Following his successful war of conquest, Arcann, the Emperor of Zakuul, deployed Star Fortresses in orbit of dozens, possibly hundreds, of worlds. The power of these battle stations, as well as the threat of destruction, essentially held the planets hostage without any need for an occupation army, and discouraged any effort to form an organized resistance to the Eternal Throne. When one such rebellion occurred, on the Bothan homeworld of Bothawui, the Star Fortress fired on the surface, nearly destroying the world.