The Screaming Key was a key that existed during the reign of the Galactic Empire that unlocked a device which had sealed away the Fermata Cage. At some point it came to be kept within a vault in Fortress Vader, the castle of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, Lady Qi'ra, the leader of Crimson Dawn who was attempting to destroy the Sith Lords Darth Vader and his Sith Master Darth Sidious, sent the Knights of Ren to break into Fortress Vader to recover the key, as unlocking the Fermata Cage was integral to her plan, as it contained a ancient Sith Lord who had been sealed away by the Cage, and Qi'ra wanted to release the Sith Lord and allow them to hunt Vader and Sidious. The Knights were successful in their attempt to recover the key, despite the efforts of Vader to stop them. Following the mission, the Knights and the Archivist traveled to a dark side hellscape where they acquired the the Fermata Cage.