Mount Tantiss
The Age of Mount Tantiss
There is a controversial theory about Mount Tantiss: Some historians suggest that the cloning facility may have already been located on the planet, and the Emperor merely expanded the facility. Upon examining the wreckage left in the wake of the mountain’s destruction, it is impossible to gain and accurate reading on the facility’s age due to the incredible radiation levels. However, the control components and fragments of the various computer systems have shown that the cloning facility was considerably older than the technology present in other areas of the mountain, almost as if the computers and machinery had either been transplanted there from another cloning facility en masse, or that the cloning facility had been in the mountain prior to the construction of the rest of the facility.
This theory is supported by Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, who saw the Mount Tantiss installation first-hand whilst it was still intact. Calrissian supports the contention that the cloning facility was an intact cloning complex from the past. Says Calrissian, “At the time, I remember saying to Han that the cloning complex looking like it had been picked up somewhere and dropped into the mountain, like it was relocated entirely. The computer system and wiring conduits were pretty vintage stuff, and I suppose it’s possible that the Emperor simply expanded on an existing installation.”
Unfortunately, the origin of the cloning chambers cannot be conclusively proven due to the damage done by the blast. However, the debates that have occurred between various New Republic scientists and archaeologists present at the Mount Tantiss facility have been lively to say the least. The idea that the base at Mount Tantiss is not necessarily an Imperial construction is a tantalizing mystery.
The following report was prepared with the assistance of the New Republic Xenoarchaeology Division, and it is based on the progress reports of the search teams on Wayland. The information concerning the layout and function of various rooms within the Mount Tantiss installation is speculation and educated conjecture, as little of the structure remains intact. It is estimated that it will take several years to sift through the remains of Mount Tantiss. Obviously, further study is warranted.
The Mount Tantiss installation
The Mount Tantiss facility was an immense series of honeycombed caverns created inside the massive mountain on Wayland. Apparently, the mountain was left almost completely vacant, with the exception of Joruus C’boath, the dark Jedi who was guarding the mountain at the time of Captain Pellaeon and Grand Admiral Thrawn’s arrival. However, Mount Tantiss could have supported a full Imperial battle group.
After Grand Admiral Thrawn ‘reactivated’ Mount Tantiss, he decided to leave only a token task force: a mere battalion of soldiers, with repulsorlift vehicles and repulsorlift-sensitive Garral guard beats. He also had a full security system installed, including sonic sensors, and ordered Imperial foot patrols to complement the electronic security systems.
The entrance to Mount Tantiss was small, almost innocuous: a simple shield blast door entrance at ground level, much like the military bunkers the Empire had used on so many occupied planets. However, the blast door and the adjacent tunnel were substantially more reinforced under the rock of Mount Tantiss. It would take an aerial bombardment of incredible power to force the bunker open. Proper code key sequences entered in the exterior security lock notified the inner defenders when to open the door, but it could not be opened from the outside.
Mount Tantiss had two other entrances further up the face of the mountain. Several hundred meters up the side of the mountain was a full-service hangar bay that had been carved out of the mountainside. This was the main hangar for all star ships deployed to Mount Tantiss.
Further up the mountain was the private emergency shuttle bay of the Emperor. Whenever the Emperor or his most trusted officials arrived at Mount Tantiss, they would use this smaller hangar, allowing them to come and go unobserved. This hangar bay was also an emergency escape area. In the unlikely event that the Emperor would be forced to leave the mountain, this allowed for expedient access to an escape vehicle, rather than travel all the way down to the regular hangar bay.
