Background: Its existence either not known or ignored
by the galaxy at large, Scarif was a secluded and tropical
planet in the Outer Rim used by the Galactic Empire to
house the construction of the first Death Star, an
armored battle station capable of destroying entire
worlds. The Empire built a major Imperial security
complex on Scarif and excavated large swaths of land in
order to build ships and supply the Death Star. An
orbiting docking station housed several Imperial Star
Destroyers. The planet was protected by an
impenetrable deflector shield that enveloped the entire
world.
At the center of the Imperial facility was an
immense tower that, among other things, housed a
data library containing all of the full archival copies of
Imperial military schematics and construction plans on
removable data storage discs. Atop the central tower
was a large communications transmitter dish, capable
of sending the sort of large data files that these
schematics can entail.
The access portal in the orbiting shield gate could
be filled by the shield, enclosing the entire planet within
the shield. The gate itself was heavily armored and
shielded, requiring significant damage to disable. This
single point of entry to the planet's atmosphere makes
it extremely difficult for unauthorized personnel to gain
access to the Imperial facility, and with the facility's
personnel being entirely Imperial military, anyone
successfully gaining entry would need an appropriate
disguise.