Death Mark laser The Death Mark was a top - secret weapon prototype developed by the Galactic Republic by the time of the Cold War with the Sith Empire . An orbital satellite that could fire incredibly accurate energy strikes at marked targets , it was created as a means of ending the Alderaan Civil War quickly and with minimal loss of life . However , the project was seized in 3641 BBY by Lord Nefarid , an apprentice of Darth Angral . Angral , who was seeking revenge on the unknown Jedi Knight who had killed his son Tarnis , had his apprentices take control of several of the Republic ' s superweapon projects in order to build his own . The Knight , however , arrived on the planet and was able to destroy the Death Mark , killing Nefarid in the process . Description . The Death Mark superweapon consisted of an orbital platform that was able to fire highly accurate beams of super - concentrated energy at a specific individual . This fatal beam was able to penetrate virtually any structure or shield , making escape impossible . However , the unknown Jedi Knight who destroyed the Death Mark was able to evade the weapon ' s attacks , as the Jedi ' s danger sense enabled the Knight to leap out of the path of the orbital attack . The weapon targeted individuals through the use of a special targeting device , which marked targets with a microscopic tag . The targeting mechanism was only effective at extremely close range , which meant that an operative needed to get within at least twenty meters of an intended target in order to use it . The mark was virtually undetectable , and marked individuals could be tracked indefinitely . The Death Mark was intended for use in ending the Alderaan Civil War , as the lives of hundreds of soldiers and civilians could be saved by targeting key enemy leaders . Such a tactic would have lead to their elimination without the use of armies or bring about the risk of collateral damage . However , in the wrong hands , the Death Mark was equally capable of being used as a weapon of terror and rain down murder from the sky on selected targets — which is the exact use that it was put to by the Sith apprentice Nefarid . History . The Death Mark project was begun by the Galactic Republic during the Cold War with the Sith Empire . The Republic decided to base the project on the Core World of Alderaan , which was in the middle of a brutal civil war over which house would take the throne , because the weapon had the potential to end the war quickly and without massive loss of life by targeting enemy leaders . However , in 3641 BBY , an unknown Jedi Knight killed Tarnis , the son of the Sith Lord Darth Angral . This drove Angral to seize control of several Republic superweapon projects , including the Shock Drum , Power Guard Project , and the Planet Prison technology that his son had invented . Angral intended to combine the technology of these weapons with his " Harrower " - class dreadnought " Oppressor " , which he would then use against the Jedi homeworld of Tython to gain revenge upon the Knight . Angral sent one of his apprentice s , Lord Nefarid , to Alderaan to take control of the Death Mark . Nefarid and his Imperial forces stormed the Death Mark facility in the Mensaav Military Laboratory in the Alsakan Lowlands , killing the lab ' s security forces . However , Jedi Master Orgus Din ( the master of the same Knight who killed Tarnis ) arrived and drove back the Sith attackers , forcing Nefarid to summon the insectoid native Killik s as reinforcements . The Imperial spy Aleyna Hark " escaped " the facility and traveled to Organa Palace , where she met with the project ' s benefactor Count Alde . However , the unknown Knight arrived and met with Alde at the same time , causing Hark to lie and say that Din was dead . She had also marked the Count with the Death Mark ' s targeting device , allowing Nefarid to kill Alde in the middle of their conversation . The guards rushed in after hearing the commotion , and Guard Captain Yils attempted to arrest Hark , the Knight , and the Knight ' s companion when he found the Count dead on the floor . Hark offered herself in the Knight ' s place , asking the captain to let the Jedi complete their mission , and was taken away by the guards . However , she never made it to her cell — she killed the guards and began marking targets throughout the Palace . The Jedi , meanwhile , fought their way through the Killik - infested lab and discovered the Knight ' s master alive in a sealed room with Doctor Parvux , the only scientist that Din was able to save . After Din and his former Padawan defeated the massive Killik Praetor , Parvux suggested shutting down three of the Death Mark ' s generators to disable the laser temporarily . But while the Knight was doing so , Nefarid contacted the Jedi and informed them that he had set up another power station beyond their reach . Conferring with Din , the Knight decided to pursue Aleyna Hark , who Parvux had revealed to be a spy , to a compound of House Thul . House Thul was an ally of the Empire , but their duke Horis Thul supported House Organa ' s peace talks , and the peace process would fall apart if Thul was killed by a Republic superweapon . The Knight raced to the Thul compound and found Aleyna and the Duke , and after defeating the guards Hark ordered to attack the Jedi managed to convince Thul that Hark was acting against him . Hark destroyed the targeting device , however , and told the two that they had both been marked . After knocking out the spy , the Duke told the Knight where he had tracked Nefarid and fled the planet . The Jedi then stormed Nefarid ' s base in the Glarus Valley , eliminating the Imperial troops within . The Jedi was then shown a hologram of Angral killing Orgus Din aboard the Sith ' s ship , as the Knight ' s master had sneaked aboard to eliminate Angral . Nefarid then attacked the Jedi , using the Death Mark as a weapon during their duel . However , the Knight and their companion managed to defeat the Sith , and used the Death Mark ' s targeting computer to destroy the computer itself , rendering the satellite useless . Some members of the project survived to join the Cult of the Screaming Blade . Behind the scenes . The Death Mark was created for " " , a released by BioWare on December 20 , 2011 . It serves as the main objective of the Jedi Knight class storyline on Alderaan , and it is destroyed at the culmination of the planet ' s quests .