The major security flaw in the mountain – a flaw that the Heroes of Yavin successfully exploited – was the large air intake system located midway up the exterior of the mountain. An efficient system for providing air to the lower levels inside the mountain was necessary; the shafts provided access to all but the most isolated and secure areas of the base. The intakes themselves resembled retractable turbolaser turrets and were hidden behind thick metal grating. The intake was large enough for humans to walk through and led to an elaborate pump system that spread cooling air throughout the innermost chambers of Mount Tantiss. The intake system was controlled through a centralised computer system deep inside the mountain, and was retracted back into its armoured housing when not in service. A computer access terminal was located near the intake, primarily for maintenance purposes; the intakes sucked in a large amount of debris and service droids often needed to manually open the intake tube to clean the air shafts.
Mount Tantiss
The upper levels – the Throne Room complex
The uppermost level of the mountain contained the Throne Room complex, which was always kept in a state of readiness by order of the Emperor. The chamber was similar to the massive throne room the Emperor had constructed for himself on the second Death Star. According to Luke Skywalker, the throne chamber was smaller than the one aboard the Death Star, and was considerably more “dank and primitive, and not as polished ad the high-tech command chamber” aboard the space station.
The throne room was dominated by a huge hologram of the galaxy, a work of art in itself. A single blazing point of light was included for each of the Galaxy’s billions of stars. Political regions were delineated by subtle colour variations, and updated as the status of various regions and systems changed. From the command panel on the Emperor’s throne, the image could be manipulated to highlight any area of the hologram, or focus in and provide detailed information on even a single system if the emperor desired that. The holograms was tied into the massive computer data vaults below, as well as the Holonet broadcast transceiver, so the Emperor could effectively access almost any piece of information the galaxy and incorporate it into the hologram if necessary.
The throne was set on a dais near the viewports and was flanked on either side by two of the Emperor’s elevated guard posts. The throne itself contained a secure communications channel that broadcast on, received or observed any Holonet frequency. The projector could be modified for Palpatine’s private transmissions. Apparently, his personal favourite communications setting was a massive massive holographic projection of his own face so that he could peer down on his subordinates. A single balcony crossed the throne chamber, linking the control systems monitors and other vital command posts. Of course, all of the systems could be run from Palpatine’s throne, but sometimes the Emperor chose to have others maintain the operation of Mount Tantiss.
The throne room had two turbolifts and a single emergency stairwell. One lift was the Emperor’s for quick access to the royal chambers or the emergency hangar bay below the royal chamber. A second turbolift was keyed to the Emperor’s retinal scan, so only he could activate it. Of course, it stopped at the Throne room, but it also stopped at every other level of Mount Tantiss, including the crypts and the labyrinth. While it was readily visible at the throne room level, its presence was carefully hidden on all other levels, and did not even appear on any schematics of the facility.
The Royal Chambers
The royal chambers complex was the personal residence of Palpatine when he was staying at Mount Tantiss. While the chambers complex took up a full three levels, there was only one turbolift stop to the area. The chamber included a meeting area for consultation with his closest advisors, a full information station (for access to the database below) and countless other amenities for the Emperor’s comfort. He was known to keep his repository of information on the Force in a separate library on this level.
Emergency Shuttle Hangar
This small shuttle bay was Palpatine’s emergency escape route. This bay was equipped with a single specially modified Lambda-class shuttle that was known to have been equipped with a much more advanced hyperdrive (supposedly capable of reaching the x1/2 hyperdrive barrier). It was also rumoured that this personal escape vessel was equipped with a cloaking device, but this is considered unlikely considering that Mount Tantiss itself only contained plans for a cloaking the device instead of actual working models.
Emperor’s private study and access corridors
This three-level area served as the residence of the Emperor’s servants and advisors, as well as his private study and work area. The Emperor often chose to meet with his advisors and military officers on these levels. These levels also provided the only link between the rest of Mount Tantiss and Palpatine’s private upper levels.
The Upper Vaults
A number of the Emperor’s treasure vaults were scattered throughout the upper levels of the complex. The vaults themselves appear to have been hewn directly into the rock of the mountain and were huge, capable of housing Palpatine’s vast collection of trophies.
