Yavin IV

Yavin 4 (also spelled Yavin IV) is a forested satellite in the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. Located in the Outer Rim, this moon orbits the gas giant Yavin.

He appears primarily in the film Rogue One and Episode IV, the exterior scenes of which are primarily filmed at the Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala.

In addition, Yavin 4 appears in the Star Wars Rebels television series, video games, and comics. She is also quoted in the novels of the films in which she appears and in other novels.

Geography

Location

The Yavin system is located in the Gordian Reach sector of the Outer Rim. The star of this system is also called Yavin, since it is the third and last planet from the center. This planet, a gas giant, has 26 satellites, the fourth being Yavin 4.

Topography

The surface of Yavin 4 is covered by forests, swamps, and jungles. The pyramidal temples built by the Massassi rise within this environment. The largest of these, the Great Temple, becomes the main base of the Rebel Alliance.

This natural satellite is covered by oceans on a third of its surface. The remaining two thirds are shared between four continents. There is no continental drift on Yavin 4. Tectonic plates do not move relative to each other. No ocean is isolated from the others. There are mountain ranges and volcanoes on this moon. The latter are at the origin of a dynamic that allows the creation of very high flow watercourses.

Fauna and flora

The planet has an important biodiversity. Massassi trees, with their mauve bark, surrounded by climbing ferns, pomegranate mushrooms and bioluminescent orchids, figure prominently in the local flora and stindaril rodents, predators that prey on golden whispering birds in particular. On land there are runyips, herbivores, and swarms of piranha beetles. The marshes of this satellite are home to alligator crabs that are chased by caparisoned eels. Aquatic gundarks, slime salamanders, glass snakes, and tirsls are also found in the waters. Finally, subterranean leviathan worms feed on the roots of Massassi trees.

History

Before the Battle of Yavin

In 5000 BBY, the ancient warrior species known as the Massassi lived on Yavin 4 and built the Massassi Great Temple. Being enslaved by the Sith, the Massassi would have been extinct by the time the rebels used their temple during the Galactic Civil War as a base of operations against the ruling Galactic Empire. It was from this base that Operation Fracture was organized to take place on Jedha.

Battle of Yavin

With the Death Star approaching, Y-wings from Gold Squadron and X-wings from Red Squadron and Green Squadron were dispatched to carry out the attack plan. A total of 30 ships were deployed in the assault on the Death Star: 8 Y-wings making up Gold Squadron and 22 X-wings, 12 making up Red Squadron and the rest making up Green Squadron. Starfighters cut their way between the weapons emplacements, destroying many as they passed. Red Six Jek Porkins was the first to be destroyed in the turret barrage. The deployment of Imperial TIE fighters, including Lieutenant Iden Versio, devastated the Rebel attackers, destroying them far faster and more efficiently than the station's gun emplacements had been able to. Red Four John D. Branon was the first to be shot down by the incoming TIEs.

During the battle, the rebels at the temple, including the pilots left behind, watched the battle from the command center, along with Nera Kase. She accounted for the Rebel starfighter losses as they occurred during the battle.

At some point during the battle, Imperial officer Jude Edivon aboard the Death Star identified the threat of the Rebels' attack strategy and attempted to warn his superiors of the danger. However, Grand Moff Tarkin ignored the warning and refused to evacuate. Meanwhile, Darth Vader himself decided to lead a squadron of TIE fighters to destroy the remaining rebel fighters.

The first attack was executed by a trio of Y-wings from Gold Squadron. The three Y-wings, led by Gold Leader Jon Vander with Gold Two Dex Tiree and Gold Five Davish Krail escorting, attempted to fire on the port of escape but were shot down by Darth Vader. A second round of attack was made by a trio of Red Squadron X-wings flown by Red Leader Garven Dreis, Red Ten Theron Nett, and Red Twelve Puck Naeco. Darth Vader stopped Theron and Puck, but Dreis was able to fire a shot into the exhaust port. However, his proton torpedoes missed his mark, only scratched the surface. Before being shot down by Darth Vader, Dreis ordered another round of attack.

Following Red Leader's final order, Red Five Luke Skywalker led the final attempt with Red Two Wedge Antilles and Red Three, Luke's old friend Biggs Darklighter, as wingmen. Speeding through the trench, they found themselves being followed by Darth Vader and his fighters.

Vader personally damaged Antilles' fighter, forcing it to retreat, and destroyed Darklighter's X-wing, forcing Skywalker to attempt the shot on his own. However, at this terrible moment, Rebel Command was concerned when the young pilot senselessly disabled his aiming system for the attempt, but Skywalker assured them that nothing was wrong; Obi-Wan Kenobi's spirit advised him to trust the Force for his attack. For his part, Vader sensed this power for himself and found firing on the fighter unusually difficult, with a single attack putting the fighter's astromech droid out of commission. As Vader prepared to finally shoot down the enemy, one of his wingmen was suddenly dropped from above next to him. The source of that attack was the Millennium Falcon coming out of the light of the nearby star. Han Solo and Chewbacca, believed to have deserted the rebels before the assault, unexpectedly returned to aid Skywalker in his most desperate hour.

Momentarily distracted by the intervention, Vader's remaining pilot tried to shield him, but collided with his ship, spiraling into the side of the trench and knocking Vader off the Death Star, allowing Skywalker to fire into the port of exhaust. With the help of the Force, the torpedoes were fired along the trench and entered the shaft perfectly, as the two surviving X-wings, the lone surviving Y-wing, and the light freighter marching toward Yavin 4. The Rebel pilots Survivors included Skywalker, Antilles, and Gold Three Evaan Verlaine. On the macro-bridge, unaware of his impending doom, Tarkin continued to survey the battle as the technicians counted down the moments until firing began. Just seconds before the superlaser could destroy the moon, torpedoes hit the reactor and the gigantic station exploded, killing all on board and saving Yavin 4.

After the Battle of Yavin

After the temple was abandoned by the rebels, a special reporter was sent to Yavin 4 to write a warning to travelers about the ruins.

Next, a rebel force was sent to the moon to seize data centers abandoned by the rebels from their previous occupation of the temple. However, the Empire learned of this and sent its forces to secure the temple for their own purposes. At the time of the Battle of Hoth, multiple battles between the Alliance and the Empire would take place on the moon's surface.

After leaving the Rebellion, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron settled on Yavin 4 and planted a branch of a Force-sensitive tree on the moon.