What the Heck’s the Star Forge?

A Look at One of the Oldest Super weapons

If you’re reading this post, then you came here from my post on the Jedi Civil War. This is just a companion piece about the weapon that I mentioned in that post, the Star Forge. I wanted to talk more about it, because I think its one of the more interesting super weapons in Star Wars. But to do that, I need to tell you about it’s creators, the Rakatan Infinite Empire. Buckle up, this going to get weird.

The Star Wars Version of Atlantis

Tens of thousands of years before the events of the films, and long before the birth of the Jedi or Republic, there was a species called the Rakata. Originating on a world called Lehon, or Rakata Prime, they were a bipedal species that looked like a cross between amphibians and the Coneheads from Saturday Night Live. With eye stalks. They were a race of warriors strong in the Force. Unfortunately, they were also an extremely violent people that sought to conquer everything they saw. And much to the Galaxy’s misery, around 36,000 BBY, they created a Force-powered hyperdrive that let them travel the Galaxy to places strong in the Force.

So the Rakatans did what a society of warmongers would do with that kind of power: conquer and enslave everyone they could find. Their Infinite Empire dotted the entire Galaxy and enslaved trillions of sentients and brought misery to many.

The Rakatans had access to technology so advanced, it might as well have been magic. They were the Atlantis of Star Wars, capable of remaking entire worlds. Case in point, before they came to Tatooine, it was a planet filled with water! They wrecked it when they left!

The Star Forge Destroys the Empire

The pinnacle of the Infinite Empire, though, was the Star Forge. Built in 30,000 BBY, it was a massive space station orbiting the star of Rakata Prime. It drew energy from the sun and, using the Force, it could build anything. Weapons, armor, ships, the works. However, it drew on the power of the Dark Side, with disastrous consequences. As a result, it took the Rakatan’s already bad traits and made them worse.

Thanks to the corruption from the Star Forge, the Infinite Empire fell to infighting and civil war. Then a devastating plague hit, doing two things. Firstly, it almost wiped out the Rakata. Secondly, it caused them to lose their connection to the Force. Without it, their slaves revolted and drove them back to their home system. The survivors destroyed their civilization in nuclear war that left the survivors a primitive people. Their former slaves erased all records of the Infinite Empire, leaving them lost to history. That is, until Revan and Malak found the Star Maps. Five Rakatan maps that, when gathered together, revealed the location of the Star Forge.

The Star Forge, Under Sith Management

Revan and Malak used the Star Forge to build their infinite army that proceeded to steamroll the Republic and Jedi. However, Revan was smart enough to see how dangerous it was to rely on the Rakatan factory and tried to limit the use of it. Malak threw caution to the wind, though, when he took charge. If you read my post or played Knights of the Old Republic, you know the rest.

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