Test 674-4
Subject Matter: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Target: Sheev Palpatine(Darth Sidious)
Results:
Note 1: Due to a similar nature with a preceding test, as there might be a significant amount of content to go through, the D-Class involved has been exempted from Termination for the time being.
Note 1a: Analyst ████ was forcibly removed from this project when it was discovered the D-Class had no prior knowledge of Star Wars beyond cursory cultural osmosis. D-Class is a self described 'Hater' of that 'scee-fee crap'. Her insistence on him being terminated and replaced was not becoming of someone in this project.
D-Class, a twenty-three year old male of half Asiatic, half Polynesian descent, was required to be told who the target was, and in fact, the initial test was halted when he shot not at the target, but at the Hologram of the target that appears in the first scene of the movie. This, strangely, resulted in the hologram failing due to an 'ion bolt' an in-universe energy said to disrupt electronics, which opens up the floor for experiments targeting not only characters, but pieces of equipment. This has been noted for future reference.
Regardless, the film was rewound, and a side note was made that the 'Ion-Bolt' did not appear on the replay, which is odd, as prior tests have shown that even misses remain in the subjects perception of the film. Perhaps the equipment based nature of it precluded it 'sticking' to the event? This has likewise been logged and filed, but otherwise the test proceeded until the first 'live' scene of Palpatine.
There was, in fact, some discussion of this, as Sheev appears first with his apprentice, Darth Maul. Some assistants debated on if this scene was appropriate, as he has a much more public showing in a few minutes, however, they were reminded these are tests of the effects of an SCP, not generators for fanfiction. There's plenty of those on the internet if you want to see them.
The 'bullet' took an interesting form in this case, as it appeared to be a 'wave' of 'green, sickly looking' energy according to the D-Class. Upon consultation with several sources of in-universe lore, it was determined that the attack was a sort of 'Null-Force' wave, which tore the targets 'soul' from his body, and obliterated it, which maybe have been necessary, given Sheev's in universe ability to hop bodies.
Upon the attack striking him, Palpatine's body was seemingly desiccated, rendering it little more than a mummified corpse. Maul, who had been standing nearby, witnessed this event, drawing his double bladed lightsaber, a unique in universe weapon. Slashing at the air, as if to defend himself, the black and red alien soon decided to flee the scene, jumping from the balcony he had been on, and landing in a passing hovering vehicle that he commandeered by tossing the pilot out.
What follows is a scene inside the Jedi Temple, a meeting place for the Jedi, a monastic type order that trains its users in the way of the Jedi, Force Users who attempt to remain on the 'Light-Side' of the Force. The Force, for any administrative staff unaware, is a nebulus, 'magical' field in the Star Wars universe, that allows for many abilities, including telekinesis, regeneration of tissue, electrical generation, and many others.
This field is generated by all living creatures in universe, and can be used by anyone 'attuned' to it, though the user themself will typically be classified as either 'Light', 'Dark', or 'Neutral' given their use of this power. The Jedi, as stated, attempt to maintain a Light stance, while Sheev Palpatine, A.K.A. Darth Sidious, is a member of their opposition, known as a Sith, who focus on 'Dark' abilities, with Darth being a title in their order.
Within the ranks of the Jedi, many of their number, including everyone from Younglings(Trainees with no direct Master), all the way to the Jedi Masters(The Highest Title an individual can achieve in their order), all seem to be in pain for a moment, but when they rise from this, their eyes seem to focus, and the Masters quickly begin to evacuate the Temple, or for those on Missions, begin to make plans to quickly return to the world on which the Temple is built, Coruscant.
At this point, the scene shifts back to the primary protagonists of the film's opening act, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had been assigned by the Jedi Council and the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, a major government the Jedi Support, to try and negotiate a peace between the Trade Federation, and the planet of Naboo, which the former was presently blockading.
The Trade Federation did not negotiate in good faith, however, including trying to kill the two Jedi, which failed and they escaped to the planet along with a full occupation/invasion force that Naboo, a smaller world, was unable to resist. The two Jedi were able to rescue the Queen of the planet, young Padme Amadala, and with her and a few of her retainers and staff, escaped the planet.
