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| Who’s Who Umak Leth |
Umak Leth was a weapons engineer in the employ of the Imperial State throughout its existence, famous for his work on many of the Empire’s war
machines and weapons of mass destruction, most notably the World Devastator and Galaxy Gun. Noted for being both highly ambitious and highly
egotistical, there were questions about Leth’s ethical integrity (The Jedi Academy Sourcebook claims that he plagiarized the design of the World
Devastator from the Maw Installation), and even some questions about the state of his mental health (the New Republic Historical Council called
him “driven and partially insane” in The Essential Chronology). There are no known details about Leth’s education or certification as an engineer,
although he was evidently trained some time before the end of the Clone Wars, because the Dark Empire Sourcebook mentions that he had been a
“Junior Engineer” during the Jedi Purge that immediately followed the Clone War itself (16 - 19 rS).
By that time, Leth was already numbered among the “cadre of Palpatine’s super-scientists” alongside Borborygmus Gog and the Lord Cronal
(according to “Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena”), and was apparently involved in the development of Gog’s “Essence
Stealer,” a derivative of Ssi-ruuvi ‘entechment’ technology that allowed the soul (‘life-force’) to be forcibly divorced from the mortal coil and stored
within “a giant computer-linked crystal matrix.” Combining new data derived from Gog’s project and “the little information the Emperor gave him
about the nature of the Force” (per the Dark Empire Sourcebook), Leth was able to design the modestly-named Leth universal energy cage, a
containment sphere capable of restraining even fully-trained Jedi Knights; Leth universal energy cages were subsequently installed aboard the Lictor
class dungeon ships that became the Inquisitorius’s mainstay during the Purge.
Star Wars Handbook Volume Three: Dark Empire mentions that Leth was “responsible for numerous engines of destruction used by the Empire,
both before Palpatine’s death and after his resurrection,” but details remain scarce about his activities during the height of the Empire. The Historical
Council was apparently under the mistaken impression that Leth was one of the members of the research staff at Grand Moff Governor Wilhuff
Tarkin’s Maw Installation, as it mentioned him and longtime rival Bevel Lemelisk voluntarily joining the staff, whereas The Jedi Academy Sourcebook
mentions him as having operated outside the Maw; since the Historical Council calls Leth “one of the original masterminds behind the Death Star” in
The Essential Chronology and reiterates this by calling him “one of the engineers involved with the Death Star project” in the better-researched The
New Essential Chronology (which quietly drops the claim that Leth had volunteered for assignment to the Maw Installation), it seems probable that
Leth was involved in the Death Star Project in some way, regardless of whether or not he had actually been at the Maw Installation (if he had, then
he must have left with Lemelisk when the latter was reassigned to oversee the construction of the Death Star at Despayre, or else he would have still
been in the Maw over a decade later).
Leth’s work apparently impressed the Galactic Emperor to the point that he was appointed “Chief Engineer to the Emperor” even before the Battle
of Endor in 39 rS, according to the Dark Empire Sourcebook. While the second Death Star was under construction in orbit of the Sanctuary Moon of
Endor, Leth presented the Galactic Emperor with “a new design for a molecular furnace that could break down the physical structure of matter,” and
was given funding for further research into this technology’s potential application as a weapon. Leth returned “after months of work” with
preliminary plans for what would become the World Devastator (note that The Jedi Academy Sourcebook claims that the proposal to “modify
existing molecular furnaces into autonomous ‘World Devastators’ that could strip raw materials from a planet’s surface” actually originated in the
Maw Installation, and that Leth simply stole the proposal and convinced “his superiors” that the design was his own). According to The Essential
Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, Leth modestly described the World Devastator as being “more lethal than the Death Star.” Pleased with the design, the
Galactic Emperor appointed Leth to replace Lemelisk as Master of Imperial Projects, granted him “irrevocable funding writs,” and ordered him to
make the World Devastator a reality.
Following the Galactic Emperor’s death at the Battle of Endor, Leth passed out of view, using his guaranteed funding to develop his weapons of
mass destruction; he evidently spent the next few years occupied thus. It is not clear when he finished the development process, but he was
evidently free to take on other projects, because the Dark Empire Sourcebook states that either during or shortly after Thrawn’s War in 44 rS, he
was called in to take charge of the development of the XR85 self-aware tank, and that he quickly pushed the design into production, awarding the
contract to Arakyd Industries (the design was common enough that it was used during the Imperial recapture of Imperial Center that same year, and
during the Time of Destruction that followed). Evidently the Master of Imperial Projects had come to be regarded as the Imperial State’s factotum of
engineering, because The Essential Guide to Droids mentions that he was then assigned to head the development of Balmorran Arms’ new SD-10
battle ’droid during Operation Shadow Hand (45 - 46 rS), as well as overseeing the design and production of the Galactic Emperor’s Shadow Droids,
a derivative of Gog’s research into Ssi-ruuvi technology which combined cyborg controllers with the dark side of the Force, as seen during the attack
on Balmorra in Dark Empire II.
