Royce Hemlock

Royce Hemlock was a human male doctor and scientist who served the Galactic Empire as chief scientist of the clandestine Advanced Science Division and spearheaded Project Necromancer, a secret clone research project that was considered to be of great importance to Emperor Palpatine for the longevity of the Galactic Empire.
Hemlock was originally an officer in the science corps of the Galactic Republic and became acquainted with the Kaminoan Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se but would be expelled in disgrace due to his unorthodox experiments. Coming to prominence during the early Imperial Era, Hemlock was assigned to the highly classified Tantiss Base around 18 BBY in order to lead operations of the Imperial cloning program, where he held ambitions of ascending to the position of scientific minister and sought to fully unlock secrets known only to the Kaminoans for an envisioned enlightened society.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Royce Hemlock was a human male who was an officer in the Galactic Republic's science corps. He was expelled due to his unorthodox experiments, but became acquainted with the Kaminoan Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se, whose talents he praised. Eventually, Hemlock met Emerie Karr, a female clone of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, and she became his assistant.
===Imperial scientist===
====Working with the Kaminoans====
Around 18 BBY, Doctor Hemlock was the chief scientist of the Advanced Science Division assigned to work on the Imperial cloning program on an Imperial medical laboratory on the planet Setron. There, Hemlock began experimenting on clone troopers assigned to the facility, including clone cadets, by collecting blood samples from them in search of an individual that could support a positive midi-chlorian count transfer with no degradation of the specimen as part of Project Necromancer. In addition to Hemlock's research on Project Necromancer, he also created slither vines, an experimental bioweapon. The vines ultimately broke containment and overran the facility, forcing Hemlock to evacuate and order a bombardment of the facility to destroy the plants.
Soon after the disaster on Setron, Hemlock moved his operations to Tantiss Base on the planet Wayland. Following the Empire's attack on Kamino, Chief Medical Scientist Doctor Nala Se was moved to the facility, forced to work on Project Necromancer under Hemlock.
As part of the project, certain class one bounty hunters were tasked with capturing subjects with high M-counts. Such individuals would be delivered to Tantiss Base to be used for Hemlock's purposes. He also ran a secret program to condition several clones into assassins to perform assassinations and other covert operations.
A short time into Nala Se's time at Tantiss, Hemlock visited the Kaminoan scientist, who was being held in a cell due to her refusal to participate in any of the Empire's cloning program after they destroyed her civilization. While Hemlock praised Se's work as a cloner and felt sorry about what happened on Kamino, he chastised her unwillingness to use her abilities to better the galaxy and serve Galactic Emperor Palpatine's higher purpose. Se continued to refused to cooperate, knowing what he sought to accomplish with his experiments. Hemlock threatened the Kaminoan before leaving her to ponder her decision. Hemlock was then approached by Karr and informed of the loss of communication with transport 904, a science vessel scheduled to arrive at Tantiss with assets for the cloning program. Hemlock ordered the recovery teams to begin a search. He inquired about any other Kaminoans that happened to be taken off-world prior to the destruction of Tipoca City, in which Karr confirmed Prime Minister Lama Su and he remained in custody on Coruscant. Hemlock ordered Su be brought to Tantiss.
Karr later informed Hemlock that transport 904's asset, a cloned Zillo Beast, had been recovered and secured in Mount Tantiss. As Hemlock walked to the base's docking bay with Clone Commander Scorch to receive Su, he was informed by the clone commando that any witnesses to the Zillo Beast had been detained and would be dealt with. However, Scorch also noted the presence of a rogue military vessel during the operation. Hemlock tasked Scorch with tracking down the vessel as Su arrived. Hemlock informed Su that he had trouble securing Se's cooperation, offering Su his freedom in exchange for advice on how to persuade Se to cooperate. Su revealed the existence of the young female clone Omega who was important to Se. Interested, Hemlock invited Su into the facility, stating that they had much to discuss.
====Hunting Clone Force 99====
Following an incident on Barton IV, which included the death of Lieutenant Nolan, the clone commando CT-9904 "Crosshair" was brought to Tantiss Base. As Hemlock entered the operating chamber, he mentioned that Crosshair healed quickly despite being in critical condition when he first arrived. Hemlock told Crosshair that he was not sent in for punishment, since he thought that killing Lieutenant Nolan showed quite a bit of initiative, but to give him a second chance in exchange for locating Clone Force 99, Crosshair's former unit and current compatriots of Omega. Crosshair guessed that Hemlock wanted Omega, causing Hemlock to compliment the clone's intelligence. Crosshair maintained that the squad would never give her up, but Hemlock dismissed his concerns and said that Omega was a clone and therefore Imperial property. Crosshair responded that he did not know where the rogue clones were, but Hemlock stated that, as Crosshair was their former comrade, he knew how they operated and thought. The clone did not cooperate further, causing Hemlock to summon an IT-O interrogation droid to torture the clone until he broke. As the interrogation droid started to torture Crosshair, Hemlock was notified by Doctor Scalder that one of their transport ships departing from Balmorra had been attacked, and the prisoners aboard had escaped. Hemlock told Karr to inform him when Crosshair was ready to talk and left the room.
