How powerfull the smuggler groups were ...

[vakundok]

... at the time around TESB?
I am just wondering.
As I remember, both Ozzel and Piett watched the rebell generator (receiving the report from the probe droid). The generator was described as being captured from a larger than ISD imperial ship. So, how powerfull the smugglers were since the presence of a key component of a heavy warship at an uncharted settlement did not make Ozzel interested at all?

[Trytostaydead]

The smugglers were pretty powerful overall, especially with Hutt backing and there were many various crime cartels all over the rim that made fortunes in breaking blockades between the Empire, CA, Outerrim territories, etc.. not to mention supplying the Empire itself at times. So it's probably not far out of reach and highly probably that the more affluent smugglers/groups might have heavy duty equipment for protection as not only were governments after them but pirates with cap ships.

Though all the heavy weaponry they had could not amass to the might of the Empire, which is why Ozzel was not particularly worried.

By the time of the Last Command, when the smugglers struck at Bilbringi, a lot of their "umph" was implied due to smuggled booby traps, though they were confident their coalition of presumably the biggest smuggling organizations could take out maybe a few stardestroyers.

[Sharp-kun]

So, how powerfull the smugglers were since the presence of a key component of a heavy warship at an uncharted settlement did not make Ozzel interested at all?

Around the time of the Han Solo trilogy they weren't any match for the Empire. At Nar Shadda 3 Dreadnaughts and a couple of Carracks would have overwhelmed the force they put together, had Greenlax not had a confluct of interest in the outcome. They fought well, but realistically they couldn't win. I don't see that changing too much by ESB, given that the Empire had Executor's in service then.

Ozzel's reaction I think was more a case of him not wanting Piett to be right. His smuggler explanation was just him trying to put Vader off and it didn't work. While such generators could possibly fall into smugglers hands, I don't think its a very likely scenario.

[Jim Raynor]

... at the time around TESB?
I am just wondering.
As I remember, both Ozzel and Piett watched the rebell generator (receiving the report from the probe droid). The generator was described as being captured from a larger than ISD imperial ship. So, how powerfull the smugglers were since the presence of a key component of a heavy warship at an uncharted settlement did not make Ozzel interested at all?

The shield generator was from an Imperial ship? Is this from the novelization? How could any ship withstand bombardment from the entire Death Squadron? That doesn't make much sense.

[PainRack]

They just got the cash to buy it then. It was an uncharted settlement, that's all. There are supposed to be thousands of them throughout the galaxy, mining settlements to pirate colonies

[vakundok]

The shield generator was from an Imperial ship? Is this from the novelization? How could any ship withstand bombardment from the entire Death Squadron? That doesn't make much sense.

No, it is from the ITW, as I know (I think it originates from Dr Saxton). I do not know much about it, but do not forget that a ship must pay energy for many things (life support (gravity, light, etc), engines, weapons and shields), whereas that generator was dedicated to the shields. (Well, life support seem to be not powered by the main reactor (see DS2), but anyhow.)

I only wondered becase I thought that loosing a larger than ISD ship was so rare event that it (finding such a key component) should have made any officer very interested.

[vakundok]

They just got the cash to buy it then.

Could someone with the ITW elaborate us? Wasn't it salvaged from a ship? Off course this can mean either that the rebels destroyed the ship and salvaged it or the ship was just seriously damaged and sold for scrap. The latter would give an answer (with the possibility of 'legally' owning such a piece of military hardware (without being very likely responsible for the destruction of such ship)).

[Techno_Union]

The Hoth entries in the ITW don't make mention of a slavaged power generator... however, the Yavin IV generator was a salvaged one.

[vakundok]

Techno_Union: Thanks!
Ooops! In this case, the whole topic is a mistake. Mods, could you delete it?

[Quadlok]

The story Slaying Dragons in Tales From the Empire gives the account that the generator for Hoth was stolen from the Kuat Drive Yards. It was said to be a Colony Class 23669 unit.

[VT-16]

The generator stolen from a Preator-class Star Battlecruiser wasn´t the shield generator, it was another generator that powered the base itself.

[The Original Nex]

The Generator Veer's destroyed isn't identified as the "shield generator" in the film, it's called a "Power Generator". So it powers more than just the shield. It may very well be the device that came from the Praetor.

[vakundok]

OK, just to make it clear: Was the generator on Hoth from a heavy (larger than ISD) imperial warship or not?

About the power generator: Probably it powered the whole base, but it would make PainRack's question harder to answer, of course if you say that it is stated somewhere I will accept it. The clues I do have currently (the TESB novelisation (in the Hoth medical center scene) says that the rebells had still problems repairing the generator and it was the reason that they did not have the shield up at that time; after the generator was destroyed, the lights were still working (actually I cannot even remember to a flash showing the change to secondary power) and the rebell soldiers seemed to carry power packs to the guns (at least to the small ones)) do not oppose it.