Imperial cloning program

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"The cloning technology is now firmly under Imperial control."

―Rampart, to Wilhuff Tarkin^[10]

The Imperial cloning program referred to a vast array of projects undertaken by the Galactic Empire and its affiliated organizations to further study, reproduce, and improve upon Kaminoan cloning, genetic engineering, and related biomedical technology utilized during the Clone Wars. As part of Emperor Palpatine's Contingency, the Imperial cloning program sought to create a Force-sensitive strandcast capable of serving as a replacement body for Palpatine, thus allowing him to achieve immortality.

Despite the formal surrender of the Galactic Empire in 5 ABY, the Imperial cloning program continued its mission for decades afterwards. Cloning experts within the Sith Eternal cult were capable of preserving Palpatine's spirit within a decaying clone body on Exegol, thus preventing his complete death for several decades. Palpatine was ultimately killed in 35 ABY at the hands of his granddaughter, Rey, who was naturally born from a failed strandcast of Palpatine who escaped his containment.

History[]

Origins[]

"The Empire is not like the Republic. We have empowered them to our own detriment. I fear they will destroy us rather than allow this operation to continue."

―Lama Su, to Nala Se^[17]

EmbryoRoomTBB — The Galactic Empire confiscated the cloning technology of Kamino, where the clone troopers were made.

With the proclamation of the New Order and the near-annihilation of the Jedi Order, Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine—the Sith Lord Darth Sidious—ruled over the largest governing body in the galaxy.^[18] The clone troopers of Kamino were phased out in favor of natural-born human conscripts^[17] owing to their cheaper cost^[18] as stipulated by Project War-Mantle.^[19] The Kaminoan government's contracts to produce the clones with the former Galactic Republic were declared null and void,^[17] and a new generation of stormtroopers assisted with removing all essential personnel from the hatcheries at Tipoca City. Chief Medical Scientist Doctor Nala Se and her research were secured along with other Kaminoan cloning personnel for later use by the Galactic Empire.^[10] Prime Minister Lama Su grew certain the Empire would destroy the Kaminoans' ability to create clones;^[17] after Tipoca City was decommissioned, Vice Admiral Rampart was ordered by Governor Wilhuff Tarkin to destroy it through an orbital bombardment with his fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers.^[10]

With their cloning technology firmly under the control of the Empire^[10] alone,^[2] any other Kaminoan facility on the planet was also destroyed. Meanwhile, the Empire moved its experiments to a facility based at^[11] Mount Tantiss on the forested planet Wayland.^[12] Under escort of clone commandos, Nala Se was brought to the planet to work for the Empire, with an Imperial scientist named Doctor Scalder claiming they were inspired by her work.^[11]^[2]

Imperial Era research[]

Early attempts[]

During the Imperial Era, Imperial scientists sought to replicate the cloning capabilities of the Kaminoans. As Emperor Palpatine sought to achieve immortality, much research was done to accomplish this goal.^[7]

On Seltron, in a medical laboratory, Project Necromancer was begun, with clone cadets transferred to the facility and being tested for M-counts while Slither vines were also bioengineered by Doctor Royce Hemlock and his fellow scientists, though they were deemed uncontrollable since they escaped containment and overran the base, forcing an evacuation of personnel and technology to Tantiss and an orbital bombardment of the research facility.

Continuing the work of the IMDAWR, the Advanced Science Division led by Doctor Hemlock of the former Republic Science Corps undertook the massive project of cataloguing and repurposing Kaminoan technology to analyze the finest details of their cloning process and replicate it in their own projects. To that end, all of the Kaminoans' surviving tech was transferred to Tantiss Base, where Imperial scientists began modifying and testing it. Additionally, the technology from Nala Se's private lab, which was originally used to create Clone Force 99, was recovered intact and transferred to the facility. Imperial engineers successfully utilized Se's top secret developments to finalize the work started by Sionver Boll during the Clone Wars and develop live Zillo Beast clones, despite the last specimen being long dead. The resulting Beasts lived a normal life cycle, developing from their infant state to a fully grown adult within mere days.^[2]

Following this initial success, the Advanced Science Division began kidnapping clone troopers, who had been decommissioned following the implementation of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill and experimenting on them in Tantiss' underground laboratories. These clones were kept in a state of suspended animation, oftentimes within vats.^[6] These clones were tested for compatibility with midichlorian-rich blood, many did not survive the experimentation.

Later on, a potential breakthrough was found in the genetically defective unaltered clone, Omega, who not only was engineered by Nala Se with a higher M-count than all other clones from the Fett template, but whose purpose-built genetic material was found to be key to cloning without reduction of M-count within an individual; potentially leading to the creation of Force-sensitive beings as powerful as or more than the genetic donor, making her invaluable to Project Necromancer.

