Statestone crystal (state-stone)
Not every shiny rock that comes out of the ground is a kyber crystal.
Sometimes, they can be a bit more interesting…
Statestone crystals are unusual among the collection of crystalline minerals that are mined across the known galaxy. Like kyber crystals, statestone can be used as a lens to direct energy, such as with certain types of blasters, or to regulate the power flow in ion engines.
But, the true nature of this stone is its ability to adapt its hexagonal lattice structure to store energy in small honeycomb structures that act as natural magnetic bottles. Specifically, it works best with bioelectric energy from a living creature. Also, there is no known method of successfully growing an artificial statestone crystal; not even through the use of the Force.
The finger-length crystal glistened under the Chalcedon sun. Motes of light twinkled below the crystal’s surface like a miniature galaxy while Jangir Toth turned the stone over in his hand. The bounty hunter’s red-gold eyes reflected in the stone’s surface.
“It’s called what again?” he asked.
Erenn Baize glanced at the crystal.
“Statestone. The Kessora mountain range is thick with veins of it. A lot of corps use it ion engines or E-web blaster cannons to regulate the power and prevent overheating. The crystal has a natural honeycomb structure that manages power flowing through it.” He shrugged. “Probably one of Chalcedon’s best-kept secrets.”
Baize wiped some dust from his snout. After that, he scanned the valley floor below with his monoculars.
“One frak of a trade item.”
Erenn shrugged.
“Somewhat. It’s not the best at power regulation, just pretty good. There’s better material out there that can beat it.”
Jangir toyed with the crystal in his hand and joined Erenn close to the hunter’s blind they set up. Below them, the ‘abandoned mining outpost’ was not so abandoned. It was alive with activity as the Killian pirate clan unloaded small crates of statestone crystals out of the mine entrance.
“Ok, you got me. If this stuff is only ‘pretty good’ for power regulation tech, what makes it so valuable? Is it unstable? Work well with grenades?”
The half-bothan mercenary lowered the monoculars and grinned at his friend.
“It can’t be made in a lab. Trying to grow one just won’t work. It only turns to slime. From what I understand, statestone is one of those rare ‘living’ crystals. They have to grow in a natural environment. If they don’t, their crystal structure never bonds and forms those layers.”
Jangir stopped toying with the stone.
“Wait. This thing’s *alive*?”
Erenn chuckled, then shook his head.
“Not like that. But those veins of amber? That’s supposedly some sort of amber resin layered in like beeswax for a real honeycomb. The way it was explained to me is that it acts like living tissue. It’s part of why it reacts to certain kinds of energy frequencies, not just any ‘energy’ you throw at it.”
Jangir held the crystal up and squinted at it more closely.
“What frequency.”
Erenn raised an eyebrow.
“Bioelectric. Those things attune themselves to living creatures that come into contact with them, then channel the creature’s own energy through it like a circuit and store it like a battery. Legend has it that some people learned how to cause all sorts of effects by using that stored power. That’s why Killian wants them. Those stories.”
Jangir frowned.
“What’s he hoping will happen?”
“Mind control.”
A Legend Lost to History
Statestone. Once as iconic as kyber crystals but now barely a memory. Yet, they are so much more than just a stone…
Statestone appears in historical records across countless generations, even before the founding of the Old Republic or Old Sith Empire. The stone was often found in the possession of mystics or shamans. They claimed the stone helped them speak with ‘spirits’ and perform impressive feats of healing.
There are even some record of ancient Sith and Jedi who studied the stones. For them, the effect was no more or less pronounced. The Sith attempted to alter the stones, and even create artificial ones through the Dark Side of the Force. But their results were disappointing. Instead of a stone, what they created was nothing more than a black slime.
The Jedi never tried to manufacture the statestones but used them in ancient holocrons to great effect. But as the order’s skill with manipulating kyber crystals improved, statestone fell out of use and was eventually forgotten by the Jedi.
Soothing Balm for the Mind
Even though the Sith and the Jedi discarded the mineral, it didn’t fall out of use. Many, especially those on the worlds where it is found, use the crystals as a meditation focus. The result is supposed to provide the user with a way to ease headaches, or even soothe tension.
