Vibroblade

Fact: The vibro-weapon is a melee based weapon that vibrates to ensure more effective cutting.

Vibroblades are melee weapons that used ultrasonic vibrations to increase cutting effectiveness. They could be put into almost any weapon used to cut, pierce, or slash. They work by inserting tiny ultrasonic generators into the hilt or handle of the weapon. With these the most glancing blow would become a gashing wound. They could also have cortosis weaves attached to them to allow deflections of lightsabers.

As effective as they are, vibroblades were also dangerous to the wielder. Against electrical weapons a vibroblade may have the electricity travel to its powersource and the resulting explosion could take off a hand or other limbs.

The blade was used heavily during the Jedi Civil war and has since become a more primative weapon commonly found on planets like Tatooine.

Darth Revan: A Short History

Fact: Darth Revan, or the Revanchist, was a Human Male (in our case a lady @female_revan) who follows the typical Dark Jedi path by falling to the Dark Side and then Redeeming in the end.

Little was known about Revan's parentage. It is thought that he was from the Outer Rim Territories, but nevertheless he was suitable for tutelage in the Ways of the Force. He was trained on Dantooine along with a friend Alek by Jedi Master Kreia. He was thought to have an insatiable desire to learn as much as he could. As with his childhood, little is known of all of his training. It is possible that he could have had 3 different trainers. All who held different opinions of his demenor and desire to learn. One apparently thought he was too eager to learn, often searching for knowledge pertaining to Sith magic. According to Jedi Mical he trained in Force bonding. By 3,963 BBY he had attained the rank of Jedi Knight.

Sometime after his appointment of Jedi Knight Revan began to gain a following by many people in the galaxy after his involvement in some Republic and Mandalorian affairs. It was because of his charasma and mislead followers that he eventually earned the title the Revanchist. He began to preach of Jedi intervention in the brewing Mandalorian Wars. In 3,961 BBY he found a Star Map on Kashyyyk that led him to Korriban. Here he discovered the Sith temple and what happened inside is largely unknown. However his former master Kreia assumed that he found of the Sith's great evil and in order to combat them, learned himself in their Ways. In order to end the Mandalore Wars Revan chose to use a massive superbomb to destroy the Mandalore fleet, but several Jedi opposed his opinion and instead he fought Mandalore the Ultimate and killed him in battle. The decision led to massive losses for both the Mandalorians and the Republic. In the resulting aftermath Revan, whose questionable tactics had led many Jedi to the Dark Side, refused to let the Mandalorians choose a replacement leader and exhiled them. This was the beginning of the first famous Bounty Hunters and mercinaries that the Mandalorians are famously known for being.

Shortly after the end of the wars Revan returned to Dantooine with a newly converted Jedi named Malak. His intent here was to investigate yet another Star Map and discover the whereabouts of the Star Forge. Warned by Malak that intruding on the Jedi Enclave would reveal their intent as Dark Jedi, Revan chose to cast asside the gurads and examine the Star Map. Having discovered and examining the Dantooine Star Map, Revan and Malak went on to find three more. In their studies they found the previously unknown Lehon system and made for the find. Once inside the system they crashed on the planet Lehon and were attacked by primitave Black Rakata. However being Sith they easily bested the Rakata. Revan made his desire to find the Star Forge evident to the Rakata, but their primitave minds did not understand the common language. Revan used the Force to uniquely drive common into their heads and afterward was taken to their leader The One. The same technique was used on him but it was discovered that they knew nothing of their past, but a tribe called Elders may know. Revan, instead of destroying them, decided to approach them in peace. His decision proved to be the right one and he learned about the past he sought. Revan knowing their loathe for their violent past said he served the light and sought to destory the Star Forge. Convinced the Rakata gave him access to the Temple of the Ancients to learn of the Star Forge's location. However, instead of destroying it as promised. He declared himself to them a new Dark Lord of the Sith.