The vault chambers were up to three hundred meters square, with huge arched ceilings. Each vault had security monitors: if anyone other than the Emperor or his emissaries and guards was detected within the vaults, the security computer would magnetically seal the blast doors. A concentrated, paralysing nerve gas was pumped into the vault, and force and repulsor fields were activated to immobilise the intruder. The whole security procedure took less than ten seconds, and after it was complete, the Emperor would have a choice specimen for interrogation.
The upper vault chambers were dedicated almost exclusively to artwork and historical artefacts, predominantly human, captured or extorted from the Core Worlds. A few pieces – those that did not require any form of high technology such as holography – survived, most notable the Farnican chime-painting Idyll, a mixed mediamusical/painting/sculpture thought to have been destroyed years ago. The Emperor commanded some effective thieves, it would appear.
The amount of stolen artwork and technology that is estimated to have been destroyed when Mount Tantiss was blown apart is staggering. The New Republic teams have located a number of chambers that were shielded from the shock waves of the blast, but were unable to protect the treasures within from the radiation which flooded the mountain.
The middle levels
The middle levels of Mount Tantiss housed the Emperor’s collection of Spaarti cylinders, as well as weapons and technology vaults, and a number of service areas, including crew barracks and medical facilities. A main turbolift shaft connected the middle levels to the upper vaults and the Emperor’s private levels, and maintenance droids had a number of service lifts that they could use to move around the Mountain. There were a series of turbolifts connected only to the middle levels, such as the cloning chambers, and the lower levels, such as the military barracks.
The cloning chamber
Spaarti cylinders are the devices necessary to produce viable clones, the central element to Thrawn’s plan to destroy the New Republic. The Spaarti cylinders present in Mount Tantiss are numbered in the thousands (over 20,000 cylinders were estimated to be in the facility, although the exact number is unknown; no Spaarti cylinders were recovered intact). The cylinders were all located in an immense cavern known as the cloning chamber.
The chambers was well over 10 stories tall, with multiple balcony levels built in amphitheatre style rows. The top levels of the chamber were a control and maintenance area, with each of the lower levels containing row upon row of Spaarti cylinders. Each level’s circular balcony stretched further toward the centre of the cavern than the previous level, much like a stadium. Running through the centre of the cavern was a huge column, which housed the immense power distribution and nutrient feeder systems. Piping, power lines and waste removal tubes filled the cloning chamber, running from the central column to each balcony. Each balcony had four retractable bridges, which could be extended to the central column. Each level also had nearly two dozen doors, allowing access from the outside.
The Spaarti cylinders were arranged in groups of four, attached to overhead nutrient feed pipes and power conduits. Each cluster of Spaarti cylinders was
overlooked by a ysalamiri on a nutrient frame. Spaarti cylinders stand approximately four meters
tall, and each holds one clone. The clone floats in a protective gelatin, which accelerates growth and helps maintain the genetic code of the template. Each Spaarti cylinder contains a computer processing system that is linked directly into the cerebral cortex of the forming clones. Within hours of entering the cloning matrix, the computer begins "flash-pumping" information into the minds of the clones. When a clone emerges from a Spaarti cylinder, it is fully trained. This "flash-pumping" method of training the clone soldiers was apparently one of the key elements Thrawn incorporated into his plan. It enabled him to field fully trained armies in an astoundingly short time. The use of the ysalamiri was also of immense importance to Thrawn's effort. According to the few records that remain from the past, clones needed at least a year of growth to remain even marginally mentally stable, and the recommended time period was three to five
years. This was because the presence of multiple clones creates a "disturbance" in the Force. If clones are grown too quickly, and do not have time to learn how to deal with this disturbance, they will go insane. However, the use of the ysalamiri, who "push back" the Force, eliminates that pressure while the clone is growing. Thrawn produced mentally stable clones in 15 to 20 days. In other words, Thrawn could literally "grow" an army in under a month, each and every month, as long as the clone chamber was still in operation.