Lucent The crystal spiders known as the Lucent s ( a name Daran Tal gave them , as their own language was unpronounceable to humanoids ) were sentient arachnids from an unknown world that was thought to be in the Voidfire Nebula . They were insatiably curious about all other races and their technologies . They were scientists by nature , and built the Crystal Web Station as a way to meet and interact with other members of the galactic community and , with Baron Administrator Tal ' s help , they have done so . Though nearly nothing was known about the Lucents or how much they knew about other races before Crystal Web was established ( after all , they built the station before Tal even showed up ) , they have proven themselves to be trustworthy and honorable beings who honestly seem to have wanted nothing more than to learn about the other inhabitants of the galaxy . It was speculated that the Lucents in fact have a vast and highly advanced civilization beyond the nebula , but Lucents have neither confirmed nor denied these speculations . The spider - like Lucents had a different perception of the Force from most other sentient beings . As befitted their physicality , they called the Force " the Life - Web " or " the Weave " and are all familiar , though not many overly practiced , in its use . All Lucents could " see " the Weave as a web of shining crystal strands . It was rare for a member of the Lucents to actually develop Force powers , though it was not unheard of . Those members of their species that do practice its use somehow cannot use it to influence people or to read minds , and they rarely used it to affect others in any way at all . They were , however , quite adept at the manipulation of the Weave for physical effects , in particular telekinesis and other similar skills . All Lucents had a unique ability based on their special connection with the Force and their instinctive grasp of spatial relationships ; without use of navigation computers or astromech droids , Lucents could calculate the fastest , safest , and ( usually ) the most convenient route through hyperspace between two points . This natural ability was much the same as the Jedi ability instinctive astrogation . Their technology was also rather different from that of the galaxy at large ; while they did have hyperdrives , sublight drive s , repulsors , and blasters , their technology employed crystalline webs and energy - charged gems rather than conventional means . Because of this , their ships were able to travel the Voidfire Nebula without suffering any of its ill effects . They were reluctant to share their technology with the galaxy at large , at first because they wanted to learn more about their neighbors , then later because they refused to add fuel to the raging fire that was the Galactic Civil War . However , in 4 ABY , Daran Tal managed to convince them to offer up a small piece of their technology so as to make a small mark on the galaxy . They agreed to this on the condition that they would have control of the deal . They informed Tal that they would like to offer the technology to all members of the galaxy rather than any one group . Tal proceeded to gather together a group of New Republic agents , an Imperial Admiral and his aides , and Orta the Hutt to represent the fringe groups . Though each group was reluctant to let any other get a hold of the technology , the Lucents had already decided that either all groups received it or none of them did . Despite some initial difficulties , the meeting went off quite smoothly and all groups walked away happy .