The Eclipse represented the inaugural vessel of the Eclipse-class dreadnought line and served as both the prototype and leading ship of its classification. Constructed to function as a flagship for Emperor Palpatine, it became his mobile command center following his reincarnation within a clone body. Functioning as both an instrument of technological supremacy and psychological impact, the Eclipse possessed firepower equivalent to an entire planet's arsenal, rendering it nearly invincible.
The Eclipse was outfitted with a wide array of weaponry and advanced technologies, including gravity well projectors, but its primary armament was an axial superlaser. This devastating weapon was capable of fracturing a planet's surface or obliterating a capital ship with a single discharge.
For a significant portion of its existence, the Eclipse remained under construction in orbit around Kuat. The crime lord Tyber Zann executed a raid against the vessel in 4 ABY, seizing it from Galactic Empire forces to extract data from its memory systems. Shortly after this, he relinquished control, recognizing the immense target it presented to both Imperial and Rebel Alliance forces. Subsequently, the ship was relocated to Byss, where the resurrected Emperor Palpatine assumed command, utilizing it as his personal battle station and flagship. Leading his newly formed Dark Empire, the Eclipse spearheaded an attack against the New Republic stronghold on Da Soocha V in 10 ABY. During this engagement, it was annihilated by one of Palpatine's own Force storms.
As the lead ship of the 17.5 kilometer Eclipse-class dreadnought, the Eclipse served as the archetype for its class, with only one other ship of the same design ever being brought to completion. Its hull, composed of a jet-black alloy of durasteel and quadranium, contributed to its reputation as the most lethal capital ship in the galaxy. In terms of volume, the Eclipse was among the largest warships ever created and the largest Star Destroyer ever produced, though it was slightly shorter in length compared to the 19 kilometer Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts and Vengeance-class dreadnoughts. The design of its hull also drew inspiration from naval vessels of bygone eras.
The interior layout of the Eclipse mirrored that of a Star Destroyer, but it also incorporated repair facilities and docking bays reminiscent of those found on space stations. The ship featured multiple war rooms suitable for high-level meetings of Imperial Navy officers. Troop accommodations were situated near the bow, at the rear of the keel-like structure. The primary launch bay and hangar were located approximately midships, with the secondary launch bay positioned about 2.5 kilometers behind them. Additional, smaller hangars were distributed throughout the ship, designed to accommodate shuttles and similar craft. The expansive hangars on the Eclipse were capable of housing a Victory-class Star Destroyer. In practice, they contained 600 TIE Interceptors, organized into fifty squadrons, and 96 TIE bombers, comprising eight squadrons. The Eclipse's complement of fighter escorts alone could challenge nearly any New Republic fleet.
Regarding offensive capabilities, the Eclipse was armed with 550 heavy laser cannons, 500 turbolasers, 75 ion cannons, and a superlaser positioned along the ship's central axis, collectively representing the firepower of an entire planet. As one of the most heavily armed warships ever constructed, the Eclipse was capable of independently engaging an entire New Republic fleet. Its combat prowess was unmatched, and its destruction through unconventional means suggests it would have remained a formidable asset for the Empire even without supporting vessels. Additional combat technologies included ten gravity well projectors, capable of preventing enemy ships from entering hyperspace, 100 tractor beams, and an advanced shield system. The combined strength of the shield systems and hull design allowed the Eclipse to ram enemy vessels without sustaining significant damage.
While primarily designed for space combat, the Eclipse was also equipped for ground assault operations. The 150,000 troopers stationed aboard the vessel were specially selected, including a CompForce Assault Battalion, a newly formed legion of Royal Guards, and a contingent of Imperial Sovereign Protectors serving as Palpatine's personal guard. Five prefabricated garrison bases and 100 All Terrain Armored Transports completed the Eclipse's ground forces. The vessel also carried a crew of 708,470, including 4,175 gunners, though it could operate with a reduced crew of 88,500. The Eclipse had a tonnage of 600,000 metric tons, carried consumables sufficient for 10 years, and was fully self-sufficient.
The ship's communications tower was located atop the bridge, with the main communications array extending from its side, and the long-range communications system extending downward from the prow. The communications systems on the Eclipse possessed the ability to broadcast across all frequencies, effectively drowning out other signals, as demonstrated by Emperor Palpatine during his invasion of the Cyax system in 10 ABY. Palpatine maintained a private command console on board, providing access to his personal records. The bridge tower of the Eclipse was asymmetric, with the primary sensor array positioned on the opposite side of the bridge from the communications array, and the deflector shield command center situated atop the tower.
