Byss itself was somewhat of a myth, seeming to be the perfect place to live. Its eerie blue-green glow, caused by its sun, also added to the strangeness of the world. Despite this outward appearance, however,EmperorPalpatine'sdark-side energies were everywhere, corrupting not only the inhabitants, but the planet itself.
Byss was the secret throne world of Palpatine and the location of his toweringImperial Citadel. He also kept his secret supply ofclone bodies there.
Byss was a mythic paradiseworld enshrouded in thedark side ofthe Force, located within the isolated and nearly inaccessibleDeep Galactic Core.[13] It was situated at the end of theByss Run, a heavily guarded artificialhyperlane kept open by hundreds of non-massS-thread boosters, connecting the planet to theCore Worlds. The planet was otherwise nearly impossible to reach safely throughhyperspace, due to the high density ofstars in the Deep Core and the constantly shifting patterns of the region's natural hyperlanes.[4] Byss was the fifth planet of theBeshqek system andorbited the starBeshqek; it was one of two habitable planets in thesystem, the other beingRelus.[5] The planet was orbited by five smallmoons, which had little influence on its tides.[1]
Physical features[]
Bathed in a blue-green sunlight, Byss was originally a lush and fertile world.[5] A natural conduit of Force power, it invigorated force users in a flood ofForce energy.[9] Byss was corrupted by dark energies afterEmperorPalpatine made the world his personal retreat and began leeching Force energy from the immigrants he lured there. Over time, the planet was transformed into one of the most powerfulnexuses of dark-side energy inthe galaxy.[5]
Byss was renowned throughout planets under the control of theGalactic Empire as a legendary world of serene, paradisaical natural beauty.[13] The planet was dotted with chains of lakes and rivers where microscopic lifeforms dwelled, as well as wind-smoothed plateaus and canyons. Its isolation from much of the galaxy allowed for its natural islands and pre–Expansionist Era ruins to remain untouched for thousands of years. Most of Byss's vegetation wasferns andlichens. No intelligentspecies ever evolved on Byss, and what wildlife there existed was largely nocturnal and harmless. Byss was also devoid of any rare elements or heavy metals. The planet's calm, balmy climate and mild seasons,[1] ranging from clear to rainy,[6] were primarily caused by its minuscule axial tilt and stable geologic foundation. Violent phenomena, such as storms andvolcanism, were extremely rare. This led to the creation of a myth, fabricated by the Empire, concerning a beautiful and mystic siren world hidden from the galaxy at large, where blissful contentment awaited any who chose to apply for immigration to the planet.[1]
Government and role[]
Byss
Politically, Byss was ruled by three major galactic powers. The planet was controlled by theRakatanInfinite Empire for nearly five-thousand years before its collapse,[4] and thousands of years later the planet came under the rule of the Galactic Empire, where it served as Emperor Palpatine's resort world. A toweringcitadel was built usingnon-Humanslave labor at the heart of the ruling city, along with ornate buildings and resort complexes, and soon an entire continent, theImperial control sector, was covered in acityscape. The planet was ruled as a dark-sidetheocracy, led solely by Palpatine and hisDark Side Adepts.[1] Byss became one of Palpatine'sfortress worlds[14] after the Empire'scollapse atEndor,[15] and served as thecapital world of theDark Empire, his reborn empire.[1] At this point, the planet became a rallying point for the remaining fragments of the former Empire and the base of operations for Palpatine's reconquest of the galaxy. It also became the construction site of numerous Imperialsuperweapons, including theWorld Devastators,[13] theSovereign-class andEclipse-class dreadnoughts, and theGalaxy Gun.[5] After itsdestruction, theImperial Remnant remained active in the Beshqek system and patrolled Byss's remains.[12]
Security[]
Under Imperial rule, Byss became one of the most reclusive and heavily guarded worlds in the galaxy. Most natural routes into the Deep Core weremined and the rest were covered by theImperial Hyperspace Security Net—a system ofgravity well projectors andhyperwave transceivers designed to monitor and control traffic into and out of the Deep Core.[1] As a fortress world,[14] Byss was guarded by a number of security forces and technologies, all of which were overseen byByss Security itself.[2] TheByss Security Zone, a restricted area ofspace around Byss, was guarded by a ring ofStar Destroyers, while an entiresectorfleet was additionally spread throughout the Beshqek system. It also included theByss Defense Fleet. AMETOSP, or "Message ToSpacers," was broadcast to all travelers entering the system as a warning against trespassing. GargantuanHunter-Killer probots were responsible for patrolling the skies above Byss, and were used as capture and detainment platforms for unauthorized ships.[5] The planet itself was surrounded by aplanetary shield controlled by Byss Security,[2] and a system ofGauntlet Scanner Stations were used to monitor traffic around the planet.[5]
