Shadow Droid

The Shadow Droids are malevolent machines piloted by surgically implanted organic brains, making the Shadow Droid more of a cyborg rather than a true droid.

The biotic nature gives them additional advantges that automatons can't match, these sleek fighters are armed with the power of the Dark Side of the Force. The Shadow Droids would never have existed if not for Emperor Palpatine's sick experimentations, and following the Galactic Empire's defeat at Endor, Palpatine's anima inhabited a fresh clone body and set in motion new plans of military conquest.

The Emperor's throne world of Byss was the homeworld of the research for the Shadow Droids and it soon spread to several think-tanks and manufacturing centers sequested on hidden worlds throughout the Deep Core. It has been said that the possible concept for the Shadow Droids came from Palpatine's intrest in life-enslaving technology of the Ssi-ruuk. The chief engineer Umak Leth could not duplicate the reptilian aliens' complicated "entechment" process and instead he fell back on the proven success of a direct circuit-to-cerebrum nerual link. To be able to do this Leth had to remove the still-living gray matter from scores of grievously wounded or incapacitated TIE Fighter aces. The brains were sustained in a protected cocoon awash with nutrient fluids, and the brains were hardwired to external sensors, flight-control and weapons-control systems, and sophisticated tactical computers.

When the brains became cybernetic hardware they stripped the pilots of every remaining shred of humanity, but augmented their reflexes and abilites far beyond anything they would have known. Emperor Palpatine had also as one final gift given his creations the ability to touch the dark side, which made them essentially remote extensions of his own will.

The Shadow Droid is a streamlined starfighter that is capable of keeping pace with the New Republic's X-Wing in space, and in the atmosphere they utilized a maneuverable repulsorlift system, but they can easly reach supersonic speeds with a short blast from their ion engines. These droids were also covered with a very glossy black alloy that made them difficult to pin point on sensor scans. The droids twin wings that were extended from the side of the control pad supported repeating blasters, ion cannons, and electromagnetic pulse guns. The droids had two additional pylons to serve as racks and launchers for proton torpedoes and concussion missiles. The droids two smaller dorsal lasers cover the rear field of fire, and a long-range antenna allows the fighters to transmit their dense binary code stream between each other and their command ship.

It is still very unclear how these droids were able to access and manipulate the dark side of the force, but it is very likely they use it as a sixth sense for identifying potential threats. The Galactic Empire used the Shadow Droids during the Battle of Balmorra and in defense of Palpatine's flagship Eclipse II near Onderon, and the subsequent collapse of the Imperial authority means that the knowledge to build such monstrosities has likely been lost forever.

Appearances

 * Dark Empire II
 * Empire's End