Rebel Alliance
The Rebel Alliance, sometimes also just called the Rebellion, is a resistance organization dedicated to overthrowing Emperor Palpatine and returning democratic rule to the Star Wars galaxy.
History
The Rebel Alliance was formed by the collaboration of Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Garm bel Iblis, Padmé Amidala and others almost immediately after Chancellor Palpatine declared himself Emperor with the overwhelming approval of the Senate.
Equipment and Spacecraft
Threat Assessment
The Rebel Alliance possess the same technology as the Empire, but much smaller industrial capacity and manpower. This forces them to rely mostly on guerrilla tactics against the Empire (in open battles, the Rebels typically owe their victories to sheer luck). As a result of the Rebel's method of fighting, the Empire is forced to divert far more resources to deal with them then what the Rebels use against it.
In Debates
The Rebel Alliance doesn't appear in vs. debates as often as the Empire. Probably the most well known use of them is in one the most common Trekkie arguments, boasting that if the Rebels could defeat the Empire, the United Federation of Planets could do so as well. This argument has two major flaws:
- It ignores the role of Palpatine's overconfidence in the Rebels' victory at The Battle of Endor
- It ignores the fact that the Rebellion possesses the same technology as the Empire, and their industrial capacity is in own its right considerable, since they've built ships dwarfing nearly anything seen in Star Trek. Consequently, there's no reason to think that the Federation (or any faction in Star Trek) could defeat the Rebel Alliance, let alone the Empire.