Star Forge

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their Infinite Empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest."

- The Overseer

The Star Forge was a giant automated shipyard constructed by the Rakatan Infinite Empire in 30,000 BBY, five thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Republic. The Star Forge drew energy and matter from a nearby star which, when combined with the power of the Force, was capable of creating an endless supply of ships, droids, and other war material. The Rakata, also known as "The Builders," constructed the massive space station through the use of slaves from many subject worlds including, but not necessarily limited to, Corellia, Coruscant, Dantooine, Drall, Duro, Kashyyyk, Manaan, Selonia, Sleheyron, Tatooine, and Ziost. This technological marvel came at a terrible cost as the Rakata were by nature a cruel and savage species and the Star Forge began feeding off of these negative traits inherent in its creators. As a result the Star Forge became an immense tool of dark side power.

The Star Forge, now a fusion of technology and dark side energies, began corrupting the Rakata in order to gain the immense power it required to operate itself and ultimately caused the collapse of the Rakatan Empire. The semi-living superweapon's ability to corrupt its users forced Darth Revan to limit his contact with the dark side artifact to avoid allowing it to control him as it did the Rakatans.

Description


The scale of the Star Forge was extraordinary for its time. Capital ships could easily move between the gaps of the three "fins" that radiated outwards from the central spherical structure. The fins extended downward to draw energy from the sun of the Rakata system, using it to produce weapons and armament. While having few apparent docks for capital ships, many fighter craft and smaller freighters were able to dock at bays located on each of these fins.

Externally, the Star Forge required very little defensive weaponry, save for several turbolaser batteries positioned near its hangar bays. Instead it depended entirely on its massive ship production capability as a means to defend itself. Internally, it was also capable of manufacturing thousands of battle droids for defense, and possessed several heavy blast doors that ran throughout the entire factory. It was also protected by a deadly ship-disabling energy field projected from Lehon's Temple of the Ancients on the Rakata homeworld nearby. The field caused ships to malfunction and be captured in the planet's gravity well, sending them spiraling down to the world below.

Construction and early usage


As was the case with all apparent products of Rakatan dark side energy engineering, the Star Forge managed to survive several tens of thousands of years idling and without an operational crew by relying on its built-in automated repair systems. This trait was replicated in certain artifacts, such as the Star Maps. The Rakatan Builders destroyed the Star Maps after the completion of the Star Forge, but these slowly repaired themselves with the Star Forge's technology. While the data in each one was incomplete by the time the reformed Revan discovered them, their combined information was enough to reveal the location of the Star Forge.

As an artifact of the dark side, the Star Forge corrupted those who used it, feeding its desire for death. Ajunta Pall hinted that it may have been known to, and used by, the early Sith. After the Mandalorian Wars, it came into the service of Revan and Malak, who had been powerful and honorable Jedi Knights until discovering the Star Maps leading to the location of the ancient dark space station, thus resulting in the rebirth of the Sith.

Jedi Civil War
After having his memory erased by the Dantooine Enclave Council, Revan was directed to rediscover the location of the Star Forge, while it was under Malak's control who used it to strengthen the Sith fleet with a massive number of ships. It was destroyed at the end of the Jedi Civil War (3,956 BBY) by a Republic fleet aided by Bastila Shan's battle meditation.

Darth Malak's experiment
"The Star Forge is more than just a space station. In some ways, it is like a living creature. It hungers. And it can feed on the dark side that is within all of us."

- Darth Malak

Immediately prior to his defeat at the hands of Revan, Malak attempted to harness a heretofore ignored property of the Star Forge. Using Jedi captured from the destroyed enclave on Dantooine, Malak was able to incorporate them into the Star Forge itself, which was seemingly capable of harnessing the power of Force-sensitives and channeling the power into a particular subject – in this case, Malak himself. The Jedi in the Star Forge were unable to become one with the Force while in this state, and Malak could use the energy inside the nearly lifeless bodies to regain his strength. The drained Jedi were apparently killed in the process. Revan sabotaged the system during his battle with Malak on the Star Forge Viewing Platform and it was subsequently destroyed along with the rest of the Star Forge.

Legacy
After its destruction, the Star Forge fell into obscurity within the galactic community. The Republic, at the urging of the Jedi, felt it was unnecessary and detrimental to the rebuilding of the Republic to have the knowledge of the previously unknown Rakata surface. In their opinion, a reemergence of a culture that had once enslaved much of the known Galaxy would insight panic or fear. As a result, the Lehon system&mdash;with the wreckage from the final battle of Jedi Civil War, including the remains of the Star Forge&mdash;were quarantined. Only scant and obscure mention of the system and the Star Forge known.

