Gravity's Heart

The Gravity's Heart was a space station and artificial gravity-well projector weapon developed by the Nihil marauders during the High Republic Era. Designed by the scientist Chancey Yarrow, working for the Nihil Tempest Runner Lourna Dee, the Gravity's Heart was intended to disrupt hyperspace for the pirates' purposes. Situated in the middle of a radiation cloud, the Gravity's Heart was wheel-shaped, constructed out of more than a dozen starships with shipping containers making up the spokes.^[1]

Having developed the idea during her time at the Academy of Carida, Yarrow was recruited to build the weapon by Dee and the Graf family. However, the Gravity's Heart was never meant to be used by its creators; once the weapon's abilities appeared convincing enough to Eye of the Nihil Marchion Ro, he agreed to allow Dee to utilize Mari San Tekka, a captive prospector who possessed a unique ability to find Paths in hyperspace. With San Tekka, Yarrow was able to design a more successful version of the gravity-well projector. The Gravity's Heart was destroyed by a combined Jedi and Republic Defense Coalition force, but Yarrow escaped to secretly work with the Graf family.^[1]

Whilst the Grafs and Yarrow were left with the belief that Ro had been tricked by their promises,^[1] the Gravity's Heart project and the advances it entailed in fact helped Ro's further goals; through Yarrow's research, Ro was able to commission the creation of the stormseeds, which he used after the destruction of Starlight Beacon to destroy any Republic ship entering Nihil territory through hyperspace. Declaring Yarrow and her project martyrs that brought forth the stormseeds, Ro declared Nihil territory independent from the Republic.^[3]