from very large to very small are used throughout the main weapon
of the Death Star to channel and magnify the energy produced by the main reactors. Their is no way to explain their collection as anything other
than highly unusual, since most in the galaxy wouldn't have any practical use for them. As a result, Gerrera as well as the Rebel Alliance already
knew the Empire was up to some sort of secret project involving these high-energy crystals. Galen Erso's message that the kyber crystals are for
"a planet killer" weapon connects the dots for the Rebel Alliance, but only as the station finally becomes operational. Cassian seems interested
in Galen Erso when his informant mentions him, suggesting that Cassian may have heard Erso was important to a major project somewhere
else in his intelligence work. This suggests the possibility that Rebel Intelligence had heard other reports which in some way hinted at this project,
without having ever learned enough of the specifics to comprehend the galaxy's peril. Cassian's informant also mentions that "there are spies
everywhere", and it seems likely that Imperial counterintelligence operations played a major role in suppressing leaks about this project.

The Death Star is meant to be the centerpiece of Sidious' domain, and its development is an apt metaphor for his Empire. Both the Death Star
and the Empire were envisioned and planned before the Clone Wars began, and their foundation was laid during that conflict. Both would
require decades to fully develop and had to be kept secret until fully operational. In the case of the Empire, this meant pretending to still be
the Republic with a few security 'upgrades', maintaining a thin illusion of democracy and civil society. In the case of the Death Star, the project
was kept top secret, however could not be entirely hidden, and therefore the construction of huge components for this project were sometimes
designated as being for a massive Imperial mining station. Finally, the completion of both would allow Sidious to drop the remaining pretext of
righteousness and openly rule the galaxy with terror and oppression. This project had to be hidden just as the true nature of the Empire was
concealled, principally by maintaining the pretext of the Imperial Senate's democractic oversight, until the Death Star was fully operational.
Tarkin is understandably concerned that "if the Senate gets wind of our project, countless systems will flock to the Rebellion", considering that
the political positions held and propagated by the Rebellion have recently continued to gain support in the Imperial Senate. This is starting to
become a problem for Sidious, who is now growing impatient since he cannot do away with the Senate before he is certain the weapon will
work. Time has become "an ally of the Rebellion", since the Emperor cannot resolve the growing political crisis without weakening the central
control of the Empire. If he 'tightens his grip', the Rebellion will grow, and if he scales back the security state, the Rebellion will grow, so what
was once an annoying delay in the Death Star project has become an intolerable inability to introduce his checkmate move to the galaxy.

The test firing of the Death Star on Jedha City sought to prove the weapon worked as intended, while simultaneously achieving tactical and
political goals. The security leak from Eadu was traced to Jedha, and the only Rebel group which seemed remotely close to learning about
the Death Star was operational there. Destroying the city took care of both security concerns, while at the same time eliminating a cultural icon
which Krennic describes as "the last reminder of the Jedi." The Galactic Civil War unleashed by these events would see the destruction of cultures,
cities, and even planets of great longevity and historical significance. This kind of history and culture erasing devastation is welcomed by Sith
philosophy, and has been a part of Sidious' program since the Clone Wars. The Empire developed to means to accomplish such devastation on
a large scale even before the Death Star, however like the Separatist Alliance before, the Empire was restrained in its actions by politics and had
to commit its atrocities and outrages when and where few were looking. The successful test of the Death Star means this will no longer be
a concern, however for tactical reasons the Death Star still officially does not exist, and the Senate was informed that Jedha was destroyed in
a mining disaster. As Jedha was a rebellious world and the Empire known to be untrustworthy, many in the galaxy would not believe this cover
story, however the means of this destruction would remain a mystery. Tarkin wants people to suspect this, making the destruction of Jedha City
an Imperial "statement", which will shortly be followed by their "manifesto" with the destruction of Alderaan. The activation of the weapon not
only gives Sidious "a weapon that will bring a swift end to the Rebellion", it also makes the Death Star "the ultimate power in the universe" in
the eyes of power-hungry, materialist Imperial officers who see it as a means to their own personal power. The primary contenders for control
of the station at this point are Tarkin and Krennic, both of whom are loyal to the Emperor's Order which has already afforded them high station,
however are both self-serving enough to recognize that in the long term, control of the Death Star might offer the possibility of overthrowing
the Emperor, or at least succeeding him. The station is a ring of power meant to be used by a dark lord, which at the same time is coveted by men.

