Rakata

"Long ago the Rakata ruled all the known galaxy; all species bowed down to us."

- Keeper Orsaa

The Rakata (also known as the Builders) were a humanoid species with distinctive amphibian features. They were a scientifically advanced race that developed early in galactic history, even developing some early hyperdrive technology. Long term use of the dark side of the Force corrupted their society and turned them into a race of merciless warriors. The Rakata used their potent Force-powered technologies to conquer and enslave every other species they came across throughout their known galaxy. During the reign of their Infinite Empire, they were characterized by their cruelty, savagery, and arrogance. They were known to strip entire planets of their resources, terraform worlds to fit their own shifting needs, kill entire slave workforces, and to eat and defile the bodies of slain enemies.

Biology and appearance
In appearance, Rakata were smooth skinned amphibian-like humanoids that had tall craniums along with protruding eyes which jutted from each side of their heads on short stalks. These bipedal beings had three digit hands that were tipped with claws for digging through packed dirt. As a species, they were uniformly lean and close to the same height. Outsiders had some difficulty in distinguishing between individual Rakata although females tended to be of more slender builds.

Skin tones amongst their kind tended to be gray or gray-brown. Almost all Rakata had gray or reddish-gray skin though this was a trait of the dominant lineage of those that survived the ancient plague that thinned their numbers. Among the more rare specimens were the near extinct breeds which included the blue skinned Droot, red striped Ikalik, and black Bukesek.

The ancient Rakata were known to be a naturally Force-sensitive species though became blind to the Force due the results of a plague that inflicted their race.

Rise of the Rakata
This ancient species was native to the planet Lehon which was a temperate terrestrial world located within the Unknown Regions. They would establish the Infinite Empire that was centered around their homeworld of Lehon. However, it was only the decline of the Celestials influence in 30,000 BBY before the Galactic Republic that allowed a new power to enter into the galactic stage. This period marked the height of the reign of the Rakata. From Lehon, the Rakata used Force-based hyperdrives that allowed their vessels to journey to worlds with a strong Force signature. Some hypotheses over the hyperspace turbulence in the Unknown Regions claim that it was created to serve as a barrier between the Celestials and the upstart Rakata. This Rakatan empire would expand by thousands of light years in every direction. By circa 30,000 BBY, the Force-using Rakata had tunneled through hyperspace in order to lay claim to a modest "Infinite Empire".

Through the use of dark side-fueled technologies such as Force-powered hyperdrive, the Builders formed the Infinite Empire which dominated known space for thousands of years. However, their hyperdrives could only visit worlds possessing strong force signatures, making their empire have few worlds and much space between each. This allowed for numerous other civilizations to flourish. Many of the most prominent worlds of the Empire were included in this empire, such as, Corellia, Honoghr, Generis, Hijarna, Xo, and Dantooine falling under their dominion. This haphazard nature of their empire meant that loose confederacies of other civilizations managed to develop in the spaces between Rakatan worlds through the use of dangerous as well as unpredictable hyperdrive technology.

During their expansion, the Infinite Empire's forces managed to defeat this era's other great powers which included the Gree Enclave and the Kwa Holdings. The Rakata had fought bitter conflicts against the Gree and drove them back to their home cluster and nearly exterminated the Kwa. With their victory, the Rakata took Dathomir under their rule and even transported the native rancors to their homeworld of Lehon as curiosities. The powerful, Force-wielding Rakata may have even displaced the most advanced species of that time period, including the Killiks of Alderaan and the Sharu of the Rafa system, during their meteoric rise to power. Among the other noted achievement made by the Rakata was the capture of the World Razer and imprisoning it within the core of a prison world that was Belsavis.

The Infinite Empire
"I am Rakata - it is the name of my people. Eons ago, our Infinite Empire ruled this world and so many others."

- The Imprisoned One.

