Inquisitorius Headquarters

Inquisitorius Headquarters
General information
Constructed	By 32 BBY
Location	The Works, Coruscant
Point(s) of interest	Ceremonial chamber Secret hangar
Chronological and political information
Affiliation	LiMerge Power Sith Order Galactic Empire Inquisitorius

"Welcome home, Lord Tyranus."

―Darth Sidious

Inquisitorius Headquarters was a skyscraper maintained by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious. It was located in the Works, a district on the Core World of Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic and later the Galactic Empire. Formerly known as the LiMerge Power building, the abandoned tower served as Darth Sidious's secret hideout, with him using it to meet his Sith apprentice Darth Tyranus, publicly known as Count Dooku, after the initiation of the Clone Wars. Later during the war, when they sensed that Grand Master Yoda of the Jedi Order was on Moraband, the ancient Sith homeworld, the two Sith Lords conducted a dark side ritual in the tower. Although the ritual failed, Sidious and Tyranus planned to use the ritual to tempt Yoda, breaking his will and further weakening the Jedi Order from within.

The tower later served as the headquarters of the Inquisitorius, a dark side organization of Imperial Jedi hunters tasked with eliminating remaining Jedi after their destruction, following the rise of the Galactic Empire. After Sidious's newly appointed Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, familiarized himself with the Grand Inquisitor via Sidious, they traveled to the tower where Vader met the rest of the Inquisitorius. Following a chase of two rogue Inquisitors which caused havoc on Coruscant, Sidious ordered that Vader move the Inquisitorius off-world to Fortress Inquisitorius on Nur, giving him the planet Mustafar to make his personal stronghold.

Design

The Grand Inquisitor and Darth Vader converse in the tower's conference room.

What was later known as the Inquisitorius Headquarters during the Imperial Era was originally the LiMerge Power building. The skyscraper was located in the Works, an industrial district located on the planet Coruscant, capital of the Galactic Republic. The base of the building was composed of three large fins that met at the mid-section of the structure, and from one of which extended a smaller secondary structure that, during the Clone Wars, was connected to the main building by several derelict walkways. A large, central, cylindrical pillar with a coned head protruded from the mid-section. Also in the mid-section was a secret hangar with multiple hatches that opened upwards, enabling ships as large as a Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop to enter and exit. Upon entering the hangar, the ceremonial chamber was to the left, which was donned with statues. The exterior of the tower was in a neglectful state by the time of the Clone Wars, with areas of the structure being worn down and damaged.

By the early days of the Galactic Empire, the tower had a large central chamber, a conference room, and a leisure area. During this time, the exterior had been upgraded and repaired. The secondary structure was transformed into a landing platform, and the multiple walkways were replaced by a singular pathway. In the leisure area, the Inquisitors could drink alcoholic beverages and sit down at one of the tables. The leisure area had several corridors, including one that led to a walkway outside the building to a small degraded platform.

History

Before the Clone Wars

"I'm afraid-"
"I know you are."
"I'm afraid it is too late."

―Count Dooku and Yaddle shortly before dueling

In 32 BBY, after Qui-Gon Jinn's death at the hands of Darth Maul on Naboo, Count Dooku traveled to the hidden lair. Before leaving the Jedi Temple, he spoke with Yaddle, a member of the Jedi High Council. The Jedi councillor became suspicious of Dooku when the latter said he would not attend the funeral of his former Padawan and close friend on Naboo. Shortly thereafter, the Serennian Count left the Temple and headed to The Works. Unbeknownst to him, he was tailed by the Jedi Master.

When reaching the building, the Jedi found Dooku plotting with the Sith Lord Darth Sidious in a building. Yaddle revealed herself, but when Dooku's stance was made clear, she was force to engage in a lightsaber duel with him. Dooku defeated his former ally, executing her after coldly sneering that he would give her peace. This act pleased Sidious, as it brought the former Jedi closer to the dark side.

The Clone Wars

Bringing good news

"I have good news for you, my lord. The war has begun."
"Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

―Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious

Darth Tyranus arrived at the tower at the beginning of the Clone Wars.

Following the opening battle of the Clone Wars and a lightsaber duel against the Jedi in 22 BBY, Count Dooku, by this point leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and secretly the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, traveled in his personal solar sailer to the tower in the Works district on Coruscant to meet with his Sith Master, which served as a secret retreat and storage for Sith artifacts.

