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Imperial cloning program

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Imperial cloning program

Organizational information

Leader(s)

Associations

Headquarters

Location(s)

Primary role(s)

Bioengineering,^[3]cloning,^[1] andgenetic experimentation^[15]

Major product(s)

Chronological and political information

Date dissolved

35 ABY,^[16]Battle of Exegol, Sith Eternal^[8]

Affiliation

Galactic Empire^[10]
- Advanced Science Division^[6]
Shadow Council^[14]
- Gideon's Imperial remnant^[3]
Sith Eternal(unofficially)^[1]

"The cloning technology is now firmly under Imperial control."

―Rampart, toWilhuff Tarkin^[10]

TheImperial cloning program referred to a vast array of projects undertaken by theGalactic Empire and its affiliated organizations to further study, reproduce, and improve uponKaminoan cloning andgenetic engineering technology utilized during theClone Wars. As part ofEmperor Palpatine's Contingency, the Imperial cloning program sought to create either an exactForce-sensitive clone or a Force-sensitivestrandcast, a type of modified clone, capable of serving as a replacement body for Palpatine, thus allowing him to achieveimmortality.

Despite thecollapse of theGalactic Empire in5 ABY, the Imperial cloning program continued its mission fordecades afterwards. Cloning experts within theSith Eternal cult were capable of preserving Palpatine's spirit within a decaying clone body onExegol, thus preventing his completedeath for several decades. Palpatine was ultimately killed in35 ABY at the hands of hisgranddaughter,Rey, who was naturallyborn from afailed strandcast of Palpatine who escaped his containment.

History[]

Origins[]

"The Empire is not like the Republic. We have empowered them to our own detriment. I fear they will destroy us rather than allow this operation to continue."

―Lama Su, to Nala Se^[17]

The Galactic Empire confiscated the cloning technology of Kamino, where the clone troopers were made.

With theproclamation of the New Order and thenear-annihilation of theJedi Order,Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine—theSith Lord Darth Sidious—ruled over the largest governing body in the galaxy.^[18] Theclone troopers ofKamino were phased out in favor ofnatural-born human conscripts^[17] owing to their cheaper cost^[18] as stipulated byProject War-Mantle.^[19] TheKaminoan government's contracts to produce the clones with the formerGalactic Republic were declared null and void,^[17] and a new generation ofstormtroopers assisted withremoving all essential personnel from the hatcheries atTipoca City.Chief Medical Scientist Doctor Nala Se and her research were secured along with otherKaminoan cloning personnel for later use by theGalactic Empire.^[10]Prime Minister Lama Su grew certain the Empire would destroy the Kaminoans' ability to create clones;^[17] after TipocaCity was decommissioned,Vice Admiral Rampart was ordered byGovernor Wilhuff Tarkin to destroy it through an orbital bombardment with hisfleet ofVenator-class Star Destroyers.^[10]

With their cloning technology firmly under the control of the Empire^[10] alone,^[2] any other Kaminoan facility on the planet was also destroyed. Meanwhile, the Empire moved its experiments to afacility based at^[11]Mount Tantiss on theforested planetWayland.^[12] Under escort ofclone commandos, Nala Se was brought to the planet to work for the Empire, with an Imperial scientist namedDoctor Scalder claiming they were inspired by her work.^[11]^[2]

Imperial Era research[]

Early attempts[]

During theImperial Era, Imperialscientists sought to replicate the cloning capabilities of the Kaminoans^[7] in the Imperial cloning program.^[20] In particular, asEmperor Palpatine sought to achieveimmortality, much research was done to accomplish that goal.^[7]

OnSeltron, in amedical laboratory,Project Necromancer was begun, withclone cadets transferred to the facility and being tested forM-counts whileSlither vines were alsobioengineered byChief Scientist DoctorRoyce Hemlock and his fellowscientists, though they were deemed uncontrollable since they escaped containment and overran the base, forcing an evacuation of personnel and technology to Tantiss and anorbital bombardment of the research facility.

Continuing the work of the IMDAWR, theAdvanced Science Division led by Doctor Hemlock of the formerRepublic Science Corps undertook the massive project of cataloguing and repurposing Kaminoan technology to analyze the finest details of their cloning process and replicate it in their own projects. To that end, all of the Kaminoans' surviving tech was transferred to Tantiss Base, where Imperial scientists began modifying and testing it. Additionally, the technology fromNala Se's private lab, which was originally used to createClone Force 99, was recovered intact and transferred to the facility. Imperial engineers successfully utilized Se's top secret developments to finalize the work started by DoctorSionver Boll during the Clone Wars and develop liveZillo Beast clones, despite the last specimen being long dead. The resulting Beasts lived a normal life cycle, developing from their infant state to a fully grown adult within meredays.^[2]

Following this initial success, the Advanced Science Division began kidnapping clone troopers, who had been decommissioned following the implementation of theImperial Defense Recruitment Bill and experimenting on them in Tantiss' underground laboratories. These clones were kept in a state of suspended animation, oftentimes within vats.^[6] These clones were tested for compatibility with midichlorian-rich blood, many did not survive the experimentation.

Later on, a potential breakthrough was found in the deliberately genetically defective and opposite sex, but otherwise unaltered clone, Omega, who not only was engineered by Nala Se with a higher M-count than other clones from the Fett template, but whose purpose-built genetic material was found to be key to cloning without reduction of M-count within an individual; potentially leading to the creation of Force-sensitive beings as powerful as or more than the genetic donor, making her invaluable to Project Necromancer.

