Empirical

The ISS Empirical, a modified cruiser, served as a mobile research laboratory under the ownership of Darth Vader, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces. Rumor had it that the Empirical was just one of many similar research vessels in a fleet led by the Emperor's right-hand. The purpose of the Empirical was to house Lord Vader's experiments on prisoners and to facilitate the study of unique alien species. The vessel's propulsion came from five engines: four situated at the stern and one positioned closer to the bow, mounted on a spur extending from the ship's ventral side. It was armed with a minimum of two turbolasers. The vessel was equipped with at least six escape pods, accessible via turbolift from various decks, and featured a docking bay capable of accommodating a transport-sized ship. The ship also had an intercom system managed by an announcer who provided updates on the ship's operations.

The Empirical was a highly classified vessel, so secret that even Emperor Palpatine's intelligence network couldn't track its movements. It operated exclusively within barren star systems in the Outer Rim Territories, traversing long-forgotten routes between them.

Reflecting its primary function, the Empirical contained several rooms equipped with testing and medical resources. One such room, situated in Sector Ten—the ship's stern between its engines—served as the holding area for Galen Marek during his recovery aboard the Empirical. Marek was restrained to a table within a glassed-off section of the room, allowing medical droids to perform procedures on him. Upon Marek's attempt to escape, the room began releasing poisonous gas, and the crew was notified of the security breach. This same room housed approximately six similar operating tables, all unoccupied at the time.

A nearby room contained a series of chambers filled with a toxic gas. Surrounded by catwalks, it was monitored by multiple stormtroopers, including EVO troopers, and overseen from a small observation room by an Imperial officer.

Detention cells were located near the vessel's bow. The detainment area was expansive, which made it difficult for soldiers to defend against an assault. Force fields could be activated to temporarily repel attacks, but they could be deactivated by cutting off the power. Prisoners were suspended in their cells using magna locks. While they were typically left to perish, prisoners Vader wanted to keep alive were occasionally released for brief periods, during which they were permitted to use the refresher and drink water, although they weren't always provided with food.

One of the projects carried out on the Empirical was the Dark Trooper Phase Zero project, supervised by Lieutenant Rom Mohc. The Phase Zero project, an effort to address the Empire's troop shortage following the closure of the Kamino cloning facilities, involved transforming aging clone trooper veterans of the Clone Wars into cyborgs by replacing organs and limbs with cybernetics. This process relied heavily on the same cybernetic technology used in Lord Vader's own creation. Despite achieving moderate success, the Phase Zero project was discontinued when the Empire's recruitment rates improved.

In 3 BBY, Emperor Palpatine confronted Lord Vader aboard the latter's flagship, the Executor, regarding his taking of an apprentice, Galen Marek. To demonstrate his loyalty, Vader impaled Marek with his lightsaber and cast him into the vacuum of space. However, in secret, a droid recovered Marek's unconscious body and transported him to the Empirical. Over a six-month period, Vader's medical droids worked to rebuild Marek as he remained unconscious. To the ship's crew, Marek was considered another of Vader's experiments and was designated "Subject Zeta" and "Subject 1138." Vader also had Marek's droid PROXY and ship, the Rogue Shadow, delivered to the vessel, and he provided Marek with a new lightsaber to aid in his mission. Meanwhile, his pilot, Juno Eclipse, had been arrested for treason and was subsequently transported to the Empirical, where she feared becoming a subject of the Sith's experiments.

After awakening after six months, by which point the Empirical had entered the Dominus system, Marek was greeted by Vader, who transmitted his image through PROXY. Vader informed Marek that Palpatine believed him to be dead and assigned him the task of creating an army to oppose Palpatine. The Sith Lord threatened to activate the Empirical's self-destruct sequence if his apprentice refused to comply, but Marek relented. PROXY also had received instructions, and upon Vader ending his transmission, the droid began executing his orders to assist Marek in escaping and to eliminate all evidence of Marek's survival, including the vessel and its crew. Marek broke free from his chamber, which began to fill with poison gas. He deactivated the gas, but a squad was dispatched to investigate. An alert was broadcast throughout the ship, warning that Vader's subject had escaped. Having learned from PROXY that Eclipse was on board, Marek prioritized rescuing her, slaughtering his way through the crew, all of whom had orders to kill him. Meanwhile, PROXY accessed the vessel's main computer and, determining it was the fastest way to eliminate everyone on board, programmed the ship to crash into the system's star. The ship's crew became alarmed when their navigation system began to malfunction, and a series of announcements informed the rest of the vessel of the deteriorating situation. An evacuation order was issued, but PROXY continued his work, disabling security systems and ejecting the ship's escape pods to ensure no crew members survived.

Marek reached Eclipse's detention cell to find several of the ship's officers with her, protected by a force field. After killing the stormtroopers outside the cell, Marek disabled the field, eliminated the remaining crew in the vicinity, and freed Eclipse from her restraints. He helped Eclipse reach the Rogue Shadow, which PROXY had prepared, and they evacuated the research vessel. The Empirical continued on its predetermined course, exploding as it plunged into the system's sun.

The Empirical's crew was composed of an elite platoon of soldiers personally selected by the Supreme Commander, Darth Vader himself. A diverse range of stormtrooper classes, including Shadow Troopers, purge troopers, and even hazardous-environment EVO troopers, protected the ship. In addition, a number of interrogation droids were used to monitor and control troublesome alien subjects. The vessel's complement of soldiers was trained to swiftly address threats that arose on board, and they were authorized to take any measures necessary to prevent test subjects from escaping alive. The Dark Lord of the Sith also retained control of the ship's self-destruct mechanism, which he could activate to exterminate everyone on board if needed. The entire crew and vessel were expendable to Vader; he would ultimately order their deaths to conceal the survival of his apprentice, Galen Marek.

The Empirical was developed for the 2008 multimedia project Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and is featured in all adaptations of the Force Unleashed story. The Empirical serves as a level in the video game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In the Wii, PlayStation 2, and all other versions produced by Krome Studios, the events on the Empirical are depicted in a cutscene. In the Xbox/PlayStation version, the room where Marek initially awakens contains monitors displaying the name of Lucasfilm employee Victor Tancredi-Ballugera written in Aurebesh.

In the PS3/Xbox 360 versions of the game, stormtroopers mention that Galen Marek's code name on the ship is 'Subject 1138', which is a nod to George Lucas' inaugural film, THX-1138.

Despite all adaptations of The Force Unleashed presenting the same narrative, the events and even the layout of the Empirical differ across them. In both the novel and comic, PROXY accompanies Marek as he navigates the ship; in the game, he departs for the Rogue Shadow and meets Marek there. Various aspects of the ship's design also vary between adaptations. For example, the exterior views presented in the comic and game differ significantly. Similarly, in the game, Juno Eclipse's cell is situated in an area resembling the bridge of the vessel; however, in the comic, it appears very different.

The interior design of the Empirical drew inspiration from the sterile, military atmosphere of Imperial facilities depicted in the Star Wars films. The room where Marek awakens, known as "Vader's Laboratory," is reminiscent of the lab in the EmPal SuRecon Center, where Darth Vader's body is reconstructed in Revenge of the Sith. The overall tone of the Empirical level in the game was intended to create a sense of foreboding and dread for the player.