: Lol. That would have been funnier if the Starkiller beam was limited to
: lightspeed. Could you imagine the emergency meeting between the Rebels and
: the Republic?

: "Chancellor, Rebel intelligence sources indicate that the First Order
: has constructed a new superweapon. It's a monster, built from the husk of
: a hollow planet, and the destructive potential of its main weapon exceeds
: that of the superlaser that destroyed Alderaan."

: "My god. What can we do?"

: "Nothing, ma'am. They already fired it at the Republic's capitol."

: "... but we're not dead yet."

: "Oh, no, of course not. Starkiller Base is stationed over in the Sacul
: sector. It'll take at least 800 years for the beam to reach us."

: "Should we... evacuate?"

: "Maybe. I don't see any reason to hurry."

: "Elections are next year, ma'am. I think we can leave it to the next
: administration."

: "When this meeting is done, remind me to call my broker and have him
: sell the house before the property values tank."

I think it always depends on how much you're willing to hand wave. Star Wars has always had a flimsier sense of FTL travel than even something like Star Trek, and far away from hard sci-fi, so the fact that they could create a FTL death ray didn't bother me.

What *did* was the fact that Starkiller base literally killed its star after what, two shots? But there's no actual indication draining off the mass of a star has any deleterious effects on the planet its orbiting, nor what the Empire's game plan is after they've destroyed that sun. Where do they get more fuel? You telling me they can stick that thing in hyperspace?