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I know there are similar questions out there, but from what I know the new Princess Leia comic deals IMMEDIATELY after the award ceremony and the ensuing evacuation.

My question:

Why not before? (I know the real-world answer) they knew the planet was going to get destroyed.

Could it have been an act of loyalty to rebel high command? Were they worried the Death Star would feint using it's super laser and try a ground assault (so they needed the troops)?

Or is there room for us simply to assume they did a partial evacuation, and then either just had the ceremony with the , or the evacuees returned to help break down the equipment?

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In "A New Hope", Leia led the Death Star to Yavin. Tarkin would undoubtedly have communicated his disposition and movements to the Emperor.

The rebels weren't aware that their base had been compromised until her arrival. The Death Star then arrived very shortly afterwards, by which time the rebel fleet (excluding their fighters and a few hundred mostly ground-support personnel, the people you see at the award ceremony) had already completed their evacuation.

The removal of the fighter support personnel (that you see in Princess Leia #001) then continued after the Death Star was destroyed, in anticipation of the arrival of the Imperial Fleet. Note that the General Dodonna speaks of the Rebel fleets arriving to support the evac, suggesting that they were hiding at a safe distance during the attack.

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    (this may be a duplicate post cause my computer lags) From what point did the Death Star enter Hyperspace for Yavin, I say this because using legends as a basis if they left from Aldaraan the falcon would arrive a full week earlier. Now I know I said new Canon, but chances are that system will remain similar. – Lenie Lenape Mar 6 '15 at 14:26
  • @LenieLenape - It's not clear how long the Rebels had to analyse the data before the Death Star arrived. Days, presumably, at most. – Valorum Mar 6 '15 at 18:27
  • So the question revolves around who long an evacuation would take. – Lenie Lenape Mar 6 '15 at 18:47
  • @LenieLenape - Well, we know that the fleet has bugged out because they aren't in evidence when the Death Star MkI turns up. – Valorum Mar 6 '15 at 19:20
  • Thank you for the new Canon reference, that's what I wanted. – Lenie Lenape Mar 6 '15 at 23:17
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They stayed because they wanted to destroy the Death Star.

They knew it was the ultimate terror weapon and was too powerful for any one planet to resist, crippling support for the Rebellion. The Empire knew they had the technical plans, so it was a race against time to find weaknesses and exploit them before the Empire found them and fixed them. And they knew (or Princess Leia correctly guessed they'd be tracked) it was conveniently coming straight to them with no fleet support.

Regardless of how much time passes between Leia landing with the plans (we'll assume secure Intergalactic Email does not exist), the Rebels decide to stand and fight. They couldn't have asked for a better opportunity.

What about the ceremony? It seems a bit premature given they should be spending their time frantically evacuating before a few dozen Star Destroyers show up. As Richard pointed out, the non-essential staff would have already been evacuated in case of failure and to avoid the inevitable conventional Imperial counter-attack. The big ceremony at the end would be the pilots and their support staff... though there's an awful lot of pilots present, what were they doing during the battle? One possibility is the ceremony does not take place on Yavin. It's on a planet with similar architecture and foliage, same as if showed you a scene in New York and then a scene inside a building in Chicago. Would you be able to tell the difference?

Is there new canon support for this? No (though I haven't read the new stuff), this is speculation. Does it contradict anything seen in the movies? No, so that's something.

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  • Staying on Gavin makes some sense, they are showing the Empire they don't fear them AFTER the punched them in the face. As for the pilots, they could be anything from a newly arrived escort to wounded pilots. – Lenie Lenape Mar 6 '15 at 19:09
  • @LenieLenape One does not give a middle finger to the Imperial Fleet if one does not want it cut off along with your head and any other parts of your anatomy the Emperor feels like. There's nothing in their shown behavior to support that, the Rebellion is always shown as a disciplined, if amateurish, military operation and would not risk everything just to cheese off the Empire. Han Solo might do that, but he's not in charge (yet). – Schwern Mar 6 '15 at 19:14
  • I disagree, the purpose of such a action would do much to help gain support for the Rebellion. But As @Richard remarks we now know it was to wait for the Rebel fleets. – Lenie Lenape Mar 6 '15 at 23:15
  • @LenieLenape It was a medal ceremony attended by Rebels at a secret (to everyone but the Empire) base, how does anyone else even see it? Even if they broadcasted it, are there people who will go "well, sure, they destroyed an enormous battle station in a heroic battle, but it was the medal ceremony that really convinced me to join the Rebellion!" – Schwern Mar 7 '15 at 5:53
  • Since the question specifically refers to what happens in the new canon Marvel comics, it wound certainly help to have read them. .. – Valorum Mar 7 '15 at 7:31

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