Saber-Carapace Powersuit
Null Force has this high on their ‘find and burn from orbit to be sure’ list. Once I read up on it, I agree. There are some inventions that shouldn't see the light of day...
A nightmare given life, the blueprints for the Sith Kofonias Armor first emerged 5000 years before the Clone Wars. It was first drafted, and used, during the height of the Sith Empire, in 7698. These plans were thought lost after the Great Sith War by the year 8717.
Rumors persisted over the generations of a fabulous design, sleek, protective power armor devised for Sith Warriors. Treasure hunters from Outlaw techs, to syndicate agents and more searched for the plans. Most were never found again. The others that returned came back empty-handed except for tales of anguish.
The Sith Order was no exception. To them, the Kofonias armor was their legacy. Yet, they had no better luck locating even a shred of the plans.
A Dark Force Rises
In the aftermath of the Clone Wars, during the rise of the Galactic Empire, whispers spread among the Outlaw Tech circles that the Kofonias armor was found. This time, the plans were located by one Darth Feyd for his master, Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Palpatine.
The Emperor sought to capitalize on the find. He selected a hand-picked group of researchers and technicians and established a secret research base deep in the Mid-Rim. Those technicians were given one task: update and improve upon the armor for a new type of Stormtrooper. One connected to the Dark Side through the armor.
This continued for ten years until fate, and the Force, stepped in. A battle between two pirate clans and a cruiser from a Hutt kajidic exposed the secret research base in Hutt Space in the Y’Toub System on one of the moons of Kiskua. Specifically, the dry desert moon of Dotera.
The base was quickly evacuated, but not before pirate raiders attacked. Most of the research was lost, or sold, on the Nar Shaddaa black markets. A single copy of the Kofonias armor blueprints survived. They were found by a Squib Outlaw Tech, who would later be known as the infamous crime lord, Silar Mins.
Evolution of a Technological Terror
Silar kept the find to himself, not realizing its historical importance. To the Outlaw Tech, this was an interesting puzzle. The plans detailed various attempts to connect a synthetically made kyber crystal to the armor.
Once connected, the crystal could act as a power regulator, channeling energy from the power cells to various armaments or modular attachments. But the Imperials had yet in all their attempts to get it to work.
Yet, Silar found a way.
The initial prototype worked and worked well. Renamed to a ‘Saber-Carapace Powersuit’, the armor was as deadly and durable as a shielded Droideka battle droid.
Silar never used the finished suit, but dismantled it once he determined his designs worked. Ever the swindler, he split the blueprints into three pieces and sold them on the black market. To reassemble them, the pieces would have to be overlapping each other in a particular way.
Tracking those pieces down has been a tough job. Last anyone can tell, they were all purchased by three different buyers who sold them to someone in the Tapani Sector.
Power Generation
The Saber-Carapace Powersuit is powered armor. It contains a set of four industrial grade power cells, the type often used in a cargo lifter harness. They are arranged on the lower back and belt of the powered armor.
Power is regulated, and sometimes amplified, by the synthetic kyber crystal in the armor’s chest. This red crystal manages the power for both the suit’s internal sensor and computer systems, as well as any installed weapons such as wrist blasters.
That may not be all that kyber crystal does. A few records suggest that the crystal may act as a Dark Side powered droid brain which eventually will take over the person inside the armor.
Manufacturing Process
Manufacturing this infamous armor leans on both practical, technical knowledge, and ancient chemistry practices of Sith alchemists. Armor plating, metal and all protective parts are a durelium alloy. Power cells are a phobium-based power cell. These are not unlike what is used in most lightsabers or cargo harness lifters.
Artificial kyber crystals, also known as Synth-crystals, are grown using a geological compressor and a plasma furnace. Completed crystals are red and surrounded by an aura of the Dark Side. The latter is because of the ingredients, such as powdered kinrath bone and other necrotic items.
Armor plate, fittings and connections are assembled first, including a housing for the crystal which resides in the chest. The network is layered under the protective plate, with nerve connectors that attach to the bodyglove undersuit the wearer uses.
The crystal is then locked into place once the armor plates and physical housing are fully assembled. A glowing red aura, similar to the blood red of a lightsaber blade, shows the crystal has fully integrated into the suit.
Saber-Carapace Powersuit by CB Ash using Artbreeder
Contents
Alternative Names
Item type
Armor
Subtype / Model
Rarity
Availability: 4 (Rare item, difficult to obtain anywhere)
Dimensions
built to scale for species of wearer
Base Price
not for sale
Notes from the Jedi Temple
Jedi Knight Vanya Ysadora to Ruk over comms "Ruk. Ruk. Look at me, Ruk. Synthetic kyber crystals can not take over a brain. Ruk, are you listening to me?"
Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker ( being 'helpful' ) "Not singly, anyhow. Nor freshly made ones."
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (also being 'helpful') "Right, they need some time to ferment in the Dark Side first. Eight years at least."
Vanya "You mean like wine?"
Master Skywalker "More like hard cheese."
Vanya "Great, now Ruk hung up on me."
This article was great, but now I am cracking up over the hard cheese.
Necromancy is a Wholesome Science.
Hey, that's Jedi for you! It's *always* from a "certain point of view"! :D