Being a war-like and cruel race, the greater dangers posed by the Rakata was the fact that they were strong in the Force along with being technology advanced. They were known to had enslaved or wipied out every civilization they encountered. The victorious Rakata were known to have had been both cruel and manipulative masters amongst those worlds enslaved under the Infinite Empire's rule. At its height, the Empire governed 500 worlds and its population numbered ten billion Rakatan warriors and one trillion slaves. Among its conquests were the Selkath of Manaan, Wookiees of Kashyyyk, Kumumgah of Tatooine, Noghri of Honoghr, and the natives of the Corellian Sector. This saw the likes of humans, Duros, Selonians, and Drall, along with the Selkath being enslaved for millennia. By transporting these slave species to new worlds, the Rakata were believed to have inadvertently seeded swaths of the galaxy with sentient life. Furthermore, they made use of Coruscanti and Corellian slaves to create weapons of colossal scale. At its peak, nearly five hundred conquered worlds paid tribute to the Rakata Infinite Empire.

At some unknown point, the Infinite Empire came under threat from a marauding horde of aliens known as the Esh-kha. These aliens raided world after world where they destroyed their inhabitants before continuing their campaign. Such actions led to the loss of several Rakatan slave worlds to the Esh-kha before the Infinite Empire assembled its military might to challenge this threat. The Rakata were known to had hated the Esh-kha and refered to them as a plague on the galaxy due to their actions. The resultant conflict engulfed the entire galaxy and led to the near extinction of their enemy. Only a hundred thousand survivors lived by the time the Infinite Empire won the war with these remaining Esh-kha being imprisoned on Belsavis where they were placed in stasis. The technology preserved the species but left them conscious with the Rakata believing that such a punishment would teach the Esh-kha the error of their ways. The reputation of the Esh-kha led to the Infinite Empire even imprisoning Hallow Voice and his peaceful Esh-kha followers on Belsavis. The great victory achieved by the Infinite Empire led to the Rakata creating a monument on the planet Hoth that contained an interactive hologram that spoke of the feat in defeating the Esh-kha threat.

During their period of expansion, the Rakata encountered the Sith species of Korriban. At first, the Rakata were wary and they pretended to ally themselves with the warlord Adas, going so far as to show him how to construct the pyramidal Sith holocron. In time, however, Adas learned that the invaders were bent on conquest. Unifying the Sith, King Adas led a revolt against the Rakata invaders and subsequently acquired their technology as well as that of Holocrons. When the two species went to war, he managed to lead the Sith to victory and drive the Rakata from Korriban, but at the expense of his life. Though defeated, the Rakata had devastated Korriban that led to the Sith's relocation to Ziost. At some unknown point, a Rakata called Soa formed his own empire that was based at Korriban that served as his throne. However, the Infinite Empire later imprisoned him in the Eternity Vault on Belsavis where he became known as the Infernal One.

The height of the Rakata was reached in 5,000 BBY when their Infinite Empire had reached its zenith. By this time, they were known to had meddled in the ecosystems of many of the worlds under their reign ranging from Kashyyyk to Tatooine and Vagar Praxut. The surface of Kashyyyk was specifically terraformed by the Rakata for agricultural purposes. In contrast, worlds such as Duro and Morseer were stripped bare during the height of the Infinite Empire.

Collapse
"During the collapse of the Rakata Empire, the warlords unleashed weapons of terrible destruction that threatened to drive our species to extinction."

- Rakatan Elder to Revan.

After generations of galactic supremacy, the Infinite Empire began to fracture and by circa 25,200 BBY the Rakatan empire imploded. Constant tensions between internal factions suddenly erupted into a devastating civil war caused by the Star Forge's corrupting influence. Already weakened by warfare, the Builders were suddenly struck by a deadly plague that spread rapidly through their ranks and decimated the species. Later, it would be theorized that the disease was created by a slave species because it only infected the Builders themselves. The virulent plague nearly exterminated the Rakata and brought the Infinite Empire to its knees, yet the worst was yet to come. The Rakata suddenly and inexplicably began to lose their connection to the Force. Worse, they were unable to uncover the source of their failing sensitivity. Rakatan scientists came up with numerous speculative hypotheses to explain their worsening condition, but in the end, all of their theories proved incorrect. In time, it would be revealed that a mysterious mutation in the plague had caused it to strip the Builders of their powers.

Thus, the rapid expansion of the Rakata came to an abrupt end when this strange plague swept through their species. Millions died as a result of its effects and thus that survived had lost their connection to the Force. As the Force users were culled from the overall population at an ever increasing rate, the Rakata lost their ability to manipulate their own technology. Soon, they were forced to rely on inferior devices that were not dependent on the Force. Sensing weakness, slave species rebelled in large-scale insurrections on many member worlds and stemmed the total collapse of the Infinite Empire in 25,200 BBY. As a result of this vulnerability, the Rakata were unable to suppress the massive outbreak of violent slave rebellions and uprisings against their rule. The nearly decimated Rakata could do nothing but abandon their conquests and retreat to the safety of their homeworld of Lehon. Some Rakata castoffs survived the fall of the Infinite Empire in the Tion Cluster as late as 25,100 BBY, allowing Tion Humans access to their Force-sensitive technology.

The Lehon system was protected by a disruptor field that could disable any incoming ship's communications and navigational systems. The field, operated from the summit of a Temple on the surface of Lehon, was originally constructed to protect the Star Forge, but it was now used to protect the Rakata themselves. On their homeworld, Rakatan civilization rapidly faded into obscurity and barbarism. On Lehon, a few thousand Rakata survivors seemingly represented all that remained of the Infinite Empire who remained on their hidden homeworld where they descended into barbarity. Warlords devastated the surface of the planet with weapons of mass destruction and the majority of the Rakata were forced to flee underground. Years later, when the Rakatans resurfaced, they called themselves Black Rakata, such as The One and his people. Only the descendants of the Priest Caste, the Elders tribe, remained on the surface protected by their ancient temples and enclaves. They were called Red Rakata by the other Rakata tribes. They alone would retain full knowledge of the potent technology and turbulent history of their species. In the following centuries, the Builders were purposely erased from the records of their slave subjects and the Infinite Empire slipped from the pages of galactic history. In time, the liberated worlds destroyed the Rakata's creations and records where all trace and knowledge of them being wiped from the greater galaxy.

A number of Rakata tribes in the Unknown Regions were known to had stolen whatever they were capable of carrying from the storehouses of the idle Star Forge before fleeing in advance of the nuclear war that emerged between the warrior and priest classes. These refugees would later settle a region of space that became known as the Rakatan Archipelago. A small group of Rakata remained on the prison world of Belsavis where they created an artificial intelligence called the Mother Machine which created entire species in a desperate attempt at recreating the lost Rakatan Force-sensitivity. With the collapse of the Rakata Empire, reverse engineering began on the Rakatan hyperdrives which led to a second wave of colonization that enveloped a small patch of the Core.

Remnants


"The few surviving Rakata declined to leave their ancestral home, and their numbers were insufficient to maintain a viable gene pool. Within a few generations, the long, slow extinction of their species was finally complete."

- From the official Republic threat dossier regarding the planet Lehon.

The surviving Rakata devolved into barbarism and eventually forgot on how to operate their own technology. More than 20,000 years after the fall of the Infinite Empire, most Rakata had only just begun to reemerge onto the surface, yet the Elders Tribe still thrived within their secluded compound. After long millennia of solitude and contemplation, the Elders desired to destroy their great factory so that they could finally put their bloody past behind them, but there was a problem. They could no longer enter their own Temple of the Ancients, the nexus of their collected knowledge and the key to accessing the Star Forge, because the Force was lost to them.

Darth Revan and Darth Malak's timely arrival in the system gave the Elders a perfect opportunity. Promising to destroy the Star Forge, Revan entered the temple, but he betrayed the Elders' trust and took the space station for himself. Around 3,959 BBY, he harnessed the full power of the Star Forge and began a massive military invasion of the Galactic Republic that would culminate in the Jedi Civil War. Meanwhile, the Rakata were forced to watch their species' actions repeat themselves through the person of Revan, powerless to stop it. Their Temple and Star Forge became the dwellings of dark side users once more. Yet Revan would return, unlooked-for, three years later and redress that betrayal. A redeemed Revan ended the Sith occupation of the Rakatan temple and deactivated the planet's disruptor field so that the Star Forge could be destroyed by a Republic fleet. He also aided the Rakata's efforts to regain their lost Force sensitivity which they believed would eventually allow them to rejoin the galactic community.