Crosshair soon attempted to escape, but was stopped by a toxic gas after he entered Terminal 3. Hemlock then entered the terminal, inhaling the toxin deeply without issue before telling Crosshair that the toxin was his own special formula that he had built an immunity to. After the failed attempt to escape, Crosshair was put back in the operating chamber.
Hemlock later informed Governor Wilhuff Tarkin via hologram that the attack on the transport above Balmorra was unfortunate but inconsequential, although Tarkin was still concerned by the potential of stolen data compromising the location of Tantiss Base. Hemlock assured Tarkin that various protocols were in place to prevent that, saying that the Advanced Science Division was more concerned with how the transport was targeted. Tarkin suspected the leak came from rogue clones still within the Imperial Army, adding that a growing number had been questioning their orders. This caused Hemlock to restate his opinion that problematic clones needed to be sent to him so he could deal with them in other ways. Interested, Tarkin told Hemlock that he expected a full briefing about his thoughts at the upcoming summit before he ended the transmission.
Hemlock later returned to the operating chamber where Crosshair was held, but the clone continued to remain silent. He tried to entice Crosshair with potential freedom if he helped locate the rogue clones, but to no avail. Annoyed, Hemlock told Karr to increase the injection level of the interrogator droid, smirking as the droid resumed its work.
====The summit on Eriadu====
Hemlock would soon attend the summit at Governor Tarkin's compound on Eriadu. As his shuttle landed on the docking lane, Hemlock walked out and two Imperial shock troopers guided him to the command center. When Hemlock entered, Tarkin and several other officers were already waiting for his arrival. Tarkin told Hemlock that he was late, to which he responded that there were matters that required his attention.
As the summit began, General Hurst Romodi advocated a phased, widespread deployment to ensure a secure military presence across all sectors. Tarkin disagreed with Romodi, elaborating on his opinions before asking Hemlock what progress the Advanced Science Division had made with their cloning research. Hemlock affirmed their research was of great importance to the Emperor and said that he was eager to build upon Kaminoan research. Tarkin questioned how long these advancements would take, noting the extensive funding requested. Hemlock replied that science could not be rushed before adding that he had found a new purpose for the decommissioned clone troopers, whom he described as test subjects to aid in his research as a solution that solves a number of problems.
When Romodi asked if the clones consented to his experimentation, Hemlock said the clones were Imperial property and that their consent was not required. Romodi warned that there were many people in the Imperial Senate who were fighting for clone rights and uncovering news about Hemlock's secret operation could hurt the Empire's other clandestine operations. Hemlock was unconcerned by Romodi's points, saying that the location and details of his operation were top secret and far from the eyes and ears of the Senate and the general public. Admiral Barton Coburn then brought forth his concerns, telling Hemlock that the clones were cunning warriors who were loyal to the end, adding that he had personally fought beside them for many years. He questioning the willingness of his peers to cast the clones aside, asking what would happen to any clone who discovered the truth of what was happening and took up arms against the Empire. Tarkin added that the clones were very unpredictable at times and had even adopted a concerning level of individuality due to being under the leadership of the Jedi Order. Hemlock told the Admiral that some clones already had begun to revolt, and Tarkin backed him up, stating that any clone uprisings would be answered with swift and unilateral action. As the group moved on, Hemlock listened to Commander Orson Callan Krennic of the Imperial Weapons Division begin to report the status of Project Stardust.
Unbeknownst to Hemlock and the others, Clone Force 99, as well as the rebel leader Saw Gerrera and members of his Partisans, infiltrated the fortress. Gerrera and the Partisans planted several detonators on the lower levels of the fortress in an attempt to destroy it and kill Hemlock and the officers. Meanwhile, Clone Force 99 was attempting to discover the location of Tantiss Base by planting a homing beacon on Hemlock's shuttle. The facility was placed under lockdown, sealing off the command room from the rest of the compound for the protection of Hemlock and the others. Shortly afterward, Gerrera and the Partisans escaped in a Nu-class shuttle, detonating the hanger bay and destroying all the other shuttles as they left, including Hemlock's. Clone Force 99 were also able to escape, although one of their members, Tech, sacrificed himself to allow his squad to make it out.