Knowing of the capabilities of the Star Forge's dark power, Revan chose to use the artifact to construct a fleet big enough to take on the Jedi. Malak scoffed at his stupidity, but Revan explained how the device had once led the Rakata into civil war with themselves. He had no desire to repeat the same mistake. Once large enough, Revan left with his fleet and declared war on the "tyrannical" Jedi Order, starting the Jedi Civil War.

After several battles during the Jedi Civil War Malak thought himself to be stronger than Revan. Eventually the Jedi caught up with the pair and cornered them, but Malak seeing it as his opportunity betrayed him, saying that he was finally stronger than his master and fired on the bridge where Revan and his Jedi captors held him. The attack left him incapacitated and allowed for Malak's escape. Because of Malak's betrayal Revan was left with a bad case of amnesia. He no longer knew himself to be the Dark Lord of the Sith he had once been. He was thought dead by many, but kept alive by his Force bond with a former Master Bastila Shan. The Republic and Jedi siezed the chance and molded him to be a weapon to help capture Malak.

Around a year after his new identity had been imposed upon him Revan rescued a captured Shan was granted retraining by the Jedi. He was charged with finding Malak and his fleet and resulted to re-examining the Star Maps to find the Star Forge once again. However during this Malak revealed to him that he had been a Dark Jedi and recaptured Shan. Revan, undaunted, loved her and after finding the final Star Map, found the Star Forge. Once there he fought and defeated Malak and redeemed Shan who Malak had twisted to his will. Memories of his former self continued to return and a year after the defeat of Malak he decided to leave alone and confront the "true" Sith on his own.

As of 3,623 BBY it is still thought that he never returned.

This Week in Facts August 22-29

Week Long Facts Blog #1

Sat August, 22-Friday August 29

•Wampas are aggressive monster-like animals indigenous to Hoth.

•Luke returned to Hoth 9 years later and found the Wampa who's arm he severed to still be alive. He killed it that time around.

•Boss Nass was the leader of the Gungans on Naboo.

•The Wampa whose arm Luke cut off was named Willy. Willy Wampa.

•Hamo Blastwell was a Rebel fighter pilot who served in Red Squadron on the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Independence in the Galactic Civil War.

• The Independence was a Star Cruiser that acted as the Rebel Alliance Fleet's flagship in the Galactic Civil War.

•Admiral Ackbar was the Commander of the Independence.

•Theed is the capital of the planet Naboo.

•Mezhan Kwaad, known for conducting experiments upon the Jedi apprentice Tahiri Veila was a Yuuzhan Vong shaper and the master of Nen Yim.

•The first Death Star held 25,984 active Stormtroopers at any given time.

•Alderaan's population was approximately 2 billion people.

•Nemodians were the toad-like leaders in charge of the Trade Federation.

•Mara Jade began her devious career as a Hand for the Emperor.

•Although severely aged by his practices, Darth Sidioius was quite the swordsman.

•Padme Amidala's last name was Naberrie.

•Polis Massa, the birthplace of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.

•Queen Jamilla became the monarch of Naboo after Amidala left to be a senator.

•Kouhuns were vermiform arthropods with segmented bodies, roughly thirty centimeters long.

Star Wars Facts Survey

Here is a short survey that I want you to fill out honestly. Feel free to be as elaborate or succinct as possible in your answers. I WILL read all of these. I may NOT be able to respond due to overwhelming response but I will see your opinions. Just copy it and paste it into an email and send it to:

STARWARSFACTS (AT) GMAIL (DOT) COM

1. What Is Your Age Range (optional)

11 or younger

12-16

17-19

20-24

25-30

30-40

41-50

50+

2. Are You (optional)

Male

Female

3. What is your first memory of Star Wars?

4. Who is your favorite character? Why?

5. What has been your favorite thing about @swfacts?

6. What do you think needs to be done to make @swfacts better?

7. Do you read the blogs? If so, do you enjoy them?

8. What kinds of things would you like to see in the future?

Bonus Question:

IV-VI, I-III or I-III, IV-VI?