Following the destruction of the Star Forge, these Rakata join the Galactic Republic leading to some leaving their homeworld along with their brethren behind on Lehon in order to rejoin a technologically advanced society. These travellers spread stories about their ancient society though few believe or take notice of them. Because all records of the Infinite Empire were lost to time, some were skeptical of the notion that the seemingly primitive beings had once ruled hundreds of worlds and dominated the galaxy. However, Lehon's planetary population would continue to dwindle in time. This led to the Rakata of Lehon to slowly die out as there were too few to maintain their species. By 1,000 BBY, the Rakata died out on Lehon and were believed extinct.

Legacy of the Builders


"You think this is plausible? I thought half of that stuff was a myth. I mean, the Rakatans?"

- Khedryn Faal to Jaden Korr.

Though seemingly extinct on Lehon, the legacy of the Rakata still had an impact on the galaxy in later years. Scientists considered the belief that the Rakatan Infinite Empire being part of fringe science at best though some noted their similarity to the machinery located within the Kashyyyk Shadowlands. In the Cold War, numerous attempts were made at uncovering Rakatan relics with an Imperial Reclamation Service effort on Tatooine discovering an archaeological mission conducted by Czerka Corporation. They in turn had recovered the prison that contained the mind of The Imprisoned One who was accidentally released. This Rakata intended to begin the age of a new Infinite Empire through the advanced technology available to him until he was defeated by an agent of the Sith Empire.

During the attack on Belsavis, the Eternity Vault itself was pierced leading to combat with the Infernal One, Soa. Warden Gorshaa was a Rakata still alive in the deep levels of Belsavis where he encountered a Sith Inquisitor and offered the Sith knowledge on controlling their capabilities on the condition that the Imperial submitted their genetic material to the Mother Machine. Another Rakata still alive was Lhunu who intended to repent for his peoples crimes by freeing the Esh-kha Hallow Voice and his followers with the aid of the Scorekeeper's Herald. The Rakatan machinery in the Deep Prisons was also being sabotaged by the Esh-kha who attempted to free more of their kin which led to Rakata holographic interface requesting travelers in repairing the machinery. The Sith in the mean time attempted to recover Rakatan memory cores in order to discern the technology used to create the prison in order to duplicate the feat so that the Empire could build their own prison world.

Among the only survivors of this race remained within the Unknown Regions in the Rakatan Archipelago. No Republic surveyors ever managed to locate this area of space whilst many of the local species were abused by this pocket civilization. The other powers of the Unknown Regions were largely unaware and ignorant of the threat of these Rakata. The few Rakata that remained in this space consisted of a scattering of planets where these Rakata tribes continued their ancient struggles. While most tribes were primitive and were restricted to a single planet, some had managed to rediscover the secrets of space flight; two tribes had even begun construction on small orbital factories similar in function to the Star Forge. It was believed that if any of these Rakata found a way of restoring their primeval technology than they may bring about the rise of the Infinite Empire once more.

By the time Darth Bane arrived on Lehon in search of Darth Revan's holocron, the planet was completely devoid of sentient life. The Sith Lord Darth Plagueis was known to had collected the ancient history of the Rakata and remarked to his Sith apprentice Darth Sidious that they had made the Force subservient to their will whilst never pronouncing judgment over their works. Agents of the One Sith managed to discover Rakatan ruins in the Unknown Regions and pillaged Mindspears from them at some point before 41.5 ABY. Lessons about the Rakata were taught to students of the Jedi Academy where it was known that their Infinite Empire collapsed as the result of some great catastrophe. In that time, Jaden Korr encountered a structure that Marr Idi-Shael believed may had been Rakatan in origin. They later confirmed its ties with the Rakata and encountered the entity known as Mother.

The Rakata remained as one of the most important species for professors in the fields of planetary archaeology and xenoanthropology as they held a link to a long-ago past that changed the galaxy forever. By later era, there were only a few scant ruins of their civilization which were scattered around the galaxy and provided a source of interest for archaeologists and historians.

