I was sitting around, contemplating "Revenge of the Sith", specificly one of the final images in the film, when I came up with a theory.

The scene I was considering was the one where Emperor Palpatine, Vader and Tarkin are observing the skeletal form of what will most definitely be the Death Star.

This got me thinking about the numerous blogs and posts made by people that had wondered or complained about why it took soo long to build the Death Star, when it appeared that they were already fairly far along with the outer contruct of the space station's sphere. And how they so lickinty-split were able to whip up another Death Star a mere 3-6 years after the Battle of Yavin.

In reguard to how they were able to have a second Death Star ready soooo quickly, I always had this personal theory, which is taken from line of dialog delivered by actor John Hurt. Playing the deliciously Lex Luthor-esque character, S.R. Hadden, in the film "Contact".

It breaks down like this: "First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?"

I mean it just seemed logical that Palpatine would have lined up enough goverment contracts and outside support (Which he seems to be a whiz at getting in the prequal films) to get at least one more Death Star built. Just in case. As an absolute back up. Matter of fact, one can take it even further: Who's to say his intentions weren't to one day have legions of them, in numbers equal to that of say a standard Star Destroyer fleet. Patroling the galaxy, keeping ALL the systems in line through fear of utter destruction. The all seeing-eye of fascism completely shrouding the entire universe.

Yet still, I too was bothered by "The Question". Why did it REALLY take soooo long to build two Death Stars? I mean with what appears to be a fairly advanced form of technology being used throughout the Star Wars Universe, wouldn't it be more likely to take a lot less time to build a fake planet, one that is only really the size of a small moon, compared to the time it would likely take to completely terra-form an entire pre-existing planet?

Then I got to thinking tonight. A possible theory that might make a bit of sense. About something that would most logicly take place within the EU. Something totally between the lines. But still, it seemed like a possibilty for the future backstory of the Star Wars Universe.

What I considered was the possibilty that the Rebellion's attempt to destroy the Death Star may not have (a) been the first time they had taken a shot at the Death Star and (b) the possibilty that this was not the first Death Star they had tackled. That maybe, over the span of almost 20 years, the Rebellion, from its infancy to the state it's in by the end of "A New Hope", had thwarted numerous attempts by Palpatine to construct his "Planet Killer" space station.

It seems conceivable that Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and the others senators who were part of "The Petition of the Two Thousand" would likely be the creators and orchestrators of what would eventually be called the Rebel Alliance. Like Palpatine, they would have access to resources that would alow a rebellion to blossom. The main problem they would have in the beginning would likely be waiting for the Rebellion to grow.

Yet even if it took time to build a rebellion to the size it eventually rise to be, I would hazard a guess that there were probobly be more than a few "guerrilla fighters" around the galaxy that would fight for a burgeoning
clandestine military force bent on toppling the opression of Palpatine's Empire. People who would be more than happy to take on the Empire, even if the mission itself was completely suicidal. People that believed that if they could stop the Empire from tightening its grip around the Galaxy in anyway, it was a fight worth fighting for. And if that mission meant halting the production of a Death Star by any means necessary, then so be it.

Were this kind of mission successful, it might be required that the sabotage or possible destruction of another secret Imperial project, involving a moon sized space station, might arise again. Possibly many such missions over the years would arise for the growing Rebellion to face. Because when you are up against a device that could destroy a entire planet if it ever became fully operational, a group of "Freedom Fighters" would have to do everything in their power to prevent such a thing from coming into existance. Especially being that this space station would be a key point of power for the Emperor of the Galaxy.

Of course, were this theory to be in any way a possible fact, one must acknowledge that even after many attempts at halting the Death Star's creation, not one, but two would finally slip through the cracks of information that the Rebellion would be prevy to. And that the first one would lay waste to one of the main planets that had long been a thorn in the side of the Emperor.

But that doesn't mean that the "Good Guys", spending an entire generation in doing so, didn't give preventing it's creation one helluva good try.

This is my theory. I know it's pretty "around the way". But it's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

I'd very much welcome any comments anyone has to offer on this lengthy and highly improbable theory of mine as to why it took soooo long to build the two Death Stars.