The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, alternatively known as the Class II Star Destroyer and nicknamed Impstar-Deuce by rebel forces, represented a Star Destroyer design produced by Kuat Drive Yards for the Imperial Navy's utilization. Functioning within the Imperial-class line, this class acted as the successor to the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. Equipped with a wide array of weaponry, including turbolasers and ion cannons, this capital ship, measuring 1,600 meters in length, possessed the ability to subjugate an entire planet or operate as a command ship for other vessels.
Following the death of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer named Torment was deployed to Naboo as an element of Operation: Cinder. This operation was a directive from the deceased Emperor, calling for the obliteration of Imperial planets through the use of satellites. Nevertheless, the attack was prevented by the Rebel Alliance, leading to the Torment's destruction before it could retreat.
Later, during the events of the Contingency in 5 ABY, numerous Imperial IIs participated in the Battle of Jakku against the New Republic. Despite their involvement, these Star Destroyers ultimately fled the battlefield. Subsequently, they faced destruction at the hands of the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya's Executor-class Star Dreadnought, the Liberty's Misrule.
As a component of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer series, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer represented a capital ship variant manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards for the Imperial Navy. Its purpose was to supersede the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. Similar to its predecessor, the Imperial II-class possessed a length of 1,600 meters, was painted in a light gray tone, exhibited a wedge-like shape, and featured an elevated bridge tower. While outwardly almost identical to its predecessor, it incorporated several crucial distinctions, such as a communications tower positioned between its two deflector shield generator domes instead of a tractor beam targeting array, a heavier array of weapons, a reinforced hull, and enhanced deflector shields. Imperial II-class Star Destroyers drew power from a solar ionization reactor situated on the ventral hull.
The ship's internal defenses included exhaust ports, roughly the size of a stormtrooper helmet, built into the walls of at least one large room. These ports could emit fire to disable armored troops. At least one airlock was located near the meridian trenches on the side of the Star Destroyer. The vessel also had at least one trash compactor connected to passageways that were large enough for stormtroopers to enter the waste facility. The Star Destroyer also featured a briefing room, equipped with two "Tulip" style Imperial work stations, where new assignments and mission briefings could be presented.
Propulsion for these vessels was achieved through three KDY Destroyer-I ion engines, supplemented by four backup Cygnus Spaceworks Gemon-4 ion engines. This configuration enabled speeds of 60 MGLT in realspace and 975 kilometers per hour within an atmosphere. A hyperdrive was also included, facilitating travel through hyperspace. Prior to initiating a jump to hyperspace, all stations followed a pre-jump sequence involving engine startup, the clearing of non-Imperial starships from the hangar bays, and the collection of trash in the trash disposal section for ejection. This drawn-out procedure spanned over 40 minutes, after which the ship could jump to hyperspace.
Similar to all Imperial-class ships, Imperial II-class Star Destroyers were equipped with sixty turbolaser batteries, sixty heavy ion cannon emplacements, and ten tractor beam projectors. The ships carried a complement of seventy-two TIE fighter series starfighters, eight Lambda-class T-4a shuttles, twenty All Terrain Armored Transports, and thirty All Terrain Scout Transports. The latter two were transported to planetary surfaces using at least two Gozanti-class cruisers. All of these craft were housed within the ships' two large hangar bays, positioned side by side in the forward wall of a recess on the ventral hull.
The Star Destroyer was manned by 9,700 stormtroopers, alongside various other Imperial Military personnel, including TIE fighter pilots and Imperial officers. MSE-6 series repair droids were also present within the ship's corridors. The vessels carried enough consumables to sustain the crew for two years.
The Imperial II-class command bridge mirrored that of the Imperial I-class in its layout, featuring a central command walkway and two data pits where Imperial officers operated their console stations, which were oriented perpendicularly to the central walkway. The pits created a separation between the bridge technicians and their superiors, visually representing the chain of command within the ship.
Each of these pits had an entrance aligned with the upper doorway, leading to corridors on the same level. Within these corridors, a scomp link socket, designed to interact with the starship's computer systems responsible for internal defense, airlock management, and waste collection, was installed at a height suitable for an astromech droid.