It was the Choni Techaugers, an ancient order of inventors, who delved the deepest into the potential of statestone crystals. The Choni developed methods to ‘attune’ with a particular crystal.
According to records, a Techauger would use the stones to store copies of memories. Often, these were blueprints or designs they were working on. If the particular Techauger needed to recover that memory, they developed a process by which they could meditate and access those memories like a telepathic data disk.
Unfortunately, when the Choni Techaugers suddenly vanished without a trace in the days before the Old Republic, so did the details of their process.
There is more than one mention of the Choni that suggests they discovered a hidden ‘final property’ about statestone. Something so valuable, or dangerous, that they fled to the Unknown Regions of the galaxy to hide it…
Occurrence
The mineral is uncommon across the galaxy and found only on dry, arid worlds or moons with a high magnetic field. Chalcedon is the most famous of these locations, but it isn’t the only source. Other locations include Korriban, Ryloth, and Klatooine. But it’s Chalcedon that has the largest desposits of the crystal.
Jangir crouched behind one of the crates of statestone sitting on the back of the landspeeder. The Killian pirate campsite was only meters away, talking and laughing over their meal. Jangir checked the straps that secured the crate and its sibling. They were tight.
“Mind control?” he whispered while Erenn crouched down next to him. “Really?”
Erenn shrugged.
“Not sure, but Killian thinks there’s some profit in it and two of the local miners have gotten attacked over these things.”
The two men eased into the pirate’s landspeeder. Erenn drew his blaster while Jangir settled behind the vehicle’s controls. It took only a few seconds for Jangir to hot wire the ignition.
“Who’d buy these? Mining Guild? Hutts?”
Erenn shook his head.
“Can’t be. Mining Guild won’t work with pirates. The Hutts? They might, but they’d more likely send their own, not waste time with the local pirate clans. Also, nether one would be stupid enough to fall for stories about mind control”
Jangir reached for the controls, then stopped.
“Sithspawn. I know a couple who might.”
“Who?”
“House Vormecetti in Tapani Sector. They would use pirates and buy into ‘mind control’ if they thought they could use it to spy on the other Great Houses of the Landsraad. That’s their brand of laser-brained stupid.”
Erenn nodded.
“Who’s the other one?”
Jangir frowned.
“B’omarr monks. Especially if they are starting a ‘forced recruitment drive’.” He glanced at Erenn. “We need to give Killian’s thugs a reason to think these things aren’t worth the work, so they’ll leave the miners here alone.”
A grin spread over Erenn’s snout.
“That I can help you with.”
Quickly, he leaned back and plucked a statestone crystal out of a crate, then scratched several flaws into its surface. Jangir looked on curiously.
“You lost me,” he said.
Erenn held up the damaged crystal.
“One downside to statestone. If it gets a flaw or a crack, the crystal can’t regulate the power running through it. When that happens, it doesn’t stop working… it sheds energy all over the place.”
Jangir raised his eyebrows.
“Sounds like an ionized spark over a console.”
Erenn shook his head.
“Try a ball lightning shaped ion storm.”
He hurled the damaged crystal at the pirate’s campfire.
Statestone Crystal from Chalcedon by CB Ash using Artbreeder
Type
Ore/Mineral
Value
Uncut 200 Credits
Attuned 15000 credits
Attuned 15000 credits
Rarity
Uncommon
Color
Color varies between amber, green, sea-blue, and saffron
Common State
Most commonly found in veins, much like in a quartz mine
Related Locations
Related Technologies
Care In Mining
Statestone is a robust mineral, but care must be taken in mining. The stone’s natural property to react, and store, energy can be a problem for the typical mining colony. Laser-cutters and plasma drills must be aligned with pinpoint precision to remove the mineral from the surrounding rock.
If the cutters or drills get too close to the stone, entire portions of a statestone vein will become charged. After that, miners must leave the vein to de-power on its own, otherwise there is a risk of explosion because a fracture being introduced.
Likewise, once extracted, laser cutters can remove any waste rock but the most common method is through an acid wash bath. This reduces the chance of a fracture that might make the crystal unstable, and therefore introduce the risk of explosion.
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