Many Trekkies love to perpetuate the falsehood that a "Base Delta Zero" operation was performed on Yavin 4 in "Darksaber". However, for those of us that can actually READ, we see that this was NOT the case, and doesn't even come close to mirroring the effects of ACTUAL "BDZ" bombardments in other instances in the EU.
The basic premise is to quote Admiral Daala ordering all turbolaser batteries to strike Yavin 4, and then chortle like a madman by stating that since Yavin 4 wasn't destroyed, this proves that a BDZ op is not as devastating as SW fans claim.
Darksaber (hardcover)
pg.292: "We strike from orbit.All turbolaser batteries, full strength. Fire at will, targeting any structures in the jungle."
First of all, a true BDZ op would consist of using the heaviest weapons on a Star Destroyer. According to the Star Wars Sourcebook, turbolaser batteries are mounted in five-gun units. Each battery contains three turrets, two of which are double-mounted, and one single-mounted. These are NOT the heavy turbolaser turrets that line both sides of the superstructure of Star Destroyers.
Click here for a picture of heavy turbolasers on a Star Destroyer. (Photo Courtesy: SWTC)
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She could not have been holding any turbolaser weapons back. From the STAR WARS Databank:
Wrong again, Poe. And, since canon overrides the EU, the Sourcebook term "turbolaser batteries" is clearly in error, unless those weapons seen on Star Destroyers have coverings over the multiple barrels or something silly like that. |
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Nope, I'm pointing out that putting HTLs under the heading "turbolaser batteries" is incorrect. That's based on the Star Wars Sourcebook, the canon picture above, and even among the EU writers, which is why KJA had Daala say "all turbolaser BATTERIES". The Star Wars Sourcebook is one of the early sources the EU writers had to go by, not a generalized blurb from sw.com (which wasn't there until the recent web upgrade.) Again, the HTLs aren't in "batteries"; note this passage from Isard's Revenge:
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You cannot base your argument off of the Sourcebook definition of that term for two reasons—— |
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Sorry, I'm MORE than justified in using it. The Sourcebook and the canon were the main sources of information KJA used in writing Darksaber, so my references from those sources are valid. |
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First, the use you assign is contradicted by other non-canon, describing an ISD as exclusively using turbolaser weapons in turbolaser batteries, |
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No, not unless you misrepresent what has been written, as shown by the quote above, the EU writers have a clear understanding of the differences and specifics. |
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You're screwed no matter which way you go, unless you back up. |
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My ass isn't the one that's bleeding. Here, have a tissue... |
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Turbolaser batteries is a non-canon misnomer for all the turbolaser weapons of an Imperial starship. |
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Where canon is silent, the EU is perfectly valid if it does NOT contradict canon. Which I proved with the picture, and the Isard's Revenge quote. |
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You're mixing up the arguments, Poe, in the hope of slipping past the main idea. |
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No, I'm well aware of your main idea, and how your delusions about canon and the EU are represented here. Like everyone else, I'm simply not buying it. |
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All turbolasers, full power. |
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Wrong again: Darksaber (Hardcover)
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Just because she was not ordering a BDZ is irrelevant...all weapons at full power is the part you must deal with. |
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And I have. You also have to deal with Daala's full quote: Darksaber (Hardcover)
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"Wah!!! But it isn't a BDZ!!!" is just a red herring. |
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Actually, trying to claim it should represent a BDZ is a red herring. But you already knew that. |
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It must, if full power turbolasers start forest fires. |
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And? Did you know that when you step under a shower your hair will get wet at the same time your head will? Same analogy with the Great Temple and the surrounding jungle. |
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There is no 200 gigaton hit on the surface of the planet, or anything even close. |
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Of course not. Daala wouldn't want to kill her own troops. That's why she ordered the full power turbolaser battery blasts against the STRUCTURES in the jungle, NOT Y4's surface. Obviously, she wasn't about to fire full power blasts into the jungle itself. The full power blasts from the turbolaser batteries were easily absorbed by the Great Temple: Darksaber (Hardcover)
Which is backed up by the canon STAR WARS novelization:
Despite Callista's ill-informed opinion: Darksaber (Hardcover)
And since the jungle surrounded the Great Temple, its no wonder it was set ablaze: Darksaber (Hardcover)
Anyway, as I've shown, again, you're incorrect. |
So, let's review:
A "Base Delta Zero" command was NEVER ordered. The Knight Hammer was firing at certain structures, NOT performing a "Base Delta Zero" operation. If anyone can find a quote in "Darksaber" where a BDZ is ordered, please e-mail me. Remember, this is an order that is SPECIFIC, and doesn't change:
A World to Conquor, Star Wars Adventure Journal #2,
"Blasting a planet from orbit is easy—you don't need me to tell you how to do that. Limited orbital strikes would occur during the invasion stage. Just hope you are never given a Base Delta Zero order, lieutenant. Ah, yes, another question?"
