Inside the Vault in the Citadel on Scarif, Cassian and Jyn search through many interesting
sounding code names for Imperial projects until they find Stardust, the code name for
the plans to the Death Star.
The other names mentioned include Stellarsphere, Mark Omega, Pax Aurora, War-Mantle, Cluster-Prism,
and Black-Saber.
In the novelization, Jyn worries that they were all projects designed for terror and
genocide.
But what were they?
The novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Story mentions Stellarsphere, Mark Omega, and Pax Aurora.
In the book Galen Erso describes them as cover names for different departments of the Death
Star.
For example, his cover agency was called Project Celestial Power, and he thought it was for
harnessing sustainable energy from kyber crystals, not the Death Star.
He was told the other departments were for hyperdrive technology, conventional weapons,
armor, and tractor beams.
But of course Project Celestial Power was actually developing the superlaser, so if
the Empire lied to Galen about that, it’s possible, and I would say likely, that the
other code names could be lies as well.
So let’s explore each code name and what they could possibly be.
To be clear, we actually know very little about this subject and most everything I say
will be speculation.
In a scene from the novelization, Tarkin mentions that schematics for multiple projects covered
by the Tarkin Initiative were held at the Citadel.
The Tarkin Initiative was responsible for the creation weapons of both Death Stars as
well as the assassin droid BT-1.
And those are just the ones we know of.
I think we can safely assume the Initiative followed the Tarkin Doctrine, which was all
about ruling through fear, so I think it’s pretty safe to say that at least the code
names that fall within the Tarkin Initiative were weapons of some sort.
Now that doesn’t mean that every code name was part of the Initiative, but when Tarkin
gives the order to destroy the Citadel, he notes that it would be a pity to see War-Mantle
and Stellarsphere set back.
So let’s start with those two.
Stellarsphere was one of the names mentioned as a part of the Death Star, but if the Death
Star were complete, why would Tarkin worry about setting the project back?
I think I actually have a good idea of what Stellarsphere would become, and I think it’s
Starkiller Base.
I’ve discussed this before, but I’ll try to recap quickly.
We know Ilum was being used to gather kyber crystals.
We also know the First Order developed Starkiller Base using research that had already been
started by the Empire.
And we know the First Order was able to find the planet that would become Starkiller Base
in those same Imperial records.
Basically I think the Empire had plans to convert Ilum into a superweapon and the First
Order just picked up where they left off.
So I’m going to guess Stellarsphere is the code name for Starkiller Base...basically
because it’s a spherical weapon.
But let’s build on that.
One of the research departments mentioned by Galen was hyperdrive technology, and we
know the beam from Starkiller Base traveled through hyperspace.
So there is at least a little evidence pointing towards the Empire having preliminary plans
for Starkiller Base at the Citadel.
War-Mantle gives us much less to go on.
For some reason the name made me think of the World Devastators.
They would use tractor beams to tear a planet apart and collect the natural resources under
the surface, which would then be used to create more weapons.
Tractor beams, you say?
Just like Galen Erso mentioned, one of the code names was in charge of developing tractor
beam technology.
In geology, the mantle is the region between the crust and the core of the earth, so when
I hear War-Mantle it makes me think of ripping apart the crust to get to what’s below.
The earth’s mantle has iron and aluminum in it, so I guess it’s plausible the War-Mantle
could be designed to work like the World Devastators.
Next up is Black-Saber, which I have to think is a reference to another superweapon from
Star Wars Legends, the Darksaber.
The Darksaber was built by Durga the Hutt, based on plans from the Death Star.
It was basically just the superlaser built in a shell.
In Catalyst, smaller versions of the superlaser were built as tests.
Maybe the Empire planned to use some of those prototypes in a smaller version of the weapon.
But who knows.
I think this one was probably just a fun nod to Legends fans.
Pax Aurora was another name known by Galen in Catalyst.
I have no idea where to start with this one so let’s break the word down.
In Latin, pax means peace.
It can also mean kiss of peace, and it was the name of the Roman goddess of peace.
Interestingly, Aurora is the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, and it can just mean
dawn.
So Pax Aurora could translate to Dawn of Peace.
That sounds very much like the Empire to create a weapon to force peace.
Even Krennic claims the Death Star would provide peace and security to the galaxy.
As to what the weapon actually is, it could be anything, but I’m going to guess that
having dawn in the name is thematic and from there I’ll make my best Legends guess.
The Orbital Nightcloak was a network of satellites that would surround a planet, cutting off
all sunlight, which would eventually kill all life there.
There’s something ironic about a weapon called Dawn of Peace that would literally
stop the sun from rising ever again.
Mark Omega is the last one mentioned in Catalyst, and it’s got an even more generic name than
Pax Aurora.
Mark could mean a target, and Omega means the last in a series, so it could mean something
like the Last Target.
But that’s still incredibly generic.
Maybe it’s referencing Operation: Cinder, which is Palpatine’s canon contingency plan.
In the event of his death a series of attacks were triggered, some of which we see in the
Shattered Empire comic.
One of those attacks involves a climate disruption array of satellites that cause natural disasters
all over Naboo.
Cluster-Prism is the final code name given in the film.
It’s not mentioned outside of the Citadel.
I’m drawing a blank for the name too.
I would guess it’s some other form of kyber crystal-powered weapon.
It actually makes me think of Starkiller Base again because it used the crystals within
the planet to create the beams and they refracted once they reached their targets.
But really I’m at a loss.
To reiterate, this entire video is speculation on what could be.
I kind of like the idea of referencing Legends superweapons.
It’s a good way to give a nod to the fans without having to actually show them and tell
us story after story about superweapons.
So I really doubt we are ever going to see anything further from all these code names.
What do you guys think?
What superweapons do you think these code names could be referring to, if any?
Let me know your ideas in the comments!
Also, if you’re interested in hearing more about this topic for yourselves, you can check
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