The destruction of Alderaan was a pivotal moment in galactic history as the Empire demonstrated
the full destructive power of the Death Star battlestation and their willingness to use
such a weapon on a world that was populated by billions of beings.
While those who opposed the Empire were beyond horrified by the planet's destruction, what
were the reactions of loyal Imperial officers and stormtroopers on board the Death Star
who witnessed the destruction of Alderaan right before their eyes?
We get to see these reactions through the book Lost Stars, as well as a few more additional
point of views from the official Manga adaptation of the book which has been roughly translated
into English by a few fans.
When the command to prepare the battlestation’s main weapon to commence fire on Alderaan was
given, every available personnel within the death star was ordered to a window to get
a clear view of the planet right before it met its demise.
Among the people Lost Stars follows is Thane Kyrell, who had just recently graduated from
an Imperial academy and had been transferred to the Death Star battlestation.
At this point he had no clue of the station’s true purpose, so when he saw that it was nearing
Alderaan he could have never imagined what was about to happen next.
Actually upon seeing the planet he remembered how beautiful it was described to him by his
friend and former academy cadet Nash, who came from that world.
Initially Thane believed that they were over Alderaan to show the people the Empire’s
newest space station as a way to celebrate the marvel of constructing something so grand.
Unknown to him however, it would be the last thing the people of Alderaan would ever see.
In the group that Thane was in a superior among them gave a brief speech on showing
the Empire’s power and the will of the Emperor right before the superlaser was fired.
Upon seeing Alderaan’s destruction, a few Imperials laughed and cheered, a few cried,
but most were silent, too shocked to fully process what they just had witnessed.
The superior among them finished off his quick speech of stating that all those who continue
to oppose the Empire will meet a similar fate.
Thane was beyond horrified at what he had witnessed and couldn’t understand why the
Empire would do such a thing, and as a result it sparked his first thoughts of desertion.
Thane’s long time friend who came from his same homeworld, Ciena Ree, was also horrified
at what she had witnessed.
She and her close friend Jude tried to find reasoning in the Empire’s actions.
Jude explained that the Empire destroyed Alderaan in order to show the Rebel Alliance just how
much power they have at their disposal, and that it would pointless for them to continue
to fight.
She rationed that in doing so would prevent a full out war in the galaxy, that destroying
Alderaan was a sacrifice that needed to be made in order to save more lives.
Although 4 billion lives were taken from Alderaan’s destruction, it in turn will prevent hundreds
of billions of people from dying from a full blown galactic civil war that would have happened
otherwise.
It was a necessary sacrifice to maintain the peace and stability that the galaxy currently
had.
Although still deeply disturbed by what had happened and not fully convinced by Jude’s
rationalization, Ciena remained loyal to the Empire due to an oath she took many years
ago.
Then we have Nash, the guy who was from Alderaan.
He lost everything when the planet was destroyed, including his entire family.
Of course when he saw it happen he nearly fainted as everything he knew and loved was
just destroyed right before his eyes.
He became depressed for a short while, but nonetheless remained loyal to the empire.
But as time went by he became almost obsessively loyal to the empire, a fanatic to the Imperial
cause.
He came to justify the death of his planet and family as a necessary sacrifice to ensure
the Empire’s goals of bringing peace and order to the galaxy.
He later admitted to a friend who asked how he could still be loyal to a government that
murdered his family, that the Empire was all he had left in his life and that he needed
to serve it, that he needed to be of some use to something in the galaxy.
We also get to see the reactions of regular stormtroopers of what had happened, with most
of them being super exhilarated over the death star’s power and nearly unaffected over
the death of billions of people.
They were also excited over the fact that the Rebels they have been fighting will likely
surrender following the news of Alderaan’s destruction.
A TIE Pilot also believed that the Rebels were likely to stop fighting as a result,
sounding relieved at the thought.
Some Imperials, those who were deeply loyal to the Empire, gained a somewhat sadistic
pleasure after they learned Alderaan was destroyed, as they believed that it was a planet that
was rooted in the Rebel Alliance, and that it deserved to be obliterated for its treacherous
actions.