"Sir, what's the Base Delta Zero order?"
"Base Delta Zero is the Imperial code order to destroy all population centres and resources, including industry, natural resources and cities. All other Imperial codes are subject to change, as you well know, but this code is always the same to prevent any confusion when the order is given. Base Delta Zero is rarely issued. ....""Sir, what about bombardment? Is there a stage for that?"
And what did Pellaeon do once he reached Yavin 4? Why, he deployed ground troops, didn't he?
Darksaber (Hardcover)
pg.276: "Strike teams prepare," he said. "We launch in five minutes. All Terrain Scout Transports and jungle assault vehicles will be the first wave. TIE fighters will provide air cover."
This is hardly a command one would employ if the surface of a world is to be completely destroyed. Obviously, Pellaeon knows exactly what result Daala wants, which is backed up by her musings about the event:
pg.277: After today, when Daala departed in triumph, the jungle moon of Yavin 4 must be no more than a cinder. Every last Jedi student had to be killed, their bodies strwen about the burning jungle as an unmistakable message to those who would still dare resist the Empire.
Direct evidence of what Daala wants exactly. There can be no burning jungle if the crust is slagged. Also, how the fuck do you destroy a world as a BDZ attack indicates, AND still leave corpses behind? Do you garrote the Jedi Padawans, load their bodies in a shuttle, perform a BDZ, then dump their bodies back down on the planet? Obviously not.
Then we have the following quote, which proves that Daala is as mixed up as a transsexual at an abortion clinic:
pg.266: "You will take your fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers directly to Yavin 4 and proceed with its complete destruction. I will follow in the Night Hammer with sufficient force to occupy the Rebel base permanantly".
"Occupy the rebel base permanently"? Hmm...how does one occupy a base that is on a small jungle moon that she ordered "destroyed?" And how, ladies and gents, does one occupy a base that Pellaeon says they will destroy before the rebels know they are on the march? Curiouser and curiouser. Sure doesn't sound like anything even remotely resembling a BDZ will be taking place there.
There can be no bodies left lying around in a non-existent jungle. Therefore, we once again know exactly what Daala ordered: the death of all Jedi students, the destruction of their training center, and a burning jungle.
She ALSO wants to occupy said destroyed training center, so once AGAIN, we have evidence against anything resembling a BDZ, which, in the example of Caamas, leaves firestorms burning for years on the surface, uses enough firepower that the vegetation boils off the world, leaves the world a dead rock, and the vast majority of the population dead on it. That would be a tad difficult to garrison, wouldn't you say?
I, Jedi
pg. 433: "Well back before I was born, right after the Clone Wars, the world of Caamas was brutally attacked and hit with enough firepower that the vegetation boiled off the world, leaving it a dead rock, and the vast majority of the Caamasi dead on it. Because of the thoroughness and sheer ferocity of the attack, no one knew who had ordered it or carried it out."
Why is there not ONE LINE in Darksaber where Daala is SURPRISED that there are ground troops down on a moon that Trekkies assume was to be BDZed?
This is presumed only if one is employing a strawman and intentionally refusing to look at all the evidence. Phasers that bore into planets in Trek aren't simply full-powered phasers; they need to be fine tuned for two hours for this purpose. The same can be said of BDZ turbolasers. A BDZ of a planet is a specialized order; not something an ISD is set up to do on the spot.
No BDZ was ordered. No BDZ was attempted. No crust was turned to slag.