The Gauntlet Scanner Stations comprised of manyGolan III Space Defense NovaGuns orbiting Byss, where security personnel would coordinate space traffic with the scannersatellites spread over the planet.Officers stationed aboard these platforms typically oversaw the daily operation of the Byss Security Zone by monitoringIFF transponder codes, security codes, and other forms of authorization used to control traffic to and from the surface of Byss. If any traveler was found possessing forged documents, the Star Destroyers guarding Byss had authorization to use lethal force against them. The Gauntlet Scanner Stations additionally served as orbital defense platforms for Byss, boasting firepower equal to somecapital ships, and also housedsquadrons ofTIE fighters and other defensive forces.[5]
On the surface of Byss, surveillance and a heavy military presence was commonplace.Stormtroopers were stationed at every street corner, each landing pad was guarded by a TIE fighter, and undercoverImperial Security Bureau agents were present at most of the planet's public areas to watch out for any potential traitors.[5] Additionally,shipyards,fighter bases, and militarybarracks large enough to hold an entirearmy were present all across the Imperial Control Sector. All of these complexes were camouflaged behind colorful plazas and public buildings, themselves armed with the latest defenseturbolasers andshock fields.[1]
History[]
A settlement on Byss
Around30,000 BBY during thePre-Republic era, Byss was ruled by the space-faringRakata. UsingForce-based hyperdrives, they traveled to many worlds around the galaxy that possessed significant signatures in the Force, uniting them to form the RakatanInfinite Empire.[4] They constructed atemple fortress on Byss that served as their headquarters in the Deep Core.[11] After five thousand years of galactic dominance, the Rakata retreated to their homeworld.[4]
The surface of the world was dotted with ruins that were said to be pre–Expansionist Era. During theGalactic Empire's expansion into the Deep Core region, Palpatine selected Byss as his personal retreat and his secret throne world.[1] Thousands ofnon-Human slaves were forced to labor in the "recolonization efforts" on Byss including theUtapauns andGamorreans after theClone Wars.[9]
It was on Byss that a number of capturedAgriCorps workers andPadawans were held captive under the supervision ofSly Moore, until the Emperor introduced them toDarth Vader. Vader killed all but four of them; these four he trained to beInquisitors. One of the chosen, namedAntinnis Tremayne, would eventually become aHigh Inquisitor.[9] It was the site of theSarlacc Project, where aSuper Star Destroyer prototype was under creation beforebeing destroyed by a group of freedom fighters and pirates underBail Prestor Organa andAlya Aldrete.[16]The Emperor drew people to the planet under the pretext that it was a paradise world. Such immigrants lived out their lives in elaborate pageants and amusements, which distracted them from what Palpatine was really doing: draining their life energies to power his abominable experiments. Eventually, Byss was entirely enveloped in the dark side of the Force.[5]
Byss was fanatically loyal to the Emperor even after his first death at theBattle of Endor. When the Emperor was reborn in a new clone body, Byss became the capital world of the Galactic Empire, which Palpatineplanned on rebuilding into the beginnings of a universe-spanning magocracy.[10] Two duelstookplace on Byss, as well as anattack by the New Republic. Byss wasdestroyed during a battle with theNew Republic whenR2-D2 rammedEclipse II into theGalaxy Gun, causing the last projectile of the Galaxy Gun to misfire and aim toward the planet, destroying it.[18]
With the destruction of Byss, millions of refugees fromRelus fled toPrakith and beyond. The energies of the Deep Core erased theByss Run and rendered the system unreachable, causing millions to be marooned.[4]
Composite image demonstrating the inconsistency in the depiction of Byss
The first edition ofGalaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (1989) identified the homeworld of theAbyssin species as anOuter Rim world namedByss,[19] which differed greatly from its Deep Core counterpart introduced three years later inStar Wars: Dark Empire.[10]Galaxy Guide 4's second edition, published several years afterDark Empire, addressed the two worlds having the same name and specifically stated that the Abyssin homeworld and the Emperor's retreat were two distinct planets in different parts of the galaxy.[20] Nevertheless, theninety-third issue ofThe Official Star Wars Fact File later confused the two worlds, listing the Abyssin as a native species of the Deep Core Byss in its entry for the planet.[21]
Byss and the Deep Core onWizards.com(backup link) (original site is defunct)