Society


By nature, the Rakata were conquerors with many agreeing that they showed outward signs of malice and their violent cores still erupted to the surface if pushed. Enraged Rakata were incapable of being reasoned with and ignored their own injuries in a wild effort to destroy those they believe to be their enemies. Modern era Rakata tend to be primitive though were driven with a great desire to restore their species to their former powerful glory. Such Rakata know that once they were much more powerful. Such Rakata were seemingly at a disadvantage in galactic society due to their primitive upbringing though their intelligence allowed them learn to use advanced technology. Worlds strong in the Force were sought out by Force-sensitives called Force Hounds. Typical tactics employed by them was the exploration of new worlds where the Rakata enslaved as many natives as possible through the use of technological show of force. Afterwards, they would use the same equipment to strip mine a site of its metals, ores, compressed gasses and radioactive plasma. Their shipships were known to typically arrive on rich unspoilt biospheres and thus the Rakata had seldom need to deal with advanced civilizations.

The species was divided into numerous classes with the ruling group being their priest class that wear long robes and electronic control devices on their forearms. Members of this group were responsible for deciphering dead texts. In contrast, the warriors typically work angular plastoid armor and carried shocklances. Members of more primitive tribes tended to wear armor made of wood and twine along with brandishing fire-blackened spears. A divide exists even amongst the most backward of planets under Rakata rule between their thinkers and their soldiers. Warriors tend to be darkly suspicious of the priests that harness powers beyond comprehension whilst the priests in turn were weary of warriors who held more muscles than brains.

Modern age Rakata were all Force-blind as a result of the ancient plague that decimated their ranks. Those survivors of it were known to hunger for a way to restore this lost connection. All Rakata long to restore this trait that vanished millennia ago and feel this loss on a spiritual level with them describing it as a blackhole in their chests that consumed their life, contentment and happiness. The priest class see this loss from a more practical aspect as all their ancient technology operates to its fullest potential by way of Force aptitude which they can no longer fully control. This had led to scientists from the priest class in experimenting on living beings in an attempt to discern the Force's essence. These experiments can take the form of dissection of animals and drafting of tissue into prisoner's bodies. The crimes of these vicisectionists had driven those Rakata in the Unknown Regions to a monstrous reputation for their brutality in this regard and was the reason why many indigenous populations fiercly fought against their Rakatan overmasters.

Their society was noted to be divided into a tribal structure with each holding their own goals. Some obsessed with finding new ways to try and reconnect to the Force whilst others disregarded their past that led them to their fall into becoming more primitive. Within the Rakatan Archipelago, there exists some worlds where their priests and warrior classes had united to wield the wonders of their ancestors. Among these enlightened worlds, the day-to-day bloodshed was lessened though the urge to reclaim their lost glories was powerful. On other worlds, the schism between the two classes had led to open warfare where they use weapons that they barely understand that leave the landscape pitted with glowing radioactivity. Among these include barbarous tribes that believe their worlds represent all of creation and make war against other native species.

In terms of language, the Rakata spoke their own native tongue which was also known as Rakatan language. Despite this being the case, they were intelligent enough to pick up new information quickly. This was especially the case for members of their priest class who were more likely to understand the speech of outsiders.

Technology


"Surely you know the glory of the Builders and their Infinite Empire. The fury of their weapons surpassed even my own might."

- The World Razer.

Ancient Rakata relied upon Force-powered technology to conquer many worlds. The Rakata's rise to power was fueled by a range of advanced devices that married the Force to high technology. Amongst the wonders of their forebears included planetary disruptor fields, builder droids and skipships. They were considered to be one of a dozen ancient races that had developed self-aware automata. In fact, the Infinite Empire did not see the Force and technology as being concepts at being odd with one another. They were known to had built self-aware machines powered in part by Force energies. It was recorded that the Rakatans had used mechano-organic technology elements duringsome of their reign that was infused with the dark side. Their prison facility on Belsavis made use of teleportation technology that allowed a quick means of transportation from one site to another. In addition, they developed a form of stasis technology that left individuals immobile though conscious of events and preserved them for centuries which they used as a means of imprisonment. Furthermore, they were able to generate massive power cores as seen on Belsavis that drew energy from hyperspace and, if overloaded, were able to destroy an entire star system with the effects spreading to nearby systems. The Builders were rumored to have been one of the first species to develop energy shields and were credited with the invention of the earliest form of the interstellar hyperdrive. The Rakatan drive, however, was a severely limited device due to the fact that it relied on the Force itself to function. It was only capable of perceiving and traveling to worlds with a significant Force signature (i.e. a high degree of native life). As such, the number of worlds under the Rakata's thumb was limited, though diverse and far flung.

