Naboo Royal Starship

The Naboo Royal Starship, a modified J-type 327 Nubian starship, was the royal starship of Queen Padmé Amidala during the Invasion of Naboo. She used it to escape from the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo, where it landed on Tatooine for repairs, before making its way to Coruscant and, eventually, back to Naboo.^[4]

Normally, the ship was at Amidala's disposal for formal state visits to other planetary representatives, and for royal events on Naboo. Naboo tradition encouraged the current monarch to personally name the ship, but due to the Invasion of Naboo, Amidala had more important concerns.^[1]

Design

The unique spaceframe boasted a strikingly beautiful design that exemplified the philosophy of blending art and function that was seen throughout Naboo technology, and embodied the craftsmanship that prevailed during the peaceful years of the Galactic Republic. The entire ship was considered a work of art by Naboo's citizens.^[1]

The gleaming finish was made from a substance known as royal chromium, usually reserved for the ships serving Naboo's monarch. Rather than using automatons or factory equipment, the mirrored hull was crafted and hand-polished by fine artisans. The interior was made with equal care and as to be expected, was quite spacious. From fore to aft, the ship contained the luxurious royal quarters, a forward hold, a main hold with tech station and the cockpit that was accessible via turbolift.^[1] The ship also featured a military-style bathroom.^[7] The final compartment was the throne room, where the monarch rode during journeys and received guests. All in all, the vessel literally reflected the designers' desire to create a symbol of grace and beauty.^[1]

Specifications

The spaceframe was handcrafted in Theed by the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps, and designed around the imported sublight engine and T-14 hyperdrive generator, both from Nubia Star Drives, Inc. Thus internally, the vessel was a J-type 327 Nubian starship, and had to use J-type 327 Nubian parts.^[1][4] The vessel was equipped with powerful shields and had no offensive weaponry.^[1][3]

History

The Naboo Royal Starship was the personal starship of Queen Padmé Amidala during her tenure. She utilized the starship during the Invasion of Naboo.^[4] Decades after, Emperor Palpatine had the vessel in the Imperial Palace and gave it to Darth Vader for his personal use, knowing that he would be reminded of his past.^[2] He used the ship to travel to Mustafar and turned off its deflector shields to ensure entry into the planet scorched its hull.^[8] The hull was later repaired, however.^[5]

Around twenty years after his acquisition of the Naboo Royal Starship, it still saw use under the Sith Lord. Due to his failures during the destruction of the Death Star, Vader lost much of his power in the Empire. Seeking an army of his own, Vader came into contact with the rogue archaeologist Doctor Chelli Aphra, who specialized in the reactivation of old technology. Doctor Aphra agreed to assist Vader in acquiring a droid army and informed him of an operational factory on the planet of Geonosis, which was maintained by the Geonosian queen Karina. The pair infiltrated the queen's lair and discovered that the factory was attached to her like a womb, which she was using to create Geonosian-droid hybrids. Vader called in the Naboo Royal Starship in order to airlift the factory out of the lair and escape the area. After the mission's success Vader attached the factory to Aphra's ship, the Ark Angel, where Aphra reprogrammed the droids for Vader's use.^[5]

Shortly after the mission to Geonosis, Vader's personal interrogator droid 0-0-0 interrogated an agent of Palpatine's to determine his role in the Empire. The man revealed that his name was Cylo IV and he had been tasked with creating replacements of Vader, infuriated by this discovery Vader had 0-0-0 kill the man. Vader then used the Naboo Royal Starship to travel to Cylo's research base alongside Doctor Aphra, upon arrival Vader fired an ion missile from the starship into the base. He then entered the base and deployed his droid army which was resting in the starship.^[6] Inside the base Vader discovered that Cylo had transferred his consciousness into another body and was now going by Cylo V. Vader was then greeted by the Emperor who informed Vader that he would only be replaced if he became lesser than his possible replacements. Vader then traveled back to the starship where he left the system.^[9]

Appearances

• Queen's Peril (and audiobook)
• The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special 1
• Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (First appearance)
• The Phantom Menace Read-Along Storybook and CD
• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Graphic Novel Adaptation
• Star Wars Battlefront II
• Age of Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi 1 (In flashback(s))
• Queen's Shadow (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
• Darth Vader (2017) 20
• Darth Vader (2017) 21
• Darth Vader (2017) 22
• Inquisitors 2 (Variant cover only)
• Leia Organa: Ordeal of the Princess
• "Stories in the Sand" — From a Certain Point of View (and audiobook) (Appears in hologram)
• Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original
• Darth Vader (2015) 4
• Darth Vader (2015) 5
• Darth Vader (2015) 6
• Darth Vader (2020) 4 (In flashback(s))

Non-canon appearances

• LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Exit from Endor" (In flashback(s))
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources

Notes and references