Once Tyranus had arrived at the tower's hangar, he was greeted by his Sith Master, Darth Sidious, and informed him that the war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy had begun. Sidious was pleased at the news, as he had achieved another milestone in his plan to destroy the Jedi Order and rule the galaxy, and stated that everything was going according to plan.

Breaking the Jedi Order

Late Clone Wars

"Sir, you have been ordered to go to Coruscant immediately."
"Tell Lord Sidious I am on my way."

―Kraken to Count Dooku

In 19 BBY, the Grand Republic Medical Facility was temporarily shut down to increase security after a mission to Level 1325 to capture rogue clone trooper CT-5555 after he allegedly attacked Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly Sidious. During the lockdown, Sidious transported his collection of Sith artifacts from the abandoned tower to the medical facility, due to concerns that the Jedi may discover the tower. Following the mission to Oba Diah, Grand Master Yoda had embarked on a mission to Moraband in order to uncover the secrets of preserving one's consciousness after death and attempt to uncover the identity of the Sith Lord who had been manipulating the Jedi and had created the clone army for them.

Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus prepare to perform a ritual in the ceremonial chamber of the tower.

The quest led Yoda to Moraband, the ancient homeworld of the Sith. Apparitions of Sith Warriors conjured by the Force Priestesses alerted Sidious and Dooku of Yoda's presence on Moraband, and Dooku was informed by his super tactical droid, Commander Kraken, that his master was ordering him to Coruscant and meet with him. After Tyranus arrived from his flagship, Sidious greeted his apprentice and led him to the tower's ceremonial chamber which was lined with statues positioned in a circle with a sacrificial altar basin at its center. Sidious then began a ritual, using Tyranus' blood and Force-bond to connect with his former Jedi Master, Yoda, while also using Force lightning and chanting Balc, a Sith language.

The vision

"There is no question. The ship was carrying Count Dooku. We've scanned the area, and he is meeting with someone inside the building."

―Captain Rex, to Anakin Skywalker in the vision

By utilizing the ritual, Sidious was able exploit the Force-bond to reach through ripples through the Force to create Force Illusions on Moraband, hoping to break Yoda's will and tear the Jedi Order from within. In the following illusions, Yoda saw himself back on Coruscant in the Works onboard a LAAT/i gunship with fellow Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain CT-7567, and a squad of clone troopers who were tasked with a mission to the tower after detecting a rogue shuttle that infiltrated Coruscant's security grid, believing that Dooku was onboard. Initially confused, Yoda nevertheless ordered the mission to continue. Yoda believed that they were on the verge of discovering the mystery of the Sith, and that the Sith must not be able to escape, executing them if necessary.

Sidious and Tyranus conduct the ritual.

After the LAAT/i landed in the hangar of the abandoned tower, Yoda, Skywalker, Rex, and the clones discovered Sidious and Dooku in the ceremonial chamber. Dooku attacked the group with Force lightning, killing Rex and the clone troopers. Skywalker engaged Dooku in a lightsaber duel and was able to kill the Sith Lord, but not before Yoda exclaimed to Skywalker not to. Regardless, Yoda chased Darth Sidious to the outside of the tower, with Skywalker arriving outside shortly after. After dueling with Sidious, Skywalker was defeated and rendered unconscious.

Sidious continued fighting Yoda, attempting to break Yoda's will by forcing him to choose between saving Skywalker, or learning Sidious's true identity and stopping all he would do. Yoda chose the former, allowing himself to be struck by Force lightning but saving Skywalker. Sidious ended the ritual and thus eliminating the spiritual plane they were on, having failed to break Yoda's will. Defeated, Sidious stated that they would need more time to defeat the Jedi, while Yoda gained a new perspective about the Force that the Sith would not be able to foresee.

Reign of the Empire

A new purpose

"Come with me."

―Darth Sidious to Darth Vader

In 19 BBY, after the rise of the Galactic Empire and the destruction of the Jedi Order, Darth Sidious, now the Galactic Emperor of the newly transformed Galactic Empire, founded the Inquisitorius, a dark side organization tasked with eliminating any remaining Jedi. After the leader of the Inquisitorius, the Grand Inquisitor, briefly dueled Sidious's new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, Sidious acquainted them and informed Vader of the Inquisitorius, which were located in the tower, dubbed the Inquisitorius Headquarters.

Darth Sidious converses with Darth Vader on the tower's platform.

