Maltheen Divide conference

In 4 BBY,^[2] Director of Advanced Weapons Research Orson Callan Krennic hosted a secret conference between various officers and employees of the Galactic Empire at a clandestine Imperial facility on the Maltheen Divide, a Mid-Rim planet located in the Trax sector. Attended by members of the Imperial Navy, Imperial Security Bureau, Ministry of Enlightenment, and Tarkin Initiative, the conference saw the planning and discussion of how to justify and execute the planned suppression of the Colonies planet Ghorman and it's people to allow Imperial gouge mining of the planet for a rare form of the mineral Kalkite to coat reactor lenses in the Emperor's "Energy Initiative", which in reality was Project Celestial Power, a project part of Project Stardust that focused on the development of the Mk I Superlaser. Following the conference, the already running Anti-Ghorman whispering campaign continued, and the suppression of Ghorman began under the command of ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero, eventually resulting in the Ghorman Massacre of 2 BBY.

Prelude

The Energy Initiative

Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic Special Weapons Group, a top secret headed by Professor Sahali tasked with top secret project to construct a deadly battle station was reformed into the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research. Under the new Empire, the Ultimate Weapon project was split into several smaller projects, with Project Celestial Power, a subproject tasked with the development of a superweapon for the battle station, being publicly presented as an initiative to fulfill Emperor Palpatine's dream of sustainable energy independence^[4] to transform the Imperial economy and solidify imperial authority.^[1] Seeing potential for the battle station's weapon in his former colleague Galen Walton Erso's Kyber crystal research, the head of the Ultimate Weapon Project, Lieutenant Commander Orson Callan Krennic, recruited Galen into the project under the public guise while secretly weaponizing Galen's research. Despite preforming a successful test of prototype duel-laser weapon^[4] around 17 BBY,^[5] Galen discovered the true nature of his work in Project Celestial Power soon after an escaped, stalling the project. Krennic's rival, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, used Galen's escape as an excuse to gain an overseeing position over Ultimate Weapon Project,^[4] eventually moving it under a secret Imperial think tank known as the Tarkin Initiative.^[5]

In 13 BBY, however, Krennic tracked Galen down to a farm in the Lah'mu, where he captured and forced the genius crystallographer back into research and development of the Mk I Superlaser. Galen, realizing that the weapon would eventually be completed no matter if he was there or not, played that part of a broken man while stalling the project for as long as possible and designing a flaw into the ultimate weapon, now nicknamed the "Death Star".^[6] By 5 BBY,^[7] with Tarkin taking credit when progress moved and himself taking the blame when it did not,^[8] the now-Director of Advanced Weapons Research Krennic found himself under pressure as numerous scientific setbacks delayed the Death Star project. As a result, Krennic shifted his attention to sourcing new materials for the Death Star, which included sourcing a valuable form of the mineral Kalkite found only on^[9] the Colonies Planet Ghorman, needed for the Death Star's reactor lens coatings to stabilize the energy output.^[9]

Suppression Preparations

Working with an engineering officer and Tarkin Initiative scientists, it was quickly concluded that Gouge mining was required for the extraction of kalkite Ghorman's crust, a process which would stress the planet's core and as a result, require the planet's population to be relocated. As a result, Krennic began working with with the^[1] Imperial Security Bureau's^[10] Lieutenant Moy to run simulations for repopulation tactics. During the simulations, repopulation tactics such as staging a natural disaster or deadly plague to get Ghorman's population to leave on their own accord was gamed out.^[1]

Left with only the complete suppression of the Ghorman people to silence resistance to repopulation and extraction efforts, Krennic got into contact with the Ministry of Enlightenment to begin the necessary propaganda campaigns to eventually control Ghorman enough to mine for kalkite. As such, two employees of the ministry, Dee Shambo and their colleague Nisus Osar, took advantage of the ongoing cutoff of Ghorman shipping lanes due to Ghorman resistance to Imperial inspections being carried out on Ghorman by arranging the death of an inspector in the Imperial Navy. As a result, the ministry of enlightenment was able to shapd a story for the press that the death had been due to the Ghorman's pride, beginning an Anti-Ghorman whispering campaign designed to turn galactic opinion against the Ghorman people.^[1]

Not long after, ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero, hot on the trail of the Axis network, attempted to ambush Cassian Jeron Andor at the funeral for his adoptive mother in Ferrix City. However, during the funeral, a riot broke out after the final speech Cassian's mother concluded with a call to fight the Empire, leading to chaos on the streets, with Meero nearly dying on to be saved by former Deputy Inspector Syril Karn. The incident damaged Meero's reputation and resulted in her demotion, though she remained headstrong in her hunt for "Axis".^[11] Hearing of the incident on Ferrix and impressed by Meero's resilience, Krennic began to consider Meero for the position to oversee the suppression of Ghorman so that kalkite extraction could proceed.^[1]

