The Adjudicator, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, saw action with the Imperial Navy during the era of the Galactic Civil War. Captain Kronn held command of this vessel, which, alongside two other Star Destroyers, was stationed in orbit above Cymoon 1. When the Alliance to Restore the Republic destroyed the moon's Weapons Factory Alpha, the Adjudicator's blockade was unable to prevent the Millennium Falcon from escaping, prompting [Darth Vader](/article/anakin_skywalker], the Dark Lord of the Sith, to Force choke Kronn in response.
The Adjudicator, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, stretched 1,600 meters in length. The Star Destroyer also featured a hangar bay, communications arrays, sublight engines, and a pair of deflector shield generator domes.
During the Galactic Civil War, Captain Kronn was in command of the Adjudicator, a vessel of the Imperial Navy. Following the Battle of Yavin, the Star Destroyer took up a position in orbit around the moon Cymoon 1, site of the Galactic Empire's extensive Weapons Factory Alpha. In 0 ABY, the factory came under attack and was obliterated by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, who sought to depose the Empire. After the destruction of the factory, the rebel group, which included Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, and Han Solo, found themselves pursued by Darth Vader, the Imperial enforcer and Dark Lord of the Sith.
As they fled in the Millennium Falcon, their freighter, the rebels were intercepted above Cymoon 1 by a blockade consisting of the Adjudicator and two other Imperial-class Star Destroyers. Despite this, the rebel ship successfully escaped into hyperspace. Upon being informed of this failure, Sith Lord Vader, who was on the moon below, used a telekinetic choke against the Imperial officer.
The Adjudicator made its debut in current Star Wars canon in Star Wars 3, a comic released as part of Marvel Comics' 2015 Star Wars series. Jason Aaron penned the issue, John Cassaday provided the illustrations, and it was released on March 11, 2015.
In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the Adjudicator, which would later be renamed the Liberator, was an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. Its initial mention occurred in Dark Empire 1, a comic book by Dark Horse written by Tom Veitch and published on December 12, 1991. It then appeared in the 1993 vignette "Down And Out On Coruscant," authored by Michael Allen Horne for the Dark Empire Sourcebook. The interactive PC CD-ROM game Star Wars: Behind the Magic ( 1998 release) identified the Adjudicator as one of the Imperial-class Star Destroyers featured in the original trilogy films, specifically Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Consequently, the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back became, retroactively, the Adjudicator's first appearance in Legends.