Skip to main content

star wars - Why did the stormtroopers care about hiding the fact that they killed the Jawas?


In Episode IV, why did the stormtroopers spend time making Bantha tracks and dropping gaffe sticks just to hide their killing of the Jawas?


I know that it shows off Obi-Wan's Sherlock Holmes wit but it seems like something the stormtroopers wouldn't care about.


So why did they bother?



Answer




In the movie, the whole chain of events starts with Empire troops under command of Darth Vader attacking Leia's ship, Tantive IV, and taking her prisoner.


Since the Senate still exists at that point and apparently has to be reckoned with, it's a scandal ready to erupt. A Senator has been taken by force, some of her entourage killed, and no direct evidence of her involvement with the Rebels obtained. Other Senators won't like that (what if they are next?), and they have political influence.


So some subordinate of Vader brings it to his attention, and Vader orders to cover everything up (as seen in ANH), because he doesn't want any interference or delays:



Leia is marched away down the hallway and into the smoldering hole blasted in the side of the ship. An Imperial Commander turns to Vader.


COMMANDER: Holding her is dangerous. If word of this gets out, it could generate sympathy for the Rebellion in the senate.


VADER: I have traced the Rebel spies to her. Now she is my only link to find their secret base!


COMMANDER: She'll die before she tells you anything.


VADER: Leave that to me. Send a distress signal and then inform the senate that all aboard were killed!




When Vader says that all aboard were killed, the Imperials either don't leave any living beings to tell otherwise or get Force choked. After such measures taken on Tantive IV, the landing party also has to cover up its actions. I know of no canon proof for this, but it's very likely that such orders have been given - why only hide half of the troublesome things? To anyone except few trusted by Vader, it must look like the whole skirmish has never happened. Which means, none of the people they find and question while trailing the escaped droids may talk to anyone about that. It's simply too strange to meet with stormtroopers in the middle of the Tatooine desert (where the Imperial military normally doesn't go at all), and the questions about some special droids with special data inside them don't help. Rumors can start spreading, and unwelcome questions can arise. If somebody comes looking for missing Alderaanian Princess, such a trail can be noticed and traced back.


And wouldn't it be so convenient if all those witnesses just died in an unfortunate accident involving some locals (well known to be aggressive), totally unrelated to any Empire representative, of course.


(This approach is unlikely to work on Mos Eisley scale, but stormtroopers are less strange when seen there, and they don't have to ask any detailed questions when looking for droids, so there's no need to eliminate witnesses anymore).


Without the initial events on the Tantive IV, there would unlikely be any need to cover up the murder of jawas. The stormtroopers could simply act as legitimate Imperial law enforcers. They could even kill jawas (as) if those resisted detaining and questioning, and nobody in the Empire would be held responsible.


Summary of TL;DR: because of the brute force use against Leia Organa, the political clout of the Senate could lead to something unwanted, so everything traceable to that has been covered up, with Vader's blessing, the witnesses have been killed, and those murders have also been covered up.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more