While Omega was recaptured by the Advanced Science Division, Clone Force 99 forcibly recovered her in an assault on Tantiss Base which killed him and several stormtroopers from the Advanced Science Division, and damaged Tantiss Base because of the Zillo Beast’s escape while Se took her life to destroy Hemlock’s research for Project Necromancer to keep Omega safe. Tarkin believed Hemlock’s failings costed them enough when he arrived and gave orders toCaptain Bragg to shutter Tantiss Base indefinitely and redistribute all funding and assets to his rivalCommander Orson Callan Krennic’sProject Stardust so Project Necromancer was discontinued untilCommandant Brendol Hux continued it and took charge of it in Doctor Hemlock’s place after the death of Emperor Palpatine and the fall of the Empire at theBattle of Endor.

Other efforts[]

"You talk aboutfear. But evennow, you forget where it allbegins… withpain. Thescalpel ofcreation. I used it to make all of these things. I can use it to makeanything."

―Darth Sidious, toDarth Vader^[15]

Under the supervision of theImperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research and itsSith scientists,Project Blackwing managed to revive necrotic tissue, transforming dead Imperialstormtroopers into animated corpses, before a containment breach resulted in theUndead Troopers' escape.^[5] Another project undertaken by theTarkin Initiative createdHutt clone troopers, which were ultimately rejected for wide-scale use.^[4]

Darth Sidious utilized Exegol as the secret location of his genetic experiments during his reign as the Emperor.

On the hidden Sith world ofExegol, with the aid of theSith loyalists of the Sith Eternal cult, the remnants ofProject Necromancer were moved and adark science laboratory—hidden among a retrofitted, automated group of ancientshipyard forges in theForbidden District^[15]^[21]—was erected for biomedical and genetic engineering research in the hopes of creating a successfulstrandcast body for Sidious as Hemlock hoped to do before he died.^[22] This research was partly based upon Kaminoan cloning technology.^[7] Additional research was undertaken, resulting in the creation of multiple genetic constructs, an elite Exegol Sith guard^[15] called theTankers,^[23] and other frail oddities kept within vats and in a constant state of pain.^[15]

Post-Endor developments[]

"It cannot be. The Emperor is dead."
"Dark science. Cloning. Secrets only the Sith knew."

―Aftab Ackbar andBeaumont Kin^[24]

The Emperor resurrected himself by transferring his spirit to a clone of his original body.

The fall of the "Old Empire"^[8] did not see the end of the Imperial cloning program.^[3] Sidious' spirit was transferred to a clone body on Exegol thanks to significant advances inProject Necromancer. However, the research was not complete and the body was too weak to hold hispower, rendering him weakened and attached to anOmmin harness, supplemented by Clone Wars-era life support apparatuses.^[8] Hux, a member of the Imperial Remnant'sShadow Council, was very interested in finishing Doctor Hemlock’s lost cloning research for Project Necromancer, withMoff Gideon declaring it an obsession of his.^[14]

Without the approval of the Shadow Council,^[14]Gideon's Imperial remnant performed genetic experiments as late^[3] as9 ABY^[25] under the direction of clone engineer DoctorPenn Pershing. That Imperial remnant put a bounty on the head ofGrogu, a Force-sensitive child with a high concentration ofmidi-chlorians in his blood, which was essential in experiments attempting to achieve Force-sensitivity in cloned bodies^[3] of Gideon himself.^[26] AnImperial base onNevarro kept standcast bodies in vats of liquid and was overseen by scientists with similar Kaminoan symbols on the right shoulder of theirscientist uniforms. The base wasdestroyed byDin Djarin,Marshal Cara Dune,Magistrate Greef Karga, andthe Mythrol.^[3]

After Gideon was captured by Djarin during thesecond rescue of Grogu,^[27] Gideon wasextracted fromNew Republic custody byImperial armored commandos. Gideon moved his cloning experiments to the planetMandalore,^[28] where he hid his operations within ahidden underground base.^[14] Gideon succeeded in creating a batch of clones that were modeled on his genetic template. Unlike their donor, however,Gideon's clones wereForce-sensitive as a result of the moff's experimentation with genetic modification amidst the cloning process. Gideon's Force-sensitive clones were destroyed by Djarin and all the associated research was subsequently lost when Mandaloriansreturned to their homeworld.^[26]

The Emperor's cloned DNA was used in the creation of a failed strandcast, who, in turn, sired a daughter named Rey.

On Exegol, numerous failed strandcasts were created and discarded, including a partially-successfulSnoke, which Sidious used to rule theFirst Order while he hid in the shadows.^[9] Another failed strandcast wasRey's father, a perfectly normal human without anyForce sensitivity, who Sidious allowed to leave and propagatehis family line through natural means. He was considered his "son."^[29] This strandcast ultimately fatheredRey with ahuman female. Afraid of Sidious capturing their daughter who was an extremely powerful Force user, Rey's parents hid her on Jakku before they were ultimately killed.^[8]

During theBattle of Exegol in 35 ABY,^[16] Sidious was killed by his granddaughter Rey, ultimately defeating theDark Lord of the Sith and his followers. In repudiation of her bloodline, Rey adopted the family nameSkywalker.^[1]