During the escape, damage to their ship forced them to seek refuge on a planet called Tatooine. There, while attempting to purchase repair supplies, they discover a young boy named Anakin, who earns their trust via helping them find shelter with his mother and himself during a sandstorm, and then aiding them when they are in need of funds by piloting in a dangerous sport called Pod Racing.
In the original narrative, the group, with Anakin in tow, would leave the desert planet and proceed back to the Capital world. Here, however, Master Yoda, head of the Jedi Order contacts them, and advises them to delay by a few days. The death of Naboo's Senator, Sheev Palpatine has caused all sorts of issues, especially given the situation on the planet, and while their information would be helpful, it might be the same as throwing gasoline on a fire.
Queen Amadala is less than thrilled with this, but given she was a friend of Palpatine, she is willing to take the advice, especially if it helps them break the blockade in the Senate, which is moving rapidly to not only investigate the death, but to square away some oddities within their own ranks. This results in the narrative following the action on Coruscant for the following scenes.
The investigation concludes that this was some unknown form of energy, likely a major assassin's guild, but the Jedi, in their own efforts, have uncovered the truth. Palpatine was a Sith, likely a major one, and their belief is he was betrayed by his apprentice. This news sends ripples through the Council, who eventually decide to keep the information to themselves.
This is due to the history of the Republic, which had been at war with the Sith Empire and nearly destroyed by it, a few thousand years prior. The Sith were thought to have been wiped out some time after the war, by their own limited numbers after the Empire's fall given the 'Rule of Two' which meant there should only be one Master, and One Apprentice at any one time.
Obviously, Sith being Sith, that rule was broken constantly, but it still kept their numbers small. However, there is another bit of info that causes issues for the Jedi. Namely the reason they had evacuated the Temple, an artifact of the Sith, a sarcophagus, stated to be from a Sith 'Graveworld', Korriban. It had apparently been 'clouding' the Jedi's own powers for some time. Disturbingly, it must have been put in place many centuries ago when the Temple had first been built.
Yoda, along with Mace Windu, another Master, speculate on that, and how only someone in the Senate could have arranged for such almost a millennium ago during the Temple's construction. Yet, oddly, the 'clouding' had only started a few decades before. Perhaps a long planned scheme, only now coming to fruition? It mattered little, as whatever Sith games they were playing seemed to have undone all that effort.
Then the other shoe drops. The Trade Federation Representative on the Galactic Senate declares himself done with this entire affair, departing the Capital World…mere minutes before word comes of the Trade Federation fleets bombing Naboo. Immediately, the Jedi, along with the Republic Security Forces, a mostly volunteer 'militia' force that was the Republic's one true military, sets out for the planet.
At the same time, on Tatooine, thanks to some favors called in, Queen Amadala is able to acquire Peggats, the local currency, and has not only 'bought' Anakin's mother from her slavery, but also armed her royal yacht, and the group departs to participate in the Battle of Naboo, as it would later be called, the defense forces and the Queen arriving to see a wounded world, but one fighting back.
Naboo forces, having broken free of their own confinement, and assisted by mercenaries hired from nearby systems had been doing their best to keep as many of the Trade Federation's droids busy, but they were a smallish force, and had been losing, until the sudden surge of ships ranging from fighters, to a large battleship that dated back to the founding of the Republic, entered the system.
The Republic Forces engaged the Trade Federation Fleet, but it soon became obvious who had the larger amount of firepower, as the Droid Fighters launched by the Trade Federation began to slowly overwhelm even the Republic Fleet, which tried to bash their way through to the Droid Control ship, the flag of the entire operation, on which Nute Gunray was shouting orders.
On the ground, ships, slipping through the blockade, begin to land Jedi all over the planet, the masters and knights leaping out, igniting their lightsabers, and 'going to town' were the D-Class' words, as they proceeded to tear through the droid landing forces that had been slaughtering the Naboo citizens with only minor resistance, only to be mowed down by the Jedi.
The 'money-shot' was of a Naboo town, with several bombers incoming, Mace Windu and Yoda quickly climbed onto the tallest building in the city, and with their arms extended, Mace used the Force to grab and hold the bombers in place, the droids dropping their loads, shimmering orbs of plasma that fell like rain towards the town, only for Yoda to tap his staff on the ground.
Slowly, the falling orbs came to a halt, and then, with a sudden speed, shot upwards, hitting both the bombers on the ground, as well as flying upwards, shooting into space where they did massive damage to one of the Trade Federation's own carriers, taking it out of action as it exploded, and allowing the Naboo Royal Yacht to swoop in, its six hastily installed turrets, manned by not only the two Jedi on board, but also several royal guards, and the queen herself, all firing.
One guard, during a pass on the big ship is knocked from his station, and while everyone scrambles, R2-D2, a droid of some note, repairs it, and before anyone else can climb into the seat, Anakin does so, his eyes going unfocused as he, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan all seem to lock together on certain parts of the large cruiser, their shots hitting as one, and causing large explosions, but more importantly, knocking away various transmission dishes.
Seconds after the final shot, the droid army starts to collapse, those ships with no living commanders simply stopping, and even those with them doing little more than floundering, which soon includes the large command ship, which slowly drifts into the atmosphere of Naboo, threatening to impact the planet, before entire teams of Jedi on the surface work together to push it back.
When the action finally dies down, the scene shifts to Naboo itself, where the Jedi Council including Qui-Gon discuss the future of their order, pointing out that they had been fooled, millennia ago, and now again, by the Sith. It simply would not do to have them be so vulnerable, and so Qui-Gon proposes opening Annex Temples, away from the primary on Coruscant, not just for Jedi, but any who can use the force.
This disturbs the Council…but given their own failing in sniffing out the Sith, who had seemingly so easily clouded their use of the Force until an internal struggle, they will allow it. With their senses unclouded, they could feel many, like young Anakin, after all. Too old to train as Jedi, but there were other paths to the Light. With the right guidance, they could be made into great ambassadors of peace throughout the galaxy.
Still, they are disturbed by the Sith Apprentice, and what evils they might get up to, especially as the Galaxy is in a truly unstable state. As if to emphasis this, as the movie ends, Darth Maul's ship lands on a dusty world, and he steps out to be greeted by another robed figure, the pair both drawing their lightsabers, and igniting them, the twin red blades the last thing to be seen as the scene fades.
Supplementary Report #1: At this point, the D-Class was exposed to several other pieces of Star Wars media set around the same period, to see if exposure to the effect would be influenced by the various sources of 'canon' in Star Wars. It was expected that the effect of the SCP would latch onto the first timeline given and treat it as the one moving forward, but that seemed to not be the case.
The first three pieces of media, three different Comic series set between this movie and the next were all 'staticy' as described in other tests. The three comics, two from the 'Legends' timeline and one from 'Canon' were all three found to be of lower quality to the D-Class. In particular one of the Legends comics had a 'glitchy' panel, that the D-Class described as having two images in it that kept overlapping and changing.
After several remaining tests, including novels, only two pieces of media set between the two 'tentpole' movies were discovered to be altered in a way that bears more than passing note. The first, Star Wars Episode 1: Battle For Naboo, a PC/Nintendo 64 Video Game, which, according to the D-Class was fine, though slightly altered in the contents, mostly additions to the end.
In particular, the final set of levels now involve a 'tower defense' mission, using N-1 Starfighters to keep the Trade Federation away from a town, and the final missions 'space' battle took on elements of the larger fight, including directly referencing the new events of the finale wherein the Naboo Royal Yacht was able to destroy the transmitters from the capital ship, only thanks to the player destroying its shield generator.
The other piece, another video game, Star Wars: Star Fighter, which tells an alternate tale of around the same time period, and has been altered to have the Protagonist of that game be the one to bring in the Mercenary Fleet seen assisting in the defense of Naboo. Similarly, the final mission takes several cues from the new climax, including once again saying the victory was only possible by the Protagonist's destruction of the capital ship's shield generator, this time via flying into the big ship and destroying it internally.
All other pieces of media were either unaltered beyond simple static, or were unusable at all, 'erasing themselves' in a similar manner to earlier tests. This included games, books, and comics, though where electronic media is unusable by anyone post test, the printed media remains, however it degrades far faster than it should given the age of the material, with more than one comic falling to pieces mere days after, despite 'near-mint' conditions beforehand.