The conference

Great Interest

In 4 BBY, the Suppression of Ghorman was ready to begin as drilling equipment for kalkite extraction began to be assembled and an armory was scheduled to begin construction in the Ghorman capital city of Palmo. As such, a day before the Palmo armory was set to begin construction, Krennic invited his Ghorman working group to a Imperial facility atop a mountain on the clandestine Mid Rim planet known as the Maltheen Divide for a conference. Among the attendees of the conference included Navy Admiral Daysar, ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero, ISB Major Lio Partagaz, ISB Lieutenant Moy, Ministry of Enlightenment representatives Dee Shambo and Nisus Osar, several Tarkin Initiative science officers including one with the title of doctor, and an Engineering officer.^[1]

While a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle present at the facility, Krennic began the conference. Standing at the front of the conference room's table and in front of the room's window, the Director of Advanced Weapons Research explained the conference's secrecy to the attendees; nobody was to learn of the meeting's existence, as there was to be no records or notes, all service and transport droids were to be data wiped, and any violation of security to those not present at the meeting, even to the present officers' colleagues or superiors, would be brought to the Emperor's personal attention, as the emperor would would inform the senior commanders at the time of his choosing.^[1]

Following his statement, Krennic had a screen lowered in front of the conference room's window, as he walked to the side of the room. Krennic then played a Ghorman holodocumentary on the screen, which detailed infnormation on Ghorman, it's inhabitants and culture, and it's Ghorman twill industry, made from the silk produced by the planet's native arachnid ghorlectipods. Once the Holodocumentary had covered relevant information, Krennic then stopped the film before revealing the Empire's interest in Ghorman.^[1]

Planning a Genocide repopulation effort

Soon after, with the projector screen raised again and sitting in his seat, Krennic explained the difficulties with making the Emperor's Energy Initiative a reality, sharing how he was familiar with the rumors and stories as well as the delays and setbacks involving the project as well as the amount of groveling required to gain senate funding. Standing up, Krennic then stated that he had met with the Emperor the day before, and he had suggested reminding the attendees of the conference that the Energy Initiative remained a centerpiece of his agenda, as he though access to stable and limitless power would transform the economy and solidify Imperial authority. Continuing, Krennic then explained that unlike what the Holo-documentary had shown, spiders were not the most unique thing on Ghorman, before calling on a science officer. Responding, the doctor explained how Ghorman Kalkite was found in foliated deposits deep in the planet's crust, before Krennic continued how the amount of time spent pondering kalkite, it's synthetic variants, as well it's alternatives and substitutes was astonishing. Krennic then stated that the Energy Initiative had promised delivery in three years, which was dependent on the use of Ghorman kalkite to coat reactor lenses. Continuing, Krennic then added that should the Energy Program fail to find any alternatives to kalkite, the Empire would have to control Ghorman tight enough to silence any opposition, which was why the attendees had been invited. Upon hearing this, Partagaz glanced at Meero, who then swallowed her saliva.^[1]

Following Krennic's statement, Partagaz asked if the kalkite extraction was an invasive process like he had assumed. In response, an engineering officer explained that the extraction would present difficulties to the local population. Wanting more info, Admiral Daysar asked what that entailed, to which the engineering officer explained that the scale of the mining would likely render the Ghorman unstable, as due to the gouge mining process, the planet's core would likely be left unstable. Krennic then chimed in, explaining that the was a risk of total collapse, to which Daysar reminded the room of statistics relating to the planet's population and cities, with Krennic then stating that while relocation was ideal, they needed to plan for alternatives, all of which required preparation. Partagaz then stated that Ghorman was neither obscure or lacking political power and would not go without a fight, to which Krennic responded was the exact reason why the attendees were there.^[1]

As Krennic continued, he stated that the group was not present to gloss over the difficulties and that the suppression of Ghorman was not a decision to be made lightly. Continuing, Krennic shared that the conference was not the first meeting on the subject before introducing the Ghorman project's partners from the Ministry of Enlightenment, Dee Shambo and Nisus Osar, before offering the pair to speak. The pair took the opportunity, standing up before explaining the work they had already done with the inspector's death to turn public opinion against the Ghor, with Shambo speaking of how the opinion of Ghorman arrogance that they had created could be weaponized against the Ghor. Soon Osar began talking about how they would compare the personality of the Ghorman people to the spiders they worked with, prompting Krennic cut the pair off by thanking the pair from the ministry and stating that the attendees got the idea.^[1]