The tower had been refurbished with a new landing platform, a large chamber, a conference room, and was guarded by the Emperor's Royal Guard. There, as the Inquisitors trained with each other in the main chamber, Lord Vader was given command of the Inquisitorius and was given the task of training them. After some time training with the inquisitors, Vader and the Grand Inquisitor conversed in a conference room, reviewing a list of possible Jedi survivors. They were tasked with tracking down Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu, who was considered by Sidious to be a high priority target.

Hunting rogue Inquisitors

After hunting Eeth Koth

"Lord Vader…what is this? Can the Inquisitors and I assist in any way?"
"No, Grand Inquisitor. No need."

―The Grand Inquisitor and Darth Vader, after exposing the rogue Inquisitors

Years after Order 66, in the aftermath of a mission to hunt down former Jedi Master Eeth Koth, Darth Vader and his team of Inquisitors consisting of Fifth Brother, Thirteenth Sister, and Tualon Yaluna, arrived in their Zeta-class shuttle and touched down on the tower's landing platform. They were greeted by the Grand Inquisitor, along with two Kallidahin servants, who were given Koth's captured newborn. Vader and the Grand Inquisitor then headed to the conference room, and began conversing on Jedi survivors of the purge as they looked at a list of survivors, as well as the status of Project Harvester.

During the time after their arrival from the planet they had killed Koth on, several of the Inquisitors, including Eighth Brother, Seventh Sister, the Grand Inquisitor, the Inquisitors who accompanied Vader to eliminate Koth, and the Second Sister were present at the tower's leisure room, where Akaris and Tualon were at a table drinking dust juice and talking about recent experiences, although Vader confronted the two and ignited his lightsaber.

Rogue Inquisitors

"I will move the Inquisitors to a new base, off-planet. This will not happen again."

―Sidious, to Vader after the chase

Lord Vader faces the two Rogue Inquisitors in the tower.

With Vader standing before them, the two Inquisitors were stunned and the other Inquisitors were confused to reach for his lightsaber. As Vader brought down his lightsaber on Akaris, it was blocked by Tualon and after a brief scuffle, the two Inquisitors escaped through a corridor that led to an outside walkway and platform that had not been renovated as it was in a deteriorated state, and fled to the city, although Vader eventually managed to kill them. After the chase, Sidious believed that the Inquisitorius should be moved off-world, and Vader asked his master Sidious to give him the planet Mustafar, the location of Vader's greatest defeat, but would become the location of his personal castle, to which Sidious agreed.

Eventually, the Inquisitors were given a new headquarters on the water moon Nur, near Mustafar itself.

Behind the scenes

Concept art of the tower in The Works.

Named the Inquisitorius Headquarters in the 2018 canon comic by Charles Soule, Darth Vader (2017) 20, the tower was created for the 2002 prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. The tower was described as the "Coruscant tower" in a caption via the StarWars.com episode guide for "Sacrifice," the final episode of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, released in 2014.

The tower was originally introduced in the Star Wars Legends continuity through the novelization of Attack of the Clones, released prior to the film in 2002. In 2012, it was identified as the "LiMerge Building" by the Legends novel Darth Plagueis. It was canonically identified with such name in the 2018 reference book Star Wars: Complete Vehicles.

Appearances

• Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi — "The Sith Lord"
• Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade
• Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade audiobook
• Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Sacrifice"
• Darth Vader (2017) 6
• Darth Vader (2017) 7
• Ahsoka (Indirect mention only)
• Ahsoka audiobook (Indirect mention only)
• Darth Vader (2017) 19
• Darth Vader (2017) 20 (First identified as Inquisitorius Headquarters)

Non-canon appearances

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Appears in cutscene(s))

Sources

• "Sacrifice" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars on StarWars.com (backup link) (First identified as Coruscant tower)
• Ultimate Star Wars (as derelict hangar)
• Star Wars: Complete Locations (as dilapidated tower)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 69 (Weapons & Uniforms: The Jedi Purge) (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition (as Sith lair)
• Star Wars: Complete Vehicles (First identified as LiMerge Power building)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 73 (Databank A-Z: Admiral Wiskovis–The Works)
• Collapse of the Republic (Indirect mention only)
• Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition (as derelict hangar)
• The Star Wars Book (Indirect mention only)
• SDCC 2023: 10 Reveals from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on StarWars.com (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide (Indirect mention only)
• Coruscant in the Databank (backup link) (as unidentified complex)
• Count Dooku in the Databank (backup link) (as unmarked dwelling)
• Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in the Databank (backup link) (Picture only)

Notes and references

In other languages

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