Power gem

Power gems were extremely powerful stones capable of emitting a shield-disrupting aura. Once part of an ancient, rare meteor, power gems gradually lost their abilities over time, but were potent when first mined.

The Pirates of Iridium, prior to their destruction by the Jedi in 22 BBY, used these shards to great effect in their operations. By taking advantage of the gems' shield-disrupting power, they could cripple spice freighters and other spacecraft, looting their contents with little resistance.

While for a time it was presumed that all power gems were destroyed with their bandit owners, one of the relics survived in the possession of the smuggler and ex-pirate Raskar. Retiring to a remote Outer Rim planet, Raskar kept the gem until a worthy foe bested him in combat. Eventually, he was trounced by a cocky smuggler and his furry companion, and was forced to relinquish control of the last power gem.

After joining the Rebel Alliance, Han Solo and Chewbacca turned their acquisition over to General Jan Dodonna immediatly following the Battle of Yavin. In a courageous but futile effort to destroy the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Jan's son, Vrad, took the gem and flew skyward. The resulting event did little to disrupt the warship's shield&mdash;hardly any power was left in the gem after all the years that had passed. While the general's son failed to destroy Executor, his brave attack did buy the Alliance time to successfully evacuate the Yavin IV base.

Appearances

 * Classic Star Wars