By the time of the Battle of Calamari in 45 rS – in which Leth’s World Devastators badly mauled the defenses of Calamari, one of the most
strategically important shipyards and members of the New Republic – , the New Republic’s Intelligence Operations Command had become aware of
Leth’s status as the Imperial State’s premiere WMD scientist and conventional weapons designer, and (like any sensible intelligence agency) made a
point of tracking his whereabouts and activities. In a top secret memorandum to the Provisional Council of the New Republic quoted in the Dark
Empire Sourcebook, Brigadier Colin Darkmere noted that in the aftermath of the destruction of the World Devastators the Empire was nevertheless
“developing newer and more horrible weapons of mass destruction” and named Leth as one of those known to be involved in the process; he also
noted darkly that “ some of these weapons are being developed in a high security research facility of which we are unaware,” and that “Leth and
some of his staff have disappeared from our attention on at least eight occasions.” Subsequent events were to demonstrate that this latest WMD was
most likely Leth’s magnum opus, the Galaxy Gun, a long-range hypermissile launcher capable of firing smart ‘Galaxy Missiles’ from its heavily-
defended location over the Galactic Emperor’s personal stronghold Byss in the Deep Galactic Core to any target in the galaxy, armed with particle
disintegrator warheads which would trigger “massive nucleonic chain reactions that spread like wildfire across the targeted planet’s surface,
explosively converting matter to energy,” with adjustable power settings that enabled a single Galaxy Missile to destroy “a city or military base” or
even an entire planet. The Galaxy Gun was first seen under construction in Dark Empire II, when Leth personally led the Galactic Emperor on an
inspection tour of the weapon.
Leth was present when the Galactic Emperor ordered the first operational firing of the Galaxy Gun, targeting the New Republic’s hidden base on Da
Soocha V, obliterating it completely. Unfortunately for Leth, problems developed during the fifth firing of the weapon in Empire’s End, when a
faulty Bonadan timer prevented a Galaxy Missile from destroying the New Republic’s newly-established headquarters in the spaceborne city of
Nespis VIII. The Galactic Emperor gave Leth three days to fix the problem or face execution, and he immediately set about his work. He was still
aboard the Galaxy Gun when repairs were completed, and he ordered firing of the weapon to resume, targeting “fifty Rebel attack groups [...] hiding
in deep space.” When the Galactic Emperor’s flagship HIMS Eclipse – under the control of rebel saboteurs – exited hyperspace directly atop the
Galaxy Gun itself, Leth was killed in the collision, and an armed Galaxy Missile tumbled from the launch tube into Byss itself, accidentally
destroying the planet and killing its 19.8 billion inhabitants.
Umak Leth only appears in Dark Empire II and Empire’s End, where he is depicted as a stout, portly fellow with a pencil mustache, given to
wearing flowing robes that helped to conceal his corpulence. He wore a sort of camauro that covered his head and ears but left his face exposed, and
an ornate necklace of discs. Having spent most of his career in close association with the Galactic Emperor himself, Leth developed a certain carefree
attitude toward his master, addressing him simply as “Emperor” on one occasion in Dark Empire II, and even nonchalantly calling him “the old goat”
when talking to one of the Imperial engineers under his supervision in Empire’s End. His long years of faithful service as one of the Imperial State’s
most capable scientists and weapons engineers apparently convinced him of his own indispensability, as he briefly remarked to another engineer, “If
I fire the Galaxy Gun and save his skin, Palpatine will give me a world to rule... or execute me for disobedience! It’s worth a chance – Commence
firing!”
References:
machines and weapons of mass destruction, most notably the World Devastator and Galaxy Gun. Noted for being both highly ambitious and highly
egotistical, there were questions about Leth’s ethical integrity (The Jedi Academy Sourcebook claims that he plagiarized the design of the World
Devastator from the Maw Installation), and even some questions about the state of his mental health (the New Republic Historical Council called
him “driven and partially insane” in The Essential Chronology). There are no known details about Leth’s education or certification as an engineer,
although he was evidently trained some time before the end of the Clone Wars, because the Dark Empire Sourcebook mentions that he had been a
“Junior Engineer” during the Jedi Purge that immediately followed the Clone War itself (16 - 19 rS).