====Capturing Omega====
The Bad Batch returned to their old base of operations, namely Cid's Parlor on the planet Ord Mantell. While the medical droid AZI-3 tended to their wounds, Cid sold them out to the Empire. Hemlock and several Venator-class Star Destroyers arrived shortly after Cid informed Wrecker of her betrayal. While Omega and AZI fled, Wrecker was quickly taken prisoner by Hemlock and his clone commandos. Hunter confronted Hemlock, who told him he was outnumbered. He thanked Cid for her assistance, giving her the payment before ordering her to leave. Omega and AZI silently watched from above as Hunter was surrounded. Hemlock offered to spare Omega's life if Hunter and Wrecker both surrendered to him. He then tossed Hunter Tech's damaged goggles as a "gift." After threatening to kill Wrecker if Hunter did not stand down, Hunter relented, placing down his DC-17 blaster pistol and allowing the clone commandos to place stuncuffs on him. A clone commando reported to Hemlock that the girl was not in the parlor's office, to which Hunter replied that she was long gone.
As Omega and AZI fled Cid's Parlor, Hemlock led his troops and prisoners though the streets of Ord Mantell. As Omega fired her Zygerrian energy bow at the convoy, Hemlock instructed his clone commandos to lower their weapons while he addressed Omega. Omega demanded he release Hunter and Wrecker, but Hemlock offered a trade. If she surrendered, he would spare her friends. He claimed Nala Se needed Omega's help. Hunter said that the Kaminoans were all dead, but Hemlock assured him that Nala Se was alive and well cared for, as Omega would be. Omega rejected Hemlock's offer, but, even as Hunter tried to warn her, Scorch snuck up from behind and stunned her. Hemlock then ordered his troops to search the city for Echo and bring all three of them back to Eriadu, so Tarkin could interrogate all of them personally.
While AZI and Echo hijacked an All Terrain Armored Cannon, Hunter and Wrecker freed themselves, using the diversion to escape from their captives. Simultaneously, Scorch carried an unconscious Omega as he and several clone commandos followed Hemlock to his shuttle and departed Ord Mantell. The Bad Batch attempted to thwart Hemlock's departure, but his remaining forces prevented them from rescuing Omega.
Upon Hemlock's shuttle's arrival at Mount Tantiss, they were greeted by a contingent of clone commandos escorting Scalder and Nala Se. Hemlock told Scalder and the commandos to escort Omega to Emerie to care for her injuries. Meanwhile, Hemlock spoke with Nala Se, reminding her Lama Su spoke highly of her attachment to Omega. He told her to start working on Project Necromancer and make it possible when she said what Emperor Palpatine sought was impossible as Omega would suffer if she did not.
====Downfall and death====
The Bad Batch would eventually arrive on Tantiss Base due to the assistance of former Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart, the man who brought Se and the captured technology from Kamino to Tantiss Base at the order of Governor Tarkin, who told and brought them to Imperial Station 003 over Coruscant. When Scorch informed him of the intrusion, Hemlock immediately had starfighters scrambled to patrol the airspace. The patrols eventually ran into the stolen shuttle and managed to shoot it down. Hemlock then had foot patrols scour the surrounding area, knowing that the rogue clones were likely alive. The patrols were not able to capture the clones, but they did find Rampart, who was thrown into a cell.
After assigning a TK stormtrooper squad to guard the vault, Hemlock decided to speak with Rampart, who was insistent that the folly of letting rogue clones discover the location of Tantiss Base would anger Emperor Palpatine. Hemlock mocked him for failing to understand how clones think even after all the time he spent on Kamino; he had long anticipated that the Bad Batch would eventually find Tantiss to recover Omega and was certain they would fail. A confused Rampart asked why Hemlock was so determined to keep the young clone, so Hemlock hinted that Project Necromancer made him indispensable to the Empire unlike the former leader of Project War-Mantle.
After leaving Rampart, Hemlock went down into the vault, only to discover that Omega and the other children incapacitated Doctor Scalder and escaped through a weak point in the walls. Hemlock would later tell this to Karr when she entered the vault with a disguised Echo. As he vowed to punish Scalder for letting children get the better of her, suddenly the room violently shook. Scorch then reported that the Zillo Beast had broken containment. As Hemlock left to contain the situation, he ordered Karr to recover Omega at all costs, unaware that she was planning to turn on the Empire. Soon enough, Hemlock's forces were unable to stop the Zillo Beast Omega had freed as it wreaked havoc and broke out of the facility, and Hemlock ordered patrols to track the Beast down. The doctor later activated four more clone assassins to help CX-2 capture the rogue clones.
