Kligson's Moon

"According to them, the place was once known as Kligson's Moon—but because the mechanical genius who built it from space salvage insists on surrounding himself strictly with robots—the few who know about this spot have come to call it… Droid World!"

―Luke Skywalker, to C-3PO

Kligson's Moon, also known as Droid World, was a massive mobile platform that served as a home for the cyborg Kligson and a large, bustling society of droids in the years following the Clone Wars. A popular spacer legend during the Galactic Civil War, the "Droid World" was constructed out of spare parts after Kligson's rebuilding as a cyborg, and relocated to a remote location where organics were not permitted. Surprisingly fast and powerful for its unwieldy appearance, Kligson's Moon occasionally attracted visitors who were interested in Kligson's famed mechanical skill, and a visit by Rebel Commander Luke Skywalker helped kick off a civil war aboard the station in 3 ABY.

Description

"You're talking to Kligson, Rebel! And I suffered enough in the Clone Wars to make me hostile to my fellow organics forever! I'm a cyborg, now, more machine than man;… and happy to cast my lot with the machines! Leave me and my Droid World in peace!"

―Kligson, to Luke Skywalker

Kligson's Moon.

A massive, mobile space platform created by the cyborg technician Kligson, Kligson's Moon—also known as the "Droid World"—contained its own wholly mechanical society of approximately 1,000 droids during the era of the Galactic Civil War. Eight hundred meters long, Kligson's Moon was constructed out of spare parts, such as starship hulls, drive engines and space station decks. However, its unwieldy and uneven appearance belied a surprising speed and power, and it boasted significant weaponry and shielding. Kligson's Moon was outfitted with 30 turbolaser batteries and five tractor projectors, while still being large enough to hold 2,000 passengers and 5,000 metric tons of cargo.

Not long after its construction, Kligson cultivated a thriving civilization of droids aboard his moon, with only two rules: no organics were allowed to set foot in his domain, and anything he repaired, he kept. Kligson was known as a master mechanic, and his station contained extensive facilities to assist in his work on droid design. This included a massive, open smelting pit that could melt even the toughest alloys, emanating from the tremendous heat generated by the station's core. Kligson himself oversaw all goings-on aboard his moon from a control station on the bridge, from which he could hail approaching ships and direct all weapons systems.

History

"I like a challenge, but my world has two rules that must be obeyed... The first is that no organic sets foot on Kligson's Moon. The second… anything I repair, I keep!"

―Kligson, to Luke Skywalker

After the end of the Clone Wars and the Declaration of a New Order, Kligson—a lifelong warrior who had served in the Grand Army of the Republic—took a post as an officer in the Imperial Army. However, when he refused to lead an Imperial conquest of his homeworld of Sucharme, he was swiftly betrayed, attacked and left for dead by the stormtroopers he commanded. His fellow patriots in the Grohl Liberation Front saved Kligson's life by outfitting him with a new, cyborg body, hoping that their fellow Sucharmese native would help them fight off the Imperial advance. Instead, Kligson began to withdraw further and further from contact with fellow organics. Kligson used the Ostega Orbital Yards to build a massive space station out of discarded starship parts, one that was derisively dubbed "Kligsom's Moon" by members of the GLF. Rather than use the station to attack the Imperials, however, Kligson fired up its hyperdrives and disappeared, leaving the war behind.

Kligson's moon enters hyperspace.

No longer comfortable in the company of organics, Kligson instead found solace in his fellow mechanicals, turning Kligson's Moon into a bustling haven for wayward droids. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, the "Droid World" had become considered a myth, a tall tale shared by spacers on the Outer Rim. However, it was very real—and occasionally, as rumors of Kligson's technological mastery spread through the galaxy, it attracted the odd organic visitor. In 3 ABY, that small list grew to include Rebel Commander Luke Skywalker, who tracked Kligson down in the hopes the cyborg could give them a full schematic of a new Imperial warbot that had begun to threaten Rebel forces in ground engagements.

However, Kligson's chief lieutenant—a rejected Imperial battle droid prototype called "Zee-Exthree"—secretly had gathered a faction of Imperial-aligned droids, and the arrival of the the Rebels proved a signal to Zee-Exthree and his compatriots to launch their coup attempt to overthrow Kligson and seize his moon in the Empire's name. However, Kligson suspected the droid's treachery, and outsmarted and outmaneuvered Zee-Exthree, using the reconstructed warbot to defeat his enemies in a brief war that tore the moon apart. Afterwards, fearing attention from the Empire, Kligson ignited his station's engines again and relocated it deeper into space.

Kligson's Moon once again became little more than a story after its relocation, and it was quite some time before any outsider discovered the Droid World's new location. Kligson's Moon later came under attack during the Yuuzhan Vong War, when the technophobic Yuuzhan Vong invaders attempted to destroy the station. However, the group of Shard Jedi Knights known as the Iron Knights fought off the Yuuzhan Vong and saved Kligson's Moon.

Behind the scenes

Kligson's Moon first appeared in Star Wars (1977) 47, written by Archie Goodwin and released in 1981. In the comic, the station was illustrated by Carmine Infantino, and it was additionally portrayed by Dick Foes in the book-and-record The Further Adventures: Droid World.

Appearances

• Star Wars (1977) 47 (First appearance)
• The Further Adventures: Droid World

Sources

• Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids
• C-3PO: Tales of the Golden Droid
• The New Essential Guide to Droids
• Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com; backup link)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
• Viva Space Vegas! The History of the Marvelous Wheel, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
• Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, Part 8: Tales of the Clone Wars on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)

Notes and references

In other languages

• Deutsch
• español