Kamino

Kamino was an aquatic planet in a remote star system in the Wild Space of the galaxy, sometimes counted as extragalactic for its closeness to the Rishi Maze dwarf satellite galaxy. It was the homeworld of the Kaminoans, a tall, elegant, long-necked species known for keeping to themselves and, above all, for the cloning technology they used to create a vast army for the Galactic Republic. The clone troopers bred and trained on Kamino formed the backbone of the Republic's forces in the Clone Wars before the world met its end under the Galactic Empire.

The cloning world#

Largely isolated from the wider galaxy, Kamino had its existence erased from the Jedi records by Count Dooku. The Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, investigating an attempt to assassinate Senator Padme Amidala, traced the bounty hunter Jango Fett to the planet and there discovered the clone program already underway. With the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the watery world became at once a vital asset for the Republic and a prime target for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which mounted at least two attempts to invade it.

Following the war's outbreak, Kamino served as the main operational area for the Republic and the principal training grounds for clone cadets, as well as the site of the clone army's creation.

The secret of the inhibitor chips#

Late in the war, the Sith's plan to use the clones to destroy the Jedi was nearly exposed on Kamino. During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, the clone trooper CT-5385, known as Tup, killed the Jedi Master Tiplar after a defect in his inhibitor chip activated prematurely. Seeking answers, the Republic ordered the clone returned to Kamino. The Kaminoan leadership did everything in its power to keep the truth from coming out, for the chips were designed to guarantee the clones' obedience when the order to destroy the Jedi was finally given. Tup died during a procedure to remove the chip, carried out without permission by his friend Fives and the medical droid AZI-3. Fives was eventually killed on Coruscant, and the secret of the chips was kept.

Imperial era and the fall of Tipoca City#

After the rise of the Empire, rumors spread through the Imperial ranks that the cloning facilities would be shut down, alarming the clones. Governor and Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin arrived on Kamino to inform Prime Minister Lama Su that the Empire, no longer bound by Republic contracts, was reluctant to keep relying on clones. After observing the enhanced clones of Clone Force 99, the so-called Bad Batch, Tarkin sent them on a mission to Onderon, where they found civilians rather than the promised Separatist insurgents and largely refused their orders. The squad returned to rescue the young clone Omega, only to be captured; the sniper Crosshair, whose inhibitor chip had responded to the order against the Jedi, had his chip's effectiveness increased and was turned to the Empire's side.

The Empire steadily dismantled the cloning program, replacing clone soldiers with ordinary recruits and canceling the Kaminoan contracts. As the Kaminoans grew wary and arranged to flee, the Empire foiled them, arrested the Prime Minister, and forced Chief Scientist Nala Se to surrender her knowledge. Then the Empire turned on the world itself. Like Tipoca City, every Kaminoan facility the Empire knew of was bombarded from orbit and destroyed, sinking the civilization beneath the waves. Vice Admiral Rampart's Star Destroyers carried out the attack, and his role in the destruction was later exposed by Senator Riyo Chuchi and Omega, who uncovered footage of the bombardment and proof that Rampart had diverted Senate funds. Emperor Palpatine and Grand Vizier Mas Amedda ordered Rampart's arrest and claimed he had acted against Imperial orders, yet Palpatine still used the devastation of Kamino to push the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill through the Senate.