Always feel free to @reply me if you have any questions or comments. On Twitter I generally respond. So don't hesitate to interact. That's why I do this!

May the Force be with you!

On Canon

Disclaimer: First let me say that even though I obviosly take a side in this article, I do not, however, disagree with the other side. Make sure you know that I am clear in that intention.

Recently, I @swfacts, @onewiththeforce, became good friends with a few people who, like me, LOVE Star Wars. These people spend a lot of time role playing characters many of them grew up watching, and some we have all come to love over the last few years. Wanting to do more than just post facts related to these characters and the Galaxy they inhabited, I made a new Twitter account and started a character of my own, @thecadbane. Cad Bane is a character who is new to the Star Wars universe and has very little known about his personal history. Seeing this as an intriguing opportunity to role play an unknown character who possesses characteristics I find interesting, I started to develop on the already established mannerisms and story surrounding him.

It has, however come to my attention that some involved in the community believe that canon is being hurt by the portrayals of the characters. I am one for sticking to canon when the story is being told for the purposes of the further development of the ever-growing Galaxy. But in this instance I don't believe it wrong to give a character a new personality quirk, or a new catch phrase.

A place like Twitter is a sort of safe-haven, an area where we, as fans, can gather and develop existing and new characters as we would enjoy, seeing them if they were our own. It is like a fan-run/designed website that deals in fanfiction. Maybe you didn't like Edward dating Bella. Perhaps you thought it served the story better to have her stay with Jacob. Changing that aspect in the evironment we work in is COMPLETELY safe because at the end of the day it doesn't matter at all to the canon of the Galaxy as long as we are happy with the produced creativity.

I agree with wanting to keep canon, canon, but Twitter, as with fansites of fanfiction, has become an outlet for us to become someone who, in real life, we may not be able to become. The stories we create there stay there and have no effect whatsoever on the stories we all enjoy reading and viewing outside of this medium of communication.

Link to the story on Canon:

http://tinyurl.com/kwvxu2

Star Wars: A Concept of Time

I love good questions. Something that makes me think for a few minutes before I realize what the correct answer should be.

@apostropheS asked me on twitter today, "what were the years called during the time of BBY?"

If we look at the concept of time in our own world, and the fictional worlds we all come to love, we can see many similarities in the way time is calculated. All great eras of time are divided by events, usually singular, in which something drastic happens. In our world we all seem to come together and agree, at least until the last few years where science has decided otherwise, that the birth and subsequent death of Jesus Christ was such an event. The era wasn't called BC until many years after his death, but we divided the time before him and after him as BC and AD.

Another such example occurs four separate times the world of Middle-Earth where "The Lord of the Rings" takes place. When Frodo dropped the Ring of Power into Mount Doom and Sauron was finally defeated, his tyrannical reign over Middle-Earth ended and the people there saw the end of an Age dominated by fear of him. Thus the Third Age ended and the Fourth began.

In Star Wars it works similarly. The people of the Galaxy have, for the most of its history, been involved in a Republic form of government. The Old Republic was dominated by a war with the Sith, but they never destroyed the Republic in the sense that Palpatine did when he overthrew it and began the Imperial reign. All of the sudden the people of the Galaxy found themselves outcasted if they did not accept Palpatine's total control. Some did, some didn't. Those who didn't became the Rebels and formed their Alliance. For nearly 18 years they survived under the worst threat the Galaxy had ever known. Therefore when the foundations of the Empire were rocked by the destruction of Death Star I at the Battle of Yavin, the tide of battle began to turn and the Rebels knew that they finally had a chance.

Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY) symbolizes all of the events that occured from the beginning of recorded history with the Rakata and continues until Luke Skywalker's fateful flight down the narrow tunnel that allowed for the destruction of the Death Star I. After the events of that day, empowered by their victory in battle, the people of the Alliance finally knew that they had a chance, and when Palpatine fell for good they refered to everything afterward as After the Battle of Yavin (ABY). So when you read that something happened 4 ABY it simply means that it occured four years after the destruction of the Death Star I. The same goes with BBY, an event happening 5,000 BBY was 5,000 years before Luke took his shot.