By that time, Leth was already numbered among the “cadre of Palpatine’s super-scientists” alongside Borborygmus Gog and the Lord Cronal
(according to “Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena”), and was apparently involved in the development of Gog’s “Essence
Stealer,” a derivative of Ssi-ruuvi ‘entechment’ technology that allowed the soul (‘life-force’) to be forcibly divorced from the mortal coil and stored
within “a giant computer-linked crystal matrix.” Combining new data derived from Gog’s project and “the little information the Emperor gave him
about the nature of the Force” (per the Dark Empire Sourcebook), Leth was able to design the modestly-named Leth universal energy cage, a
containment sphere capable of restraining even fully-trained Jedi Knights; Leth universal energy cages were subsequently installed aboard the Lictor
class dungeon ships that became the Inquisitorius’s mainstay during the Purge.
Star Wars Handbook Volume Three: Dark Empire mentions that Leth was “responsible for numerous engines of destruction used by the Empire,
both before Palpatine’s death and after his resurrection,” but details remain scarce about his activities during the height of the Empire. The Historical
Council was apparently under the mistaken impression that Leth was one of the members of the research staff at Grand Moff Governor Wilhuff
Tarkin’s Maw Installation, as it mentioned him and longtime rival Bevel Lemelisk voluntarily joining the staff, whereas The Jedi Academy Sourcebook
mentions him as having operated outside the Maw; since the Historical Council calls Leth “one of the original masterminds behind the Death Star” in
The Essential Chronology and reiterates this by calling him “one of the engineers involved with the Death Star project” in the better-researched The
New Essential Chronology (which quietly drops the claim that Leth had volunteered for assignment to the Maw Installation), it seems probable that
Leth was involved in the Death Star Project in some way, regardless of whether or not he had actually been at the Maw Installation (if he had, then
he must have left with Lemelisk when the latter was reassigned to oversee the construction of the Death Star at Despayre, or else he would have still
been in the Maw over a decade later).
Leth’s work apparently impressed the Galactic Emperor to the point that he was appointed “Chief Engineer to the Emperor” even before the Battle
of Endor in 39 rS, according to the Dark Empire Sourcebook. While the second Death Star was under construction in orbit of the Sanctuary Moon of
Endor, Leth presented the Galactic Emperor with “a new design for a molecular furnace that could break down the physical structure of matter,” and
was given funding for further research into this technology’s potential application as a weapon. Leth returned “after months of work” with
preliminary plans for what would become the World Devastator (note that The Jedi Academy Sourcebook claims that the proposal to “modify
existing molecular furnaces into autonomous ‘World Devastators’ that could strip raw materials from a planet’s surface” actually originated in the
Maw Installation, and that Leth simply stole the proposal and convinced “his superiors” that the design was his own). According to The Essential
Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, Leth modestly described the World Devastator as being “more lethal than the Death Star.” Pleased with the design, the
Galactic Emperor appointed Leth to replace Lemelisk as Master of Imperial Projects, granted him “irrevocable funding writs,” and ordered him to
make the World Devastator a reality.
Following the Galactic Emperor’s death at the Battle of Endor, Leth passed out of view, using his guaranteed funding to develop his weapons of
mass destruction; he evidently spent the next few years occupied thus. It is not clear when he finished the development process, but he was
evidently free to take on other projects, because the Dark Empire Sourcebook states that either during or shortly after Thrawn’s War in 44 rS, he
was called in to take charge of the development of the XR85 self-aware tank, and that he quickly pushed the design into production, awarding the
contract to Arakyd Industries (the design was common enough that it was used during the Imperial recapture of Imperial Center that same year, and
during the Time of Destruction that followed). Evidently the Master of Imperial Projects had come to be regarded as the Imperial State’s factotum of
engineering, because The Essential Guide to Droids mentions that he was then assigned to head the development of Balmorran Arms’ new SD-10
battle ’droid during Operation Shadow Hand (45 - 46 rS), as well as overseeing the design and production of the Galactic Emperor’s Shadow Droids,
a derivative of Gog’s research into Ssi-ruuvi technology which combined cyborg controllers with the dark side of the Force, as seen during the attack
on Balmorra in Dark Empire II.