A set of six drive engines located at the stern of the Eclipse provided a sublight acceleration of 940 G, while the ship's hyperdrive was rated at 2x, with a backup hyperdrive rated at 6x. Both sublight and hyperdrive systems were enhanced to maximize the Eclipse's responsiveness.
The superlaser, concealed along the spine of the ship, was the most significant technological advancement incorporated into the Eclipse's design. Drawing upon technology from the Death Star, the Eclipse's superlaser could fire at two-thirds the power of one of the Death Star's superlaser components, a capability made possible by advancements in superlaser focusing and generator technology. This weapon could obliterate even the most formidable planetary shields and entire continents instantaneously. It could also fracture planetary crusts and destroy enemy capital ships with a single shot, although early in the Eclipse's construction, the laser was prone to malfunctions. Aiming the superlaser was a complex process, requiring the entire vessel to be aligned with the target. According to Admiral Motti in the field manual Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, the superlaser's primary function was to penetrate planetary shields and destroy cities in a single blast.
The Eclipse possessed the firepower of an entire planet, making it a formidable opponent in conventional ship-to-ship engagements. Furthermore, its heavy hull plating and robust shields allowed it to be used as a ramming weapon, capable of destroying enemies through sheer kinetic force. According to Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, the Eclipse, along with its class and the Sovereign class, were intended in early development to be next-generation Star Dreadnoughts for the purpose of solidifying Imperial rule within the next century.
Beyond its combat capabilities, the Eclipse was designed to serve as a psychological weapon. Its immense size and dark hull created a powerful impression on enemies, often demoralizing opposing forces in battle. Its design, reminiscent of ancient naval vessels, further enhanced its intimidating image. In addition to its role as a warship, the Eclipse also functioned as an orbital space station above the Imperial capital of Byss for a period of time. It served as a constant reminder of Imperial dominance to the population of Byss and as a meeting place for high-ranking officers of the Imperial Navy.
The Eclipse, alongside the Eclipse II, was commissioned directly by Palpatine to serve as a symbol of Imperial might, designed to meet his precise specifications. As the first of a new series of Super Star Destroyers and the latest addition to the Empire's extensive arsenal of superweapons, construction of the Eclipse commenced around the time of the Battle of Yavin, above Kuat. While not the only prototype of the Eclipse-class dreadnought, as another was converted into the mobile superlaser platform known as the Tarkin, it was the first of its class to be completed. Palpatine visited the vessel on several occasions during the initial stages of construction. However, its completion was delayed due to Palpatine's demise and the subsequent power vacuum.
The crime lord Tyber Zann, leader of the Zann Consortium, first learned of the Eclipse shortly after Yavin, while investigating rumors of hidden treasure vaults belonging to Palpatine. Within the wreckage of the Death Star, Zann's crew recovered data pods containing details and construction schedules for the Eclipse. Believing that the records he sought were stored on the warship, Zann vowed to capture it. Within months of the Battle of Yavin, Zann had already dispatched agents to investigate the Eclipse, an action that did not go unnoticed by the Empire.
An Imperial armada was assigned to guard the Eclipse at Kuat, and despite Zann's efforts to exploit weaknesses in the Imperial blockade, it would be four years before he made his move. The crime lord discovered that the pass key to Palpatine's command console on the Eclipse was kept in a vault within the Imperial Archives on Coruscant. As Palpatine and Darth Vader traveled to the Death Star II in preparation for the Battle of Endor, Zann launched his raid on the archives. He succeeded, and soon seized the opportunity to capture the Eclipse amidst the chaos following the Imperial defeat at Endor. The ships that would normally be guarding the warship had to regroup upon their return from Endor, and so Zann took his forces to Kuat.
The Rebel Alliance also dispatched a force to the system. Zann claimed his intention was to destroy the Eclipse, and while the Alliance engaged Imperial forces, his fleet moved towards the vessel. As a battle erupted between the rebels and the Empire, Zann's crew boarded the Eclipse via boarding shuttle, seized control, and activated the superlaser. The Consortium turned the superlaser on the amassed fleets, and with their motives revealed, the rebels turned on them.
As the conflict intensified, an Imperial fleet commanded by the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Annihilator arrived from hyperspace to reinforce the dwindling Imperial forces, after the Rebel Alliance navy had retreated. Unfortunately for the Consortium, the superlaser failed at this moment. However, Zann's boarding party aboard the Eclipse was soon able to reactivate the superlaser and destroy much of the Imperial fleet, after which the Consortium fleet mopped up the rest. After retrieving the pertinent data from Palpatine's records he abandoned the Eclipse for the Empire to retake. Zann knew the ship was too big of a target for the Empire and Alliance to ignore, and so left it to the Imperial Navy to complete its construction.
