Invisible Hand/Legends

"Master, General Grievous's ship is directly ahead. The one crawling with Vulture droids."

- Anakin Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Invisible Hand was a modified Providence-class carrier/destroyer and the flagship of General Grievous during the Clone Wars.

As the flagship of the Supreme Commander of the Droid Army, it also served as the flagship for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. At the height of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, it had become one of the most feared ships in the galaxy.

Specifications and Weapons
The Invisible Hand was manufactured by Quarren exiles from Mon Calamari as part of the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps along with Pammant Docks at an underground factory on Pammant.

The ship was covered with powerful weapon emplacements, including quad turbolaser turrets, dual laser cannons, ion cannons, point-defense ion cannons, proton torpedo tubes and Flak cannons. Each shot from the point-defense ion cannons released as much heat as a 4.8 megaton bomb, while the maximum yield of one of the quad turbolasers was equivalent to a magnitude 10 groundquake.



As Grievous's flagship, the Invisible Hand was given several major modifications. The aft reactor bay assembly was rearranged to provide more hangar space, so that the Invisible Hand could better serve as a carrier and invasion craft.

The ship’s dorsal fin mounted communication and sensor pod was refitted into spacious quarters, which were eventually taken over by Count Dooku. From there, Dooku broadcasted manipulative propaganda for the Separatist cause. It was known as the Wizard's Tower, and contained the General's Quarters.

History
As the Trade Federation became increasingly hostile, they bolstered their fleet with combat starships to further their Sith-influenced goals. Viceroy Nute Gunray chose the Invisible Hand as his flagship. When the Trade Federation joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems, they diverted their heavy Providence-class starships to the Confederate Navy, including the Invisible Hand.

As control of the Separatist forces was handed to Grievous, Gunray reluctantly surrendered the Invisible Hand to the droid general to use as a flagship at the behest of Darth Sidious. Gunray's reluctance was assuaged by the permission to allow Lushros Dofine to be the captain of the ship, and he assigned Neimoidian navigators and controllers to the bridge crew.

The Invisible Hand saw action at many engagements including those at Belderone, Humbarine, Duro, and Coruscant, as well as the deployment of the Loedorvian Brain Plague in the Weemell Sector. As the flagship of the famed General Grievous, slaughterer of billions, its name was so feared that the Confederacy used a pair of "decoys", Lucid Voice and Colicoid Swarm, to terrorize unsuspecting Republic worlds.

It was well known for the prodigious number of capital ships it managed to destroy or cripple (it is said the number was above two score) including more than a dozen Star Destroyers. This was a major contribution to the psychological warfare element of the ship, as Republic citizens worried about what would happen if their best warships (Venator-class Star Destroyers) could not top the Confederacy's. It was aboard the Invisible Hand that Palpatine was held captive, and where Count Dooku lost his life to Anakin Skywalker during the Battle of Coruscant. The Battle of Coruscant would be the Invisible Hand's last battle however.

Due to the suddenness of the attack as well as heavy signal jamming, not all Republic forces were aware of the Chancellor's presence aboard the Invisible Hand and continued firing on it. A barrage of turbolaser fire from the Star Destroyer Guarlara took the Invisible Hand down. Due to Captain Dofine's quick thinking: reversed stabilizers, magnetized fields; and General Grievous's last resort measure: the emergency booster engines; the ship was righted again, but not for long.

"We lost something."

- Anakin commenting on the ship's breaking in two

During a skirmish on the bridge with Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi the main viewport was shattered by Grievous in order to make his escape, sucking most of the crew into space. Dofine and what remained of the crew ran off the bridge, allowing the Invisible Hand to finally succumb to Coruscant's gravity, splitting in two as it fell out of orbit.

Against all odds, Skywalker landed what was left of the ship in an industrial zone, knocking over a radar tower in the process. Though Skywalker, Kenobi, and Palpatine survived, the ship was reduced to a wreck.

Behind the scenes
The modified communication and sensor pod used by Dooku is referred to as the "Wizard's Tower" in the Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections. This is a likely reference to actor Christopher Lee's role as Saruman in the The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Based on its use by the capitalist origins of the Trade Federation, the ship's name may be an Earth reference inspired by famed Scottish economist Adam Smith's economic concept of the "invisible hand"&mdash;a force, said by Smith, to guide events to a certain goal; in Palpatine's case, perhaps, the seduction of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side.

Another possible Earth reference which may have inspired the ship's name is the security starship of the same name in Vernor Vinge's 1999 novel, "A Deepness in the Sky."

Appearances



 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * "Chapter 22"
 * Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith game
 * Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader