Byss

**Byss** was a planet in the Deep Core, near the center of the galaxy, discovered no earlier than 45 BBY. A local day lasted 31 standard hours, and a local year lasted 207 local days. It was the endpoint of the Byss Run.

Byss itself was somewhat of a myth, seeming to be the perfect place to live. Its eerie blue-green glow, caused by its sun, also added to the strangeness of the world. Despite this outward appearance, however, Emperor Palpatine's dark-side energies were everywhere, corrupting not only the inhabitants, but the planet itself.

Byss was a secret throne world of Palpatine and the location of his towering Imperial Citadel. His clone body was made there.

## Characteristics

Byss was a mythic paradise world enshrouded in the dark side of the Force, located within the isolated and nearly inaccessible Deep Galactic Core. It was situated at the end of the Byss Run, a heavily guarded artificial hyperlane kept open by hundreds of non-mass S-thread boosters, connecting the planet to the Core Worlds. The planet was otherwise nearly impossible to reach safely through hyperspace, due to the high density of stars in the Deep Core and the constantly shifting patterns of the region's natural hyperlanes. Byss was the fifth planet of the Beshqek system and orbited the star Beshqek; it was one of two habitable planets in the system, the other being Relus. The planet was orbited by five small moons, which had little influence on its tides.

Bathed in a blue-green sunlight, Byss was originally a lush and fertile world. A natural conduit of Force power, it invigorated force users in a flood of Force energy. Byss was corrupted by dark energies after Emperor Palpatine made the world his personal retreat and began leeching Force energy from the immigrants he lured there. Over time, the planet was transformed into one of the most powerful nexuses of dark-side energy in the galaxy.

Byss was renowned throughout planets under the control of the Galactic Empire as a legendary world of serene, paradisaical natural beauty. The planet was dotted with chains of lakes and rivers where microscopic lifeforms dwelled, as well as wind-smoothed plateaus and canyons. Its isolation from much of the galaxy allowed for its natural islands and pre–Expansionist Era ruins to remain untouched for thousands of years. After its corruption, the planet's soil lost much of its natural quality and produced little more than ferns and lichens. No intelligent species ever evolved on Byss, and what wildlife there existed was largely nocturnal and harmless. Byss was also devoid of any rare elements or heavy metals. The planet's calm, balmy climate and mild seasons, ranging from clear to rainy, were primarily caused by its minuscule axial tilt and stable geologic foundation. Violent phenomena, such as storms and volcanism, were extremely rare. This led to the creation of a myth, fabricated by the Empire, concerning a beautiful and mystic siren world hidden from the galaxy at large, where blissful contentment awaited any who chose to apply for immigration to the planet.

Politically, Byss was ruled by three major galactic powers. The planet was controlled by the Rakatan Infinite Empire for nearly five-thousand years before its collapse, and thousands of years later the planet came under the rule of the Galactic Empire, where it served as Emperor Palpatine's resort world. A towering citadel was built using non-Human slave labor at the heart of the ruling city, along with ornate buildings and resort complexes,and soon an entire continent, the Imperial control sector, was covered in city. The planet was ruled as a dark-side theocracy, led solely by Palpatine and his Dark Side Adepts. Byss became one of Palpatine's fortress worlds after the Empire's collapse at Endor, and served as the capital world of his reborn Empire. At this point, the planet became a rallying point for the remaining fragments of the Empire and the base of operations for Palpatine's reconquest of the galaxy. It also became the construction site of numerous Imperial superweapons,

Under Imperial rule, Byss became one of the most reclusive and heavily guarded worlds in the galaxy. Most natural routes into the Deep Core were mined and the rest were covered by the Imperial Hyperspace Security Net—a system of gravity well projectors and hyperwave transceivers designed to monitor and control traffic into and out of the Deep Core. As a fortress world, Byss was guarded by a number of security forces and technologies, all of which were overseen by Byss Security itself. The Byss Security Zone, a restricted area of space around Byss, was guarded by a ring of Star Destroyers, while an entire sector fleet was additionally spread throughout the Beshqek system. It also included the Byss Defense Fleet. A METOSP, or "Message To Spacers," was broadcast to all travelers entering the system as a warning against trespassing. Gargantuan Hunter-Killer probots were responsible for patrolling the skies above Byss, and were used as capture and detainment platforms for unauthorized ships. The planet itself was surrounded by a planetary shield controlled by Byss Security, and a system of Gauntlet Scanner Stations were used to monitor traffic around the planet.

The Gauntlet Scanner Stations comprised of many Golan III Space Defense NovaGuns orbiting Byss, where security personnel would coordinate space traffic with the scanner satellites spread over the planet. Officers stationed aboard these platforms typically oversaw the daily operation of the Byss Security Zone by monitoring IFF transponder codes, security codes, and other forms of authorization used to control traffic to and from the surface of Byss. If any traveler was found possessing forged documents, the Star Destroyers guarding Byss had authorization to use lethal force against them. The Gauntlet Scanner Stations additionally served as orbital defense platforms for Byss, boasting firepower equal to some capital ships, and also housed squadrons of TIE fighters and other defensive forces.

On the surface of Byss, surveillance and a heavy military presence was commonplace. Stormtroopers were stationed at every street corner, each landing pad was guarded by a TIE fighter, and undercover Imperial Security Bureau agents were present at most of the planet's public areas to watch out for any potential traitors. Additionally, shipyards, fighter bases, and military barracks large enough to hold an entire army were present all across the Imperial Control Sector. All of these complexes were camouflaged behind colorful plazas and public buildings, themselves armed with the latest defense turbolasers and shock fields.