Star maps were placed on conquered worlds as a lasting monument to the power and scope of the Infinite Empire. Like many Rakatan technologies, the Star maps were self-sustaining and capable of regeneration. Terraforming machines were also frequently used to modify a conquered world's climate, geology, flora, and fauna to meet the Builder's needs. In so doing, the Rakata transformed entire worlds and greatly influenced the development of native species. Temples were built on several worlds, such as Honoghr, Dantooine, and Lehon. The purpose of some of these temples was to house the Star Maps. The purpose of the Honoghr temple is unknown. One of the Rakata's most interesting inventions was a "mind prison", a peculiar box that trapped the mind of its victim. The only way for a prisoner to escape (a flaw discovered by a Rakata imprisoned for an exceptionally long time) was to take over the body of the next being to foolishly open the box. Revan very nearly suffered this fate after playing with one such device, but after winning a game of riddles with the Rakatan captive, he was released. Unfortunately, he could not figure out how to save the prisoner from bondage without imprisoning a replacement.

A virtually endless stream of supplies was needed to expedite the expansion of the Rakatan empire. This led to the creation of their greatest achievement that was needed to build anything its creators desired. To this end, the Rakata created the Star Forge in 30,000 BBY. The Star Forge was the centerpiece of the Rakatan empire and the most advanced of their technological innovations. It was a massive space station fueled by the Rakata system's star and built for the mass production of war hardware. It alone was capable of meeting the entire Empire's demand for starships and war droid construction, yet such efficiency came at a terrible price. The Star Forge was, in part, powered by the dark side of the Force and was, therefore, highly corruptive. Rakatan scientists and engineers allowed the Star Forge to have access to a near-limitless supplies of energy because they believed that they could control it, but they were wrong. As a semi-living entity, the Star Forge gorged on dark side energies and with time, it began to feed itself by manipulating its own creators. Later historians grew to believe that the Rakata had not invented the hyperdrive, but had taken it from the technology of the Celestials who had predated their Empire by several millennia.

Behind the scenes
Rakata is the name of a volcano on the island of Krakatau. After the destruction of Krakatau, it's now the name of the island that was once part of Krakatau.

'Hyperspace aliens' is a fanon nickname of the otherwise unnamed aliens who according to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, gave the Hyperspace technology to Humans. According to The New Essential Chronology, the Rakata were the original creators of the hyperdrive. The Corellians, Duros, and various other civilizations adopted and modified it for their own needs after the fall of the Infinite Empire. However, it is notable that the book refers to the mysterious Celestials separately from the Rakata.

In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the player can find a Rakatan Band which has a description that reads:"'This simple device improves the wearer's ability to perceive the reality of their surroundings. The origin behind the item's name is unknown, but rumor has it that these bands were constructed as a defense against an ancient species of alien deceivers, who made absurd claims of dominance concerning their role in the galaxy. It is said this species of lying primitives went so far as to take credit for almost every major event in galactic history since the discovery of the hyperdrive.'" The statement above obviously implies that the Rakata made some contact with the greater galaxy between the Battle of Rakata Prime in the year 3,956 BBY and Meetra Surik's involvement in the Dark Wars circa 3,951 BBY.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia disagrees with most sources and claims that the Rakata and their culture were completely wiped out by the Galactic Republic.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi
 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural
 * Timeline 8: The Jedi Civil War
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul
 * Star Wars: Republic 68: Armor
 * Star Wars Dark Times 15: Blue Harvest, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Riptide
 * Millennium Falcon