crisper57
Open the Roof!
I think it was kind-of explained. Vader did speculate that "they must be trying to return the stolen plans" to the Princess when the Falcon came out of hyperspace and into the asteroid field that used to be the planet.
Remember, when the Empire caught the Falcon and brought it into the landing bay, they initially thought it had been abandoned shortly after take-off. So why would the plans be there if its occupants had disappeared?
They probably thought the whole thing was moot at that point. After Alderaan, they had a weapon that they now knew could be the planet-killer they had been promised. They turned their attention to finding the rebel base as quickly as possible so that they could destroy it before the plans were exploited.
So why is it that after they realized their mistake, the Empire allowed the Falcon to escape so that it would lead them to the hidden base? Why didn't they freak out that the plans were still out there? If they had just blown the Falcon out of the sky the moment it left the Death Star (which Leia was confident they absolutely could have done), it wouldn't have mattered if they found the Rebel base today or years later. The Death Star would still be around without its weakness known. Even Tarkin says they are taking a terrible risk in letting them go.
So really, the downfall of the Death Star was Darth Vader's impatience. Moreover, it was the Dark Side's total dominance over him at that point. In Empire, Yoda says, "Grave danger you are in. Impatient you are." when Luke is in a hurry to complete his training. More famously, he says, "Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice."
Vader wanted to rush into the fight. He wanted to end the Rebellion quickly. He was looking for a "long remembered day" that saw the end of Obi Wan and would soon see the end of the Rebellion. The Dark Side made him imprudent. It made him aggressive. It clouded his judgment. Combine that with the fact that Anakin was always a huge risk-taker before he became Darth Vader, and you had the perfect recipe for his hubris to come back and bite him in the ass.
I'm so glad that's settled.
How in the world you had the foresight to save those and the restraint to not destroy them with fireworks is amazing to me. If you have the time, I'd love to see some photos should you ever break them out.
