During a galactic civil war, spies of the Rebel Alliance managed to steal the blueprints of the Death Star, a massive space station built by the Galactic Empire capable of annihilating entire planets. Princess Leia of Alderaan, a secret leader of the Rebellion, came into possession of these plans. However, her ship was intercepted and boarded by Imperial forces under the command of Darth Vader. Leia was captured, but the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO successfully escaped, crash-landing on the nearby desert planet of Tatooine. Upon learning of their escape, Darth Vader ordered Imperial troops to hunt down the droids.