Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/March 18, 2011

The Plaque of Victory was a triangular-shaped metal ingot, containing an entity that fed on the life-force and emotions of other living beings and existed solely to bring about the destruction and downfall of those with whom it came into contact. While not being capable of actively harming a living being&mdash;being an inanimate object&mdash;the Plaque was able to manipulate and influence individuals around it, causing them to experience heightened feelings of aggression, suspicion, and paranoia toward one another. The resulting feelings would culminate in increasing levels of violence and homicidal behavior.

The Plaque of Victory was first discovered on the planet Aaris III, located in the Kathol sector of the Outer Rim Territories, several thousand years before the Galactic Civil War, although it was not native to the planet. The Plaque's influence caused civil unrest among the planet's inhabitants, the Aaris, and the Plaque was hidden by a scholar called Kastays in the hope of negating the Plaque's influences. The plan did not work, and the Aaris descended into civil war. Their civilization fell to ruins, and the Plaque remained hidden for several millennia.

In 8 ABY, an Imperial science team, MS-133, began excavating the ruins on Aaris III. They rediscovered the Plaque of Victory and fell victim to its manipulations until the last two survivors, Lancer Brunou and Solla Deremot, were rescued from the planet by the New Republic CR90 corvette FarStar. Aboard the vessel, the Plaque attempted to spread its influence to the crew; however, the FarStar personnel realized the cause of their problems and jettisoned the Plaque into space, freeing themselves from the artifact's manipulations.