Now time itself was divided into eras as well. They all follow the rules of BBY and ABY.

Old Republic (25,000 - 1,000 BBY)

Rise of the Empire (1,000 - 0 BBY)

Rebellion (0 - 5 ABY)

New Republic (5 - 25 ABY)

New Jedi Order (25 - 40 ABY)

Legacy (40 ABY -)

Thanks for the question! It was definitely one of the better ones that have been asked. If you want to read more on the actual eras and the major works that they are made up of check out:

http://cuthut.com/BhM

And don't forget to follow @swfacts for all the things the Empire doesn't want you to know!

Star Wars Trivia Thursday (07-09-2009)

We got a lot of really great questions this week.Thanks for all the input and feedback you all have given regarding this idea. Remember this is a short week due to work. Don't get discouraged if you question was not answered. Try again next week. There's a good chance you will get a question answered. And since I just posted the Rules, this week can slide.

And now, without further adieu, week on begins.

1. (via @woodlandelf) Does Leia remember Padme or Breha Organa when she says she remembers her mother in RotJ?

This is a good question to ask. Breha and Bail Organa were the foster parents that raised Leia from birth. In Return of the Jedi she says that she remembers her real mother but just as "images" and "feelings." Leia recalled her as being, "beautiful, kind, but sad." She new Breha was her adoptive mother as she most likely died during the destruction of Alderaan. So it is only conceivable to think that she must have been talking about Padme.

An interesting side note involves her description of remembering Padme. Padme died just after giving them names. It is possible that, being a Force sensitive individual, Leia remembers Padme, but also could be an error on the Lucas' part due to the large gap between the Original and New trilogies.

2. (via @theonecorey) How about the first appearance of Coruscant for all the EU haters out there.

Coruscant first appeared in the Expanded Universe and was called by its name in Timothy Zahn's book "Heir to the Empire" which was published in 1991. Nearly 15 years after the first movie was produced. It did not appear on screen for the first time until after the 1997 release of Return of the Jedi. The special edition editied in new effects and showed the celebration of the defeat of Emperor Palpatine on Coruscant.

3. (via @sdsb110) What planet was Boba Fett from before Kamino appeared in the New Trilogy?

I really like this question because it was hard. I am not sure that my answer will even be right. @sdsb110 has a book that has the "right" answer in it, so let me know if I'm right or way off wrong.

My first instinct would be to go with my first knowledge of Boba Fett and say Mandalore, but I also know that he was sent to an orphanage on Bespin. Correct me if I'm wrong.

4. (via @zombietips) Were there Zombies in the Star Wars universe?

God, I love zombies! The answer is yes.

The Sith were able to create zombies with alchemy to protect the Valley of the Dark Lords. The Rakghoul Plague turned people into mindless creatures similar to zombies. And Rajine, an energy vampire, used them to protect her palace from tresspassers. There are a few other instances in the Galaxy of reported zombies as well.

5. (via @churchy71) I want to know were the Stormtroopers clones, or were they enlisted?

You have to love Stormtroopers, but man did they need some better armor.

The first Stormtroopers were clones that survived the Clone Wars. They were officially renamed by Palpatine's Declaration of New Order. Three new batches were grown and sent to the Outer Rim Territories after the Battle of Kamino in 10 BBY. No longer guided by Jedi generals, Stormtroopers were free to enforce the brutal Imperial doctrine and seemed endless in number.

Thanks for the questions guys. Remember if yours didn't get picked don't get discouraged try again next week.

Bonus Round

These are some of the other questions I received. Feel free to answer them or @reply to the original owner if you would like.

@rbtgirl asks, "What was the name of Anakin and Padme's love song?" and "What's the name of Luke's theme?"

@hddnmcky inquires, "Who was Dorsk 81 and why was he unique?" and "Who was Qui Xux and what role did she play in the Empire?"