By 9 BBY, Kuat Drive Yards had ceased production of the Imperial I-class, with the Devastator being the final ship of that class to be manufactured. Some Imperial Is, including the Devastator, were upgraded to have bridges with communication towers, similar to those found on Imperial IIs. Around 5 BBY, Kuat Drive Yards initiated the production of the Imperial II-class.
In or before 0 BBY, at least four Imperial II-class Star Destroyers were part of an Imperial Navy fleet of approximately twenty ships positioned above the planet Scarif, the location of the Death Star battle station.
Seventeen days following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, where the Rebel Alliance achieved victory over the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine met his death, leading to the retreat of remaining Imperial forces, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Torment received a visit from a messenger droid. The droid delivered a posthumous message from the Emperor, instructing the ship's captain, Lerr Duvat, to devastate the planet Naboo using weather-altering satellites. This action was part of Operation: Cinder, a component of the broader Contingency, an Imperial plan to ensure the downfall of both the Empire and its enemies following the Emperor's demise.
Duvat, aided by Lieutenant Gulin, promptly set course for Naboo. Upon the Torment's arrival, he deployed the satellites to generate massive storms across Naboo. However, a group of N-1 starfighters from Naboo, piloted by the rebels Shara Bey, Leia Organa, and Sosha Soruna, attacked the satellites. In response, the Star Destroyer deployed its complement of TIE fighters to engage the attackers.
Just as the three starfighters faced imminent destruction by the TIEs, the Rebel Alliance arrived with the MC80 Star Cruiser Restoration and numerous starfighters, including Danger Squadron, a squadron of X-wing starfighters led by Rebel veteran Shriv Suurgav and Imperial defectors Iden Versio and Del Meeko of Inferno Squad. Together with the Naboo starfighters, they destroyed the remaining satellites and the Torment, despite the Star Destroyer's attempt to withdraw. Before its destruction, however, the Torment managed to deploy part of its planetary assault force, which briefly attacked Naboo's capital city of Theed before being neutralized by an ion pulse from the Theed Royal Palace, and then captured.
Around 4 ABY, during the Battle of Yavin Prime, the New Republic, the successor state to the Rebel Alliance, successfully captured the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Victorum for use in Project Starhawk. After defending the Victorum from Imperial forces, it arrived at the Nadiri Dockyards, where it and other Imperial vessels were salvaged for the new prototype of the Starhawk-class battleship, the Starhawk.
In 5 ABY, three Imperial II-class Star Destroyers were part of the Imperial Navy contingent that participated in the Battle of Jakku against the New Republic. However, these Star Destroyers fled from Jakku, and after exiting hyperspace in Wild Space, their captains sought refuge with a small fleet commanded by the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Liberty's Misrule, mistakenly believing it to be another Imperial remnant.
In reality, the fleet was under the command of pirate Eleodie Maracavanya of the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya. Maracavanya correctly deduced that the ships had originated from Jakku and ordered their destruction, much to the surprise of crew member Carklin Ryoon. Maracavanya then justified the decision to the Liberty's Misrule's crew, explaining that the New Republic might grant the group some legitimacy if they destroyed the vessels, as they would likely appreciate the cleanup following the battle. Subsequently, all vessels opened fire on the three Star Destroyers, with Maracavanya confident that they had no chance of survival.
The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer made its debut in the Star Wars canon within Shattered Empire 2, a 2015 comic authored by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Marco Checchetto, Emilio Laiso, and Angel Unzueta. While the Torment's specific class was not explicitly mentioned in that issue, it was later identified as an Impstar-Deuce in the subsequent issue of the series, Shattered Empire 3, also written by Rucka. The class's full designation was revealed in the 2016 reference book Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, penned by Pablo Hidalgo.
The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer was initially conceived for the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.
Within Legends, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer made its first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back's novelization, written by Donald F. Glut, which was released concurrently with the film. However, the ship's class remained unrevealed until the term ISD II was introduced in the 1989 supplement The Star Wars Rules Companion, and the designation Imperial II Star Destroyer was used in the Imperial Sourcebook, also published in 1989.
On the opening page of Shattered Empire, Part II, illustrated by Emilio Laiso, the Torment was erroneously depicted with the targeting array characteristic of an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. This error was corrected on the final page of the same issue, this time drawn by Marco Checchetto, as well as in its subsequent appearances in Shattered Empire, Part III and Star Wars Battlefront II.