Cuis clone The Cuis clones were six prototype clone stormtrooper s , bred from the genome of Sa Cuis , a Dark Jedi who served as one of Emperor Palpatine ' s personal assassins . Through their progenitor , they gained a strong connection to the Force , thus making them a unique batch compared to the rest of the soldiers in the Stormtrooper Corps , all of whom were cloned from the templates of ordinary Humans at the time . Their creation and training were closely monitored by the Emperor and his apprentice , the Sith Lord Darth Vader , as part of an experiment to create a battalion of obedient clone soldiers trained in the ways of the dark side of the Force . In addition to his connection to the Force , Cuis was chosen as a template by Vader because of his sense of loyalty — a trait that the Dark Lord hoped the clones would inherit from the deceased Dark Jedi . History . Origin . In the months following the birth of Emperor Palpatine ' s New Order in 19 BBY , the Sith Lord Darth Vader authorized an experiment to clone the genetic code of a Force - sensitive template . Instead of relying on the Kaminoan method that created the Republic Grand Army , the Dark Lord of the Sith entrusted the project to the Clone Master s of Arkanian Microtechnologies , a company known for their use of Spaarti cloning cylinder s . The genome itself was the Dark Jedi Sa Cuis , an Emperor ' s Hand who attempted to assassinate Vader — as part of the Sith Lord ' s training — on Palpatine ' s order . Impressed by the Hand ' s fighting skills and Force abilities , Vader captured Cuis after defeating him in combat . When his Arkanian scientists collected enough genetic samples from Cuis for replication purposes , Vader decapitated his prisoner . Prior to his death , Cuis refused to admit that the one who ordered the Dark Lord ' s death was Vader ' s own master , although Vader had already deduced that Palpatine sent Cuis to kill him as a test in his training . Far from being vexed by Cuis ' s lack of cooperation , Vader respected his clear sense of duty as an Emperor ' s Hand , something Cuis had been unwilling to break even with the promise of being spared from execution . It was his hope that the clones of Sa Cuis would not only retain their progenitor ' s connection to the Force , but also his other qualities such as loyalty and courage . Growth and training . After more than a year of replicating the Cuis genome , Arkanian Microtechnologies had produced six prototype clones of Sa Cuis , fully grown and trained as Imperial stormtroopers . Although they wore the same standard armor as the clone infantry units of the Stormtrooper Corps , the Cuis clones were armed with a red - bladed lightsaber instead of the E - 11 blaster rifle . In addition to their skills in melee combat , the clones also learned to harness their inherited Force powers , enabling them to utilize telekinetic techniques . After their maturation stage was completed , the Cuis clones received their training in an Imperial training center located on the planet Yinchorr . Both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader closely monitored the development of the Cuis clones , but most of their practical instruction was handled by another Hand named Sheyvan . The two Sith Lords personally oversaw the Cuis clones during the final stage of their trials . They demonstrated their lightsaber skills against each other , as well as Darth Vader , while the Emperor observed their performance . The final test in their training was a match that pitted each of the six Cuis clones against a clone of Lieutenant Erv Lekauf , one of Vader ' s most trusted officers . The Cuis clones were disarmed of their lightsabers given that the contest was a non - lethal exercise , although they quickly proved that their Force abilities were more than sufficient in defeating the clones of an ordinary template . The Emperor was sufficiently pleased with the results of his new Force - sensitive stormtroopers and instructed Vader to place an order with the Arkanians for an entire battalion of Cuis clones . As the Sith Lords departed Yinchorr for Imperial Center , the Cuis clones accompanied them as the newest members of Darth Vader ' s 501st Legion . Insurrection . While Palpatine and Darth Vader speculated on the advantages of cloning an entire army from the Cuis template during their return to the Imperial capital , Sheyvan rebelled against the Emperor , revealing the traitorous intentions he had been harboring since his discovery of Palpatine ' s other Hand , Sa Cuis . Now aware that he was not the only Dark Jedi assassin in the Emperor ' s employ as he had been led to believe , Sheyvan felt that his loyalty had been repaid with deception . In his time as the personal trainer of the Cuis clones , the Hand secretly co - opted their allegiance , ensuring that they would fight for the one who trained them , rather than the two Sith Lords that merely commissioned their creation . Their insurrection came as a great surprise to the Imperials ; with the exception of the Emperor , whom Vader observed to be suspiciously calm given the situation , all of the personnel aboard Palpatine ' s " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle were caught completely off guard and were unable to prevent the Cuis clones from seizing control of much of the vessel . Yet despite their demonstrated superior skills against non - Force - wielders , both during training exercises and Sheyvan ' s rebellion , none of the Cuis clones were able to defeat Vader in combat . The Dark Lord , with the aid of Lekauf ' s clone stormtroopers , engaged the ex - Hand and Cuis ' s clones in combat . Armed with flamethrowers , the Lekauf clones burned four Cuis clones ; the remaining two were Force choked by Vader . Sheyvan fought Vader alone in a brief duel , but was ultimately killed when he was cut in half from shoulder to hip . Afterward , Vader and Palpatine had the Sa Cuis template decommissioned , although the latter remained open to the possibility of cloning a Force - sensitive army in the future . Legacy . Because of the Cuis clones ' part in Sheyvan ' s treachery , Darth Vader became staunchly opposed to further use of the Cuis line , as well as any Forceful template . The failed insurrection , however brief , convinced him that Force - sensitives — and even clones of Force - sensitives — were naturally inclined to secure greater power through betrayal of their masters , especially if they relied on the dark side of the Force . As such , he chose to restrict clone lines to ordinary candidates ; the Stormtrooper Corps continued its use of clone soldiers , but none after the Cuis clones were engineered from a Forceful genome . Though Vader had long since abandoned the concept of " Force - sensitive stormtroopers , " he was forced to reconsider his position against cloning a Forceful template after the untimely death of his former apprentice , the pseudo Sith - turned - Jedi Galen Marek . Using the apprentice ' s preserved corpse as a template in the Timira City Cloning Facility on Kamino , Vader conducted an experiment to create the perfect clone of his fallen disciple — a more powerful and obedient version of the original Starkiller . Unlike the success Vader had enjoyed with creating stable clones from the Cuis line , the Marek template proved almost impossible to replicate without encountering a myriad of setbacks , forcing Vader to repeat the procedure numerous times in an attempt to gradually correct the errors in the experiment . Scientists were perplexed in trying to understand why there was such an inherent difficulty in cloning a Forceful being , although a few experts — such as Ni - Ke - Vanz , a Rebel medic — speculated that the Force was somehow responsible for undermining the stability of clones created from genetic donors with high concentrations of midi - chlorians in their cells . The genetic flaws aside , the Marek clones differed from their Cuis precursors in another way — they were all trained by memory flash es , enabling them to inherit their donor ' s skills , but also Marek ' s emotional attachments that Vader held responsible for weakening his former apprentice . With the exception of a lone test subject , every clone of Marek was unable to differentiate his own thoughts and memories from those that belonged to their progenitor , leading to cases of identity crises and ultimately insanity . Behind the scenes . In the commentaries for the , George Lucas notes that in his early conceptions of the saga , lightsabers were commonplace weapons throughout the galaxy , but that he later decided that they should be limited to the Jedi . Based on Lucas ' original conception , Ralph McQuarrie created concept art of lightsaber - wielding stormtroopers for " " . This was referenced in the image above in the pose of the stormtrooper to the right of Darth Vader .