Galen Erso is a galactic hero who sacrificed his happiness and ultimately his life in order to provide those who resist the Empire with a slim hope
of destroying the superweapon. His expertise was considered so essential to the project that the Empire conscripted him out of retirement having
hit a development wall they seemingly could not overcome. It is unclear if others would or could have eventually overcome the technical challenges,
however the Emperor's impatience required faster progress, and Erso was not only considered a genius engineer, he was also already privy to
the project and mostly up to speed on the weapons design and the issues which had been run into. After some part of a decade, the work was
still not finished, however by then the Empire no longer needed Erso's insights to complete the project. He therefore ensured they did not learn
of this, and gave them every reason to wish him to continue on in his role, in order that he might embed an exploitable flaw into the system.
The brilliance of the flaw he designed is Imperial engineers would not be able to imagine the unlikely series of events which could lead to a chain
reaction which destroyed the station. The tiny exhaust port would have to be hit with a specific type of weapon in a precise manner, and thus
the opponent would have to know it was there to exploit it. As far as the Empire's analysis showed, the exhaust port was only a marginal concern,
which if hit in battle would cause only limited damage, and at worst temporarily disable systems. As such, they placed heavy turbolaser batteries
above the trench to protect it from fighter attack, not even aware of the possibility of a catastrophic chain reaction. It is only after the Rebel attack
at the Battle of Yavin begins that the Empire is able to analyze what they are attempting to do and realize there is in fact a danger. If the Rebels had
failed to destroy the Death Star at Yavin, the Empire would likely have taken steps to correct this Achilles' heel. This means the Rebels must get Erso's
message, somehow steal the plans from Scarif, conduct an extremely dangerous attack, make a nearly impossible shot, and would only have one
chance, after which the station will be essentially invulnerable. Despite the long odds, Erso's efforts and plans were the only chance the galaxy stood.

The Alliance to Restore the Republic, usually referred to as the Rebel Alliance, is a republican organization made up of Imperial citizens who wish to
supplant and reform the political system. As such, they have established themselves along democratic lines, with a civilian leadership made up of
elected officials presiding over their military forces. Former or current Imperial Senators form the leadership council, and the Alliance essentially
operates as a parallel alternative government to the actual government on Coruscant. The Senators spearheading the Alliance come from worlds
which were pro-negotiation but loyalist during the Clone Wars, worlds which were neutral, and worlds which were members of the Separatist Alliance.
Their various imperatives, especially in response to the existence of the Death Star, reflect the same motivations which guided those worlds' alignment
during the Clone Wars. World's like Taris which were neutral in the Clone Wars to avoid being caught in the crossfire are now unwilling to start a war
which will almost certainly devastate them. Worlds which were Separatist are eager to reassert their independence and destroy the Empire, which
is simply a more tyrannical version of the Republic. Worlds which were loyalist despite opposing the Republic's militarization cared so much about
stability and unity that they sided with the Republic despite its growing imperialism and authoritarianism. They are now eager to fight seeing that
there is no diplomatic approach left to them, and recognizing that democracy in the Empire exists at this point only for show. The Alliance has until
this time tried to limit active engagement with the Empire in favor of building up its forces and aiding resistance to the Empire. The assault on Eadu
was by no means the first Rebel attack of its kind, but in terms of escalation it represented a brazen attack by a military force which was ready for
open combat, as opposed to limited strategic attacks against Imperial operations. It is only now that years of collecting personnel and equipment,
along with establishing bases, a fleet, and an intelligence network, have finally made the Alliance a small but threatening force. The Death Star
renders their entire approach null, as there is no longer a way to influence the Empire politically, and the presence of Rebel forces will lead to
the destruction of planets. This left the factions which were in favor of the war with little option but to attempt the raid on Scarif.

Rebel groups are criminals, and usually not only because of their sedition towards the state. Rebels require supplies and weapons, which the state
is trying to prevent them from acquiring. This means they are obtained primarily through illegal trafficking and theft. Operations against a vastly
superior foe require espionage, with all the unpleasant business that goes along with that, including murder for cover, assassination of enemy
officers and personnel, bombing of manned or unmanned strategic resources, sabotage and destruction of infrastructure used by civilians, and
all sorts of other criminal activity. The ends have to justify the means for those who commit these acts, and most who have gone that far would
prefer to die for the cause they have done these things for rather than give up and have to come to terms with the meaninglessness of what they
had done. As Sun Zi teaches, "to know your enemy, you must become your enemy", and most rebel movements tend to resemble those they are
fighting the longer they grapple with them, as their enemy must be known to be defeated. Saw's Partisans are a prime example of this, as they have
adopted many of the Empire's unethical tactics. The principled leaders of the Alliance have high ideals, but those of their ranks which have done
their dirty work have nonetheless often had to confront the Empire with its own tactics in order to defeat it. Armed groups which resist the state
are always branded as criminals and terrorists by the state, a label which is usually accurate in part or in full. Those unwilling to use criminality and
even political terror to achieve their goals are unlikely to pose an actual threat of toppling an entrenched political entity which has no qualms
about using criminality and terror openly. Of course, not all Rebels who are eager to fight the Empire have the motivation of their conscience and
personal honor. Many, like Admiral Raddus and his Mon Calamari fighters, are simply eager to take the fight to the Empire to free their planets.