Coffee, Desert, Conversations & Discussions

Larer, snacks and drinks were brought into the conference room for the attendees, giving the various attendees the opportunity to converse privately while snacking. During this time, Admiral Daysar and Lieutenant Moy took some deserts from themselves. As Daysar took a bit out of one snack, they asked Moy on the practicality of potentially using plague or staging a natural disaster to get the Ghorman people to leave on their own accord. Moy responded that those repopulation tactics had been gamed out in simulations, as they got unpredictable very quickly.^[1]

As Daysar and Moy continued to converse, across the room, the engineering officer that had explained gouge mining conversed with Major Partagaz while they both held cups, with the former explaining that the mining equipment was already being assembled and was going to be warehoused for transport when needed. Looking for more details, Partagaz asked how much time was required to mobilize once everything was tucked away and ready, to which the engineering officer explained that since the drilling was easy, the mining could be up and running in only a few weeks. Upon hearing this, Partagaz inhaled deeply and put his cup on the room's central table before beginning to walk off. However, the engineering officer then continued that the administration and security issues were troubling, to which Partagaz responded that the Empire did not have a large presence on Ghorman at that time, to which the engineering officer explained that Krennic had planned for that and had arranged for the construction of a new armory in Palmo. Curious about the new info, Partagaz prompted the officer for more info, to which the officer then explained that the construction was starting the next day.^[1]

Across the conference room, Krennic approached Dedra Meero, who was looking out the window at the planet's view. Noticing Krennic approaching, Meero regained formal composure as the director stood next to her and stated that she was being awfully quiet. In response, Meero stated that the information was a lot to take in, causing Krennic to be taken slightly aback, stating that he had heard she learned quickly. Meero then stated she liked to know what she was talking about, to which Krennic explained that she was here at his request, adding that despite not returning to Coruscant much by that point in time, he still kept his ear to the ground and was impressed by Meero's recovery from the incident on Ferrix. Krennic then asked Meero if she was not inspired by the anti-ghorman whispering campaign, to which Meero stated that she was still forming an opinion. Krennic however, called Meero's bluff, telling her that even though she thought she was hard to read, she was not and that she needed to get over that, before then adding that he knew that Meero had a plan already that she had finished before he had even finished speaking and he wanted her assessment. Hesitating for a moment, Meero eventually caved an began to explain her plan; that propaganda would not fully complete the suppression, and the Empire needed Ghorman rebels that they could count on to do the wrong thing. Meero then walked off as Krennic looked back out the window while pulling a little smile.^[1]

Aftermath

The gift that is Ghorman

The day following the conference, Lieutenant Meero and Major Partagaz returned to the Imperial Security Bureau Central Office in Coruscant's Imperial City. As the pair walked along ISB plaza however, Meero stopped Partagaz, informing the major that she did not want to work on the Ghorman project and had thought about it all night. Briefly looking around, Partagaz simply responded that it was humbling that the two of them had been reminded their place in the chain of command, to which a confused Meero said she was not sure what he meant. Partagaz then asked if Meero if she had been offered the leadership position, to which Meero responded that he knew she had been, with Partagaz then stating that it was then set and they Imperial Security Bureau would be helping. Meero then asked what of her hunt for "Axis", which she felt she belonged more to and she could not do both. Partagaz responded by reminding Meero that she had invested nearly two years into her hunt all while building the legend of Axis, yet delivering nothing, offering advice to next time catch a person first before building their legend. Partagaz briefly stopped and looked around while taking a sigh, before then stating that her new asignment would appear to be a demotion and Meero would have to play along. However, Partagaz then added that thing would heat up soon enough and that Ghorman would be Meero's to run as she liked, with Krennic having nothing but time for results. Pausing for a moment, Partagaz then imparted some more wisdom on Meero, stating that Ghorman was a gift that the Lieutenant should take and win. Following Partagaz's statement, the two ISB officers then continued walking towards the Central Office.^[3]

Over the next year, the armory in Palmo was slowly built up under the guise of being a new office complex to replace the city's then-used Imperial office complex despite many citizens in the city knowing the truth,^[12] while the Ministry of Enlightenment continued their propaganda campaign to spread Anti-Ghorman sentiment across The galaxy.^[13] As it happened, Dedra Meero, now overseeing Ghorman's suppression, put into action her plan to justify tightened imperial presence on Ghorman. In 3 BBY, using her boyfriend Syril Karn, Meero manipulated the Palmo-based Imperial resistance group known as the Ghorman Front to raid and rob a convoy of weapon transports to the Palmo armory under construction, which they did with the help of several members of the Axis network.^[12] With the rebels now armed with weapons, Imperial media was able to further taint the image of the Ghorman people while also justifying an enlarged military presence on Ghorman.^[14]