Hemlock had the clones being held in captivity, personally watching Hunter being electrocuted. He ordered the voltage stopped, and Hemlock told him that during their last encounter, he lost a squad member. As such, he told him that he would lose another member, but Hunter defiantly told him that he was the one who was going to die before Hemlock had the voltage resume. Governor Tarkin contacted Hemlock in regards of the Zillo Beast getting out of control and that Tantiss Base was under threat which resulted in him deciding to visit the secret facility with his fleet to give his assistance due to Emperor Palpatine being most concerned, despite Hemlock's protest that he had the situation under control. Echo and the other freed clones soon began fighting Hemlock's stormtroopers, while Omega worked to free her brothers. Hemlock was able to catch her, claiming that the clones' loyalty to each other was their weakness, but Omega had freed Wrecker in time, who then helped Hunter and Crosshair out before entering the fight with other clone assassins.
Along with Scorch, Hemlock flagged a CX Dagger vessel to try escaping the facility, but it was shot down by Crosshair before the two clones killed Scorch. With few options, Hemlock threatened to kill Omega as he positioned himself on the edge of the railing, knowing that she would fall alongside him if he was shot. With his attention focused on the clones, Omega managed to stab him, allowing Crosshair to shoot the shackle binding them together. The two clones then fatally shot Hemlock multiple times who fell off the railing. Tarkin's fleet arrived after the clones escaped and he found various wings of Tantiss Base heavily damaged from the Zillo Beast's escape, Hemlock and several troopers of the Advanced Science Division dead, and the databanks destroyed by Se so she could save Omega. Governor Tarkin felt Hemlock's failures had costed the Empire enough and posthumously punished him by ordereing Captain Bragg to shutter the secret facility indefinitely and redistribute all funding and remaining assets to Project Stardust.
===Legacy===
Despite Hemlock's death causing Governor Tarkin to posthumously punish him by ordering Project Necromancer to be discontinued with the Imperial cloning program in favor of Project Stardust, it back into prevalence during the New Republic Era. An Imperial remnant in the Unknown Regions continued the work on Project Necromancer with its leader Commandant Brendol Hux assumed leadership in Doctor Hemlock's place. During a meeting of the Shadow Council, Brendol brought up Project Necromancer and explained how its cloning capabilities would introduce new leadership into the Imperial Remnants after the Chiss warlord Grand Admiral Thrawn returned since it would give him time to deliver on completing Hemlock's lost research.
==Personality and traits==
While Hemlock was outwardly a soft-spoken and seemingly courteous man, he was in reality an extremely twisted individual. He displayed an ambitious, work-oriented mindset and was eager to begin his service in the Imperial cloning program. He was willing to use intimidation and the threat of torture to get those that opposed the Empire to do his bidding. Hemlock spoke in an even tone and was often composed. He directly oversaw Imperial projects that included experimenting on clones and creating bio-weapons. He considered the decommissioned clones he held captive as nothing more than test subjects, performing many painful experiments on them that they often did not survive. Although this opinion was not universal among his equals, like several individuals that held high positions inside the early Imperial leadership, Hemlock dismissed the individuality of clones, instead viewing them as nothing more than Imperial property; as such, he relished in any opportunity to torment those who had defied the Empire both mentally and physically. Despite this, Hemlock's assistant, Doctor Karr, who credited Hemlock for having taken her under his wing due to the potential she believed him to have seen in her. Hemlock, in return, considered Karr highly capable.
Hemlock strove towards the position of scientific minister, courting the Emperor's favor by dedicating himself to Project Necromancer. His methods were so extreme that Emperor Palpatine felt that even a great number of his fellow Imperials would view many of his experiments as abominations if they were exposed. Hemlock showed admiration at the ruthlessness of other individuals, as he expressed to Crosshair in regards to the commando's insubordination and execution of his own commanding officer. Hemlock had no qualms with kidnapping children from across the galaxy to fuel his research.
Royce Hemlock was a human male with dark brown hair that had been neatly slicked back, blue eyes, and light skin. Hemlock displayed a habit of holding and tending to his left hand, which was covered with a glove.
==Behind the scenes==
Royce Hemlock first appeared in the second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode "Metamorphosis," voiced by Jimmi Simpson. However, his appearance was first hinted at in a post by Sean Kiner as part of a series of cryptic tweets that hinted at upcoming Bad Batch episodes. Although the post was meant to be a pun on Hemlock's name, the image they used was the wrong plant.
==Appearances==
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Category:Galactic Empire science and engineering personnel
Category:Galactic Republic individuals
Category:Healers and doctors
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Males
Category:Wayland residents