The Rebel assault on Scarif was a well-executed plan which succeeded against extreme odds despite reasonable Imperial security procedures and
sound tactical responses. Rogue One infiltrated the Imperial security zone, by-passed the shield and landed at the base without suspicion due to
their stolen ship's particular origin, and Rebel agents were able to enter the base without detection. This was the weakest aspect of security at
Citadel Tower, however the presence of K-2 and his ability to interface with Imperial systems probably nullified any additional identity based
restrictions they may have encountered. What remained was for Rebel troops to take up positions and broadly engage Imperial forces when
the signal was given, and then to maintain the appearance of a significant threat for as long as possible to draw Imperial forces and attention
away from the tower. The Imperial response was a predictable direct response without analyzing the security breach which allowed the Rebels
to land in the first place. A cursory inquest may have revealed something of the Rebel intention, however dispatching forces to smash the incursion
was a necessary response considering that the size of the Rebel force was unknown, and the Rebels effectively maximized the apparent size of their
attack. Imperial victory in the battle was inevitable, even after the arrival of Rebel reinforcements and air support, however the suicidal diversionary
tactic was successful in providing cover for the theft and transmission of the Death Star plans. Ultimately, this would have not succeeded without
the arrival and combat success of the Rebel fleet. Despite the victory of the Imperial forces on the surface, the base is obliterated by the Death
Star upon arrival, ostensibly to silence the transmission of the plans and eliminate any potential remaining security threat, but in reality also
as an excuse for Grand Moff Tarkin to eliminate Director Krennic, who was something of a political rival. The destruction of so much sensitive
Imperial data may have actually been a serious loss for the Empire, but is the kind of blunt, double-edged sword tactic typical of Tarkin.

The Battle of Scarif marked the definitive start of open warfare in the Galactic Civil War, along with the Battle of Yavin, 6 days later, which was
directly precipitated by these events. The naval battle was a major success for the Alliance but a costly one. The Rebel fleet arrived without any
warning from Imperial tracking stations, engaging an Imperial defence fleet composed of two destroyers and numerous squadrons of starfighters.
Rebel forces were probably still outgunned but not by a significant margin, and had the advantage of possessing a range of ship classes with
a variety of specialized capabilities. Their use of combined arms and tactics in the battle was the decisive element that led to their victory in
the primary phase of the battle. Imperial tactics were sound but completely lacking in innovation. Admiral Gorin keeps his destroyers positioned
in a favorable position guarding the shield gate station to prevent Rebel escort cruisers from attacking it at close range. This reduces fire effect
against the Rebel ships and leaves his ships stationary relative to the station, making them easier targets for fighter attack. This battle would
likely not have been won without the successful ion torpedo bombing runs against one of the destroyers, as Rebel firepower had made insufficient
headway in overtaxing the shield. The Rebel fleet would probably not have been able to stand up in the battle long enough to bring the shield
down with sustained fire due to the Imperial fighter attacks. Using the mass of the Imperial ships to destroy the station projecting the shield
was a decisive victory for the Alliance, particularly as it achieved the mission objective of gaining possession of the vital Death Star designs.
In tactical terms it was a major Rebel victory, however with the arrival of Vader on the Devastator and the Death Star, those Rebel ships
which were unable to flee were mostly destroyed, including the Rebel fleet's flagship which was their only mainline cruiser. Considering what
portion of the Rebel fleets resources were lost, and how long it had taken to gather these forces, this was beyond acceptable losses for a mission
objective, if not for the absolute necessity of acquiring the Death Star designs. These ships would not be available for the pivotal Battle of Yavin
later in the week, along with many fighters and pilots from the various Rebel squadrons, including all of Blue Squadron, which was lost here.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
The Physics of Ramming an Imperial Star Destroyer, Explained
This is What George Lucas Thinks of "Rogue One"
Rogue One and the Rise of Deepfake Movies