While Omega was recaptured by the Advanced Science Division, Clone Force 99 forcibly recovered her in an assault on Tantiss Base, which destroyed Hemlock’s research, killed Hemlock himself and several troopers from the Advanced Science Division, and damaged the base because of the Zillo Beast’s escape. Tarkin believed Hemlock’s failings had cost them enough when he arrived. He gave orders to Captain Bragg to shutter Tantiss Base indefinitely and redistribute all funding and assets to Commander Orson Callan Krennic’s Project Stardust. This delayed Project Necromancer, only for it to be revived by Commandant Brendol Hux after the death of the Emperor at the Battle of Endor and fall of the Galactic Empire.

Other efforts[]

"You talk about fear. But even now, you forget where it all begins… with pain. The scalpel of creation. I used it to make all of these things. I can use it to make anything."

―Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader^[15]

Under the supervision of the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research and its Sith scientists, Project Blackwing managed to revive necrotic tissue, transforming dead Imperial stormtroopers into animated corpses, before a containment breach resulted in the Undead Troopers' escape.^[5] Another project undertaken by the Tarkin Initiative created Hutt clone troopers, which were ultimately rejected for wide-scale use.^[4]

Exegol-Sith-guards — Darth Sidious utilized Exegol as the secret location of his genetic experiments during his reign as the Emperor.

On the hidden Sith world of Exegol, with the aid of the Sith loyalists of the Sith Eternal cult, a dark science laboratory—hidden among a retrofitted, automated ancient shipyard forges in the Forbidden District^[15]^[20]—was erected for biomedical and genetic engineering research in the hopes of creating a successful strandcast body for Sidious as Hemlock hoped to do before he died.^[21] This research was partly based upon Kaminoan cloning technology.^[7] Additional research was undertaken, resulting in the creation of multiple genetic constructs, an elite Exegol Sith guard^[15] called the Tankers,^[22] and other frail oddities kept within vats and in a constant state of pain.^[15]

Post-Endor developments[]

"It cannot be. The Emperor is dead."
"Dark science. Cloning. Secrets only the Sith knew."

―Aftab Ackbar and Beaumont Kin^[23]

DarthSidiousExegol-TROS — The Emperor resurrected himself by transferring his spirit to a clone of his original body.

The fall of the "Old Empire"^[8] did not see the end of the Imperial cloning program.^[3] Sidious' spirit was transferred to a clone body on Exegol. However, the research was not complete and the body was too weak to hold his power, rendering him weakened and attached to an Ommin harness, supplemented by Clone Wars-era life support apparatuses.^[8] Hux, a member of the Imperial Remnant's Shadow Council, was very interested in finishing Doctor Hemlock’s cloning research for Project Necromancer, with Moff Gideon declaring it an obsession of his.^[14]

Without the approval of the Shadow Council,^[14] Gideon's Imperial remnant performed genetic experiments as late^[3] as 9 ABY^[24] under the direction of clone engineer Doctor Penn Pershing. That Imperial remnant put a bounty on the head of Grogu, a Force-sensitive child with a high concentration of midi-chlorians in his blood, which was essential in experiments attempting to achieve Force-sensitivity in cloned bodies^[3] of Gideon himself.^[25] An Imperial base on Nevarro kept standcast bodies in vats of liquid and was overseen by scientists with similar Kaminoan symbols on the right shoulder of their scientist uniforms. The base was destroyed by Din Djarin, Marshal Cara Dune, Magistrate Greef Karga, and the Mythrol.^[3]

After Gideon was captured by Djarin during the second rescue of Grogu,^[26] Gideon was extracted from New Republic custody by Imperial armored commandos. Gideon moved his cloning experiments to the planet Mandalore,^[27] where he hid his operations within a hidden undergound base.^[14] Gideon created a group of clones of himself and believed they would be able to use the Force however, they were destroyed by Djarin and Grogu during the conflict on Mandalore, with Gideon meeting his end in the battle.^[25]

Rey mum and dad-TROS — The Emperor's cloned DNA was used in the creation of a failed strandcast, who, in turn, sired a daughter named Rey.

On Exegol, numerous failed strandcasts were created and discarded, including a partially-successful Snoke, which Sidious used to rule the First Order while he hid in the shadows.^[9] Another failed strandcast was Rey's father, a perfectly normal human without any Force sensitivity, who Sidious allowed to leave and propagate his family line through natural means. He was considered his "son."^[28] This strandcast ultimately fathered Rey with a human female. Afraid of Sidious capturing their daughter who was an extremely powerful Force user, Rey's parents hid her on Jakku before they were ultimately killed.^[8]

During the Battle of Exegol in 35 ABY,^[16] Sidious was killed by his granddaughter Rey, ultimately defeating the Dark Lord of the Sith and his followers. In repudiation of her bloodline, Rey adopted the family name Skywalker.^[1]