Arkanian Revolution The Arkanian Revolution was a fierce and bloody civil war fought on Arkania in 50 BBY between the planet ' s Dominion government and the Arkanian Renegades . Known for their genetic and cybernetic expertise , Arkanian scientists began to experiment on the unintelligent local Yaka species , despite the objections of a group of more socially conscious scientists . After several centuries of injustice , these scientists formed a faction known as the Arkanian Renegades , and launched a coup against the Dominion , after forming a powerful mercenary army of cyborg warriors . In the process of fighting what they saw as injustices to the Yaka , the Arkanian Renegades became much like their opponents by committing similar atrocities . The Renegades ' army , whose number included Gorm the Dissolver , butchered the Dominion ' s forces in early skirmishes . The desperate Dominion appealed to the Republic and Jedi Order to intervene on their behalf . Republic police squads were eventually deployed to Arkania , supplemented by Jedi forces including Mace Windu , Aqinos , and the Iron Knight s . The Renegades were soundly defeated by the reinforcements , and those not killed in battle were executed for their treason . Some of their cyborg creations , including Gorm the Dissolver , survived , becoming bounty hunters and hired killers . The Arkanian Revolution , although unsuccessful , contributed greatly to the escalating public fear of droids . Prelude . Based on their adopted homeworld of Arkania in the Colonies , the Arkanian species considered themselves the pinnacle of evolution , and were one of the most advanced species in the galaxy by the time of the formation of the Galactic Republic . Known for their scientific and medical breakthroughs , the Arkanians were keen geneticists , eager to carry out any genetic modification research , even that which the Republic had outlawed . One of the earliest and best known experiments performed by Arkanian scientists was when they relocated a group of Xexto from their homeworld of Troiken to the Outer Rim world of Quermia , in order to perform genetic modifications on the species in a secluded and out - of - the - way environment . The experiment was cut short when the Arkanians ultimately decided to abandon the project out of fear of Republic repurcussions , leaving the newly - altered Xexto to develop on their own , eventually becoming the Quermian species . Thousands of years later , in 490 BBY , the Arkanians discovered the Yaka species in the nearby Yaka system . The Arkanians considered the Yakas feebleminded and weak , and took it upon themselves to use their knowledge of genetics and technology to improve the species ' intelligence , implanting high - tech cyborg brains into the Yakas . Some Arkanians were distressed by their compatriots ' actions , considering them to be morally questionable , but their objections were ignored . The Yakas adapted quickly to their alterations , developing mental abilities considered to be at a genius level . However , the cyberetic implants caused an apparent loss of emotion in the modified Yaka , along with a twisted , often cruel sense of humor . The Arkanians ' genetic experiments were considered by some portions of galactic society to be some of the greatest atrocities ever performed . Revolution . Conflict . Several centuries later , the issue came to the forefront some fifty years before the Battle of Yavin . A faction calling themselves the Arkanian Renegades intensified the objections to the still - ongoing modification of the Yakas , but the Dominion government once more turned a blind eye to the issues being raised and continued to fit Yaka offspring with enhancements . The Renegades decided to take matters into their own hands and formulated a plan to launch a coup and overthrow the Dominion , establishing a new order . Like their political opponents , the Renegades possessed an intimate knowledge of genetics and technology , and they opted to use this expertise to their advantage . They set about building a spliced - together , patchwork army , ultimately performing experiments not unlike those they opposed . Using arcane and forbidden practices , they constructed a half - mechanical , half - organic mercenary army , created with parts of various different alien species and droids , who possessed a determined , warlike attitude . This army would fight the Renegades ' conflict , and they were confident it would topple the Dominion . The army — whose number included Gorm , a formidable warrior who would achieve much greater notoriety in later decades — proved almost invincible against the forces of the Arkanian Dominion in combat . The cyborgs slaughtered thousands of pro - Yaka - modification Arkanians , and the Renegades soon had the upper hand over their helpless opposition . The desperate Dominion eventually pleaded for the Republic and Jedi Order to intervene . Intervention . The Republic eventually acquiesced to the Arkanians ' entreaty , consenting to send Republic police squads and a number of Jedi , including a young Mace Windu , the Padawan Squire Kinning , as well as Aqinos , a heterodox Sunesi Jedi Master . Aqinos had controversially spent the previous ten years training a group of Force - sensitive Shard as to use the Force as Jedi , and these , encased within Uulshos Justice droid bodies and known as the Iron Knight s , accompanied him to Arkania . The arrival of the combined Jedi / Republic task force quickly turned the tide in the conflict , though Kinning lost her arm in battle . Mace Windu did battle with Gorm , though both individuals survived . Eventually , the Arkanian Revolution was crushed with the eventual defeat of the mercenary army at the hands of the Jedi . The surviving Renegades were executed and the Dominion remained in power . The ultimate death toll was high , with thousands of pro - Yaka - modification scientists , the Arkanian Renegades , and the majority of their cyborg army dead . Aftermath . The surviving cyborgs fled Arkania and spread out into the wider galaxy , with many pursuing a career in bounty hunting . Gorm became the most infamous of the cyborgs , quickly acquiring a fearsome reputation as well as the sobriquet " the Dissolver . " He was still in active bounty hunting service over sixty years after the Revolution , having learned to update and maintain himself through the decades . It was believed that , assuming he continued to patch himself up as necessary , Gorm the Dissolver could in theory continue to exist indefinitely . Mace Windu went on to become one of the most famous Jedi of the era , ultimately becoming Master of the Order until his death in 19 BBY . Squire Kinning was brought back to the Jedi Temple to heal . Once she recovered , the loss of her arm was considered by the Jedi High Council to be her passing of the Trial of the Flesh , and she soon went on to become a Jedi Knight . Aqinos ' future was less bright ; he was excommunicated from the Order for his unauthorized training of the Iron Knights , though he ultimately joined Luke Skywalker ' s New Jedi Order but perished in the Yuuzhan Vong War . The Dominion remained in power , continuing their experiments and earning a reputation as " mad scientists " during the time of the Galactic Empire . Though the existence of the Arkanian Renegades was suppressed to the extent that few had heard of them , knowledge of the Revolution itself was commonplace . The conflict greatly revived a public fear of droids originating in the much larger - scale Great Droid Revolution on Coruscant thousands of years before . The conflict was also the first in a string of local uprisings to afflict the Republic during this period , one of many factors that weakened it and ultimately laid the foundations for Palpatine ' s coup in 19 BBY . Behind the scenes . The Arkanian Revolution was created by Daniel Wallace for " The Essential Guide to Droids " ( 1999 ) , tying into the backstory of bounty hunter Gorm the Dissolver from Tom Veitch ' s " " ( 1992 ) . Ann Margaret Lewis ' " The Essential Guide to Alien Species " ( 2001 ) later briefly expanded upon the conflict , before Wallace made references to it in his " New Essential Guide to Characters " ( 2002 ) , " New Essential Chronology " ( 2005 ) , and " New Essential Guide to Droids " ( 2006 ) . Abel G . Peña also referenced it in " " , a article published in 2005 .