Massacres

By 2 BBY, despite Krennic's claims that scientists at the Eadu research facility were still searching for kalkite alternatives, Ghorman's fate was all but sealed as Imperial Media painted Ghorman's situation as dire as the Empire faked attacks by insurgents to further bolster claims that Ghorman was on edge. That same year, Krennic informed that Partagaz that mining on Ghorman was to proceed, with Partagaz then informing Meero that the project would be moving forward with the original plan dicussed at the conference, and that she was declare martial law and to facilitate the repopulation of Ghorman's inhabitants. Additionally, Imperial Army Captain Kaido, a crisis specialist, was dispatched to Ghorman to oversee tactical command of the final stages of suppression,^[14] though overall command stayed with Meero.^[15]

Within fourty-eight hours,^[14] the mining fleet for Ghorman was moved into position in orbit of Ghorman, Kaido began the final stages of Ghorman suppression. That night, Mining rigs were dropped all over the planet in various locations including Jel-Novi and Leequa, resulting in mass curfew violations overnight as rumors of the mining ships made their way to Palmo as a protest began to be planned in the city. Imperial propaganda quickly jumped on reporting the curfew violations and likely demonstrations, they made no mention of the mining ships as the residents of Ghorman began to march on the Palmo Plaza the next morning. Unknown to the protesters however, was that the barricades in the plaza were moved by an imperial force made up of stormtroopers and Imperial security troopers brought in the day before to strategically allow the protests to occur. As the protesters filled Palmo Plaza, Imperial troops surrounded the plaza and trapped the protesters inside as Imperial media described the protests as a volatile insurrection. As the protest continued and the chants turned to song before chants again, a squad of security troopers was sent out to secure a path to the center of the plaza. As they did so, an Imperial sharpshooter was given orders by Kaido at Meerio's hesitant approval to take out a trooper, which the sharpshooter promptly did. As soon as a trooper was down, the squad of now paniced security troopers opened fire on the protesters, with troops surrounding the plaza quickly joining in. As the shot came down on the chaos, KX-series security droids were further released on the crowd in the plaza before continuing on rampages outside the plaza.^[16] As Thousands of Ghormans laid dead by the end of the massacre,^[17] Imperial media only mourned the fallen Imperial troops (who had died at the hands of Ghorman Front members in self-defence), portraying the fallen soldiers as fallen patriots. With Ghorman completely silenced,^[16] unchecked gouge-mining of Ghorman began on Krennic's schedule,^[18] leaving the planet devastated^[19] as the kalkite was brought to Scarif to coat reactor lenses in the Death Star's superlaser.^[1] Shortly after the Ghorman Massacre, senator Mon Mothma denounced the Emperor for the massacre, leading to the official establishment of the Alliance to Restore the Republic shortly after, beginning the Galactic Civil War.^[20]

As a result of kalkite being extracted,^[19] the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station reached completion on Krennic's promised delivery time of 1 BBY.^[1][21] The completed superweapon would go on to destroy the Holy City on the moon Jedha, the Imperial Center of Military Research on the planet Scarif,^[22] as well as the entirety of the planet Alderaan,^[23] resulting in billions of deaths^[24] before the battle station was itself destroyed in a desperate attack by the Rebel Alliance in the Yavin system.^[23] Krennic himself perished during the weapon's firing over Scarif, as Tarkin has taken over command of the battle station against his will.^[22]

Behind the scenes

Maltheen Divide conference was first shown in "One Year Later," the first episode of the second season of the live-action Disney+ series Andor,^[1] which aired on April 22, 2025.^[26] According to Andor creator and writer Tony Gilroy, the Maltheen Divide conference was based off the 1942 Wannsee conference, where high ranking members of Nazi Germany's government planned the Holocaust.^[25] According to Orson Krennic and Dedra Meero's actors, Ben Mendelsohn and Denise Gough respectively, the lines during the conference in relation to kalkite in "One Year Later" had to be repeatedly recited on set in order to take different shots of the scene. Gough remarked that Mendelsohn's energy did not drop in the delivery regardless.^[27]

Appearances

• Star Wars: Andor — "One Year Later" (First appearance)

Notes and references