The Eclipse became a symbol of the flaws inherent in Palpatine's military strategy. Imperial naval planners disapproved of the excessive expenditure on a single, massive vessel instead of a larger number of smaller ships, viewing it as a wasteful act of self-aggrandizement. Following Palpatine's apparent death at the Battle of Endor, it was argued that such acquisitions could no longer be justified. Some even suggested scrapping it and using the freed resources to build more Star Destroyers. However, Palpatine had not truly died. While the galaxy believed him to be deceased, the Emperor had escaped to a clone body on Byss, and under his command, construction of the Eclipse continued.
Nevertheless, the completion of the vessel seemed perpetually delayed. The Eclipse was said to have taken as long to construct as either of the Empire's Death Stars. Throughout its extended construction period, the builders incorporated decades' worth of technological advancements, including gravity well projectors, enhanced ion cannons, and improvements to the sublight engines and hyperdrive.
In 8.5 ABY, the partially completed Eclipse departed Kuat for the Deep Core, utilized by the Kuat Drive Yards staff as they evacuated when the planet fell to the New Republic. It became a permanent fixture in orbit around Byss, where construction resumed, aided by slave labor, and was eventually completed. During this period, it served as an orbital battle station, where Grand Admirals and other high-ranking members of the Imperial navy convened to formulate Imperial strategy. From its bridge, Palpatine directed his fleets in their campaign against the New Republic.
In 10 ABY, Palpatine finally decided to launch his offensive against the New Republic, selecting the world of Mon Calamari as the first major Republic world to be targeted. Following an initial assault on the planet using his World Devastators, Palpatine intended to personally lead the final attack on Mon Calamari from the Eclipse. However, his commander, the defected Rebel Luke Skywalker, sabotaged the Devastators, securing a New Republic victory.
Determined to destroy his opposition, Palpatine deployed the Eclipse in other battles, where its mere presence often scattered enemy fleets without a single shot being fired. Its already formidable reputation was amplified when Palpatine designated it as his personal flagship.
After the setback at Mon Calamari, Palpatine identified a new target: the Republic headquarters on Da Soocha V. Accompanied by a Star Destroyer escort, including two Allegiance-class battlecruisers, the Eclipse entered the Cyax system, nearly destroying a Corellian gunship in the process. The New Republic immediately identified the massive vessel as Palpatine's flagship.
As the Rebels initiated emergency broadcasts, the Eclipse's communications systems overrode all frequencies, transmitting a message from Emperor Palpatine to Leia Organa Solo, demanding that she board his shuttle and be brought to the Eclipse. Leia was taken to a small hangar near the bow of the ship, where she was escorted off the shuttle to meet the Emperor. Through the Force, Leia sensed only oppression and the dark side emanating from the vessel.
Leia met with Palpatine and her brother Luke Skywalker in a room much farther aft, close to the bridge. Leia, despite Palpatine's efforts, was able to convince Luke to turn against the Emperor. In response, Palpatine summoned a Force storm, an immense surge of dark side energy, and unleashed it upon the massed New Republic fleet. Drawing upon their own Force abilities, Luke and Leia created a wave of light side energy that stunned Palpatine and disrupted his control over the storm. The Force storm, no longer under Palpatine's command, began to consume the Eclipse. As the Jedi escaped the doomed flagship, the storm obliterated the last of it.
After Palpatine's return from his second death, he utilized a replacement vessel of the same class as the original, christened the "Eclipse II," until it was destroyed by R2-D2 sending it on a collision course with the Galaxy Gun.
Star Wars: Dark Empire describes the Eclipse as "ten miles long from stem to stern"; the Dark Empire Sourcebook and subsequent sources have clarified its length as 17.5 kilometers, or slightly less than eleven miles.
The total design and construction time of the Eclipse is uncertain. Most sources, such as the Dark Empire Sourcebook, indicated that it had been under construction ever since the Battle of Hoth. However, Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption, and Underworld: A Galaxy of Scum and Villainy, which references the game, show the Eclipse as already being under construction since the Battle of Yavin. Additionally, Dark Empire Sourcebook states that the ship was in construction as long as either Death Star; since the publication of that and other sources that repeat the same information, the Death Star I was revealed to have been under construction for at least 19 years. However, the 2007 edition of Starships of the Galaxy explicitly states that the Eclipse began construction around the time of the Battle of Yavin.