In 1,000 BBY, Darth Bane had begun traveling the galaxy looking for information about the Sith predecessors to the Brotherhood of Darkness. His inquiries took him to the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban and then to the Lehon system while seeking information regarding Revan and Malak. During his approach to the Lehon system, he saw the still untouched remains of the Star Forge and the wreckage of the final battle. Large pieces of metal had fused together, creating a ring-like construct around the planet Lehon. The remaining pieces littered the system similar to an asteroid field.

Important locations on the Star Forge
There were four major locations on the Star Forge.

Deck 1
Deck 1 was a hangar in the Star Forge. During the Battle of Rakata Prime, the redeemed Jedi Revan, aboard the Ebon Hawk, landed on Deck 1. There, several Jedi told him to find Bastila Shan, but were soon attacked by Dark Jedi. Revan helped defeat the Dark Jedi, and traveled deeper into Deck 1 when Darth Malak sent droids to kill the Jedi on board. Revan defeated the droids, even a few more Dark Jedi, before proceeding into Deck 2. When Malak learned that Revan was on board, Malak sent all available troops to fight Revan. After defeating Malak on the Viewing Platform, Revan returned to Deck 1, where he informed the crew of the Ebon Hawk that Malak was defeated. Revan escaped the Star Forge aboard the Ebon Hawk.

Deck 2
Deck 2 was a deck on the Star Forge next to Deck 1, and had an elevator leading up to the Command Center.

Although the Star Forge was an artifact of the dark side, a console on Deck 2 could create light sided Star Forge Robes. Shortly after the redeemed Jedi Revan entered Deck 2, Darth Malak was told that Revan was on board. In response, Malak sent a garrison of Sith troopers and Dark Jedi to attack Revan.

Malak knew that his Sith underlings would be no match for Revan, but they would be able to slow Revan down, giving Malak enough time to set up the Star Forge's defenses, which were infinite battle droids constantly created by the Star Forge. Revan defeated the garrison, acquired some Star Forge Robes, and took the elevator to the Command Center.

Command Center
Located on the Star Forge, the Command Center which had elevators connected to Deck 2, and the Viewing Platform. It contained a large hologram of the Star Forge itself.

After being turned to the dark side of the Force by Darth Malak, Bastila Shan used her battle meditation from within the Command Center, to aid the Sith fleet in the Battle of Rakata Prime. However, Revan fought his way into the Command Center, and, after a lightsaber duel, was able to convert Bastila back to the Jedi. She then used her powers to help the Republic Navy, and turned the tide of battle in the Republic's favor.

The Command Center was ultimately destroyed along with the rest of the Star Forge at the conclusion of the battle.

Viewing Platform
Built near the summit of the Star Forge, the Viewing Platform was used to observe what was going on outside the space station. It was accessible via elevator from the Command Center.

During the Jedi Civil War, Darth Malak brought Jedi he had nearly killed on Dantooine to the Viewing Platform, placing their bodies into cells to prevent them from becoming one with the Force and augmenting his own dark power. When the redeemed Revan confronted Malak on the Viewing Platform, Malak used the captured souls to replenish his life, killing them in the process. To defeat Malak, Revan allowed the Jedi to become one with the Force, and mortally wounded his former apprentice. Malak died on the platform, which was destroyed shortly thereafter, along with the rest of the Star Forge, following Revan's escape.

Behind the scenes
In the non-canon dark side ending of KotOR, Darth Revan takes control of the Star Forge. However, Revan relocates back to Korriban where he experiences an increasing number of visions of what he'd seen between the Mandalorian War and the Jedi Civil War. He then abandoned his galactic conquest and ventured out into the Unknown Regions to face this threat, nominally leaving Bastila Shan in charge. It is highly likely that Revan didn't want to have to face another ambitious Force User who had the power of the Star Forge behind them. Certainly this is evidenced by the fact that in his initial conquests, Revan spared the galaxy's major industrial centers for an upcoming conflict with the True Sith. Without a strong dark side user to protect it, the Star Forge went dormant and stopped all production or activity.

Also, in the dark side ending, on the Command Deck, instead of facing Bastila, Revan faced Malak's three most powerful Dark Jedi (Each with different robes), Malak promises that the one who delivers the killing blow to Revan will become his new apprentice. Revan and Bastila fought and killed all three of them.

Appearances

 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction