Germ and chemical weapons have been in use in various times and by various cultures in the Galactic history. But it probably reached its height during the reign of Galactic Empire.
Even suffered such a great defeat at Endor, the Empire continued using bioweapons against the fledgling New Republic.And hoping end the New Republic before it finds footing.
Now,these articles would profile those notorious imperial chemical weapons in the New Republic Era and even beyond…(In case you missed it, check out part one ,part two, part three,and part four of Germ,Viruse, Disease and War:A history of Imperial chemical warfare)
Krytos virus and Emperor's Plague
Two years after the victory at Endor, the New Republic encircled the Core Worlds and finally liberated Coruscant from Imperial reign.
Victorious troopers raise the New Republic banner on Coruscant However,the imperial regent Ysanne Isard is never willing to easily hand over her precious Imperial Centre to the New Republic.Before New Republic launch the attack,Isard brought Evir Derricote,a brilliant imperial military tactician and scientist to Coruscant in secret.Then she established a secret laboratory in the lowest levels of the Imperial Palace for Derricote to engineer the virus.
Isard ordered Derricote to create a lethal virus that specifically targeted non-Human species,firmly believed it would strain relations between the human and alien populations of New Republic and eventually destroy the newborn government.
Isard 's men kidnapped commoners from the Alien Protection Zone for the subjects of the test.Then Derricote firstly tested his creation on Gamorreans in order to migrate the virus to other species better. Latter he and fellow scientists test it on Quarren subjects to lower the incubation period and make the virus more contagious.Once the virus infected a host, it would destroy the host body cell by cell until the victim's flesh fell apart completely, resulting in an agonizing death.
Evir Derricote,the creator of both Krytos virus and Emperor's PlagueAlthough Derricote failed to design the virus to Isard's specifications,but Krytos virus is deadly enough.Before the New Republic could seize the control of the Imperial Palace,Isard ordered the virus to be released into the water supply of Coruscant,then she remained hidden aboard the Lusankya,her personal super star destroyer which buried beneath Coruscant's surface.
Just after the twelve-day incubation period ended,Krytos virus claimed millions of lives of Coruscanti aliens,casing panic among the masses of Coruscant.Due to large amounts of bacta was needed to cure the disease,the New Republic quickly ran out its bacta storage.
The price of bacta sharply increased but the New Republic had no choice but to pay to avoid billions of infected aliens to die. As a result, the newly forming government suffered from financial problems and was nearly to bankruptcy.
Rogue Squadron took control of Yag-primeMeanwhile,the pro-Imperial terrorist organization known as Palpatine Counter-Insurgency Front launched several terrorist attacks against the public locations, bacta supplies and medical facilitie,which created a further sense of panic between citizens.
The situation changed when bacta-producing insectoid race Vratix wished to gain an opportunity to join the New Republic by curing the Krytos virus. And Rogue Squadron recently captured a large bacta supply station which had been seized by Warlord Zsinj.
Ashern representative Qlaern Hirf and the following Vratix analyzed the virus and developed Rylca,a far more affective medicinal treatment.Within a matter of weeks, the Krytos virus was eradicated.
Lusankya escaped from Coruscant,killing millions of innocent civilians in the processUnwilling to accept the failure of the Krytos virus,Ysanne Isard committed her forces to support a revolution on Thyferra that placed the Xucphra Corporation in charge of the whole bacta cartel.
After gaining the control of the galaxy's bacta supply, Isard believed cutting off the supply of New Republic bacta would allow the virus to ravage Coruscant. It would start a small but important conflict known as the Bacta War,and Rogue Squadron eventually overthrew Isard and restored the New Republic's bacta supply.
Although the outbreak was end,the Krytos virus also had a long-term effect of increasing an anti-Humanism sentiment among many alien factions.
Seventeen years after the Krytos virus was eradicated,The Diversity Alliance,a violent anti-Human and Anti-Jedi terrorist group attempted to use Emperor's plague,a Human-targeting plague developed by Evir Derricote to wipe out the Human race.
Emperor's plague in its storehouseThe sinister plan was eventually thwarted by Jedi and New Republic,then the New Republic fleet proceeded to destroy the plague storehouse, thus wiping out the biological weapons cache,ending the threat of all Derricote's creations.