By the time of the Battle of Calamari in 45 rS – in which Leth’s World Devastators badly mauled the defenses of Calamari, one of the most
strategically important shipyards and members of the New Republic – , the New Republic’s Intelligence Operations Command had become aware of
Leth’s status as the Imperial State’s premiere WMD scientist and conventional weapons designer, and (like any sensible intelligence agency) made a
point of tracking his whereabouts and activities. In a top secret memorandum to the Provisional Council of the New Republic quoted in the Dark
Empire Sourcebook, Brigadier Colin Darkmere noted that in the aftermath of the destruction of the World Devastators the Empire was nevertheless
“developing newer and more horrible weapons of mass destruction” and named Leth as one of those known to be involved in the process; he also
noted darkly that “ some of these weapons are being developed in a high security research facility of which we are unaware,” and that “Leth and
some of his staff have disappeared from our attention on at least eight occasions.” Subsequent events were to demonstrate that this latest WMD was
most likely Leth’s magnum opus, the Galaxy Gun, a long-range hypermissile launcher capable of firing smart ‘Galaxy Missiles’ from its heavily-
defended location over the Galactic Emperor’s personal stronghold Byss in the Deep Galactic Core to any target in the galaxy, armed with particle
disintegrator warheads which would trigger “massive nucleonic chain reactions that spread like wildfire across the targeted planet’s surface,
explosively converting matter to energy,” with adjustable power settings that enabled a single Galaxy Missile to destroy “a city or military base” or
even an entire planet. The Galaxy Gun was first seen under construction in Dark Empire II, when Leth personally led the Galactic Emperor on an
inspection tour of the weapon.
Leth was present when the Galactic Emperor ordered the first operational firing of the Galaxy Gun, targeting the New Republic’s hidden base on Da
Soocha V, obliterating it completely. Unfortunately for Leth, problems developed during the fifth firing of the weapon in Empire’s End, when a
faulty Bonadan timer prevented a Galaxy Missile from destroying the New Republic’s newly-established headquarters in the spaceborne city of
Nespis VIII. The Galactic Emperor gave Leth three days to fix the problem or face execution, and he immediately set about his work. He was still
aboard the Galaxy Gun when repairs were completed, and he ordered firing of the weapon to resume, targeting “fifty Rebel attack groups [...] hiding
in deep space.” When the Galactic Emperor’s flagship HIMS Eclipse – under the control of rebel saboteurs – exited hyperspace directly atop the
Galaxy Gun itself, Leth was killed in the collision, and an armed Galaxy Missile tumbled from the launch tube into Byss itself, accidentally
destroying the planet and killing its 19.8 billion inhabitants.
Umak Leth only appears in Dark Empire II and Empire’s End, where he is depicted as a stout, portly fellow with a pencil mustache, given to
wearing flowing robes that helped to conceal his corpulence. He wore a sort of camauro that covered his head and ears but left his face exposed, and
an ornate necklace of discs. Having spent most of his career in close association with the Galactic Emperor himself, Leth developed a certain carefree
attitude toward his master, addressing him simply as “Emperor” on one occasion in Dark Empire II, and even nonchalantly calling him “the old goat”
when talking to one of the Imperial engineers under his supervision in Empire’s End. His long years of faithful service as one of the Imperial State’s
most capable scientists and weapons engineers apparently convinced him of his own indispensability, as he briefly remarked to another engineer, “If
I fire the Galaxy Gun and save his skin, Palpatine will give me a world to rule... or execute me for disobedience! It’s worth a chance – Commence
firing!”
References:
- Anderson, Kevin J. and Daniel E. Wallace. The Essential Chronology. Del Rey Books, 2000.
- Horne, Michael Allen. Dark Empire Sourcebook. West End Games, 1993.
- Janes, Peet. Star Wars Handbook Volume Three: Dark Empire. Dark Horse Comics, Inc., 2000.
- Peña, Abel G. “Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena.” Star Wars Insider No. 81 Online Supplement. Lucasfilm Ltd.,
2005. - Smith, Bill. The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels. Del Rey Books, 1995.
- Smith, Bill. The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology. Del Rey Books, 1997.
- Sudlow, Paul. Jedi Academy Sourcebook. West End Games, 1996.
- Veitch, Tom. Dark Empire II. Dark Horse Comics, Inc., 1992 - 1993.
- Wallace, Daniel E. The Essential Guide to Droids. Del Rey Books, 1999.
- Wallace, Daniel E. with Kevin J. Anderson. The New Essential Chronology. Del Rey Books, 2005.
| This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended. Star Wars and related materials are © Lucasfilm Ltd., which reserves all rights thereto. All original material is © Julius Sykes. Please do not use without permission. |
| This biography was originally added in 2005. It was republished on 6 October 2007. |