Star Wars: The Ship That Replaced The Millennium Falcon – The Ghost Breakdown
If you are an older fan, the Millennium Falcon is the iconic ship of A New Hope. But for many younger fans of Star Wars, the Ghost is “home”.
The Millennium Falcon cut an iconic path through the galaxy. Sure, it made the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs. But it also established the idea of a starship–often a light freighter–that serves as home for the heroes of galactic stories.
In the days of the Old Republic, there was the Ebon Hawk. In the days of Dark Forces, it was the Moldy Crow. And for a new generation of Star Wars fans, the ship many call home is the Ghost.
Star Wars’ The Ghost – Overview
The Ghost was a modified VCX-100 light freighter, owned by the Twi’lek Hera Syndulla. During the Age of the Empire, the Ghost was integral to the rebellion. Home to the group known as the Spectres, the Ghost flew numerous missions and skirmishes against the forces of the Galactic Empire.
The Ghost was designed for Stealth, and its design gave it a unique range of suitable missions. It also carried an auxiliary vessel called the Phantom that could double as both a shuttle and a starfighter. The Phantom was later replaced by a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle, the Phantom II.
Throughout the Age of the Empire and the Galactic Civil War, the Ghost was integral to many a rebel action. In the hands of Twi’lek Resistance fighter Hera Syndulla and her astromech droid C1-10p, the Ghost’s reputation grew as the light freighter became part of growing anti-Imperial sentiment.
The Ghost’s Design
The Ghost took its name from how readily it could avoid Imperial Sensors. And the secret to its stealthiness is found in its design. Originally a Corellian Engineering Corporation VCX-100 light freighter, the Ghost was heavily modified.
The Ghost’s engines were baffled, fitted with energy dampeners and static jammers to make it hard to detect. Imperial intelligence reports estimated a total of more than eighty-seven illegal upgrades to the Ghost giving it the unique stealth systems which allowed the freighter to hide. The Ghost could mimic solar fluctuations or cosmic radiation, disappearing into the background of most sensors.
But the Ghost had considerable combat capabilities as well. With enough firepower to destroy an Arquitens-class command cruiser, the Ghost was a fearsome fighter.
It boasted several turret-mounted laser cannons, including a nose mounted laser cannon turret, a dorsal laser cannon turret, 1 Taim & Bak MS-2B twin laser cannon, 1 Taim & Bak KX4 dorsal laser turret, and 2 proton torpedo launchers.
Like most Corellian light freighter designs, the Ghost had port and starboard docking rings. It also had multiple gunner stations, all of them automated. If no gunner was available, the pilot/astromech could operate the turrets. In this way a minimal crew to operate the ship.
A VCX-series auxiliary starfighter called the Phantom is the Ghost’s secret weapon. This versatile craft could serve as starfighter, shuttle, or as the Ghost‘s aft gun armament when docked tail-forward.
Famous Actions
The Ghost was destined to be a thorn in the Empire’s side, from its earliest days. Hera Syndulla, daughter of Twi’lek resistance leader Cham Syndulla, was the ship’s most infamous owner. During the days of the Free Ryloth movement, Hera Syndulla took the Ghost across the galaxy meeting with activists and dissidents to try and help unite various resistances into a single movement.
The Ghost’s first big mission was during the Gorse conflict, when a band of rebels on Gorse’s moon, Cynda, rose up against Count Denetrius Vidian whose efforts to exploit the world nearly resulted in the planet’s destruction.
After this, the Ghost became home to Sabine Wren and Garazeb Orrelios. The rebel cell known as the Spectres. The Ghost was born. embarked on a number of missions, the majority on the planet Lothal. And through the advent of the Galactic Civil War, the Ghost featured prominently in many dramatic battles across the galaxy.
via GIPHY
